As climate change affects the planet, the world is turning to seaweed (海草)as a possible settlement and play a huge role in fighting climate change. It is used to create natural fuel and renewable plastics. It helps improve oceanic ecosystems.
People think of forests as the best defense(防护)against climate change. But some researchers say seaweed is a better settlement. Unlike trees, seaweed doesn't need fertilizers or fresh water. It grows faster than trees do. And it doesn't require any land. Most importantly, it absorbs carbon from the environment.
Seaweed could also become a key global food source. Many worry about the environmental influence of eating meat. Could seaweed farms provide enough protein for the world? Carlos Duarte, a professor of oceanic ecology thinks so. When you look at how we are going to feed the world population by 2050, in a way that doesn't harm the environment, there is only one pathway," he says. "Seaweed fanning."
In the past decade or so, global seaweed production has doubled. In British Columbia, seaweed farming becoming popular. For thousands of years, First Nations people, the native people of Canada, have farmed on land and in the ocean. Seaweed farming helps them create economies of their own that agree with their traditions. Their role has always been to connect with the land and repair it.
Seaweed might fight climate change but it isn't without risks. If it isn't harvested, it can go bad and give off carbon back into the air or water. Growing too much of it could also affect the amount of light that reaches species living deeper in the water. That would be dangerous for underwater ecosystems. So some scientists think seaweed can be a part of the settlement to climate change, but it's not a perfect one on its own.
1. What is an advantage of seaweed in fighting climate change compared with trees?| A．Growing taller. | B．Using fewer resources. |
| C．Living longer. | D．Absorbing more carbon. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Doubtful. | C．Uncaring. | D．Supportive. |
| A．First Nations people have changed their traditions. |
| B．Seaweed farming has its origin in British Columbia. |
| C．Seaweed farming isn't risk-free for the environment. |
| D．Global seaweed production has been less in recent years. |
| A．Seaweed Farming for Food | B．Seaweed Production in the World |
| C．Seaweed Creating Natural Fuel | D．Seaweed in Environmental Protection |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】As the seasons are starting to change around the world, the animal kingdom is on the move. Animal migration is one of nature's great wonders, but how do animals know when it is time to set off on their journey, or where they need to go? Once they've worked out their destination, how do they know how to get there?
Migration is a behavioral pattern where animals travel from one habitat to another in search of something. It happens seasonally, and usually involves a return journey. These journeys can be by land, sea or air.
Animals also migrate because of the weather. Around 50 bird species leave the UK each winter to avoid the cold.
So how do they know where to go? Some use the stars and the sun to help them navigate while others rely on landmarks like rivers and mountains to show them where they are.
| A．Below are some ways they get there |
| B．Animals have their reasons for migrating |
| C．Scientists have been puzzled by these questions for many years |
| D．It's also possible for animals to sniff their way to their destination |
| E．Some birds travel to the UK to escape extreme cold further north |
| F．One of the main reasons behind animal migration is the search for food |
| G．For some animals, it's the need to reproduce that sends them on their journey |
【推荐2】Many people say dolphins are very intelligent.They seem to be able to think, understand, and learn things quickly.But are they smart like humans or more than cats or dogs?Dolphins use their brains differently from people.But scientists say dolphin intelligence and human intelligence are similar in some ways.How?
Fact 1：Talk to me
Like humans, every dolphin has its own "name". The name is a special whistle.Each dolphin chooses a specific whistle for itself, usually by its first birthday.Actually, scientists think dolphins, like people, "talk" to each other about a lot of things, such as their ages, their feelings, or finding food.And, like humans, dolphins use a system of sounds and body languages to communicate.But understanding their conversations is not easy for humans.No one speaks dolphin's language yet, but some scientists are trying to learn.
Fact 2：Let's play
Dolphins are also social animals.They live in groups, and they often join others from different groups to play games and have fun—just like people.In fact, playing together is something only intelligent animals do.
Fact 3：Fishermen's helper
Dolphins and humans are similar in another way：both make plans to get something they want.In the seas of southern Brazil, for example, dolphins use an interesting strategy（策略）to get food.When fish are near a boat, dolphins show signs to the fishermen to put their nets in the water.Using this method, the men can catch a lot of fish.What is the advantage for the dolphins in doing so?They get to eat some of the fish.
1. What does a dolphin often use as its "name"?| A．A body language. |
| B．A special whistle. |
| C．Its feeling. |
| D．Its age. |
| A．By playing with other fish. |
| B．By following fishing boats. |
| C．By leading the fish into the net. |
| D．By showing signs to the fishermen. |
| A．Dolphins are smarter than humans. |
| B．Dolphins make friends with humans. |
| C．Dolphins teach humans to speak their language. |
| D．Dolphins and humans are similar in some ways. |
【推荐3】A biologist from the National Park Service discovered a rare and unusual mammoth (猛犸) skull (颅骨) buried in a 13,000-year-old rock laver on the Santa Rosa Island, the second largest landmass in the Channel Islands, California. The fossil of the extinct giant animal is leaving many paleontologists (古生物学家) scratching their heads. Despite the fact that it’s possibly the best preserved mammoth skull ever found and of high scientific importance, the species of the individual it belonged to can’t seem to be identified yet — it’s too big to be a pygmy (特别矮小的) mammoth and too small to have come from a Columbian mammoth. Some say it’s a new species while others believe the truth lies somewhere in between.
The first mammoths showed up in North America around two million years ago, but it was only during the last two ice ages that the Columbian species, which could grow to be up to 14 feet tall, made its way to the Channel Islands 100 miles west of Los Angeles. Once the ice melted, many populations became trapped on the island and evolved into pygmy mammoths, an endemic species (地方物种) to the Channel Islands which grew only to six feet tall.
Judging from its size, the newly found mammoth skull doesn’t seem to fit any of the two species, Columbian or pygmy. To make things even more confusing, one of its two tusks (象牙) is nearly five feet long and coiled in a manner that resembles those of fully grown mammoths but the left tusk is shorter and sloped, more like a juvenile (青少年).
This has caused some scientists to say the Santa Rosa skull may belong to a transitional species. Whatever’s the case, a following examination of the mammoth’s teeth should out the matter to rest. The analysis will also tell us how old the mammoth was when it died, so we can tell for sure whether it was an adult or juvenile.
More interesting than the mammoth’s lineage (宗系), however, might be its story. The giant mammal lived 13,000 years ago or roughly the same timeline of the “Arlington Man”, a 13,000-year-old human skeleton also found on Santa Rosa. Some 3,000 years later humans were already spread throughout the continent and the Channel Islands’ mammoth went extinct. The present finding might help reveal a link between the two.
The remains also seem to confirm a long-held assumption that there were two mammoth migrations to the Channel Islands. “The discovery of this mammoth skull increases the probability that there were at least two migrations of Columbian mammoths to the island: during the most recent ice age 10,000 to 30,000 years ago, as well as the previous ice age that occurred about 150,000 years ago,” said USGS geologist Dan Muhs.
1. The underlined part in the first paragraph means the paleontologists feel_____.| A．excited |
| B．confused |
| C．anxious |
| D．frustrated |
| A．It is possibly the best preserved mammoth skull ever found. |
| B．Its size fits neither the Columbian mammoth nor the pygmy mammoth. |
| C．It was found in the National Park on the Santa Rosa Island, California. |
| D．Its two tusks give out different information of the mammoth’s age. |
| A．Biologists don’t think the examination of the mammoth’s teeth can tell us its age when it died. |
| B．Mammoths and humans lived on the Santa Rosa Island around 3 000 years ago. |
| C．Exactly 2 mammoth groups migrated to the Channel Islands during different periods of time. |
| D．There remains no final conclusion as to how many mammoth groups migrated to the Islands. |
| A．is among the best preserved, but with a mysterious story |
| B．has aroused a debate over what species it belongs to |
| C．is of little scientific importance to mankind |
| D．is likely to confirm a former assumption |
【推荐1】The world is getting greener. That’s according to Robert Mike. He has been mining data collected by an orbiting NASA camera that monitors green vegetation on the earth’s surface, day by day. He showed that the amount of our planet’s land surface covered by green leaves increased these years. Robert Mike was able to find what caused leaf cover to increase or decrease. In some places, change in leaf cover actually resulted from weather and climate changes. The growing season is getting longer in some temperate areas, and the rising carbon dioxide levels may be producing bigger, leafier plants.
One large area of Brazil lost plants. “I personally checked the data, and that's because of drought,” Mike says. The most unusual changes were the result of human decisions in China and India though. Both countries have been getting a lot greener.
Molly Brown, a geographer, has seen this greening up close. “These are really good examples of how policy can really come into play,” she says. Brown says the greening of India comes from a huge expansion of irrigated agriculture: Instead of having just crops when it’s raining, they also have a whole six months of cropping and greenness when it’s not raining.
This version of greening isn’t really so great for the environment though. The irrigation drains (排出) groundwater：Vegetation is wiped away at harvest time and the extra fertilizer farmers use releases greenhouse gases.
In China, though, about half of the new leaf cover that Mike detected appears to be the result of a huge reforestation effort. It’s a government-sponsored attempt to prevent terrible dust storms that resulted from earlier deforestation. “They are really doing a good job,” Brown says. “They have a large and complete program of tree growing, tree planting and tree maintenance.”
1. What did Robert Mike get from the data?| A．The amount of carbon dioxide. | B．The extent of global warming. |
| C．The conditions of weather change. | D．The causes of leaf cover change. |
| A．Make a difference. | B．Come to an end. | C．Play a trick. | D．Lose track. |
| A．Confused. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Supportive. |
| A．By planting more trees. | B．By using fertilizer to grow crops. |
| C．By making full use of groundwater. | D．By developing irrigated agriculture. |
【推荐2】Efforts of growing organic vegetables that brings much less damage to the farmland paid off as Yunnan Province in southwest China has been trying to deliver its promise to better protect its natural resources.
In the trail field under the management of Yunling Organic Agriculture Development Co., Ltd , the organic matter in soil has been improved while content of some heavy metals has been reduced ever since the organic planting project started in 2017. The green fertilizer they use has left close to little pollution in the soil, which is of critical significance as the field that covers 240 hectares of land is located right in the middle of Kunming Songhuaba Reservoir Nature Reserve.
Now, more than 50 tons of vegetables of more than 20 varieties from the field are sent to places across China every day. Although the price is three to five times higher than that of ordinary vegetables, it is popular in the middle and high-end retail markets in east, central and south China. In Tonghai County, one of the main producing areas, the organic vegetables have begun to enter Southeast Asian market.
“A revolutionary change should be made to the traditional growing mode or cultivation technology. If the zero emission of chemical remains is realized, our problems of environmental pollution will be solved,” said He Jiangming, researcher at the Institute of Horticulture, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
1. What does the underlined word “deliver” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Send. | B．Address. | C．Keep. | D．Save. |
| A．Yunnan province intends to grow organic vegetables to make more money. |
| B．The soil in the trail field is metal-free. |
| C．The organic vegetables are not popular because of their high prices. |
| D．Organic farming may help solve the problems of environmental pollution. |
| A．Doubtful | B．Critical | C．Optimistic | D．Neutral |
| A．All efforts paid off | B．Clean organic farming brings green future |
| C．How to reduce heavy metals in soil? | D．Traditional or organic ? |
【推荐3】Government agencies and volunteer groups in many places are using sea creatures to protect coastal areas from storms and rising sea levels. The idea is that large groups of oysters (牡蛎) known as colonies, can help reduce the power of waves. Powerful waves can damage lands along the edge of ocean waters.
Oysters may play an important part in dealing with the problem. Oysters are central to a project that is taking place near Vaccaro’s rebuilt house. The project is being carried out by the Littore Society. It received $1 million from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The group has been building steel wire containers, filling them with rocks and whelk (海螺) shells an positioning them along the shoreline of Barnegat Bay.
Tiny baby oysters are attached to whelk shells and placed in the existing cages to further strengthen the shoreline. The shoreline in Vaccaro’s neighborhood has lost 46 meters of beach since 1995, the Littoral Society says.
The oysters appear to be doing their job. One recent day, a strong east wind blew across the bay. But between the oysters and the shoreline, the water was much calmer, and waves gently wen onto the shoreline instead of hitting it with force.
As an added benefit, the oysters help improve water quality in the bay. The Associated Press reports that a single oyster can filter (过滤) up to 190 liters of water a day.
A few kilometers south, a group called ReClam the Bay is building an oyster reef to protect the shoreline of Mordecai Island. People do not live on the island, but it protects the shoreline of Beach Haven, a town on Long Beach Island.
Volunteers fill bags with 16 kilograms of whelk shells, to which millions of baby oysters have been attached. Then volunteers move them out to the reef a few hundred yards into the ocean. They have placed 10, 000 bags of oysters and whelk shells there since 2015.
1. Where do the baby oysters grow?| A．On the sea rocks. | B．In steel wire cages. |
| C．In shallow calm water. | D．In the fishermen’s houses. |
| A．The sea life project works. | B．The baby oysters grow well. |
| C．The beach stops missing. | D．The sea pollution is dropping. |
| A．It cooperates with the Littoral Society. |
| B．It offers baby oysters to the Littoral Society. |
| C．It has the same aim as the Littoral Society. |
| D．It has made more progress than the Littoral Society. |
| A．Oyster Farming Has Great Benefits |
| B．Volunteer Ocean Protection Is in Action |
| C．Worldwide Beaches Are Disappearing Fast |
| D．Little Sea Creature Could Save Coastal Land |
【推荐1】A new study, published in Music Education Research, examined whether an extended music education had an impact on pupils’ experienced satisfaction with school. Nearly 1,000 pupils at ten Finnish schools with extended music classes and comparison classes participated in a survey that measured the quality of school life at Year 3 and Year 6.
According to the results, the differences between the extended music classes and the comparison classes were significant at Year 6. But there were no differences between the groups at Year 3. The most likely explanation is the amount of music lessons which was four hours per week for the extended music classes and one lesson per week for the normal classes.
Merely attending an extended education class at Year 3 did not cause differences in school satisfaction. To explore whether belonging to any extended education class would have the same benefits, some extended education classes that focus on visual arts and sports were recently included in the analysis. However, school satisfaction in these classes did not differ from that in the normal ones at Year 6.
"Singing in a choir and group performance are popular activities at extended music classes. Other studies have established that people find it very satisfying to synchronize (合拍)with one another. That increases connection within the group and may even make people like each other. Other objects in the school do not have as much training in synchrony and cooperation as music lessons, which could explain part of the phenomenon,” says doctoral student Pävi-Sisko Eerola, at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
A particular answer may be that girls usually tend to give more positive scores on satisfaction with school and they also make up the majority of pupils at extended music classes. However, the gender differences do not fully explain the observed results. In fact, it seems that extended music classes improve the quality of school life more for boys than girls.
Maybe it’s impossible to adopt the Finnish music education system, but the benefits of having a few extra hours of art and self-expression via music every week are dramatic and necessary.
1. What did the new study find?| A．Elder kids are content with school when receiving more music lessons. |
| B．Extended music education is getting popular in many Finnish schools. |
| C．Primary pupils have different preference for the class arrangements. |
| D．Music education may have different functions in different grades. |
| A．They pay more attention to kids’ feelings and emotions. |
| B．They stress visual appreciation and physical activity. |
| C．They are extended to the same length and frequency. |
| D．They are attended by both younger and elder kids. |
| A．They can promote teamwork between students. |
| B．They can build good teacher-student relationship. |
| C．They effectively practice studenls’ singing skill. |
| D．They will develop students’ interest in music. |
| A．The researchers. | B．Music teachers. |
| C．Finnish students. | D．School administrators. |
【推荐2】From ordering food to buying a new book to making a charitable donation, more and more decisions that used to be made on paper are now being made on digital devices like tablets, phones, and computers. And this trend towards digitalization has many advantages, in particular when it comes to efficiency and sustainability — but could it also be negatively influencing how we make decisions?
We conducted a series of studies with more than 2, 500 participants across the U. S. and China to explore the impact of the medium you use to make a decision, with a particular focus on decisions with some sort of moral component, such as whether or not to make a donation to a charity, or whether to choose a healthy or unhealthy entrée (主菜) at a restaurant. We asked the participants to make a variety of these sorts of choices using either a paper form or a digital tablet, and despite controlling for all other variables (变量) , we consistently found that people who used paper made more moral decisions than those who used a digital device: For example, participants who read their choices and made a selection on paper were significantly more likely to give money to charity, choose a healthy entree, and opt for an educational book rather than something more entertaining.
Why might this be? Our research suggests that the key mechanism driving this effect is how “real” the decision feels. We asked participants in two of our studies to describe how real a decision felt, as well as the extent to which they believed the decision as representing who they were as people, and they consistently indicated that making a choice on paper felt more real and representative than making the same decision on a digital device.
It may seem like a minor detail, but our research shows that the medium with which your customers, employees, or community members make a decision can have a major impact on the choices they make. This has implications (暗示) for marketers, policymakers, and anyone seeking to encourage any sort of virtuous behaviour. For example, to encourage customers to choose healthier options, restaurants might consider opting for paper rather than digital menus. Similarly, parents and educators might opt to provide students with paper rather than online book order forms, to increase the chances that they’ll choose educational reading materials.
1. What do we know about the studies?| A．The participants are all from America. |
| B．The participants are divided into three groups. |
| C．The studies pay special attention to decisions with moral component. |
| D．The studies prove the efficiency and availability of the digital device. |
| A．The awareness of environmental protection. |
| B．People’s objection to trend towards digitalization. |
| C．The real feeling caused by making decisions on paper. |
| D．People’s care about their identity when making decisions on paper. |
| A．It has practical value. | B．It needs improvement. |
| C．It can stand the test of time. | D．It makes sense in every situation. |
| A．Pen and paper will never be replaced. |
| B．We encourage everyone to make a responsible choice. |
| C．We make more moral choices when using pen and paper. |
| D．Educational reading materials should be provided in the form of paper. |
【推荐3】There is hope for our planet’s survival. Innovative products are being designed to reduce our dependence on plastic, single-use plastic in particular.
One such innovation comes from international design firm Carlo Ratti Associati with its “Feel the Peel” machine, an experimental rounded juice bar that not only makes freshly squeezed orange juice, but also 3D prints a recyclable bioplastic cup with the leftover orange peels.
Designed with global energy company Eni, the juicer is 10 feet tall and topped with a massive dome (圆顶), feeding the juicer with oranges on demand. The dome is made up of round tracks that hold up to 1, 500 oranges. A 3D printer is set up in the base of the machine.
The machine goes like magic. When an order is placed, the oranges slide down the tracks to a squeezer, and the juice is then deposited into an “orange peel (果皮)” bio-plastic cup, ready to enjoy. Meanwhile, the freshly squeezed peels fall down a tube and gather at the bottom of the machine where they are dried, milled (碾磨) and mixed with Polylactic Acid, creating a bioplastic material. The bioplastic is then heated and melted into a filament (丝状物) and the 3D printer then creates recyclable bioplastic cups, ready to be filled with freshly squeezed juice.
How cool that is! It seems that Carlo Ratti Associati and Eni have plans to take “Feel the Peel’ beyond just orange juice.
“The principle of recycling is a must for today’s objects,” says Carlo Ratti, “Working with Eni, we tried to show recycling in a very tangible (有形的) way, by developing a machine that helps us to understand how oranges can be used well beyond their juice. The next improvement of “Feel the Peel” might include new functions, such as printing fabric for clothing from orange peels.”
1. What is the aim of creating the “Feel the Peel” machine?| A．To make orange juice taste better. | B．To produce single use plastic cups. |
| C．To increase the output of orange juice. | D．To take something beyond just orange juice. |
| A．How the new juicer works. | B．What the two companies share. |
| C．Where the new tool comes from. | D．Why the machine is popular. |
| A．recycling can be shown in a very popular way |
| B．their new machine still has some potential |
| C．his company is very interested in Eni’s design |
| D．a product can help us understand our world |
| A．Orange Peels Are Turned Into Treasure |
| B．Innovative Products Are Being Designed |
| C．Orange Juicer 3D Prints Bioplastic Cups |
| D．Carlo Invents A Recyclable Machine |
【推荐1】During the COVID-19(新冠病毒)crisis, working from home has become common for many people. For some, working from home is distracting and exhausting. But one pioneering study found that working from home increased output by 13%. Nicholas Bloom, a professor at Stanford University in California, began the experiment when James Liang, one of the founders of Trip.com Group-the largest online travel agency in China-met Bloom in Stanford and mentioned to him how expensive Shanghai housing was, how the costs of maintaining company headquarters were huge there, and that he was thinking of letting his staff work from home. This idea made Bloom interested.
Bloom started to test Liang’s thought. First, 1000 employees who volunteered for the study were divided into two teams, separated by birth dates. Those born on even days got to work from home 4 out of 5 weekdays for the next 9 months Those born on odd days stayed in the office all week long. Then the two teams were tracked. It was easy to do, as these workers had repetitive, straightforward tasks that could easily be quantified(量化), and their productivity could easily be measured-making bookings in the system or making phone calls, for example. Nine months passed; Bloom and Liang discovered workers were 13% more productive at home.
Bloom’s data suggests the staff could become much more productive while working from home long term-but it’s not so straightforward. In the experiment, there were warmings as to who could take part in the first place. Participants had to meet 3 requirements: have no kids, have a room that wasn’t their bedroom and have quality Internet on equipment which the firm installed for them at home. So there’s no guarantee that everyone’s productivity will increase.
Lynda Grattan, a professor at London Business School, distrusts other points: Bloom’s experiment was easy to carry out because it was essentially happening at a call centre. “We have no proper data on the productivity of knowledge workers when they’re based at home,” she says.
1. Why did Liang want to let the staff work from home?| A．To decrease the staff salaries. | B．To avoid the spread of COVID-19. |
| C．To save the costs of working in the office. | D．To prove the advantage of remote work. |
| A．By giving questionnaires to all the staff. |
| B．By following the productivity of two teams. |
| C．By interviewing volunteers about their feelings. |
| D．By analyzing features of various working environment. |
| A．The experiment has attracted many volunteers. |
| B．The staff working at home always finish more tasks |
| C．The speed of the Internet decides the productivity of workers. |
| D．Workers’ high productivity is based on suitable working conditions. |
| A．It doesn’t apply to easy tasks. |
| B．It ignores the role of parents at home. |
| C．It inspires knowledge workers to work at home. |
| D．It needs further study for knowledge workers. |
【推荐2】Every year, thousands of new high school graduates pack their bags, move to new cities, and sign papers accepting loans, the money borrowed from a bank or lenders etc., which they might not be able to pay back. Without proper education on personal finance, especially as it relates to paying for college, young adults are guided into improper loan plans that result in years of debt after graduation. In order to set students up to succeed financially, it is important to educate students and parents on their financial options before school in the fall. The best way to support families heading for college is to require that every high school student take a personal finance class before graduation. This will help smooth the transition into adulthood.
The average student takes out at least one loan to cover the costs of their education each year. In 2014 the average student graduating from college carried a negative balance of about $20,000 in debt, which often spread over multiple lenders. Upon graduation, students rarely know exactly how much money they owe, and even though they are in the state of being unable to pay their debts, they cannot wipe out student loans. These students spend much of their adult lives paying off the gradual increasing debts.
A personal finance course would teach students how to manage their income and expenses, while helping to significantly reduce the amount of debt students carry into adulthood. By teaching students how to save money and live within their means, this course will provide the next generation with a foundation to progress financially. Students choosing to get a job straight out of high school would also benefit from finance education for these very reasons. With education on how to manage their finances, all young people will have the knowledge to make healthy decisions, leading them to improve good credit and purchase needed items like cars and homes with skill and confidence.
While not every young person makes financial mistakes, those who do can face years of difficulty trying to get their finances back under control. Rather than help them through these hard times when they happen, we should try to prevent them from happening at all. Making the completion of personal finance coursework a requirement for graduation would ensure that young people are at least aware of the basics of preserving a financial stability.
1. After graduation from college, many young people ______.| A．spend years paying off their debts | B．struggle to support their families |
| C．get through the hard times smoothly | D．are able to manage their own finances well |
| A．Ways to improve financial credits. |
| B．Introduction to the education on personal finance. |
| C．Skills of balancing income and expenses. |
| D．Advantages of taking a finance course. |
| A．smooth their way for college |
| B．get out of their financial trap |
| C．avoid the risk of the future financial trouble |
| D．free from the cost of their college education |
| A．inform and explain | B．argue and persuade |
| C．analyze and evaluate | D．discuss and examine |
【推荐3】It was a day in late December. The Christmas tree had been taken down. The lights and decorations had been boxed up and put in the closet until next year. And I was feeling a little empty. Surely I wasn't looking forward to the long, cold, dark winter to come. I had always been a light lover on the inside. I tried to take comfort in knowing that a few more minutes of daylight was being added each day, but it hardly worked.
I was both surprised and delighted when I looked, out of my window and saw that a spring-like day had suddenly arrived. I could hear the neighborhood children outside playing in the warm air. I smiled when I saw them and my inner little girl longed to be out there riding bikes and playing games as well.
I tied my dogs for their afternoon walk hoping to enjoy some of the sunshine myself. As I was about to head out the door, however, I decided to do something a little different. I reached down and pulled my shoes and socks off. I hadn't been barefoot outside since the summer. I slowly stepped out on the cool damp grass. It felt so alive under my feet. I laughed as I walked along. I remembered something I once read too, “Walk as if you were kissing the earth with your feet.” And with each step I did so. My walk felt sacred and holy. I felt a oneness with the world and the love of Heaven all around me. With love in my heart, I thanked God for the gift of this day and no longer dreaded the coming of the winter. I thought I had gathered enough energy and courage to welcome it.
AH of us are walking through this life. But it is up to each of us how we do so. Are you going to trip and walk with heavy steps and complain with each step you take? Or are you going to kiss the earth with your feet and Heaven with your heart? The choice is yours.
1. How did the author feel shortly after Christmas at first?| A．Surprised. | B．Delighted. | C．Unhappy. | D．Relaxed. |
| A．She was inspired by delighted children. | B．She had to walk her dogs in the afternoon. |
| C．She intended to give the neighbors warmth. | D．She was touched by her childhood memories. |
| A．She kissed the earth lovingly. | B．She walked barefoot outside. |
| C．She read a book on the grass. | D．She dried her feet in the sun. |
| A．Forgot. | B．Judged. | C．Desired. | D．Feared. |
