阅读理解

　　When many of us take a vacation, relaxing is what we want．But we usually return home tired and weak．It doesn’t have to be this way．

　　Come home refreshed after an active trip！Don’t be too tired!

　　Active vacations are often the most relaxing of all．It’s all in defining(定义)what an active vacation is．We don’t expect you to run slowly, or go backpacking．Well, we ask the vacationers who are not active not to sit too long but to spend two to four hours a day doing things, such as walking the city streets, exploring a nature protect, going to a zoo or biking along the ocean．

　　These kinds of activities aren’t just good for your physical health．They improve your mental health, even your spiritual health．And they make vacations memorable and worthwhile．And after all, isn’t that what you want from your vacation? Here are some fresh ideas to make your vacations as pleasurable as they are active and healthy．

　　A walk at dawn or dusk is necessary．Try to make this a daily routine of life away from home, and you will ensure yourself both physical and spiritual adding．

　　Don’t allow yourself to spend your entire time sitting in front of the water．Whether it is the ocean, a swimming pool, or a tree－lined lake, make sure you get into the water for swimming or games or even walking．Heck, merely standing in waist－high water is a good exercise, thanks to the action of the water．And you will feel so much more alive!

　　Many of us spend a large piece of our vacations on the road, either getting to and from our destinations, or using the car for sightseeing．But no matter how beautiful the scenery is, great, memorable vacations don’t happen in a car seat．Don’t wait for tiredness or nature’s call to get you to pull over．Frequently get out and stretch, walk, picnic, shop, visit, and have fun．It’s important for your health and energy, and it makes travelling a lot more active and interesting．

阅读理解

　　Andra Rush, a member of the Mohawk Indian tribe(部落)of Ontario, Canada, was raised 30 miles outside Detroit, not far from her grandparents and their Ontario reservation(印第安人保留地)．When the teenage Rush visited the reservation for the first time, she was struck by the poverty and lack of hope．“I really wanted to make a difference, ”she says．

　　She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1982 and took a nursing job．But she was disappointed with the low pay, and within a year she was pursuing an MBA．That summer, she interned(作实习生)at an air freight(货运)company, where the speed of package pickups and deliveries drove profits．“I thought I could do that better, ” Rush says．

　　She used her credit cards and borrowed ＄5,000 from her parents to buy a van and two used pickup trucks．She accepted every delivery job that came her way, and worked nursing shifts on weekends．

　　Within six months, Rush had ten employees, and customers like Ford and GM were paying her to fetch small packages from the airport．Ford was the first to offer her a job trucking parts between its plants and suppliers．

　　Rush kept a single－minded focus on meeting deadlines－no matter what．In the wake of 9·11, when increased security stalled(拖延)traffic for hours on Detroit’s largest bridge, she hired ships to get her trucks across the Detroit River．

　　By 2001, many of Rush’s 1,000 employees were Native Americans, working alongside people of every background．But she felt she hadn’t done enough．So she joined forces with a Canadian parts maker to design and fit auto parts．She located the plants near reservations, creating opportunities where they were needed most．By 2009, her auto parts business was bringing in ＄370 million．

　　Rush is 49 now and still working hard．“I love my job, ”she says．“I like the fact that you can keep challenging yourself－and then suddenly you lift your head and it’s been 25 years．”

阅读理解

　　Every day, all across the nation, as many as one in four children refuses to go to school．The reasons are various．“School Refusal”, formerly known as “School Phobia”, is an actual anxiety-based disorder．Many children are vague about their complaints and unable to be sure what is making them anxious, so it is sometimes regarded as typical childhood will fullness．However, the effects of constant school refusal can be far-reaching for your child’s education．

　　So, where’s the line between what’s normal and what’s not？“You need to look at whether it is affecting the child or family’s normal life, ”explains Christopher Kearney, Ph．D．In other words, if a child’s grades are suffering from frequent absences or a parent’s job is disturbed, it is time to look closely at the issue．Parents should listen carefully to children who say they can’t go to school because of “untestable things”such as stomachaches or headaches．While these complaints alone don’t necessarily indicate school refusal, there may be deeper problems if combined with general complaints about school, talks of threats at school and so on．

　　There are different kinds of behavior in school refusal．Some children are influenced by their friends who skip school to hang out with their friends, showing a sense of rebellion(叛逆)．Some children cling to their mothers, screaming at the thought of having to enter the school building．

　　However, that doesn’t mean that getting a child back into the classroom is impossible．According to Maryann Roth, a school psychologist and guidance counselor(顾问), parents should attempt to make the child get back to school, no matter how hard it is．Working closely with school officials and possibly a specialist to create a plan is a necessary step．

阅读理解

　　While most high school students spend most of their time worrying about who likes who, and different relationships between their classmates, I choose to focus on my school lessons and sports．

　　When I was young, my mother encouraged me to develop and keep friendship with boys in order to build strong relationships．But she told me not to risk a good friendship with a boy with the title of boyfriend．It’s indeed a wise choice to stay friends with those of the opposite sex．In my opinion, even though some high school relationships might continue after graduation, the probability of them lasting much longer is so slim that there really is not a point to it．

　　Firstly you have to think about such a question－whether　it is possible to hurt both of you, or even hurt both of your future husbands or wives．My second point is that you still can date if you hope marriage could possibly follow．Except this, there really is not any other reason for dating．Some students desire relationships for a chance to be romantic．While these are nice to have, there are many more important things at this point in our lives．

　　The titles of boyfriend and girlfriend put too much stress on a relationship betw　　een high school students．Just staying as common friends may be the best choice for us．I strongly recommend we should deal with it in an appropriate way and follow our teachers’ advice if necessary．

阅读理解

　　What can a wide-eyed, talking robot teach us about trust? A lot, according to Northeastern psychology professor David DeSteno, and his colleagues, who are conducting a research to determine how humans decide to trust strangers．

　　The interdisciplinary(跨学科的)research project, funded by the National Science Foundation(NSF), is being conducted together with Cynthia Breazeal, director of the MIT Media Lab’s Personal Robots Group, Robert Frank, an economist, and David Pizarro, a psychologist, both from Cornell．

　　The researchers are examining whether gestures could affect our trustworthiness judgments．“People tend to mimic(模仿)each other’s body language, ”said DeSteno, “which might help them develop intuitions(直觉)about what other people are feeling．”

　　This project tests their theories by having humans interact with the social robot, Nexi, in an attempt to judge her trustworthiness．Without knowing the participants, Nexi has been programmed to make gestures while speaking with selected participants－gestures that the team thinks could determine whether or not she’s considered trustworthy．

　　During the first part of the experiment, Nexi makes small talk with them for 10 minutes, asking and answering questions about topics such as traveling, where they’re from and what they like most about living in Boston．

　　“The goal was to create a normal conversation with accompanying movements to see what the mind would intuitively(直觉地)collect about the trustworthiness of another, ”said DeSteno．

　　The participants then play an economic game called “Give Some”, which asks them to determine how much money Nexi might give them at the expense of her individual profit．Meanwhile, they decide how much, if any, they’ll give to Nexi．The rules of the game allow for two distinct outcomes：higher individual profit for one and loss for the other, or relatively smaller and equal profits for both partners．

　　“Trust mightn’t be determined by only one gesture, but rather a ‘dance’ that happens between the strangers, which leads them to trust or not trust the other, ” said DeSteno, who will continue testing their theories by seeing if Nexi can be taught to predict the trustworthiness of human partners．

阅读理解

　　To a large degree, the measure of our peace of mind is determined by how much we are able to live in the present moment．In spite of what happened yesterday or last year, and what may or may not happen tomorrow, the present moment is where you are－always!

　　Without question, many of us have mastered the sensitive art of spending much of our lives worrying about a variety of things－all at once．We allow past problems and future concerns to control our present moments, so much so that we end up anxious, discouraged, depressed, and hopeless．On the other hand, we also put off our satisfaction, and put off what we should think of first, and our happiness, often convincing ourselves that “someday” will be better than today．Unfortunately, the same mental power that tells us to look toward the future will only repeat themselves so that “someday” never actually arrives．John Lennon once said, “Life is what’s happening while we’re busy making other plans．” When we are busy making other plans, our children are busy growing up, the people we love are moving away and dying, our bodies are getting out of shape, and our dreams are slipping away．In short, we miss our life．

　　Many people live as if life were dress rehearsal(彩排)for someday　in the future．It isn’t．In fact, no one has a guarantee that he or she will be here tomorrow．Now is the only time we have, and the only time that we have any control over．When our attention is in the present moment, we push fear from our minds．Fear is the concern over events that might happen in the future－we won’t have enough money, our children will get into trouble, we will get old and die, whatever．

　　To fight against fear, the best method is to learn to bring your attention back to the present．Mark Twain said, “I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened．I don’t think I can say it any better．Practice keeping your attention on here and now．Your efforts will pay off sooner or later．”

阅读理解

Why You Should Celebrate Your Mistakes

　　When you make a mistake, big or small, cherish(珍视)it like it’s the most precious thing in the world．Because in some ways, it is．

　　Most of us feel bad when we make mistakes, beat ourselves up about it, feel like failures, get mad at ourselves．

　　And that’s only natural：most of us have been taught from a young age that mistakes are bad, that we should try to avoid mistakes．We’ve been scolded when we make mistakes－at home, school and work．Maybe not always, but probably enough times to make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction．

　　Yet without mistakes, we could not learn or grow．If you think about it that way, mistakes should be cherished and celebrated for being one of the most amazing things in the world：they make learning possible；they make growth and improvement possible．

　　By trial and error－trying things, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes－we have figured out how to make electric light, to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, to fly．

　　Mistakes make walking possible for the smallest toddler, make speech possible, make works of genius possible．

　　Think about how we learn：we don’t just consume information about something and instantly know it or know how to do it．You don’t just read about painting, or writing, or computer programming, or baking, or playing the piano, and know how to do them right away．Instead, you get information about something, from reading or from another person or from observing usually．．．then you construct a model in your mind．．．then you test it out by trying it in the real world．．．then you make mistakes．．．then you revise the model based on the results of your real－world experimentation．．．and repeat, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, until you’ve pretty much learned how to do something．That’s how we learn as babies and toddlers, and how we learn as adults．Mistakes are how we learn to do something new－because if you succeed at something, it’s probably something you already knew how to do．You haven’t really grown much from that success－at most it’s the last step on your journey, not the whole journey．Most of the journey was made up of mistakes, if it’s a good journey．

　　So if you value learning, if you value growing and improving, then you should value mistakes．They are amazing things that make a world of brilliance possible．

阅读理解

　　Homebuyers nationwide are watching housing prices going up, up, and up．“How high can they go?” Is the question on everyone’s lips．“As long as interest rates stay around 5 percent, nothing might be able to prevent housing prices going up, ” said one house seller in Santa Monica, California．

　　“It’s crazy, ” said Tim, who is looking for a house near the beach．“In 1993, I bought my first place, a two－bedroom flat in Venice, for＄70,000．My friends thought then that I was overpaying．Five years later, I had to move．I sold it for ＄ 230,000, which was a nice profit．Last year, while visiting friends here, I saw in the local paper that the exact same flat was for sale for ＄ 510,000!”

　　It is a seller’s market．Homebuyers feel like they have to offer at least 10 percent more than the asking price．Donna, a new owner of a one－bedroom flat on Venice Beach, said, “That’s what I did．I told the owner that whatever anyone offers you, I’ll give you ＄ 20,000 more under the table, so you don’t have to pay your house seller any of it．I was tired of negotiating with the house sellers．”

　　Tim says he hopes he doesn’t get that desperate．“Whether you decide to buy or not, you still feel like you made the wrong decision．If you buy, you feel like you overpaid．If you don’t buy, you want to kick yourself for passing up a great opportunity．”

　　Everyone says the bubble(气泡)has to burst sometime, but everyone hopes it will burst the day after they sell their house．Even government officials have no idea what the future will bring．“All we can say is that, clearly, these things go in regular cycles, ”said the state director of housing．“What goes up must come down．But, as we all know, housing prices always stay up a little higher than they go down(被接受)．So you can’t lose over the long run．Twenty years down the road, your house is always worth more than you paid for it．”

阅读理解

　　I believe that it is important to be brought up with a firm belief in the good．I was fortunate in this respect．My parents not only gave me a happy home, but they had me study half a dozen foreign languages and made it possible for me to travel in other countries．This made me more tolerant and helped me to conquer many difficulties in later life．

　　Soon after I got married, my husband and I left our native Czechoslovakia and went to live in Shanghai, China．Here was a really international city．People of all races and beliefs lived and worked together．

　　In Shanghai, in 1941, when I was only twenty years old, the doctors discovered that I had diabetes．It was a terrible shock, because diabetes is incurable．But it can be controlled by insulin(胰岛素)．Although this drug was not manufactured in China, there were enough stocks of imported insulin available．This enabled me to continue a normal, happy life．

　　Then bombs fell on Pearl Harbor and the Japanese occupied Shanghai．The import of insulin was cut off．Before long, there was not enough for the diabetics．I was on a starvation diet to keep my insulin requirements as low as possible．Many diabetics had already died, and the situation became desperate．In spite of all this, I never stopped believing that with the help of my husband’s love and care, I would survive．

　　I continued to teach in Chinese schools．My faith and my husband’s never－ending efforts to get the manufacture of insulin started gave me courage．In his small laboratory the production of insulin was attempted．I served as the human guinea pig(实验对象)on which it was tested．I’ll never forget the day when my husband gave me the first injection of the new insulin, which had worked on rabbits．It helped! Can you imagine our happiness and reli1ef?

　　I received the greatest strength from the deep love and complete understanding between my husband and me．And next to that was the kindness and help of many, many friends of many nationalities．To me, the experience of living in Shanghai during the special times was unforgettable．

　　After the Second World War, my husband and I sailed to the United States, which is also known as the melting pot．Wherever we live, I believe, with faith and love, love between families and friends from different nationalities, we can make it our cherished home．

阅读理解

　　Camille Mahlknecht,9，has some big fun planned for this weekend．She and other residents of Agoura Hills，California，plan to pick up trash during their city’s annual cleanup．At the same time，Wissam Raed,12，will be busy volunteering too．Thousands of miles away in Lebanon，Wissam plans to put on a play at an orphanage and bring potted plants to elderly people at a senior citizen center．

　　Some other children like Nathan White,10，have personal reasons for volunteering．Nathan’s grandmother died of a heart attack．To help raise money for medical research，Nathan participated in Jump Rope for Heart．He and five other boys took turns jumping rope for two and half hours and collected more than US ＄1,200 in donations for the American Heart Association．

　　Millions of children around the globe lend a hand to their communities every year．Schools and parents also contribute to the rise in youth service．For example，many schools offer community service activities for students to join．Teachers either combine volunteer work with classroom lessons or make service work a requirement．Parents，on the other hand，encourage their kids to volunteer and do it with them．

　　Community service is particularly important in this depression time．As the need for monetary support and other aid has increased，many charitable organizations have experienced a significant drop in donations．Camille and other children who volunteer thousands of hours annually can fill in some of the gaps．

　　According to research，kids who start volunteering are twice as likely to continue doing good deeds when they are adults．So，grab a paintbrush，a trash bag，or whatever you need to help your community．You’ll love how you feel after helping others．Even dirty work can be lots of fun，if it’s for a good cause．