With over a decade of teaching, Mrs Bishop has many special memories of her students. But one storyin particular stands 21 ."I taught Jerushiin 2013," Mrs Bishop 22 . "She was in Australia alone. Her parents had 23 behindin her home country." Mrs Bishop supported Jerushi during Year 6 and encouraged her love of 24 . A yearlater, she gave Mrs Bishop a beautiful landscape artwork she had painted.Jerushi studied in Australia for 25 few years, but Mrs Bishop lost touch with her 26 she went backhome.Then, a few years ago, Jerushi 27 out to Mrs Bishop. At the time,Jerushi's painting was 28 above Mrs Bishop's desk-proof that Mrs Bishop had 29 forgotten her. " Jerushi told me she was nowstudying to 30 a teacher just like me," Mrs Bishop says. " It was a beautiful message. As a teacher, youoften don't realise the kind of 31 you can have."It was a full-circle moment for Mrs Bishop, who remembers 32 her own teacher a letter five years agowith a 33 message, saying she started her teaching career because of him. " His passion 34 teachingreally inspired me." For Mrs Bishop, teaching is both a pleasure and a privilege. "When parents thank me, I 35 them,'No, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your child's life.
Passage OneLast week, a friend from Colorado, who lfirst metin Thailand, came into town for his sister's graduation.He called me and we met up in a bar. It was one of the best nights of the summer.We retold stories from our time in Thailand, drank a couple beers, and just reflected in the presence of one another. And the best part: he was doing well, succeeding in life while pursuing his dreams.On my way home from seeing him on his last night in town, I got a little depressed. Ljust forgot how much funI had with him and why he made my Thailand experience so awesome.And that of course got me missing all my friends: the ones stillin Santa Clara,the ones following their music careers, the ones living in Portland that I have just been too dumb to contact. I have just been so caught up in writing, studying forthe GRE, lounging about my house, that I haven't made the effort that I certainly should have.Sometimes, we get so absorbed in our own lives that we forget what makes our lives worthliving. Humans are social creatures. It is in our DNA. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that because werelied upon social groups in primitive times to survive, we have a negative biological reaction to lonelinesstoday.So go out there and contact a friend you haven't talked to for a while. If nothing else, just check in to see how they're doing. Because even if you haven't spoken for a while, I'm certain that they are thinking of you.
Passage TwoSeagulls (海鸥) don't just steal food from tourists; they also make quite a mess on the boats of theAustralian National Maritime Museum.Seagull droppings stain the boats, causing the museum staff to spend many hours cleaning up the mess left by the seagulls.After many failed attempts at keeping the annoying seagulls away, the staff had a brilliantidea.Inspired by the method used at various airports to drive away wildlife, they sought out the AustralianDog Working Centre and adopted Bailey. The three-year-old dog was appointed the new position of Assistant Director of Seagulls and put to work.The highlight of Bailey's morning is chasing the seagulls away from the boats. For the first few weeks,Baileywas a little too enthusiastic about his new role and managed to jump into the water during the pursuitof seagulls. But it wasn't long before he was fitted with a new work uniform-a bright yellow life vest thatkeeps him floating on water. Bailey even has a special staff ID with his photo and the title of his importantposition. He has had to get familiar with the museum's waterfront, which he patrols (巡查) frequently.This is especially important at night when there is no human activity around to scare the seagulls off.The museum staff members are all very fond of Bailey, making sure to give him lots of playtime,walksand affection. He is very well taken care of, with visits to the local animal doctor for grooming (梳毛) scheduled every two weeks.When he is clocked on, Bailey prefers not to be disturbed so he can focus on his job. However,whenhe is not working, the museum encourages all visitors to come to say hello to their special employee. So thenext time you visit the museum, make sure to say hello to this hardworking dog!
Passage ThreeThe recent wildfire in Alberta, Canada, has already burned through 600 square miles of land, and 20%of houses in the city of Fort McMurray; all its 88,000 residents have left their homes. But how do you putout fires this big and intense?Wind,fuel and the slope (坡度) of the land are three vital factors. You can't do very much about thefirst one. The firefighters will be paying attention to weather conditions. In an ideal world, the wind wouldforce the flames back on to ground that has already been burned.Fuel-mainly the trees-can be managed in several ways, such as bulldozing (铲除) it out of the way or starting controlled fires to burn it off so it can't feed the main fire.The slope of the land can also help. Fires burn much more aggressively going uphill than they do downhill. You don't try to fight a fire going uphill. The firefighters will be looking very carefully how they arrange their personnel and equipment on a downhill side of a slope. In a fire that is relatively small and moving downhill, you can launch a direct attack, physically beating the flames out with special tools. You would come in behind the fire, so you're not face to face with flames coming towards you.In addition, fire can spread a large distance away from the fire-front by burning embers (余火) carriedon the wind, which then start other fires elsewhere. You can actively work on preventing parts of the firegoing in certain directions. But this requires resources, such as water bombers-planes that can dump vast quantities of water. They aren't just flying over the top of the fire and releasing water. They usually wetthe fuel ahead of the fire or along its sides to stop the spread of the fire.
Passage FourPittsburgh Arlington, an elementary school in the state of Pennsylvania, is battling chronic absence fromschool with a community-centered approach that combines care, connection, and practical support.Overhalf of the school's 353 students frequently miss classes. Many of these students face barriers like a lack of transportation, which the school district does not provide for those living less than a mile and a half away.To tackle this issue, the school worked with the Brashear Association, a local nonprofit, to launch thenanas (保姆) program. This initiative provides a personal touch, where nanas make cheerful morningwakeup calls to families, often endingthe conversation with a heartfelt "l love you." In addition, the programoffers free bus rides to and from school, ensuring that children who might otherwise miss school can attendregularly.The program currently serves 36 children daily, but demand is high, with about 20 students still on thewaitlist. Principal Crystal Caldwell wishes there were more resources to expand the service.Meanwhile, theschool is also working on other solutions, like paying staff to walk students home and working together with a nearby church to offer before-school care.These efforts are part of a broader initiative aiming at making school a friendly and desirable place for students. This includes working with local arts organizations to create interesting programs and offeringregular motivational talks to encourage attendance (出勤) . These combined efforts reflect a deepunderstanding that the causes are complex and varied, requiring the entire community's involvement to address them effectively.Tiffini Gorman, director of partnerships at the nonprofit A+ Schools, emphasizes the importance ofcollective responsibility in ensuring that every child has the support they need to succeed. The school'sapproach highlights the significance of community involvement in creating a positive and supportive environment for students.
Passage FiveCounting butterflies can reduce anxiety and boost a sense of connection with nature, a study hasfound.Researchers surveyed participants in the Big Butterfly Countin 2022, in which wildlife charity ButterflyConservation encouraged people to spend 15 minutes outside counting butterflies to help scientists trackhow the insects were faring. Surveys completed by 382 people before and after the three-week count periodrevealed a 9 per cent reductionin anxiety among participants, and a greater sense of connection with nature,as well as noticing butterflies and nature more.Further surveys completed by 345 people, which were sent five weeks after the count, did not findnature connectedness and reduced anxiety had been maintained. But they revealed an increase in generalwellbeing compared with before the project. The research, published in the journal Biological Conservation,was carried out by Butterfly Conservation and the University of Derby.The surveys revealed people had a range of positive and negative emotions associated with takingpart, ranging from joy and fascination to sadness and concern about declining insects. Richard Fox,head ofscience at Butterfly Conservation, said, "This study is the first to prove that the simple act of looking forand counting butterflies leads to a decrease in anxiety. The results suggest that citizen science projects canplay a part in improving people's mental health, as well as gathering important data on how butterflies arefaring to inform our conservation work."Carly Butler, lead researcher on the study, said the benefits of reduced anxiety and strongerconnectedness with nature were the same whether people just carried out one 15-minute count or did somultiple times. Dr Butler added that participants felt motivated to help butterflies and nature by doingthings such as making their gardens butterfly-friendly.