Smiles Are Always Preferable over Pity
An artist from Washington is bringing smiles to babies and their parents, one helmet at a time.
Flat head syndrome is a common condition in infants and affects about half of babies in their first year of life. Fortunately, it doesn’t cause significant medical consequence and is treatable with a specialized helmet that an infant will wear for weeks or months. But these helmets usually come in a dull white.
More than a decade ago, artist Paula Strawn was approached by a friend whose granddaughter was prescribed one of the helmets and asked if she could make it a bit more fun.
“I had never seen a baby with a helmet before and they quickly explained what it was for,” Strawn says. “I was a little frightened as I hadn’t painted on anything like this before. But it went and they were very happy.”
Strawn was living in Southern California at the time. After painting the helmet for her friend, she quickly began to get inquiries from other parents who wanted to stylize the helmets for their babies.
Soon, requests snowballed in from across the state, then from around the country.
“Within the year it was my main painting work for folks all over Southern California and within a couple of years I started hearing from folks around the states,” she recalls. “The last few years it’s been my full-time business. I get helmets from all over the country.”
Strawn, who now lives in Washington, says she has painted more than 3,200 helmets in the 15 years since she painted her first one.
She frequently posts her paintings to her Instagram page, which features helmets designed with bright flowers, cartoon characters, sports team logos and other colorful pictures.
“It’s a fun, friendly and personal design that brings smiles to baby and a chance for parents to have a conversation about the helmet instead of pity,” Strawn says. “Smiles are always preferable over pity!”
1. Who will be interested in this text?| A．Babies. | B．Parents. | C．Artists. | D．Doctors. |
| A．The helmets are mainly white. | B．Infants don’t like their helmets. |
| C．Many babies suffer from flat heads. | D．People ignore flat head syndrome. |
| A．Caring. | B．Generous. | C．Selfish. | D．Energetic. |
| A．a brochure | B．a diary | C．an advertisement | D．a magazine |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Why do Dogs Roll in the Grass?
If your dog is anything like mine, she loves rolling around in a patch of grass any chance she gets. And it always makes me happy to watch my dog, Nala, have the time of her life.
To find out why Nala and so many other dogs like to stop, drop and roll, I reached out to Dr. Stephanie Austin, a veterinarian at Bond Vetin New York City, who explained that dogs can roll in the grass for several reasons!
She’s enjoying a smell.
She’s covering up her own scent. According to Dr. Austin, there’s another smelly reason why your pup may be rolling around in that patch of grass. “They want to smell like the environment so they don’t scare off their prey,” Dr. Austin said.
She’s cooling off.
She’s scratching an itch. “It’s good to exclude any allergies and make sure your dog isn’t rolling a ton to scratch a constantly itchy back or side, but otherwise, it’s probably normal that she’s having a good time,” Dr. Austin said.
If you notice your dog rolling around in the grass, it’s probably just her having the best time ever.
| A．She is stretching |
| B．She’s having fun |
| C．If it’s boring for your dog |
| D．If it’s a particularly hot day |
| E．But I’ve always wondered why she actually does it |
| F．Here are some common explanations behind this behavior |
| G．It’s important to remember how powerful your dog’s nose is |
【推荐2】It is good news that you didn't get hit by China's Tiangong-1 space station when it fell to Earth on April 1. The not-so-good news is that there's a lot more space debris (碎片) where that came from.All the same, you can take off your hard hat, because your chances of getting struck are extremely small.
At any moment, there are more than 500,000 pieces of space debris orbiting(沿轨道运行) Earth. Some are no bigger than a millimeter or two; others—like Tiangong-1, which was the size of a school bus—are a potential threat. But the reason why none of these presents a danger is that when satellites reach the end of their useful lives, they can be controlled and sent on dives to the middle of the ocean. It's when something goes wrong—when communications are lost or fuel is exhausted—that re-entry becomes a crapshoot (运气). That's what happened when NASA's Skylab space station fell to Earth in 1979. Even in those situations, the odds are very much on safety's side. Roughly 70% of Earth's surface is water, and much of its landmass is unpopulated.
If you're still worried, take comfort in some numbers: in the long history of spaceflight, only one person has ever gotten on the wrong side of a piece of falling space junk.That was Lottie Williams of Tulsa, Okla, who was conked on the shoulder by a piece of a Delta II rocket in 1997. She was unhurt.
According to the Aerospace Corp, a nonprofit group that tracked Tiangong-1's fall, the likelihood of an individual being hit by space debris is less than 1 in 1 trillion.The European Space Agency says getting struck by lightning is 10 million times as likely as the 1-in-300 trillion odds of being hit by space debris.
1. What does the second paragraph talk about?| A．Different sizes of space debris and where they land |
| B．Causes of the space debris orbiting the earth |
| C．reasons for not fearing being hit by space debris. |
| D．Effects of space debris not diving to the ocean |
| A．struck | B．cooked | C．hurt | D．fell |
| A．Doubtful | B．Uncaring | C．worried | D．relaxed |
| A．Falling space debris: a threat to our life |
| B．Falling space debris: stop fearing being hit |
| C．Falling space debris: put on your hard hat |
| D．Falling space debris: get on the right side |
【推荐3】Expertise is what separates amateurs from true masters in almost any field. You might wonder whether experts are “born” or “made”. Experts in the field prove that expertise is acquired through dedicated practice, but how exactly do people go about becoming experts?
People who become experts tend to get a body of knowledge that makes them one of the most informed individuals in their field. They also possess the skills that they need to determine when and how to utilize their knowledge. Recently, a popular idea has emerged that the key to becoming an expert is devoting at least 10,000 hours to the study and practice of a subject. In the study, researchers found that the most accomplished violinists at a music academy had spent an average 10,000 hours practicing their instruments. Pop psychology author Malcolm Gladwell coined the phrase “the ten-thousand-hour rule”. Gladwell also suggested tech-entrepreneur Bill Gates had devoted 10,000 hours to practicing programming before he created Microsoft.
Anders Ericsson of the University of Florida, who is a world-renowned expert, has studied experts from all walks of life and pointed out the deficiency of “the ten-thousand-hour rule”. Ericsson believes that what separates amateurs from experts is what is referred to as deliberate practice. Ordinary practice can help people become skilled at a task, but deliberate practice needs to improve other things, such as your current skill level, setting goals, and receiving training and instruction from a qualified teacher.
While Ericsson believes deliberate practice is the key to becoming an expert, not all researchers agree with his conclusion. Some recent studies have found deliberate practice isn’t the only factor that explains the differences between the skilled and the unskilled. While psychologists are not sure exactly which factors might also play a role, personality traits, physical characteristics, and overall intelligence may matter as well.
Practice is essential for developing a skill, but becoming an expert requires constantly challenging yourself to do better, learn more, and acquire new knowledge and skills. Simply practicing the same skills over and over again will make you better in those areas, but it will not lead to true expertise.
1. What’s the main role of the first paragraph?| A．To lead to the topic. | B．To analyze the popular idea. |
| C．To describe the background. | D．To introduce a phenomenon. |
| A．patience matters a lot | B．hard work will finally pay off |
| C．the importance of repeated practice | D．the difficulty of becoming a well-known expert |
| A．Feature | B．Influence | C．Significance | D．Shortcoming |
| A．Because his research range is quite limited. |
| B．Because he ignores some related factors. |
| C．Because he introduces some conflicting factors. |
| D．Because his research mistakes some definitions. |
| A．People should develop different skills in life. |
| B．Simply practicing is not enough to attain true expertise. |
| C．People shouldn’t only focus on challenging themselves. |
| D．Constantly challenging is essential for learning new knowledge. |
【推荐1】Keller Rinaudo Cliffton’s first company, Romotive, made toy cars that became robots by fixing a smartphone on top. But Rinaudo Clifton soon realized that he didn’t want to just make toys—he wanted to find ways to solve important problems.
He found what he was looking for on a visit to a health institute (机构) in Tanzania. There he saw that they had developed a system allowing health workers to make emergency requests for medicine and vaccines (疫苗), but had no effective way to deliver them. So in 2014, Romotive became Zipline, and started designing and building delivery drones (无人机) called Zips. By 2016, the company began deliveries in Rwanda, starting with just one hospital, but growing to 20 within a year.
Zipline now also operates in other African countries like Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Ivory Coast, as well as parts of the US and Japan. Now as the world’s largest commercial drone delivery system, it says it has made more than 700,000 deliveries, carrying everything from vaccines and medical things to hot food and phone chargers. Zipline says its centralized storage system and fast deliveries result in less waste when delivering blood products, and people miss fewer vaccines in places where Zipline operates.
Its first drone, the Platform 1 Zip, looks like a small airplane that can carry a little under 2 kilograms, going as far as almost 100 kilometers away at speeds of around 100 kilometers per hour. Things are dropped from about 20-25 meters above the ground.
The company’s new Platform 2 Zip, which has gone through the research and development periods and is currently being tested out, is promised to be ready for customer flights by 2025, can carry about twice as much as the Platform 1.
The company says that Platform 2 Zip can deliver to much more precise (精确的) locations up to seven times as fast as a car, completing 16-kilometer deliveries in about 10 minutes. And by 2026, it expects to run more flights each year than most major US airlines.
1. Where did Keller get inspiration of making delivery drones?| A．In a hospital. | B．In a company. |
| C．In a children’s center. | D．In a health institute. |
| A．Europe. | B．Africa. | C．Asia. | D．America. |
| A．It lacks financial support. | B．It has been widely used. |
| C．It is still under development. | D．It has a better carrying capacity |
| A．Awful. | B．Debatable. | C．Promising. | D．Unclear. |
【推荐2】In the new year, people resolve to improve themselves. But travel writer Tom Vandebilt didn’t wait for a new year to shake up his world. After watching his daughter play chess, he decided to join her. Emboldened by the experience, Vanderbilt started on his own adult-education study, learning to sing, surf and draw. His aim is to understand what it means for a middle-aged man to learn new skills, and, deeper still, how learning happens. “It’s about small acts of reinvention, at any age, that can make life seem magical,” he writes.
He engages a voice teacher, who eases his fears about his ability. “You should walk into this completely open and think of it as a joyful experience,” she tells him. Good advice for learning anything new.
Then Vandebilt takes up surfing. From the “pop up” from prone position to upright on the board, he learns how to read the signs of the ocean and discovers that it’s a serious pursuit. He is told he needs to “treat surfing as a sport with all the tools involved: a thoughtful skills development plan; video feedback; and drills”. After many missed waves and wipeouts, his first big Costa Rica waves “was an absolute surprise and bliss”, he recalls.
He finds out the key to learning new things is shifting the focus off yourself. With surfing, he learns to look at the shore, not his feet or board. In his drawing classes, the state of “shifting the focus” comes into play as well. Claude Monet counseled, “Try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, or whatever. Merely think, here is a little square of blue or a rectangle of pink, and paint it just as it looks to you.”
Over the course of his learning journey, he didn’t win any prizes or break new ground. He gained “modest competency”. But he believes doing these things has brought him an immense pleasure. He will encourage himself and others to find delight in developing new or forgotten skills.
1. What can we learn about Tom Vanderbilt’s adult-education study?| A．He explored the new fields to make his life more magical. |
| B．“Shifting the focus off yourself” is the only finding he has gained. |
| C．His learning experience in one field also helps him get through in others. |
| D．He watched his daughter play chess in order to start his own study. |
| A．many different skills | B．useless techniques |
| C．excellent performance | D．ordinary ability |
| A．Ambitious and intelligent. | B．Optimistic and determined. |
| C．Enterprising and reflective | D．Creative and imaginative. |
Shortly after the war, my brother and I were invited to spend a few days’ holiday with an uncle who had just returned from abroad. He had rented （租） a cottage in the country, although he hardly spent much time there. We understood the reason for this after our arrival: the cottage had no comfortable furniture in it. Many of the windows were broken and the roof leaked （漏水）, making the whole house wet.
On our first evening, we sat around the fire after supper listening to the stories our uncle told of his many adventures in distant countries. I was so tired after the long train journey that I would have preferred to go to bed; but I could not bear to miss any of my uncle’s exciting stories. He was just in the middle of describing a rather terrifying experience he had once had when there was a loud crash（倒塌声） from the bedroom above, the one where my brother and I were going to sleep.
When we got to the top of the stairs and opened the bedroom door, a strange sight met our eyes. A large part of the ceiling had fallen right on to the pillow（枕头）of my bed.
1. The uncle disliked the rented cottage for the reason that ________.
| A．there were no beds in it |
| B．the windows were broken and the roof leaked |
| C．it was too old for him to live in |
| D．it was very rainy in the area |
| A．but he did his best not to miss any stories |
| B．so he had to go to bed early |
| C．because he was tired of his uncle’s stories |
| D．and he was gradually falling asleep while listening |
| A．A person runs away from a danger through a narrow door. |
| B．A person escapes a danger by luck. |
| C．A person escapes a danger easily. |
| D．A person runs away from a danger easily. |
【推荐1】What would you do if you had a large sum of money? Give away almost all of it to charity? Well, that’s what Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, just said he would do. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan promised to give 99 percent of their money to society. Right now that is about $45 billion(289 billion yuan), and they plan to give away the money to things like science and education.
Many wealthy people have done similar things, for example, Bill Gates. But giving back and helping others isn’t just for big billionaires. People like Zuckerberg and Gates may have more to give, but people with less are doing it too. Especially around the holidays, people want to do their part and give back to people who are less lucky than them. Schools may have food collections where people bring some food and together they can give away some other things to places like homeless centers.
People also host special events like concerts or runs to be creative while raising money. Common people give away whatever they can to US charities like the United Way and the American Red Cross.
Then these charities are able to help poor in different ways like education, health and improving their lives. These things come together to make a big difference.
1. Which of the following about Mark Zuckerberg is true?| A．He promised to give away all of his money to charities. |
| B．He cares about science and health |
| C．He is a billionaire who wouldn’t like to help charities |
| D．He is the CEO and founder of Facebook. |
| A．Rich people are doing it now. |
| B．Rich people are giving less than before |
| C．Common people are donating to people in need |
| D．Common people are giving less than billionaires |
| A．How common people help others | B．Why people like to help others. |
| C．What schools do during the holidays | D．What charities there are in the US |
【推荐2】My 12-year-old niece was staying with us for a couple of days. She was remembering some acts of kindness that we did together when she was less than five years old. We talked about how so much had changed. and with the outbreak of COVID-19, how difficult it would be to do so many of those things, especially when it comes to strangers.
The next day, I needed something from the downtown area and happened to take her with me. As we walked around on the street, we heard a beautiful male voice singing a very soulful song. We tuned around to see a middle-aged man sitting on a street comer with his guitar. A couple were sitting on a bench nearby and listening to his music.
After getting a few things done, we happened to sit at an outdoor dining restaurant across from him on the other side of the street. My niece was learning how to sing herself, and she kept smiling and saying how wonderful his singing was. Seeing how moved she was by his music, at the end of our meal, I gave her a ten-dollar bill and asked her to walk across the street and put it in his bowl.
She was a little surprised. “Really? ” she asked with bright eyes. I nodded. So she headed over and as she approached, the man was just finishing a song and started talking to her, and they ended up having a sweet conversation. She told him how touched she was by his music, and he ended up telling her that she made his day. As she was excitedly repeating the conversation back to me, she mentioned, “He didn’t even know how much it was. He was just thankful that someone was enjoying his music. ”
1. What did the author and her niece do in the first paragraph?| A．They thought back to the past. |
| B．They decided to do good deeds outside. |
| C．They made a plan for going downtown. |
| D．They talked about meeting more strangers. |
| A．A man’s guitar. | B．An outdoor dining restaurant. |
| C．A couple sitting nearby. | D．A charming male voice. |
| A．Talk with the man. | B．Praise the man. |
| C．Learn music from the man. | D．Offer some financial help to the man. |
| A．They shared singing skills. | B．They felt grateful to each other. |
| C．The man took pride in his singing. | D．The girl introduced the author to the man. |
【推荐3】Sabera Hossain’s passion for helping others is endless.
Hossain, a senior at East Meadow High School in New York, has taken part in humanitarian (慈善的) tasks both at home and abroad, from fighting poverty as president of her school’s World Hunger Action Club to teaching English to children in Bangladesh.
While in the South Asian country last summer, she spent six weeks volunteering at a school she called “a shack on the banks of a lake”. She provided a group of about 30 students, aged 4 — 8, with homemade educational materials, including cards and game booklets, to help them learn numbers and words.
But Hossain’s humane efforts don’t end there. She has also volunteered at senior-living communities and Nassau University Medical Center in New York. She’s even worked with her local Volunteer Ambulance Corps, where she was trained to help give emergency treatment, alongside nursing and medical technicians.
“I feel like everyone needs to go out and see what the world has to offer,” Hossain said. “That’s why I’ve done so much; I wanted to explore what I like and don’t like.”
You won’t be surprised to know she’s also a star student. Hossain is an AP Scholar with Distinction and earned a score of 1,550 on the SAT.
She is also a member of the math team and Pre-Medicine Club. Sabera also earned a membership in the National Academy of Finance, which came after she passed four standardized exams and held a 120-hour internship in the business field.
“Sabera is someone who is always looking for a challenge, eager to travel the world, experience new cultures, meet new people and make a difference in the lives of others,” said her teacher, Joanna Silberman. “I can think of no one more mature and ready to begin the next journey of her life.”
This year, Hossain will attend college, but she has not decided on a major. She is most looking forward to widening her horizons and finding new things that she likes. Big colleges offer big benefits to students.
1. What can we learn about Hossain according to paragraph 2 ?| A．Hossain has participated in charity tasks only at home. |
| B．Hossain has never joined in charity tasks abroad |
| C．Hossain has devoted herself to the different charity tasks full of passion for helping others |
| D．Hossain has seldom succeeded in fighting poverty |
| A．To spend six weeks at a school. |
| B．To help students there to learn numbers and words. |
| C．To provide students with homemade educational materials. |
| D．To teach students how to make cards and game booklets. |
| A．Hossain has also volunteered at Nasssan University Medical Center. |
| B．Hossain has volunteered in Pre-Medicine Club. |
| C．Hossain has ever worked in the National Academy of Finance. |
| D．Hossain has also volunteered at senior-living communities and in her Local Volunteer Ambulance. |
| A．It can broaden her viewpoint and provide new things which will interest her. |
| B．It can offer a chance to experience the new culture |
| C．It can make a great difference in the lives of others. |
| D．It can provide a platform to meet new people. |
| A．Hossain’s background. | B．Hossain’s encouragement. |
| C．Worldwide volunteering | D．Volunteering’s popularity |
