As the daughter of a truck driver and a secretary, I grew up knowing my mother far better than my father. As a young child I was “Daddy’s little girl,” but then I hit those teen years and my relationship with my father no longer existed. Now we were strangers. He didn’t know how to handle a teenage girl with crazy hormones and a big mouth. I was confused.
I was a rebellious teenager. When my mother attempted to guide me, of course I fought every inch of the way. But she never let go, and finally I got rid of those raging hormones and improper behaviors. It was during this time that I learned an important lesson from my father.
One evening on his way home he saw a woman opening her trunk to take out a spare tire. He stopped, introduced himself and began to take over the task of changing the blown-out tire. When Dad finished changing the tire and returning all of the equipment to the trunk of her car, she offered him a $20 bill for his help. He smiled at her and said, “No need. I have a wife and a daughter who just started driving, and my only hope is that if ever one of them breaks down on the side of the road, someone honest and friendly will stop and do for them what I just did for you.” He said good-bye and left.
This was a side of my father I didn’t see often. Instead, throughout my life, my father taught me the rules of the road and life through loud funny stories. I was 24 years old before I realized how much I had really learned from him.
In 1992, as a volunteer I headed to western Kansas to join the “Walk Across America for Mother Earth.” We were almost halfway there when the left back tire blew out. Quite upset, I maintained control of the car and pulled off of I-70 onto the shoulder of the road. As I went into the trunk for the spare tire and the jack, an 18-wheeler went flying past us at top speed. I was positioning the jack when I heard the loud, harsh sound of air brakes across the road.
Paragraph1: I looked up to see a trucker running to our aid.
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Paragraph2: I told the driver about my father and his experience in New Jersey.
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As my feet pound(咚咚地走) the pavement and my breath comes in shallow gasps, I pray that I won’t collapse(崩溃) and lie in a heap on the side of the road. I want to finish my first real race.
At 31, I am the oldest person in my running class. And I am the last to cross the finish line for every race.
My breathing is steady. My heartbeat establishes a rhythm(节奏) with the swinging of my arms and the pounding of my feet. I am no longer tired.The birds cheer me on with their song. The breeze ruffles my hair. This is why I love running. I am at the edge of my limits, but I am exhilarated.
I can sense the end getting closer. Then I see the finish line, surrounded by people cheering and waving their arms. My legs churn, and I imagine myself leaving a trail of smoke in my wake.
I cross the finish line, my husband hugs me tightly and wipes my tears.This is my fourth real race outside of my running class. This real race is an incredible challenge — one that I never thought I’d be up for.
When I was 17, I was in a car accident. The doctors told my parents I wouldn’t make it. I broke my collarbone(锁骨), pelvis, and both legs. Yet, I survived.
Then my parents were told I would never walk again. But I did. Every afternoon, I placed my hands on a walker and forced myself to put one foot in front of the other. I graduated to crutches(拐杖). And then to a cane. And finally to my own strength.
I spent months in physical therapy. Unluckily, I broke my leg again when I sat down hard at the bus stop one day. After six months of intense physical therapy, I was back to normal.
I was active from that point on. I walked, rode my bike, hiked with my husband, and worked out at gyms. And then, 13 years after the accident, I started running. And I loved it! I made a goal for myself of working up to running three miles. A girl at the gym encouraged me to enter a 5K race. I’d never run in a race, but I thought, Why not?
I started at the line with everyone else, but I was a slow runner.
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Today, I’m running a 10K.
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It is possible to wake up first thing in the morning with excitement. But in order to do so, you need to turn your alarm clock into a positive trigger (触发器) first. To begin with, you need to set up a situation that's going to make the desired result happen, such as moving your alarm clock — the fact that the alarm clock is across the room or in some different room forces you out of bed to turn it off. And when you get out of bed, you’re off to a good start.
If you don’t have specific goals, you are unlikely to turn your alarm clock into a positive emotional trigger. In fact, without clear goals, you will have a hard time creating motivation (动机), happiness, hope, or a good future. You need very specific and realistic goals, because human beings are drawn toward the future, and only by owning specific goals can you own your future.
Everyone follows a routine in daily life. The point of a routine is to make the process smooth so you can make progress. However, what got you here won't get you there. Just because one routine helped you in the past doesn't mean it will help you now. For example, for over 3 years, I woke up, walked to a nearby coffee shop and wrote articles there. That routine helped me become a successful author. But that routine isn't fit for who I am now. To stay healthy, I recently started running first thing in the morning.
The last tip is starting your activity as soon as possible. If you wake up first thing in the morning but don’t get up at once, your brain will remain fuzzy (模糊的) longer than it needs to. How you spend the first few moments of your morning sends a powerful signal to your brain about how the rest of the day will go. If you wake up and immediately get going on a task, your brain will activate very quickly. The longer it takes to get started on your first task, the harder it will be to make progress.
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As a child I didn’t really have good memories of Christmas, so as an adult, Christmas became a time I just wanted to avoid. I especially had trouble with all the Christmas music, which seemed to be just about everywhere. That was why I volunteered to work that Christmas Eve. The store where I worked in downtown Toronto was one of the few that didn’t play Christmas music. But that year I was given the best gift ever — a stranger came along and raised my Christmas spirit again.
It was the Christmas of 1992 and I was working at my sales job during the busiest season of the year. It was a time when customers became difficult to please, as patience seemed to be lost in the crowds. Few people were nice to salespeople during this time and working in a store became a major challenge.
I was relieved that my shift (轮班) was over and I could go home to avoid the rest of Christmas. I entered a subway car at the College Park subway station and found a single seat at the back of it, as far away from others as possible. I just wanted to get home and get out of my bad mood (心情).
I didn’t notice which station we were in when the stranger with the homeless appearance and boisterous (喧闹的) voice entered the subway car. When he started to talk to other passengers, I turned my attention to something else on purpose. I wanted to make it clear I had no interest in talking to this guy. Then the train was delayed in the tunnel for ten minutes. I was becoming more and more annoyed.
When the stranger started singing Jingle Bells I knew I’d had enough, but I was trapped. Then, slowly the other passengers joined in, and soon everyone sang with him.
Paragraph 1:
Then, to my shock, I found myself singing as well!
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Paragraph 2:
Since then I have carried that spirit with me.
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Joe sat on his bed and looked at his birthday presents. They were great! Smart new sports shoes from his mum. A fishing rod (竿) from his dad. And best of all, his grandpa had given him a watch. A proper, grown-up watch with a silver face.
Joe looked at the watch. It was so beautiful.
“Look after it, Joe,” said his mother. “It was expensive.”
Joe nodded. “I will, Mum. I promise. ”
That was last night — Saturday. Now it was Sunday, and Joe was going fishing.
“Are you wearing them to go fishing?”
Joe’s mum pointed at his new shoes. “It’s been raining all night, Joe. The river bank will be muddy (泥泞的). Wear your old shoes. ”
“No, it’s my birthday weekend,” said Joe. “I want to wear my new things. It will be okay. The rain has stopped now. ”
He quickly pulled on his jacket and left the house. “Bye!”
He knew a perfect place to fish. It was flat, like a little beach. He could stand really close to the water.
Soon he was there. The beach was empty. The only thing there was a huge white swan (天鹅). After seeing Joe, the swan walked into the water and sailed away. Joe began to fish.
An hour went by. Joe continued to fish happily. But the sky was getting dark. Rain! It began to fall. It was hard and heavy.
“Go away!” said Joe. “It’s my birthday weekend. I want to fish!”
The rain didn’t go away. It rained even harder.
Another hour went by. The rain didn’t stop. Joe was wet through, but he wouldn’t go home. It was his special day, and he was going to stay.
He threw his fishing line out again. But his hands were wet and the fishing rod was slippy (滑的). The rod flew out of his hands and dropped in the river.
“NO! My new rod!” He ran forward. But the beach had turned muddy. His new shoes were ruined in a moment. Then one of them came off completely. It was stuck in the mud behind him.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Joe tried to turn around to pick it up but he lost his balance.
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At that time, the swan came back and saw something shiny and silver in the water.
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内容包括：
1．化学农业的危害；
2．有机农业的优点及理由；
3．做出总结。
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1．有机农产品更健康，更让人放心；
2．有机农耕不会对环境造成破坏。
注意：词数80左右。
参考词汇：农药残留pesticide residues
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I awoke suddenly from a deep sleep. My heart was pounding, and I was scared. I closed my eyes, hoping to fall back to sleep quickly. But there it was again.
I was drowning. I was going to die soon if I didn’t do something! “Swim to the light,” a little voice said. I started struggling. I broke through the surface of the water. I was alive, and everything was going to be fine.
I got out of bed, afraid I would have the bad dream again if I went back to sleep. It troubled me all day, making it hard to focus on work. My mind kept drifting back to the dream, wondering what it could possibly mean.
That night, the dream came roaring back again. The next morning, I told my husband about it while we were getting ready for work. My husband said, “The dream might be just to reassure you that your friend, Sandy, will be alright if she fights back.” I liked his interpretation, but I wasn’t sure if that’s what it really meant.
Sandy was my friend, who had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and had started chemo(化疗). She was only in her thirties and had three young children. Outwardly, I tried to be positive and encouraging, but inwardly I was very upset by all that was happening to her.
Over the next few weeks, I had the same dream several times. I couldn’t shake the dream. I became convinced that the dream was mostly about me, but somehow Sandy was very connected. Sandy was fighting her cancer. The dream was showing me that I needed to fight back and swim to the light.
I struggled to find a connection between Sandy and my dream. What was wrong? What did I need to fight? The only thing I could come up with was to make an appointment for a check. A few days after the appointment, I got a call saying they wanted to do more X-rays. That same day, the radiologist recommended a medical check, which was scheduled for a few days later.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
The day finally came for me to get the results of medical check.
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It was a long road with surgery, chemo, and radiation.
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1.同学们的观点：
◆大部分同学认为播放音乐可以活跃气氛，放松身心，带来快乐，提高学习效率。
◆部分同学认为课间音乐时间短，没效果，而且课间时最需要的是安静，而不是音乐产生的噪声。
2.说明你的观点。
注意：词数80左右。
Should Music Be Played During the Class Break?
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