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Parents everywhere praise their kids. Jenn Berman, author of The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy and Confident Kids, says, “We’ve gone to the opposite extreme of a few decades ago when parents tended to be more strict.” By giving kids a lot of praise, parents think they’re building their children’s confidence, when, in fact, it may be just the opposite. Too much praise can backfire and, when given in a way that’s insincere, make kids afraid to try new things or take a risk for fear of not being able to stay on top where their parents’ praise has put them.
Still, don’t go too far in the other direction. Not giving enough praise can be just as damaging as giving too much. Kids will feel like they’re not good enough or that you don’t care and, as a result, may see no point in trying hard for their accomplishments.
So what is the right amount of praise? Experts say that the quality of praise is more important than the quantity. If praise is sincere and focused on the effort not the outcome, you can give it as often as your child does something that deserves a verbal reward. “We should especially recognize our children’s efforts to push themselves and work hard to achieve a goal,” says Donahue, author of Parenting Without Fear: Letting Go of Worry and Focusing on What Really Matters. “One thing to remember is that it’s the process not the end product that matters.”
Your son may not be the best basketball player on his team. But if he’s out there every day and playing hard, you should praise his effort regardless of whether his team wins or loses. Praising the effort and not the outcome can also mean recognizing your child when she has worked hard to clean the yard, cook dinner, or finish a book report. But whatever it is, praise should be given on a case-by-case basis and be proportionate(相称的) to the amount of effort your child has put into it.
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Imagine a child standing on a diving board four feet high and asking himself the question: “Should I jump?” This is what motivation or the lack of it can do. Motivation and goal setting are the two sides of same coin. 1. Like the child on the diving board, you will stay undecided.
2. More than that, how should you stay motivated to achieve the goal? First, you need to evaluate yourself, your values, your strengths, your weaknesses, your achievements, your desires, etc. Only then should you set your goals.
You also need to judge the quality and depth of your motivation. This is quite important, because it is directly related to your commitment. There are times when your heart is not in your work. 3. So, slow down and think what you really want to do at that moment. Clarity(清晰) of thoughts can help you move forward.
Another way of setting realistic goals is to analyze your short and long term objectives, keeping in mind your beliefs, values and strengths. Remember that goals are flexible. 4. They also need to be measurable. You must keep these points in mind while setting your goals.
Your personal circumstances are equally important. For example, you may want to be a pilot but can’t become one because your eyesight is not good enough. 5.You should reassess your goals, and motivate yourself to set a fresh goal.
You will surely need to overcome some difficulties, some planned, but most unplanned. You cannot overcome them without ample motivation. Make sure that you plan for these difficulties at the time of setting your goals.
A. This can affect your work.
B. So how should you motivate yourself?
C. However, this should not discourage you.
D. So why should we try to set specific goals?
E. They can change according to circumstances.
F. Motivation is what you need most to do a good job.
G. Without motivation, you can neither set a goal nor reach it.
When prehistoric man arrived in new parts of the world, something strange happened to the large animals. They suddenly became extinct. Smaller species survived. The large, slow-growing animals were easy game, and were quickly hunted to extinction. Now something similar could be happening in the oceans.
That the seas are being overfished has been known for years. What researchers such as Ransom Myers and Boris Worm have shown is just how fast things are changing. They have looked at half a century of data from fisheries around the world. Their methods do not attempt to estimate the actual biomass (the amount of living biological matter) of fish species in particular parts of the ocean, but rather changes in that biomass over time. According to their latest paper published in Nature, the biomass of large predators (animals that kill and eat other animals) in a new fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some long-fished areas, it has halved again since then.
Dr. Worm acknowledges that the figures are conservative. One reason for this is that fishing technology has improved. Today's vessels (船)can find their prey using satellites and sonar, which were not available 50 years ago. That means a higher proportion of what is in the sea is being caught, so the real difference between present and past is likely to be worse than the one recorded by changes in catch sizes. In the early days, too, longlines (多钩长线) would have been more filled with fish. Some individuals would therefore not have been caught, since no baited hooks (带饵钩)would have been available to trap them, leading to an underestimate of fish stocks in the past. Furthermore, in the early days of longline fishing, a lot of fish were lost to sharks after they had been hooked. That is no longer a problem, because there are fewer sharks around now。
Dr. Myers and Dr. Worm argue that their work gives a correct baseline, which future management efforts must take into account. They believe the data support an idea current among marine biologists, that of the “shifting baseline". The idea is that people have failed to detect the massive changes which have happened in the ocean because they have been looking back only a relatively short time into the past. That matters because theory suggests that the maximum sustainable yield （产量）that can be cropped from a fishery comes when the biomass of a target species is about 50% of its original levels。. Most fisheries are well below that, which is a bad way to do business.
1.The extinction of large prehistoric animals is noted to suggest that____.
A.large animals were easily hurt in the changing environment
B.small species survived as large animals disappeared
C.large sea animals may face the same threat today
D.slow-growing fish outlive fast-growing ones
2.By saying these figures are conservative , Dr. Worm means that____ .
A.fishing technology has improved rapidly
B.the catch-sizes are actually smaller than recorded
C.the marine biomass has suffered a greater loss
D.the data collected so far are out of date
3.Dr. Myers and other researchers hold that____ .
A.people should look for a baseline that can't work for a longer time
B.fisheries should keep the yield below 50% of the biomass
C.the ocean biomass should restore its original level
D.people should adjust the fishing baseline to changing situation
4.The writer seems to be mainly concerned with most fisheries’____ .
A.biomass level B.management efficiency
C.catch-size limits D.technological application
History Fair Competition
Understanding history is vital to understanding ourselves as a people and as a nation. History is much more than the study of dusty old objects and events long past. Thornton Middle School History Fair Competition makes understanding history exciting, engaging, and fun!
This Year’s Theme
All participants must address how communication or transportation technology has promoted the quality of life for Americans throughout history. To many people, technology means computers, hand-held devices, or vehicles that travel to distant planets. However, technology is also the application of scientific knowledge to solve a problem, touching lives in countless ways.
Individuals or groups may enter one of the follow ing categories:
• Performance
• Documentary (纪实作品)
• Essay Writing
Category Requirements
Performance: A dramatic presentation of the topic no more than 10 minutes long. If special clothes are used, they should truly represent a given period.
Doc umentary: A visual presentation (such as a video, slide show, or computer project) no more than 10 minutes long. A desktop computer, screen, projector, and loudspeakers will be available. Students must provide their presentations on CDs before Friday, March 23.
Essay Writing : An academic paper of 2,000 to 2,500 w ords. No illustrations ( 图解)are allowed. Please do not include covers. A list of references must be included.
Important Dates
February 5 Submit a first draft of your essay, performance script ( 剧本), or documentary highlights.
February 19 A committee of teachers will evaluate materials and give opinions. Students then have an opportunity to improve their products.
March 9 Submit a final draft of your essay.
March 15 Performance and documentary committee preview
March 24 Thornton Middle School History Fair Competition
7:00 A.M. — 9:00 A.M. Participants signing in at the gym
10:00 A.M. — 6:00 P.M. Competition and judges’ review
7:00 P.M. Awards ceremony and picnic
1.What is the theme of this year ’s competition?
A.Technology advances science.
B.Science interacts w ith technology.
C.Science has made the study of history easy.
D.Technology has improved the life of Americans.
2.What w ould a participant have to do with an essay of 1,500 words to meet the category requirement?
A.Include more information in the essay. B.Remove the references.
C.Provide a cover for the essay. D.Explain the details w ith illustrations.
3.What will the committee of teachers do on February 19?
A.Preview performances and documentaries.
B.Make comments on the materials.
C.Improve the participant’s first draft.
D.Collect a second proposal from the participant.
“You can use me as a last resort(选择), and if nobody else volunteers, then I will do it.” This was an actual reply from a parent after I put out a request for volunteers for my kids’ lacrosse(长曲棍球) club.
I guess that there’s probably some demanding work schedule, or social anxiety around stepping up to help for an unknown sport. She may just need a little persuading. So I try again and tug at the heartstrings. I mention the single parent with four kids running the show and I talk about the dad coaching a team that his kids aren’t even on … At this point the unwilling parent speaks up, “Alright. Yes, I’ll do it.”
I’m secretly relieved because I know there’s real power in sharing volunteer responsibilities among many. The unwilling parent organizes the meal schedule, sends out emails, and collects money for end-of-season gifts. Somewhere along the way, the same parent ends up becoming an invaluable member of the team. The coach is able to focus on the kids while the other parents are relieved to be off the hook for another season. Handing out sliced oranges to bloodthirsty kids can be as exciting as watching your own kid score a goal.
Still, most of us volunteers breathe a sigh of relief when the season comes to a close. That relief is coupled with a deep understanding of why the same people keep coming back for more: Connecting to the community(社区) as you freely give your time, money, skills, or services provides a real joy. Volunteering just feels so good.
In that sense, I’m pretty sure volunteering is more of a selfish act than I’d freely like to admit. However, if others benefit in the process, and I get some reward too, does it really matter where my motivation lies?
1.What can we infer about the parent from her reply in paragraph l？
A.She knows little about the club.
B.She isn’t good at sports.
C.She just doesn’t want to volunteer.
D.She’s unable to meet her schedule.
2.What does the underlined phrase “tug at the heartstrings” in paragraph 2 mean?
A.Encourage teamwork.
B.Appeal to feelings.
C.Promote good deeds.
D.Provide advice.
3.What can we learn about the parent from paragraph 3?
A.She gets interested in lacrosse.
B.She is proud of her kids.
C.She’ll work for another season.
D.She becomes a good helper.
4.Why does the author like doing volunteer work?
A.It gives her a sense of duty.
B.It makes her very happy.
C.It enables her to work hard.
D.It brings her material rewards.
The expression, "everybody's doing it," is very much at the center of the concept of peer pressure. It is a social influence applied on an individual in order to get that person to act or believe in a(n) ___ way as a larger group. This influence can be negative or positive, and can exist in both large and small groups.
People are social creatures by nature, and so it is hardly ___that some part of their self-respect comes from the approval of others. This instinct explains why the approval of peers, and the fear of ____, is such a powerful force in many people's lives. This instinct
drives people to dress one way at home and another way at work, or to answer a simple “fine" when a stranger asks "how are you?" even if it is not necessarily true. There is a(n) _____aspect to this: it helps society to function efficiently, and encourages a general level of self-discipline that ___day-to-day interaction between people.
For certain individuals, seeking social acceptance is so important that it becomes a(n) ___: in order to satisfy the desire, they may go so far as to ___their sense of right and wrong. Teens and young adults may feel forced to use drugs, or join gangs that ____criminal behavior. Mature adults may sometimes feel ___ to cover up illegal activity at the company where they work, or end up in debt because they are unable to hold back the desire to buy a house or car that they can't afford in an effort to ___ the peers.
However, peer pressure is not always negative. A student whose friends are good at ___may be urged to work harder and get good grades. Players on a sports team may feel driven to play harder in order to help the team win. This type of ___can also get a friend off drugs, or to help an adult take up a good habit or drop a bad one.
Although peer pressure is sometimes quite obvious, it can also be so ___that a person may not even notice that it is affecting his or her behavior. For this reason, when making important decisions, simply going with a(n) ___is risky. Instead, people should seriously consider why they feel drawn to taking a particular action, and whether the real ____ is simply that everyone else is doing the same thing.
1.A.traditional B.similar C.peculiar D.opposite
2.A.understandable B.believable C.acceptable D.surprising
3.A.disapproval B.failure C.absence D.independence
4.A.uncertain B.practical C.impossible D.vague
5.A.promotes B.prevents C.simplifies D.increases
6.A.challenge B.inspiration C.promise D.addiction
7.A.recognize B.abandon C.decrease D.define
8.A.avoid B.encourage C.decline D.punish
9.A.pressured B.respected C.delighted D.regretted
10.A.catch sight of B.stay away from C.make fun of D.keep up with
11.A.competitions B.interaction C.academics D.adaptation
12.A.knowledge B.interest C.assistance D.influence
13.A.abstract B.ridiculous C.subtle D.reasonable
14.A.consciousness B.motivation C.instinct D.encouragement
15.A.motivation B.danger C.support D.achievement
