1、s side in the hospital room. I held her hand and talked to her. I told her that we still needed her. I told her that it wasnt time to leave yet. I told her how much I loved her. And I told her that her little granddaughter, Amelia, believed that shed get better. The doctors, with all their years of
2、training and experience, offered no hope for recovery. The damage was simply too extensive.Then, a couple of weeks later, an odd thing happened. Mom woke up. She regained consciousness. Persevered through a long and tough recovery, during which she had to learn to walk, read, and write all over agai
3、n, and eventually returned home to Dad. The only one who wasnt shocked was Amelia. The doctors couldnt explain it. Amelia didnt need to. Hope came as naturally to her as breathings.So why are we so afraid to hope sometimes? Maybe its because over the year, lifes disappointments can turn us to disill
4、usionment(理想破灭). How many times have you heard someone say: “Hope for the best, expect the worst”? Thats not really hope at all.Hope is being able to look at our world with all of the joy and wonder of a child._答案 Doctors were pessimistic about my mothers stroke while my little daughter, Amelia, ful
5、l of hope.(要点1) I passed on Amelias hope when our family gathered to bid farewell to her in hospital.(要点2) Incredibly, she recovered and came back home after a period of restoration. Everyone was astonished except Amelia.(要点3) Hope does bring people in trouble amazement.(要点4)2The drug store was clos
6、ing for the night and Alfred Higgins was about to go home when his new boss approached him.“Empty your pockets please, Alfred,” Sam Carr demanded in a firm voice.Alfred pretended to be shocked but he knew hed been caught. From his coat he withdrew a makeup kit, a lipstick and two tubes of toothpaste
7、.“Im disappointed in you, Alfred!” said the little grayhaired man.“Sorry, Sir. Please forgive me. Ive never done such a thing before.” Alfred lied, hoping to gain the old mans sympathy.Mr Carrs brow furrowed(皱眉) as he reached for the phone, “Do you take me for a fool? Lets see what the police have t
8、o say. But first Ill call your mother and let her know her son is heading to jail.”“Do whatever you want,” Alfred shot back, trying to sound big. But deep down he felt like a child. He imagined his mother rushing in, eyes burning with anger, maybe in tears. Yet he wanted her to come quickly before M
9、r. Carr called the police.Mr. Carr was surprised when Mrs Higgins finally arrived. She was very calm, quiet and friendly. “Is Alfred in trouble?” she asked.“Hes been stealing from the store,” the old man coolly replied.Mrs. Higgins put out her hand and touched Mr. Carrs arm with great gentleness as
10、if she knew just how he felt. She spoke as if she did not want to cause him any more trouble. “What do you want to do, Mr. Carr?”The womans calm and gentle manner disarmed the onceangry storeowner. “I was going to get a cop. But I dont want to be cruel. Tell your son not to come back here again, and
11、 Ill let it go.” Then he warmly shook Mrs. Higginss hand.Mrs. Higgins thanked the old man for his kindness, then mother and son left. They walked along the street in silence. When they arrived home his mother simply said, “Go to bed, you fool.”In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen.
12、He felt no shame, only pride in his mothers actions. “She was smooth!” he thought. He went to the kitchen to tell her how great she was, but was shocked by what he saw.His mothers face looked frightened, broken. Not the cool, bright face he saw earlier. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old.
13、 There were tears in her eyes.This picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth ending. He saw all the troubles he brought her and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. He seemed to have never really seen his mother like that.The story is about a boy maturing overnight.(要点1) A d
14、rug store owner found something stolen by Alfred and called his mother. Surprisingly, the mother took this calmly and the boss decided to let this go.(要点2) At home, he was about to show his pride in the mothers calmness when he saw a deeplyworried mother, which greatly shocked him.(要点3)The Possible
15、Health Dangers of AirconditionersAlthough many of us may feel airconditioners bring relief from hot, humid or polluted outside air, they pose many potential health hazards. Much research has looked at how the movement of air inside a closed environmentsuch as an office buildingcan spread disease or
16、expose people in the building to harmful chemicals.One of the more widely publicized dangers is that of Legionnaires disease, which was first recognized in the 1970s. This was found to have affected people in buildings with airconditioning systems in which warm air pumped out of the systems cooling
17、towers was somehow sucked back into the air intake, in most cases due to poor design. The warm air, filled with bacteria, was combined with cooled, conditioned air and was then circulated around various parts of the building. Studies showed that even people outside such buildings were at risk if the
18、y walked past air exhaust pipes.Large airconditioning systems add water to the air they circulate by means of humidifiers. In older systems, the water used for this process is kept in special reservoirs, the bottoms of which provide breeding grounds for bacteria which can find their way into the ven
19、tilation system. The risk to human health from this situation has been highlighted by the fact that the immune systems of approximately half of workers in airconditioned office buildings have developed the ability to fight off the organisms found at the bottom of system reservoirs. But chemicals cal
20、led “biocides” are added to reservoirs to make them germfree, and they are dangerous in their own right in sufficient quantities, as they often contain compounds strongly linked to cancers.Finally, it should be pointed out that the artificial climatic environment created by airconditioners can also
21、affect us. In a natural environment, whether indoor or outdoor, there are small variations in temperature and humidity. Indeed, the human body has long been accustomed to these normal changes. In an airconditioned living or working environment, however, body temperatures remain well under 37 , our n
22、ormal temperature. This leads to a weakened immune system and thus greater exposure to diseases such as colds and flu.Airconditioners bring many potential health risks.(要点1) First, airconditioners will lead to Legionnaires disease, caused by bacteria in the warm air being circulated due to poor desi
23、gn of the system.(要点2) Second, chemicals used to kill bacteria in the reservoir are related to cancers.(要点3) Third, peoples immune system is weakened due to the artificial climatic environment.(要点4)High school exit tests are tests that students must pass to graduate from high school. In the last few
24、 years, however, a number of states in America have dropped them. Although some states still use them for diplomas, the number is down from a high of 27 states during the testing craze promoted by No Child Left Behind(NCLB)The appearance of this phenomenon is small wonder. Researches clearly show th
25、at exit tests have little positive effects on students. A 2014 report found exit testing was associated with lower graduation rates, negatively affected labor market outcomes, and, most alarmingly, produced a 12.5 percent increase in incarceration(监禁)rates. Exit exams, the study concluded, had tende
26、d to add little value for most students.Exit testing relies on the following assumptions. One is that standardized testing can serve as a kind of “quality control” for high school graduates, guaranteeing that graduates are college ready.The other is that they have predicting value for future success
27、 in academic situations.But there is little evidence. The tests dont exactly measure what they pretend to measure. For example, qualities such as intelligence, academic ability, college readiness are not determined.Those that should be developed in all young people, like responsibility, critical thinking,and empathy(移植),are not measured,either.Even supporters of exit te
copyright@ 2008-2022 冰豆网网站版权所有
经营许可证编号:鄂ICP备2022015515号-1