Entering adulthood is an important step in everyone's life. It means that a young person must soon leave childishness behind and start to shoulder grown-up responsibilities.
In Germany, "Jugendfeier" is a coming-of-age ceremony for 14-year-olds. They go to school to prepare for the occasion, studying topics, such as cultural respect and social responsibility, which will help them become worthy citizens. The hope is that the young people taking part in the ceremony will take on these values for themselves.
In Latin America, "quinceanera" is a celebration for girls on their 15th birthday, marking a girl's entry into womanhood. In the past, "quinceanera" was intended to ready girls for marriage and they were taught cooking, sewing, and other household skills in preparation. Today, it's similar to how one's 18th birthday is considered an important day in other cultures.
In India, the sacred thread ceremony is performed when a boy is grown-up. He is given three sacred threads representing three promises he makes: to respect knowledge, to respect his parents and to respect society. After the ceremony, the child, traditionally, leaves his family to live with a Guru(teacher). At this point the boy becomes "twice-born"—first his physical birth, and second his intellectual birth through a teacher's care.
In Vanuatu, young boys come of age by jumping off a 98-foot-tall tower with a bungee-like rope tied to their ankles, just barely preventing them from hitting the ground. At the ceremony, the diver's mother will hold something representing his childhood, and after the jump the item will be thrown away, representing the end of childhood. He is now a man, ready to protect the family
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Tod Morgan was born blind, mentally challenged, and autistic. So he couldn't see, he could not learn like other children, and he didn't interact with people very much. He did not seem to have much of a chance. Then, when he was two years old, he began to play little songs on his tiny toy piano. He could play perfectly some of the children's tunes he had heard.
Today, Tod works as a professional pianist. He plays jazz, Broadway songs, and classical pieces. After hearing a tune, he can imitate it almost perfectly the first time he plays it. He doesn't only imitate; Tod is creative too. He can change a classical piece to a jazz, a jazz to a polka, and a polka to a waltz. In addition to the p1ano, Tod plays 13 other instruments and also sings. Tod's list of musical heroes includes Louis Armstrong, Mozart, and Beethoven. How can this be? How can such a severely challenged person be so musically talented?
Tod has what is called "savant syndrome'' — a condition in which a mentally challenged person has a tightly developed talent of a specific kind. Savant syndrome is a mystery to medical researchers. One person who is studying savant syndrome is Dr. David Brighton. He says that he has never seen a musical savant like Tod. Most musical savants are limited to simply repeating tunes they hear. Dr. Brighton points out that Tod's ability to come up with his own tunes is a giant step beyond memorization.
As for Tod, after studying jazz piano at the Music School at Rivers in Massachusetts, he attended and graduated from the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston. Tod is encouraged by his parents as he performs all over the world, appearing on TV and radio shows.
Video conferencing has been around for more than 20 years. Until the Covid-19 pandemic, though, you would find that many people needing to attend a meeting remotely would be calling from a real conference room full of their teammates. Today, we're routinely holding video conferences that are 100% virtual (虚拟).And this is creating a problem that technology can't fix.
The problem is us, specifically the fact that we haven't evolved socially to the point where we can bear much separation. So much of our well-being and work productivity is decided on how close we are physically. The removal of that for any period of time can be severely damaging. One surprising victim of social distancing is laughter
Normally people laugh about 18 times per day. And 97% of that time we're laughing with others - we are 30 times more likely to laugh with others than to laugh alone. Think about it: how often when you and your friends laugh at something, is that something actually funny? Research shows that 80% of what people laugh at is really not that funny.
So why do people laugh? They laugh in order to laugh with others. Just as everyone starts yawning (打哈欠) when just one person yawns, most people can't help but laugh when those around them do. This is why TV comedy shows often use prerecorded laugh tracks.
Laughing in response to other people's laughing is not just a behavioral phenomenon. When we laugh, our body produces two key chemicals: endorphin which helps relieve pain and sets off feelings of pleasure, and dopamine which can improve learning, motivation and attention. In fact, studies show that people can stand 15% more pain simply by laughing for a few minutes beforehand. Laughter is also associated with higher motivation and productivity at work.
In today's home-alone, virtual-team world, this is exactly what you as a team leader should be doing: for your team members to stay healthy and productive, you need to get them to laugh more and stress less.
If you have trouble falling asleep, listen up. You might fall asleep 15 minutes earlier and wake up far less during the night if you put on a pair of socks at bedtime.
To understand why, you first need to grasp the relationship between core body temperature and sleep. During daylight hours, the human body has an average temperature of 37℃. But your core body temperature drops as much as 1.2℃ over one night's sleep. This gradual decrease is a key part of how we sleep. Put simply, the faster you can lower your core body temperature, the faster you will fall asleep.
One way that your body controls its temperature is through blood vessels (血管)in the skin. If your body is too hot, your blood vessels widen, pushing the warmer blood nearer the skin's surface, helping it to cool. If your body is too cold, the opposite happens. Your blood vessels narrow, restricting the flow of blood to the surface.
The palms of your feet are one of your body's most efficient heat exchangers, since they are hairless and less protected than other skin surfaces. Researchers have shown that warming the feet before going to sleep using a warm foot bath or by wearing socks promotes blood vessel widening, which in turn lowers the body's core temperature faster than going to sleep with cold, bare feet.
Scientists suspect that socked feet have a sleep-benefiting effect on the brain as well. The warm-sensitive neurons(神经元)in the brain become more active when there's a temperature difference between the body's core and the feet. Researchers have found that these neurons become more active as we get sleepy and slow down as we wake up, so that warming up the feet before bedtime may give them an extra drive, making you feel sleepier.
In a small study, researchers found that wearing a pair of special "sleeping socks" not only sped up the coming of sleep, but increased overall sleep time by an average of 30 minutes and cut nighttime waking episodes in half. If you're worried about becoming too warm, look for socks made of natural fibers.
Son, Here Is How You Save!
My wife and I recently welcomed a child into the world. His only interest right now is keeping us awake 24/7. But one day, he'll need to learn something about finance.
You might think you want an expensive car, a fancy watch, and a huge house. But you don't. What you want is respect and admiration from other people. It almost never does—especially from the people you want to respect and admire you.
Not struggling, and not unhappy, of course. But there's no way to learn the value of money without feeling the power of lacking it. It teaches you the difference between necessary and desirable. It'll make you learn to enjoy what you have, fix what's broken, and shop for a bargain. These are primary survival skills.
Some people are born into families that encourage education; others are from families that are against it. Some are born into peace and wealth; others, into war and poverty. I want you to be successful, and I want you to earn it. But realize that not all success is due to hard work and being poor is not always due to laziness.
Your savings rate has a little to do with how much you earn and a lot to do with how much you spend. I know a dentist who lives paycheck to paycheck, always on the edge of ruin. I know another person who has never earned more than $50,000 but saved a fortune Living with less is the most efficient way to control your financial future.
Don't listen to me if you disagree with what I've written. The world you grow up in will have different values and opportunities than the one I did. More importantly, you'll learn best when you disagree with someone and then are forced to learn it yourself. On the other hand, always listen to your mother.
A. I hope you're poor at some point.
B. If you do think so, you may get wrong.
C. When he does, here are some suggestions
D. Your goals should be about more than money.
E. You think having something expensive will bring it.
F. The difference is entirely due to the way they spend.
G. Keep this in mind when judging people, including yourself.
In Botswana, farmers let their cattle feed on the grasslands surrounding the banks of the Okavango River. This area is full of 1 , including hungry lions and other big cats which often rely on surprise to approach quietly and 2 their prey (猎物).
Farm animal 3 can be economically disastrous for these often poor farmers, and their fight-back killings in response is a major 4 of population decline in large cats.
But what if there were a 5 thing farmers could do to 6 their losses? The idea came about of painting eyes on the backsides of cows to 7 lions into thinking they've been seen by their would-be prey. And once seen, these cats often 8 the hunt.
This visionary solution was 9 by nature. A number of animal species have 10 eyespot markings that prevent their 11 enemies from hunting them—some frog backsides have eyespots, as do the back ends of some fish.
Probably the most famous 12 is on butterflies. They have eyespots in their wings, and these discourage hunters such as birds from attacking them.
Even humans are 13 by eyespots: one study found that people are less likely to steal bikes when an image of 14 eyes is displayed nearby.
Over the four-year-long trial, researchers found that not one of the hundreds of cows with eyespots on their backsides was 15 by an animal hunter.
China has recently announced the formal establishment of its first five national parks. Giant Panda National Park (GPNP)is one the list. GPNP is located in Central China spreading across Sichuan, Ningxia and Shaanxi. Once (complete), the new national park will include 67 existing panda reserves.
The giant panda is a famous symbol of China and one of the most adorable (creature) across the globe. GPNP has a population of around 1,800 giant pandas, accounts for over 80% of the Chinese giant panda population.
Connecting these reserves and establishing protected areas between will allow pandas to travel between the different areas and (hopeful) crossbreed(杂交繁育) and strengthen the panda population. This is a focused effort (help) the animals reproduce.
The (combine) of these panda reserves is an enthusiastic commitment by the Chinese government to protect these extraordinary animals. The good news (be) that there is evidence that the population appears to be growing. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has upgraded the species from endangered to threatened. this improvement is positive, there is still a lot the world needs to do to help secure the survival of this precious species.
Kathy's family vacation to the beach was usually the highlight of her summer. This year, however, her parents announced a new rule: no phones for the entire week.
"But my friends will be expecting updates about the trip, "Kathy complained. Kathy's mom gave her a serious look. Unwillingly, Kathy handed her phone over and her mom locked it away.
The drive to the beach house took most of the day. As they turned off the highway onto country back roads, the clouds darkened. Rain started to pour. "Even more beautiful in the rain," her mother said." What do you think, Kathy?" Kathy glared at her mom. "Beautiful, "she muttered.
That night after dinner, Kathy wandered into the kitchen, where her father was washing dishes. She gave her father a loving look and said in her sweetest voice, "Couldn't I have my phone back, just for one second? Just so I can tell everyone what an amazing time I'm having?"
"Can't, "he said. "It's not here. Remember?" Kathy was very annoyed. Having nothing better to do, she examined the dusty bookcase in the living room. The books looked as dull as the weather. On the top shelf, however, she spotted a puzzle. She took it, emptied the pieces on the table, and began to sort them.
After what seemed like a few minutes, she looked up. It was past ten o'clock. She had been working for almost two hours! She yawned. The puzzle was less than half done, but she was exhausted. So, she went to bed.
When Kathy awoke the next morning, she jumped out of bed and threw open the curtains. A blazing sun was rising over the blue ocean. The sky was cloudless. The scene reminded Kathy of a photo that her friend betty had recently sent her.
This view was even better. It would leave everyone speechless. Kathy dashed to her bedside table and reached for her phone. But there was nothing there. She sighed. Still, she wandered in front of the window, admiring the sunrise.
注意：1）续写词数应为150左右;
2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
After a quick breakfast, Kathy headed to the beach.
……
Appreciating the finished puzzle, she realized she hadn't thought of her cellphone for hours.
