In 2014, I was in ballet class when I got a call from the hospital that my dad had experienced a stroke. I rushed to the hospital to join him, and found him buried in a nest of cables, surrounded by a variety of monochromatic, rapidly beeping (making a short, loud sound) assistive machines. They seemed to form a single, massive enclosure around him. Every few moments he would peer up at one of the machines with wide, confused eyes. I became clear that many of the technologies that were meant to be helping and supporting him were scary and inaccessible. During the most difficult moments of his life, the machines multiplied his fear.
I wondered how I could make him feel reassured, safe, and dignified around these devices. At the time, I was a professional dancer and choreographer (编舞者). Dancers, performers and theater artists are all masters at evoking emotions, so I began to think how I might improve machines to help him feel empowered and hopeful rather than afraid. My dad is now in his early 70s and fully recovered. But his story led me to start combining my passions for dance and technology.
I’ve danced with different robots all around the world, in installations (就职) and live performances. I’m now a Ph. D. candidate in mechanical engineering at Stanford University, where I work on models and interfaces that allow robots to learn new tasks from humans.
As the number of robots in society continues to increase, more people need to be capable of using them. I think of other commonly used technologies like laptops and phones and reflect that a user like my dad actively direct the robot with natural human motions.
I believe the intersection (交叉点) between robotics and human will continue to expand as robots move out of the factory and into the public. I am not sure how soon my dad will have a robot in his house, but I do believe that when it arrives, it will be filled with dance knowledge.
1. What do we know about the author’s father after he was in hospital?| A．He longed to see his son. |
| B．He knew little about his illness. |
| C．He was curious about new machines. |
| D．He was terrified of medical equipment. |
| A．His care for his father. |
| B．His personal experiences. |
| C．A creative thought for dance. |
| D．Technology’s effect on society. |
| A．account for their wide use in life. |
| B．convince readers of their significance. |
| C．show development of the modern technology. |
| D．predict the capability of people using robots. |
| A．Suspicious. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Pessimistic. | D．Uncertain. |
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【推荐1】When it comes to making lunch for their kids, moms and dads have usual favorites. For some parents in the US, those favorites are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches-also known as PB&.Js. Fruit like apples and bananas are also popular.
But one mother has an unusual go-to ingredient for her children’s lunches. Jenny Mollen uses funny-looking candy eyes. She has learned that her children will eat any healthy food if it has edible eyeballs attached. The “eyeballs” are really pieces of candy.
Her children laugh while they eat healthy foods like bell peppers, kiwis, or dates. Mollen says candy “eyes” make lunch more fun.
“Honestly, first of all, just buy yourself some candy googly eyes. They are tried-and-true,” she said. She admits that “you lose something nutritionally” by giving children candy. But she thinks that getting children to eat healthy food by putting candy on it is worth it.
Mollen’s lunch tricks bring together food and craft. She uses tricks because her two sons hate to eat different kinds of foods. So, she decorates their food to resemble animals or even their favorite Pokémon characters. She makes edible “bugs” made from dates, pretzel sticks for the legs, and, of course, candy “eyes”. She also uses leftover Chinese food to make panda bears from rice and seaweed.
Mollen says her lunch projects are easy to do. And her sons think they have won a big prize at their midday meal. Mollen says making fun-looking, artful lunches for her children helps ease her guilt as she is a working mom. Her artful lunches are her way of reminding her children that she is thinking of them.
Mollen says she also wants to teach them healthy eating habits. She says that by getting kids to eat vegetables at a young age, they will grow up to eat healthy foods later in life. She also says it is a good way to get children to try foods from other cultures. If they need to be “tricked” sometimes, that is okay.
1. What’s the purpose of Mollen’s lunch projects?| A．To make her children’s day. |
| B．To remind people to save food. |
| C．To persuade other parents to follow suit. |
| D．To ensure her children’s healthy diet. |
| A．It contains all kinds of food. |
| B．It is made up of candy. |
| C．It combines art and nutrition. |
| D．It is full of Chinese styles. |
| A．They have taken to their fun-looking lunches. |
| B．They have broaden their knowledge of food. |
| C．They have bonded with their favorite animals. |
| D．They have swept to victory in the meal competitions. |
| A．Mollen’s plans for cooking lunches. |
| B．The benefits of Mollen’s lunch tricks. |
| C．Mollen’s expectations of her children. |
| D．The culture elements in Mollen’s lunch. |
【推荐2】Why do only famous people have biographies? This is the question two young sisters. 7-year-old Aishvarya, and 11-year-old Vaishali, asked their parents. They were reading famous people’s biographies in school and realized that they knew more about Beyonce, a famous singer than about their own grandparents. So they decided to do something about it.
They created “Grand Stories”, a workbook that helps grandchildren learn about their grandparents. Through answering a list of guided questions and telling stories, Grand Stories helps families learn more about each other.
This family came from India to the US, and all four grandparents live very far away. Obviously through modern technology and some family visits, these young girls know their grandparents and love them very much — but they wonder why they don’t know more about their grandparents. For example, where did they grow up, and go to school? How they married and raised their families? What were their stories? Perhaps not surprisingly, many of the stories the family wanted to know reflect the “Do you know” questions that my workmate, Marshall Duke, and I developed to study how much people know of the family history.
The sisters’ father told about the visit to India when the girls asked their own grandparents to write their biography. Because of his character, the grandfather didn’t share much during the interview. But then he stayed up all nights writing his stories, and when the father looked through the stories, he realized there was so much he’d never known about his own father! Through these stories the father felt closer to his own family.
What these two young sisters have already discovered is how much we depend on knowing our family stories to understand who we are in the world and what our strength is. You can see more about Grand Stories at www. grandstories, bigcartel. com. Whether you’re 7 or 70, it’s never too early or too late to start sharing family stories.
1. What made the two girls decide to know their family stories?| A．Telling stories at school. | B．Reading biographies at school. |
| C．Showing their love for a singer. | D．Finishing workbook tasks at school. |
| A．Distance made it difficult for the girls to know more about their grandparents. |
| B．The girls were curious about their grandparents’ life experiences. |
| C．The writer was involved in designing questions asked by the girls. |
| D．The girls inspired the writer to study how much people know of their family. |
| A．Serious and talkative. | B．Patient and distant. |
| C．Shy and loving. | D．Careful and honest. |
| A．To prove the power of family storytelling. |
| B．To introduce Ways of telling family stories. |
| C．To praise the two girls for what they had done. |
| D．To encourage people to know their family stories. |
【推荐3】My name is Mildred Hondorf, a music teacher. Over the years, I have found that children have many levels of musical ability. Although I have some talented students, I've also had my share of what I call "musically challenged" pupils. One such student was Robby.
Robby was 11 years old when he came for his first piano lesson. He said that it had always been his mother's dream to hear him play the piano. Although Robby tried hard, he lacked the basic rhythm needed to be excellent. However, he continued and always said, "My mom's going to hear me play some day." But he just did not have any inborn ability and his mother just dropped Robby off but never stopped in.
Then one day, Robby stopped coming to our lessons. He called me and said his mother was sick. Several weeks later, I was invited to take my students to have a show and Robby asked me if he could be in . "Miss Hondorf...I've just got to play!" I don't know what led me to allow him to play in the show. Maybe it was his insistence or something else inside of me.
The night for the show came. The gymnasium was packed with people. I put Robby up last in the program. I thought that any damage he would do would come at the end of the program and I could always save his poor performance through my "curtain closing".
The show went off well. Then Robby came up on stage. He played so well and everyone applauded for him. In tears I hugged Robby in joy. "How would you do it?"
"Well, Miss Hondorf ... remember I told you my mom was sick? Well, actually, she had cancer and passed away this morning. And well ... she was born deaf so tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it special."
1. What are “musically challenged” pupils according to the author’s description?| A．Children who are good at learning music. |
| B．Children who like challenging music. |
| C．Children who lack a gift for music. |
| D．Children who are crazy about music. |
| A．She hoped Robby would give the show a good ending.. |
| B．She thought Robby would have a bad performance. |
| C．She gave Robby a chance to have a speech. |
| D．She wanted Robby to help her lower the curtain. |
| A．His teacher’s encouragement. | B．His love to his mother. |
| C．His enthusiasm about music. | D．His talent and practice. |
| A．She had a great deal of confidence in Robby at first. |
| B．She helped Robby practice before the performance. |
| C．She was surprised that Robby performed well at last. |
| D．She was inexperienced in instructing students like Robby. |
【推荐1】It’s been almost a year since our third and last child graduated from stakes high school. Looking back, I can see now that there were some parenting mistakes we could have avoided. I share them so that you don’t have to repeat them.
I wish I had dealt with peer pressure better. During the senior year, it seems like every conversation I had at a school meeting ended up being about college. It made me anxious to see my kids’ classmates applying part of my brain kicked in with “Oh yeah? My kid has better scores than yours he could get in anywhere yours can!” I probably passed some of that stress to my kids, who didn’t need to deal with my anxieties on top of their own. Everyone has their own path. It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing --- the only person that matters is your son or daughter.
I also worried about their social lives. It made me anxious that my kids didn’t seem to have the common teen interest in school dances or parties but preferred to have a few friends over for a movie sometimes. I can now say this: worrying about their social lives was a total waste of time and energy. I should simply have enjoyed them being at home. They saved their focus for things like Physics and History. And they are doing just fine in college.
I simply thought teenagers would go to bed when they were tired. I didn’t realize the addictive(上瘾的) power of video games or texting. My daughter slept with her phone in her bed for at least two years. If I could do it again, every kid would have been required to leave the phone in the kitchen before bed.
I’m proud to say that today we have three college students who are well-prepared young adults in spite of every parenting mistake I made in high school to delay(推迟) that.
1. The text is probably written by _________.| A．a college student. | B．a regretful parent. |
| C．a child health expert. | D．an experienced teacher. |
| A．She was a competitive person. |
| B．She only focused on scores. |
| C．She cared about her kids’ personal interests. |
| D．She was hardly influenced by peer pressure. |
| A．They had no real friends. | B．They started going to dances. |
| C．They spent little time at home. | D．They seldom did anything social. |
| A．Build good relationships with other parents. |
| B．Let kids make their own decisions. |
| C．Do not allow screens at bedtime. |
| D．Think twice before you answer. |
【推荐2】The turn of the year is the time for reviewing one’s life, and for making some resolutions about what to concentrate on in the coming year; and for many years I have taken advantage of the holiday to review my own ambition.
One thing I decide on this year is to give up writing the Grumpy (暴躁的) Old Bookman column in this magazine. It’s not that I’ve lost interest in the book world. But Leonard Woolf, husband of American writer Virginia Woolf (1882—1941), used to say a man should change his career every seven years. Though I would say that changing your whole career frequently is going a bit far, I do find that it serves as a great refresher if you can occasionally try a new job within the same line of business.
It is over 15 years since our editor wrote to me and asked if I would be interested in writing a regular piece about what was, even then, a rapidly changing publishing scene. He approached me because since 2004 I had been writing a regular blog called Grumpy Old Bookman.
As my monthly survey of developments in both traditional and digital publishing continued, in this magazine, I began to realize that writers in this century, of both fiction and non-fiction, are living in something close to a paradise (天堂). Once, you struggled for years to find a publisher—or an agent if you wanted one—but now you can publish your own stuff, either digitally or in paperback, without it costing you a penny piece.
After about five years of producing such columns, it occurred to me that, rather than let these essays fade away on the seas of time, it might be valuable to publish my thoughts and comments in book form to potential readers. Hence, in 2014, I published the first 69 GOB columns in paperback format, using Amazon’s Create Space facilities. Title: Writers Rejoice! A monthly diary of the dawn of the digital age, which was my first trial. And now I sincerely wish a new 2024.
1. Why does the author want to give up writing the column?| A．He is fed up with the career linked to books. |
| B．He is very keen on trying something new. |
| C．He follows Leonard Woolf’s suggestion. |
| D．He’s used to changing his job every seven years. |
| A．It is a golden time for writers in terms of publishing. |
| B．Publishing industry is a profitable business. |
| C．It is rather hard to publish books nowadays. |
| D．Now it is amazing to find a publisher easily. |
| A．Emotional and good at controlling himself. |
| B．Dedicated but easy to doubt himself. |
| C．Purposeful and good at self-adjustment. |
| D．Ambitious but unwilling to change himself. |
| A．Giving up timely is a virtue. | B．Often changing jobs means new chances. |
| C．The beginning of a year is a new start. | D．Reflection can drive us to push forward. |
【推荐3】During his first years in Paris, Capa worked mainly on local photo stories. It was not until 1936 that he got his big breakthrough. He was sent to cover the Spanish Civil War and, as a result, his work started to appear regularly in top magazines and newspapers. It was his picture of a Loyalist Soldier Falling to His Death that brought him international reputation and became powerful symbol of war.
In 1936, shortly after the Spanish War, Capa worked in New York for a while. However, he quickly returned to Europe on the outbreak of World War II and stayed there for six years. His photographs of the Normandy Invasion became some of the most memorable war photographs in history, and he received the Medal of Freedom Citation for his work.
Capa’s job as a war photographer often put him in great personal danger, but despite the risks his motto was always: “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.” However, on 25 May 1954, Capa’s luck ran out. He was working on an assignment in French Indochina when he stepped on a land mine. He was killed instantly.
Today Robert Capa is considered one of the finest war photographers of all time. He was an exceptional photojournalist who used his camera to express and record the horror of the events around him. Not surprisingly Capa hated war, especially his often passive role in it. “It’s not always easy to stand aside and be unable to do anything except record the sufferings around one.” he said.
1. How did Robert Capa get his “big breakthrough”?| A．He went abroad and commanded the Spanish Civil War. |
| B．He began to write for top magazines and newspapers. |
| C．Before 1936 he was well received as war photographer. |
| D．He became very famous as a war photographer. |
| A．Because he joined the Second World War bravely. |
| B．Because of his photographs taken during the war. |
| C．Because he worked in Europe where he stayed for about 6 years. |
| D．Because he died from stepping on a land mine. |
| A．to take pictures good enough, you can’t avoid going to the front at the risk of losing your own lives |
| B．to be a good photographer. you are never too close to nature |
| C．it is important to be close enough to the objects when pictures are taken |
| D．it is not their fault not to have some good pictures to be praised |
| A．Capa is well known as one of the finest war photographers. |
| B．Capa felt sorry for the horror and suffering caused by the war and not being able to help. |
| C．Capa felt sorry to be a war photographer and suffered a lot from the job. |
| D．Capa hoped there wouldn't be any war in the world in future. |
【推荐1】Recently we’ve had a popular department store open in our area. It’s been the talk of the town for months. On about the third day of the grand opening, I thought I’d stop by to check it out. I noticed right away that the parking area was very busy.
As I was about to exit my car, a lady was about to enter her car to leave. She was parked on the opposite side of me and there was a four way stop behind our parking areas. As the lady tried to back out to leave, some of the drivers were extremely rude to her. They shouted and beeped their horns at the lady and she had a look of terror on her face. She looked at me and threw up both of her hands as if she didn’t know what to do.
I gestured for the lady to put her window down and I told her that she was doing just fine. She smiled and seemed to relax. I then became her rear view mirror (后视镜）as it was hard for her to see behind her while backing out of the parking space. As I watched for safety, she was able to back out enough to drive forward.
At this point, she was smiling broadly！She thanked me many times. I felt that many of the other drivers weren’t sympathetic enough toward her. I was happy to help that lady. Besides that, who knows, we may have avoided a potential accident with this simple act of patience and kindness.
1. What was the difficulty the woman met with when she wanted to leave?| A．The writer’s car prevented her from driving out. |
| B．There were too many cars parked on her way. |
| C．Other drivers wouldn’ t let her car back out. |
| D．Some drivers weren’t patient when she backed out. |
| A．seemed scared and didn’t know how to deal with it. |
| B．didn’t pay attention to their action. |
| C．turned to the writer for help |
| D．drove her car back and parked it where it used to be |
| A．comforted her and guided her to drive out |
| B．offered to drive her car out of the parking area |
| C．told her to use her rear view mirror |
| D．stood by smiling and watched her driving by |
| A．politeness and wisdom | B．patience and kindness |
| C．bravery and kindness | D．rudeness and patience |
【推荐2】I was a graduate student in Manhattan having breakfast on my rooftop on Sept. 11, 2001, when I witnessed planes hit the Twin Towers. For months afterwards, I shook with anxiety every morning. Unwilling to medicate, I tried everything else. Mindfulness meditation (冥想) caused panic attacks. Hot yoga built muscle but did nothing for my anxiety. I went to talks by Buddhist monks and meditation teachers hoping to attain inner peace, but in vain. Finally, I attended a SKY Breath Meditation class, which involves a 20-minute breathing regimen (养生之道) in different postures and rhythms. Though I went in skeptical,I came out calm. Two decades later,I never missed a day of my breathing practice, not even when I gave birth.
I’ve also devoted part of my research career to studying the benefits of breathing for mental health and well-being. Seven years after 9/11, I was working with veterans returning from war with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Traditional treatments had failed many of them, so my colleagues and I ran a randomized controlled trial to test the effects of SKY breathing. Compared with the control group, veterans practicing SKY every day for one week saw their anxiety drop to levels typical of the general population.
Even though most did not continue to practice, they maintained the benefits a year later.
Emotions influence your breathing patterns, and changing your breathing can change your emotions. For example, anxiety and anger correspond to an irregular, short, fast breath. Adopting the slower and more regular breathing pattern that corresponds to a calm feeling signals relaxation by activating the vagus nerve (交感神经), slowing heart rate, easing blood pressure, and settling you down. A simple exercise you can try is to close your eyes and breathe out for twice as long as you breathe in. Do this for five minutes in the morning, before a stressful meeting or as you transit from work to home.
1. Why did the author attend the SKY Breath Meditation class?| A．To build up muscles. |
| B．To relieve inner anxiety. |
| C．To learn more about meditation. |
| D．To quest for religious belief. |
| A．She worked with healthy veterans returning from war. |
| B．She chose victims suffering PTSD in the 9/11 incident. |
| C．She divided the veterans into two groups and compared results. |
| D．She cooperated with researchers from mindfulness meditation classes. |
| A．Breathing interacts with emotions. |
| B．It is harmful to activate the vagus nerve. |
| C．Breathing out as long as you breathe in is a simple way to follow. |
| D．Breathing regimen should be carried out for five minutes every morning. |
| A．PTSD: more awareness needed |
| B．SKY: better well-being attained |
| C．Meditation: an effective treatment |
| D．Breath: detailed ways to conduct |
【推荐3】When I first heard about Summit Learning, I admit I was not a bit excited. I thought it would lower my interactions (互动) with others. But when I got to experience it firsthand, I was surprised.
Recently, we did a poetry project, and one of the activities was a partner review. I would never have taken part if it was up to me, as I prefer to work independently. But when I got involved, I found the experience had done something I thought nearly impossible—it made my poem better. My partner informed me of my mistakes and told me where I could give more details.
One of our final products of the project was to present our poem to the class. I’ve always loved public speaking, but I thought with Summit Learning I would have fewer chances to speak. I was wrong. The activities we did with a partner gave me an extra push of confidence and inspired me to do more to make my presentation the best it could possibly be.
Interactions like these are what Summit Learning is all about. This style of learning brings a positive, hard-working culture that allows you to push your limits and keep going. It creates a sense of community, since we are all working towards a similar goal.
I have always been ahead and advanced, but in a normal classroom there are limits on what you can do. With Summit Learning, I can go beyond expectations in projects or move ahead in learning new content when I’m ready. I have ownership of my work and work towards my goals.
Summit Learning has showed me how much people can grow and change. It has helped me see people and myself differently. It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I cannot see myself back to a “normal” classroom.
1. What was the author’s first response to Summit Learning?| A．He was eager to take part. | B．He was anxious to show up. |
| C．He was ready to give up. | D．He was unwilling to attend. |
| A．It improved his poem and confidence. | B．It reminded him to be independent. |
| C．It gave him a chance to speak publicly. | D．It gave him a sense of responsibility. |
| A．It highlights poetry. | B．It transforms the learning style. |
| C．It values individuality. | D．It teaches public presentation. |
| A．Rigid. | B．Challenging. |
| C．Inspiring. | D．Normal. |
