In my hometown, Oklahoma, the dirt goes everywhere. When my sister, Faye, and I walk to school, we cover our mouths so we don't breathe in the dirt. Mama says all the dust is due to the drought.
Last Sunday, there was no dirt in the air, only bright spring sunshine and a clear blue sky. After church, Papa went to the field to check on the cattle while Mama started dinner. Faye and I played in the yard. Then the temperature suddenly dropped, and Mama shouted from the house, "Iris, you and Faye get inside, real quick now!"
I looked to the west and saw a huge black cloud of dust. "Faye, go with Mama!" I shouted. "I will warn Papa." Covering my face with one hand, I struggled my way toward our family car and got in. The storm hit so fast that the day turned into night in an instant. Papa was still out there! I needed to help him find the car. I turned on the front lights, but would Papa see them in the thick darkness? I pushed the horn (喇叭) again and again, hoping Papa would hear it.
Suddenly, to my great surprise and relief Papa's face appeared at the window. He opened the door and climbed onto the scat next to me. After Papa shut off the car's lights, we huddled together in the darkness for hours. I worried the dirt would bury us.
Finally, the wind subsided and the dust began to settle. We got out and reached the front porch just as Mama and Faye came out from the house.
"I'm safe thanks to Iris," Papa said. "The car's horn led me to shelter."
"I'm so proud of you," Mama said to me.
Tears of joy streamed down my dirty checks because our family had survived the horrible storm.
At work, Morgan Philpott cares for sick children. In his off-hours, the Australian nurse turns his attention to an equally unprotected group unwell koala. "They really run the risk of becoming extinct inside our lifetime," Philpott said at an animal hospital on Sydney's outskirts while helping treat a rescued koala affected with a disease (疾病).
Disease among the koalas, bushfires, drought, cutting down of forest, and loss of urban habitat are some of the many destructive forces that continue to threaten their survival. These forces, a government report warned in June, could make Australia's symbolic animal extinct in New South Wales-the nation's most populous state — by 2050.
The country's worst summer of bushfires in a generation destroyed more than 11.2 million hectares, nearly half the area of the United Kingdom, putting the gray, tree-hugging animals into the center of national conservation (保护)and a hot political issue. In New South Wales, at least 5,000 koalas were killed in the fires that burned 80 percent of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and 24 percent of koala habitat on public land, the government's June report said.
New state laws have sought to limit the ability of farmers to clear land considered important for koala habitat, setting off a political debate between urban conservationists and people in the bush who wanted to manage their land. The rate of tree-clearing and loss of habitats are behind all of the other factors that threaten them in those developed areas which include dog attacks and vehicle accidents," said Kellie Leigh, head of Science for Wildlife, a nonprofit conservation organization.
So many things can keep you from seeing your loved ones in person, from busy schedules to long distances (距离) to a rather unexpected pandemic. Fortunately, thanks to modem technology, the People we miss are often only a phone call or text message away. But if you're someone who prefers typed out messages, you may want to reconsider.
A new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, found that communication that included voice, like a phone call or video chat, created stronger social connections than communication through typing, like text messaging or email.
In the study, researchers used experiments to judge connectedness. In one, they asked 200 people to make predictions about what it would be like to reconnect with an old friend by email or by phone and then ask people at random to do one or the other. Although people expected that a phone call would be more awkward, hearing someone's voice actually made the experience better. In another experiment, the researchers had strangers connect by either texting, talking over video chat, or talking using only audio. They found that both forms of voice communication—whether video or audio only—made the strangers feel more connected than when they communicated through texting.
Sabrina Romanoff, a Harvard trained clinical psychologist based in New York City, says people prefer texting or email instead of calling because of convenience (方便), as they see it as a controlled form of communication where they can "communicate exactly in the way they intend without unexpected additions by the other person."
Romanoff says that in reality, texting can make it hard to determine the true meaning behind a conversation. "A phone call is actually more convenient when considering the net effects of the message," she explains. "Each party is more present, and therefore, able to make sense of the meaning behind the content without thinking over the endless possible meanings behind words."
There's no such thing as being born "good at languages." However, there are people who learn languages well. Here is some of what good language learners do.
Don't he afraid to take risks. A Dutch friend of mine speaks English, Spanish, German, and. of course. Dutch. I asked her what she thought was most important in learning a language. She answered immediately: "Courage." For example, trying out different ways of learning vocabulary until finding a way that suits them best. They know that with every mistake, they gain a small victory toward improving their language.
Find a learning style that suits them, Everyone has a learning style that suits (hem best. Figure out how you learn most easily and apply your preferred learning styles to your language learning. When learning something new, do you like talk about it or think about it? Or do you get new information in pictures or words? Do you find it easier to learn facts or concepts?
Be actively involved in learning. They know practice is very important and are willing to take risks and appear foolish if necessary. They don't expect to learn English only by sitting in the classroom but look lor creative ways both inside and outside the classroom to try out what they have learned.
Learning a language means learning the culture where it is spoken as well. Good language learners learn the customs of nonverbal behavior and the important values of the culture. They learn how to behave in society. For example, they learn that "How are you?" is a greeting formula in English, not a real question.
A. Be good cultural learners.
B. Act as locals do when in different cultures.
C. Learn to ask questions in language learning.
D. It has to do with their attitude and their way of learning.
E. Good language learners create more chances to use the language.
F. Good language learners experiment and face the fear of making mistakes.
G. These are just a tew of the questions that help you discover how you best learn.
Charlie Villanueva, once an NBA player, is known for his ability to shoot hoops (篮筐). He says his success is largely due to what he has 1 since childhood.
Today Villanueva's career may look successful, but life wasn't always 2 for him. At 10, Villanueva got a skin disease alopecia. It caused his 3 loss, which was not life threatening but difficult for a kid to 4 . Other kids called him 5 names. In middle school, he was suspended (停学) for 6 a no-hats rule. 7 a note from his doctor allowed him to wear hats, they only 8 more unfriendly attention.
Through it all, Villanueva's mother was 9 for him in good times and bad times. With his mother's help and 10 , Villanueva turned his frustration (挫败) into 11 to play basketball well on the court. 12 he improved as an athlete; basketball helped him deal with his alopecia.
13 . over six million Americans have alopecia like Villanueva. They have gifts, abilities and a need to feel 14 , Villanueva established the Charlie Villanueva Foundation to help families of kids with alopecia. Villanueva 15 kids to feel good about who they are, work hard toward their goals and 16 to others. Here's his 17 for them.
"We're all 18 in our own different ways. Embrace it and enjoy life 19 . Many didn't think I'd make it. Thankfully they were 20 about me. Believe in yourself, and all dreams are possible."
It is (challenge) to keep the balance between the progress of society and the protection of cultural sites with the (develop) of economy. However, the Aswan Dam project has set an example of finding solutions such problems.
In the 1950s, the Egyptian government wanted to build a new dam across the Nile. the proposal met with protests from people, were concerned about the destruction of cultural relics. (prevent) their loss, the government turned to the United Nations for help.
Later, (country) around the world worked together with the Egyptian government. Cultural sites (remove) piece by piece and then put back together in another place. The project ended (success) in 1980. It can be learned that with the joint efforts of the global community, we can build better tomorrow.
