适合高中生背诵的经典英语短文

适合高中生背诵的经典英语短文 More pains, more gains! 适合高中背诵的篇目 Weekend Weekends are important. They provide people with the kind of rest and relaxation that are essential to a happy and healthy life. I’m one of those who know how to enjoy their leisure on the weekend. A good sleep at Saturday night usually helps me to recover from the hard labor of the week. A delight Sunday trip to the suburbs makes me fresh and free from any tension. If I stay at home, I usually do some light reading or practice Chinese calligraphy ---- a traditional writing skill which has an extraordinary calming effect. Sometimes mother invites me to help her cook and I am always happy to accept her invitation.A good rest on the weekend always makes me feel happy, energetic, confident and ready to all the hard work ahead of me. You cannot work happily and efficiently until you learn how to rest and relax on the weekend. My View on Job-Hopping Some people tend to stick to their positions all the time, as they think the longer one works in a particular field, the more skillful one will be at it. Some have been teachers all their lives. Some devote their life energy to scientific research. Such people love their work and turn out to be specialists in their own field. They are usually high achievers. Some are different. They are in the habit of job-hopping, for they always pursue (follow) what is new and stimulating (interesting). They never seem content with their present situation. Some like to meet more people, make more money and new acquaintances, so they hop from job to job. As far as I am concerned, I want to be professionally strong. I am not in favor of constant job-hopping, as the saying goes “Jack of all trades, master of none”. But I want to cooperate and communicate with someone else so as to be more creative and less partial. Attending College at One’s Own Expense Nowadays, colleges and universities tend to accept more and more candidates with a score close to the required by charging a portion of their tuition. Moreover, the percentage of the students attending college this way will be increasing year by year. Owing to this practice, college candidates have much freedom in choosing the major they mostly interested in. In addition, those who did not perform well on the College Entrance Exam are able to attend college to have further studies. It is reported that most of these students work harder than their classmates. Certainly this practice has some disadvantages. For example, those candidates who cannot afford the tuition might have fewer opportunities to receive higher education. In my opinion, the advantages of this practice weigh more than its disadvantages. So I am in favor of it and I believe people will be more willing to accept it as time goes by. School-aged Children Drop Out It’s reported that in China about one million school-aged children drop out of school each year and 80% of the drop-outs are from the families which are too poor to keep their children at school. To tackle the problem, the government has launched the Hope Project. It has helped thousands of children go back to school. But in my opinion, this is far from enough. In order to change this situation completely, the government should set aside an adequate amount of money for education, especially for elementary education. And also, the government should establish laws to ensure that no children should drop out of school as elementary school education is compulsory in China, and local governments should aid the poor families so that they can send their children to school. To sum up, so long as our central and local governments and the whole society pay enough attention to this problem and take effective action, this situation will be changed. Knowledge and Power Knowledge and power are the two things most desired by man. There is close connection between these two things. The man, having done his best in acquiring knowledge, will easily get a high position and perform it successfully. 1 More pains, more gains! Power depends on knowledge. Knowledge to power is just like a compass to a ship, by which her sailing is made safely across an unknown ocean. A great statesman or a learned scholar can render (give) his good services to his country just because he has perfect and profound knowledge. Power only follows knowledge. A man cannot do anything well unless he has some information as how to do it well. A man will sometimes lose his way in a strange land; an apprentice cannot produce any delicate work. Why are these so? Because they are in want of knowledge. If the apprentice wishes to produce good work, he must pay attention to his instructor’s advice. We are all the future masters of our country. Our country needs our services. How can we fulfill our future tasks? To get more knowledge is the only answer. Breakfast We get the energy for our movements from food. Human beings are just like machines. For us to work properly, we must be well energized. The energy, of course, comes from the three meals a day, that is, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is more important than any other meal in a day. For one thing, after a night’s sleep, most of the energy stored in the human body has been consumed. Breakfast serves the purpose of replenishing (fill up again) energy, thus making us energetic again. For another, in the course of a day, morning is the period of time in which we work with most efficiency. Without breakfast, the efficiency would be lost. Finally, the constant lack of breakfast can contribute to stomach troubles. Therefore, to keep fit, we must have breakfast every day. It can be a cup of mild with some bread, or a bowl of porridge with some steamed bread, or anything else of the similar kind. Anyway, we must eat our fill (eat as much as we can), because a good breakfast can not only ensure our good health but also make a good beginning for a new day. Ability and Gook Looks Old people usually tell the young, “Don’t judge a person by his appearance.” Meaning ability is more important than appearance. Indeed, we’ve seen so many brilliant but not at all good-looking people. In the film Mozart, an opera singer reiterates (repeat) this view by saying, “For a woman of taste, it is not the looks, but the talent that interests me.” For her, the preference shows one’s taste. However, nowadays, with more and more interviewers putting much emphasis on the looks, the appearance of the job-applicants, a lot of people come to the conclusion that appearance is more important than ability because many beautiful girls acquire very good positions although they don’t have much talent. In my opinion, ability is definitely much more important than good looks, because it demonstrates one’s own self-cultivation. It bespeaks (show) the efforts and the glory of acquiring something through one’s hard work whereas a good look bespeaks no struggle of the individual. Good looks are pleasant, but I like the ability because it really shows something of my own self. Life Is Struggle Everything in the world is in constant struggle. Struggle is in a sense of the competition in natural selection among organisms. Animals and plants struggle for their existence. Nature provides them with weapons for that struggle. Lions have claws; fish have scales; roses have thorns. They use these weapons for the unavoidable war of existence. Nature also orders us to struggle; when we obey the nature, we win our existence. The result of struggle is the evolution of a better society. In order to surpass the others, one has to devote himself to what he does. If every individual does so, the society will make progress. Struggle is inevitable. But we should struggle with sportsmanship, not to stand in the way of others in order to achieve our own success. It is only by struggling in such a way, mankind will see a world getting more glorious day by day. Can Computer Replace Human Brain Computers are working faster than human brain. But is it possible that some day the computer will replace human brain and control the human being? It is quite impossible. Computers are designed and developed by human brain. They are used to speed up the calculation. Computers are working according to the orders designed by human being. The running of computer is a group of integrated 2 More pains, more gains! circuit run by a set of programmes. Without programmes, the computers will not know what to do. It is true people are relying more and more on computers. If people don’t know how to control computers, they may be replaced by computers and lose their jobs. Success Success is a lousy (very bad) teacher. It seduces (tempt) smart people into thinking they can’t lose. And it’s an unreliable guide to the future. What seems the perfect business plan or latest technology today may soon be out-of-date. s luck. Many people like to try their luck. Usually winning lottery (彩票) is thought to be one’ One of the lottery’s new millionaires gave an interview on television. When he was asked by the reporter how he had picked his winning numbers, he said that while “two of the six numbers he just pulled for no particular reason.” As for the other four numbers, he used family birth dates. “ So, you see,” he boasted(自夸), “Winning the lottery is not all just luck.” The Car and Pollution Most Americans would find it hard to think what life would look like without a car. However, some have realized the serious problem of the air pollution caused by the car. The polluted air becomes poisonous and dangerous to health. One way to get rid of the polluted air is to build a car that does not pollute. That’s what several of the large factories have been trying to do. But to build a clean car is easier said than done. Progress in this field has been slow. Another way is to take the place of the car engine by something. Now inventors are working on steam cars as well as electric cars. Many makers believe that it will take years to develop a useful model that pleases men. To prevent the world from being polluted by cars, we make some changes in the way many of us live. Americans, for example, have to reduce the number of their total cars. They are encouraged to travel and to work by bicycle. It is thought to help man to keep the air clean. But this change does not come easily. A large number of workers might find themselves without jobs if a car factory closed. Thus the problem of air pollution would become less important than that of unemployment. Although cars have led us to better life, they have also brought us new problems. Time Is Money “Time is money.” This saying means that time is very valuable. But time is more valuable than money. The money we have lost can be gained again, but the time we have wasted cannot be regained. Moreover, sometimes persons can exist without money, but nothing can be done without time, just as no one can live without air. Despite being so valuable, time is often neglected by men. Since time is an invisible thing, men often waste their time unconsciously(无意地). Without anything to do, they may gossip from morning till night. Man can live only at most to about 100 years. It seems fairly long, but in fact it is rather short. We often say “How quickly time flies!” How many things can a man accomplish in such a short period? Hence we should use the valuable time properly to do our work. We will race with it. We will study and work hard. Never waste a little bit of it. Try to Be a Good Student Perhaps it is the dream of everyone to be a good student at school, but quite a few students feel at a loss on how to make it. In my opinion it is rather easy if you can act on the following points. First of all, make full use of your time and work hard. Don’t put off till tomorrow what should be done today, as time past will never come back. The fast developing society requires adequate knowledge, which presses us to spare no efforts to study. Of course, your hard work will be rewarded one day. Secondly, use your own head and present your point of view. Credulous(轻信的)attitude will only make you take anything for granted. With your own judgment you will be able to tell right from wrong and set up your own theory. 3 More pains, more gains! Thirdly, set aside enough time for relaxation, entertainment, etc. don’t ignore the harm of all work and no play. Proper sports will build up your body and improve the efficiency of your studying. To be a good student is easier said than done, for it needs a student’s consistent efforts. But nothing is difficult to a man if he puts his heart into it. Natural Resources Nature has provided us with many kinds of resources. Almost everything we use in our everyday life comes from Nature. The food we eat, the water we drink, the clothes we wear, the concrete and bricks to build our houses, the materials to make bikes we ride, etc. all come originally from Nature. People have been making use of these natural supplies for thousands of years. With the development of technology and the increase of the population, the amount and range of materials taken has increased. It is estimated that this tread will continue in the years to come. However, natural resources are not in exhaustible. Some resources are already nearly used up. For example, the end of the world’s fuel is already within sight. Such an essential daily item as water is in short supply in many parts of the world. We can no longer thoughtlessly use the many resources provided by Nature. We must learn to conserve what remains. We Have Only One World When industries grow, pollution also grows. Today the problem of environment has become more and more important. The world population is rising so quickly that the world has become too crowded. We are using up our natural resources too quickly and at the same time we are polluting our environment with dangerous chemicals. If we don’t take action immediately, then we will destroy our only world. Man has made great progress in environment protection. Government of many countries has established laws to protect the forest and sea resource and to stop the environmental pollution. Still more measures should be taken to solve the problem. First, we should start by educating the public about the hazards of pollution. The government on its part should also design stricter laws. This is not only for our own generation but also for the future generation to come. It is necessary to protect our nature environment. We must begin now to protect our only world. Make The Best Use of Our Land It is the land that has been providing us with everything we need for centuries. In other words, almost everything we use daily comes from the land directly or indirectly. The food, clothes, houses, even the books and furniture are all supplied by the land. But the limited land is decreasing at a surprising speed. With the expanding of the cities, the development of the industry and over population, lots of large pieces of good farmland are being turned into residential areas with many houses and apartment buildings, or industrial areas, or warehouses. Therefore some measures must be taken to stop the abusing of our farmland. On the other hand, we should let everyone realize the danger of being short of land. And also we should educate them how to make better use of our land. Health It is said that we do not properly value a thing until we have lost it. It is only when a friend dies that we find out how much he was to us. So it is with health. When we are young and strong and have good health, we think little about it. It seems natural to us to be always well, and we cannot imagine what it is like to be ill. Wo we are often careless about our health, and without thinking we spoil our health by bad habits and doing silly things. It is only when we have our good health that we find that it was one of God’s best gifts to us. Health is our most important possession. We should do our best to maintain it. Good health is necessary to happiness and 4 More pains, more gains! success. People who are in poor health are often pessimistic or depressed. As a rule, bad health means misery and failure. How can we keep our health? Only by knowing and carefully obeying the laws of health. A happy man is a healthy man, and only the healthy man can live a happy life. The desire for good health is universal. Everyone who loves life understands how important health is. First, good health is the guarantee for enjoying life. The only desire of a patient is always to live an ordinary and healthy life. Second, good health establishes a firm foundation for your ambition of the career. Without it, any lofty aspiration turns to be a daydream. Then how to keep fit? Everyone has his own answers to this question, while I think three principal suggestions should be followed. The first one is that a scientific diet should be adopted, which offers the necessities for your body. The second one is that physical exercises must be persisted, especially for the indoor people. The last, but not the least, is that the cheerful mood should be kept. In order to keep fit, I force myself to keep away from the “junk food”, although it usually tastes good, I even form a good habit of doing morning exercises. And the beautiful music and good books always cheer me up. Sports and Games Sports and games do a lot of good to our health. They can make us strong, prevent us from getting too fat, and keep healthy and fit. Especially they can be of great value to people who work with their brains most of the day, for sports and games give people valuable practice in exercising the body. What’s more, they make our life richer and more colourful. If we do not have a strong body, we will find it hard to do whatever we want. So persons of all ages enjoy watching and taking part in various kinds of sports-track and fields, swimming, skating, football, volleyball and basketball, etc. Sports and games are also very useful in character training. They demand not only physical skills and strength but also courage, endurance, discipline and usually teamwork. For boys and girls, what is learned in the playground often has a deep effect on their character. If each of them learns to work for his team and not for himself on the football field, he will later find it natural to work for the good of his country instead of only for his own benefit. A healthy citizen makes a strong country. Let’s all take part in sports and games. Smoking It is well known that smoking does harm to the health. Today, so many people still keep smoking, which has drawn wide attention of the society. Smoking has so many disadvantages but no advantages at all. First, the cigarettes with nicotine in them do great harm to the health. Such diseases as pneumonia, lung cancer may be caused or partly caused by them. Furthermore, the bad effects of cigarettes cost the smokers lots of money, which could be spent on other meaningful things. Thirdly, the accidents of fire all over the world every year are mostly caused by the still-burning butts (end). The government has formulated the regulation of no smoking in public places. Yet its result is not so satisfactory. From my point of view, it needs the common efforts of the society. Not only the nonsmokers but the smokers should cooperate on this matter. My Views on Large Modern Cities Since every coin has two sides, living in large modern cities offers us many advantages, simultaneously causes many troubles. Better education and better jobs are easy to get, and better medical care is convenient to receive in large modern cities. People are usually well informed due to the advanced media, such as television, newspaper and net PC. Large modern cities also provide varied entertainment for the city-dwellers. The public places like cinema, bar, disco-ball are everywhere. On the other hand, large modern cities are too big to control, so the traffic jams and traffic accidents often happen, and the social security is a headache problem. And city-dwellers have to face the housing problem. Usually a house is too expensive 5 More pains, more gains! for the salary earning class to buy and the rent is also high. Moreover, noise and pollution in large cities bring harm to people’s health. Live in the City or in the Country Where do you like to live, in the city or in the country? Most cities are centers of economy, trade, transportation or culture. With the development of economy and society, more and more people have flooded into the cities, which makes the scale of the cities larger and larger. Surely, it is very convenient for shopping, education, business and so on. But it also has many disadvantages: the large population makes it crowded in each corner of the city; the big factories, too many cars, buses and trucks pollute the clean air; too much noise can make people mad. To live in the city, one even can’t get enough room for living. To live in the country is another thing. You can breathe the fresh air cheerfully, own a spacious house with a big backyard, and relax yourself in quietness. But when you want to go shopping, or take your child to school, perhaps you will complain about its inconvenient transportation, its remoteness„I am an ordinary person. I am always longing for the peaceful idyllic(田园诗 般的) life of the countryside. Advertisement Advertisement can be seen everywhere in the modern society. Large billboards are built on the roadsides or on the top of the high buildings. Newspapers become thicker and thicker, for pages of the paper are covered with advertisements. TV shows us endless ads day and night. Advertisements force people to notice their products. It is a good way to promote their new products. When a new product is developed, it is the manufacturer’s or seller’s duty to let the public know what the new product is; what the specialties are and what the manufacturer’s or the seller’s guarantees are to the products. Surely, advertisements are like bridges between customers and manufacturers or sellers. But false or deceptive advertisements can also be found at the same time. When a person has been cheated once, he can’t believe advertisements once more, or at least he can’t believe ads fully. People have become wiser and learnt to use their brains when facing a beautiful and attractive advertisement. The World is Getting Smaller and Smaller In ancient times, people’s only transportation means were their feet. So it was rather difficult for them to travel from one place to another. As a result, the world was too big for them to understand. With the development of modern science and technology, more and more transportation means appear: bicycle, bus, etc. They carry goods and passengers to and from every corner of the world. And they shorten the distance between people. With the help of these modern facilities, people all over the world can get in constant touch with each other. So it’s easier for people from different nations to understand each other, to communicate with each other. Thus, this world is getting smaller and smaller, just like one big family. Use of the Time A man’s life occupies, at best, but a limited space of time; every bit of time wasted in idleness means a reduction of success and prosperity to the man himself and to the world at large. The magnitude of a man’s success in life depends largely upon how he makes use of his time. Those who achieve greatness in different channels of success are, as a whole, the most hard-working people. Our famous scholar Yao and Shun wasted not a single minute, while Da Yu, our great emperor, valued even the briefest space of time; their accomplishments stand out in our history in bold relief. If we wish to do something useful, the sure way to success is to turn every minute that we may have at our disposal(可支配 的).The old hours that we have after our daily work are the best time for reading. There is a great deal of wisdom locked up in books. Nowhere else can we find such a rich spring of knowledge for quenching(satisfy止渴)our thirst. Of course, different people follow different occupations. They do not need the same sort of information. Here they must make 6 More pains, more gains! their own choice to get the books best suited to their particular needs. The time spent in such reading will add greatly to their stock of knowledge and prepare them for greater work in their respective fields of activity. When the reading habit is once formed, they will enjoy reading far more than they do anything else. Exam Should Be Reduced It is known to us that the exam is the main method to measure the students’ knowledge in school. But nowadays this method is almost becoming the only way to judge the students’ ability of knowledge. If this method is over-used, I believe it will do us more harm than good. For one thing, too many exams keep the students from reading widely, because the students are forced to prepare the lessons to be examined. Their knowledge can only be narrowed within few textbooks taught in class. For another, the exam itself encourages rigid memorization instead of initiating (operate) the students’ creativity and individual thinking, which will be of great importance in their future work. So we can conclude that too many exams are no good to the students. Some measures should be taken to lessen the students’ burden. Remember the main purpose of the exam is to urge and to encourage the students to learn more. Part-time Job in College Nowadays there are arguments on the part-time job in college. Does it do good or do harm to the students? In my opinion, it has two sides. On one hand, doing part-time jobs can bring financial support to the students. As we all know the education fees in recent years have been higher and higher. It’s rather difficult for ordinary families to afford them. The burden of the parents will be greatly relieved if the students can earn some money, with which they can buy more books helpful to their studies. At the same time, they will obtain some social experiences, which is necessary for their future work. On the other hand, the part-time job will occupy the students a lot of time, which they should spend on their studies. Thus they can’t have enough time to learn the things they need or they like. As a result, it will be hard for them to meet the expectation of the college. Therefore, we should take the advantages of the part-time job and avoid its disadvantages. Only in doing so can we really benefit from it. Build up Good Hobbies Everybody has his own hobbies: some are fond of collecting stamps, coins, etc., some like swimming, and there are some who like reading or music ---- all these are of good hobbies. Nowadays, most teenagers are crazy about “hit-song”. From those songs we can learn many phrases, which we cannot find in books. Although teenagers like those songs very much, adults dislike them. And if they indulge in them, it would be a waste both of time and money. This should not be considered as a good hobby. The worst hobbies of all are smoking and gambling. Smoking harms our bodies. Some men like to smoke in public places, and do not care about other people’s feelings. Gambling will make you lose everything. You may lose your temper, money and friendship. Friendship is the thing that money cannot buy. To lose a friend is easy but to build up a friendship is hard. So, why don’t we play something that cannot hurt others and which is worthwhile to us? For good hobbies, like stamp collecting and reading can help us broaden our knowledge, music can make us happy, and sports can keep us in good physical condition. So why not take the good and discard the bad? Good Manners Good manners do not come naturally, for they have to be learnt. If children were not told and shown how to behave politely, they would grow up rough and rude like savages. 7 More pains, more gains! Good manners are not the same in all countries. However different good manners may be in different places, the principle of good manners is always the same everywhere. It is consideration for the feelings of others. Good manners are the mark of a gentleman, and a real gentleman always tries to consider other people’s feelings. They will not say things that will hurt others; they will not speak in a rude way to offend them. When they are with others, they know what they do not like. So good manners are really a form of unselfishness. No one can have really good manners who is selfish and conceited, and who always wants his own way and seeks his own comfort. They may be outwardly polite, but they will not have the spirit of good manners. Is Money the Road to Happiness? In the modern society, quite a few people make money a target for pursuit, as they believe money is the road to happiness. Is that the case? Does money really make the matter go? I don’t agree to this opinion. Of course, we can’t live without money because it is the currency in circulation with which we can buy what we need in daily life. But money doesn’t mean everything in the world, such as happiness. The factors that contribute to happiness are unpredictable(出乎意料的). Those who have money to burn are not necessarily living a happy life while those who lack physical needs may be happier than the rich. People once said that money is the source of evil. It is true to some extent. To catch hold of money, people would rather pay any price ---- to steal, to rob, to commit murder and even to aggress another country. Sometimes money can drive people crazy and kill them. In that case how can money is the road to happiness! On Making Friends As a human being, one can hardly do anything without a friend. Helping one out of trouble and bringing happiness to a lonely heart, a true friend may shed (spread) sunshine and love on one’s life. A friend will help you find out and overcome an overlooked(忽略的)shortcoming, so that you can make progress and have success in your work or study. All the splendor(辉煌)in the world is not worth a good friend. True friendship is like an in-time rain falling on the dry land. True friends are not those who like to eat or drink together with you, but those who concern more about your needs, growth, successes and failures. They will never flee for their own sake when faced with a great danger. Just as the old saying puts it, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” I like making friends. In order to make true friends, I will trust others, following their advice and leading a hand whenever they need help. I like to make friends with those who have the same interests and ideas with me, but not those who are boastful (full of self-praise), aimless, narrow-minded or selfish. Once I make friends with someone, I hope that the friendship will last all through my life. My Ideal Job When a person is asked what his ideal job is, he may answer quickly, a doctor, an actor, etc. But when it comes to me, I feel at a loss. There are all kinds of work in the world, but I can’t decide which kind I like best. In my opinion, my ideal job must fully utilize (make use of) my intelligence and knowledge. I have been studying for so many years. The main purpose it to prepare myself for my future job. If most of my knowledge can’t be used, no doubt it is a great waste. I’m not afraid of a demanding and challenging job, for it’s the best opportunity to examine my capability. As a result, it stimulates me to make greater efforts and to achieve more. A relaxed, harmonious relationship among the companions is ideal, for it’s bound to improve the efficiency of work. I can’t imagine how they can cooperate if they can’t get along well, not to mention any achievement. At last, I wish my job will help people directly, thus the sense of achievement will make me work harder. Fate 8 More pains, more gains! Many people believe that they are fated, or destined(注定)to a certain life. For example, if they are very poor or very ill, they say that it is because they were born to be poor or ill and there is nothing they can do about it. But in my opinion, people have more control than that over their lives. Maybe they didn’t work hard enough to make money or didn’t take proper care of themselves. By blaming their condition on fate, they are avoiding responsibility for their behavior. I think that for the most part of each person makes his own fate. If you are not satisfied with your own life, don’t accept it by blaming it on fate. Change it! If you really want to do it, you can! Set your goal and work toward it. Don’t wait for fate to bring you success because it won’t happen. Fate is in your own hands! Go out and make yourself successful, rich and happy. Then you can’t be pound of your accomplishment. We need a Science Society Youths today should all take a keen interest in science, for we are in a rapidly progressing scientific age. Indeed, no one can now be regarded “up-to-date” without a general scientific knowledge we get from school textbooks; we should visit the libraries more often and read the current scientific news from the newspaper. But the enthusiastic youths have often found out that there are not enough suitable books to read in the public libraries, since many of them are too advanced and too specialized. To overcome this difficulty, I suggest that the Education Department should establish an inter-school science society. The main objects of the society are to increase the scientific knowledge of youths and to foster friendship between members. Organize inter-school scientific contests. Arrange inter-school debates and discussions on interesting scientific subjects. This would not only give us a chance to express our ideas, but also help us to make more friends. This is a very important thing, for friendship is the very element in international understanding and world peace. Hold a weekly lecture, in which famous personalities of the scientific field should be invited to give, and also film shows. This shall be the chief source of new scientific knowledge for us. Sponsor Science Fairs of Exhibitions in which teenagers can compete with each other in their scientific projects. Erect up (set up) a large library with plenty of suitable scientific books for reference and research. It is also hoped that people who have a broad knowledge in science and can explain to us the things we read in books, which we cannot understand, staff the library. We Are Young But Once Many young girls like to copy grown-ups. They wear high-heels, paint their faces, dress in tight clothes and all that burden. They willingly let tight clothes suffocate(闷死;窒息)their breathing, high-heels hinder(阻碍)their walking, and make-ups mar their natural beauty. They think they equal adults by using those stuff, and look down upon their counterparts as childish, who incidentally do not care much to over-act their age. In fact, one cannot be considered as a grown-up just by appearance. It acquires more, such as maturity of thought, which can only be seasoned by time. Youth is indeed a very precious gift, and remember, everyone is young only once. While we still have youth with us, why should we restrict ourselves from enjoying it to our heart’s content by attempting to be much older than we really are? Chances once lost may never come again, and youth definitely will not. Once it is over, real life requests our experience, and responsibilities await us with graveness. Our life will never be as free and blissful as we are today. Our present tasks in life are light. Our hearts are still full of youthful spirits and enthusiasm. So while we are still in the flower of life, why do we not gather the “rose-buds” of youth before they wither away(凋谢), Caring for the aged Society has to try all means to care more for the elderly population. This is easy to say but difficult to arrange. With an increased life expectancy and a decreased birthrate due to the family planning policy, China’s population is aging at unprecedented(空前的)levels. Statistics(统计)suggest that by the end of the 20th century, more than 10 percent of the 9 More pains, more gains! country’s citizens will be at least 60 years old. By the year 2040, this aged group will make up one fourth of the population. The same statistics also show that more than half of the aged population are financially(经济上)supported by their offspring (child/children). Only a quarter of them are independent, while only some of the rest live on retirement pensions. Whatever their financial situations are, the responsibility of most elderly people’s home care thus falls upon their children who already work full-time to support their own families. A considerable number of elderly population also live far way from their children, which sets tricky obstacles in their daily care. Courage Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer of Stanford Hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liza who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. He only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes, I’ll do if it will save Liza.” As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked in a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away?” Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor. He thought he was going to have to give her all his blood. 10