Every year a community in some part of the world is destroyed by flooding. Indeed, flooding can happen anywhere it rains. There is hope, however. Architects and civil engineers have developed promising technologies for flood control. And yes, engineering can be beautiful.

The Thames Barrier in England

The Thames Barrier is the second largest flood defence barrier in the world. Made of steel, water gates on the Thames Barrier are normally left open so ships can pass through. Then, as needed, the water gates shut to stop water flowing through and to keep the Thames River safe. The Thames Barrier has 10 steel gates. The main gates stand as high as a 5-storey building.  Each main gate weighs 3,300 tonnes. The Thames Barrier gates were constructed between 1974 and 1984 and have been closed to prevent floods more than 100 times.

Red Sluice Gate in Japan

To protect areas on the coast and along Japan's rapidly-flowing rivers, the nation's engineers have developed a complex system of canals and flood-gate locks(水闸). Red Sluice Gate was designed in 1924 by a Japanese architect who also worked on the Panama Canal. It is powered by automated "water-drive" motors. Such motors don't need electricity to run, so they aren't affected by power failures that can occur during storms. It contributed greatly to preventing floods until 1982 when a new sluice gate was completed. The Red Sluice Gate was no longer used but remains an impressive sight.

The Hagestein Weir in the Netherlands

Completed in about 1960, the Hagestein Weir is one of three movable dams, along the Rhine River in the Netherlands. The Hagestein Weir has two enormous arched gates to control water and generate power. Spanning 54 meters, the gates are stored in the up position.  Dams and water barriers like Hagestein Weir have become models for water control engineers around the world.

MOSE in Venice

With its famous canals, Venice, Italy is a well-known watery city. Global warming threatens its very existence. Since the 1980s, officials have been pouring money into the MOSE project, a series of 78 barriers that can rise collectively or independently across the lagoon opening and curtail the rising waters of the Adriatic Sea.

Norwood, a junior High School student, was driving three friends home in St. Petersburg, when another driver crashed into her from her left and made her car hit the tree. The impact jammed shut the driver's side door, so Norwood climbed out the front window. Two of her friends managed to get out of the car unharmed, but her 16-year-old friend Zarria didn't. She run back to the car only to find Zarria was just sitting there reactionless.

A lot of people started to gather around to see what was happening. Norwood started yelling, "Back up, back up, she needs space." Norwood pulled Zarria out of the back seat, avoiding broken glass from the window. "That's when I checked her pulse on her neck. I put my head against her chest, and I didn't really hear nothing. So that's when I just started doing CPR on her." Norwood told the reporter. After the 30 compressions and two rescue breaths, Zarria regained consciousness. Ambulance quickly arrived and rushed her to the hospital to receive medical help.

When Miller, Norwood's high school teacher, learned that Norwood saved a friend just  one day after completing CPR training, she was at a loss of words and so proud. Norwood participates in the school's Athletic Lifestyle Management Academy (ALMA). The program prepares students for various careers in health science. "We do vital signs and they learn how to take blood pressure and check pulse. " Miller introduced. And another one of the skills learned is CPR. "There are two components, a hands-on skills component where they have to demonstrate that they're able to do CPR well, and then there's a written test component, showing that they remember that knowledge."

Thanks to Norwood's quick thinking, Zarria is recovering well. She also isn't surprised by her friend's actions. "She will always help any way she can, so I wasn't really shocked about that."

Masks that helped save lives during the coronavirus pandemic are proving a deadly threat for wildlife.

Macaques (猕猴) have been spotted chewing the straps off old and tossed-aside masks in the hills outside Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur — a potential choking threat for the diminutive monkeys. And in an incident that captured headlines in Britain, a gull (海鸥) was rescued by the RSPCA in the city of Chelmsford after its legs became tangled (缠绕) in the straps of a disposable (一次性的) mask for up to a week. The animal welfare charity was alerted after the bird was spotted, motionless but still alive, and they took it to a wildlife hospital for treatment before its release.

The biggest impact may be in the water, with green groups alarmed at the flood of used masks, latex (乳胶) gloves and other protective gear finding their way into already polluted seas and rivers. Conservationists in Brazil found one inside the stomach of a penguin after its body washed up on a beach, while a dead pufferfish was discovered caught inside another off the coast of Miami.

French campaigners Operation Mer Propre found a dead crab trapped in a mask in a saltwater lagoon near the Mediterranean in September.

Masks and gloves are" particularly problematic" for sea creatures, says George Leonard, chief scientist from US-based NGO Ocean Conservancy. "When those plastics break down in the environment, they form smaller and smaller particles. Those particles then enter the food chain and impact entire ecosystems," he added.

There has been a shift towards greater use of reusable cloth masks, but many are still choosing the lighter single-use varieties. Campaigners have urged people to throw them away properly and cut the straps to reduce the risk of animals becoming trapped. Oceans Asia has also called on governments to increase fines for littering and encourage the use of washable masks.

In 1973, Mark Granovetter, a sociology professor at Stanford University, published a paper entitled The Strength of Weak Ties. It went on to become one of the most influential sociology papers of all time. Until then scholars had assumed that an individual's well-being depended mainly on the quality of relationships with close friends and family. Granovetter showed that quantity matters, too. He categories a person's social world as "strong ties" and "weak ties". His central insight was that for new messages and ideas, weak ties are more important to us than strong ones. As Granovetter pointed out, the people whom we often talk to swim in the same pool of information as we do. We depend on acquaintances whom we see infrequently to bring us news of opportunities.

This was the idea behind the Pixar building, the design of which was made by Steve Jobs. The building has a large central hall through which all employees have to pass several times a day. Jobs wanted colleagues to run into each other, grab coffee and have a chat. He believed in the power of these seemingly random conversations to fire up creativity.

Encounters with weak ties can be good for our mental wellbeing, too. Gillian Sandstrom, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Essex, investigated the extent to which people get happiness from weak-tie relationships. She found that on days when a participant had a greater number of casual interactions with weak ties – say, a neighbour, a member of yoga class – they experienced more happiness and a greater sense of belonging.

For all these reasons, we should continue to try and find ways to cultivate weak-tie relationships. Sandstrom adds that we can also engage in more weak-tie-style interactions with our strong ties. The goal is to let others know you are thinking of them without asking for a great deal of time, energy or attention.

I'm terrible at giving myself grace. I'm a perfectionist, and I have unrealistic expectations for myself at times. I can remember simple errors I made. So often, we let perfection dominate our lives without even realizing it.  And I hope you'll consider doing that, too.

Realize that being burnt out doesn't mean that you're not good at what you do. I want to do my best in everything. The trouble starts when we overwork ourselves.  That's OK.

Taking a break. Most of all, I hope you prioritize your mental health. Take care of yourself. Be gentle with yourself.

No one is asking you to be perfect. We're all messy humans with strengths and weaknesses. Embrace yours, even when it isn't perfect. When you make mistakes, take responsibility and learn from them. Remember that this isn't the first or the last mistake that you've made. Give in to grace. Something might be a huge issue for me, other people probably won't notice or care.

Write it on your heart that whatever you do today is enough. It is easy to emphasize what we've yet to do instead of what we've already done. Yes, there is always room for growth and improvement.  Maybe you made your bed. Maybe you made it to work on time. Those things might not seem big, but they're still victories.

 If you messed up today, you can try again tomorrow. If you succeeded today, you can try again tomorrow. You have to keep moving on into the rest of your story or you'll miss the train to bigger things than this. Start in your worry or your fear or your joy. Start wherever you are and keep going. Start with grace.

A. Your story isn't finished just yet.

B. That is meant much of our struggle is internal.

C. Then I've realized I need a little bit more rest.

D. You are supposed to aim high and work for it.

E. But there is room to celebrate the little victories.

F. I've decided to change that and give myself grace.

G. Remember that you can be perfect through your efforts.

After getting married, I moved to an absolutely new town. 1 as I was to be in a new city, with various new things to explore, I was still lonely. I was desperate to make friends and establish2.

This could explain my enthusiastic "Count me in!" when3 to participate in a half marathon. Reflecting on my usual 3 miles, I must have been4 — a half marathon, 13 miles seemed a(n) 5 task.

After the initial shock wore off, I found comfort in burying myself in6. I took it slow, one mile, and then two, three, four and five miles. Seven straight miles felt like to climb Everest in my eyes, and soon I became used to that7.

Mile after mile, I managed to step beside my running partners. We talked about our favorite music and8 funny stories about our children. At about mile 10, the conversations9. We shared our past and hopes for our future, our fears and disappointments. By the time we were running 12-mile legs, I know that I'd made10 friends.

11, the day of the race arrived. At the start line, armed with my friends, I already felt like a champion. My time training had12. I managed to hold a steady pace and kept up with my13. Legs shaking and knees buckling, we crossed the finish line together.

I have participated in multiple races since. Although running started as a14 of building social ties, it not only provided me with friendships, but with a skill that would benefit me the rest of my life. Though the first pair of shoes is long forgotten, running will never be15.

Paul Grisham returned home from his 13-month assignment in Antarctica in 1968,  his wallet didn't. Grisham, 91, joined the Navy in 1948 as a weather technician before being shipped to the frozen continent (work) as a meteorologist.

After five decades, Grisham was reunited with his wallet — which he forgot all about. Inside the wallet (be) Grisham's navy ID, driving license, a recipe, a tax with holding statement, and receipts for money orders sent to his wife. He was surprised by young he looked at his old ID card that was put inside. "It brought back (memory). Oh yeah, I had dark brown hair at that time," the 91-year-old said a laugh.

The recovered wallet (find) by Stephen. Stephen saw the wallet in a shop and bought it. With the help of McKee's organization, he saw online post to help find the owner.  (lucky), Grisham and his wallet were together again. Grisham said that his time in Antarctica was " (usual) and memorable." The temperature in the winter months would drop as low as -65 degrees.

1）推荐的礼物；

2）推荐原因；

3）表达祝愿。

注意：1）写作词数应为 80 左右；

2）请在答题卡的相应位置作答。

If you ask me whether you should say yes to walk your neighbor's dog, my answer would be a definite "Yes", as long you do one thing I didn't do when I helped out with my neighbor's dog. Here's what I meant. You don't need to ask your neighbor lots of questions about that particular dog, but just be patient to ask one very important question. Here is why.

Mrs. Gonzales and her adorable dog Rascal, live at the end of my street. My friend Ollie and I have played with Rascal since he was a puppy, so when Mrs. Gonzales asked if we'd like to take him to the park once in a while, we can't wait to says," When can we start?" "How about this Saturday at 3: 00?"she suggested.

When Saturday rolled around, Ollie and I were there to pick up Rascal at 3: 00 on time." Rascal will be so happy to play in the park with you!" Mrs. Gonzales said." If I'm still out grocery shopping when you return, just let yourselves in with this spare key. I'll be home a little while later."

"Also, why do you think I named him Rascal? If there's trouble, such as puddles, this guy is guaranteed to find it. And also the commands that you should" When we realized that Mrs. Gonzales had lots of" alsos", we interrupted her and ran away in the blink of an eye.

Not long after we arrived at the park, Rascal found a giant puddle and jumped into it and rolled around until every square inch of his furry body was dripping with mud." Ugh! silly puppy, you're the muddiest dog in the universes!" I said. Ollie said we should take him back home so he can get washed up.

But when we got to Mrs. Gonzales's house, she didn't answer the doorbell." She must still be out grocery shopping," I said." How about we use the garden tube to clean him?" Ollie suggested." Good idea!" I said, putting Mrs. Gonzales's key into the lock." I'll go inside and get a towel to dry him off."

Paragraph 1:

But the second I opened the door, Rascal raced inside the house.

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Mrs. Gonzales came in with her groceries.