Third Culture Kids

   As more cities and companies become increasing international, there is a growing number of children that are creating their own sub-culture. Often   (1)   to as TCKs (Third Culture Kids) or Global Nomads, these students have a(n)   (2)    impact on the global community.

So who are these Third Culture Kids? They are not a new phenomenon. As one looks   (3)   history, there is a realization that certain groups of people have led highly   (4)   lives, a key   (5)  

in describing TCKs. They often   (6)   their parents into another country and spend a significant part of his or her development years outside the parents’ culture. They are   (7)   to new cultures and to other people in the community who   (8)   move constantly. Their numbers   (9)   into the hundreds of thousands and are increasing. Ease of   (10)   and constant relocation of people through multinational companies and global business links contribute to this   (11)  .

  The question “Who am I?” is frequently asked by TCKs. They have   (12)   a host of cultural identities, and have built relationships to all the cultures,     (13)   not having full ownership of any. Although elements from each culture are absorbed into TCK’s life experience, the sense of   (14)    is in relationship to others of a similar background.  

   As you enter into the world of TCKs, one might suspect they are no   (15)  . But it is   (16)   , after spending only a short time with them, that they bring a deep knowledge from inside and a special ability to compare    (17)    and local issues. They represent many countries and cultures. They are the future cross-culturalists and     (18)   future politicians, diplomats, government employees and educators.

   They certainly experience a different lifestyle compared to their mono-cultural peers but we can benefit from their global and   (19)   lives. So, whatever one chooses to label the international students as ---TCKs, Global Nomads, or Global Souls ---we will gain unbelievable   (20)  .

There are two types of people in the world. Although they have   (1)   degree of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy   (2)   the other becomes unhappy. This   (3)   comes from the different ways in which they   (4)   things, persons and events.

People who become happy   (5)   their attention on the convenience of things, the   (6)   parts of a conversation, well-prepared dishes, the goodness of wine and fine weather. They   (7)   all the cheerful things. Those who become unhappy think and speak only of the   (8)   things. So, theyˈre always   (9)   . They cannot feel the pleasure of society, they   (10)   other people, and they make themselves unpopular everywhere. Their intention of criticizing and being disliked   (11)   grows into a bad   (12)   as time goes on. The habit may be strong, but it may be cured (治愈) when those who have it realize its bad   (13)   on their interests and tastes. I hope this little warning may be of   (14)   to them, and help them change this habit.

Though being unhappy is most probably an act of imagination, it has   (15)   results in life, for it brings on deep sorrow (悲伤) and bad luck. The unhappy ones hurt many people;   (16)   will love them, and nobody will   (17)   them with more than the most common politeness and respect. If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, no one will wish them   (18)   .

In order to help the unhappy ones, it should be strongly suggested that they change their bad habit and be   (19)   with what is pleasing,   (20)   worrying needlessly about themselves and others. If they do this, it will be good for both themselves and others, and a brighter life will certainly smile upon them some day.

In the last 30 years, genealogy (家谱学) has become one of America's most popular hobbies. If you type genealogy in a search engine, you can   (1)   about 16 million hits. If you   (2)   family history, you will get about 10 million   (3)   . The percentage of the U.S. population interested in family history has been   (4)   .   (5)   percent ofAmericans in 1996 stated they were   (6)   about genealogy. In 2000, that number   (7)   to 60 percent. This increase probably has to do with the convenience of searching on the Internet.

  Genealogy is a great   (8)   for many Americans. People ask themselves: What kind of people were my ancestors? The average family historian has been doing genealogy for 14 years,   (9)   a recent study. Cyndi Howells left her job in 1992 and has been working on her family   (10)  ever since. Four years later, she created a website to help others with their   (11)   . Her website has over 99,000 resources. Since its 51 in 1996, her website has had over 22 million   (12)  and more than 32 million page hits each month. Cyndi has also been   (13)   lectures all over the country to genealogy groups. Cyndi's website has won an award three times for the best genealogy site on the Web.

    (14)   the Internet has made research easier for amateur genealogists, it is only the beginning for   (15)   family historians. Researchers still need to go to courthouses and libraries to find strong   (16)   , such as land deeds, wedding notices, and tax (税收) records.   Another good   (17)   of information is the U.S. Census (人口普查). Early census records are not  (18)   , but since the mid-1800s, the U.S. Census has been keeping detailed records of family members, their ages, jobs, and places of birth.

  Are you interested in knowing more about your   (19)   and their stories, their country or countries, and how you fit into the history of your   (20)   ? Maybe genealogy is a good hobby for you.

★★★☆☆

For years, I have thought that we Americans are probably crazy. Crazy about animals, that is. But now I am   (1)  . I saw an ad in the newspaper the other day for a   (2)  in Miami which has been open since September 2002. It has a  (3)  dog program, with dog menus, dog movies and dog music. It sounds   (4)  for Oprah Winfrey, who never travels without her dogs. I   (5)  what the hotel does for other animals of the stars. Leonardo DiCaprio,   (6)   , has had a lizard (蜥蜴) for many years.

In the same newspaper was an article which   (7)   my opinion. The article, Hollywood ˈ s Super-Vet Tells All, was about Dr Amy Attas. Dr Attas sounds perfectly   (8)   , unlike some of her customers. Dr Attas began CityPets ten years ago. Her   (9)  are

rich and famous and, since she began CityPets, she has   (10)   the pets of people like Naomi Campbell, Joan Rivers and Uma Thurman.

One of the best  (11)   is about a late-night   (12)  that she received from the wife of hockey star, Wayne Gretzky. Their   (13)   was crying and Wayne could not sleep. If Wayne doesnˈt   (14)  , he doesnˈt play good hockey, said the wife on the phone. Dr Attas visited the house and   (15)   the dog which had a cold!   (16)   time, she had a call asking her to come to the airport at midnight to take care of a sick dog.

  (17)  , huh? No, the really crazy thing came from another   (18)   , this one in The Wall Street Journal. The US has spent $33 billion on   (19)   since this time last year. Thatˈs   (20)  to the GNP (国民生产总值) of a medium-sized South American country.And thatˈs what I call really crazy.

In Britain, people have different attitudes to the police. Most people generally 　41　them and the job they do—although there are certain people who do not believe that the police 　42　have the power that they do.

What does a policeman actually do? It is not 　43　job to describe. After all, a policeman has a number of jobs in 　44　.A policeman often has to control traffic, either 　45　foot in the centre of a town, or in a police car on the roads. Indeed, in Britain, he might be in the Traffic Police and spend all, or a lot of, his time 　46　up and down main roads and motorways. A traffic policeman has to help keep the traffic moving, stop 　47　motorists and help when there is an accident.

A policeman has to help keep the 　48　, too. If there is a fight or some other disturbance, we 　49　the police to come and restore order. And they often have to 　50　situation at great risk to their own 　51　.

We expect the police to solve crimes, of course, so an ordinary policeman, 　52　he is not a detective(侦探),will often have to help 　53　_and arrest criminals.

And 　54　do we call when there is an emergency—an air crash, a 　55　,a road accident, or a robbery? We call the police. 　 56　a policeman has to be 　57　to face any unpleasant emergency that may happen in the　58　world.

The police do an absolutely necessary job, they do it 　59　well and I support them, but I do not envy policemen. I do not think that I could 　60　do the job of a policeman.

About a year ago, I went to stay at a Detroit hotel. I didn't want to __21__ too much money with me, so I __22__ the desk clerk to put a hundred-dollar bill in the safe for __23__．

    The next morning, however, the clerk said that he knew nothing about my money. I didn't have any proof __24__ I had given the man the money. There was clearly __25__ left to do but go to the nearest lawyer at once.

    The lawyer __26__ me to return to the hotel with him and give __27__ hundred-dollar bill to the clerk. __28__ we did. An hour later, I went back to the desk and asked for my money together with the lawyer. __29__ I had the lawyer as an eyewitness(证人) to the __30__ hundred-dollar bill, the clerk could not __31__ he knew nothing about it.

    Another hour later, I put the second part of the lawyer's plan into action. This time both the lawyer and I went to the __32__ to ask for the hundred-dollar once again. No matter __33__ I said, the clerk who kept my bill __34__ that he had given it to me. I said it was not __35__．The lawyer said to him, "I __36__ this gentleman give you a hundred-dollar bill. If you don't hand it in immediately, I will be forced to call the __37__" Now the clerk felt quite __38__, so he gave me back the first hundred-dollar bill.

    "I don't know __39__ to thank you enough for getting my money back," I said to the lawyer. And what do you suppose he answered? He said, "Oh, don't __40__ me. That will be one hundred dollars, please. "