Little black taxis, often run-down and falling apart from decades of use, have for a long time been a main feature of Cairo's chaotic urban landscape. But their days may be numbered, thanks to a new taxi replacement programme aimed at knocking out older, potentially unsafe vehicles.
The government-sponsored action, launched earlier this year, allows drivers of taxis 20 years or older, mostly Fiats and Peugeots, to trade their cars for shiny new all-white ones at generous rates of financing. Drivers can choose between five different locally manufactured car models.
According to officials, more than 11,000 brand new taxis, sporting trademark checked stripes on the sides, have already hit the streets of the capital, and they've been welcomed enthusiastically by passengers. Many people say that not only are the new taxis more comfortable, but they also make the streets of Cairo far more presentable. Furthermore, taxi fares have only increased by a small amount.
The poor condition of most black and white taxis is almost legendary. Passengers often have to deal with windows and doors that do not open and close, and heavy, thick petrol gases. Air conditioning is unheard of. The new all-white taxis, meanwhile, are cleaner, more fuel-efficient and provide air conditioning on request. Furthermore, all the new taxis come equipped with functioning fare meters, which avoids arguments and sometimes fights with passengers!
The government hopes to replace all of the capital's 40,000 elderly black cabs soon, but not everyone in Cairo will be happy to see them go. Hotel manager Ibrahim Al-Toukhy says that the old black cabs were weak and run-down, and maybe even a little dangerous, but they were part of the city, and part of Cairo's character.
THREE years ago Jenny Salgado, a Dominican shop assistant, moved to Highland town, a neighborhood of Baltimore. When she arrived the shop she works in, it was one of only a few Spanish businesses. Now there are many more. "It's good now if you speak Spanish," she smiles.
Baltimore has been losing people for 60 years. To address this, its mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, wants to make it the most immigrant-friendly city in the world. Its libraries provide Spanish-language exercise classes. To help those with no papers, the city is introducing micro-loans (小额贷款) which require no credit checks; city police would no longer routinely check the immigration status of citizens or enforce any federal immigration law unless required to. The then governor, Martin O'Malley made it possible for illegal immigrants to get driving licenses.
Such welcoming policies are spreading. Such cities as Cleveland, Dayton and Philadelphia all eagerly try to please immigrants. Rick Snyder, the governor of Michigan, has asked the federal government to offer 50,000 visas to people who agree to live in Detroit. His administration has made it easier for skilled migrants to get professional licenses.
When a city's population falls, both tax receipts and services fall. Half-deserted neighborhoods breed (滋生) crime, driving yet more people to leave. No city has escaped this death circle without attracting new residents, says Steve Tobocman of Global Detroit.
Several studies suggest that when immigrants arrive, crime goes down, schools improve and shops open up. In Detroit, immigrants living near the tiny separate city of Hamtramck have formed local watches to guard against thieves. Their neighborhoods are not just safer; they are also among the only places where it is as easy to buy fresh vegetables as drugs and alcohol.
But attracting new immigrants to the cities which most need them is hard, argues Audrey Singer of the Brookings Institution. They care about the same things as everyone else: safe streets, good schools and jobs. Cities which have lost population for decades struggle with all of these.
Babies made from three people approved in UK
Babies made from two women and one man have been approved by the UK's fertility regulator. The historic and controversial move is to prevent children being born with deadly genetic diseases.
Doctors in Newcastle - who developed the advanced form of In Vitro Fertilization or IVF (人工授精) - are expected to be the first to offer the procedure and have already appealed for donor eggs. The first such child could be born, at the earliest, by the end of 2017.
Some families have lost multiple children to incurable mitochondrial (线粒体的) diseases, which can leave people with insufficient energy to keep their heart beating.
The diseases are passed down from only the mother so a technique using a donor egg as well as the mother's egg and father's sperm has been developed.
The resulting child has a tiny amount of their DNA from the donor, but the procedure is legal and reviews say it is ethical (伦理的) and scientifically ready.
"It is a decision of historic importance," said Sally Cheshire, chairwoman of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)."I'm sure patients will be really pleased by what we've decided today."
But some scientists have questioned the ethics of the technique, saying it could open the door to genetically-modified(转基因) 'designer' babies.
The HFEA must approve every clinic and every patient before the procedure can take place. Three-person babies have been allowed only in cases where the risk of a child developing mitochondrial disease is very high.
Prof Mary Herbert, from the Newcastle Fertility Centre, said: "It is enormously pleasing that our many years of research in this area can finally be applied to help families affected by these devastating diseases.
"Now that that we are moving forward towards clinical treatments, we will also need donors to donate eggs for use in treatment to prevent affected women transmitting disease to their children."
Prof Sir Doug Turnbull, the director of the Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University, said: "We are delighted by today's decision. We will also provide long-term follow up of any children born."
NHS England has agreed to fund the treatment costs of the first trial of three-person IVF for those women who meet the HFEA criteria, as long as they agree to long-term follow up of their children after they are born.
A new urban sport, parkour, is hitting the streets. It has evolved from obstacle course training into a fitness option for young people. In parkour, the outside world is the gym! The goal of parkour is a direct route from one place to another. You meet an obstacle, you overcome it.
Mark Toorock, who teaches the techniques of parkour at his fitness gym, says that parkour is a method to train the body and mind using obstacles as the medium. He says that this new sport is demanding and takes years to master.
But Toorock, who used to be a martial arts expert, says that everyone can benefit from learning the basic skills involved in parkour like running, jumping and crawling (爬行). These are the things that humans used to have to do all the time. The original idea of parkour was to return to running and jumping as basic elements in moving from one place to another.
Georges Hebert, a French navy officer, was so impressed by the effortless athleticism of African tribes that he devised a training method based on running, climbing, jumping, balancing and throwing. The word parkour comes from parcours de combatant, the French term for a military obstacle course.
Dr Kenneth Kao explains that the sport of parkour is not extreme – it is the environment which is extreme and dangerous. Being outside, jumping off railings and flipping over park benches can be quite frightening, so parkour courses in gyms concentrate on practicing all the individual moves to make everything easier. However, that is not real parkour because it's indoors with a fixed obstacle. The goal for everyone is to go outdoors.
A. Gyms provide thick floor matting (垫子) for rolling and rubberized boxes for jumping over.
B. The bridges, buildings and railings (栏杆) of each and every city are the equipment.
C. Every action in parkour is natural, so everyone must have the ability to move in this way.
D. Parkour was introduced into china in recent years and has gained popularity.
E. But today, due to modern transport, these basic skills are no longer used on a regular basis.
F. The French word for people who participate in the sport is traceurs or traceuses.
G. Beginners should realize that they won't be jumping over buildings any time soon!
One evening I was going back from a supermarket. As I 1 my car, I noticed that some person stood beside me. He was the one that could be 2 as a bum (流浪汉). It seemed that he was homeless. I 3 that he would ask me for money, but he did not do that. He only said, "Your car is very nice."
After several moments of 4, I replied, "Thanks." And then the inner voice 5 to me, "Ask him if he needs help." After a short 6 I asked him that. His response was 7. I will never forget those simple three words "Don't we all?".
It was a true 8 to me. I needed help, just as those in trouble. Although 9 I had money and a place to sleep, I 10 that I needed help too. Then I opened my wallet and 11 him enough money to get some shelter for a day.
12 I understood that no matter how much money, 13, luxury things we have, we all need help. And on the other hand, no matter how 14 you are, how many material problems you have, you still might be giving. 15it's just a nice word, it can be 16 to other people.
Maybe that man was just a homeless stranger, but to me he was 17 that. Maybe he was a man sent by God to 18 me that there is one thing, among all other 19, which is very important and irreplaceable for every person. Actually, it is a true 20 and it is called Giving.
In elementary school, George wasn't (exact) popular, but he always had a couple of really good friends. In middle school, he was really good at science and math. most kids were going to the movies on weekends, George preferred to design his own special projects. He dreamed of owning his own technology company someday. When George got to high school, some of the other students made of him for being into books and computers. This made George very upset, but he tried not to let anything keep his dream from (achieve). George got excellent grades and was admitted both Harvard and Yale, but he decided to go to Stanford there were many opportunities for people wanted to work in Silicon Valley. This was the first time George (feel) accepted by the people around him. He took many computer classes, and kept designing his own projects on weekends. During the summer months, he would take extra classes, and he ended up (graduate) a year early. He took a job a computer programmer at Apple. After five more years there, George left to start his own company, finally realizing his childhood dream.
内容要点:
1）你本人对香港大学很感兴趣，正在积极准备面试；
2）恳请Dr. Hubbard帮助包括你在内的6名学生进行模拟面试。
参考词汇:无领导小组面试 Leaderless Group Discussion；模拟面试 mock interview
注意：1）词数80左右；
2）可适当增加一些细节，以使行文连贯；
3）开头与结尾已为你写好。
Dear Dr. Hubbard,
How is everything going?
I'm looking forward to your reply.
Yours,
Li Hua
I encountered God the summer I was five. My father had finally grown too sick to get out of bed, so the heat and nervous tension in the air inside the house made it impossible to breathe. I would escape by squeezing under the front porch. All manner of creatures lived there, but I mostly ignored them, with one exception — a little frog who, every time I crawled (爬行) under the porch, stared at me with great, golden eyes.
In late June, the frog finally hopped (跳跃) toward my arm and stared at me, demanding eye contact. Once he had my attention, he opened his wide mouth and said, "Hello, Sophie."
I should have been shocked, but for some reason, I wasn't. Perhaps at five years old, I was more receptive to something against the laws of nature. At any rate, I was not shocked that a frog could speak. I had a more pressing question.
"How do you know my name?"
The frog blinked slowly. "I know everything. I am God."
I spoke, "You can't be God. You're too small."
He extended a long, webbed finger and was pointing to the edge of the porch's shadow — to the spot where my mother had tried to grow flowers there for years. She had stopped trying when my father's condition worsened.
"Look there," commanded the frog, and I stared as a beautiful white flower blossomed as if stretching its limbs after a long sleep. In my five years, I had never seen anything so splendid.
God and I became good friends that summer. I spent every day under the porch, talking to him.
Sometimes I asked God questions. Sometimes he answered. Once, I asked him where Heaven was.
"Heaven," he said, "is where I live."
In August, my father's illness had progressed to the point that I was sent to my aunt's house in Virginia. I told God I would be back soon, and then waited in Virginia for my father to get better.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2）应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
Six months later, I came back home for my father's funeral.
Paragraph 2:
Suddenly, an idea crossed my mind that my father might travel to Heaven.
