Mental illness and disability were family problems for English people living between 1660 and 1800. Most women and men who suffered from mental illness were not institutionalized as this was the period before the extensive building of mental hospitals. Instead, they were housed at home, and cared for by other family members.
Now a new study by Cambridge historian Dr. Elizabeth Foyster will reveal the impact on families of caring for mentally ill and disabled relatives.
Much has been written about the insane themselves but few studies have considered mental illness from the perspective of the carers. The lifetime burden of caring for those individuals whose mental development did not progress beyond childhood, and who contemporaries labeled as ‘idiots’ or ‘fools’, has been little explored by historians. Foyster’s research, which has been funded by the Leverhulme Trust, will carefully examine the emotional and economic consequences for families at a time when the Poor Law bound them to look after their mentally ill and disabled family members.
By asking key questions about the impact of ‘care in the community’ in the 18th century, Foyster hopes that her research will bridge social and medical history. Specifically, she aims to provide an historical perspective for contemporary debates such as how resources can be stretched to provide for children with learning difficulties and an aging population.
“The stresses and strains of family were worsened by high infant mortality and low life expectancy, and many individuals were pushed towards mental breakdown,” she explained. “Moreover, inherited conditions, senility(高龄) and what today would be described as ‘special needs’ could put great emotional demands on family members who had primary responsibility for their sick or disabled relatives.”
The research will shed light upon how caring for the mentally ill and disabled raised difficult issues for families about the limits of intergenerational responsibility, and whether family ties were weakened or strengthened by the experience. The questions of how far shame was attached to having insanity or idiocy within a family, and at what point families began to seek outside help, will also be addressed.
“The family must have seemed an inescapable feature of daily life between 1660 and 1800,” said Foyster. “Although there were those who were abandoned and rejected, for the majority, mental disability was accommodated within the family unit. I aim to get to the heart of what this really meant for people’s lives.”
1．Which is NOT the reason why those mentally ill and disabled were not institutionalized from 1660 to 1800?| A．Mental illness and disability were family problems then. |
| B．The extensive building of mental hospitals didn’t start yet. |
| C．They were abandoned by the government and the family. |
| D．The family would be found guilty if they didn’t care for them. |
| A．Because it can provide some food for thought for some current social issues. |
| B．Because the stresses and strains of family life have driven many people crazy. |
| C．Because she’s looking for ways to communicate with the sick or disabled people. |
| D．Because the limits of intergenerational responsibility in such families, interest her. |
| A．How should resources today be stretched to provide for an aging population? |
| B．How did caring for the sick and disabled affect the family’s earning power? |
| C．How shameful did a family feel when their insane or disabled relatives were found out? |
| D．At what point did those families have to begin to look for outside help? |
| A．reveal the impact on families of caring for mentally ill and disabled relatives |
| B．provide an historical perspective to contemporary debates |
| C．shed light upon whether family ties were weakened or strengthened |
| D．introduce a new historical study carried out by a Cambridge historian |
As the British philosopher Francis Bacon put it, “Histories make men wise.” However, academic history books are so difficult to understand that they make history a heavy topic for the general readers. Luckily, there are more popular history books on our shelves than before.
Haze Mabry, who has worked as a school keeper for thirteen years, walks into the school building every day and empties garbage cans, wipes down bathrooms and mops wet messes in the hallways.
Last Friday, after he arrived at the school, instead of finding garbage to clean up, he found almost 800 students lining the hallways with handmade cards, blowing noisemakers and singing a full-throated happy birthday to him. It was his 80th. As he walked the long hallway, some popped out of line to hug him. They handed him so many cards that they filled several large boxes. Touched by their enthusiastic expression of affection, Mabry thanked them all. “They’re like my children,” Mabry said.
On a regular day, students at the school sometimes come up to him to say they’re not feeling well or other times to tell him about something that happened at break. He knows most of the kids at the school, but can’t name each one. Some of them make him know them. Like Faith, who often forgets her backpack in the cafeteria, and Lucy, who just wants a hug.
“He won’t brag(夸耀) on himself, but it doesn’t matter what he’s doing or where he is, he will always stop what he’s doing to take care of a child if that child is having a bad day. If a child approaches him, he will pause to give that child his undivided attention. He’s the most loved one in this building,” said Lori Gilreath, a reading teacher.
Mabry works circles around all the students, cleaning up messes others don’t want to touch. He doesn’t expect a lot. Mabry said he hadn’t planned to do much for his milestone birthday, so he was happy the students had prepared the surprise celebration.
Over the weekend, he worked through the piles of handmade cards at his house. One card from a student stood out to him. It read: “Mr. Haze, you are my sunshine.”
1．What is Mabry’s daily work as a school keeper？（no more than 5 words）The Principal and the Popcorn Popper
Spring was approaching. Principal （校长）Peters was wandering in the empty part of the huge school yard when the students' request flashed through his mind again. It couldn't be better to eat the cabbages, carrots, or eggplants planted by themselves. But how to raise money for seeds and tools?
The topic came up at the teachers' meeting. Teachers suggested various means of collecting money with enthusiasm； one teacher suggested, “We have a popcorn popper （爆米 花机）in the teachers' lounge （休息室）.How about kids making popcorn to sell?”
When the popcorn proposal reached the students, they jumped with joy. Agreement was reached -every Thursday, in their labor course, by selling popcorn for 25 cents a bag, they could enjoy a snack while raising money to buy seeds and tools for their garden.
Soon the first Thursday came. Principal Peters got to his office as usual just right next to the teachers' lounge. Hearing popping sound, he smiled, for it meant the promise of the potential garden. But it was REALLY loud. He wrapped a scarf around his head to block his ears. When the first Thursday was over, he breathed a sigh of relief. But the next Thursday, popping sound happened again. This time, he had brought earplugs. The day, it seemed, would last forever. But for the kids' garden dream, he put up with it willingly.
The following Thursdays witnessed Principal Peters attempting to pile gym mats against his office walls and asking the fifth grade to practice for their concert in the hallway outside his office. The "unbearable" popping sound seemed to have taken root in his head! But for the kids' vegetable garden dream, he put up with it willingly.
On the 11th Thursday, he went to the teachers' lounge again to see how much money was still needed. Seeing the Principal coming with a hard-hidden painful expression, the students responded cheerfully, “Only with 41 dollars our garden dream will come true.” Hearing this, Principal Peters left without saying anything.
Shortly afterward, Principal Peters came back with 41 dollars.
“POPCORN", the cute students answered the Principal's question jokingly.
A robot created by Washington State University (WSU) scientists could help elderly people with dementia (痴呆) and other limitations live independently in their own homes.
The Robot Activity Support System, or RAS, uses sensors installed in a WSU smart home to determine where its residents are, what they are doing and when they need assistance with daily activities. It navigates (定位) through rooms and around obstacles to find people on its own, provides video instructions on how to do simple tasks and can even lead its owner to objects like their medication or a snack in the kitchen.
“RAS combines the convenience of a mobile robot with the activity detection technology of a WSU smart home to provide assistance in the moment, as the need for help is detected,” said Bryan Minor, a postdoctoral researcher in the WSU School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Currently, an estimated 50 percent of adults over the age of 85 need assistance with every day activities such as preparing meals and taking medication and the annual cost for this assistance in the US is nearly $2 trillion. With the number of adults over 85 expected to triple by 2050, researchers hope that technologies like RAS and the WSU smart home will relieve some of the financial strain on the healthcare system by making it easier for older adults to live alone.
RAS is the first robot researchers have tried to incorporate into their smart home environment. They recently published a study in the journal Cognitive Systems Research that demonstrates how RAS could make life easier for older adults struggling to live independently.
“While we are still in an early stage of development, our initial results with RAS have been promising,” Minor said. “The next step in the research will be to test RAS’ performance with a group of older adults to get a better idea of what prompts, video reminders and other preferences they have regarding the robot.”
1．How does RAS serve elderly people?| A．Through sensors. | B．Through objects. |
| C．Through a mobile robot. | D．Through their daily activities. |
| A．It is the first robot used in daily life. | B．Its function remains to be tested. |
| C．It can locate people and do any task. | D．It can cook for owners on its own. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Negative. |
| C．Optimistic. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．Elderly people leave the nursing home. |
| B．Smart Home Tests first elder-Care robot. |
| C．RAS, the first robot to make home smart. |
| D．Older adults have benefited from RAS. |
My Favourite Athlete
Tim Robinson, a former junior officer of the British Army, was on holiday in Bridport, Dorset, a town in England. While enjoying a walk down the beach, Tim slipped on a piece of seaweed lying in the sand and fell, breaking his leg.
Unfortunately, Tim did not bring his cell phone with him when he left for his walk. No one was in site, but as Tim lay helpless he remembered his military training and tried to think about what was around to help him. After struggling around on the beach, the pain became too much to handle. He stopped and thought about what to do.
With no phone and no one around, and with his leg hurting greatly, Tim had a decision to make. He could either continue this way in pain and hope that someone happened to see him, or he could try something else. It didn’t matter that his leg had made him partially immobile, Tim still had the ability to crawl (爬行), and so he did.
The choice was easy, but the crawl was tough. Tim told the Daily Mail, “After I crawled to about a mile-and-a-quarter away from the car park, I started flashing my torch in SOS and spinning it over my head to create a Buzz-Saw signal which is a way of attracting helicopters in the armed forces.”
No one seemed to be around. At least, no one could read Tim’s signals for help. Once again, he had to either stay where he was and wait for help or get moving. In his mind he had no choice. There was no response to begin with, so he crawled for five minutes and covered about 50 meters before making the same signal three times. Most people couldn’t imagine crawling for any distance with a broken leg, but Tim wasn’t about to give up.
Tim finally got a response from the distance.
Tim’s condition was worse than Mrs. Robinson thought.
Financial regulations in Britain have imposed a rather unusual rule on the bosses of big banks. Starting next year, any guaranteed bonus of top executives could be delayed 10 years if their banks are under investigation for wrongdoing. The main purpose of this “clawback” rule is to hold bankers responsible for harmful risk-taking and to restore public trust in financial institution. Yet officials also hope for a much larger benefit: more long-term decision-making not only by banks but also by all corporations, to build a stronger economy for future generations.
“Short-termism” or the desire for quick profits, has worsened in publicly traded companies, says the Bank of England’s top economist, Andrew Haldane. He quotes a giant of classical economies, Alfred Marshall, in describing this financial impatience as acting like “Children who pick the strawberries out of their pudding to eat them at once” rather than putting them aside to be eaten last.
The average time for holding a stock in both the United States and Britain, he notes, has dropped from seven years to seven months in recent decades. Transient(短期的) investors, who demand high quarterly profits from companies, can hold back a firm’s efforts to invest in long-term research or to build up customer loyalty. This has been called “quarterly capitalism”.
In addition, new digital technologies have allowed more rapid trading of equities( 股 票 ), quicker use of information, and thus shortens attention spans in financial markets. “There seems to be an advantage of short-term thinking at the expense of long-term investing,” said Commissioner Daniel Gallagher of the US Securities and Exchange Commission in speech this week.
In the US, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has pushed most public companies to delay performance bonuses for senior executives by about a year, slightly helping reduce “short-termism.” In its latest survey of CEO pay, The Wall Street Journal finds that “a substantial part” of executive pay is now tied to performance.
Much more could be done to encourage “long-termism,” such as changes in the tax code and quicker disclosure(披露) of stock acquisitions. In France, shareholders who hold onto a company investment for at least two years can sometimes earn more voting rights in a company.
Within companies, the right compensation design can provide motivation for executives to think beyond their own time at the company and on behalf of all shareholders. Britain’s new rule is a reminder to bankers that society has an interest in their performance, not just for the short term but for the long term.
1．According to Paragraph 1, one reason for imposing the new rule is the _______.| A．enhance banker’s sense of responsibility |
| B．help corporations achieve larger profits |
| C．build a new system of financial regulation |
| D．guarantee the bonuses of top executives |
| A．indirect | B．negative |
| C．favorable | D．temporary |
| A．the obstacles to preventing “short-termism”. |
| B．the significance of long-term thinking. |
| C．the approaches to promoting “long-termism” |
| D．the popularity of short-term thinking. |
| A．Failure of Quarterly Capitalism |
| B．Patience as a Corporate Virtue |
| C．Decisiveness Required of Top Executives |
| D．Frustration of Risk-taking Bankers |
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!
That’s all. Thanks for your attention.
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