My class and I visited Chris Care Center in Phoenix, Arizona to comfort the old people who needed a little cheering up during the holiday season.

The first two  (1)  there were for persons requiring help in taking care of themselves. We sang  (2)  for them. They loved our sweet songs and the flowers that we left with them.

As we were  (3)  on the third floor for old people with Alzheimer (老年痴呆症), most of them   (4)  off at the walls or floor. However, one lady  (5)  my eye. She was sitting by the door, in a wheelchair, singing songs to herself. They weren’t the songs that we were singing, at least they didn’t    (6)    like that. As we got   (7)   with each festive song, she did as well. The louder we got, the louder she got.   (8)    she was singing, she was also    (9)   out to us with her hands and body. I knew that I should have gone over to her, but I thought that my    (10)  were to my students. People who worked at the care center could    (11)    to her, I thought. Just when I stopped feeling   (12)   about not giving her the attention she needed, one of my students, Justin, showed me what the holiday season is really about.

Justin also   (13)   the same lady. The difference between us is that he  (14)  on her needs, but I didn’t. During the last song, “Silent Night,” Justin walked over to her and held her hand. He looked this aged lady in her   (15)   and with his actions said, “You are important, and I will take my  (16)   to let you know that.”

This tired, elderly lady stopped singing and held his hand. Then she touched his cheek with  (17)  hand. Tears began to fall down her face. No   (18)   can completely describe that touching moment...

It  (19)   a boy to teach me, a man, about kindness and love. Justin’s example of a complete, selfless attitude toward another was a   (20)   that I will never forget. He was the teacher that day, and I consider myself  lucky to have witnessed his lesson.         

Many theories regarding the causes of juvenile delinquency (crimes committed by young people) focus either on the individual or on society as the major contributing influence. Theories    36   on the individual suggest that children      37     criminal behavior before they were not sufficiently     38     for previous misbehaviors or that they have learned criminal behavior through interaction with others. Theories focusing on the role of society suggest that children commit crimes in    39    to their failure to rise above their socioeconomic status or as a rejection of middle-class values.

Most theories of juvenile delinquency have focused on children from    40    families,   41      the fact that children from wealthy homes also commit crimes. The latter may commit crimes for lack of adequate control from parents. All    42    , however, are uncertain or unimproved and are of course challenged with criticism.

Changes in the social structure may indirectly     43     juvenile crime rates. For example, changes in the economy that     44    to fewer job opportunities for youth and rising unemployment     45      make gainful employment increasingly difficult to obtain. This results in    46    among youths and may in    47    lead more youths into criminal behavior.

Families have also experienced  48  these years. More families consist of one parent households or two working parents;     49    , children are likely to have less supervision at home than was common in the traditional family    50     . This lack of parental supervision is thought to be an influence on juvenile crime rates. Other noticeable     51     of offensive acts include     52    experience or failure in school, the    53    availability of drugs and alcohol, and the growing phenomenon of child abuse and child neglect. All these conditions tend to increase the    54     of a child committing a criminal act,     55    a direct cause and effect relationship has not yet been established.

With their visas in hand and their bags packed, students may feel prepared for their study abroad experiences. __36__ once they set foot in foreign lands, some students realize that they don’t have the skills to communicate their thoughts and feelings in their __37__ culture.

Guo Yichen, a student at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, observed a(an) __38__ of poor communication during her time abroad.

When Guo first got to the US, she stayed in the house of a 63-year-old lady, with another Chinese girl. Guo and her housemate were __39__ to take turns tidying up the bathroom. But the housemate never __40__, because she didn’t know how. Her mother had always cleaned the bathroom for her back home. And when the landlord asked about it, the housemate __41__ replied, “I never needed to do housework back home, and I won’t do it here __42__.”

“I was shocked by how __43__ her answer was,” said Guo. “She could have explained it in a better way.” It was __44__ surprise that the girl was asked to move out almost immediately.

In fact, “difficulty in __45__” is among the three major psychological problems that ZMN Education, an agency on overseas education, __46__ among Chinese students studying abroad, the other two being“fear of class discussion” and “fear of homework based on critical thinking”.

A professor at theUniversityofCalifornia, Berkeley, once told the agency that many of his Chinese students only came to see him when they got __47__ scores. They should have talked to him after each class to get a better grade __48__, he said.

According to the agency, studying abroad itself may trigger(引发) certain mental problems because it is a “__49__ and stressful shift to new environments and __50__”. It has been found that students are 23 times more likely to __51__ a mental health condition than business travelers headed abroad.

And during this period of major life transitions(过渡), __52__ better communication skills is particularly important. It helps you get assistance and solve problems.

The New York Times published an article recently that shows great regret for the "death of conversation".It suggests that while technology such as cell phones, e-mails , and Internet posting makes us feel more   (1)  than ever, they’re also driving us   (2)  from people around us.

Users get final connectivity   (3)  the price of   (4)  face-to-face conversation. Sherry Turkle, author of the article in The New York Times says people are   (5)  to a different way of being “alone together”.

Actually   (6)  text messages or writing micro-blogs allows us to   (7)  thoughts.

  (8)  bits and pieces of online cannot   (9)  a “real conversation.” Lan Guo, 19, a freshman English major from Changsha University , said that she would like to hear people’s tone of voice and see their faces in a (n)  (10)  .“The give and take of ideas in a conversation sharpens our minds,” she said．She also mentions that   (11)  ourselves in mobile technology reduces our chance of starting conversations with strangers and   (12)  People.

Turkle mentioned the popular   (13)  of “I share, therefore I am” among this generation. Liu Xuan, a young writer from Taiwan and psychology graduate from Harvard University, thinks it’s a mindset adopted by most young people. They are so busy creating or polishing their online persona (网络人格)that they forget how to live a (n)  (14)  life. For example，They may   (15)  more about blogging about attending a party rather than enjoying being   (16)  

However，experts remind us that it’s unfair to   (17)  mobile technology. Chen Chen, a sociology expert at China Youth &Children Research Center, points out that it is still owners of gadgets , such as cell phones and tablets , who’re avoiding personal  (18)  We take advantage of these devices to hide ourselves   (19)  others. Texting messages or calling may be a (n)  (20)  to avoid contact with others, such as having eye contact．“Only by strengthening conversation can we understand each other. Simply throwing away the mobile gadgets is not a solution.”she said.

 It takes plenty of time for some adults to try to stop children playing. They are usually people who think of play as being the   (1)   of work and therefore a waste of time. For humans, work is a way of getting food to eat, and like humans,   (2)   must spend time doing the  (3)   things. Regardless of this, children   (4)   playing, and so do other young animals. It is quite   (5)   to keep both a small child and a young cat   (6)   for hours with a piece of paper.

    Hunting may be the most obvious skill   (7)   in play, but it is far from being the only one. Lambs and goat kids play   (8)  , although as adults they will never   (9)   anything other than some grass. But for these young animals too,   (10)   is an important part of learning. Sheep and goats are   (11)   hill and mountain animals. Running and skipping exercise young legs and develop a strong sense of   (12)   that will keep them safe on the steepest rocks.

  (13)   animals’ play, children’s play is not so different.   (14)   trees and catching flies are not the most obvious training for the adult world, but the flexibility   (15)   in these activities is similar to that required of a bus driver or businessman.

What we know about animals shows us that playing is a very good way of   (16)  , so maybe one of the best ways for   (17)   to learn is also by playing. Children find playing is fun, but   (18)   notice that they are also learning at the same time. Most people continue to play games long after they have become   (19)  , and perhaps that is because we rely so much on our   (20)   to learn.

Why do young adult children become independent so much later than they did in 1970，when the average age of independent living was 21? Why have reduced class sizes and increased per-pupil expenditures (花销）not  (1 )  higher academic achievement levels? Why is the mental health of today’s kids so poor when   (2 )  with that of children in the 1960s and before? Why do today’s    ( 3)  become defensive when told by teachers that their children have misbehaved in school?

The answer in two words: parental   (4)  . Those two words best summarize the   (5 )   between “old” child raising and new, post-1960s parenting. Then, the overall philosophy was that parents were not to be  ( 6 )  involved with their kids. They were available    (7)   crisis, but they stood a (an)  ( 8 )   distance from their kids and allowed them to experience the benefits of the trial-and-error process. It was the child’s   ( 9 )  , back then, to keep his or her parents from getting involved. That was   (10)    children learned to be responsible and determined.

Today’s parents help their kids with almost everything. These are parents who are  (11)  when it comes to an understanding of their purpose in their kids’ lives. Their involvement leads them to personalize everything that happens to their kids;     (12)  , the defensiveness. But given that schools and mental health professionals have been pushing parent involvement for nearly four decades, the confusion and defensiveness are  (13)    .

University researchers analyzed three decades of data relating to parent participation in children’s academics. Their conclusions   (14)    what I’ve been saying since the 1980s: parental help with homework  (15)  a child’s academic achievement and is not reflected on standardized tests.

Parents who manage a child’s social life interfere with the    (16)    of good social skills. Parents who manage a child’s after-school activities grow kids who don’t know how to    (17)    their own free time. Parents who get involved in their kids,   (18)        with peers grow kids who don’t know how to avoid much less trouble.

These kids have anxieties and fears of all sorts and don’t want to leave their     (19)   . And their parents, when the time comes, don’t know how to     (20)    being parents. You can imagine what will become of their future.

Many adults take too much time to attempt to stop children playing. They are usually the people who think of playing as being the   (1)   of working and therefore a waste of time and energy. For humans, work is a way of getting food to eat, and like humans,   (2)   must spend time doing the   (3)   things. Regardless of this, children really   (4)   playing, and so do other young animals. So it is quite   (5)   to keep both a small child and a young cat   (6)   for hours with a piece of paper.

Hunting may be the most obvious skill   (7)   in play, but it is far from being the only one. Lambs and goat kids play  (8)  , although they will never   (8)   anything other than some grass. But for these young animals too,   (9)   is an important part of learning. Sheep and goats are   (10)   hill and mountain animals. Running and skipping exercise young legs and develop a strong sense of   (11)   that will keep them safe on the steepest rocks.

  (12)   animals play, human play is not so different.   (13)   trees and catching flies are not the most obvious training for the adult world, but the flexibility   (14)   in these activities is similar to that required of a bus driver or businessman.

What we know about animals shows us that playing is a very good way of   (15)  , so maybe one of the best ways for   (16)   to learn is also by playing. Children find playing is fun, but   (17)   notice that they are also learning at the same time. Most people continue to play games long after they have become   (18)  , and perhaps that is because we rely so much on our   (19)   to learn.

 Every summer a great many students travel to other countries looking for work and adventure. Most of the  (1)  are in seasonal work, mainly connected with tourism and   (2)  . The pay is usually poor, but most people work abroad for the   (3)  of travel. You can pick grapes on farms in France, entertain kids on American summer camps, and, of course, there are  (4)    jobs in hotels and restaurants.

      But it is not easy now to find work. “  (5)  you speak the language of the country well, there will be very few openings,” says Althea Ellis, an adviser on  (6)   for students. “If you work with a family in Italy, you’ll have to speak Italian. When you wash dishes in a restaurant in Paris, the owner will expect you to speak   (7)    . British students only have a language   (8)   for jobs in the USA and Australia.”

       (9)  enjoys the experience. Sarah James was employed to help forty American children in Europe. The two teachers with the children had never been   (10)  . One child lost his passport; another became seriously ill and was  (11)   home; the whole group was thrown out of one hotel because of the  (12)   they made, and what’s worse, Sarah herself was robbed on her only  (13)    evening of the entire trip. “I did visit a lot of new places,” she says, “but it wasn’t worth it. The pay was   (14)    and it really was a 24-hour-a-day job. The kids never slept!”

      “The trouble is, students expect to have a(n)  (15)   time of it.” Althea Ellis points out. “After all, they see it as a   (16)    . In practice,    (17)   , you have to work hard. At the same time, all vacation work is casual (临时的) work. You’ll have a job when the hotel, the restaurant, or the campsite is busy. In other words, you’ll work if it’s convenient for the company that  (18)   you. But you have  (19)   employment rights. As soon as the holiday season   (20)   , they’ll get rid of you.”

For many people, the holidays are about helping the unfortunate.   (1)   than buy presents for each other, a group of friends in a snowboard (滑雪板) group like to go to their  (2)  homeless shelters and give people there a day to   (3)  . They begin preparing at the    start of the snow season by   (4)   people who come to the mountain to   (5)   clothing like jackets, boots, gloves and hats. Then the group   (6)   the shelters to distribute (分发) the things. Jay, 18, one of the   (7)  , says “We tell them, ‘Now you guys are coming with us and we’re going to teach you how to   (8)   or snowboard all day for free.’ It’s wonderful to know that we are able to take the pressure in their lives   (9)   their minds for one day.”

For this group, working together to help the homeless makes their relation   (10)  . They feel like part of each other’s lives in a   (11)  way.

It may sound no wonder until you try it, but doing something of charity can really help you   (12)   better about giving. That’s because it benefits the   (13)   as well as the receiver－you’re left with a feeling of belonging and being connected.   (14)   to help an organization or group that fits with your   (15)   and the things you believe in. If you love children, buy a present for a child in need.   (16)   animals are your thing, talk to your local animal shelters(收容所)－many distribute pet food to low-income pet   (17)   over the holidays. If you   (18)   your grandparents and would like to spend time with the elderly,   (19)   out at a nursing home over the holidays. Or share a special skill. If you’re good with your   (20)  , you can help build or paint housing for people in need.

You don’t have to wait for chance to help. By using whatever you have, you can make the world a better place to live in.

​