Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole that was behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out of the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went.

    He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator (美洲鳄鱼) was swimming toward the shore. His mother in the house was looking out of the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could.  It was too late.

    Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim, and shot the alligator.

    Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived.  And, on his arms were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma(痛苦的经历), asked the boy if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And, then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Mom wouldn't let go.”

    We have scars, too. Not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. We foolishly get into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with danger and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That is when the tug-of-war begins. If you have the scars of love on your arms, be very, very grateful. And never judge another person's scars, because you don’t know how they were made.     

A. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret.

B. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you, and provides for you in every way.

C. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother.

D. That began an incredible tug-of-war (拔河赛) between the two.

E. His legs were extremely scarred by the violent attack of the animal.

    Never Put off Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

    Want to put off studying for the physics test? Or writing that thirty-five-page research paper on future uses of biotechnology? Sure you do? And who wouldn't? But it's still a silly idea to put off doing something until a future time. Here is why ....

    . The task will be still the same. It won't be any more fun and you still won't want to do it. As the deadline gets closer and closer, the task seems to become larger and larger if you haven't started the work. And the stress increases. Now not only do you have to write that paper, you have to do it under great pressure.

. Before you start, it seems that the task is unlikely to be accomplished. But you know what? You're probably miscalculating. Get started ——-- maybe on a small piece —— And you will discover that you have more resources and know more about the subject than you thought. Result? You won't experience nearly as much suffering as you expected to. Things are guaranteed —— 100 percent ——- to get better.

. If you leave your work before the night before it's due, you give up the possibility of getting input from your professor. Professors regularly give advice —-- or at least a few useful tips —- during office hours. Unfortunately though, they don't usually hold office hours at midnight, so you will be out of luck when you discover the night before the midterm that you have no idea how to do the questions that will count for two-thirds of your grade.

     Ever wonder why the professor assigns the papers two weeks before it's due? It's because he or she expects you to be thinking about the issue, or doing the research, for two weeks. No, not every waking moment, but at least some of the time. After all, the professor could just as easily have given the assignment one week before it was due if he or she expected less thinking. When you throw together a paper or a report at the last minute, your ideas are half-baked. And your professor will know it.

. If you put things off at the last minute, you might find that you haven't budgeted enough minutes to finish the necessary tasks. It's the easiest thing in the world to miscalculate how long it will take to do all the work especially when new issues arise —— like illness, family problems, computer breakdowns, trouble at work, and all the other things ——- as you are thinking through your paper argument or preparing yourself for the coming test. If you keep delaying, you don't allow yourself time for those various life events that have an adverse(不利的) effect on your ability to complete your assignment.

Chores: Good for Kids, Good for You

    A recent study showed that most adults did household chores when they were young.  Kids nowadays spend a good deal of their time on homework and after-school activities.

    An expert said, “Parents today want their kids to spend time on things that can bring them respect. We have stopped doing the one thing that has proven to bring success. ”

    One study found that young adults who began chores at ages 3 and 4 were more likely to succeed. Compared to no-chore kids, they had better family relations, did better in school, did better at work and were more self-confident. Personal happiness is said to come from strong relationships. It begins by learning to be kind and helpful at home.

    If your kids say they have to skip chores to do homework, do not let them off the hook.  “What may seem like small messages at the moment,” an expert says, “add up to big messages over time.”

    Here are some important ideas from experts：

     Thank young children for being a “helper,” not just “helping”. It creates a positive identity.

    Schedule chore time. Write down chores on a calendar that everyone can see (for example, posted in the kitchen).

    Game it. Start small and have young children earn new “levels” of responsibilities, such as going from sorting clothes to earning the right to use the washing machine.

    Keep allowances and chores separate. Do not make chores a business trade.

    Do chores as shared tasks.

    Give chores a PR (public relations) boost. Do not tie chores to punishments. If you complain about doing the dishes, so will your children.

A. Watch your language.

B. That is doing household chores.

C. Instead of saying, “Do your chores,” say, “let's do our chores.”

D. But the same study showed that most kids today do not do household chores.

E. You shouldn't tell your child that grades are more important than caring about others

    Teenage depression (抑郁) isn't just a bad mood. It's a serious problem that affects every aspect of a teen's life. Here are some ways of dealing with your depression.

    Try not to isolate(使孤立) yourself

     Just getting out of bed in the morning can be difficult, but isolating yourself only makes things worse. Make it a point to stay social, even if it's the last thing you want to do.

    Do any physical activity

    Making healthy lifestyle choices can do wonders for your mood. You can benefit from exercising, which will instantly make you feel better. Physical activity can be as effective as medications(药物治疗) for depression, so get involved in sports. Ride your bike, or take a dance class. Any activity helps!

    Stress and worry can lead to depression. Talk to a teacher or people that you trust if exams or classes are making you anxious. Likewise, if you have a health concern you feel you can't tell to your parents, seek medical attention at a clinic, or see a doctor.

尽管他没有受很重的伤，他仍然处于震惊之中。

, we should make friends with our parents.

The world has been troubled by COVID-19 for over a year. Masks (口罩) are really important to everybody during the pandemic (疫情). We all wear masks every day. . This could become a big environmental problem.

In a study, scientists from the US and Denmark said that people around the world are now using 129 billion face masks every month.. What a large number it is!

According to Elvis Genbo Xu from the University of Southern Denmark, disposable (一次性的) masks are plastic products. . People think that they are a new kind of pollution.

. But we can't recycle masks. Scientists have called for setting up mask-only trash cans (垃圾箱) to deal with mask waste. . We believe that we can solve this problem in the near future though there is still a lot of work to do.

A. They also suggest that we use more reusable cotton masks.

B. Other plastic products are often recycled.

C. But we have to throw them away after a short time.

D. That is to say, we use 2.8 million masks every minute!

E. These used plastic masks can not only pollute the earth but also oceans.