2 . Many of us seem to have lives that follow a certain way. From kindergarten all the way to when we get married, every stage of our lives seems to be preset. And although this works well for a lot of people, according to British scholar Jay Shetty, there is no “right” schedule to live our lives by.

A few months ago, a video of Shetty’s speech “Before You Feel Pressure” became popular on the Internet across the world. In the video, he sends an important message that we should think “outside of the way” and have the courage to follow our hearts. As Shetty says in the video, we don’t have to get stressed and put ourselves in a race with our peers or judge our lives based on others’. “Everything in life happens according to our time, our clocks,” he says.

In his inspiring speech, Shetty points out that UK author J. K. Rowling got her famous “Harry Potter” series published at age 32, after being turned down by 12 publishers. Shetty also mentions that US actor Morgan Freeman didn’t get his big break until he was 52 years old. So we shouldn’t let anyone rush us.

As physicist Albert Einstein once said, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that’s counted truly counts. The key to staying on our own tracks is to be patient and keep our own interest. ” In Australian nurse Bronnie Ware’s best-selling book “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying”, she recorded the dying regrets of her patients, and the top one on the list was: “I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the one others expected of me. ”

Indeed, we are all unique in our personalities and gifts, and there’s no perfect fit for all. We should listen to our inner voices and ignore what the world has taught us, and what we’ve picked up from people around us. “It is important to allow people to go back to being self-aware of their own interests, needs and concerns,” Shetty told the magazine. “It’s disconnecting from what ‘makes sense’ to what actually moves you and what makes sense internally (内在地). ”

3 . If students will arrive at UT Dallas (the University of Texas at Dallas) after the first day of classes, the ISSO (International Students and Scholars Office) strongly suggests they put off their admission. It’s our experience that late-arriving students have a stressful time settling in and meeting all the pre-registration requirements, such as TB Test (肺结核检查), orientations (入学培训), housing and so on. The inability to meet all these requirements may harm a student’s F-1 or J-1 visa status.

Departmental Late Arrival Letter

UT Dallas academic departments have the freedom and authority to write a late arrival letter on a student’s behalf. Departments may only offer this letter if they are willing to make a statement to CBP (Customs and Border Protection), showing that they will ensure that the late-arriving student will be able to meet all university and immigration requirements despite the late arrival.

Approval or denial of late arrival will be based on the individual worthiness of the request. The letter should be addressed to CBP and sent directly to the student from the academic department.

In general, scanned and printed images will be accepted by CBP. The letter should state:

◎ How late the department is willing to let the student start the semester. This must be a specific date.

◎ That the student will be able to enroll full-time in the academic program and make normal academic progress despite the late arrival.

The letter will not guarantee entry into the US; it simply reduces the possibility that late-arriving students will be turned away at the US Port of Entry.

If Entering Late:

Email the following areas the arrival date as soon as possible:

1. Intercultural Programs (ICPrograms@utdallas.edu) to schedule an International Student Orientation.

2. The Student Health Centre (Healthcen @utdallas. edu) to schedule a TB Test.

3. Academic department to communicate about late registration.

Consequences of late arrival:

◎ Late registration for courses

◎ Limited class availability

◎ Late registration fees

Late-arriving students are required to keep full-time enrollment throughout the semester. The ISSO will not approve reduced course loads due to the late arrival.

5 . It was the middle of the night when firefighters Paul Hullings and Tim Young stopped at the Route 130 restaurant that waitress Liz Woodward worked at. They had just finished _________ a massive basement fire. It had taken most of the night to extinguish it, and they were _________.

Woodward noticed the tired firefighters and started a conversation with them. When she learned that they had spent hours courageously fighting the fire, she was _________. So when the men were ready to leave, she left the bill on the table – already _________.

Woodward also left a(n) _________ on the bill to thank the firefighters for their service: “Your breakfast is on me today – Thank you for all that you do: for serving others and for running into the places everyone else_________. No matter what your role is, you are courageous and strong ...”

The firefighters were _________ to tears: “What a(n) _________ and kind act! I definitely encourage my friends to patronize (经常光顾) this restaurant to _________ the business, and if Woodward happens to be your waitress, tip __________.”

Woodward’s gift and __________ words let the firefighters know that they were __________ and that local people cared about them. A(n) __________ thank you can make a job worth doing.

Little did they know, Woodward was fighting her own __________. She was also courageous and strong - for her dad, a quadriplegic (四肢瘫痪者) who was in __________ need of a wheelchair – accessible van. Woodward was trying to raise money for him.

What goes around comes around, as they say, and Woodward was destined to be __________ for her random act of kindness. When they learned of Woodward’s difficulty, they talked to local news media and hoped to help Woodward with her fundraising __________.

And it __________. Since the story got out, she has raised over $86,000. The firefighters’ act of __________ inspired the waitress’ act of kindness, which __________ inspired the firefighters – and nearly 2,000 other people – to do something for her.

7 . When birds’ habitat is destroyed, some species don’t make it while others survive. But what happens at the very beginning of the process, just as a bird’s habitat starts to change? Research in Argentina’s Monte Desert has provided some answers. There are lots of trees, bushes, grasses and flowering plants in the protected parts of the desert. With so many options, most seed-eating birds choose to focus on large grass seeds. The birds can get all the energy and nutrients they need with minimal effort.

But when cattle show up to graze the desert’s natural landscape, birds face changes in food supply. Some birds are happy to change their diets in response. But others, not so much. And it’s the ones set in their ways that are at the highest risk. Understanding how birds react to grazing can help researchers solve the problem of those species.

Ecologists from the Argentine Arid Zones Research Institute compared soil samples from the desert’s Nacunan biosphere reserve to samples from two neighboring cattle farms. It was discovered that grass seeds — the birds’ favorites — were just one-quarter as likely to be found on the farms compared with the reserve. Next, they caught birds to see what they were eating. The Common Diuca-Finch and the Rufous-Collared Sparrow had adjusted their diets, choosing to eat their less preferred options on the farms, even while they still focused on large grass seeds in the reserve.

Meanwhile, the Many-Colored Chaco Finch and the Ringed Warbling-Finch were apparently unable to change their diets. Even on the farms, they worked hard to find the few grass seeds available. If they burn more energy searching for food than they get from the few grass seeds they find, they could starve. At best, their inflexible dietary could limit their ability to reproduce or to care for their young.

Studies like this can help predict which species are at higher risk and help farmers protect these poor species, even while allowing their livestock to graze. For example, the farmers can plant new species for their cattle that will also be more delicious and nutritious for local seed-eating birds. The cows won’t care about the menu change — but the birds sure will.

10 . After I won my first race at five, life was about winning races. Two kids, Ray J and Gil,________that.

One day in our first NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing) season, my teammate, Ray had to leave for home because his son Ray J suddenly developed cancer. He said something about________to miss work for even a day. “Forget it,” I interrupted. “Your________comes first.” The following months were________ for Ray J, chemotherapy (化疗) and long stays in the hospital. He was so________that he could barely play. However, the________boy had been fighting against illness. I always faced challenges by going________and pushing myself harder. But how could a stock-car driver like me make a difference to the kid? For the first time in my life the________didn’t seem so important.

Gil was a six-year-old boy with a rare bone disease. His bones were so easy to break that a hug might________one of them. That day he was sitting in a wheelchair, as small as a three-year-old child, and his legs were gnarled and atrophied (扭曲萎缩). However, he had a big________. For fear of breaking his bones into pieces, I didn’t ________his hand.________, I held up my hand. He touched it and then pulled his hand back. He smiled more brightly. I went down on my________and we talked. He was a huge NASCAR________. He couldn’t go outside and________, but watching the races and learning everything about the drivers distracted him from his ________ “I love it when you win, Jeff.”

Win. That word again. Had I ever thought much about what it ________? Winning is what I’m always aiming for. That’s my job, and it’s how I________my family. But winning is more than just crossing the________line first. The two kids are the true________.