Hilary Swank

Hilary Swank has always been a dreamer. But lately, her life has been a dream come true. She won the Oscar for Best Actress at last year's Academy Awards. As she accepted the award for Million Dollar Baby, her voice cracked with emotion. "I don't know what I did . . . to deserve this. I'm juat a girl from a trailer park who had a dream."

Hilary was born in 1974 in Lincoln, Nebraska. But soon after, her family moved to Bellingham, Washington. That is where the little girl's dreams began.

Hilary's early childhood was one of humble beginning. But the nature-loving young girl found joy in the beautiful scenery surrounding their trailer. Neighboring Lake Samish become one of her favorite getaways.

When she wasn't at the lake, Hilary played school sports. She turned out to be a strong athlete, winning 5th place in the state gymnastics competition. At the age of 9, she starred in her first play, the Jungle Book. And from that point on, she had the acting bug. She began performing regularly in school and communityplays.

Not everyone believed in Hilary's acting abilities. But her mom, Judy, wholeheartedly supported her. When Hilary's parents separated in 1990, Judy and Hilary moved to Hollywood. It was a difficult decision because they only had $75 and a gas credit card.

After arriving in L.A., they spent the first two weeks sleeping in their car. Judy quickly found a job. And Hilary enrolled in high school. She soon dropped out when she begam getting small TV roles. Eventually, Hilary finished her education through a correspondence course.

In 1992, Hilary landed her first movie role. It was the first of many small roles. But in 1999, her career changed dramatically. That's when she auditioned for and won the role play in Boys Don't Cry. Hilary's powerful performance earned her the Oscar for Best Acterss.

Surprising, her next few roles were forggetable－then Million Dollar Baby came along. In addition to the Best Actress award, she receive great praise from director and co-star Clint Eastwood, "She's the best there is, as good an actress as I've worked with," Eastwood said.

Hilary's friends describe her as completely down-to-earth－a movie star who rides the subway. "I use the subway all the time," she says. "My job is about playing people-watching in the world."
Hilary is keeping busy these days with three new movies in the works. The hard-working actress recently explained why she is so motivated.
"My mom said . . . I could do anything I wanted in my life－as long as I worked hard enough." Hilary is living proof her mom was right.

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summary:

The article is talk about that Hilary Swank--a young actress--is living the dream of a lifetime.
She has won the Oscar for the Best Actress twice,Because her hard-working, she made her dreams come true.
Although Hilary grew up poor, her mom supported her dream to become an actress.
Her friends describe Hilary as completely down-to-earth.

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Useful Words:
1.bug－to be fascinated, to be captivated
2.enroll－enter the school
3.land－possess
4.intact－undamaged
5.avid－hearty,
7.celebrity－a well-known person
8.down-to-earth－realistic, simple in style

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After I read this article I have some thoughts:

Everyone has a dream. Wants to realize the dream, We have to pursue it surefooted and try our best, instead of waiting the dream to approach us and lives in a world of fantasy.
I have a dream, I want to go abroad to pursue advanced studies after I graduate from the university, after the studies I hope I can enter a dining management and food management company and be a manager in that company. Now, I study hard I practice English everyday and I have to learn second foreign language. Besides, I have to learn how to be a good leader in a group, and have a good organize ability. There are many things I have to learn. I hope one day my dream can come true.

An Angel Who Has The Disorder Of The Body

There is a well-known person I admire her named Yu-Hsin Yang. She is a news anchor, with her big eyes, beautiful feature, and professional manners, people would never image that when the broadcast is over, she will difficulty stand up.

At the age of 19, she was told by doctor that she had a sickness. It is a sickness causes the muscle shrink little by little, until eventually the heart stop beating. She suffer from this often feel weak and have trouble walking and moving. There is no cure.

All three children in Yang's family have the same illness. When the doctor told them that there is no hope, they cried many tears, but Yang says,"after the tears, you still have to stand up and get on with life."

Now, she is 30 years old, for the past 11 years, she has made the most of her situation. She learned to play the piano and Chinese flute. Besides, she working at the record company by morning and be a news anchor at night.

In addition, she is the spokesperson for the Taiwan Foundation of Rare Disorders and Taiwan Life Education Association. She has even formed a band to help the associates raise money by performance.

She lives each day as if it were her last, and worries about that she can't do for people who need her help. She says "Even though I sick, I fell I have gain more than I have lost." To many others, she may be fade away, but, to her, life is bright and brilliant.

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useful Words:

1.professional－vocational, occupational

2.feature－characteristic, trait

3.brilliant－resplendent, bright, and colorful

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After I read this article I have some thoughts:

Yu-Hsin Yang, she has an otherly abled, she never blame every and everybody and never be backward and have no urge to make progress but work hard and has optimistic attitude toward her life. She not olny has an enrichment life and do a lot for her own self but also do her best for people who need her help.
There are many well-known people are uniquely abled, they all have positive attitude toward their life, look their life on the bright side. For examples: Helen Keller who was blind and deaf, Ototake Hirotada he is a man has no arms and no legs, Feng-Xi Zheng he had a serious disability when he bron, and Liu Hsia she suffered from Rheumatoid arthritis - -an uncommon illness - - when she was 12 years old. They are unsound in body but sound in mind.
We are healthy, I think we should cherish what we have in hand.

To Handle The Situation On Our Own

In our everyday lives, it is good for us to become self-sufficient and to be able to handle a situation without calling out others to do somethinf for us. When I acquired a boat, I could see the importance of being able to repair something, use a navigation chart, and know how to spot navigational aids while under way. Today my truck's alternator stopped working and I discovered a part that transferred power from the engine via a fan belt was broken. On calling on the phone, I found that part was not readily available. I thought, "What would I do if I were on the boat?" Being a man of action I went to the parts store and asked for a bearing that would fill the pulley that broke. The part was slightly larger, so I had to grind it down to fit. Then I pressed it into the broken part with a vise. To make the retaining bolt work, I used a socket from my surplus tools to make needle bearings have something to turn on and hold the pulley in place. It worked!
If I had been out at sea, this repair would have been enough to get me safely to my home port and out of danger. A friend of mine says"Old School Sailors" go out and deal with what happens. Useful stuff, owning a boat!

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Vocabulary:
1.pulley－strop
2.grind－to crush
3.socket－(Electrics)plug-in

Useful Words:
1.sufficient－enough, plenty, satisfactory
2.transfer－deliver, pass
3.surplus－extra, remaining
4.navigation－sail a boat at sea

*at sea:
1.He spent 3 month at sea.
2.(= confused) I'm rather at sea. Could you explain that again?

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After I read this article I have some thoughts:

In Taiwan, There is a saying, "You can depend on parents when you are at home and depend on friends when you are outside." It's means if a man had this idea, he will never succeed. Because he always rely on others. When he face the difficulties he can't hendle by himself.
When I was a child, I counted on my parents to do many things, I feel I can't be my own master. Now, I am 18, study in university from Kaohsiung to Taipei, I have to depend on myself instead of my friends. I become more and more independent and I have much more ability to deal with the problem what I face. I am so glad to see that I grow to maturity.

On Time

An office meeting starts at 10 a.m. Hans, a German colleage, is already waiting at 9:55. Nathan, an American, arrives on the dot at 10. In the next five minutes a few others hurry in. But trying everyone's patience is the visitor from Brazil, Rual, who walks in at 10:30. ahe doesn't even think he's late.
How people perceive time varies around the world. Germans like arriving early. Americans plan to arrive just on time. Brazilians aren't bothered by being a half hour late. And many don't know exactly what time it is.
In 1884, a clock in Greenwich, England, set the standard time around the world. But it couldn't standardize when people will arrive for a 10 a.m. meeting.

While cultural attitudes about time differ greatly, all curtures can put into one of two groups: time-oriented and event-oriented. Schedules take precedence in time-oriented cultures. In event-oriented cultures, what happens is more important than when. Such cultural knowledge is important for today's world travelers. Understanding how people perceive time can help travelers get along better in foreign cultures.

The Western world, particularly North America and Western Europe, is strongly time-oriented. Events take place at specific, scheduled times. Appointments a five minute leeway.
In time-oriented cultures, time is linear and limited. Imagine time as a conveytor belt carrying boxes past. Each box represents a segment of time. One must pack as much as possible into
each box before it slips into the past. Time must be "managed" well － otherwise it may get "wasted." And everywhere, people are "runnind out" of time.

In event-oriented cultures, meeting begin when everybody arrives and finish when all business done. Event are scheduled to begin "after dinner" or simple "tomorrow." This laid-back lifestyle characterizes people in Arab, African, Latin American and Southeast Asian countries.
Here, time is cyclical and unlimited. It begins anew every day, following the motion of the sun. Because time is unlimited, people in event-oriented cultures tend to value relationship more. Schedules quickly get set aside for a friend in need or even just a friend met on the street.

Not understanding these different ideas about time can creat conflicts between people of different cultures. For example, American students often quickly exchange "how are you?" and"fine" as they rush to make class on time. But event-oriented students see this exchange as impersonal. Before they can say anything mopre than "fine", the Ameriocan student has already hurried past them.
Time-oriented people doung business in event-oriented lands may cut to the chase too quickly. This offends event-oriented people, who prefer getting to know their associatea before discussing the details of a business of a business deal.
For those who believe "time is money," the slow pace of life in event-oritened lands can be frustrating. Since time-oritened people value productivity as lazy or inefficient.
Not having specific time for event also causes problems. Some Americans in Mexico were told a meeting would start "after dinner." They rushed through dinner so they could be on time, only to end up waiting for everybody else.
What can the world traveler do to avoid these time related conflicts? Follow the age-old rule: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

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summary:

It is talk about "On time" means different things around the world. And the way peoeple perceive time is different around the world. Cultures can be deacribed as either "time-oriented" or "event-oriented."
In time-oriented cultures, event takes place at specific, scheduled times. People preceive time as linear and limited.
In event-oriented cultures, what happened is more important than when. Because time is unlimited, relationship are more important.
These different ideas about time many cause conflicts between people of different cultures.

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Useful Words:
1.on the dot －on time
2.perceive －view...to...
3.standardize －to unify
4.precedence －priority, importance
5.leeway
6.characterize －to reveal something or someone's quality
7.set aside
8.impersonal －no friendliness
9.associate －the copartner
10.productivity :There have been enormous increases in agricultural productivity.
11.inefficient
12.cyclical －revolving

1.-oriented －an intention
2.cut to the chase －to do or say something directly
3.when in Rome, do as the Romans do

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After I read this article I have some thoughts:

Different countries have different culturies and different concepts, in many aspects has different opinion. "On time" is no exception. To me, if I were hang out with my friends, and we want to meet at 12 o'clock, I will arrive about 12. But if I were in the company and have a meeting or an interview, and something important appointment I will go there ahead of time to show respect, politeness, and to have enough time to prepare what I should do.
If we were not in our country and made an appointment to others, I think we have to know a custom in that country. Do not bring about any trouble. So that, we can avoid misunderstand even quarrel. When in Rome, do as Romans do is a very important thing what we shoule do.