Zachariah Fike has an unusual hobby. He finds old military(军队的) medals for sale in antique stores and on the Internet. But unlike most collectors, Zac tracks down the medals’ rightful owners, and returns them.

His effort to reunite families with lost medals began with a Christmas gift from his mother, a Purple Heart with the name Corrado A. G. Piccoli, found in an antique shop. Zac knows the meaning of a Purple Heart—he earned one himself in a war as a soldier. So when his mother gave him the medal, he knew right away what he had to do.

Through the Internet, Zac tracked down Corrado’s sister Adeline Rockko. But when he finally reached her, the woman flooded him with questions: “Who are you? What antique shop?” However, when she hung up, she regretted the way she had handled the call. So she called Zac back and apologized. Soon she drove to meet Zac in Watertown, N.Y. “At that point, I knew she meant business,” Zac says. “To drive eight hours to come to see me.”

The Piccolis grew up the children of Italian immigrants in Watertown. Corrado, a translator for the Army during WWII, was killed in action in Europe.

Before hearing from Zac, Adeline hadn’t realized the medal was missing. Like many military medals, the one Zac’s mother had found was a family treasure. “This medal was very precious to my parents. Only on special occasions(场合) would they take it out and let us hold it in our hands,” Adeline says.

As a child, Adeline couldn’t understand why the medal was so significant. “But as I grew older,” Adeline says, “and missed my brother more and more, I realized that was the only thing we had left.” Corrado Piccoli’s Purple Heart medal now hangs at the Italian American Civic Association in Watertown.

Zac recently returned another lost medal to a family in Alabama. Since he first reunited Corrado’s medal, Zac says his record is now 5 for 5.

Money with no strings attached. It’s not something you see every day. But at Union Station in Los Angeles last month, a board went up with dollar bills attached to it with pins and a sign that read, “Give What You Can, Take What You Need.”

People quickly caught on. And while many took dollars, many others pinned their own cash to the board. “People of all ages, races, and socio-economic(社会经济的) backgrounds gave and took,” said Tyler Bridges of The Toolbox, which created the project. “We even had a bride in her wedding dress come up to the board and take a few dollars.” Most of the bills on the board were singles, but a few people left fives, tens and even twenties. The video clip(片段) shows one man who had found a $ 20 bill pinning it to the board.

“What I can say for the folks that gave the most, is that they were full of smiles,” Bridges said. “There’s a certain feeling that giving can do for you and that was apparent in those that gave the most.” Most people who took dollars took only a few, but Bridges said a very small number took as much as they could.

While the clip might look like part of a new ad campaign, Bridges said the only goal was to show generosity and sympathy. He added that he hopes people in other cities might try similar projects and post their own videos on the Internet.

“After all, everyone has bad days and good days,” he said. “Some days you need a helping hand and some days you can be the one giving the helping hand.”

California has lost half its big trees since the 1930s, according to a study to be published Tuesday and climate change seems to be a major factor(因素).

The number of trees larger than two feet across has declined by 50 percent on more than 46, 000 square miles of California forests, the new study finds. No area was spared or unaffected, from the foggy northern coast to the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the San Gabriels above Los Angeles. In the Sierra high country, the number of big trees has fallen by more than 55 percent; in parts of southern California the decline was nearly 75 percent.

Many factors contributed to the decline, said Patrick McIntyre, an ecologist who was the lead author of the study. Woodcutters targeted big trees. Housing development pushed into the woods. Aggressive wildfire control has left California forests crowded with small trees that compete with big trees for resources(资源).

But in comparing a study of California forests done in the 1920s and 1930s with another one between 2001 and 2010, McIntyre and his colleagues documented a widespread death of big trees that was evident even in wildlands protected from woodcutting or development.

The loss of big trees was greatest in areas where trees had suffered the greatest water shortage. The researchers figured out water stress with a computer model that calculated how much water trees were getting in comparison with how much they needed, taking into account such things as rainfall, air temperature, dampness of soil, and the timing of snowmelt(融雪).

Since the 1930s, McIntyre said, the biggest factors driving up water stress in the state have been rising temperatures, which cause trees to lose more water to the air, and earlier snowmelt, which reduces the water supply available to trees during the dry season.

Rock music consists of many different styles. Even though there is a common spirit among all music groups, they make very different music.
31． At that time the Beatles entered the world of music from Liverpool.

After they were given an invitation to appear live on BBC, the Beatles quickly became famous in Britain with nationwide tours. By mid-1963, the Beatles had been extremely popular in England.
32． They held large concerts and performed at clubs. They became the hottest thing on the pop music scene in England. They began as a modestly successful musician group and ended the year as show business legends(传说). John Lennon and Paul McCartney were named composers of the year.

33． They were not sure how the Americans would react to the new type of music. Beatlemania hit New York on February 7, 1964. Hundreds of fans jammed the airport to greet them.
34． The concert was broadcast live and attracted the largest one night audience in the history of television up to that time. The Beatles were described as a British invasion(入侵) by local and nationwide newspapers at that time. Their victory in America was still remembered as a major turning point in the history of rock and roll. Thanks to the Beatles, a lot of opportunities were opened up to new faces on the market.
35．

There are lots of ways to raise awareness for a cause. Usually, the _______ the idea is, the more it gets noticed. And that’s precisely why one _______ Frenchman has caught our attention.

Baptiste Dubanchet is biking across Europe, surviving _______ on discarded(丢弃) food. The three-month, 1,900-mile journey from Paris to Warsaw is Dubanchet’s _______ of raising awareness of food waste in Europe and throughout the world.

As you can _______, the trip is no piece of cake. While restaurants _______ tons of food each year, much of it remains inaccessible because of _______ garbage containers, health regulations, or business policies. Only about one in ten places _______ him food that would otherwise be discarded. For legal _______, most restaurants have a policy against ________ food waste. “Some people have even ________ their jobs by giving me food,” Dubanchet said.

What’s ________ interesting is the attitude various cities have toward Dubanchet’s cause. Berlin has been the ________ while the most difficult was the Czech town of Pilsen. There, he had to ________ at some 50 different stores or restaurants before finding food. The ________ is all the more serious when you consider the ________ exercise required to bike from France to Poland.

“I have to get food ________ because after all the biking I am tired and I need the ________,” Dubanchet explained. “Is my ________ full or empty? That is the most important thing, not what I am eating.”

He aims to ________ his journey by mid-July. With any luck, he’ll turn a few more heads in the process.

There are several reasons why school uniforms are good idea. First of all, uniforms help the school look smart. The students feel that they belong to a particular group. When every pupil in the school wears the uniform, nobody
56．(have) to worry about fashion(时尚). Everybody wears
57． same style of clothes. Uniforms can be useful in unexpected ways. A school in Ireland has introduced an interesting new uniform. On the edge of the jacket, there is a piece of cloth
58． gives off light in the dark. When the children are walking or
59．(cycle) to school on dark mornings, car drivers can
60．(easy) see them.

But can uniforms help improve school standards? The answer
61． this question is not clear. One study in America found that students’ grades
62．(improve) a little after the school introduced uniforms. But some students didn’t want
63．(wear) the uniform. Other American studies showed no
64．(connect) between uniforms and school performance.

School uniforms are
65．(tradition) in Britain, but some schools are starting to get rid of them. Some very good schools don’t have a uniform policy. However, uniforms are still popular. Pupils at about 90 percent of British secondary schools wear uniforms.

1. 表示感谢；

2. 回顾Alex对你的帮助；

3. 临别祝愿。

1. 词数80左右；

2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Parents everywhere praise their kids. Jenn Berman, author of The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy and Confident Kids, says, “We’ve gone to the opposite extreme of a few decades ago when parents tended to be more strict.” By giving kids a lot of praise, parents think they’re building their children’s confidence, when, in fact, it may be just the opposite. Too much praise can backfire and, when given in a way that’s insincere, make kids afraid to try new things or take a risk for fear of not being able to stay on top where their parents’ praise has put them.

Still, don’t go too far in the other direction. Not giving enough praise can be just as damaging as giving too much. Kids will feel like they’re not good enough or that you don’t care and, as a result, may see no point in trying hard for their accomplishments.

So what is the right amount of praise? Experts say that the quality of praise is more important than the quantity. If praise is sincere and focused on the effort not the outcome, you can give it as often as your child does something that deserves a verbal reward. “We should especially recognize our children’s efforts to push themselves and work hard to achieve a goal,” says Donahue, author of Parenting Without Fear: Letting Go of Worry and Focusing on What Really Matters. “One thing to remember is that it’s the process not the end product that matters.”

Your son may not be the best basketball player on his team. But if he’s out there every day and playing hard, you should praise his effort regardless of whether his team wins or loses. Praising the effort and not the outcome can also mean recognizing your child when she has worked hard to clean the yard, cook dinner, or finish a book report. But whatever it is, praise should be given on a case-by-case basis and be proportionate(相称的) to the amount of effort your child has put into it.