A Commitment to Life

    The snow was falling and the roads had become dangerous. The schools were dismissed early, but much to my surprise, my1wasn't canceled. So I went, feeling especially heroic. As far as I could see, I was risking my life to keep my2. Snow or no snow, I would be on time for my scheduled donation at the local 3 center.

    When I got there, I discovered I wasn't4. Four more “hero-types” were already lying back in donor chairs with lines5to their veins, and machines quietly pumping away to6their lifesaving gifts.

    Seeing my fellow donors honoring their own commitments, I realized why I was there. I lay back in my donor chair, ready to make a difference in the life of someone I would never7.

    To be honest, I'd never really thought about why I donate. I just do it. But a few months ago, during one of my8donations I learned that my blood was specifically for a cancer patient and for a newborn baby—both patients needed what I would give in order to live. I've viewed my visits to the blood center9 ever since.

    My wife Karen is a 10  too. And more importantly, she has been on the bone marrow (骨髄) list for fifteen years, ever since she signed up to provide bone marrow to a kindergartner with leukemia (白血病). That little girl died before Karen's bone marrow could help her, 11Karen was called again recently. Her test results were still on file, and it turned out she was a potential 12 for someone else. The caller asked Karen if she would still be willing to become a bone marrow donor. “Yes,” she said and then immediately began answering questions on the pages of paperwork for further testing. It was a race13time.

    I wish I could say that this 14was won. It wasn't. The caller later thanked Karen for her participation and asked a few more questions—including whether or not she'd15 on the donor list. “Of course,” Karen answered.

    Last week Karen gave blood and next week I'll make my usual donation. I'll16an afternoon from my schedule and make an appointment. I don't know whose life my donation may 17 .Most likely it will be a 18  but on any day the person needing a blood product could be you or me or maybe a loved one. It is worthwhile to 19our time to donate.

    I really do feel 20 every time I donate. And I like the feeling.

    Bike Share Toronto is the city's official bike share program, designed to give locals and visitors a fun, affordable and convenient alternative to walking, taxis, buses and the subway. There are 200 Bike Share Toronto stations and 2,000 bikes across the city, making Bike Share the most accessible way to get around and explore.

    How it works

    Become an Annual Member or buy a day Pass to access the system.

    Find an available bike nearby, and get a ride code or use your member key to unlock it.

    Take as many short rides as you want while your pass or membership is active.

    Return your bike to any station, and wait for the green light on the dock (停靠点) to make sure it's locked.

    Choose a plan

    For visitors

    Day Pass: $ 7. Unlimited 30-minute rides in a 24-hour period. 3-Day Pass: $ 15. Unlimited 30-minute rides in a 72-hour period.

    For locals

    Monthly Pass: $ 25. Unlimited 30-minute rides for a month.

    Annual Membership: $ 90. Unlimited 30-minute rides for a whole year. The Annual Membership is the best deal for locals of Toronto and other frequent riders.

    The first 30 minutes of each ride is included with the membership or pass price. Avoid extra fees by dropping off your bike every 30 minutes at any other station. If you keep a bike out for longer than 30 minutes at a time, you will be charged all extra $ 1.50 for the first 30 minutes, $ 4 for the next 30 minutes, and $ 7 for each additional 30 minutes after that.

    Contact us

    Customer Service: (855)898—2388

    Repair Service: (855)—2378

    Corporation Partners: (855)898—2398

    Employment Opportunities: (855)898—2498

    My husband and I had been married nearly twenty-two years when I acquired Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a disorder where my immune system (免疫系统) responded to a virus by producing painful blisters (水疱). Although my long-term evaluation was good, I, who had been so fiercely independent, rapidly became absolutely helpless.

    My husband, Scott, stepped up to the plate, taking care of kids and cooking dinners. He also became my personal caretaker, applying the medicine to all of my blisters because my hands couldn't do the job. Needless to say, I had negative emotions, bouncing from embarrassment to shame caused by total reliance on someone other than myself.

    At one point when I had mentally and physically hit bottoms I remember thinking that Scott must somehow love me more than I could ever love him. With my illness, he had become the stronger one, and I the weaker one. And this disturbed me.

    I recovered from my illness, but I couldn't seem to recover from the thought that I loved my husband less than he loved me. This seeming distinction in our love continued to annoy me for the year following my illness.

    Then recently Scott and I went on a long bike ride. He's an experienced cyclist; I'm quite the green hand. At one point with a strong headwind and sharp pain building in my tired legs, I really thought I couldn't go any further. Seeing me struggle, Scott pulled in front of me and yelled over his shoulder, “Stay close behind me.” As I fell into the draft of his six- foot- three- inch frame and followed his steps, I discovered that my legs quit burning and I was able to catch my breath. My husband was pulling me along again. At this very moment I woke up to what I now believe: during these and other tough times, love has the opportunity to become stronger when one partner learns to lean on the other.

    I pray my husband will always be strong and healthy. But if he should ever become the struggling one, whether on a bike ride or with an illness, I trust I'll be ready to call out to him: Stay close behind me-my turn to pull you along.

    Tulou, the special residential architecture of Fujian Province was included on the UNESCO's World Heritage List during the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee in Quebec, Canada.

    In the fourth century, Han Chinese living in the Central Plains area began to migrate south, gradually gathering in Fujian and forming the Hakka communities. As a defence against enemies, the Hakkas chose to live in compact (紧凑的) communities, and the tulou was their preferred houses. Tens of thousands of such earthen structures were constructed in Fujian Province.

    Most tulous are to be found in the valleys, surrounded by high mountains, and some are in the depths of the great mountains. Most are three to four storeys high, and look like circular blockhouses (堡垒). Rooms on the first floor are used as kitchens, rooms on the second floor are used as barns (谷仓), and rooms on the third and fourth floors are for bedrooms and living rooms. For defensive purposes, the rooms on the first floor have no windows.

    Raw materials for the tulou were obtained locally. Their main building material was a mixture of clay, sand, lime and water, and egg whites, brown sugar and rice water were added as adhesive agents (粘合剂). It was then mixed to form the walls. Once they dried, the walls were so hard that driving a nail into them would have been difficult. Fir branches, which are extremely strong and do not rot, were used to strengthen them, and many centuries later they have remained their original look.

    Tulous are located in a region where earthquakes happen frequently, and their circular construction helps them resist the regular shocks.

    The proven design even inspired one famous Peruvian architect, who paid several visits to Yongding, to build a tulou back home. Not long after, an earthquake struck only 10 kilometers away, and while all the houses around the earthen building fell down, his tulou remained.

    Can exercise during childhood protect you against memory loss many decades later? Exercise early in life seems to have lifelong benefits for the brain, in rats at least.

    “This is an animal study, but it shows that physical activity at a young age is very important—not just for physical development, but for the whole lifelong track of cognitive (认知的) development during ageing,” says Martin Wojtowicz of the University of Toronto, Canada. “In humans, it may delay the appearance of Alzheimer's symptoms (阿兹海默氏症), possibly to the point of preventing them.”

    Wojtowicz's team divided 80 young male rats into two equal groups, and placed running wheels in the cages of one group for a period of six weeks. Around four months later-when the rats had reached middle age-the team taught all the rats to connect an electric shock with being in a specific box. When placed in the box, they froze with fear.

    Two weeks later, the team tested the rats in three situations: exactly the same box in the same room, the same box with the room arranged differently, and a completely different box in a different room.

    The rats without access to a running wheel when they were young now froze the same percentage of times in each of these situations, suggesting they couldn't remember which one was dangerous. But those that had been able to run in their youth froze 40 to 50 percent less in both changed box settings.

    “The results suggest the amount of physical activity when we're young, at least for rats, has influence on brain and cognitive health-in the form of better memories-when we're older,” says Arthur Kramer of Northeastern University in Boston, who has found that, in humans, exercise promotes the growth of new brain cells.

    We all go through times when we feel we are not good enough. We might feel that way at work or in school or even as a parent. Here are some things to remember when you feel like that.

          . When 1 started my Ph.D. program, I felt like the dumbest (愚蠢的) person in every class. I couldn't believe how many smart people were there. I didn't know if I could measure up to their intelligence or compete in the same league with them. Years later, I found out that almost everyone felt this way, too.

    You are unique and have special talents. If you can barely make Hamburger Helper, don't compare yourself to your sister who is a chef. I'm sure you can do many things that she can't.      . You are you. You are not your sister.

You need to stop chasing perfection. It doesn't exist. What's perfect to me is not perfect to you. So if you think that there is some objective measurement of perfection and that the rest of the world is judging you against，then you are wrong.      .

          . Our sense of self-worth is based on our thoughts. We have been programmed for many years with thoughts about ourselves. Messages come from our parents, our peers, teachers, the media and our own labels. But guess what? They are only thoughts. Just because you think these thoughts, it doesn't make them true.      .

A. You have the power to change your future.

B. So focus on your own passions and talents.

C. You are not the only one who feels this way.

D. If you love yourself for who you are, other people will notice.

E. You need to change your thought patterns.

F. One of my favorite sayings is, “Don't believe a negative thought you think!”

G. Most people are too worried about their own lack of perfection to judge you.

    In Hangzhou, borrowing books from the library is now as simple as shopping online: click, pay       wait for delivery.

    The city's public library recently launched a program on WeChat,       popular Chinese messaging software, enabling its readers to check out books online and get them       (deliver) to their homes at low prices.

    To enjoy the “Hangzhou enjoyable reading” service, one first needs to follow the library's official WeChat account,       provides a list of books. After picking books, borrowers are required       (present) the information such as their library membership cards, cell phone numbers and so on. The selected items will be delivered by express within three days after payments. Each reader can borrow up to 5 books once and 20 books at most        total. The books can be borrowed for up to 40 days. Readers now can borrow the library's most popular books in this way. The online books will be renewed and enriched        (gradual) according to readers' borrowing habits and       (prefer). At the end of December, the library's old and classic books       (put) online too, making the total number of books available and       (bring )borrowers a lot of convenience.

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1).每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2).只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Dear Mr. Black,

    I'm Tim, the exchange student from China. I had been studying in your school for a year. I am deep moved by the kindness of people around. That I want to say first is that the teachers here are very friendly. They do what they can help me and encourage me to study hard. Whenever I ask for questions, they give satisfactory answers. Besides, my classmates offer me a lot of help, too. We get on well with each other and I have made quite a few good friend. At home, Walter's parents take good care of me, treating me as if I am their own child.

    I'm so grateful for all these people, with whom help I have been accustomed to American culture and gained a lot of knowledge.

1).对离别表示遗憾；

2).推荐一种物品及理由；

3).表示祝愿。

注意：1)、词数100左右，开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

2)、可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Tom,

Yours sincerely

Li Hua