Make a difference
I love to make a difference to others.1.Do you want to contribute to other people's lives, helping them in small and big ways? If the answer is yes, but you are frustrated not being able to follow through, keep reading.
2.It includes service, time, ideas and methods, leaving your mark on people so that if they were interviewed, they would say, yes, that person made a positive difference in my life!
3.In fact, other than the challenge of finding the time to do this, I can't think of a single disadvantage to this inspiration.
Being inspired to make a difference really increases your energy. It will help you attract more efforts and enthusiasm into your life, but that's not the point! The problem is that we often don't think we have enough time or resources to make a difference—we're too busy living our lives or earning a living.4.
This is truly one of my favorite tools to attract more enthusiasm in an easy way into my life. More importantly, I love making a difference in other people's lives. That's why I do it. Attracting enthusiasm is just the “side” benefit.
We have all learned from Law of Attraction teachers that we will receive more of what we are “broadcasting” to the Universe.5.
A.It is one of my top values.
B.Actually we can afford to spend time on it.
C.Making a difference will help you attract more attention.
D.So get inspired to make a difference and your life will improve.
E.To make a difference, you can contribute something you have to others.
F.If you want to make a difference, your energy will change when you focus there.
G.There is nothing but positive consequences when you focus on making a difference.
For parents with grown children, sometimes the pain of an empty nest can be better than the pain of a full basement. It turns out birds face a similar but slightly more deadly dilemma. When young birds leave the nest early, they help their future generations survive better but they themselves are more likely to die, according to a new study.
Young birds can have a tough life—as can their parents. A noisy nest attracts predators that can wipe out the entire year's reproductive efforts at one stroke. Thus, bird parents push their young to leave the nest early—even when they are not quite ready—to increase the chances that at least one will survive, making sure all their "eggs" are not in one basket. But these early birds suffer as a result. Their death rate can be as high as 70%, compared with just 12% for species that are late bloomers.
Suspecting survival rates had something to do with how ready the birds were to take wing. An ecologist, Thomas Martin, tested fledgling(雏鸟) flying ability at different ages in about a dozen species and recorded the results with high-speed video.
As expected, younger birds had poorly developed wings and flew badly. Moreover, when researchers forced a gray sparrow called a junco(which has some of the lowest fledgling survival rates among the species studied) to stay in the nest for 13 days instead of 10, more lived to adulthood. Just 10% died within 7 days, compared with 30% for the early birds.
But it turns out that some bird moms are willing to keep their kids in the nest a bit longer. Birds such as the white-breasted nuthatch(五子雀), which nests in well-protected tree holes, let the young hang about longer at home, Martin's team discovered. In contrast, birds that nest on the ground or in the open pushed for early departures. That's because they suffer comparatively high losses of chicks in the nest.
Are there any lessons for human parents? “Some parallels exist,” Martin says, “but with people, there's so much more culture that comes into it.”
1.What does the new study find?
A.Young Birds' early leaving from the nest benefits bird parents themselves.
B.Parents with grown children suffer the pain of an empty nest.
C.There is a strong bond between empty-nest parents and young birds.
D.The wrong time of young birds' leaving may bring the whole family a disaster.
2.Which does the underlined word “predators” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A.The birds' parents. B.The birds' natural enemies.
C.The younger competitors. D.The future generations.
3.What did the case of the gray sparrow show?
A.More birds have poorly developed wings than ever.
B.More gray sparrows live to adulthood than ever.
C.The longer the young stayed in the nests, the higher their survival rates were.
D.The earlier the young left the nests, the higher their survival rates were.
4.What may decide young birds' leaving time from home according to the research?
A.The bird moms. B.The bird species.
C.The wings' shape. D.The location of their nests.
Have you ever pressed the pedestrian button at a crosswalk and wondered if it really worked? Or strike the “close door” button in an elevator, while suspecting that it may, in fact, have no effect at all? They're called “placebo(安慰剂) buttons”—buttons that mechanically sound and can be pushed, but provide no functionality.
In New York City, only about 100 of the 1, 000 crosswalk buttons actually function. Crosswalk signals were generally installed before traffic jam had reached today's levels, and, over time, they started to influence the complex harmony of traffic lights.
But while their function was taken over by more advanced systems—such as automated lights or traffic sensors—the physical buttons were often kept, rather than being replaced at further expense. Other cities, such as Boston, Dallas and Seattle, have gone through a similar process, leaving them with their own placebo pedestrian buttons. In London, which has 6,000traffic signals, pressing the pedestrian button results in a reliable “Wait” light. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the “green man”—or “pedestrian stage” in traffic signal design profession—will appear any sooner.
“We do have some crossings where the green light comes on automatically, but we still ask people to press the button because that enables accessible features,” said Glynn Barton, director of network management at Transport for London.
These features, such as blind tracks and hearable traffic signals, help people with visual disorder cross the road and only function when the button is pressed. As for the lights, a growing number of them are now combined and become a part of an electronic system that detects traffic and adjusts time frequency accordingly(giving priority to buses if they're running late, for example), which means that pressing the button has no effect.
According to Langer, a Harvard psychologist, placebo buttons give us the illusion of control—and something to do in situations where the alternative would be doing nothing. In the case of pedestrian crossings, they may even make us safer by forcing us to pay attention to our surroundings. “They serve a psychological purpose at the very least,” she added.
1.What is a placebo button?
A.A button that flashes at a crosswalk.
B.A button that warns the pedestrians.
C.A button that nearly has no practical effect now.
D.A button that is not common before the electronic system.
2.Why are the placebo buttons in Boston kept?
A.They cost more to be replaced than to be kept.
B.They are unique attractions on the street.
C.They function well and are environmentally friendly.
D.They respond more slowly than the advanced systems.
3.What does the psychologist Langer think of the buttons at a crosswalk?
A.They're harmful to mental health.
B.They have no use for pedestrians.
C.Pressing them makes people feel foolish.
D.People may have a sense of safety when pressing them.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.How do placebo buttons affect mental health?
B.How do the buttons at a crosswalk operate?
C.When should a pedestrian wait at a crosswalk?
D.Why are the big cities full of buttons that don't work?
Wanting his audience to feel a roller coaster of emotions, Neil Simon used his own personal experiences of family pain and sorrow to make light of the banalities（陈词滥调）of human existence.
It was this fine ability to dig his audiences' consciousness that brought him big success. With crowds turning up in groups, in 1966, Simon had four plays running on Broadway at the same time. By 1983, he was named the most notable comedy writer in the English language.
He grew up in a household filled with conflict, often caused by his quarrelsome parents' on-off relationship. When he was seven, Simon began writing comedy as a way of blocking out the “really ugly painful things in my childhood" and through the medium of laughter he escaped the heavy atmosphere at home. Often visiting the cinema, Simon was amused and then inspired by watching Charlie Chaplin and Ernst Lubitsch movies, and with his elder brother Danny created comedy sketches.
Receiving a positive reception, he would go to the local library to read books on famous comedians to help him learn the tricks of the trade. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx and studied at New York University, before starting as a clerk at Warner Brothers.
Meanwhile, Simon continued to work on his own plays, developing Come Blow Your Horn which was a fictionalized version of his upbringing. It opened on Broadway in 1961 and enjoyed relative success.
His next play, Bare foot In The Park, was a comedic account of his marriage to Joan Baim. Convinced it would be a failure before it had even begun, Simon begged the producer to pull the play. However, to his disbelief, Barefoot In The Park proved to be a runaway success, became one of Broadway's longest-running plays and pushed him to Hollywood fame when it was made into a movie starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford.
He received an incredible 16 Tony nominations（提名）and won the best play three times. He also earned four Oscar nominations, a Pulitzer Prize, the Mark Twain Prize and countless other honours.
1.What may Simon's audience be impressed by in his works?
A.The confusing plot and painful ending.
B.The ups and downs in mood.
C.The knowledgeable and experienced characters.
D.The fine ability to recognize valuable information.
2.What can we learn about Simon from paragraph 3?
A.He was born in a large family.
B.He had a very happy childhood.
C.He worked in a cinema with his elder brother.
D.His parents couldn't offer him a harmonious family atmosphere.
3.Why did Simon go to the local library?
A.To improve himself in creating comedies.
B.To learn how to run a company successfully.
C.To make friends with some famous comedians.
D.To find out more information about New York University.
4.What was Bare foot In The Park based on?
A.Simon's marriage to Joan Baim.
B.Simon's previous failure in a play.
C.A beggar's story in Broadway.
D.A movie starring Jane and Robert.
The following are the events with the most reviews this week.
Free Comedy Show
Phone number: （646）410-0503
From: Friday, Sep 7, 7:30pm
To: Friday, Oct 5, 9:00pm
Comedy Evening is a completely free comedy show every Friday at 7: 30 pm in the heart of the West Village featuring comedians who have appeared on TruTv, Comedy Central and more!
The show takes place in the downstair basement of the venue. Please note that you must be over 21 years old to attend as the venue is a bar. While there is no cover or item minimum for the show, it is recommended that you get a drink（soda, beer, wine, etc.）or food item to support the bar and help keep the show free.
Chile Pepper Festival 2018
Phone number: （718）307-7133
From: Sep 26, Sep 29,12:00 am
To: 6:00pm
Enjoy six world-class musical acts, including the Grammy-winning Lost Bayou Ramblers and global talents Coreyah, Doctor Nativo, Dahka Band, Nation Beat and more.
Yelp's Tour Of Jersey City
Phone number: (201)216-2677
From: Thursday, Oct 4, 10:00 am
To: Sunday, Oct 7, 7:00 pm
Yelp's mission is to connect people with great local businesses. As a part of the Jersey City Art &. Studio tour, Yelp can take you on a photo tour of Jersey City. We've made a gallery of some of the most awe-inspiring photos that were uploaded to Yelp by users and business owners. Help us celebrate Jersey City and the local businesses that make our five-star city shine. Don't forget to support local and share your adventures with us on Yelp!
EgyptWoodbury, NY11797
Phone number: (516)367-4584
From: Friday, Sep 21, 6:00pm
To: Sunday, Sep 30, 6:00 pm
This cultural experience includes an exclusive tour through different Pharaonic Kingdoms. Have fun in the Egyptian theme photo booths followed by tasting delicious authentic homemade Egyptian dishes.
1.What are people advised to do when attending Comedy Evening?
A.Book tickets in advance.
B.Help perform on the show.
C.Bring their kids on Friday.
D.Consume some drinks or food.
2.Which number will music fans call for more information?
A.（646）410-0503. B.（718）307-7133.
C.（201）216一2677. D.（516）367-4584.
3.Which event will people choose to upload their photos?
A.Free Comedy Show.
B.Chile Pepper Festival 2018.
C.Yelp's Tour Of Jersey City.
D.EgyptWoodbury, NY 11797.
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
Surprises are beautiful because they come without waiting. It was not so true for Nancy though. She was sure her younger sister, Kate, was planning a surprise for her birthday. Opening the curtains of her bedroom window, she hungrily drank in the fresh morning air. Nancy was turning 30 today. “Keep calm. It’s only your 30th birthday.” she thought to herself, quickly glancing at the mirror and looking away. She never liked looking at the mirror. It always reminded her of what she had suffered. She didn’t want to think of the past and all that it had done to her.
Over these years she had worked at different factories and cleaned the floors at big hotels where perfumed men and women floated easily. Ever since their parents died, her only goal was to educate Kate. Nancy didn’t go to her dreamy university. Her emotions came running back to the present. Quickly, she wiped her tears and rushed to the door.
“A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.” Kate was her dream, her hope, her happiness and her precious possession. She meant everything to her. Kate was so outstanding that she was admitted to Harvard University. And today, Nancy was sure Kate would surprise her with a gift like she did every year. Nancy imagined the freshly baked chocolate cake that would welcome her. Her tongue was eager to lick up the soft, brown cream and her teeth were ready to bite it. She heard the sound of Kate’s footsteps coming towards her. She waited smiling.
It seemed like an endless wait. Finally, she heard her younger sister approaching her room. Her eyes lit up, steps turned into a spring and her heart was pounding. She sniffed the air to catch a breath of the chocolate cake but she couldn’t. “Maybe it is not chocolate flavor this time.” she imagined with pride. Her sister was a grown-up now. She could surprise her with something else.
注意:
1、所续写短文的词数应为 150 左右；
2、至少使用 5 个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3、续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4、续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
Kate walked into her room empty-handed.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Kate handed her a brown envelope.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
