Many people volunteer their time and energy to help others. There are different ways to meet other people's needs. Some provide education while others offer adventure. Many do both. And one typical group to be introduced today are history lovers.
Every year, they offer to find or document remains of lost societies and communities. These efforts take place across the world. For example, Forest Service experts and volunteers are working in the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California, looking for information about prehistoric and historic settlements of native Californians.
This kind of work interests Professor Steven Ortiz in Fort Worth, Texas. Every other year, he leads an archaeological dig (考古挖掘) in Israel. The dig is at Tel Gezer, halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Professor Ortiz directs the activities at Tel Gezer with Samuel Wolff, an Israeli archaeologist.
The city is linked to King Solomon, who appears in the writings of different religions. The experts, students and volunteers are hoping to learn more about the ancient city of Gezer Volunteers for the digs must be eighteen, although children may take part if they are with a parent. The youngest volunteer on the team is Steven Ortiz's ten-year-old son.
Volunteers must pay for their transportation and they will face many challenges. The work takes time, patience and often muscle strength. Besides, the ground may be hard and the sun may be hot. But why do people pay to volunteer to work? "For some, the dig is a journey undertaken for religious purposes. Some just value ancient history, and they want to be a part of uncovering it.
I tend to think we attract people who think they want a cross-cultural experience. They want to do something meaningful. They want to get their hands dirty. And they want to have a fun experience touring a foreign country." said Steven.
Volunteering for the archaeological dig provides all those things, and more. "You are helping science. You are helping history. But on weekends, especially for small children, they can have fun, travel in the country and see sights they do not normally see." Steven added.
For the past five years, researchers in Hawaii and Australia have been engineering corals (珊瑚) inside a lab to see if they could better resist the effects of climate change.
The scientists say climate change linked to human causes has led to warming oceans that can harm sea life. The team tested three methods for making corals that would be strong and healthy in nature. One was selective breeding. It involves scientists choosing parents with desirable characteristics for reproductive purposes. The goal is to produce babies with the same desirable characteristics. A second method subjected the corals to increasing temperatures to condition them to be able to survive in warm ocean environments. The third involved making changes to the algae (藻类) that provides corals with necessary nutrients.
The leader of the project, University of Hawaii researcher Kira Hughes, said all the methods proved successful in the lab. She told The Associated Press that some scientists might worry such methods go against the natural processes of nature. But with the planet continuing to warm, she does not see any better options."We have to intervene in order to make a change for coral reefs to survive into the future," Hughes said.
When ocean temperatures rise, corals release algae that supplies nutrients and gives them color. This causes them to turn white, a process called bleaching. When his happens, corals can quickly become sick and die. But for years, scientists have been observing corals that have survived bleaching, even when others have died on the same reef. They are now centering on those healthy survivors and hoping to further increase their resistance to heat. Those corals were used as the parents for the newly created kinds.
"Corals are threatened worldwide by a lot of stressors but increasing temperature are probably the most severe." said Crawford Drury, chier scientist al Hawaii's Coral Resilience Lab
Rather than editing genes or creating anything unnatural, the researchers are just attempting to begin what could already happen in the ocean, Madeleine van Oppen added. In this way, she said, the team can center on a small area to keep and "enhance" what is already there.
When kids melt down in the middle of a crowded store or at a holiday dinner with extended family, it can be extremely frustrating. But parents can help kids learn self-control and teach them how to respond without just acting on impulse (冲动).
Teaching self-control is one of the most important things that parents can do for their kids because these skills are some of the most important for success later in life. By learning self-control, kids can make appropriate decisions and respond to stressful situations in ways that can yield positive outcomes. For example, if you say that you're not serving ice cream until after dinner, your child may cry, plead, or even scream in the hopes that you will give in. But with self-control, your child can understand that a temper tantrum (发脾气) means you'll take away the ice cream for good and that it's wiser to wait patiently.
Difficult as it may be, resist the urge to yell when you're disciplining your kids. Instead, be persistent and matter of fact. During a child's meltdown, stay calm and explain that yelling, throwing a tantrum, and slamming doors are unacceptable behaviors that have consequences. Your actions will show that tantrums won't get kids the upper hand. For example, if your child gets, upset in the grocery store after you've explained why you won't buy candy, don't give in – thus demonstrating that the tantrum was both unacceptable and ineffective. Also, consider speaking to your child's teachers about classroom settings and appropriate behavior expectations. Ask if problem-solving is taught or demonstrated in school.
And model good self-control yourself. If you're in an annoyed situation in front of your kids, tell them why you're frustrated and then discuss potential solutions to the problem. For example, if you've misplaced your keys, instead of getting upset, tell your kids the keys are missing and then search for them together. If they don't turn up, take the next constructive step. Show that good emotional control and problem solving are the ways to deal with a difficult situation.
Everyone thinks they're great listeners. But the truth is that hearing isn't necessarily listening, nor is it necessarily listening well. Listening is an art as well as a basic life skill that we are encouraged to practise and master.
●Don't interrupt
To master the art of listening, you need to stop any good thoughts that come to mind and let the person say everything they need to say. Often times people simply need someone to talk to, not someone who will cut in and give their own thoughts and opinions.
●Practice active listening.
To understand better in communication, you can first practice active listening. The art of listening isn't simply about staying quiet 100% of the time, it's also about asking questions, which are for clarification or for further explanation, so that you can fully understand what the speaker is telling you. You can also make noises that show you agree with what he person is saying such as "yes", ‘'yeah", and "okay."
●
About 60-75% of our communication is accomplished without speaking. In order to know whether to encourage the speaker, or to open yourself more, it's essential to know what the person's body is saying. Do they display signs of discomfort? Are they cautious about you? Their body language tells a lot.
●Create a suitable environment.
It can be difficult to listen to another person when the TV is screaming, your phone is buzzing and there are thousands of cars passing by. Also, when you indicate it would be good to "find a quiet place," you put importance in the person and what they say, and then you show care and consideration.
A. Listen to non-verbal communication.
B. Let the person speak without interruption.
C. Listen without forming responses in your mind.
D. Here's how to bring the vital life skill into your daily existence.
E. Additionally, it's important to hold back your negative judgments.
F. Another great way to show your understanding is to respond by nodding.
G. When you remove the distractions and find a quiet place it's easier to listen attentively.
I woke up with only one thing on my mind: what to wear. A billion thoughts 1 through my brain as wooden hangers moved back and forth. It was my first day of high school in a new State; first 2 are everything, and it was necessary to impress the people who I'd spend the next four years with.
It wasn't insecurity that 3 me to madness but the fact that this was my third time being the new kid. 4 moving does something to a child's development. I 5 finding reliable friends. But this time dad's company 6 my starting and finishing high school in the same place. This time mattered, which made me nervous.
I emerged proudly in a patterned dress after riding (扫荡) my closet. I felt just as 7 as I stepped off the bus. But my jaw dropped to the floor when I found Mrs. Hutfilz, my English teacher, wearing the exact same 8 as I did. I kept my head down and tiptoed to my seat, but the first day meant 9 in front of the class, and 10 it was my turn. I made it through my minute speech, until Hutfilz stood up, 11 adding she liked my style. All the 12 that had accumulated throughout the morning surprisingly 13 . The students raised heads as I shared my story. My smile 14 as I giggled with my peers. After class, I stayed behind, sharing with Mrs. Hutfilz my previous understanding about coming into a new school and state. I was relieved to make a humorous and genuine 15 with my first teacher in the coming days.
This incident 16 me that these are the times to have fun, work hard, and make memories, not stress about the 17 details. Looking back, the ten minutes I spent 18 my speech were really not worth it. 19 my first period of high school may not have gone exactly the way I thought it would, Mrs. Hutfilz's great sense of 20 certainly made the day unforgettable in the best way.
At the end of the 19th century, nearly 40 percent of American cars were electric. In cities with early electric systems, battery-powered cars were popular and reliable choice, compared with their gas-powered competitors. early car batteries were expensive and inefficient. At the same time, new (discover) of oil fields lowered the price of gas, and new advances made gas-powered cars more appealing. That's why gas-powered cars (rule) the roads for the next 55 years. Aside from some special-purpose vehicles, electric cars were nowhere to be found.
However, in the 1980s, the tide began to turn. Studies associating car emissions smog(霾) encouraged governments to reconsider electric vehicles. Many companies were developing increasingly efficient batteries at that time. In 2008, Tesla Motors went further, (attract) the attention of the world with its lithium-ion-powered (锂电的) sport cars, could travel more than 320kms on a single charge. Since then, electric vehicles (improve) in cost, performance, efficiency and availability. They can accelerate (fast) than gas powered sports cars. And though some models still have a high upfront cost, they save their drivers money in the long run.
As governments around the world focus on slowing climate change, electric vehicles are now expected (replace) gas-powered ones altogether. Soon, electric cars will reclaim their place on the road.
Birthdays are typically the occasions for delight and feasting. Family and friends get together on the occasion and convey their regards with the beautiful presents they bring with themselves. I am personally a big fan of birthdays and wait for my birthday approximately a month prior to the day.
This year, my birthday came off on last Monday. I didn't know that my parents had arranged a special party for me. At eight o'clock in the evening of my lucky birthday, I was alone at home complaining and frowning, and pitying myself for my misfortune. I thought it was going to be a special day filled with presents and fun, but all I received was a "Happy Birthday".
All of a sudden, the electricity was cut off and there was a complete darkness in the house. I couldn't do anything. Therefore, I decided to go to sleep and end this unlucky day.
Out of the blue in that quiet night, I heard a sudden noise coming from downstairs. Startled and terribly shocked, I suspected that someone broke into the house. Immediately, I tried to phone my parents, but no one answered.
After a couple of minutes of fear, I started to calm down. Although in the meantime I heard more noises of people talking, I summoned up some courage and started heading for the basement. As I slowly drew closer to the basement, I guessed there were more than one person, but I found it hard to believe. There couldn't be a lot of people in our basement!
Courageously, I opened the door of the basement. There was a complete darkness. There wasn't a single noise. However, as I approached, I heard some laughter and confirmed that there were people. Suddenly, the lights were on and there stood my parents and friends cheering at me with the beautiful presents they had carefully prepared for me. It was a surprise party! The room was beautifully decorated with colorful balloons. Tables and chairs were laid and covered with white and contrasting red sheets. A gigantic birthday cake was positioned on the innermost table.
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；
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:
Now everything was ready and the party was set in motion.
Paragraph 2:
The partly was over and the guests began to head off.
