The annual World Economic Forum (经济论坛) took place in Davos, Switzerland, in Jan. 23-26, 2018. What did Chinese entrepreneurs (企业家) speak in the forum? Are there some quotable quotes for you?
Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group
"I think globalization cannot be stopped — no one can stop globalization, no one can stop trade. If trade stops, the world stops. Trade is the way to dissolve (溶解，结束) the war not cause the war," said Ma in Davos, "Google, Facebook, Amazon and Alibaba — we are the luckiest companies of this century. But we have the responsibility to have a good heart, and do something good."
Richard Liu, founder and chief executive officer of JD
"Business is not only a way to make money but also a way to contribute yourself, to help people," Liu said in a speech in Davos. "How can we face the fractured (分化的) world? That's the topics of the Davos this year. I think a very important thing in business is cooperation. If we can unite, work together, if we work very closely, I think we can bring more hope to the people and we can build more trust between the people, countries and companies and partners," he said.
Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip
"Tourism is a sunrise industry. Since I entered Ctrip, every year there are new comers, which, first of all, shows that tourism is booming." Sun told Sina.com in Davos. "We invested heavily in ABC. A refers to AI, B is big data, and C is cloud computing. As we continue to expand overseas, these three will be very good weapons for us. So we think those mean opportunity," she said.
Hu Xiaoming, president of Aliyun
"In 2018, people will see the development in various countries more closely connected with cloud computing. More manufacturing enterprises and financial institutions will start to use 'cloud', and cloud computing will increase the efficiency of technology and finance," Hu told Xinhua in Davos.
If you want to convince the boss you deserve a pay rise or promotion, the solution could be simple — eat the same food as they do. Psychologists have discovered managers are much more likely to instantly trust us if we choose the same dishes as them.
During experiments, discussions over wages and work conditions were much more successful if both sides chose to snack on the same treats. And shoppers were much more likely to buy a product advertised on TV by someone eating a similar food to them at the time.
The reason is thought to be so-called similarity attraction theory — where people tend to like others who have similar tastes or habits to themselves. But this is believed to be one of the first studies highlighting the role of food in this relationship. Researchers at Chicago University in the US conducted a series of experiments to examine food's role in earning trust.
In a test, participants were told to watch TV — where someone pretending to be a member of the public praised a certain product. The volunteers were given Kit Kat bars to nibble (咬), while the TV people ate either a Kit Kat or grapes as they talked.
The results showed viewers were much more likely to express an interest in buying the product if the TV showed the other person eating a Kit Kat too.
The researchers added, “Although similarity in food consumption is not a sign of whether two people will get along, we find consumers treat this as such. They feel more trusting of those who consume as they do. It means people can immediately begin to feel friendship and develop a bond, leading to smoother transactions (交易) from the start.”
Harley Street psychologist Dr. Lucy Atcheson said it was already known that wearing similar clothes could instantly create trust. But this was the first report that food had the same effect. She said, “This is really interesting. It makes sense as people feel they have common ground and can trust the other person. That means negotiations are more likely to be successful.”
"Tomorrow is another day" — this line has impressed various people at various times. It's now 70 years after it appeared in the film, but it still seems to hold its power especially during an economic downturn.
The phrase comes from a film adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's successful 1936 novel Gone With the Wind. It's set in the American South and tells the story of a strong heroine, Scarlett O' Hara, who struggles to find love during the Civil War and, afterwards, of her strength in surviving the war and its hardships.
Love story
In a moment of despair, Scarlett finally realizes that her love belongs to Rhett Butler. For many audiences, it is the theme of love and struggle that has kept the movie alive. While the burning of Atlanta might seem irrelevant (不相关的) to today's viewers, the timeless theme of love keeps its ability to touch people.
With a promise to her lover still in her mind, Scarlett chooses to stay in the midst of war and take care of Melanie. But her heart is broken when Rhett just walks away, leaving the woman that he once loved with cruel words, "Frankly, dear, I don't give a damn." (毫不在乎)
Great epic (史诗)
The film shows the love-hate relationship of these characters, but also American history, the fall of the Confederacy and the following period of Reconstruction in the South. The background made this film a true classic in the epic genre.
When the film opened after World War II, French viewers loved it, and it reminded them of their fight against the Nazis. In 1940 Shanghai, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (侵略), people stood in line for hours to watch this film, and saw the same suffering they were having as well as the hope and possibility of building a new homeland from the ruins. Each nationality could identify with the story and see it as a victory. In fact, Gone With the Wind never lost its charm and ability to inspire and amaze.
Biggest of all time
The film had five directors, 15-plus screenwriters, and an unexpected $3.9 million budget. The film brought in $200 million, which makes it the biggest selling film of all times in North America. It also won 10 Academy awards in 1940.
What Cocktail Parties Teach Us
You're at a party. Music is playing. Glasses are clinking. Dozens of conversations are driving up the decibel (分贝) level. Yet among all those distractions, you can tune your attention to just one voice from many. This ability is what researchers call the “cocktail-party effect”.
Scientists at the University of California in San Francisco have found where that sound-editing process occurs in the brain — in the auditory cortex (听觉皮层) just behind the ear, not in areas of higher thought. The auditory cortex boosts some sounds and turns down others so that when the signal reaches the higher brain, “it's as if only one person was speaking alone,” says investigator Edward Chang.
These findings, published in the journal Nature last week, explain why people aren't very good at multitasking — our brains are wired for “selective attention” and can focus on only one thing at a time. That inborn ability has helped humans survive in a world buzzing with visual and auditory stimulation (刺激). But we keep trying to push the limits with multitasking, sometimes with tragic (悲剧的) consequences. Drivers talking on cellphones, for example, are four times as likely to get into traffic accidents as those who aren't.
Many of those accidents are due to “inattentional blindness”, in which people can, in effect, turn a blind eye to things they aren't focusing on. The more attention a task demands, the less attention we can pay to other things in our field of vision. Images land on our retinas (视网膜) and are either boosted or played down in the visual cortex before being passed to the brain, just as the auditory cortex filters sounds, as shown in the Nature study last week. “It's a push-pull relationship — the more we focus on one thing, the less we can focus on others,” says Diane M. Beck, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Illinois.
Studies over the past decade at the University of Utah show that drivers talking on hands-free cellphones are just as influenced as those on hands-held phones because it is the conversation, not the device, that is distracting their attention. Those talking on any kind of cellphone react more slowly and miss more traffic signals than other motorists.
Some people can train themselves to pay extra attention to things that are important — like police officers learn to scan crowds for faces and conductors can listen for individual instruments within the orchestra as a whole. Many more think they can effectively multitask, but are actually shifting their attention rapidly between two things and not getting the full effect of either, experts say.
Real-life Room Escape Games
Real-life room escape games are a type of physical adventure game in which people are locked in a room with other participants and have to use the things in the room to settle a series of puzzles, find clues, and escape the room within a set time limit.
The game are based on Escape the Room video games, such as Crimson Room and QP-Shot, created by TAKAGISM Inc. By Toshimitsu Takagi in 2005, in which the player is locked inside a room and must explore his or her surroundings in order to escape. Other inspirations include adventure board games and movies. Real-life room escape games are becoming popular in the United States, Japan, and China. For example, some games require you escape prison cells while others require you escape space stations.
Soon, they were exported to North America, Asia and Australia. Examples include the two pioneer companies Hint Hunt and Adventure Rooms.
The games were so successful that new locations began opening up across China, in cities big and small, according to Want China Times. In the southern city of Shenzhen, for example, the first escape game location opened last August. "These real-life escape games can help those who stay at home on their computers and iPads all day to experience real social circles," Tian Xiaochuan, who owns two room escape game stores in Jinan, told Want China Times. Earlier this year, The South China Morning Post said the real-life escape games are a hit among "highly stressed students and overworked young professionals". Some players get so involved that they tear down equipment or decorations inside their "prisons", as Zhu Yumeng, chief operating officer of Beijing room escape game store Taoquan told China Daily.
A. Each game adds local themes to settings.
B. And seven new game locations quickly followed.
C. They should also be brave enough to face their fears.
D. Sometimes the excitement becomes a bit much, though.
E. Weekend or day event escape games have been held in some stores.
F. Permanent real life escape games in a fixed location were first opened in Europe.
G. Players must be observant and use their critical thinking skills to escape the room.
All of us in Monte Vista Christian School know we'll one day have graduation photos for the yearbook taken. As the time 1, the girls start to have a 2 about what they'll wear and where to take the photos, while the boys 3 hardly talk about it. As for me, I 4 for my photos to be taken by the sea.
When I arrived there, I met my photographer, Annie. She asked me to make some poses and I 5 her advice. After that, I asked if she could make me look 6 by taking photos in a different way, 7 I'm less than 1.6 meters tall. To my 8 she responded, "I will make no 9 to make you look like someone you're not. You look good in your own way." She 10 that she wouldn't try to edit the photos either.
I was shocked by what she said. Girls always 11 to look perfect by using different visual angles. When you go to a photo studio, photographers always try to hide your 12 by telling you to stand in a certain way. And picture editors can easily 13 your look by making you appear any you want to. 14, that's not the case here. Seeing I was 15. Annie explained: "Everyone has his uniqueness. You need to 16 your own beauty. You cannot live in a world of 17 photos."
It was the first time that I had met a photographer who doesn't 18 photos at all. After the shoot, I saw the photos — they are 19 special and natural. But what's even more special are Annie's 20, which will always stay in my heart.
China's industrial output is expected to rise by around 6.5 percent this year, marking the best (perform) since 2010, the Made in China 2025 strategy (策略) helps to raise productivity and revenue (税收).
The increase is 0.5 percentage points (high) than the targeted growth, partly (drive) by strong efforts to increase the use of new technology at traditional enterprises (企业), Miao Wei said on Monday.
“The country's industrial economy has maintained steady and sound growth thanks the Made in China 2025 strategy. It promoted the combination of manufacturing and new technologies such as Internet, big data and cloud computing,” Mina added.
The ministry also predicted that the country's industrial output would be likely (grow) by around 6 percent next year, with revenue from the telecommunications, Internet, and software and information technology service (increase) by 50 percent, 30 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
According to Miao, the country will also publish policies promoting the development of digital economy. The data show that the country's digital economy added up to 22.58 trillion yuan last year, ranking second (global) and accounting for around 30 percent of national GDP.
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Being a teacher is always believed to be one of greatest occupations, because teachers make great contributions for the world. Last week, I got a chance to experience teaching students. Our school asked us to teach some kids live in the countryside. The kids was so happy that they gave me a warm welcome. I teach them English and after class, we played games happily. We had a lot of funs together. When I returned back to school, I missed the students so much. They like me but some of them have kept in touch with me ever since. I felt so proudly of being a teacher.
注意：开头部分已给出，不计入总词数。
爱丁堡：苏格兰的首府，政治和文化中心。
人口：133万。
面积：260平方公里 (square kilometers)。
地理位置：苏格兰 (Scotland) 的东南部。
交通：机场位于市中心，公共交通十分便利。
天气：气候温和 (mild climate)。
旅游：最受欢迎的旅游城市；古老建筑众多；每年吸引200多万名游客，是理想的度假胜地。
词数：110左右。
Dear Li Hua,
How are things with you? Today I'm writing to tell you something about Edinburgh which you asked about in the last e-mail.
