★★★☆☆

 I recently started using a parenting expression thatI never thought would come out of my mouth:“Donˈtmake me tell Daddy.”Once upon a time I was a calmermom. But now things are   (1)   . I have three kids—ages7, 5, and 15 months—which is only part of the   (2)   .The bigger part: My husband and I used to   (3)  childrentogether. Then about a month after our third child wasborn, he   (4)   a sales job that required longerhours,leaving me with the lionˈs share of   (5)   .

Without him around to   (6)   , keeping the childrenin check has been more   (7)   and the“donˈt make metellDaddy”thing started. My five-year-old was the firstto   (8)   those five words. Sheˈd do   (9)   like kicking herolder brother repeatedly and when I asked her to   (10)   ,sheˈd say,“Youˈre not going to tell Daddy, are you?”Ineverindulged(纵容) her. Then one day my kids wereclimbing on the snow banks in our driveway,   (11)   to getinto the car for school and when I started to get mad,my daughter mentioned“Daddy”again. So I said  (12)  ,“Donˈt make me tell Daddy!”What   (13)   me was that itworked.

The more I   (14)   those five words, the more Isuspected it was wrong and, it turned out that I was  (15)  .“When a mom says,‘Donˈt make me tellDaddyˈ, the child concludes that the   (16)   is thesource of power,”Laura Markham, a childpsychologist, told me later.“Youˈre   (17)   your kidsthat their father is to be   (18)   and theirmother is notin charge.”

This is not   (19)   for Mom and not fair to Dad.And I donˈt want to lose my   (20)   to kids whoseshoes I still tie.

Last year I introduced my new policy on absences to my classes. None would be   (1)  , except for illness or personal emergency (紧急情况). Even though this was against the   (2)   rules, my students didnˈt   (3)   . When those who missed classes received warning notices from me, they knew I was   (4)   . Most students seemed to realize that it    (5)   their own studies, and followed the rule.   (6)   , it was also a rule that they should follow throughout their lives.

I told my classes that   (7)   students want to do well in school, they have to go to classes   (8)   . Like other teachers, I feel   (9)   when I carefully prepare for a class but only a few students come. I want my students to get the  (10)   that I care about their learning and    (11)   them to care about my professional (职业的) effort.

To my   (12)   , student performance in my classes improved greatly in the end. Such a result is surely worth   (13)   . There are also other advantages having a   (14)   classroom. For example, discussions are    (15)   , homework is generally   (16)   on time, and very few students miss tests. Of course, I was a little   (17)   than usual, especially at first. I  (18)  or mailed notes to several students about their cuts, some more than once.

There is no  (19)   that this kind of policy is easier in a small school. But it can work almost anyplace where a teacher cares enough to make it work. The  (20)   thing is caring.

 Last year I introduced my new policy on absences to my classes. None would be   (1)  , except for illness or personal emergency (紧急情况). Even though this was against the   (2)   rules, my students didnˈt   (3)   . When those who missed classes received warning notices from me, they knew I was   (4)   . Most students seemed to realize that it   (5)   their own studies, and followed the rule.   (6)   , it was also a rule that they should follow throughout their lives.

      I told my classes that  (7)   students want to do well in school, they have to go to classes   (8)   . Like other teachers, I feel   (9)   when I carefully prepare for a class but only a few students come. I want my students to get the  (10)   that I care about their learning and   (11)   them to care about my professional (职业的) effort.

       To my   (12)   , student performance in my classes improved greatly in the end. Such a result is surely worth   (13)   . There are also other advantages having a   (14)   classroom. For example, discussions are   (15)   , homework is generally   (16)   on time, and very few students miss tests. Of course, I was a little   (17)   than usual, especially at first. I  (18)  or mailed notes to several students about their cuts, some more than once.

        There is no  (19)   that this kind of policy is easier in a small school. But it can work almost anyplace where a teacher cares enough to make it work. The  (20)   thing is caring.
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I had always wanted to go on a high mountain walk. There are some good long-distance walks in the UK, but there arenˈt any really   (1)   mountains. Before leaving, I   (2)   my clothes, equipment, and the weather forecast. I  (3)   read a couple of books and looked at some photos and travel blogs on the Internet. This was fine, but you canˈt   (4)  

them with the real thing!

A lot of incredible things happened during the   (5)   . Perhaps the best was the complete   (6)   from city life. While I was   (7)  , there were no cars, no noise, no rush. The   (8)   was of course very impressive: valleys, mountain lakes, and there were plants and wildlife that you   (9)  see on TV. And I   (10)  so many interesting people along the way, from Europe, Canada, and Japan. When I arrived at my accommodation, I made new   (11)  . They told me where theyˈd been; I told them where I was going; we exchanged stories and advice. It was just  (12)   !

But of course there were   (13)   . There always are. In this case, the weather. High mountains   (14)  that the weather can change very quickly. We even had snowstorms in July! When your clothes get very wet, it isnˈt   (15)  to dry them, so youˈre  (16)   the next day. And climbing mountains is hard on your knees, too. And thereˈs always the   (17)   of falling on the paths, where not even a mobile phone can   (18)  you very much.

For me, however, the whole walk was a special   (19)   that Iˈll always remember.   (20)   I did the trip again, thereˈs just one other thing I would do differently: lots of physical training before the walk!

It was a hot, sunny day in a national forest.Unfortunately, my best friend, Ned, and I got   (1)  .Once we realized that we were separated from ourgroup, we   (2)  tried to find a safe place to set upour base. We found a small area next to a  (3)   .Then we started a fire with some leaves and sticks  (4)   nearby.

While I was   (5)  the fire, Ned brought more  (6)   , which were put in the water and then slowlythrown into the fire. The  (7)   leaves created a lot ofsmoke. Then we started to write some   (8)   notessaying,“WE ARE LOST! If you find this   (9)  , youwill find us upstream. We are keeping up a(n)   (10)  fire. Please find us!”They were made into paper  (11)   and sent downstream, one every five minutes.We   (12)  that these boats would draw somebodyˈsattention.

  (13)  our group was well on their way, wewanted to be ready for them. Ned and I started to  (14)   two hollow logs (空心圆木) and some strongsticks. Our small fire   (15)  produced plenty ofsmoke. Soon we were very   (16)  to hear whistles (口哨) far in the distance. It must have been thesmoke that worked. Now it was time to start   (17)  on the hollow logs. We enjoyed this part  (18)   we gotto sing and shout along with the beat (节拍). Soonafter, we were  (19)  by our group and we headedback to our camp with a(n)   (20)   story to tell.

       Eco-tourism involves people traveling to beautiful but environmental sensitive places. Such trips are   (1)  carried out with an experienced guide. Over recent years, this type of travel has been steadily gaining   (2)  as more people search for new travel experiences.

      Eco-tourism has many benefits. First, all the   (3)  spent by the tourists is used to   (4)  

the important environmental spots they visit.  Second, it helps  (5)  to better understand the environment, thereby   (6)  their knowledge of the world. Furthermore, this style of travel is also more  (7)  of the local culture.

       Compared to  (8)  tourists, eco-tourists use energy more efficiently, save water and produce less rubbish by finding ways to   (9)  it. These behaviours have a  (10)  and lasting effect on the local environment.

      Two things are needed to make eco-tourism a/an   (11)  . First, it should be done in small groups. And second, because it requires considerable effort, both eco-tourists and locals must be   (12)  in their commitment to improving the environment.

       Green travel provides local people with jobs in parks,   (13)   and shops. One great achievement of eco-tourism has been the   (14)  of illegal hunting. Former hunters can now work as guides to help keep the animals   (15)   in their natural surroundings. Green travel also  (16)  local peopleˈs quality of life, especially childrenˈs.

     Peru is one country using eco-tourism to promote respect for the   (17)   . Itˈs now able to take better care of its rainforests because of a/an  (18)  on more sustainable(可持续的)travel.

           (19)  this, local peopleˈs living-standards have improved. Many others are now following Peruˈs   (20)  and using eco-tourism to preserve their environment for the future generations.

I had always wanted to go on a high mountainwalk. There are some good long-distance walks in the UK, but there arenˈt any really   (1)  mountains.Before leaving, I   (2)   my clothes, equipment,and the weather forecast. I   (3)   read a couple ofbooks andlooked at some photos and travel blogson the Internet. This was fine, but you canˈt   (4)  them with the real thing!

A lot of incredible things happened duringthe   (5)   . Perhaps the best was the complete   (6)  from city life. While I was   (7)   , there were nocars, no noise, no rush. The   (8)   was of coursevery impressive: valleys (峡谷), mountain lakes, andthere were plants andwildlife that you   (9)   see onTV. And I   (10)  so many interesting people alongthe way, from Europe, Canada, and Japan. When Iarrived at my accommodation, I made new   (11)  .They told me where theyˈd been; I told themwhere I was going; we exchanged (交换) storiesand advice. It was just   (12)  !

But of course there were   (13)   . There alwaysare. In this case, the weather. High mountains   (14)  that the weather can change very quickly. We evenhad snowstorms in July!When your clothes getvery wet, it isnˈt   (15)   to dry them, so youˈre   (16)  thenext day. Andclimbing mountains is hard on yourknees, too. And thereˈs always the   (17)  of fallingon thepaths, where not even a mobile phone can  (18)  you very much.

For me, however, the whole walk was aspecial  (19)   that Iˈll always remember.   (20)   I didthe trip again, thereˈs just one other thing I woulddo differently: lots of physical training before thewalk!

★★☆☆☆

Recently, my family and I visited Kaikoura, a coastal town in New Zealand. The first evening it seemed a   (1)   place, but the next day I remembered what Iˈd   (2)   about it in a magazine — that it was often   (3)   to see dolphins (海豚) and whales there!

My family and I   (4)   on a gray, windy morning on a small boat.   (5)   , the sky turned blue ten minutes later. Soon we   (6)   the place where we were supposed to go swimming. To my   (7)   , this was more than 40 km from land. I was quite   (8)   by this time, and wondered why we came all the way out there, when   (9)   someone shouted “Dolphins!”

All I could   (10)   were fins (鱼鳍) everywhere — there were about one hundred dolphins, all   (11)   towards our boat! Many of them were jumping around in the water   (12)   they were asking us to come and play. I   (13)   my snorkel (潜水通气管) and jumped into the sea. Then I tried to make   (14)   in the water to attract them. What made me   (15)   was that they heard me and came to swim around me. Amazingly, a dolphin kept following me, but then changed his   (16)   and swam in another direction. It really made me realize how   (17)   these animals are.

About an hour later, it was time for us to get back onto the   (18)   . I really enjoyed myself, but I was a little cold and   (19)   to leave the water. I noticed that everyone on board was smiling and I realized what a very   (20)   moment weˈd had.

★★☆☆☆

Recently, my family and I visited Kaikoura, a coastal town in New Zealand. The first evening it seemed a   (1)   place, but the next day I remem- bered what I'd   (2)   about it in a magazine — that it was often   (3)   to see dolphins (海豚) and whales there!

My family and I   (4)   on a gray, windy morning on a small boat.   (5)   , the sky turned blue ten minutes later. Soon we   (6)   the place where we were supposed to go swimming. To my   (7)   , this was more than 40 km from land. I was quite   (8)   by this time, and wondered why we came all the way out there, when   (9)   someone shouted “Dolphins!”

All I could   (10)   were fins (鱼鳍) every- where — there were about one hundred dolphins, all   (11)  towards our boat! Many of them were jumping around in the water   (12)   they were asking us to come and play. I   (13)   my snorkel (潜水通气管) and jumped into the sea. Then I tried to make   (14)   in the water to attract them. What made me   (15)   was that they heard me and came to swim around me. Amazingly, a dolphin kept following me, but then changed his   (16)   and swam in another direction. It really made me realize how   (17)   these animals are.

About an hour later, it was time for us to get back onto the   (18)   . I really enjoyed myself, but I was a little cold and   (19)   to leave the water. I noticed that everyone on board was smiling and I realized what a very   (20)   moment we'd had.

​