The holidays are a time to give. These charities — and many more — are looking for volunteers and donations. Read on to learn more about them. Then, talk to your parents about how you can help.
National Military Family Association
Each year hundreds of Americans serve both nationally and overseas to keep our country safe. This holiday season, we can help serve them. Through donations, National Military Family Association helps to support the wellbeing of military members and their families with scholarships, camp programs for kids, and more.
www.militaryfamily.org
Network for Good
The website allows its users to donate to charities and discover volunteerism. After the natural disasters, the Network for Good has provided a system of help and charity for those affected. The site also offers tips for kids who want to give. Click the link below to find out how you can help make someone's holiday season shine bright.
www.thenetworkforgood.org
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Sometimes all it takes is one wish ensured to make someone smile. The mission of Make-A-Wish Foundation is to meet the wishes of children suffering from life-threatening illnesses. Through support and donations, the foundation has made dreams come true for hundreds of thousands of children.
www.wish.org
World Wildlife Fund
The World Wildlife Fund is helping to protect endangered species all over the world, and you can too! The WWF offers many ways to take part in, including the Species Adoption program. Those who “adopt” an animal will receive an adoption certificate and photo of their species. Anyone can support endangered species year round by buying WWF clothes and more.
www.worldwildlife.org
In 2006 Chris visited Honduras, a country where more than half the population lives poorly. He returned home with a plan to go back and help. He and his brother, Will, came up with an idea. They would start a business in Honduras to create opportunities for people living there.
But what kind of business would they start? They began by looking for a resource the country had naturally. The brothers chose to use wood from Honduras' thick forests. Next they had to decide what they would build with that wood. Eventually, they found their way into the toy industry.
The brothers decided to make children's blocks, drawing inspiration from the traditional wooden toys they discovered on a trip to Germany. Will and Chris decided to call their company “Tegu”, short for Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. Then they staffed their factory with Honduran citizens. “We found that our workers in the factory are super proud that the name of their capital city is going out on their product and representing what they're able to do,” said Will.
In addition to giving Honduran citizens the opportunity to work and learn about running a business, Tegu is partnered with a school that helps educate the children of families that work at the Tegucigalpa trash dump.
But Will and Chris did not feel it was enough to simply help the people of Honduras — they wanted to make sure they took good care of the land, too. They felt it was important to make toys using a natural resource in a way that is sustainable.
In order to do their part for the environment, Tegu works with woodcutting cooperatives and plantation-growers to select trees responsibly. The company also plants one, two, or three trees in place of every toy set that is produced. They've already planted more than half a million trees since Tegu was founded.
If you're looking to spend an afternoon with coffee and cute dogs, there's a new cafe in Silver Lake designed to help you do just that. It's called the Dog Cafe, and its owner is describing it as the first such cafe in the U.S.
The idea is to create a new way for people to adopt shelter dogs. Customers are able to buy a coffee or tea drink, then sit in an adjacent(相邻的) dog area, where they can play with dogs from a nearby shelter. All of the dogs in the area are up for adoption.
Sarah Wolfgang, the cafe's founder and owner, said she was inspired by the animal cafes found in South Korea, but notes that the dogs in those cafes came from puppy mills(幼犬繁殖厂).
Her Dog Cafe focuses on “saving dogs who have been at the shelter the longest because of health or behavioral problems and are at the highest risk of being euthanized(使安乐死),” according to the cafe's website.
The coffee shop of the cafe has drinks made with products from Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. and Dogs Drink Coffee (both give some of the money they make to animals in need): pour-over coffee, teas, lattes and flavored lemonades. Because of the nearness to dogs, there isn't any food served at the cafe. There is an area selling dog goods.
Admission to the dog area is $10 per person for a 55-minute block of time. You can make a booking and find a full list of dogs for adoption on the cafe's website. The Dog Cafe area and coffee shop is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 7 pm.
Want to keep track of your bicycle or car? The TrackR, a device created by a California-based company, is for you! Priced at $ 29.95 each, it is much cheaper than the GPS systems.
Install (安装) the free TrackR app on your smartphone. Connect the app to your device and then you are ready to go! Simply couple the TrackR to whatever you don't want to lose. The entire process of setting it up only takes 5 minutes or less.
If you have the hard TrackR, you can just hide it somewhere in your car. It won't be found if your car gets stolen. If you forget where you parked your car, take out your smartphone and open the TrackR app. Click on the “lost item” icon on the screen and the app will tell you exactly where it is.
You can also attach it to your pets. Put it on their collars(项圈), and the problem of searching for them as they run off to nearby places will be over! Attach it to your keys and wallet, and never waste a minute searching the whole house for it. The affordable TrackR even comes with a double-sided adhesive(粘合剂) so you can stick it to your laptop or under your bike seat. Track down and punish the thieves who steal your expensive things!
The convenience and the ability to find actually any object means that the TrackR is one of the most useful articles that you'll find for any price. However, the best thing it can give is peace of mind, and it doesn't get any better than that.
You may have heard of Niagara Falls, one of the biggest waterfalls in the world. But do you know the long slope(斜坡) — the Niagara Escarpment? Earlier this month, our school went on a hiking trip to this beautiful place.
The weather was cold, cloudy and windy, so we wore many layers to stay warm. We were separated into two groups and went on different routes. The whole escarpment is 725 kilometers long.
My favorite part of the trip was the cave. The cave was formed from many different shaped rocks. We climbed down into the rocks with the help of our teachers. The rocks were steep and slippery(滑的) because they were covered with wet leaves. It was a fun and exciting experience for all of us.
After walking 5 km without any rest, we were hungry and tired. When our teacher finally said we could stop to have lunch, we were very excited. After all, this route was a little different from the ones we were used to. It was more rugged(崎岖的), with lots of rocks on the path, which made it harder to walk. But it was great exercise.
But remember to stay warm and have fun along the way!
A. Hiking is very interesting.
B. We chose the easier route to climb.
C. It was a challenging task indeed.
D. Another exciting moment was lunch.
E. Some were huge while some were small.
F. We covered 8 km in our four-hour journey.
G. It's a steep one that runs through the US and Canada.
The other day I was sitting in my car while my daughter was going shopping. Soon I saw a new red Cadillac SUV 1in the parking spot beside me. Out of it stepped a(n) 2young woman in high heels, wearing sunglasses. Her face was3. I watched her as she headed for the store and 4about her life.
A moment later, an old station wagon(旅行车) pulled up beside the SUV. Out of it 5 a young mom with 4 little girls. All were dressed in worn clothes. They headed to the store 6all the way.
A while later I saw the Cadillac lady come out pushing a cart (购物车) filled with a new TV. Her eyes were still 7, and her face was still serious. After fifteen minutes, the station wagon mother 8with her little girls. They had a week's worth of 9in their cart. After10them from it, the mother took out two packs of cookies, broke both in half, and gave each girl a half of a cookie. The girls smiled as if it was the most priceless11in the world. After they drove away, I couldn't help thinking about the two women I 12 knew which one had more money, 13I wasn't sure which one really owned more.
In life there're many kinds of wealth, but the most14one of all is love. The 15is that one who feels the most love learns the most and grows the most. The only thing we will be carrying with us is the love we have shared.
Sweet Roses Given, Pleasant Smell in Hand
Abel and Bess had a happy family and two lovable children. One day, they needed an outing and would be gone for several days. They hired a woman to care for the children and finished the trip, returning home a little earlier than they had planned.
As they drove into their hometown, they noticed smoke, and they went off their usual route to see what it was. When Abel drove closer, he shouted, “That house in flames belongs to Fred Jones who works at the plant. He wouldn't be off work yet, maybe there is something we could do.” “It's too dangerous. Let's go home. Our babies are waiting for us!” protested Bess.
However, Abel drove up and they were shocked to see the whole house in flames. A woman on the grass was crying wildly, “The children! Get the children!” Abel rushed forward and took hold of her by the shoulder, saying, “Calm yourself and tell us where the children are!” “In the basement,” cried the woman, “Down the hall and to the left.”
In spite of Bess's protests, Abel rapidly wetted his clothes with the water hose, put his wet jacket on his head and rushed into the smoky and hot basement. He felt his way to the door and found two children, holding one under each arm, and stormed out. Abel succeeded in bringing the two badly frightened children into waiting arms. As he left, he seemed to hear some more cries from nearby.
注意：
①续写词数应为 100 左右；
②请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
