A couple of weeks ago, when we were leaving one of those horrible giant trampoline bouncy（弹跳床）places, my 11-year-old daughter said to me, “I don't think I'm very athletic, you know, like Rocket (her brother). He seems to be really good at1.”

    What came out my mouth2me: “No, you're kind of not.”

    Okay, let me3. As you may have guessed, this child has been with me for about 11 years, so I've had enough time to4her engaging in physical acts: jumping, climbing, running, and organized sports.

    And the kid is just5me: two left feet. If anybody was ever NOT a “natural”6, that person is me.

    But even7these facts, my first instinct（本能反应）was to show her with some8: “Oh, no honey. You're good at sports! You just have to keep 9!” But I decided to tell her the10, and I could see it hurt a bit.

    So I said more: “Ava, we all have things we are particularly,11good at. Like you and12. You're in the 5th grade and read Charles Dickens. That isn't13, but you've done it without even trying. But all of us also have things that we are14in. If we want to get good at those things, we have to put in twice the15of the people around us to get to a decent（相当的）point and even harder if we want to16.”

    She was nodding. She totally17it. Why? Because it's the truth. Sometimes I wonder why we run around talking nonsense（胡扯）to our kids when they can18the truth. And they can smell rubbish from a mile away. In other words, they can easily recognize you are19. In addition, if they don't know where they20now, they'll never know how to get somewhere new.

    Come and speak a week with us at Green and Gold Camp on the Sacramento Campus! Days are filled with scavenger hunts, river walks, the Challenge Center, water activities, arts and crafts, games and more! Your adventure begins at Sacramento State.

Awesome Activities:

Camps Dates and Details

    How much does this camp cost?

    This camp is only $290 for an entire week of memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.

    A minimum deposit of 50% per child, per camp is required for all registrations (non-refundable). Full payment is due 14 days prior to camp start.

    When does the camp begin/end?

    Drop-off for Green and Gold Camp begins each morning at 8:00 am. Camp activities begin at 8:30 each day and end at 5:00 pm. All children must be picked up no later than 5:00 pm. Late pick-ups will result in a $10 fee.

    What does my child need to bring to the camp

    Peak Adventures will provide a morning and afternoon snack, but your child needs to bring his/her own bag lunch every day. We also do water activities, so be sure to include a swim suit and a towel each day so they can participate. We suggest packing the following items each day:

    Camp must have a minimum of six campers for the program to run. No guarantees. You will receive a full refund for any cancelled camps.

    CALL US AT 916-278-6321 FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO RESERVE YOUR YOUTH CAMP SPOT TODAY.

    A young woman sits alone in café sipping tea and reading a book. She pauses briefly to write in a nearby notepad before showing her words to a passing café waiter: “Where are the toilets please?” This is a familiar scene in Tokyo's so-called “silent cafes”, where customers are not allowed to speak, and only communicate by writing in notepads.

    The concept rises by a desire to be alone among young Japanese, a situation brought by economic uncertainly, a shift in traditional family support structures and the growing social isolation. The phenomenon is not limited to coffee shops but covers everything from silent discos, where participants dance alone wearing wireless headphones connected to the DJ, to products such as small desk tents designed for conversation-free privacy in the office. One Kyoto company even offers single women the opportunity to have a “one woman wedding” – a full bridal affair, complete with white dress and ceremony, and the only thing missing is the groom. The trend has its own media expression – “botchi-zoku”, referring to individuals who consciously choose to do things completely on their own.

    One recent weekday afternoon, Chihiro Higashikokubaru, a 23-year-old nurse, travelled 90 minutes from her home, to Tokyo on her day off in order to enjoy some solo time. Speaking quietly at the entrance of the café, Miss Higashikokubaru said: “I heard about this place via Twitter and I like the idea of coming here. I work as a nurse and it's always very busy. There are very few quiet places in Tokyo, and it's a big busy city. I just want to come and sit somewhere quietly on my own. I'm going to drink a cup of tea and maybe do some drawings. I like the idea of a quiet, calm atmosphere.”

    The desire to be isolated is not a new concept in Japan, home to an estimated 3.6 million “hikikomori” – a more extreme example of social recluses（隐士）who withdraw completely from society.

    One form of social prejudice against older people is the belief that they cannot understand or use modern technology. Activities like playing computer games, going on the Net and downloading MP3s are only for the youngsters. Isn't it unfair that older people enjoying a computer game should be frowned（皱眉）upon by their children and grandchildren?

    Nowadays older people have more control over their lives and they play a full part in society. Moreover, better health care has left more people in their sixties and seventies feeling fit and active after retirement. Mental activity, as well as physical exercise, can contribute to better health. Playing computer games is a very effective way of exercising the brain.

    When personal computers were first introduced, most older people didn't believe they would ever familiarize themselves with it. Now computers have been around for a few generations and retired people have gradually become more relaxed about using them for fun. Gamers over 65 prefer playing puzzle games and card games. Kate Stevens, aged 72, says: “I find it very relaxing. It's not very demanding, but you still need to concentrate.”

    Another development that has favored “grey games” is a change in the type of videogames available on the market. There's a greater variety of games to choose from, including more intellectual and complex strategy（策略）and simulation（模拟）games. Internet Chess and Train Simulator are among the most popular of these. Train Simulator is based on real-world rail activities. Players can choose from a variety of challengers, such as keeping to a strict-timetable and using helper engines during a winter storm.

    Some people argue that “grey gamers” simply don't have the skills required for computer games, and that teenagers are better.  This couldn't be further from the truth. Most computer games require the kind of analytical thinking that improves with practice, which means that the “grey gamers: may well be far better than gamers half a century younger than them. In games where speed is the main consideration, older people would be at a disadvantage because they may have slower reaction time. On the other hand, “grey gamers” have a preference for shower paced, mind challenging games.

    In the mid-2000s, Waze Mobile co-founder Ehud Shabtai received a cutting-edge (尖端的) gift from girlfriend: a GPS. The expensive gift was supposed to be helpful. But straight out of the box, it was already out of date.

    Shabtai, a coding enthusiast, had an immediate reaction to reinvent. Shabtai's solution? To build an app. With 80 million monthly active users globally and nearly 400,000 superusers who function much like Wikipedia volunteer editors (editing maps rather than words), Waze Mobile caught the eye of Google as a revolutionary approach to navigation (导航).

    Acquired by Google in 2013, Waze's value mainly lies in its high rate of user involvement. Unlike traditional navigation apps that simply show directions, Waze asks its users to report accidents and other road conditions in real time, so other users can avoid the traffic by using an alternative route.

    The goal behind Waze's approach is an ambitious one: not just avoid traffic, but end it altogether. Waze is finding new ways to put its loyal and active user base to use to make that vision a reality, including a plan to make carpooling (拼车) cool.

    To be sure, traffic jams are troubling people all over the world. Waze has been quietly ahead of the game for some time. In 2013, when Waze was just a small digital-mapping business with limited resources it had something Google Maps and other competitors didn't: richer GPS guidance thanks to its stream of live traffic reports from users.

    These users were the basis of Shabtai's plan to solve for his GPS device's “silent” hardware: he grounded the app in software that could be perpetually updated by users, anywhere and anytime.

    Waze Carpool is going straight to the heart of traffic jams, trying to get more drivers off the road and into carpools. The app has already connected tens of thousands of rideseekers with drivers willing to ferry them along a shared route, and that trend could be the answer to a traffic-free future.

    Success seems to find Maya Moore everywhere she goes. But life hasn't been a bed of roses for Maya and her biggest supporter, her mother.

    Maya discovered her love of basketball in 1997 at the age of 8. That was the year the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) began holding games. The young girl watched WNBA star Cynthia Cooper play in Olympics.

    Three years later her mother, Kathryn, was offered a better job in North Carolina. Kathryn decided to make the move from Missouri because North Carolina provided greater basketball opportunities. Sadly, in under two months the company downsized, and Kathryn lost her job. She remembers, “” Maya says the difficulties brought them closer, and she praises her mom. “She's more than a teammate. I know she's going to be on my side.”

    About a year later, mother and daughter moved to Georgia, where Maya continued to play basketball. In high school she had the opportunity to play basketball against some of the nation's best players. Maya led her team to 125 victories and three state championships. During this time, she was named the national player of the year twice.

     Maya and her mother approached the college decision like they did everything. With careful consideration, Maya chose the University of Connecticut.

A. It was a bad time.

B. It really a competitive skill.

C. The competition improved her skills.

D. You can't succeed without too much payment.

E. The path to success required a lot of hard work.

F. Maya dreamed to compete in the Olympics one day.

G. Universities compared to invite her to join their teams.

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：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：

1．每处错误及其修改仅限一词；

2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

    Challenges of life remind me of my days in senior high school which I joined in the military training. It was the first time I have lived far away from my home, so I found difficult to fit in. And the trained officer was strict with me. I once think I could not stick to the end. And anyway, I succeeded. The trials made it much easy for me to adapt to life, and the difficulty I came across have now all become a precious memory in my life. In a short, I have learned to regard the challenges of life like a stepping stone to future success.

    High-speed railways, electronic payments, shared bicycles and online shopping are China's four new ways of life. They are most appealing to youths from 20 countries participatingthe Belt and Road Initiative. The new four great inventions are all related to China's gigh0tech innovation,has improved the quality of people's lives, “my wallet is no longer in use. I can buy and eat whatever I want(simple) with a tap of my phone,” said Lin Jinlong, an overseas Chinese student from Cambodia, (add) that even pancake sellers are using Alipay (mobile payment).

    Inword, China is leading in many ways. Bike sharing, for example, is not new itself. But China has made it much more convenient and(enjoy) both in China and overseas. Leading Chinese bike-sharing(company), Mobike and Ofo are now operating in foreign countries such as Singapore and Britain. Users in the countries(feel) excited and posted photos of (they) riding the Chinese bikes on social media. A growing number of foreigners hope (promote) economic development in their home countries by paying more attention to the achievement of China.

注意：词数100左右。

Sunday, May4 Fine