Time is on your side
How frequently do you say “I don’t have time”? Quite often, I guess. Every time we say those words, they make us feel weak and out of control. You are in control of your hours and your life. 1.
I know it’s not as easy as simply turning off the TV. But here are two steps that will help you take back control and get time on your side.
★2.
Be honest: do you spend an hour or two visiting Weixin and QQ every day? Are you spending time with people that you don’t really like just to please them? Are there meetings you attend that you can politely refuse?
It’s time to get real about the hours that add up to a lot of dissatisfying nothing. Think how you can cancel daily activities that are not useful. 3.
★Change your language.
Words matter. They have power. Saying “I don’t have time” is an excuse for not wanting to do something. Here are some good, empowering alternatives (选择):
“I choose not to start that project until next year.”
“4.”
“I’d love to go out this weekend but have important work I need to do first.”
Get better at saying no. 5. Use little pockets of time (friend running late, car stuck in traffic, meeting ending 10 minutes early) to do some productive thinking. All these things can add up over time more than you believe!
A.Identify your blocks.
B.But you are likely wasting a lot of it!
C.I really don’t have enough time to do it.
D.Replace them with things that satisfy you.
E.Take no notice of all those unimportant messages on your phone.
F.I’d love to read that book — I’ll get to it after my homework is complete!
G.When you don’t have a plan for your life, someone else will plan it for you.
In the West, people are taught to wear masks only when they get sick. Masks are seen as a tool to protect sick people and prevent the disease from spreading, so healthy people don’t need to wear them. Therefore, during the novel coronavirus outbreak, overseas Chinese students said that they would be “stared at like a virus spreader” if they go out with a mask. According to a survey done by Global Times among some European and American people, wearing a mask in public can make them feel “worried”, “shy”, and “afraid of being looked at differently.”
But as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow around the world, many people in the West are changing their attitudes. In the US, for example, the need for masks is very high now. The US surgeon general (卫生局局长) has been asking people to avoid hoarding too many masks, as they are more needed in hospitals than by the general public.
However, in Asian countries like China and Japan, there has been a long tradition of mask-wearing. In China, for example, when doctor Wu Liande invented the modern medical mask during the pneumonic plague (肺鼠疫) in 1910, the mask became a symbol of China’s position as a modern, scientific nation, according to Scottish medical anthropologist (人类学家) Christos Lynteris. The 2003 SARS epidemic led to the wide use of masks as a form of anti-viral (抗病毒的) protection in China and elsewhere in East Asia.
In Japan, wearing masks has long been seen as a manner to reassure (使安心) others when one catches a cold or flu. Some Japanese also turn masks into fashion accessories (配饰), with different colors and patterns to match their clothes. Wearing masks is also a way to “hide” for young women when they don’t have their makeup (化妆) on.
In more collectivist (集体主义的) cultures in Asia, wearing masks might also be a symbol of solidarity (团结) during the outbreak, according to Lynteris. People wear masks “to show that they want to stick together” in the face of danger, Lynteris wrote.
1.Why don’t healthy people in the West wear masks?
A.They don’t think masks can prevent disease.
B.Only medical workers need to wear masks.
C.They think masks are for sick people to wear.
D.Wearing a mask looks funny.
2.What does the underlined word “hoarding” in paragraph 2 mean?
A.wearing B.making C.throwing D.keeping
3.Masks have been widely used in China since _____.
A.the outbreak of SARS in 2003
B.the pneumonic plague in 1910
C.Christos Lynteris wore one publicly
D.the invention of the modern medical mask
4.The main idea of the passage is_________.
A.proving the importance of wearing masks during an epidemic
B.showing opinions about masks between different countries
C.explaining why Westerners don’t wear masks
D.introducing the history of wearing masks
December 15, 2014
Dear Alfred，
I want to tell you how important your help is to my life.
Growing up, I had people telling me I was too slow, though, with an IQ of 150+ at 17, I’m anything but stupid. The fact was that I was found to have ADHD(注意力缺陷多动障碍). Anxious all the time, I was unable to keep focused for more than an hour at a time.
However, when something did interest me, I could become absorbed. In high school, I became curious about the computer, and built my first website. Moreover, I completed the senior course of Computer Basics, plus five relevant pre-college courses.
While I was exploring my curiosity, my disease got worse. I wanted to go to college after high school, but couldn’t . So, I was killing my time at home until June 2012 when I discovered the online computer courses of your training center.
Since then, I have taken courses like Data Science and Advanced Mathematics. Currently, I’m learning your Probability course. I have hundreds of printer paper, covered in self-written notes from your video. This has given me a purpose.
Last year, I spent all my time looking for a job where, without dealing with the public , I could work alone, but still have a team to talk to. Luckily, I discovered the job—Data Analyst—this month and have been going full steam ahead. I want to prove that I can teach myself a respectful profession, without going to college, and be just as good as, if not better than, my competitors.
Thank you. You’ve given me hope that I can follow my heart. For the first time, I feel good about myself because I’m doing something, not because someone told me I was doing good. I feel whole.
This is why you’re saving my life.
Yours,
Tanis
1.why did’t Tanis go to college after high school?
A.She had learned enough about computer science
B.She had more difficulty keeping focused
C.She preferred taking online courses
D.She was too slow to learn
2.As for the working environment, Tains prefers____.
A.working by herself
B.dealing with the public
C.competing against others
D.staying with ADHD students
3.Tanis wrote this letter in order to_____.
A.explain why she was interested in the computer
B.share the ideas she had for her profession
C.show how grateful she was to the center
D.describe the courses she had taken so far
Opera for Beginners
Many people think that opera is boring, difficult to understand and unpleasant to listen to. They only see strange people singing in a foreign language and wearing funny costumes. They're too quick to judge and a lot of people have believed stupid ideas about opera without ever actually seeing one. If one takes opera seriously, with an open heart, and goes to several good live performances, I don't see any reason why he or she would dislike or hate it. The following tips can help you learn to enjoy opera.
First of all, if you are new to opera, start with a short, well-known title, such as The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart. In the beginning, avoid difficult operas with complex storylines. If your first experience is not fun, then you will expect all operas to be boring. Moreover, before going to a performance, do a little bit of homework: learn the story of the opera. If you know about the main characters and the story before you start watching, it will be much easier to understand what is happening on the stage. Finally, the most important way to enjoy opera is to keep an open mind. If you believe that you will enjoy watching opera, then you will most likely enjoy it. Think of opera as a live TV show. Opera shows the same things—love and hate, good and evil and humans and nature—that are found in many of today's popular movies and best-selling novels. In fact, many of these movies and novels use stories copied from famous operas!
Opera is full of catchy, wonderful melodies （旋律）. It's full of drama and laughter. It's full of wonder and life. Opera can be fun to watch, and it allows the audience to experience different cultures. Many people have enjoyed it for hundreds of years, and by following the tips above, you can enjoy it, too. Indeed, opera will change the minds of the people who once hated it. And most importantly, as one of the most diverse art forms out there, opera helps you appreciate different performance styles from all over the world.
1.Many people think that opera is boring because ______.
A.it is like a TV show B.they know little about it
C.they dislike its storylines D.its music style is old-fashioned
2.Which is a good way for beginners to enjoy opera?
A.To start with a long opera. B.To learn to sing an opera.
C.To master a foreign language. D.To get familiar with an opera's story.
3.Many famous operas, popular movies, and best-selling novels ______.
A.have the same writer B.share a similar story
C.teach people about lifestyles D.help people keep an open mind
4.What does the underlined word “diverse” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A.Various. B.Humorous. C.Ancient. D.Exciting.
You can make our great places better. Become a VIP and volunteer with us today!
The National Park Service offers many volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups as part of the Volunteers-In-Parks program. We are aimed to promote all parks to be a better place for people of all ages and colors to live a nicer life. We would regularly organize activities like collecting litters, watering young plants or killing pests on trees and so on. Besides, posters and signs of bettering parks are also in our daily doings.
We provide a one-time service or a longer term position in many partner organizations. Opportunities are available for anyone who are willing to serve for the society. And the working specific places are various ,from your nearby parks in your community to all other places throughout the United States, including the territories(边境) in the Pacific and the Caribbean（加勒比海）. Some positions are specialized and need particular talents, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as a background check, such as writers or editors need to have good abilities of words. Other positions only require a willingness to volunteer. If you want to be a part of a shared future and do something for the world, please join us and your coming can make a big difference!
To learn more about us and details that guide our volunteer programs, click www.Volunteer.gov and then search for a volunteer event on the webpage, or contact us at 789-431-45
1.The National Park Service aims at helping ______.
A.better parks B.water young plants C.collect litters D.kill pests
2.What kind of service does this organization provide?
A.one-day tour in USA
B.weekend services for community
C.services in Canada
D.a one-time and long-term activity
3.The passage is probably taken from________?
A.a newspaper B.a magazine C.a text book D.a website
4.What is the purpose of this passage?
A.to call on people to attend the National Park Service
B.to introduce a volunteer group to readers
C.to show how to visit parks in the USA
D.to make people know the value and importance of protecting parks
某英文杂志正在以“Fancy yourself as an interviewer”为主题的征文活动，请你以“A Famous Chinese I Would Like to Interview”为题，写一篇英语短文。
内容包括：
1.采访的对象；
2.采访的原因；
3.想提的问题。
注意：
1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.短文中不能出现与本人相关的信息；
4.短文的标题已给出,不计人总词数。
A Famous Chinese I Would Like to Interview
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