Plays are an essential part of British culture. The West End theatre district in London is the best place to watch a professional play, but acting also takes place in every school and village hall throughout the country.
There are approximately 2,500 non-professional drama groups in the UK currently and they play a significant role in community life. People from all walks of life take on acting roles in addition to their regular jobs. They do it for fun, for the love of acting and as a way to make new contacts.
Not everyone in a drama club is a skilled actor, but enthusiasm is considered to be more significant than talent. Friends, family members and neighbors take delight in getting together to watch the final performance. It offers a unique opportunity to bring communities together. Also, in many rural parts of Britain, non-professional theaters are the only chance people have to enjoy plays for miles around.
Many people get a taste for acting at school. Every school puts on a play on a yearly basis, usually at Christmas, and parents love coming to watch their children perform. Ask any British person and they're guaranteed to have pleasant memories of being in their school's Christmas play, whether they played the role of Mary or Joseph or perhaps even a sheep or a donkey!
Another Christmas theatre tradition is the pantomime. Pantomimes are a type of musical comedy for families. The audience is encouraged to participate in the performance—singing along with music and shouting to the actors. Pantomimes are really enjoyable to watch, particularly for children.
British people are keen on going to the theatre, professional or not, and many of them are also fond of performing. If you have the chance, go and see a play in the UK!
It's a tempting habit for young people to glance at their smartphones or tablets rather than make eye contacts with someone and make conversations! There is so much to look at: photographs, social media feeds, messages and emails; it's no wonder they are glued to their screens. But is it good for them?
There have been many claims about the damage looking at screens does to our eyesight. Some people fear staring at a small bright box could make us, especially children and young people, short-sighted or give rise to headaches. BBC technology correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones, says, "There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that no matter how long teenagers are spending looking at screens, they are encountering material that could prove damaging to their mental health."
But a new study indicates time in front of computers and phones might not be as harmful for young people as many think. Research by the Oxford Internet Institute examined data from more than 17,000 teenagers in the UK, Ireland and the United States. Their study concluded that most links between life satisfaction and social media use were not worth considering, accounting for less than 1% of a teenager's well-being. Professor Przybylski, director of the research, said, "99.75% of a person's life satisfaction has nothing to do with their use of social media." The research found that family, friends and school life all had a greater impact on well-being.
So, does this mean young people can spend longer looking at social media? The Oxford researchers are confident that their study is impressive in its findings and that any connection between screen time and mental health is very small. Dr. Max Davie, officer of health improvement at the Royal College, calls the study a "small first step", but he said there were other issues to explore, such as screen time's interference with other important activities like sleep, exercise and time with family or friends. Perhaps for now, deciding what the "right" amount of screen time is has to be down to personal judgment.
In March 2019, when Sara Cook first got a letter telling her that someone had paid off a part of her medical debt, she thought it was fake. "It seems like one of those e-mails you get saying you have a long-lost uncle and you've just inherited two million dollars." Cook says. Cook called the number listed on the letter and what she learned was that this was not a scam.
A remarkable nonprofit organization called RIP Medical Debt had paid $ 5,000 towards her bills. RIP buys medical debts directly from hospitals at a steep discount, usually paying only a few pennies to retire each dollar of debt. Since 2014, it is estimated that they've spent only about $20 million to pay off nearly
$1 billion in personal debts. Antic and Ashton, the founders, get their money from individuals and charities that support RIP's mission. The $5,000 to pay off Cook's bill was donated by a church in Michigan, which in 2019 raised $53,000, paying off $5 million in debt owed by thousands of people.
Don't bother contacting RIP for help, however. Now, RIP researches potential recipients (接受者) based on three criteria. First, they look for people who make no more than 2.5 times the amount established as the federal poverty level. Then they seek for those whose debt is equal to 5 percent or more of their total income. Third, they look to see whether a person is bankrupt.
For those who do qualify, RIP's help is life-altering. "After their letter, I realized that my life really wasn't that awful," says Cook, who shares her story with anyone who has the willingness to listen. "I may be deprived of the chance to work as a nurse again, but I can sit at the school library and help kid read or serve up food in the soup kitchen. When people do something out of the kindness of their hearts, sometimes they may wonder whether it really makes a difference. I want people to know that this indeed has a positive impact."
Portora Royal School, situated in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is founded by Royal Charter in 1608. Outstanding graduates here include Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde, the pride of the school. Oscar Wilde studied there when Portora was a boarding institution which rivalled (与...匹敌) Eton, one of the best schools in the UK.
All pupils are to maintain a standard of behaviour and presentation of which they, their families and their school would take pride in and a standard which enables them to keep their self-respect. Pupils are expected to keep to the Code of Conduct at all times, whether in school or out of school. includes travel to and from school. It also includes travel to and from school.
Each pupil is expected to present a neat and tidy appearance. In accordance with the regulations, both inside and outside school, all pupils wear the school uniform. It encourages identity with, and support for, the school spirits as well.
No one deserves to be a victim of that. If a pupil is being bullied or knows that someone else is, this should be reported right away, and it will be investigated immediately, sensitively and effectively. Not telling means the victims will continue to suffer and the bully will continue, probably, to bully other pupils. All have a responsibility to make sure that bullying is not allowed to occur in the school.
A. Attendance percentages can be misleading.
B. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable.
C. In Portora, the following school rules must be followed.
D. Pupils may not leave school without the permission of the Principal.
E. This covers any kind of activities organized by or through the school.
F. Remarkable achievements of the graduates are related to its disciplines.
G. It plays a valuable role in contributing to the character of the school.
This is a story which I've told every February ever since I started my teaching in 1999. It was a tale about1and heartbreak.
In the sixth grade, I fell2in love with a tall, cute but naughty boy, who wasn't3me actually. However, to my great surprise, I received one4card from him just on Valentine's Day.
With shaking hands, I5open the envelope and6a sparkly (闪耀的) image of a queen seated on her throne (宝座). So7was I that I almost couldn't8myself. Then, my eyes traveled up to the writing above his signature which read: "To the9girl in our class." I could still remember how embarrassed I was with my eyes full of tears, my nose stinging and my cheek10. It shook what little11I have in myself for a long time. From that day on, Valentine's Day, to me, meant nothing but12and cruelty. Fortunately, I13all those.
Every February, I would also14to my students the reason why we should15a party on this day is that we are expected to express thanks to people around16cruelty. The night before the party, I usually cut the pink paper into hundreds of small squares and handed out construction paper,17they can write whatever they want to18their classmates.
Looking on as they compose each message is always a(n)19. But the real fun comes when they read what people wrote to them. Watching a shy boy20open a card and then break into a big smile is worth all of the trouble.
Researchers have traced numerous connectionswalking and generating ideas. A Stanford(creative) when walking compared to University study found that participants were 81 percent sitting. Another famous-person example: as part of his daily writing routine, Jurt Vonnegut would takemidmorning break from his office to walk and then swim before eventually(return) to work. I would argue that this habit wasn't just a habit but an intentional, necessary element of his creative process.
The movement aspect of walking is(obvious) key. You've probably heard the phrase Exercise your creativity, which refers to brainsmuscles. Our creative mindset is triggered by movement,is exactly why walking—with your dog, a friend, or alone(feed) creative thinking.
So instead of setting a fitness goal, why not set a creativity goal that starts with walking? Engage more closely with your(surround) for the next four weeks. Turn off your phone and give yourself the(be) present in the world and to hear conversations and natural sounds. Walk not just for exercise. Walk for wonder. chance
The summers in my hometown of Desert Springs were exceptionally hot, and all that people wanted to do was nothing but swimming in the public pool. This also meant that the most coveted (令人垂涎的) summer job for a high school student was to be a swimming instructor. You got to spend the whole summer in the pool and it was really glamorous (有魅力的), too!
However, I did not get a job as a swimming instructor. I tried really hard—I'm a good swimmer and I practiced my interview answers for weeks beforehand, but the pool offered me a job as a lifeguard instead.
Being a lifeguard wasn't nearly as fun or glamorous as being a swimming instructor. Mostly, being a lifeguard meant sitting next to the pool, sweating in the hot sun, and making sure everyone obeyed the rules.
"Being a lifeguard is an important job," my dad kept reminding me, "and you have to be one of the best swimmers in the whole town. If someone gets hurt or in distress in the pool, it's your job to rescue them." I knew that, and I wanted to do well at such an important job, but I was still disappointed. No one at school next year would be impressed with a story of how I sat in a chair all summer and got sunburnt.
But finally I took the job anyway. Once I began work, I quickly learned that being a lifeguard was much more involved than I thought. With half of the town at the pool at any given time, there were a lot of people to keep an eye on.
I was also still jealous of the swimming instructors, who I could see every day from my seat in the lifeguard chair, which was almost eight feet tall to give me a good view and right by the side of the pool.
The swimming instructors always looked like they were having so much fun, giving their lessons and playing around during their breaks in the cool, inviting water.
One afternoon, midway through the summer, I was arguing with a group of elementary schoolers about the no running rule when the sound of a woman shouting caught my attention. "Carey! Carey!" I glanced around and saw a woman searching frantically (疯狂地) for something. Immediately, my eyes went to the pool.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为 150左右；
2）至少使用 5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
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Paragraph 1:
Everything looked fine until I spotted the shape of a small child.
Paragraph 2:
I was feeling a bit embarrassed now with all of the attention.
