Sometimes we may find that every week there are a lot of new stories about how climate change is affecting the planet, or new plans to battle its effects. But the concept itself isn’t new at all — in fact, scientists have been exploring questions about climate change for almost 200 years.
The idea of “greenhouse gases” goes back to 1824, when Joseph Fourier wondered what was regulating the earth’s temperature. Fourier concluded that the atmosphere must be responsible for containing the heat absorbed from the sun and described it as a box with a glass lid: As light shines through the glass, the inside gets warmer as the lid traps the heat. As Fourier’s ideas spread, it came to be called “the greenhouse effect”.
Scientists continued to study the greenhouse effect. Not until a Swedish chemist named Svante Arrhenius came along, did scientists understand how global warming actually works. After years of work, Arrhenius determined that the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere did in fact have a direct effect on global temperatures.
Arrhenius found that CO2, and other gases trap radiation, which warms the atmosphere. Arrhenius was the first to suspect that burning coal could contribute to the greenhouse effect. But Arrhenius welcomed the warming effect on the planet. At a lecture later that year, Arrhenius noted that creatures of a warmer earth “might live under a milder sky and in less barren surroundings”.
While Arrhenius’ findings won him the 1903 Nobel Prize in chemistry, scientists kept debating whether the greenhouse effect was increasing until 1950, when researchers finally began to find strong data supporting it. By the end of the 1950s, American scientists had been sounding the alarm on the long-term consequences of climate change. Climate change research has come a long way since
Fourier first described the greenhouse effect - still, maybe Arrhenius should have been more careful of what he wished for.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．The climate change. | B．The greenhouse effect. |
| C．The atmosphere. | D．The heat from the sun. |
| A．It was beneficial for creatures on the earth. |
| B．It had both advantages and disadvantages. |
| C．It did more harm than good to human beings. |
| D．It was a punishment for human harmful activities. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Negative. |
| C．Neutral. | D．Ambiguous. |
| A．Causes of climate change. | B．Effects of greenhouse gases. |
| C．Findings about global warming. | D．Explorations on climate change. |
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【推荐1】The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported recently that diseases from mosquito, flea and tick bites tripled in the US between 2004 and 2016, with more than 640,000 cases seen during that period of time. Maine alone saw a 20-fold increase in cases of the tick-borne (蜱传播的) illness Lyme disease. The danger showed no sign of abating this year, with ticks crawling into Mainers’ lives as early as May.
Their early arrival was largely a product of warmer temperatures in the region. It is perhaps for this reason that Lyme disease-once a regional problem largely confined to New England-has now been discovered in all 50 states. Warm weather-loving ticks and Lyme disease are just the examples of how our rapidly-heating planet is destroying our health.
Climate change’s most visible symptoms are the natural disasters we’ve seen so often in recent years. When a disaster strikes, the most immediate threat to health is, of course, the danger posed by the event itself. During the 2017 wildfires in California and Oregon, for example, many living near the smoke reported respiratory distress (呼吸窘迫) and other problems because of breathing in the dangerous smoke. But this initial damage is often just a prologue (序幕) to the damage these disasters can have on our health-damage that unfolds over the course of weeks, months or even years.
Take standing flood water for example. It’s a ripe breeding ground for mosquitoes and bacteria and can pose a serious threat in the period following a major storm. Climate change’s impact is combined with the destruction of the basic construction-like power grids and drinking water delivery systems-and the loss of core services-like health care and waste disposal. It can both create new health challenges and complicate the treatment of existing ones.
Climate change can lead to storms and fires, fever and smoke, and the mental and physical health challenges that characterize the long aftermath of disasters. It is through these damages that climate change has gotten under our skin, into our lungs and weighed on our minds to the hurt of our well-being.
1. What does the underlined word “abating” in the first paragraph mean?| A．Decreasing. | B．Distinguishing. | C．Disobeying. | D．Developing. |
| A．Because of the movement of population. |
| B．Because of the wide spread of mosquitoes. |
| C．Because of more natural disasters in the country. |
| D．Because of warmer temperatures all over the country. |
| A．Natural disasters are becoming more common. |
| B．We should take measures to prevent climate change. |
| C．Climate change is becoming more and more noticeable. |
| D．Climate change increases the chance of people getting sick. |
| A．following time order | B．giving examples |
| C．making comparisons | D．presenting research findings |
【推荐2】The gradual heating of Earth's surface, oceans and atmosphere is primarily caused by human activity. We burn fossil fuels, and pump carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases act like a greenhouse.
Already, the consequences of global warming are measurable and visible
One of the most immediate and obvious consequences of global warming is the increase in temperatures around the world. The average global temperature has increased by 0.8℃ over the past 100 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
| A．That will bring with it cold, Arctic air. |
| B．They trap in heat and cause global warming. |
| C．An immediate consequence is freezing weather. |
| D．Our Earth is heating up, and heating up quickly. |
| E．Ice is melting in both polar ice caps and mountain glaciers. |
| F．Since 1895, the hottest year on record worldwide was 2016. |
| G．As global average temperatures go up, weather patterns are changing. |
【推荐3】2019 was the second warmest year on record around the globe. making the last decide the warmest in recorded history, according to a new government report that look nearly a year to publish.
Experts from NASA found that the average global surface temperature has consistently increased since the 1880s, which their analysis found bas been driven by emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced by human activity such ns energy production and transportation.
“We crossed over into the situation of more than two degrees Fahernheit warming in 2015 and we are unlikely to go back. This shows that what's happening is persistent, not an unusual situation due to some weather phenomenon: we know that the long term trends are being driven by the increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
While the rise in temperature may seem small in terms of day-to-day weather, climate experts say even a small amount of warmer average temperatures can change weather patterns and lead to more serious consequences that it may not be possible to change as the trend continues.
The amount of heat in the ocean was also the highest ever recorded in 2019. The oceans absorb heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which not only raises the temperature but also makes the water more acidic, threatening sea life in many areas. Deke Arndt t chief of the global monitoring branch of NOAA s National Centres for Environmental Information, said ocean temperature is an important measure of overall trends, because roughly 90% of warming from greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is transferred to the ocean. Melting sea ice continued last year, creating a major decline. Numbers in 2019 show the second smallest coverage recorded in history in both the Arctic and Antarctic oceans.
A separate analysis from the non-profit Berkeley Earth found that 2019 was the second warmest year on Earth since 1850. That report found the global long-term average temperature will increase by an average of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2035 at the current rate of warming. That report says, “The increasing abundance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to human activities is the direct cause of this recent global warming.”
1. According to this passage, which human activity releases greenhouse gases?| A．Traffic monitoring. | B．Energy production. |
| C．Management of the atmosphere. | D．Monitoring of temperature change, |
| A．Global average temperature continues to rise. |
| B．The increasing temperature is just temporary. |
| C．The rise in temperature is mainly due to weather phenomena. |
| D．Global average temperature has been consistently increasing for a short time. |
| A．The solutions to ocean heat absorption, | B．The role of the ocean in global warming. |
| C．The impact of global warming on the ocean. | D．The ways to protect the ocean and sea life. |
| A．It will not necessarily lead to rising ocean temperatures. |
| B．As the temperature rises slowly, its impact is not obvious. |
| C．The average global surface temperature rose by 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit in 2019. |
| D．People should slow down the trend by changing their activities. |
【推荐1】Psychologists tell us our self-image defines what we believe we can and cannot do. Each of us over the years has built up belief about ourselves. Unconsciously, our pictures of who we are have been formed by past experiences. Our successes and failures, what others have told us and what we think people believe about us all help form impressions of what we think we are. Because self-image is so important in our growth, it is important to examine our concepts of self in order to reach our full potential.
Changing our self-image is possible. Some psychologists suggest we begin to change our self-image by mentally picturing ourselves performing well at some task. Since we presently react to things based on our present images, it’s suggested that we replace those with better ones. In many experiments, people were asked to sit quietly for a few minutes each day and imagine themselves doing well. For instance, subjects would sit and imagine themselves throwing darts at a bull’s-eye on a target. Over a period of weeks, their dart game improved. This has been done with people who wanted to play chess better, throw a ball more accurately, increase their salesmanship or musical talents, and improve many other skills. In most cases, remarkable improvement is made.
The point of changing self-image is not to develop an image of ourselves that is not real. To try to become something we really aren’t is just as wrong as living the unrealistic, inferior image we may have. The aim is to find the real self, to bring our mental images of ourselves in line with our true potential. However, it is generally accepted among psychologists that most of us fail to do justice to ourselves. We’re usually better than we think we are.
Another important part of changing self-image is to not think about past mistakes. Don’t let failures do harm. Our errors or humiliation over mistakes are necessary steps in learning. It is all right to make mistakes. But when they have taught us what we did wrong, we should forget them and not dwell on them. Sometimes we keep remembering our failures or mistakes and feel guilty or embarrassed about them. We let them take over, and then we develop a fear.
It is important to have realistic expectations of ourselves. Some of our dissatisfaction might come from expecting too much of ourselves. If we demand constant perfection in everything we do, we can be disappointed and our poor self-image will continue. If our goal is to reach perfection, we are doomed from the start.
1. Which situation agrees with the idea of the passage?| A．To outshine his colleagues, Joe sets an idealistic goal. |
| B．To get along with her classmates, Doris always humbles herself. |
| C．To become a star player, Alex repeatedly plays back his faults in his mind. |
| D．To win a speech contest, Tina visualizes herself speaking more confidently. |
| A．They are part of our growth. |
| B．They are warnings for future. |
| C．They are tools for overcoming fear. |
| D．They are barriers to our development. |
| A．We Are What We Do |
| B．Be the Best We Can Be |
| C．We Are What We Think We Are |
| D．What We Are Decides What We Think |
【推荐2】It is not unusual to stare at a long restaurant menu and not be able to decide what one wants to eat. At other times it is difficult to pick an item of clothing in a shop with plenty of items from which to choose.
According to a new study published in Nature Human Behavior in October, this is the phenomenon of “choice overload (选择超荷)”. It’s the result of a struggle (挣扎) in our brain, Science Daily reported.
In the study, volunteers were given varying sets of six, 12, or 24 landscape pictures. They were asked to choose one to be printed on a coffee mug. While they chose, a machine recorded their brain activities.
According to the research, two parts of the brain – the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (前扣带皮层) and the striatum (纹状体) - were highly active in the process. The ACC is responsible for the potential costs of decisions while the striatum is to determine (决定) value, Neuroscience journal noted. The study suggests that our brain needs to weigh both reward and workload to make a proper decision.
After further study, the researchers reported that these two parts are likely to be more active for the 12-item set than the other two sets. That’s because 12 is a good number, not “too small” or “too large” in the choice pool.
“As the number of options increases, the potential reward increases, but then begins to level off due to increasing amount of workload,” Colin Camerer, a professor of California Institute of Technology, US, told Science Daily.
But that doesn’t mean 12 is the magic number for decision making. According to Neuroscience journal, the proper number of options for a person is probably “somewhere between 8 and 15”. Still, many people prefer to have a large number of options to choose from even if the experience can be distressing, researchers reported.
According to the UK journal Medical News Today, it’s partly because people tend to feel freer and more able to control their lives when there are more options.
“Essentially, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs,” Camerer told Sci-news. “When we think about how many choices we want, we may not be mentally representing the frustrations of making the decision.”
1. What did the study published in Nature Human Behavior aim to find?| A．How to make wise decisions quickly. |
| B．How people feel after making choices. |
| C．How the number of choices influences one’s decision. |
| D．How the brain makes choices. |
| A．It made their brains work in the most active way possible. |
| B．It took the least effort for the ACC and striatum. |
| C．It was a balance between effort and reward. |
| D．It included many options. |
| A．They feel like they have more freedom in life. |
| B．They feel they can have better control of other people’s lives. |
| C．They don’t feel tired after making a choice. |
| D．They don’t know what they really want. |
【推荐3】When you catch the flu and your body temperature rises to fight the virus, that's a form of acute inflammation. So is the redness and swelling that occur when you hurt your ankle. The process is a temporary, helpful response to an injury or illness. It provides the healing chemicals and nutrients your body needs to repair the damage. Once the danger goes away, so does the inflammation.
Chronic low-grade inflammation, on the other hand, is a slow, gradual condition sustained by a misfiring of the immune system that keeps your body in a constant, long-term state of alert, says Dr Robert H. Shmerling, teaching clinician in the department of rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, USA.
Over time, inflammation damages healthy cells. Here's why: When cells are in distress, they release chemicals that alert the immune system. White blood cells then flood the scene, where they work to eat up bacteria, viruses, damaged cells and pieces from an infection or injury. If the damage is too great, they call in backup cells known as neutrophils, which are the hand grenades of the immune system—they blow up everything in sight, healthy or not. Each neutrophil has a short life, but in chronic inflammation, they continue to be sent in long after the real threat is gone, causing damage to the healthy tissue that remains. The inflammation can start attacking the linings of your arteries or intestines, the cells in your liver and brain or the tissues of your muscles and joints.
This inflammation-caused cellular damage can trigger diseases like diabetes, cancer, dementia, heart disease, arthritis and depression. And because it's low grade, “it’s slow and secret nature makes it hard to diagnose in day-to-day life,” says Roma Pahwa, a researcher for the National Institutes of Health who specializes in the inflammatory response. “You have no idea it is even happening until those conditions show symptoms.”
1. Which can best describe acute inflammation as a response?| A．Lasting. | B．Beneficial. | C．Harmful. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．They function as backup cells. | B．They only damage something bad. |
| C．They will disappear with a real threat. | D．They should cause slight damage. |
| A．We can't be too careful about cellular damage. |
| B．Doctors can identify cellular damage with ease. |
| C．Cellular damage is fast and obvious in nature. |
| D．There exists no effective cure for cellular damage. |
| A．To introduce some ways to keep healthy. | B．To get inflammation known to people. |
| C．To warn people of dangers of cellular damage. | D．To recommend a cure for diabetes. |
【推荐1】A new study by the University of Liverpool provides the first evidence that wandering albatrosses (信天翁), one of the widest-ranging seabirds, may use infrasound (次声) to help them navigate long and featureless trips covering thousands of miles when they look for food.
Infrasound is a form of low-frequency sound that is inaudible to humans but is common in the marine environment. Microbaroms are a type of infrasound associated with colliding ocean waves. Such way areas are also associated with strong winds, which albatrosses depend on to help them fly efficiently.
The researchers from the University’s School of Environmental Sciences used GPS trackers to determine the flight paths of 89 wandering albatrosses breeding in the Crozet Islands, over the course of their foraging (搜寻食物) trips to sea, which can last up to a month. They then compared these flight paths to modeled acoustic maps that the team had developed to represent the distribution of microbarom infrasound.
This revealed that wandering albatrosses orientate toward areas of “loud” microbarom infrasound when departing on bout s of directed flight, suggesting that they may perceive and respond to microbarom infrasound propagated (传播) over long distances.
Dr. Natasha Gillies, a seabird ecologist with the University’s School of Environmental Sciences who jointly led the study said, “How animals navigate and search for resources over large spatial scales exceeding 100s—1,000s km is a fundamental question in ecology. For marine animals, such as seabirds, this question is especially intriguing (有趣的) due to the limited availability of visual information, meaning that other cues must be involved in movement.”
The study forms part of a Human Frontier Science Program grant, which brings together a team of international collaborators (Stellenbosch University, South Africa; University of Florida, U. S. A.; Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, the Netherlands).
Dr. Samantha Patrick, who led the grant, said, “It is only through interdisciplinary science like this, which brings together scientists across diverse fields, that we can achieve such new and exciting insights.”
1. What can be learned from Paragraph 2?| A．All animals can hear infrasound. | B．Infrasound helps albatrosses fly efficiently. |
| C．Microbaroms may be caused by strong winds. | D．Microbaroms are common in our surroundings. |
| A．The process of the study. | B．The purpose of the study. |
| C．The discovery of the study. | D．The tools used in the study. |
| A．Their flights often cover large spatial scales. | B．Some information of them is hard to obtain. |
| C．Their movements are unfamiliar to ecologists. | D．They have unique ways to search for resources. |
| A．Approving. | B．Unclear. | C．Dismissive. | D．Doubtful. |
【推荐2】“For people who are anxious about math, posture (姿势)makes giant difference,” said Professor of Health Education Erik Peper. “The slumped-over (下趴) position shuts them down and their brains do not work well. They cannot think clearly.” Before the study began, students filled out an anonymous questionnaire asking them to rate their anxiety levels while taking exams and performing math; they also described any physical symptoms of stress they experienced during test taking.
According to co-author Associate Professor of Health Education Richard Harvey, slumping over is a defensive posture that can cause old negative memories in the body and brain. While the students without math anxiety did not report as great a benefit from better posture, they did find that doing math while slumping over was somewhat more difficult. “You have a choice,” said Peper. “It’s about using an upright (垂直的)position to improve your focus.”
That upright position could be particularly helpful o students facing the challenge called “stereotype (陈规旧习的)threat,” said Lauren Mason, one of the paper’s authors and a recent SF State graduate. Mason said she has benefited personally from using a more upright posture before taking difficult tests, including math. She believes that adopting a more confident posture could help other first-generation students as well as women entering science and math, who often battle stereotype threat, too.
Mason said the study results prove a simple way to improve many aspects of life, especially when stress is involved, “The way we carry ourselves and interacting space influences not only how others think of us but also how we think of ourselves.”
Peper and Harvey say these findings about body position can help people prepare for many different types of performance under stress, not just math tests Athletes, musicians and public speakers can all benefit from better posture before and during their performance.
1. What can be learned from Paragraph 2?| A．Most students have math anxiety. |
| B．Slumping over worsens math anxiety. |
| C．Body position may leave others a certain impression. |
| D．Students are reported to have benefited greatly from better posture. |
| A．By using confident postures. |
| B．By focusing on difficulties. |
| C．By asking professionals for help. |
| D．By learning from science graduates. |
| A．We should face math problems bravely. |
| B．Leaving a good impression is important in our life. |
| C．We need to show a positive attitude to interactions. |
| D．Changing posture is an easy way to handle stress in life. |
| A．Practices of better body position can be widely applied. |
| B．Different types of posture are necessary to build confidence. |
| C．Full preparations for types of performance can reduce worries. |
| D．The upright position can arouse students’ interest in school courses. |
【推荐3】Places to avoid travelling to
India
The main gap in wealth and class may explain some of the risk of crimes in this country. But according to John Gobbels, vice president and chief operating officer for Medjet (an international emergency service), it is medical safety that actually makes India so dangerous. He explains that the U. S. State Department gives the country Level 2 travel advisory status. (Level 1 means you should exercise normal precautions; Level 4 is “do not go”.)
Hawaii
Considering this destination is a very hot spot for honeymooners, it might be surprising to see the Big Island of Hawaii as a dangerous place to visit. The eruption of a volcano has put Kilauea in a state of emergency, with poisonous gas, lava flows, and earthquakes all a risk. You’ll likely see special airline deals cancelled, so think twice before making this flight.
Acapulco
This beach resort town on Mexico’s Pacific coast isn’t exactly the white-sand party destination it once was. With a Level 4 travel advisory, Gobbels explains, it’s in the same category as places like Iran, Syria, and North Korea. It’s regarded as the murder capital of the country.
Cairo, Egypt
According to a recent report from the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Cairo is considered the most insecure city for women in the world. Even though the political tensions are easing in this area, according to Gobbels, sexual violence and cultural expectations make it extremely problematic, for both locals and visitors.
1. According to John Gobbels, what should visitors be cautious about in India?| A．Personal belongings. | B．Travel insurance. |
| C．Cultural differences. | D．Medical safety. |
| A．India. | B．Cairo. |
| C．Acapulco. | D．Hawaii. |
| A．Syria is a favorable travelling destination. |
| B．The flights to Hawaii are highly unreliable. |
| C．The political tensions in Cairo make it risky now. |
| D．A Level 4 travel advisory status will be given to Acapulco. |
【推荐1】Be black or white, the exact color of a person’s skin is determined by a combination of his parentage and random chance and it affects how every single person treats you. You can’t take your skin off, even if you’re terrified or ashamed to wear it, even if you’re sick and tired of wearing it.
Freddie Gray, who was arrested in 2016 for possessing a legal knife and died in police custody (拘留), was born Black. TamirRice, who barely lived more than one being Black, was shot at the age of 12 for playing with a toy gun in 2014. Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed in March when two plainclothes police officers entered her apartment unannounced, didn’t choose to be Black. But the police officers who shot her chose their careers. They chose to shoot her, too. Police across America also chose to shoot 336 other unarmed Black people from 2013-2019.
Each of these victims did not possess a weapon at the time of their murder, and in all but few of the cases they lost their lives because someone “thought” they were reaching for a gun that turned out to be a wallet, cell phone or nothing at all. This is absolutely unacceptable. We’re not saying they shouldn’t have been captured with all necessary force and imprisoned accordingly. A criminal is a criminal and should be handled as such. But even a criminal, as long as he lives in this great country, is an American worthy of justified handling and a fair trial.
Black people don’t get to sign up for lives of discrimination and terror. They often found themselves moving through wave upon wave of white faces that usually mirrored the same emotions—shock, disbelief and anger. It is the fear of black skin that plays a part in each of these murders. African Americans can no longer tolerate the unjustified killings of their loved ones. As a country, it’s time to start effective dialogues to end this pitiless trend. It has to be a long struggle and pain before Black people overcome prejudice to win the chance of being understood by white ones.
1. What is the author’s purpose of mentioning the murders in Paragraph 2?| A．To provide examples of unjustified killings of black people. |
| B．To give an explanation why police officers choose to shoot black people. |
| C．To offer a description of police officers’ hatred towards black people. |
| D．To make an analysis of how hard lives black people were living. |
| A．Forgiving. | B．Cautious. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．The process of overcoming prejudice towards the black is on its way. |
| B．Black people are ashamed to wear their skin color which leads to injustice. |
| C．Black people will turn to violence to stop the unjustified killings among them. |
| D．The police should have chosen a proper way to treat black “criminals”. |
| A．Sufferings of whites. |
| B．Blacks’ calling for justice. |
| C．Policemen’s fair trial. |
| D．Fight for mutual trust. |
【推荐2】The population of Thailand is 69 million with 5. 7 million farms with an average farm size of 3. 15 hectares （公顷）.Agriculture is of importance to Thailand’s income, and more than 60% of the total population is involved in agriculture.
Chemical fertilizers play an important role in raising agricultural productivity. But they also worsen soil quality. Gradually, the amount of farmland fit for agriculture is reduced. The use of chemical fertilizers in Thailand increased from 2. 3 million tons in 2000 to 5. 0 million tons in 2015, which cost about 1835 million US dollars. About 42% of the fertilizer was used for 10. 4 million hectares in the wet and dry season. Due to the oil shock in 2008, the price of fertilizers greatly increased. As a result, the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives issued a policy to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers.
The management of using fertilizers became very important, especially for economic reasons. The NPK fertilizer suggestions for most crops got from field experiments could not be used for crops in other locations where the climate, soil type, crop strain （品种）,and management were different.
To reduce production costs and increase crops yield （产量）in small farms, the country has spread the Site-specific Nutrient Management technology, which is known in Thailand as the Tailor-made Fertilizer Technology （TFT） and it is useful. Importantly, it’s not harmful to the farmland.
1. What can we learn about Thailand from paragraph 1?| A．It has about 30 million farmers. |
| B．40% of people in it are farmers. |
| C．Agriculture is important to its economy. |
| D．Its farms take up 60% of its land. |
| A．cut down on production costs |
| B．influence the quality of farmland |
| C．reduce the soil testing for farmers’ practices |
| D．increase the amount of farmland suitable for agriculture |
| A．Supporting. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Worried. |
| A．Chemical fertilizers do damage to farmland. |
| B．Farmers do not care about farmland protection. |
| C．Thailand spread TFT to manage the use of fertilizers. |
| D．TFT makes Thailand’s crop yields reduced. |
【推荐3】I will never forget the darkness, the pain and strong desire to die.
November arrived grey and busy, and going into an even more stressful. December, I was filled with anxious thoughts.
A visit to my father’s grave is often a good chance to cry and when I leave I feel a little more at peace. But this time was different. I drove home and every night for the rest of that week, I cried.
On Saturday, I watched a TV program teaching baking, and then I started to learn. By the end of the weekend, I had a dining room table covered with sweet treats. I packaged them up in tins, attached a label to each of them with “winter love” on it, and dropped them off on a few of my neighbors’ porches (门廊) before work. It shocked me how much it lightened my mood, seeing a small package lost on a porch.
The thanks I received later from the neighbors made me light up. It felt so good, and it distracted me from my dark thoughts.
By January I had developed a routine: on Sunday I’d bake cookies and package them up, and on Monday I'd deliver them. Every week I added a few different people to my delivery route, baked a few different kinds of cookies.
Somewhere along the way things started showing up on my doorstep a homemade cup, a pair of socks with tiny cookies and even a gift certificate from the local bookstore. Every single one melted my heart. But what I really appreciated was how people began to share their own stories of mental health with me. There is no greater honor than to be trusted with another’s life. I was overwhelmed by the love and care of my community. It humbled me that something so simple had created such incredible kindness. It reminded me that there was good in me, in my neighbors, in the world.
I was shifting into a new season of light, while letting go of a season of darkness. What had begun as an attempt to bring light into my own darkness had been transformed into a story more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed. It reminded me that there is beauty in being kind. That life is tough, but there is a quiet strength in knowing you are not alone.
1. After she started sharing cookies with neighbors, the author_________.| A．gained trust and care from them |
| B．added other things to her delivery list |
| C．felt her life was no longer busy or stressful |
| D．found some of them had more mental problems than her |
| A．Positive. | B．Cautious. | C．Doubtful. | D．Concerned. |
| A．To express gratitude to caring neighbors. |
| B．To speak of the benefits of baking cookies at home. |
| C．To share how being kind helped her regain hope. |
| D．To show the importance of a closely connected community. |
