Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for coming to attend the graduation ceremony (仪式). First of all, I’d like to congratulate all the students who are here today. I remember meeting all of you when you were just starting Grade 7 at this school. You were so full of        ______and thirsty for knowledge. And some of you were a little difficult to          _____! But today, you’ve all grown up so much and I am so proud of you.

You’ve all worked very hard over the last three years, but none of you did it          _____. I hope you’ll remember the important   ____in your lives who helped and supported you. Please consider what they’ve done for you. Never   ______to be thankful to the people around you.

Lastly, the end of junior high school is the beginning of a new ___. You will have many difficult tasks ahead of (在……前面) you. You’ll make mistakes along the way, but the key is to          ________your mistakes and never give up. But along with difficulties, there will also be many   _____things waiting for you. Learn the new things, and you’ll have the ability to make your own choices. Choose     _____and be responsible (承担责任) for your decisions and actions.        ________you have to go your separate ways now, I hope that you’ll come back to visit our school in a few years’ time. As you set out on your new journey, you shouldn’t forget where you came from. The future is yours.

Good luck and hope to see you again sometime soon!

A group of graduates, quite successful in their businesses, got together to visit their old college teacher. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his students coffee, the teacher went to the kitchen, returned with a large pot of coffee and different kinds of cups — porcelain (陶瓷的), plastic, glass, some nice-looking, some expensive and some others. Then he told them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the teacher said, ―If you have noticed, all the nice-looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the common and cheap ones. While it is natural for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the place which your problems and stress come from.

―Be sure that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most situations it is just more expensive and in some situations even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you went for the best cups…. And then you began watching each other’s cups.

―Now consider this: Life is the coffee, the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to contain (容纳) life, and the type of cup we have does not mean anything, nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee.

―The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

Travelling is an exciting experience. It makes us feel pleased, and enjoy new wonders and new part of life that we’ve never known. A single holiday trip can give you the freedom (自由) and the chance to make changes that daily life does not allow. It isn’t very important where you go on your holiday, but it is all in what you make of it. Any travel can be interesting and attractive, and give you memories to last a lifetime.

Having those memories is truly what travels are all about. Many people say that a bit of plan and research before you leave can make sure of those long-lasting memories. But why not try something unexpected? In fact, the most unforgettable moments of a travel experience are the ones that you don’t plan. Yes, maybe you’ll experience a bad meal in a strange place. But these experiences will make sure you find little-known shops or an open-air theatre production that is only advertised (做广告) in the local paper.

You’ll find the enjoyable moments happening all around you: a wonderful sunset or a small child playing in the puddles (水洼) of a cobble (鹅卵石) road. The magic will truly be in the trip you take. Take time to go for a long walk for enjoyment when visiting a new place, which will allow you to listen, smell, and see the different cultures and sights that your busy life may stop you from enjoying.

Simple things such as a leaf from a tree you sat under can keep the memories of your travel alive for years to come. Collect small things such as leaves, stones, or feathers, which can be turned into memorable (可供记忆的) works of art when you get back home.

Making a decision is never easy. You spend a lot of time weighing costs and benefits (获益).

But you have to pick one.

Now, a group of Canadian scientists say that a tiny area of our brains, called the lateral habenula (外侧缰核), may be to ―blame (责备) for the difficulty of decisions.

The lateral habenula is one of the smallest parts of the brain. Yet, the research has found that this brain area is connected to depression (抑郁). When scientists turned it off in a patient’s brain, the patient seemed to be happier.

However, the new study might have made this more difficult to understand.

In the new study, scientists trained rats to pick between two choices – receiving one piece of food regularly or four pieces less often.

They choose the four pieces when they didn’t have to wait too long to receive them. But they picked the single piece as the waiting time increased. This means that rats also have the ability to weigh costs and benefits, just like humans.

Scientists then turned off the lateral habenula in the rats’ brains. When they did this, the rats started making choices randomly. It seemed that they had no idea which choice might be better for them.

―This finding shows how the brain works when making important decisions, said Professor Stan Floresco of University of British Columbia, Canada, to Science Daily. These decisions include choosing between job offers or which house to buy.

It also helps to clear up scientists’ misunderstanding about the lateral habenula’s function (作用). When this area is shut off, patients with depression seem to feel better, but that might not be because they feel happier. ―They may simply no longer care as much about what is making them feel depressed, said Floresco.

Beggars (乞讨者) are often seen sitting by the side of a street with heads low as people pass them by. Some ask people passing by for a small amount of money and some just sit and wait to be given money. A few use aggressive (有攻击性的) behavior to make money.

To solve the problem of aggressive begging, an ―alternative (供选择的) giving plan has been suggested. Ten blue money boxes will be placed in busy places with the encouragement that people don’t give money directly to beggars but instead, to give it to the local charity for the homeless.

Those   who   support this plan think   it   will be an   effective   (有效的) way to   solve   the problems of beggars. But the police are against the plan arguing that beggars who do not receive money may turn to criminals. The homeless charity ―Crisis believes the success of any plan will depend on its style. They think that imaginative and positive plans can help create local understanding and sympathy (同情) instead of hardness. Most of the beggars dislike the plan because they think they will not get enough money from the boxes for their showers, food and clothes.

Begging is a big social problem both in developing and developed countries. Governments must play a big role in solving this problem. Training beggars to work and helping them to find proper jobs are especially true for developing countries where many low-skill jobs are offered. The general community should also be educated to see beggars not as dirty and dangerous, but as people who need understanding and help.

目前，家长开车接送孩子上学已经成为一个普遍现象，人们对此有着不同的看法。请你根据以下表格信息写一篇英语短文。

注意：

1. 短文须包括所有内容要点，要求语句通顺、意思连贯；

2. 表格里省略号处须用 2～3 句话作适当发挥；

3. 词数 90 个左右，短文开头已给出，不计入总词数；

4. 短文内容必须写在答卷纸对应的位置上。

Nowadays it’s common for parents to drive their children to school and back home, which has caused a discussion.

Some parents think