Ann worked for a big company. One of the...

Reasons Why Change Is Good for You

We all know that change is hard because your brain is used to doing the same thing again and again. 1. But the positive consequence is really great. Here are four reasons why change is good for you:

◆ 2.

Life in the comfort zone is easy. You simply follow a routine and you can predict the results. Outside of the comfort zone, your assumptions are questioned. The idea of doing the same thing over and over without question is discouraged.

◆ You get to experience more.

3. When you look back on your life, all of the really amazing things are because of a new experience you had. All of those vacations you took and all of the people you have met have taught you more than you ever learned in school. These experiences now make up who you are today.

◆ You’ll be more flexible and adaptable.

Without doubt, change makes you more flexible and adaptable. You leam to deal with things in a way that seems foreign but acceptable and achievable. 4. You begin to thrive (茁壮成长) in new situations because you have proven to yourself that you can, not only handle change, but FLOURISH.

◆ You have more fun.

When you are open to change, you are open to saying YES to more. You are open to more experiences and opportunities. 5. When you add all of these things together, you are going to have a more colorful life and you’ll have a ton of fun figuring it all out along the way—there’s no doubt about it.

A.You are pushed out of your comfort zone.

B.Experience is waiting for you at the doorstep.

C.You have the opportunity to meet more people too.

D.Whether the change is good or bad for you, it does happen.

E.We also know how challenging it can be to go through change.

F.Then, you’ll be more confident when in the next uncomfortable situation.

G.Change is good because you have the chance to involve in new experiences.

    The term ''helicopter parents'' refers to ''a style of parents who are over focused on their children''.

Helicopter parents are always making a big effort to provide children with every opportunity to succeed, from baby steps at age I, homework at age 8, college application at age 18, employment issues at age 25 to family problems at age 30, 40 or even older. They constantly (不断地) shadow the child, always directing his behavior, allowing him zero alone time.

Helicopter parenting can develop for a number of reasons. Worries about the economy, the job market, and the world in general can push parents toward taking more control over their children’s life in an attempt to protect them. Adults who felt unloved or ignored as children can overcompensate (对……补偿过多) with their own children. When parents see other over-involved parents, it can cause a similar response. They feel that if they don t involve themselves in their children’s lives, they are bad parents.

The main problem with helicopter parenting is that it can backfire. To give an example, the house where Mary lived with roommates was broken into and things were stolen. Mary called the landlord to install (安装) an alarm system, but before she could finish the negotiations (协商), her mother rushed in and demanded action. ''I felt like my mother ruined my communication with our landlord. We could have gotten it done ourselves. She was well intended but only made me feel annoyed and defeated, '' says Mary.

Obviously, overparenting is motivated with the idea of doing good things but it does the exact opposite. In the long run parents are in fact damaging their child's basic skills to deal with matters independently. It makes the child feel lacking in confidence, less competent in dealing with the stresses of life on their own. They're winning the battle, but in fact losing the war.

1.What's the purpose of helicopter parents’ overparenting?

A.To make their children not ignored.

B.To help their children find a good job.

C.To do something good for their children.

D.To get rid of the pressure from other parents.

2.What does the underlined word ''backfire'' in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A.Make an unwanted effect. B.Get a lot of support.

C.Set fire in the backyard. D.Help to be independent.

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A.Children who have helicopter parents live a hard life.

B.Helicopter parenting only happens to very young children.

C.Helicopter parents do their children great harm in the long run.

D.Helicopter parents can protect their children against all problems.

4.What will possibly be discussed in the following paragraph?

A.The bad effects of helicopter parenting.

B.How we can avoid being helicopter parents.

C.Different opinions about helicopter parenting.

D.The reasons for the development of helicopter parents.

    One devoted man is helping to make sure that children with poor living conditions won't go hungry during the school day.

Mary’s Meals, an organization founded in 2002 by Scottish farmer Magnus Macfarlane-Barrow, provides needy kids in 12 countries with free meals at school each weekday. The group's aim is to ensure that students have food in their stomachs so they can better fix their attention on the study in class.

Macfarlane-Barrow, who runs Mary’s Meals on his father's farm, told CNN that the entire operation started with a conversation he had with a teen living in a poor state. He said, ''In 2002, I was in Malawi during a year of terribly short of food, and I met this family — the father had died, and the mother was dying with her six children around her. I began talking to her oldest child, Edward, who was about 14, and asked him, 'What are your hopes? 'And he said, 'I'd like to have enough food to eat, and I'd like to go to school one day. ''' And that was it.

In its first year, the group fed 200 children in need. Since that time, it has made rapid progress. Last month, Mary's Meals fed more than one million children every school day. That was 5 million meals every week. ''The million is amazingly important, but we are far from satisfied. Our work's just beginning. We’ve proved that this works, and now we've just thinking about the next child, '' said Macfarlane-Barrow.

He and the group recently celebrated the achievement in Malawi, where the program began. So far, the program has had very good results. In Malawi, schools that carried out the Mary's Meals program saw a 24 percent increase in the number of new students within the first six months.

1.Why did Macfarlane-Barrow found Mary's Meals?

A.He hoped to provide free food for poor families.

B.He expected to teach children how to help others.

C.He wished to become well-known by helping others.

D.He wanted to make children free of hunger in class.

2.What made Macfarlane-Barrow have the idea to start Mary's Meals?

A.The conversation with a poor child. B.The success of helping a needy kid.

C.The terribly short of food in Malawi. D.The poor living conditions of schools

3.What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?

A.Schools in Malawi are popular.

B.No children suffer from hunger now.

C.Macfarlane-Barrow is satisfied with the result.

D.Mary's Meals program has been very successful.

4.What is the main idea of the text?

A.Edward's dream has come true.

B.A farmer feeds one million kids every school day.

C.Malawi gets away from being short of food.

D.Mary's Meals program has shocked the world.

    I was in the seventh grade, and we had moved to New Jersey in November. By then, everyone already had had their own friends, and no one wanted to talk to a new girl. To make things worse, they put me in ''Section L''. I found out later that everyone called Section L ''Loserville''. It was sort of an open secret that it was the section for troublemakers and not-so-smart kids. When I found out, I wanted to scream. I had always been a good student and had amazing friends, and now everyone thought I was a loser!

I did text my friends in Illinois almost every night, especially my best friend, Ana. At first my friends wanted to hear all about it. But then some stopped texting back once I said something about how miserable I was. One night when I was texting with Ana, I complained about another friend who had just done that. Anas texts came really fast for the next few minutes and they surprised me. She said that she was tired of hearing about how bad everything was in New Jersey, too. She said she did not want to hurt my feelings but that I needed to stop feeling so sorry for myself all the time, and I had to try to make things better.

The next day, I thought a lot about what Ana had said. She was right!

I wish I could say that everything changed overnight after that, but it didn't, I was still stuck in ''Loserville'', and some people were still mean (苛刻) to me, even though I tried to just stay out of their way.

But what did change was me — I stopped feeling so sorry for myself and did something about making friends. I signed up to make sets for the school play. I met a lot of new people there, and suddenly I had friends to say hi to in the halls!

I still miss Illinois sometimes, but life in New Jersey isn't so hard anymore. Even though I couldn't change my situation, I could change my attitude — and that made all the difference.

1.''Loserville'' is a section for ________.

A.smart students B.low achievers

C.class leaders D.new comers

2.The writer complained all the time in the new environment because ________.

A.Ana didn’t text back to her B.she was a good student

C.her friends hurt her feelings D.she was unfairly treated

3.What made a difference in changing the situation?

A.She managed to go back to Illinois. B.She ended the friendship with Ana.

C.She began to make friends with others. D.She fought back with her classmates.

4.The best title for the passage can be ________.

A.Everlasting Friendship B.Say Goodbye to ''Loserville''

C.An Incident at School D.Unhappiness in ''Loserville''

A DAY OUT IN BRITAIN

Are you planning to visit Britain? Here are a few suggestions for a beautiful weekend away.

Bournemouth

This famous tourist town has 11 km of beautiful beaches. Last year, 10,000 tourists visited this beautiful town. It's the perfect place to go swimming or sailing. There are lots of lovely parks and gardens to visit and it's a great place to eat out. You can also go to a classical concert or go dancing in one of the nightclubs.

Stratford-upon-Avon

This was William Shakespeare's hometown. He spent most of his life in this town and wrote his plays here. You can visit his house or see his plays at one of the Royal Shakespeare Company's   theatres. There are some interesting museums and lots of beautiful 500-year-old house. You can also go on boat trips and visit traditional English villages.

Alford

Deep in the Lincolnshire countryside is the pleasant market town of Alford. It is known for its five-sailed windmill (风车). Have a walk round this lovely old place and you'll see many pleasant houses from as far back as the 17th century. Captain James Smith, who was one of the founders of James town in Virginia, USA, was educated in Alford.

Bath

Most people come here to see the 2'000-year-old Roman Baths. But this city is also famous for its beautiful 18th century buildings and was the home of the writer Jane Austen. You can learn about her life at the Jane Austen Centre near Queen's Square. In the past, Bath was also popular with the royal family and Queen Elizabeth I spent one or two weeks every year here.

1.What can visitors do in Bournemouth?

A.Do sea sports. B.Enjoy plays

C.Go to museums. D.Visit old baths.

2.What is Alford famous for?

A.Its concert. B.Its nightclubs.

C.Its windmill. D.Its square.

3.Which place did a queen of England use to visit regularly?

A.Bournemouth. B.Stratford-upon-Avon.

C.Alford. D.Bath.