前程百利小编为大家带来托福阅读材料。对于学校里的孩子们，有时候让他们伤心的不是被欺负，而是被孤立。文章的难词已经标示出来，希望大家可以学习到相关知识，并通过不断的阅读练习提高自己的托福阅读能力。
Laura Talmus' daughter Lili Smith was born in 1994 with Apert syndrome arare genetic disorder.(阿佩尔氏综合征，又名尖头并趾综合征，是一种染色体异常遗传病，会影响面部发育)
She lived a rich(丰富的) and beautiful life but it ended after just 15 years when complications(并发症)from the disease took her quickly and unexpectedly(毫无预兆地).
"She was always searching and learning" Talmus said in her daughter's 2009 eulogy(悼词). "Always baring her soul looking for the deepest connection possible."
She often found it — striking up spirited(热烈的) conversations with neighbors family friends strangers.
"We tooled about town running errands(跑腿) just me and Lil" Talmus recalled in her eulogy. "Everyone knew her. She could have run for public office and won."
But it was different at school. She wasn't teased or bullied(既没被嘲笑也没被欺负); she was just ignored.
"While we thought Lili was beautiful and fun and crazy social she started hitting a really bad time in middle school" Talmus who lives in Marin County Calif. told me. "I never thought about social isolation(孤立) until she passed away(去世) and one of her teachers put those two words together. My heart leapt out of my chest and I thought 'That's exactly what Lili went through.'"
Talmus with her husband Ace Smith gathered a group of Lili's former classmates and started talking — about social isolation about middle school about kids who eat lunch alone every day.
The year after Lili died the couple founded Beyond Differences a nonprofit organization(非盈利性组织) made up of teenagers who encourage their peers(同龄人) to combat(对抗) social isolation in their own schools so that more kids feel welcome and accepted.
On Feb. 13 the group is sponsoring(主办) National No One Eats Alone Day a student-led initiative that asks kids to make sure everyone has someone to eat with and talk to. Schools can sign up online (nooneeatsalone.org) to request a free backpack stuffed with conversation cards and other tools to help students participate.
"We're trying to blanket(覆盖) the United States" Talmus said. "We're in 26 states so far — 140 schools have signed up for backpacks. We're hoping to get into 250 or 300."
This is the event's second year.
"Different schools approach it in so many creative ways" Talmus said. "We went to one school in East Oakland last year that set aside specific tables for kids to talk about different things — one table to talk about movies one to talk about video games one for sports. The kids were so engaged and having so much fun laughing together."
I talked to Lily Moser a freshman at Redwood High School in Larkspur Calif. and a Beyond Differences teen board member about her involvement with the group.
"I've seen the effects of social isolation on people I care about" she said. "The looks people have when they're sitting alone — they look so lonely and I feel like no one should ever feel alone."
I asked if grown-ups ever tell her that none of this teenage social stuff will matter when she's older. (A sentiment I reject.)
"You change a lot in middle school and high school" she said."You can change for the better or you can change for the worse. If you have factors like social isolation or depression working against you it can really influence where you go from there."
Edyn Jensen a sophomore at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley Calif. And fellow Beyond Differences board member played with Lili Smith when they were little.
"Everything seemed OK until it was too late for me to do anything" she said. "The biggest thing for me was always being that bystander(旁观者) where I didn't think it was my problem to get involved if someone was being bullied or isolated. Now I just want everyone to feel safe and accepted at school."
Sandy Hook Promise founded after the 2012 school shootings in Newtown Conn.selected No One Eats Alone Day as its "promise day" event for February. (The gun safety advocacy group partners with different non profits throughout the year.)
Talmus said she reached out to Sandy Hook Promise after reading a quote in The New York Times from the father of a shooting victim(枪击受害者).
"He said the shooter was probably a kid who sat by himself every day and if his son were still alive he was the type of kid who would have reached out to kids who sat by themselves."
There is nothing in the world that will make that quote less heartbreaking(令人心碎).
There is nothing in the world that will fill the space on Earth where Lili is supposed to be.
The world is a lesser(较差的，不太好的) place for those losses. But we can make it a better place in their honor(为了他们;honor在这里相当于respect).
以上就是前程百利小编为大家带来的托福阅读材料，平时的阅读练习是托福考试阅读备考的重要一环。希望大家利用好每份材料，尽可能多地从中获取知识。预祝大家托福考试取得好成绩。
