I took a journey to New York, US several months ago. It was the first time I had been abroad. It was also the first time I had taken a trip by myself. I had great enthusiasm and high hopes, and I wasn't let down.
It's hard to describe how I felt when I arrived at the airport in New York. Looking at people of different races and nationalities passing by and hearing different languages all around me, I couldn't say anything for a long time. I had never understood the cultural diversity of the US so clearly and closely before.
The following days were even more impressive. We integrated(融入)into the forest of concrete and cement(混凝土和水泥). We waved to the Statue of Liberty; we looked down at the busy island of Manhattan; we looked at well-known universities—Harvard of ancient Egypt.
Then we visited some well-known university—Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Columbia—each with its own appealing and time-honored history. But what all these universities have in common is their peaceful academic atmospheres witch you could feel everywhere. I was impressed by the libraries, decorated just like cathedrals(教堂), and the laboratories just next to the classroom. My dream is to return to those places as an international student.
Finally came our destinations—the Model United Nations conference at the University of Chicago. Students from various countries arrived to act as United Nations delegations and share their opinions about global issues.
As a non-native speaker, I felt that competing against native speakers was a very tough task. But it was also a rare change to improve my English and I couldn't throw it away. With perseverance and devotion. I got used to talking to other delegations naturally. Although I didn't win any awards, the chairman praised me at the closing ceremony for my excellent performance. That made me feel really proud.
This trip brought me unforgettable and valuable experiences that will benefit me forever.
While small may be beautiful, tall is just plain uncomfortable it seems, particularly when it comes to staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.
The Tall Persons Club Great Britain (TPCGB), which was formed six months ago to campaign for the needs of the tall, has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants. Beds that are too small, shower heads that are too low, and restaurant tables with hardly any leg-room all make life difficult for those of above average height, it says.
But it is not just the extra-tall whose needs are not being met. The average height of the population has been increasing yet the standard size of beds, doorways, and chairs has remained unchanged.
"The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it, so even a king-size bed at 6′6″ (6 feet and 6 inches) is falling short for 25% of men, while the standard 6′3″ bed caters for less than half of the male population." Said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy, "seven-foot beds would work fine."
Similarly, restaurant tables can cause no end of problems. Small tables, which mean the long-legged have to sit a foot or so away from them, are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere.
Some have already taken note, however. At Queens Moat Houses′ Caledoman Hotel in Edinburgh, 6′6″ beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors, particularly Americans.
Cassandra Feeley finds it hard to manage on her husband's income. So this year she did something more than a hobby. She planted vegetables in her yard. For her first garden, Ms. Feeley has put in 15 tomato plants, and five rows of a variety of vegetables. The family's old farm house has become a chicken house, its residents arriving next month. Last year, Ms. Rita Gartin kept a small garden. This year she has made it much larger because, she said, "The cost of everything is going up and I was looking to lose a few pounds too; so it's a win-win situation all around."
They are among the growing number of Americans who, driven by higher living costs and a falling economy, have taken up vegetable gardening for the first time. Others have increased the size of their existing gardens. Seed companies and garden shops say that not since the 1970s has there been such an increase in interest in growing food at home. Now many gardens across the country have been sold out for several months. In Austin, Tex, some of the gardens have a three-year waiting list.
George C Ball Jr. owner of a company, said sales of vegetable seeds and plants are up by 40%, over last year, double the average growth of last five years. Mr. Ball argues that some of the reasons have been building for the last few years. The big one is striking rise in the cost on food like bread and milk, together with the increases in the price of fruit and vegetables. Food prices have increase of higher oil price. People are driving less, taking fewer vacations, so there is more time to garden.
Babies born in summer are more likely to become short-sighted in late life, a study has shown.
As many as a quarter of all cases of short-sightedness are caused by too great an exposure to sunlight in the first weeks of life, say eye experts.
They are advising all parents to put sunglasses on their babies during the first weeks.
Scientists had already established that over-exposure to sunlight caused shortsightedness in animals.
Researchers who compared the months in which babies were born with whether they needed glasses later on say the principle also applies to humans.
A study of almost 300, 000 young adults-the largest of its kind-showed that those born in June and July had a 25 per cent greater chance of becoming severely short-sighted than those born in December or January.
Research leader Professor Michael Belkin, of Tel Aviv University, said it was because prolonged illumination(光照) causes the eyeball to lengthen-causing short-sightedness.
Hence the more light a newborn is exposed to, the more the eyeball lengthens and the worse the short-sightedness will be.
The mechanism which lengthens the eyeball is associated with levels of melatonin(褪黑激素), a pigment (色素) which protects the skin against harmful rays of the sun.
In young babies not enough melatonin is released as protection, meaning they are more vulnerable to sunburn and changes to eyeball shape.
Sight expert Professor Daniel O'Leary, of Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, said "At the moment we don't know the precise cause of why light exposure affects sight, but the evidence seems to prove that it is one of the reasons for people becoming shortsighted."
if parents don't know a proper way to protect their babies' eyes
Money Matters
Parents should help their children understand money. So you may start talking about money when your child shows an interest in buying things, candy or toys, for example.
⒈The basic function of money
Begin explaining the basic function of money by showing how people trade money for goods or services. It is important to show your child how money is traded for the things he wants to have. If he wants to have a toy, give him the money and let him hand the money to the cashier(收银员). When your child grows a bit older and understands the basic function of money, you can start explaining more complex ways of using money.
⒉Money lessons
Approach money lessons with openness and honesty. If you must say no to a child's request to spend money, explain, "You have enough toy trucks for now." Or, if the request is for many different things, say "You have to make a choice between this toy and that toy."
⒊
Begin at the grocery store. Pick out two similar brands(品牌) of a product—a name-brand butter and a generic(一般的), for example. You can show your child how to make choices between different brands of a product so that you can save money. If he chooses the cheaper brand, allow him to make another purchase(购买) with the money saved. Later, you may explain how the more expensive choice leaves less money for other purchases.
A. Talk about how the money bought the thing after you leave the toy store.
B. Wise decisions
C. The best time to teach a child anything about money is when he shows an interest.
D. Tell your child why he can—or cannot—have certain things.
E. The value of money
F. Permit the child to choose between them.
G. Ask yourself what things that cost money are most important to you.
I remember when my husband started coaching the basketball team at a local high school in Richmond, California. He had a(n)1for sports and loved working with kids. Sitting in the stands during the first game, I cried 2joy as I watched him interact with the students. He seemed to3.
On the car ride home, we both realized that he has a gift for4. Not just on the5, but also in the classroom. He6a well-paid job in finance, and went back to school to7his teaching certification. He landed a job teaching 8th grade US history to the amazing kids at Helms Middle School in San Pablo, California. He had found his occupation. Little did I know that I would be in the8, too.
My husband knows that I work for a software company that does stuff with 3D printing and that we get free tickets to Maker Faire(创客节), but that's usually the extent of his interest m my profession. So I was9when he asked me to be a(n)10speaker in his class that first year.
11I was planning my first lesson for his students, I asked myself, "What should I do? How do I integrate(融入)12, modeling and 3D printing into 8th grade US history?" I13my friends from Make magazine, read the local teacher blogs and thought I was14to go. But a15thing happened during my first lesson: I kind of failed. The end result, 16, was better than I ever17.
At the end of the class, I asked the students how they felt about what18had just learned. They raised their hands and19answers and sought me out to more questions. When the bell rang, they thanked me for my20.
Keeping a diary in English is one of the (effect) ways to improve our English writing ability. (compare) with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. we insist in this practice, gradually we'll learn how to express in English. In keeping a diary in English, we certainly come across many (difficult). In the first place, often happens that we have trouble finding proper words and phrases to give expression to our mind. Secondly, there are many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese.
As far as I (concern), my suggestion is that we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary within easy reach. We can also turn to our English teacher for help, if necessary. In short, I believe that it is great use to keep a diary in English for development of our writing skills.
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：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改仅限一词。
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
We have lived in the house for ten years, so the kitchen is the heart of our home. For us, the kitchen is where holds special sounds, smells and memories. We enjoy the sound of my grandmother sings old songs coming from her childhood as she cooks. Every week he prepares a delicious meal for us. We often sit in the kitchen talking while we waited for the food to be ready. It may seem like a special place to someone else, but when I am in low spirit, it warms me like a big blanket in a winter morning. Before the school, we say goodbye to our parents and hug them cheerful when we get home.
1）看电影：省时、有趣、易懂
2）读原著：细节更多、语言优美
3）你的看法及理由：……
注意：1)词数100左右；
2)文章题目和开头已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：原著original work/book in the original
Film or Book, Which Do You Prefer?
Some of us think that it is better to see the film than to read the book in the original.
