Every Wednesday, I go to Cantata Adult Life Services, a local retirement community in Brookfield, Illinois, US, with my classmates to do community service.
After my very first visit to Cantata, my life changed forever. That may sound a bit dramatic, but volunteering with the elderly has changed my views on life.
Our visits last about an hour, and we bring 25-30 students every time. We play board games and cards with the residents while we’re there.
You can watch all the movies and TV shows you want about “life back then”, but nothing compares to talking to the people who were actually there. Just hearing their stories has touched me in a way I never thought possible.
Whether it was talking to 98-year-old “Hurricane Hilda” about her glory days as a roller skater or chatting with Lou about the times she danced with a famous actor, I was completely attracted by every single memory the residents wanted to share with me.
Even the residents who don’t have amazing memories make the experience satisfying . I remember visiting Mrs Robinson. She couldn’t recall much about her past, but she told me she’d never forget how kind I was just to listen to her “rambling (漫谈)”. It made me realize that it’s the little things that make life worth living. That’s something I won’t forget anytime soon.
If there’s one thing I’ve realized in my three years of visiting Cantata, it’s that presence – just being there – means more than anything to many of the residents. And despite how busy our lives are, there’s always time to make someone’s day.
For me, it feels great to be a source of happiness, a smile on a bad day or a listening ear for old memories. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
It’s easy to feel like you don’t have anything in common with the elderly – especially when you’re a teenager. But that’s not true at all.
I hate to be overly clichéd (陈词滥调的) here, but age really is just a number. As young adults, it’s important for us to realize this sooner rather than later. We can learn a lot from the elderly, and they can often benefit from teenagers too.
1.What do the volunteers do according to the passage?
A. They share everything with the residents.
B. They play board games and cards with the residents.
C. They watch the residents play games.
D. They buy gifts for the residents.
2.According to the writer, what is the most important thing that volunteers can do for the elderly?
A. Playing with them. B. Benefiting from them.
C. Helping them. D. Being there with them.
3. What does the writer want to tell us by writing this passage ?
A. We don’t have anything in common with the elderly.
B. Age is just a number.
C. It is important to help the elderly.
D. Young adults and the elderly can benefit from each other.
读写任务
How many times have you heard the expression that most people spend more time planning their vacation than they do planning their lives. I would expand that expression by adding that most people spend more time "thinking" about their vacation than they do thinking about what's important in their life.
While rest and relaxation are a must in living a balanced life, it's now what we were created to do. After all, the Master Creator took his R&R (Rest and Recreation) on the seventh day, only after six days of "definitely directed thought."
Wallace D. Wattles, wrote "There is no labor from which most people shrink as they do from that of sustained and continuous thought; it is the hardest work in the world." And yet it is the first and primary labor of achievement.
What is your life's purpose or your personal mission statement? Is it written down? Do you review it and think about it often? Is your life organized around your purpose and a set of goals that support that purpose?
Without purpose and goals --- definitely directed thought --- you are like the proverbial "shop without a rudder(舵)." There is power in your purpose and in your goals. It is the power that takes you over obstacles, the fuel that pushes you toward the life you expect.
【写作内容】
1. 用约30个单词写出上文概要；
2. 用约120词发表你的观点，内容包括：
（1） 你如何规划中学以后的人生？为什么？
（2） 为了实现你的目标，你将如何行动？
【写作要求】
1. 写作过程中不能直接引用原文句子；
2. 作文中不能狐仙真是姓名和学校名称；
3. 不必写标题
【评分标准】
内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
任务型阅读,请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。
注意：每空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。
Everybody loves self-improvement. That’s why we’re such enthusiastic consumers of “top 10” lists of things to do to be a more productive, promotable, mindful— you name it—leader. But these lists seldom work. What if we didn’t think of self-improvement as work? What if we thought of it as play—specifically, as playing with our sense of self?
Traditionally, people work on themselves, committed to doing everything in their power to change their leadership style. You set your goals and objectives, you are mindful of your time, and seek efficient solutions. You’re not going to deviate(偏离) from the straight and narrow. You focus on what you should do, especially as others see it, as opposed to what you want to do. It’s all very serious and not whole of fun. There is one right answer. Success or failure is the outcome. We judge ourselves.
In contrast, no matter what you’re up to, when you’re in “play” mode, your primary drivers are enjoyment and discovery instead of goals and objectives. You’re curious. You lose track of time. Like in all forms if play, the journey becomes more important than a pre-set destination.
Much research shows how play develops creativity and innovation. Play with your own idea of yourself is similar to playing with future possibilities. So, we stop evaluating today’s self against unachievable ideal of leadership that doesn’t really exist. We also stop trying to will ourselves to “commit” to becoming something we are not even sure we want to be—what we call the “feared self”, which is composed of images negative role models. And, we shift direction from submitting to what other people want us to be to becoming more self-authoring. As a result, when you play, you’re more creative and more open to what you might learn about yourself.
Unfortunately, we don’t often get —or give ourselves—permission to play with our sense of self. In life, we equate playfulness with the person who dips into a great variety of possibilities, never committing to any. We find inconsistency distasteful, so we exclude options that seem too far off from today’s “authentic self”, without ever giving them a try. This kills the discontinuous growth that only comes when we surprise ourselves.
Psychoanalyst Adam Phillips once said, “people tend to play only with serious things—madness, disaster, other people.” Playing with your self is a serious effort because who we might become is not knowable or predictable at the start. That’s why it’s as dangerous as it is necessary for growth.
Lead-in |
●People want to improve their 1. . ●People can apply work mode or play mode. |
2.between the two mode | In work mode ●one is 3. and sticks to his route ●one cares about others’ 4. of his performance. ●one judges himself with one standard— success or failure |
In play method ●the 5. outweighs the outcome; ●playfulness allows people to6. with various approaches; ●playfulness helps people obtain 7. results. | |
The 8. with application of play mode | We usually regard playfulness as equal to non-professional. |
9. | 10. danger, playfulness is a must for our self-growth. |
The Toltec---as they were now called ---began to know great abundance and enjoy the
generous gifts of the land, as had been foretold by Quetzalcoatl.
“He has great powers.He has made us rich.We have not known hunger since he arrived.Where he places his eyes and hands,everything is abundance and beauty.”
They were happy, they were proud. At that time they all still worked at the jobs Quetzalcoatl assigned to them.
Tula grew. People came from far away to admire its growth. Many asked permission to settle down and enjoy its abundance,which was distributed according to the needs of the people.
Topiltzin was in charge of distributing the riches,under the orders of Quetzalcoatl, so that no one would want. They were all content because they all had more than they had ever had. Many worked.They were busy all day.
Quetzalcoatl had spent six years among the Toltecs. The house for the heart of the people was almost finished and the granaries full when he decided.
“There is prosperity(繁荣)and abundance in all the land.Let us extend it beyond the mountains.We shall go to the land of the Chichimecs.It is time to take my mission to them. I shall make them better,I shall make them live together,I shall gather them in towns,I shall teach them to till the land and to build their homes."
"Let us leave them in their land as they are now ,"Topiltzin argued,"They are savages(野蛮人);their life is violent and disorderly.They move freely,like the wind in the mountains and the plains,with nothing to keep them.Leave them where they are.There is much that we must do in our own land.
"I do not belong to this land alone.They are all my brothers,I am to give all of them, I shall look for them. I shall take the gods of Tula to them,"Quetzalcoatl said.
"Think carefully about what we shall do.You do not know them.They do not understand words. They are like savage animals,like jaguars," Topiltzin insisted.
"I shall go,"said Quetzalcoatl."My life must be accomplished.This time you will not accompany me because you do not have the will to go.I shall leave soon with some of my followers."
"Do not go with so few people! I shall accompany you with skillful warriors who are used
to killing Chichimecs and avoiding their traps." Topiltzin insisted.
"I am not going there with violence. I shall go to them as I came here,to take them the gifts of life and the doctrine of sin and redemption(原罪与救赎)."
"You have not spoken of sin and redemption for a long time," Tattle remarked. He had been listening attentively to the dialogue,and was then close to seventeen years of age."You have not come near the Tree you planted in the square in a long time.The Tree has no shoots,it has not grown,it looks sad and lonely."
"During this time,Tattle,I have often thought of it.There was confusion in my spirit.Now the Tree orders me to spread good in other lands,to make other brothers happy. It will soon have shoots."
1.This reading passages is most probably an account of _________________.
A. history B.politics
C. a contemporary life D. a myth or legend
2..From the passage, which of the following statements in Not true?
A. The city of Tula owed its growth to Quetzalcoatl
B. Quetzalcoatl believed he had been entrusted with a sacred mission
C. the followers will persuade him not to go to the land of the Chichimecs
D. Quetzalcoatl's Tree was a symbol for him and the Toltecs
3.Accroding to the passage, the prosperity of Tula________________.
A. was due to Toltecs's godlike behavior
B. occurred prior to Quetzalcoatl's appearance
C. was a relatively recent development
D. was yet to be established
4.When Tattle refers to Quetzalcoatl's Tree, saying that the Tre is ”sad and lonely“，he means that __________________.
A. the Tree is near its death
B. Quetzalcoatl has forgotten the Tree's significance
C. the Toltecs have ignored the Tree
D. there should have been celebrations around the Tree
5.The "shoots" mentioned in the last paragraph refer to ____.
A. the spread of Quetzalcoatl's beliefs to other areas
B. the Tree's growing roots and branches yet to develop
C. the Toltecs outlying settlements
D. the "savage animals, like jaguars"
“There’s no point in talking with you: you don’t understand me. You don’t even know me.” A teen spits these words at a parent, who is hurt and annoyed. How can her own child say these things? She’s worked hard getting to know him, learning to read his feelings from his voice and gestures. How can her own child now say to her, “You don’t know who I really am”?
Nothing shakes a parent’s confidence as much as the starting of a child’s adolescence. The communication that has flowed easily through words, glance and touch becomes a minefield(雷区)
Recent discoveries that the human brain undergoes specific and dramatic development during adolescence offer new “explanations” of teen behavior, particularly of the impulsiveness(冲动) of teenagers. During this development, there may be too many synapses(神经元突触) for the brain to work efficiently, the mental capacities of decision-making, judgment and control are not mature until the age of twenty-four.
An old explanation is that anger hormones account for the apparently unreasonable moodiness(情绪化) of teens. Though hormones do play a role in human feelings, the real task of adolescence, and the real cause of the unrest, is the uncertainty of teenagers about who they are, alongside their eagerness to establish a sense of identity.
This involves self-questioning, self-discovery and self-development across a range of issues, including sex, faith, intellect and relationships. A sense of who we are is not a mere luxury; without it we feel worthless. A teen often looks upon his or her friends sa models: “ I don’t know who I am, but I know who he is, I’ll be like him,” is the underlying thought. Parents also become such mirrors: teens want that mirror to reflect back to them the vividness and clarity they themselves do not feel.
Arguments with parents can often be understood in this context. While those common teenager-parent quarrels, which explode every few days, are often over small things such as homework, housework, and respect; a teenager’s real focus is on a parent’s recognition of his maturity and capability and human value. “ No, you can’t go out tonight,” implies that a parent you got your keys?” or “Do you have enough money for the bus?” are questions that can be easily accepted if asked by a concerned friend, but awaken a teen’s own doubts if asked by a parent. Feeling the need to distinguish himself from the kid who can’t remember to take his lunch, his keys or his money, he blames the parent for reminding him of the child-self still living within him. What my research shows is that quarreling witj your teen doesn’t necessarily mean you have a bad relationship. The quality of teenager-parent relationship has several measures.
1.According to the text, teenagers_____________.
A. can fully understand their parents’ feelings
B. need guidance in every aspect of their life
C. may experience a huge mental change
D. know themselves better than their parents do
2.What do we learn from the text?
A. Parents hate talking to their children because they can’t understand them.
B. The brains of teenagers work more efficiently because of the synapses.
C. Hormones are the real causes of unrest and moodiness in teens.
D. What teens really care about is being recognized by their parents.
3.What is implied in the last paragraph?
A. Quarrels between children and parents often involve serious issues.
B. A parent should not ask a child about money.
C. A child wants respect, especially from his or her parents.
D. Quarrels are a sign of a bad relationship.
4.What will probably be written in the following paragraph?
A. Other ways of assessing teenager-parent relationship.
B. The anger and sadness of parents about their teens.
C. How important the friends of teenagers are.
D. When children become mentally mature.
Flickering lights are annoying but they may have an advantage. Visible light communication (VLC) uses rapid pluses of light to transmit information wirelessly. Now it may be ready to compete with conventional Wi-fi.
In a recent TED talk, Harald Hasas from the University of Edinburge,UK demonstrated one VLC prototype(原型），“Li-Fi", transmitting a video from a store-bought LED lamp to a solar cell to a laptop. “Li-Fi is essentially the same as Wi-Fi,except for a small difference- we use LED lights around us to transmit the data wirelessly as opposed to using radio," Haas says.
Once established, VLC could solve some major communication problems. In 2009, the US Federal Communications Commission(FCC) warned of spectrum (波谱）crisis: because our mobile devices are so data- hungry we will soon run out of radio-frequency bandwidth.Li-Fi could free up bandwidth, especially as much of the infrastructure is already in place."There are around14 billion light bulbs worldwide, they just need to replaced with LED ones that transmit data", says Haas.
The idea of transmitting data through the visible light spectrum is not new.Alexander Graham Bell transmitted sound via a beam of sunlight in 1880 using a photo phone, a sort of solar-powered wireless telephone. In the past several decades, a number of researchers have looked at using visible light to transmit data.
But what Haas seized on is the use of simple LED light bulbs for data transmission. LED bulbs are controlled by a driver, which can rapidly di the light or turn it on or off. Therefore, Haas figured, data could be encoded in subtle shifts of the light’s brightness. Eventually, he creaded a working transmitter and receiver system with an IKEA lamp and a solar panel.
Li-Fi stands to be much faster than Wi-Fi. According to Haas research, Li-Fi can achieve data density 1000 times greater than Wi-Fi,because Li-Fi signals are contained in a small area, as opposed to the more diffuse (分散的)，radio signals.The system wouldn’t mean having to keep your lights on all the time either, Haas says---bulbs could be dimmed to such a point that they appear off, but still transmit data.
Now, Haas’ team hopes that Li-Fi could make its way into homes in a few years. The system can easily network any device with an LED light—an electric kettle, an oven. Eventually, this could bring about the Internet of Things era much faster. Haas also sees Li-Fi as a way to bring internet to remote location, using hilltop transmitters and rooftop solar panels. LED streetlights could even be used to form a network of outdoor Li-Fi, making it possible to stay connected when walking around the city.
But some sound a cautious note about VLC’s future. It becomes less powerful , for example,when light is blocked, wheather due to fog or other conditions.
1.By saying "There are around14 billion light bulbs worldwide”Haas intended to tell us that ______________
A. mobile devices will consume more data
B. radio-frequency bandwidth needs to be freed up.
C. VLC might solve the spectum crisis.
D. the world has a complete lighting infrastructure.
2.The underlined phrased “seized on“ in the passage is closet in meaning to “_____________”
A distinguished B. exploited C. created D. figured
3.We can learn from the passage that ________________________
A. Li-Fi can’t work outdoors.
B Li-Fi can work with LED lights off.
C. Li-Fi can be used with all household appliances.
D. Li-Fi needs improving to next diverse need.
