【推荐2】Many instructors believe that an informal, relaxing classroom environment is good for learning and innovation. It is not uncommon for students to have easygoing and friendly relationships with their professors. The casual professor is not necessarily a poor one and is still respected by students. Although students may be in a subordinate (从属的) position, some professors treat them as equals. However, no matter how equal professors would like to be, they still are in a position of authority.

Professors may establish social relationships with students outside of the classroom, but in the classroom they maintain the instructor’s role. A professor may have coffee one day with students but the next day expect them to meet a deadline for the submission (提交) of a paper or to be prepared for a discussion or an exam. The professor may give extra attention outside of class to a student in need of help but probably will not treat him or her differently when it comes to evaluating school work. Professors have several roles in relation to students; they may be counselors and friends as well as teachers. Students must realize that when a teacher’s role changes, they must appropriately adapt their behaviour and attitudes.

【推荐3】Sunlight was cutting through the classroom, and it was close to lunchtime, with everyone feeling bored. This was in the sickening final weeks before the Leaving Cert. the state exams every Irish teenager has to sit if they want to go to university.

With the Leaving Cert, we’d ever felt more unhappily involved in the faceless machinery of education. Our only objective for an entire year had been to memorize as much information as possible, in order to bring it back in one exam after another. Our teacher’s only objective was to drill all that information and rote learning (死记硬背) into us.

And it was just another day of that, when it happened. I don’t know why, but the teacher suddenly broke off what he was saying and considered us for a moment. He leaned against his desk, folded his arms, and then he went off without referring to his prepared notes.

He spoke about how we were going to leave school soon, and head into the world, separately, for ever. He said we wouldn’t be able to grasp it yet, but our horizons were about to expand in ways we wouldn’t believe. I know it sounds cheesy—it probably was cheesy—but for the teenage me it was something quite new and surprising to hear an adult address us like this, not as kids to whom he needed to feed information, but as humans with whom he wanted to share something like wisdom.

What stayed with me was the image he used: he said our awareness would be like a flame (火焰) in a dark cave. The brighter and larger the flame grew, the more of the cave we would see. But with every bit of light, there would come a growing awareness of the vastness of the cave, of just how little of it we were actually seeing, and of how much more space and opportunity was left for our flame to grow.

【推荐1】Australia was always a country I wanted to visit, so I saved up some money and booked a flight to go traveling up the east coast of Australia at the end of my work in London.

The flight made me realize exactly how far away Australia is from home. I spent 10 hours traveling on a plane from London to Hong Kong, then a further 8 hours to Sydney, my first stop in Australia. The flight went quite quickly though, since there were lots of films to watch to keep me amused. It was strange when I arrived because everything was upside down over there; it was the start of winter (in May)! It also took me a while to get used to the time difference as I was always one day ahead of all my friends and family back home.

The country is truly beautiful, full of amazing views and wildlife you wouldn’t find anywhere else in the world.

One of my experiences of my trip was seeing koalas closely in Brisbane -- there were koalas everywhere sleeping in the trees and I even got the chance to hold one. There was also big grassland full of kangaroos that we were allowed to feed. They were really smart and very friendly.

The highlight of my trip was snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, as the water as amazingly clear with a beautiful shade of blue. I also got the chance to see some special creatures underwater, such as sea turtles and even a shark.

Australia is an amazing country and worth visiting one day if you ever get the chance.

【推荐2】One week after I started working in Beijing, I decided to visit a place of interest called the Summer Palace. Before setting off, I researched it on the Internet. The Summer Palace is composed mostly of a lake, but it’s surrounded by beautiful greenery and a walkway that circles the lake. It is recommended that you give the Summer Palace about three hours. If you try to walk around it. It could take five or six hours. With that knowledge of it, I set off.

The highlight of the tour had to be the view from the Tower of Buddhist Incense. It sits on the top of a large hill overlooking the lake and is worth a climb. It was built as a place to worship Buddha. And in the Summer Palace, unlike in most of other places, photography isn’t allowed in most of the buildings. Most of the statues of Buddha and the other artifacts are off-limits to photos.

Another highlight was seeing the stage created for the Dowager Empress where she watched operas and other theater items. There are box seats that surround the stage and it is large. You could almost imagine royalty reviewing the actors from the boxes and the stage.

I do recommend taking a boat ride if you go, which takes you from one side of the lake to the other side where you can see another set of buildings. And it is fun. You can also rent an electric or paddle boat if you want. But since it was just me, I went on one of the biggest boats with other people.

I spent another four hours wandering around the Summer Palace. But I didn’t see all of it because it was getting dark. How I wish I could visit it again.

【推荐1】Four men who would become fathers were in a hospital waiting room while their wives were in labor (分娩). The nurse arrived and proudly said to the first man, “Congratulations, sir. You’re the father of twins!”

“What a coincidence (巧合)! I work for the Minnesota Twins Baseball teams!”

Later the nurse returned and congratulated the second father on the birth of his triplets (三胞胎).

“Wow! That’s unbelievable! I work for the 3M Company.”

An hour later, the nurse returned to congratulate the third man on the birth of his quadruplets (四胞胎). Surprised, he only could answer, “I don’t believe it! I work for the Four Seasons Hotel!”

After this, everyone turned to the fourth man who had just fainted (晕). The nurse ran fast to his side. As he slowly came to himself, they could hear him speak in a very low voice over and over, “I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven. I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven. I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven.”

【推荐3】I have been proud of my wit (机智幽默). However, recently I’ve learned a lesson: keeping my thoughts to myself and we’d better follow the policy of “Silence is golden”.

In a college literature course, one of my classmates had a habit of arriving a few minutes late each class. She was a lovely and well-dressed girl from a big city. Some of my classmates even discussed her elegant clothes after class. One day, when the professor was about to start the class, he said in a slightly angry tone, “Where is Miss X?” It seemed that no one could reply, and the silence was coming awkward. To break the embarrassing atmosphere, I offered in an amusing way, “She likes to make a grand entry.”

My words, however, were greeted with more awkward silence, and even the professor stared at me for a second. No one felt what I said was humorous, which made me confused. We all had witnessed this student’s constantly late arrivals. Months later, to my astonishment and chagrin (懊恼),I knew the reason for others’ strange response: My classmate was from a famous noble family. I suddenly realized my remarks could have been interpreted as a mean dig (嘲讽) at her private status. I regretted what I had said, but the course was over, and it was impossible for me to make amends (补救).

As I recall this experience and other examples of ill-considered words I have said, I realize that it is better for us to think twice rather than coming up with a witty, fact-based reply because what you say can’t be taken back. In this way, we can avoid some unnecessary awkwardness or hurt.