More students than ever before are taking a gap year (间隔年) before going to university. It used to be called the "year off" between school and university. The gapyear phenomenon originate (起源) with the months left over to Oxbridge applicants between entrance exams in November and the start of the next academic year.
This year, 25,310 students who have accepted places in higher education institutions have put off their entry until next year, according to statistics on university entrance provided by the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS).
That is a record 14.7% increase in the number of students taking a gap year. Tony Higgins from UCAS said that the statistics are good news for everyone in higher education. "Students who take a wellplanned year out are more likely to be satisfied with, and complete, their chosen course. Students who take a gap year are often more mature and responsible," he said.
But not everyone is happy. Owain James, the president of the National Union of Students (NUS), argued that the increase is evidence of student hardship—young people are being forced into earning money before finishing their education. "New students are now aware that they are likely to leave university up to ￡15,000 in debt. It is not surprising that more and more students are taking a gap year to earn money to support their study for the degree. NUS statistics show that over 40% of students are forced to work during term time and the figure increases to 90% during vacation periods," he said.
|
live up to, apply for, deal with, flash through one's mind, make contributions to, be popular with/among, graduate from |
As the saying goes, "One good turn deserves another." Liz's life was changed forever over the course of that year. It all started with a single act of kindness towards two strangers who walked into her diner (小餐馆) early one morning.
After they fought a horrible fire for 12 hours, Tim and Paul stepped into the 130 Diner for breakfast. When the time came to pay the bill though, there was a surprise for them. The young waitress who had served them had overheard their conversations and paid their bill, leaving a sweet message on their check instead, "Your meal is on me today. Thank you for serving others and running into the places everyone runs away from."
Touched, the two firefighters shared her kind deed on social media where it quickly went viral. And that was when they found out the true story of the beautiful waitress who had paid for them. Liz Woodward had been struggling to make ends meet for the last few years after her father suffered a brain disease that left him paraplegic (瘫痪的). Determined to help the woman who had showed such kindness even if she was suffering, they set up a campaign to raise $10,000 for a wheelchairaccessible car for her father. The donations, however, did not stop pouring in when the campaign ended. Having heard of her kind deed, Mobility Ventures, which made the wheelchairaccessible car, refused to take the money and gave the family one for free as a Christmas gift.
Liz couldn't be too grateful to the two firefighters and many strangers who have reached out to help her, saying, "The kindness and generosity the campaign supporters and Mobility Ventures have shown is really incredible, and I hope it brings hope to others in similar situations, and inspires people to help those in need in any way possible."
现在他正在努力适应新生活。不要打扰他。
他答应把书留给我之后，却食言把它卖给了别人。
他在工作中接触到许多不同的人。
现代汽车在很多方面不同于早期汽车。
我这话不是针对你说的。
天黑以前赶到那里很困难。
Shark nets in place across Australia, specifically in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, to protect beachgoers should be dropped as they have caused more harm than good, a study has found.
The measures were carried out by some governments, including nets and traditional drum lines, and provided beachgoers with a false sense of safety. The study found the effectiveness of nets was difficult to evaluate, while the significant damage they cause to other marine wildlife was clear. Researchers desire for nondeadly shark control measures such as eco-barriers, which physically separate swimmers from sharks, sonar(声呐) technology, and various shark-spotting techniques.
Researchers said while the risk of coming across a shark was rare, any shark-related deaths and injuries caught huge public and media attention.
One of the arguments in support of using shark nets is that just one shark-related death has been reported in Queensland since the 1960s. Similarly, since the 1930s, NSW has had only one shark-related death. But there have been at least 13 people killed by sharks at beaches without nets on the NSW north coast over the past two years.
The Humane Society International's head of campaigns, Nicola Beynon, said the government needed to move away from outdated methods. "Deadly shark nets and drum lines are more than 50 years behind scientific and animal welfare standards for dealing with marine wildlife, " said Beynon.
The NSW Greens' marine spokesman, Justin Field, said, "People are 100 times more likely to drown at the beach than to be killed by a shark in Australia. Therefore, millions of dollars going into the shark net program should be directed to observation towers for our lifeguards and improving the beach devices. "
写作要点：
1）假期的具体时间(7月20日至8月30日)；
2）丰富的假期活动(运动、娱乐、学习、参加社会活动等)；
3）你的暑假计划。
注意：
1）词数80个左右；
2）可适当增加细节, 使行文连贯；
3）邮件的开头和结尾已为你写好, 不计入总词数。
Dear Tim,
I'm glad to receive your letter.
Best regards,
Li Hua
