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 recent years, Internet voting has become increasingly popular in China. People not only cast on-line votes themselves, but also urge others to vote for competitions like the “Most Beautiful Teacher” and the “Cutest Baby”.
Li Jiang, a high school student, is invited to vote in the “Best Police Officer” competition, organized by the local government to let the public have a better understanding of police officers’ daily work. Li Jiang visits the website and reads all the stories. He is deeply moved by their glorious deeds. He is already thinking of becoming a policeman himself in the future.
Su Hua is invited by his uncle to vote for his cousin in the “Future Singer” competition. He has already received three similar invitations this week. His uncle tells him that if his cousin wins the competition, the family will win an overseas tour for free. Su Hua likes his cousin very much, but he finds other singers perform even better. To vote, or not to vote? This is a question that troubles him very much.
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Technological change is everywhere and affects every aspect of life. However, social changes brought about by new technology are often mistaken for a change in attitudes.
An example at hand is the involvement of parents in the lives of their children who are attending college. Surveys on this topic suggest that parents today continue to be “very” or “somewhat” overly-protective even after their children move into college dormitories. The same surveys also indicate that the rate of parental involvement is greater today than it was a generation ago.
However, greater parental involvement does not necessarily indicate that parents are failing to let go of their “adult” children. In the context (情境) of this discussion, it seems valuable to first find out the cause of change in the case of parents’ involvement with their grown children. If parents of earlier generations had wanted to be in touch with their college- age children frequently, would this have been possible? Probably not. On the other hand, does the possibility of frequent communication today mean that the urge to do so wasn't present a generation ago? Many studies show that older parents- today's grandparents- would have called their children more often if the means and cost of doing so had not been a barrier. Furthermore, studies show that finances are the most frequent subject of communication between parents and their college children. The fact that college students are financially dependent on their parents is nothing new; nor are requests for more money to be sent from home.
Thanks to the advanced technology, we live in an age of bettered communication. This has many implications well beyond the role that parents seem to play in the lives of their children who have left for college. But it is useful to bear in mind that all such changes come from the technology and not some imagined desire by parents to keep their children under their wings.
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A new study warns that about thirty percent of the world's people may not have enough water by 2025.
A private American organisation called Population Action International (PAI) did the new study. It says more than three hundred and thirty-five million people lack enough water now. The people live in twentyeight countries. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East.
PAI researcher Robert Engelman says by the year 2025, about three thousand million people are short of water. Eighteen more countries are expected to have serious water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on the earth stays the same.
Mr Engelman says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will continue to increase.
The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problems. Lack of water often means drinking water is not safe. Mr Engelman says there are problems all over the world because of diseases like cholera that are carried in water.
Lack of water may also lead to more international conflicts. Countries may have to fight for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan and Iraq. And the report says lack of water would affect the ability to improve their economies. This is because new industries often need large amounts of water when they are beginning.
The Population Action International study gives several solutions to the water problem. One way, it says, is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose. Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water. A third way is to use less water of agriculture.
The report also says longterm solutions to the water problem must include controls on population growth. It says countries cannot provide clean water unless they slow population growth by limiting the number of children people have.
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“I can't survive without music，” says fifteen－year－old Steve. In the morning, Steve wakes up to his favourite music radio station. He listens to rock on the radio while he eats his breakfast. He puts on his personal stereo before he leaves the house and carries his cassette player on the bus to school.
“Last week I put my headphones on in the maths class，” admits Steve. “The teacher was really annoyed. She took my headphones away and I couldn't use them for a week. It was terrible.” At home Steve does his homework to music—loud music.
“My mother usually shouts, ‘Turn it down！’” says Steve. “She can't understand how I can work with music on, but music helps me to fix my attention upon my studies.” Steve would like to make music himself. “I'm learning to play the guitar. Unluckily, it doesn't sound too good at the beginning. But I'm going to keep practising！”
For teenagers like Steve, music is a very important part of life. Music is social; it brings people together at discos, parties and concerts. Fast, light music is full of energy; it helps people to forget their problems and have fun. Music talks about love, freedom and imagination. There are always new songs and new styles.
Meanwhile Steve's mother agrees that music brings some problems. “Steve is a sensible boy,” she says. “I don't think he would ever take drugs hearing rock. But I do worry about his hearing with all that loud music. And it drives me crazy！”
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Not all education can and should happen within the classroom. Sometimes, traveling is the best form of education, as students can get a number of personal and educational benefits from travel. From learning about other cultures first-hand to seeing where historical events took place with their own eyes, educational travel gives students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of art, science, history, and culture in many ways.
Educational becomes a whole new experience when students can see lots of tools and equipment for themselves by traveling to different places. The tools and equipment could be used by scientists decades or even centuries ago to make discoveries that make our modern world possible. Educational travel brings the materials off the pages and into reality, allowing students to connect themselves with them in a more meaningful way.
No matter where students go, it’s almost guaranteed that they’ll find some kind of food that is unique to that place or done better than anywhere else. If someone gets Chicago-style pizza in Chicago, they’re going to have a different tasting experience than they would if they were getting the same type of thing in, say, Texas. At the same time, getting chili in Texas would be a whole different experience from getting chili in New York or Chicago. Students can learn a lot about a culture by what they eat on a daily basis and what they consider a special meal, so it’s good to take a taste of the local food and learn through all of the senses.
Being away from family, home, and familiar ground is a courageous and independent adventure in its own right. Educational travel provides that opportunity to allow students to open their minds regarding how they choose to live life, which can be extraordinarily helpful in preparing students for college and adulthood. Traveling – with the combined social skills and perspectives(视角) it teaches – really allows students to better understand how they can operate on their own.
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It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible. Everybody knows that the nicest men would become fierce tigers behind the wheel. It is all right to have a tiger in a cage, but to have one in the driver's seat is another matter.
Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense. It takes the most cool-headed drivers great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarrelling and fighting. A friendly nod or a wave of thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of good will and becomes so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such behaviors of politeness are by no means enough. Many drivers nowadays don't even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.
However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous. Typical examples are the driver who waves a child crossing the street at a wrong place into the path of oncoming cars that may not be able to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to. An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in traffic stream without causing total blockages that give rise to unpleasant feelings. Unfortunately, modern drivers can't even learn to drive, let alone master the roadmanship. Years ago, experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand more give-and-takefrom all road users. It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart.
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请你谈谈读了以下报道后的感想。
【英国《每日电讯报》网站报道】题：推特(Twitter)和脸谱网(Facebook) “有害儿童发展”。据称，在早期过度沉溺于网络世界后，青少年的大脑将不能得到适当发展。牛津大学药理学教授格林菲尔德说，与人实际接触减少意味着孩子们难于形成基本的社交技巧和情绪反应。她批评某些用户“不健康地”沉溺于推特网，称他们在网络的掩护下情绪日趋冲动易怒。就在格林菲尔德发表这番言论前一天，教师们警告，过度沉溺于高科技产品正在损害孩子们在课堂上集中注意力的能力。中学语文教师的一次调查发现，超过四分之三的教师认为，如今，学生的注意力持续时间短于以往任何时候。格林菲尔德援引的一些数据显示，如今，超过一半的13岁至17岁孩子每周花在电子游戏机、计算机、电子书、手机和其他以显示屏为基础的高科技产品上的时间超过30小时。
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It was a very hot afternoon. My friend Leah and I were waiting for the rush hour train. We were tired and couldn't wait to get back to the place where we were living.
When the train arrived, we got into the second carriage from the front. The air conditioning wasn't working at the rear （后部）, so the front was particularly crowded that day. I sat by the window admiring the changing landscape.
Suddenly we felt an enormous pressure pushing us backwards into our seats. The windows broke into tiny pieces and dust flew around violently. I could barely open my eyes.
The train was suffering from a crash, and it didn't feel as if it were going to stop. When it did, I thought, I would be dead. I thought about my husband Guy, who was supposed to receive the news first. I thought of my dear father and other family members , wondering how each would deal with my death.
Voices began to break through my thoughts. People were anxious. Strangely, I was totally calm. I wasn’t panicking; my heart wasn't even beating fast.
When the train finally stopped, we slowly stood up, pushing off the table that had fallen onto us; others stayed in their seats and many were injured and covered in blood. I could hear screaming. A soldier pushed the damaged door open for us to escape.
Our carriage had run out of rails and we were halfway home. We had a lot of blood on us and I searched my body for wounds, but I didn't find any. My knees felt painful and my hips were black and blue , and Leah had her hand cut when jumping off the train, but that wasn't serious.
Helicopters landed and we saw soldiers running in and out. All around us were ambulances （救护车） , and people lying on the ground. Everyone was shouting for help. I rang Guy, who was very calm and said he would come and get us. Seeing all these brought me great emotional hurt.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150词左右;
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语;
3. 续写部分分为两段, 每段的开头语已为你写好;
4. 续写完成后, 请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：
It was almost dark by the time we found Guy and he drove us home.
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Paragraph 2：
In the days that followed, I convinced myself I had internal bleeding.
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1.描述野生动物种类的变化趋势；
2.分析导致野生动物种类变化的原因；
3.谈谈你对保护野生动物的看法和建议。
注意：1. 可参照图表、漫画及下面文章开头所给的提示进行必要的发挥；
2.词数100左右。开头已经写好，不计入总词数。
Many animals are in danger of dying out.
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