Sir Emest Shackleton was not only a great explorer, but also he was an intelligent man. He once found himself and two of his men at the top of an icy mountain ridge (山脊. They had no way to get down to its side. Their destination had been the tiny Whaling Station of strummers, near the South Pole. Shackleton knew if they didn't get down from the ridge, no one would ever hear from them again.
Shackleton knew there was only one thing to do. He explained that they would all have to slide (滑) down. He instructed the two men to wind(绕) their ropes into a coil(卷) .Then each of the men sat down on a coiled and slid down the icy slope into the darkness. When they found themselves at the bottom, unhurt, Shackleton said, "You know, we shouldn't do that kind of thing too often." The laughter broke the tension all the men were feeling. They arrived later than expected, but safely at the Whaling Station.
Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into action. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it's not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register(收款机) with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash(现金), had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.
I couldn't help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn't allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.
Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. "Charge it to me," was all he said.
What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.
—The new (版本)of a novel.
A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a hole. When all the other two frogs saw how1 the hole was, they told the two frogs that they would die soon.
At first, both of the two frogs didn't 2 their words and tried their best to jump out of the hole. The other frogs3 telling them to stop, because they thought there was no 4 to jump out of such a deep hole. Finally, one of the frogs believed these words and 5. He fell down and died.
The other frog 6to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs shouted at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally 7. When he got out, the other frogs said, “Don't you hear us?” To their great 8, the frog turned out to be 9. He thought they were 10 him all the time, not stopping him.
One day when I was five years old, my mother took me to a swimming pool. She wanted to teach me how to swim. (sad), I was almost drowned. I was rescued by a man, my mother was so (frighten) that she decided never to let me get close to a swimming pool again. , I thought quite differently. Instead of letting that horrible incident create more fear around water for me, I decided to become a good (swim). After I told my mother about that, she thought I was right and (agree). So I started to learn how to swim again. My mother became more careful and I was not in danger again. Later I became interested in swimming that I decided to compete in swimming events. After years of efforts, my dream came true. I was the first African American (win) an Olympic Gold Medal in swimming. I did so at both 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Now I spend much of my time (help) children learn how to swim. Hundreds of children each year drown in the United States.(learn) how to swim can prevent 80% of these tragedies.
The Uniqueness of Finger-prints (指纹的唯一性)
Every human being has a unique arrangement of the skin on his fingers and this arrangement is unchangeable. Scientists and experts have proved the uniqueness of finger-prints and discovered that no exactly similar pattern is passed on from parents to children, though nobody knows why this is the case.
The ridge structure on a person's fingers does not change with growth and is not affected by surface injuries. Burns, cuts and other damage to the outer part of the skin will be replaced in time by new one, which bears a reproduction of the original pattern. It is only when the inner skin is injured that the arrangement will be destroyed. Some criminals make use of this fact to remove their own finger-prints but this is a dangerous and rare step to take.
Finger-prints can be made very easily with printer's ink. They can by recorded easily. With special methods, identification can be achieved successfully within a short time. Because of the simplicity and economy of this system, finger-prints have often been used as a method of solving criminal case. A suspected man may deny a charge but this may be in vain. His finger-prints can prove who he is even if his appearance has been changed by age or accident.
When a suspect leaves finger-prints behind at the scene of a crime, they are difficult to detect with the naked eye. Special techniques are used to “develop” them. Some of the marks found are incomplete but identification is possible if a print of a quarter of an inch square can be obtained.
Choose the best answers according to the above:
One rainy day while I was walking home with one of my friend, a truck came to a stop besides us. The driver put the window down and offered us a umbrella because he found we were wet through. I stood there and couldn't believe in that a complete stranger is so thoughtful. The man insisted, so I grateful accepted the offer, thanked him and watched the truck disappear down the road. This man might need the umbrella himself, and he preferred to give it to everyone else. It was a lesson to us that it is possible give without expect anything in return.
What's top of your list of new year resolutions for 2016？Do more exercise? Eat better? Spend more time with your children? Find a fulfilling career? How about ticking all your boxes and simply be happy?
Happiness is often an indirect consequence of our actions and the way we think. However, the good news is that making even the smallest adjustments can help us attain that kind of state we all want to achieve. Rachel Kelly, author of Walking on Sunshine, offers some simple changes we can all make to our lives to improve our state of mind.
Be mindful
It can be any routine activity you perform during the rush of the day, like hand washing. Slow down and give the task your full attention. You'll soon start appreciating these small moments of stillness.
Follow the 60% rule
Perfectionism is an illusion, but the pursuit of it is real and can have damaging consequences. If a friendship, relationship, work project is 60%right, then you're doing well.
Breathe
When things get too much, try the onefingeronthenose breathing trick. Then just breathe through the other nostril. By having the rate at which you breathe, you lower your blood pressure and trigger(引发)the body's relaxation response.
Exercise
Breaking a sweat, ideally the first thing in the morning, releases a chemical in the brain to reduce pain, and which in large amounts can make you feel relaxed and energetic and sets you up for the day.
A．So readjust your thinking.
B．So, if you can, start your day right.
C．Build a "mindful" activity into your day.
D．Sadly, you can't simply “become” happy.
E．Press a finger against one side of your nose.
F．With so many external pressures can any of us be truly happy?
G．It's all about creating the right conditions for your body to feel relaxed.
He than disobey his principles.
Just now, I entered the website "Topic for Today". I feel (interest) in the report on middle school students' using cellphones on campus. In fact, more students now come to school cellphones. My schoolmates have different opinions. Some think is convenient to get in touch with others with the cellphone, also makes them feel safe especially in time of trouble. Besides, it is nice to enjoy (variety) functions of different cellphones.
Others think differently. First, the cellphone is not must in school, as there are some IC phones there, (make) it easy to call others. Second, many students often play egames and send (message) with their cellphones, even in class, which will surely have bad effects on their study. What's more, a large amount of time and money will (waste). In my opinion, the cellphone is a useful tool in our daily life. But it doesn't mean we can use it (free) in school.
As the world's largest terrestrial carnivore(陆地肉食动物), the polar bear is the king of the great white north. Adult males can measure more than 9 feet in length and weigh between 770 and 1430 pounds. The polar bear has a strong body while their heads are narrow with small, rounded ears.
Polar bears can be found in northern Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia, and there have been reports that polar bear tracks have been found as far north as the North Pole. The 5, 000, 000-square-mile range of the polar bear circles the Arctic and contains pieces of open water where seals are easily caught.
Polar bears live on the annual Arctic sea ice that provides a platform from which they can hunt. They hunt seals on the sea ice by breaking into seal dens in the sea ice. The dens aren't visible from above, but seeing is less important than smelling to a polar bear—with their sharp sense of smell, polar bears can sense the breathing holes of seals in their dens beneath the snow and ice. As the southern edge of the Arctic ice cap melts in summer, polar bears are forced to stay on land and spend their summers fasting(禁食), living off body fat stored from hunting in spring and winter.
With about 22, 000 polar bears living in the wild, the species is not endangered at the moment, but its future is far from certain. Climate change is causing the disappearance of sea ice from which polar bears hunt seals. Sea ice in the Arctic is melting earlier and forming later each year. People have reached an agreement that controls the hunting of polar bears and directs each nation to protect their habitats, but it does not protect the bears against the biggest man-made threat to their survival: global warming. If current warming trends continue, scientists believe that polar bears may disappear within 100 years.
When my father was young, he was interested in something about slavery . Later he went to work in the oilfield at the frontier , where he found many workers working like slaves. They had to work for more than 14 hours a day and consumed little. Later they went on a strike and the boss wanted to solve the problem in peace . My father was appointed as the representative to have a talk with the boss. As a result, their working conditions were improved.
60％的同学认为：
1）不应该收门票；
2）公园是公众休闲的地方；
3）如收门票，需建大门、围墙，会影响城市形象。
40％的同学认为：
1）应收门票，但票价不要太高；
2）支付园林工人工资；
3）购新花木。
注意：1）信的开头已为你写好。
2）词数：100左右。
3）参考词汇：门票—entrance fee
Dear Editor,
I'm writing to tell you about the discussion we havehad about whether an entrance fee should be charged for parks.
—(总的来说),it is a great success.
