Giving Money to Families with Kids Can Relieve Child Poverty
Nearly 1 in 5 American children is officially poor. That’s roughly 15 million kids. But the number living with a significant deprivation——insufficient food, seriously overcrowded housing or a lack of access to medical care due to cost-is actually much higher. According to the latest studies, it’s more like 1 in 3.
A mountain of evidence now shows that poverty can lead to cognitive (认知的) and emotional damage in children. Child poverty is too harmful and punishing to ignore. A growing number of academics believe there is a solution: the government should give monthly cash allowances, without conditions, to every family with kids.
When Michael Harrington’s classic book, The Other America, called attention to America’s general poverty rate of about 25% in 1962, Washington developed social programs that brought the rate down sharply. Valuable policies intended to relieve child poverty have been enacted since then, but they are not enough: 1 in 3 children does not receive the full benefits of these programs because their parents do not qualify for them.
A family with two children receiving $300 to $400 a month per child could improve their standard of living immediately. Money can buy food, heat, coats, eye-glasses and regular doctors’ visits, including transportation, and help pay for childcare. It can also help reduce family stress and help parents provide a psychologically nourishing environment for learning and social development. Studies demonstrate children’s improved educational performance when families are simply given more money.
For far less money-about $100 billion-the number of children living in official poverty could be cut in half. Such a policy would be a humane, practical, efficient victory for a nation too willing to neglect its poor.
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On Sunday, the second day of Spring Festival, a man was killed after he fell into the tiger enclosure while trying to get into the zoo in Ningbo, East China’s Zhejiang Province, without paying for a ticket.
The tragedy cost two lives, as the tiger was shot dead when zoo employees tried to rescue the man.
As news of the incident spread, the majority of voices online blamed the dead man for the animal’s death. Some said this was a sign that people are becoming more cold hearted. But they are wrong. People have been displaying increasingly more enthusiasm for helping those in need and participating in charity work. In 2016, the China Charity Federation received donations of 18.8 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) in total, 46 percent more than the donations received in 2015, and they sent helping hands to one tragedy after another.
People are just tired of forgiving those in the wrong. While sympathy is right, it has been abused too much. When somebody commits a crime, no matter how cruel the crime is, media outlets explain the criminal’s miserable childhood and there are calls for forgiveness. When someone smokes in public, there are always people calling for tolerance.
People are fed up and angry with lawbreakers escaping their due punishments in the name of forgiveness and tolerance.
But going back to the tragedy at the wildlife park in Ningbo, the tiger’s death shows the park was not well prepared for such emergencies. They did not have any tranquilizer guns that could sedate the tiger immediately and save the lives of both the man and the endangered animal.
In the meantime, it is necessary to raise people’s awareness that the animals in zoos and wildlife parks are not domesticated pets, and of the need for visitors to observe rules for their own safety.
The man in the Ningbo incident paid for his fault with his life, but the tiger was killed for his fault, too. We sincerely hope no more tigers or humans will pay for such fault.
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It is from your parents that you first learn language. This learning involves much more time than mere accent (重音) and vocabulary. You are taught that often you must concern yourself with other people’s feelings and needs instead of your own. You learn to say “I’m sorry” even in a situation when you clearly are not wrong, or to say, “That was a delicious lunch” when you thought it was just the opposite. You learn that different clothing and behaviour are appropriate at the public swimming pool, at the family dinner table, and at other places.
Parents also teach their children social skills. In learning to get along with other people, for example, you are taught when to say “Please” and “Thank you”. Some children are taught that language can be a pleasure itself, in the form of jokes, poems, and stories. Some children are taught that in our society it usually is more acceptable to use verbal rather than physical means to get what one wants. For example, most people say “Excuse me” instead of simply pushing through a crowd.
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4 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s)of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
The Internet is a network of linked computers enabling people to search for information and communicate with each other. The rapid rise of the Internet has been driven in part by the ability of users to access it from home, work and other locations. Another key factor has been the ability to connect to the Internet quickly and easily as a result of significant technological advances. In just a few years, the Internet has revolutionized the lives of millions of its users.
One aspect of this revolution is especially impressive: Internet shopping. This is a process of purchasing products or services over the Internet. Shopping on the Internet, or shopping online is becoming more and more popular. More and more people are using the Internet to buy things. Why do people use the Internet to shop? People like shopping online because they find it convenient. They don't have to leave their homes to order something, and they can shop for anything they want at any time, day or night. Other people say they can find things for sale that they can't find in the stores near their homes. Still other people say they can find better prices on the Internet.
However, the rapid growth of Internet shopping does not necessarily mean there are no problems. It raises questions about risks when buying at a distance. Internet users are also very concerned about the risks to the security of their payments and personal data. If you want to buy something on the Internet, you need a credit card. You have to type your credit card number and some other information on the website and send it to the store over the Internet. You have to be sure that the store will not use your information in the wrong way. You don't want someone to get your credit card number and charge something to your account. Of course, you always have to be careful with your credit card number, because people sometimes steal credit card numbers from stores and restaurants too. Protecting Internet shoppers has already been identified as an important area for further work.
Internet shopping allows companies to sell their products to a large number of customers around the clock. They can buy products at anytime from anywhere in the world. Internet shopping is becoming a truly global experience.
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I read what you wrote about “the good old days” with interest. Despite making some sensible points, to my mind your argument is wildly oversimplified in saying that the old days were better. All too often nowadays, we hear these black-and-white opinions about “globalization“. In my opinion, it’s a grey area and there are important benefits as well as some inevitable downsides as we move away from the good old days.
I feel that cultures well-received globally are not fixed and many of the best things come from culture mixing. For example, many British people didn’t like the very spicy food introduced by Indian people. As a result, Indian food in Britain is not the same as an authentic curry from India, but for some, it’s even better. I took part in some market research recently and found out that even branded goods are often changed to suit local tastes. Did you know, for example, that McDonald’s sells beer in France, lamb in India, and chili in Mexico?
I found it hard to take in what you said about language. Did you really mean that English is ”taking over the world“, as you put it? I don’t think so! I agree that huge numbers of people now speak English. At the start of the 21st century, about one and a half billion(1,500,000,000)people spoke English. That includes about 400 million speaking English as their first language and the rest speaking it as a second or third language. However, in many cases, a new type of English has been created. A kind of ”global English“ has taken off across the world. I think this is good in that it promotes communication in an ever-shrinking, ever more commercial world. People certainly don’t want a single world language, but a new common global language has major advantages for global business, scientific research and tourism.
Some people—like you—may be saddened by the passing of the “old days” but it seems to me that most people are welcoming the mixing of cultures and the new things that are being created all the time.
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People who live in the countryside generally live longer than those who live in the city. A number of reasons may also help explain this point.
To start with, farmers are in close contact with nature. They breathe fresh air. They make friends with trees and stones, cows and dogs. They listen to the songs of birds. They fight with strong winds. This contact with nature is good for the health of both body and spirits.
Next, hard physical work keeps farmers fit and healthy. It is widely believed that farmers suffer from far less diseases than people in the city. They are many diseases that are common in the city, but not in the countryside. For example, near-sightedness is almost unknown to farmers. Besides, being free from urban pressure does good to the health of farmers.
Moreover, because there are less cars, motorcars and other kinds of vehicles in the countryside,one can walk more freely without being afraid of accidents. The environment is better in the countryside, which makes the farmers live a quiet and peaceful life.
The farmers can also get fresh grain, vegetables, fruits and milk easily. They enjoy these advantages that people living in the city cannot.
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The influence of America is increasing in Spain. Spanish people drink CocaCola, wear blue jeans, watch Hollywood movies, listen to American music, and eat fast food, and they do all these things daily.
I think that American movies are a good way to spread American culture because people are often influenced by what they see in the movies. Most of the entertainment programs and documentaries we watch on TV are from America, and most of the movies we go to are made in Hollywood.
In the last few years, the government has tried to protect the Spanish movies. Now, in our cinemas, at least twenty percent of the movies which are shown must be from Spain or from a country of the European Union.
American culture is very much a part of Spanish life. It’s certain that many things from America are as much a part of their lives as Spanish things. For example, CocaCola is as familiar to everybody as any typical Spanish product. I’ve known CocaCola my whole life.
However, it’s different with Western fast food. For example, I don’t think McDonald’s is as successful in Spain as it is in other countries. In my opinion, one of the reasons may be the lifestyle of the Spanish people. The Spanish people normally eat at home.
It may be that McDonald’s hamburgers will eventually replace the famous Spanish tapas because in every city in Spain you can find a McDonald’s, and they are more popular among the Spanish children than among the adults. In any case, it’s obvious that American culture is more and more a part of our everyday life.
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Have you ever really thought about the effects television has on your children? 98% of families in the US have at least one TV, according to TV-Free America, and the TV is on for an average of 7 hours and 12 minutes a day. On average, a child aged 2-11 watches TV for 1, 197 minutes a week! It is pretty surprising that the same age group of children only spend 38.5 minutes a week on a meaningful conversation with their parents.
As children start watching TV at a younger age, their behaviors and relationships with their family can be affected more drastically. When a group of 4 to 6yearolds were asked to choose between watching television and spending time with their fathers, 54% preferred TV. But what if you don’t let your small children watch TV? You may not. But if your toddler (学步的小孩) goes to daycare, you may not know, 70% of daycare centers use the TV during a typical day. Shouldn’t they be playing with each other and learning, not doing something they can do at home?
Parents do not have to feel completely helpless. As of 2, 000, all TVs now have a chip that helps parents control and even block certain shows. So if you feel TV is not as wonderful as it seemed before, just think you have at least a little power over what your kids watch.
But what is even more shocking is how much violence is shown on television. Some kids do enjoy that but most don’t. The percentage of children surveyed who said they felt “upset” by or “scared” of violence on TV is 91%! I think that shows containing violence or scary scenes should be broadcast at a later time, so smaller children will not be exposed to them.
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In 2002, an Australian man went to his friend’s 21st birthday party. He got drunk, fell off some steps and cut his lip. He took a picture of his injuries and shared it with his friends online. “And sorry about the focus,” he wrote, “it was a selfie(自拍).” That was the first recorded use of the word “selfie”, according to some experts at Oxford Dictionaries.
Oxford Dictionaries declared “selfie” Word of the Year for 2013, in honor of the term having taken over the world thanks to millions of smart phone selfportraits and the resulting shares on social media. In recent years, the act of taking a picture of oneself with a mobile phone, placing the subject centerstage, has won great popularity with everyone from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ to US with former President Barack Obama joining in.
But the rise of selfie photography in some of the world’s most beautiful, dangerous places has also inspired a lot of risktaking behavior, such as hanging from a tall building, standing in front of a rushing train and crossing a busy street. People who get addicted will never stop taking selfies, completely ignoring where they are. In fact, there have been several reports about people losing their lives while taking selfies. Several governments have now begun treating selfie as a serious threat to safety, warning visitors to pay attention to the dangers when taking selfies.
“Walt Disney World is also banning selfiesticks from its theme parks because selfiesticks have become a growing safety concern for our guests,” Disney World spokeswoman Kim Prunty said. Under the new policy, guests will be checked for the equipment during the routine bag check that happens near the parks’ entrances.
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When you hear the word “vacation”, what comes to mind? For most it means having fun, pampering (纵容) themselves to some degree or simply relaxing and catching up on sleep. Most people consider it a time to relax and recharge away from work and the stress of life. However, the reality for some is that they end up feeling even more stressed and exhausted than they did before they went on vacation. How is this possible?
A common misconception that people have about going on vacation is that they need to make the most out of their trip. Before they go on every tour they can research 101 places to visit and then pack 98 of those suggestions along their trip. While making the most of your time away, most people over-pack their schedule and overwhelm (压垮) themselves with too many things which result in more stress and less rest.
Today, technology and social media have over-promoted and normalized sharing every experience we have — especially while we are on vacation. The saying “If you didn’t post it, did it really happen?” drives our current culture of documenting and sharing EVERYTHING. Also you may spend more time taking the perfect selfie (自拍) at every stop than you do actually participating in the activity. You end up sacrificing the quality of the trip for the quantity of posts you get out of the trip.
To better appreciate your vacation time, you’d better give yourself one day to recover before returning to work after a vacation. This allows your body and mind to adjust to being back home and getting back into your work routine. You want to go on vacation to recharge, so don’t overcrowd your schedule with late night or early morning activities. Make sure you rest and get plenty of sleep. It’s okay to schedule a lazy day during your vacation when you can sleep. However, don’t overdo it. Try to fit in the minimum recommended amount of daily exercise and if you don’t exercise take this as an opportunity to start a new habit.
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