The Boy Made It!

One Sunday,Nicholas,a teenager,went skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine.In the early afternoon,when he was planning to go home,a fierce snowstorm swept into the area.Unable to see far,he accidentally turned off the path.Before he knew it,Nicholas was lost,all alone! He didn’t have food,water,a phone,or other supplies.He was getting colder by the minute.

Nicholas had no idea where he was.He tried not to panic.He thought about all of the survival shows he had watched on TV.It was time to put the tips he had learned to use.

He decided to stop skiing.There was a better chance of someone finding him if he stayed put.The first thing he did was to find shelter from the freezing wind and snow.If he didn’t,his body temperature would get very low,which could quickly kill him.

Using his skis,Nicholas built a snow cave.He gathered a huge mass of snow and dug out a hole in the middle.Then he piled branches on top of himself,like a blanket,to stay as warm as he could.

By that evening,Nicholas was really hungry.He ate snow and drank water from a nearby stream so that his body wouldn’t lose too much water.Not knowing how much longer he could last,Nicholas did the only thing he could―he huddled(蜷缩)in his cave and slept.

The next day,Nicholas went out to look for help,but he couldn’t find anyone.He followed his tracks and returned to the snow cave,because without shelter,he could die that night.On Tuesday,Nicholas went out again to find help.He had walked for about a mile when a volunteer searcher found him.After two days stuck in the snow,Nicholas was saved.

Nicholas might not have survived this snowstorm had it not been for TV.He had often watched Grylls’ survival show Man vs.Wild.That’s where he learned the tips that saved his life.In each episode(一期节目)of Man vs. Wild,Grylls is abandoned in a wild area and has to find his way out.

When Grylls heard about Nicholas’ amazing deeds,he was super impressed that Nicholas had made it since he knew better than anyone how hard Nicholas had to work to stay alive.

(  A  )

George Gershwin, born in 1898, was one of America's greatest composers. He published his first song when he was eighteen years old. During the next twenty years he wrote more than five hundred songs.
　　Many of Gershwin's songs were first written for musical plays performed in theatres in New York City. These plays were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his songs have remained popular as ever. Over the years they have been sung and played in every possible way — from jazz to country.
　　In the 1920s there was a debate in the United States about jazz music. Could jazz, some people asked, be considered serious music? In 1924 jazz musician and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman decided to organize a special concert to show that jazz was serious music. Gershwin agreed to compose something for the concert before he realized he had just a few weeks to do it. And in that short time, he composed a piece for piano and orchestra which he called Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin himself played the piano at the concert. The audience were thrilled when they heard his music. It made him world－famous and showed that jazz music could be both serious and popular.
　　In 1928, Gershwin went to Paris. He applied to study composition (作曲)with the well－known musician Nadia Boulanger, but she rejected him. She was afraid that classical study would ruin his jazz－influenced style. While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. When it was first performed, critics (评论家)were divided over the music. Some called it happy and full of life, to others it was silly and boring. But it quickly became popular in Europe and the United States. It still remains one of his most famous works.
　　George Gershwin died in 1937, just days after doctors learned he had brain cancer. He was only thirty－nine years old. Newspapers all over the world reported his death on their front pages. People mourned the loss of the man and all the music he might have still written.

The market，which was founded in 1979，sets up its tents every Saturday from 7 a．m. to 1 p．m.，rain or shine，along North Lemon and State streets.Baskets of perfect red strawberries；the red-painted sides of the Java Dawg coffee truck；and most of all，the tomatoes：amazing，large，soft and round red tomatoes.

Disappointed by many a broken，vine-ripened(蔓上成熟的) promise，I’ve refused to buy winter tomatoes for years.No matter how attractive they look in the store，once I get them home they’re unfailingly dry，hard，and tasteless.But I homed in，with uncertainty，on one particular table at the Brown’s Grove Farm’s stand，full of fresh and soft tomatoes the size of my fist.These were the real deal—and at that moment，I realized that the best part of Sarasota in winter was going to be eating things that back home in New York I wouldn’t be experiencing again for months.

Delighted as I was by the tomatoes in sight，my happiness deepened when I learned that Brown’s Grove Farm is one of the suppliers for Jack Dusty，a newly opened restaurant at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton，where—luckily for me—I was planning to have dinner that very night.Without even seeing the menu，I knew I’d be ordering every tomato on it.

To tell the truth, I don’t remember seeing Mom actually read her old Bible. As far as I could tell, it just sat on the nightstand (床头桌) next to her bed. And that was the best place for it, since it probably wouldn’t have survived any meaningful use anywhere else. The black cloth cover was ragged and time-worn, and its dog-eared pages yellowed. Once I accidentally knocked it off the nightstand, launching loose pages all over Mom’s and Dad’s bedroom. I expected a tongue-lashing for my carelessness, but Mom was so busy gathering the pages, gently smoothing them and returning them to their place in the book that she paid no attention to me.

Soon after I moved away from home, my sister Kathy and I bought a new Bible for Mom for her birthday. It was a black leather volume, twice as big as her old Bible. The pages were trimmed in gold, and there were maps, references and a complete Bible dictionary included within its pages. We even had her name engraved on the front with gold-leaf lettering. It was a beautiful book and Mom was touched and pleased. I remember watching her thumb carefully through the pages, admiring the quality of the paper and the clarity of the printing. From that day on, that Bible was the one she took with her to church and the one from which she read during the family Nativity Pageant (圣诞庆典). But for some reason, it never displaced the old Bible from its place for honor on her nightstand. And that bothered me a little.

“I don’t know why you keep that ratty old thing,” I told her as we prepared to pack it among her most precious belongings for what would turn out to be the last of many relocations in her life—this time to warm Southern California. “That new Bible we got for you is the best that money can buy. You can’t even use this old one anymore.”

Mom smiled at me weakly and sat on the edge of her bed, carefully rapping the old Bible in an equally old, equally shabby white cloth.

“Just because a thing isn’t useful anymore, that doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable,” she said softly and deliberately. “You look at this and see an old, worn-out book. However, I see the gift your father gave me on our wedding day. I see the friend that was always there to provide me with strength and comfort when your father served at the front. I see the storybook from which I read stories to all of my children, and the book from which you all read your first Bible poems”.

“This Bible has been in the family as long as we’ve been a family.” She continued, caressing (爱抚) it through the shabby white cloth. “Even though it isn’t especially useful anymore, there is still value in what it represents. At least, there is to me.”

Suddenly it occurred to me that she wasn’t just talking about the old Bible. We live in an age of fanatically obsessive utilitarianism (效用主义), Everything is disposable (用完即可丢弃的). If it’s old or odd-looking or not particularly useful, we toss it out. We forget that there is value beyond utility，and worth beyond “what’s in it for me right now.”

When Mom passed away, Dad gave me her “new” Bible. It’s among my most cherished possessions. It’s the Bible I read and take to church. It means a lot to me, and it’s really beautiful and incredibly useful. But I would trade it in a minute for Mom’s old useless Bible. I even have the perfect place for it: on the nightstand next to my bed.

   I first met Paul Newman in 1968, when George Roy Hill, the director of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, introduced us in New York City. When the studio didn’t want me for the film -- it wanted somebody as well-known as Paul -- he stood up for me. I don’t know how many people would have done that; they would have listened to their agents or the studio powers.

　　The friendship that grew out of the experience of making that film and The Stingfour years later had its root in the fact that although there was an age difference, we both came from a tradition of theater and live TV. We were respectful of craft(技艺)and focused on digging into the characters we were going to play. Both of us had the qualities and virtues that are typical of American actors: humorous, aggressive, and making fun of each other -- but always with an underlying affection. Those were also at the core(核心)of our relationship off the screen.

　　We shared the belief that if you’re fortunate enough to have success, you should put something back -- he with his Newman’s Own food and his Hole in the Wall camps for kids who are seriously ill, and me with Sundance and the institute and the festival. Paul and I didn’t see each other all that regularly, but sharing that brought us together. We supported each other financially and by showing up at events.

I last saw him a few months ago. He’d been in and out of the hospital. He and I both knew what the deal was, and we didn’t talk about it. Ours was a relationship that didn’t need a lot of words.

These are some ideas that some people came up with about what the life will be like in the year 2500.

We will have established a base on the moon. School kids can take field trips to the moon weekly. We will have found cures (疗法) for AIDS and cancer. The war will have ended and peace flows freely through the land. Kids will learn more and be smarter than ever before！History will be the main subject at school. Cafeteria (自助餐厅) food will be delicious！You just walk up to a machine, stick out your tongue, and it will scan your taste buds (味蕾) to see what you want to eat.

—Kristen

Here I am in the wonderful year of 2500 and life is so easy. I work in a pet store and it is so hard！I have to wake up at midnight every day and fly my car to the store. It takes so long to get there. It takes me 20 seconds to get to the store in Mississippi from my home in Florida！At work, I have to push 5 buttons and then I go home. It takes 2 seconds and that is like forever.

—Morgan

In the year 2500, I think we will have invented cars that run on things we donˈt need like garbage. Tail gas will smell like whatever you like such as chocolate. I also predict that buildings will be able to go into a different dimension (维) so your car wonˈt hit them. The cars in 2500 donˈt fly, for we havenˈt got that technology yet, but they can hover (盘旋) up to seven feet. These cars are made for speed!

—Carly

Instead of cars, we may have hovering devices that float around. We could also have electric cars instead of gas­powered cars. Food might be more healthy. What I believe is that the environment will change the most. The environmental changes will also determine many other changes. If more people try to help the environment, then perhaps in 2500 we will have more forests and wildlife. If people wonˈt help the environment, then we will have no forests and little wildlife left.

—Roberta

 I was on my way to work on a two-wheeler one day when a truck rammed (撞上) into me and completely crushed my leg. It wasn’t the driver’s fault----there was a pillar that blocked his view.

 People around immediately took me to the hospital and even though it happened around 9:30 am I was only operated on at 5:30 pm. The doctors tried to save my leg, but after a few days it got infected and it had to be amputated (截肢). When the doctor told me, I asked him,“Why did you take so long? I knew for a while that this would happen.”

 What got me through all this suffering was acceptance ---- that this is my fate, and now I can either choose to cry about it, or take it positively and push myself…I chose the latter. In fact, when people used to come to visit me in the hospital and get emotional, I would tell them jokes to make them laugh!

 So I took the physiotherapy (物理疗法), and began to learn how to walk all over again. My biggest fear was that I wouldn’t be able to play badminton, which has been my passion since childhood ---- but somehow even while I was facing difficulty in walking…I could still play.

 I began winning corporate badminton tournaments, and on the suggestion of one of my amputee friends, I decided to try out a national level. I went on to win several medals at the national level, and this year I won silver in the Para Badminton World Championship held in England. I’ve trained for five hours a day, while doing my job as a software engineer, almost completed my training in scuba diving and travelled pretty much all over India.

 When people ask me,“How do you do so much?”I just ask one question,“What’s stopping you?”

Considered one of Europe’s two “bicycle capitals” along with Amsterdam, Copenhagen(哥本哈根) counts more bicycles than people and cycling is so popular that its numerous bike paths can become crowded. Two-wheeler traffic jams are especially regular on the main Noerrebrogade road used by around 36,000 cyclists a day. “You have to elbow your way in to go forward and some cyclists aren’t always thoughtful,” complains 22-year-old university student Lea Bresell.

The creation of bike highways “comes right on time”, says Danish Cyclist Federation Spokesman Frits Bredal. “Copenhagen’s roads are overloaded with people who want to ride their bicycles in all kinds of weather,” he says. “If in the 1960s Danes viewed the car as the symbol of freedom, the bicycles have supposed that role today,” Bredal says. “It’s amodeof transportation used by all social classes, even politicians ride bikes,” he says.

It is on crowded Noerrebrogade—the busiest bicycle street in Europe, according to the cyclist association—that city planners have decided to build the first of Copenhagen’s environmentally friendly roads. The jammed bike paths will be widened up to four metres on either side of the road, which itself will be reserved for bikes only. The idea is to make Noerrebrogade “Europe’s great cycling street”, says Andreas Roehl, Copenhagen government’s bicycle program manager who is also known as “Mr. Bike”.

But Roehl is not content with making life easier for Copenhagen’s inner-city cyclists: He wants to get suburbanites(郊区居民) out of their cars and onto two wheels as well. His goal is to hike the percentage of suburban commuters cycling to and from the city from the 37 percent it is today to 50 percent by 2015.

After recording her new song at Rotation Records, Amy Hosmer left the studio. She was greeted by about 75 enthusiastic fans, ranging from young children to middle-aged men. Amy smiled shyly and thanked everyone for their coming. Not what weˈd expect from a rock star.

Similar to most little girls, Amy loves to perform and wants to be a professional singer. The 11-year-old girl receives a lot of attention, but sheˈs far from self-absorbed. Recently, she told her mom, ˈˈI always ask God to take away your pain if anything happens to me. ˈˈ Amy prays for the people she loves, even when she has so many reasons to pray for herself

Amy has brain cancer. Her cancer was discovered when she was two-and-a-half years old. Early treatment reduced the size of Amyˈs tumor (肿瘤) so that it wasnˈt life threatening. Since then, Amy has had regular MRIs to check her health. Doctors recently discovered that the brain tumor was growing. On January 30, they operated and removed 80 percent of the tumor. Amy will go through chemotherapy(化疗) for the remaining tumor. 

Amy told her mom, "If I had one wish, Iˈd wish to meet Taylor Swift and sheˈll probably give me some hints on my singing." Swift is Amy’s inspiration. Amyˈs mom, Etta Hosmer, wanted to support her daughter, so she set up a Facebook fan page to try to help Amy meet Taylor Swift.

When the CEO of Rotation Records heard about Amy, they offered her a chance to record a song written by herself in their studio. Taylor Swift sent Amy some gifts and a photo with her signature on it, which were waiting at the recording studio.

Etta said that the Facebook fan page and the recording have been great for her family. "It did start with a little girlˈs dream of meeting Taylor Swift, but it is more than that. This site helps me keep my mind focused on positive things. Also, it brings awareness of this disease. The most important thing is the people all over the world now saying prayers for Amy," Etta said.

   a. She was operated on.

   b. She was discovered to suffer from cancer.

   c. She has to do chemotherapy.

   d. She has to have MRIs regularly.

Sonˈs Help

Mr. Lang worked in a factory. As a driver, he was busy but he was paid much. His wife was an able woman and did all the housework. When he came back, she took good care of him and he never did anything at home. So he had enough time when he had a holiday. A few friends of his liked gambling (赌博) and he learned it soon. So he was interested in it and hardly forgot anything except gambling. He lost all his money and later he began to sell the television, watches and so on. His wife told him not to do it but he didnˈt listen to her. She had to tell the police. He and his friends were punished for it. And he was hardly sent away. After he came out of lockup (拘留所), he hated her very much and the woman had to leave him.

It was New Yearˈs Day. Mr. Lang didnˈt go to work. He felt lonely and wanted to gamble again. He called his friends and they came soon. But they were afraid that the police would come. He told his five­year­old son to go to find out if there were the policemen outside. They waited for a long time and didnˈt think the police would come and began to gamble. Suddenly a few policemen opened the door and came in.“I saw there werenˈt any policemen outside, daddy，”said the boy，“so I went to the crossing and asked some to come.”