备战2024年中考英语阅读话题训练—人与自我 主题04 职业梦想

Evans Wadongo was from a poor village of Africa. He had to do homework by the light of a kerosene lamp (煤油灯). Evans' eyes hurt and this made studying difficult. 

However Evans was excellent enough to enter a university. But he continued to worry about the kerosene lamp. He realized it was not just bad for school children but for the whole family. First, it can cause illnesses such as coughs. Also, the light can hurt people's eyes. Besides, it can lead to fires. Lastly, kerosene is expensive, so families have less money for food. It was difficult to come up with a different kind of lamp that was cheap and good for the environment. Yet Evans did not give up. 

One day, he had an idea. He could use a small solar (太阳能) light. Sunlight is free and solar power is clean. Evans built his first solar lamp, and it worked. He began to build more lamps and sent them to local families. An organization heard about this and provided money for him to build more solar lamps. 

Each lamp only cost $20. However, this was a lot of money to many villagers, so Evans made sure he kept the cost down. He used recycled materials and ask volunteers to build the lamps. Finally, people from many countries gave away money to his team, so the lamps were usually free. 

The solar lamps made a big difference to thousands of people. Julia a mother of three, said, "Thanks to Evans, my children have light to read, and I have my own light to cook."

Marco Polo was one of the world's most famous explorers (探险家) . He was born in Venice, Italy in 1254. When he was 17 years old, he went on a trip to Asia that lasted 24 years. Marco Polo's travel later influenced many people. 

In 1271, Marco Polo left Venice with his father and uncle and set out for Asia. The purpose of their trip was to meet with Kublai Khan who ruled a large part of Asia. On their way to meet the king at his palace in China, they traveled trough much of the Middle East and Central Asia. In 1275, they finally arrived at the palace of Kublai Khan. Kublai Khan grew to like Marco Polo very much. In fact, he liked him so much that he wanted Marco Polo to work for him. So, the king sent Marco Polo to different places in China, India and Burma. Marco Polo stayed in China with Kublai Khan for 17 years. Over that time, he collected many jewels and lots of gold

Marco Polo returned to Venice with his father and uncle in 1295. People often went to Marco Polo's home to hear stories about his travels. He became a great storyteller. Marco Polo was known as "the man with a million stories". He later met a writer who was crazy about his stories. The writer liked them____so much that he wrote a book about Marco Polo's travels

The book about Marco Polo's travels taught Europeans about places in Asia they knew little about. The book also taught people about the geography of Asia. Some of these people were explorers who used the information in Marco Polo's book on their own journeys. The best known of these explorers was Christopher Columbus. 

Toys and games are fun, but inventing them is serious business. Big toy companies treat it even more serious, because the more toys they sell, the more money they make. They have adults who do nothing but think up new toys. Sometimes they even work in locked rooms so no one can steal their ideas!

But not every new toy is invented that way, some of the best inventions are made by kids. Thirteen-year-old Casey loved to play golf. He invented a way to make the game more fun. He invented a new golf tee (球座). It is called the Bio tees. Most golf tees are made from wood, but Casey's tee is made out of recycled paper. It does not harm the environment. Casey started his own company to make his new: tee. He's already had orders for millions of them. 

Jessica invented a toy when she was only eight, Jessica likes to jump rope. She jumps alone and she jumps with friends. To jump alone, you need a short rope. With friends, you need a long rope. So Jessica invented a new kind of jump rope. The length of Jessica's jump rope can be modified (调整). It can be made long to jump with friends. Or it can be made short to jump alone. When you finish jumping, you can even turn the jump rope into a belt. Now Jessica has a business to sell her jump ropes. 

Do you have a great idea for a new invention? Give your idea a try. It may become the next Bio tee or latest jump ropes. 

Life is full of surprises and you never know how things will turn out. Sir John Gurdon is a good example of this. As a boy, he was told that he was hopeless at Science and was at the bottom of his class. Later, aged 79, the very same Gurdon shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Japanese stem cell (干细胞) researcher Shinya Yamanaka. 

Like so many scientists, Gurdon shows us where the power of curiosity and perseverance can lead to. 

At the age of 15 in 1948, Gurdon ranked last out the 250 boys at his high school in Biology. Gurdon's high school science teacher even said that his dream of becoming a scientist was "quite ridiculous. "

In spite of his teacher's criticisms, Gurdon followed his curiosity and kept working hard. He went to the lab earlier and left later than anyone else. He experienced thousands of failures.

"My own belief is that we will, in the end, understand everything about how cells actually work," Gurdon said. In the 1960s, Gurdon took a cell from an adult frog and moved its genetic information into an egg cell. The egg cell then grew into a clone (克隆) of the adult frog．This technique later helped to create the sheep Dolly in 1996，the first cloned mammal (哺乳动物) in the world.

In 2006, Gurdon's work was developed by Yamanaka to show that a sample of a person's skin can be used to create stem cells. Using the technique, doctors can repair a patient's heart after a heart attack.

"Luck favours the prepared mind," Gurdon told the Noble Prize Organization. "Ninety percent of the time things don't work, but when they do, you have to seize (抓住) the chance. "

For many girls from villages in China, a dream job could be anything, except working in a village. But Zhang Guifang, a 24-year-old college graduate, gave up running her business in Tianjin and returned to her village. 

As a young member of the Communist Party of China, she was chosen as the Party secretary of Sanjia village in December, 2021. Although she once had many ways to develop her village, they weren't put into practice because of lacking money. The "rainbow village" idea was accepted because it didn't cost a lot of money. Zhang hoped to bring in many tourists through this project and develop the local economy（经济）.

She spent five months planning the creation of wall paintings of colourful sunflowers, wings and balloons to make the houses and walls of the village beautiful. For the first time, Sanjia has become famous, with pictures of the village spreading quickly on the Internet. 

As a young village head, Zhang's job isn't easy. There are endless things to do, and there are no days off. She often cried at first and once wanted to give up. But she told herself that no matter how hard things were, she would hold on for another month. Slowly, she was approved（认可） by many villagers, which improved her confidence and led her to set bigger goals.

Zhang hoped that as long as she was there, Sanjia would go in a better direction towards a bright future. 

I joined a band as a drummer in my middle school. I thought it would be fun playing the drum and meeting new friends. At first it was easy, but a month later, it got difficult. I was the only one who couldn't keep pace(节奏) with the other players. 

Our teacher, Angie, singled me out to keep practicing while everyone else got to relax. I felt ashamed(羞愧的) as my teammates watched me fail so many times. Finally I got so tired of practicing that I didn't care about doing it right. 

"Are you giving up, Steve?" Angie asked.

"Yes, I am, "I shouted, Angie sent me inside the music room where I cried out. Then she came in and said. "Don't be sad. I believe you can make it!"She told me never to give up. She left me alone and I realized Angie was right—by giving up, I was also giving up on the team and myself.

With her comfort, I decided to go on practicing. However, I still couldn't play well. Knowing my difficulties, my teammates gave me a hand. They spent about three more hours practicing with me every week. Thanks to their support and help, I began to keep pace with them. Later, we performed wonderfully in an important show. 

In the whole process, I was taught that although we each had our own job to do in a show, it would take all of us working together to make the show great. I felt accepted and made great progress. I love everyone in the band. I can't imagine what my school life would be like without them. 

Many kids do housework such as doing the dishes, making the bed, and folding the clothes. In exchange, they get some money or longer computer time. 

Paying kids for housework is one of the most popular topics, especially at a time when everyone is more careful about money. Some parents think since adults are paid to do their jobs, we should pay kids for everyday housework. 

But some people don't think kids should get rewards(报酬) for doing housework. Susie Walton, an expert, believe that by rewarding kids, parents are sending a message that work isn't worth doing unless you get something in return. "Running any kind of housework is a team effort, "Walton said. "A home is a living space for everyone in the family. It's important for kids to see that we all have responsibilities in the house, and families decide how they want their home to look, and how they are going to keep it looking like what they want. "

Other people believe that getting a reward encourages kids to do housework, and it also teaches them real world lessons about how we need to work to get money. There are also Apps that gives kids points and digital gifts that can be redeemed (兑现) either online or in the real world. "Our goal is to give kids lawful power so they can get rewards, " says Chris Bergman. "And kids need rewards to help encourage themselves. "

Scientists say that hobbies can make kids smarter, healthier and even more successful when they grow up. How?

They Help You Learn

When you have a hobby, you learn new things. You have to read instructions. You look at websites, magazines and books to get more information about your hobby. More reading makes you a better reader and a better learner.

They Help You Be Creative

For many hobbies, such as building model cars and making pottery, you have to use your brain as well as your hands. We learn by doing things and by touching things. These kinds of activities make people more creative.

They Help You Be Relaxed

Having a hobby makes you feel good. Scientists say, "When you make something, the ‘feel-good' part of your brain gets a message. It makes you feel happy. " When we feel happy, we have less stress. Too much stress can make people sick.

They Help You Build Skills

People with hobbies learn how to set goals and solve problems. Learning these skills when you are young can help you when you grow up. For some kids, having a hobby can be the first step to finding a satisfying job in the future.

Tyler had broken his arm in a bicycle accident. A car knocked Tyler down when it came out of a side street without stopping. The accident happened because there was no stop sign at the corner and the car didn't stop. So Tyler decided to try to get the city to put up a stop sign.

First, Tyler wrote a petition（请愿书）to have a stop sign put up with his parents' help. Then, Tyler and his parents asked their neighbors, friends, teachers, classmates… almost everyone they knew to sign the petition. Soon, there were hundreds of names on the petition.

Tyler also got some information about other accidents at the same corner where he had had his own accident. If he could show the city that it was a dangerous corner, they might put up a stop sign there. He hoped that this information and his petition would work.

When the petition was ready, Tyler and his parents went to a meeting of the city council（政务委员会）. They brought along the petition and the other information. After a long wait, Tyler got a chance to tell what had happened to him. He told the story of the bicycle accident and explained his idea. If there were a stop sign at the corner where the accident happened, other kids would be safer.

After that, Tyler read the petition out loud. Then, he handed it and the other information to the council. The city council agreed to consider the request and make a decision before their next meeting.

The next month, Tyler and his parents attended another meeting of the city council. The head of the city council announced that the city had decided to agree to the petition! There would be a stop sign at the corner where Tyler had his accident. Now other kids would be safer when they rode their bikes.

Success is often considered to be the opposite of failure. To teenagers, it is the achievement of a goal or completion of something they really need, such as good grades and the ability to get along well with their classmates. Some schools used to agree with most parents who measured (判定) the success of their children according to grades, but now they pay special attention to moral (道德的) education and character-building to make sure teenagers achieve success in building human relationships. 

Schools give chances to students to discover their hidden ability so that they can enjoy some form of success. For example, those good at speaking skills are advised to take part in speech competitions while those interested in arts are expected to perform in front of their classmates. Teenagers also get the pleasure of success when they join their favorite clubs. 

Teenagers are often told that success is not easy to achieve and that success lies in hard work. Great efforts have to be put into project work. Doing things much later than planned should be avoided as this will lead to a mountain of work which finally makes them nervous. Another good quality (品质) is a sense of responsibility which makes them remember that a task has to be completed. 

Sticking to moral values is the key to success too. Honest teenagers will win the trust of friends leading to good relationships. Self-motivation (自我激励) is another quality to be developed, for self-motivated teenagers will have the strong will and drive to perform a task and finally get to enjoy a sense of achievement.