（一）

 It feels like every time my mother and I start to have a conversation, it turns into an argument. We talk about something as simple as dinner plans and suddenly, my mother will push the conversation into World WarⅢ.She'll talk about my lack of a bright future  

because I don't plan to be a doctor. And much to her disappointment, I don't want to do any job related to science, either. In fact, when I was pushed to say that I planned to major in English and communications, she nearly had a heart attack.

   "Why can't you be like my coworker's son?" she bemoans all the time. Her coworker's son received a four-year scholarship and is now earning 70,000 dollars a year as an engineer.

I don't know what to answer except that I simply can't be like Mr. Perfect as I've called the unnamed coworker's son. I can't be like him. I'm the type of person who loves to help out in the community, write until the sun goes down, and most of all, wants to achieve a career because I love it, not because of fame (名声) or salary.

   I understand why my mother is worried about my future major. I've seen my mother struggle to raise me on her small salary and work long hours. She leaves the house around 6﹕30 am and usually comes home around 5 pm or even 6 pm. However, I want her to know that by becoming a doctor, it doesn't mean I'll be successful. I'd rather follow my dreams and create my own future.

（二）

English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every seven human beings can speak it. More than half of the world’s books and three quarters of international mail are in English. Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary — perhaps as many as two million words.

However, let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. Sweet-meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat。 We take English for granted. But when we explore its paradoxes (探讨它的矛盾), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,  public bathrooms have no baths in them.    

And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese — so one moose, two meese?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of human beings. That’s why, when stars are out, they are visible ; but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

将划线句翻译成中文

 Although I think there is much for me to learn in the area of communication, Iˈve been told by my friends that I’m a great person to speak to. It seems that I have a talent for having conversations go on without boring others. In fact, I don’t think there are any “tricks” you have to use to be a great conversationalist. Below are some rules I apply in all my conversations.

     Focus on the positives. Go for the positive topics. Instead of talking about past sadness, choose a discussion of future goals. During your conversations, always take a forward-thinking attitude. Less complaining, more solutions. Less judging, more understanding. Doing more of the latter will make you a more enjoyable person to speak to.

    Itˈs fine to express your opinion, but donˈt force them to accept. Respect other people’s privacy. Respect other people’s personal choices—donˈt criticize or judge. Remember, everyone has his right to be himself, just as you have the right to be yourself. That is, respect others. Respect other people’s point of view.

      Be true to yourself. Your best asset (财富) is your true personality. Value it and let it shine. Don’t cover it up. It’ll be pretty boring if you just repeat the other person’s words during a conversation. If you want to communicate with others very well, be ready to share your real thoughts and opinions and let others know the real you.

      50-50 sharing. I always think that a great conversation should be made up of equal sharing by both people involved in it. Sometimes it may be 40-60 or 60-40 depending on the circumstances, but in general, both should have equal opportunities to share and contribute to the conversation.

 American pilot Frank Webb first flew a glider at the age of 14, made his first flight alone on his 16^th birthday and got his commercial pilot’s license(执照) on his 18^th birthday.

After serving in the US Navy for 20 years, being a Boeing flight instructor and working with Alaska Airlines for more than three years, Webb signed a contract with Shenzhen Airlines last May to captain domestic(国内的) routes in China. As an experienced pilot, he still feels the same nervousness as he felt on his first flight.

Captain Webb said that the “Sep. 11” incident did not have a direct influence on his decision to move to China to work. “Safety is in fact tighter in the United States and I am not worried about a terrorist attack,” he said. “The main reason I came to China was that my children would have a chance to see the world and experience international living.”

Webb has not experienced any in-flight emergencies(紧急情况) during his term in China although he said the weather here was generally more changeable than in the US. “The weather changes tend to be great from north to south. We may be flying in a snow storm in Harbin, and then later that same day we may be flying through a tropical rain shower approaching Shenzhen,” Webb said.

While Webb had more flexibility(灵活性) to deal with the weather in the US, he said air traffic control in China was more strict and allowed fewer deviations(偏离).

Speaking of planes often being late in China, Webb said that in America, being late was one of the few things that would get him in trouble. “In China, on the other hand, it seems there are many things that can get you in trouble with the boss, but being late is not one of them.” Webb does everything in his power to keep his flights on time.

“They provide really excellent service during flights. Western flight attendants(服务员) just serve passengers. But the Chinese attendants will also check on the crew to see if we need anything,” Webb said.

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