—The upcoming 40-day Spring Festival travel ____, also known as chunyun, will ___ on Jan 10 and end on Feb 18.
—She was _____ to hospital with a soaring temperature.
—Sorry, I'm not available right now. I _____ for the upcoming final exam.
—______, but it tastes too oily.
—I can either send a new one to you by express mail or _____ compensate you at a reasonable price.
—Sure. Although each event _____ a well-known actor playing the key roles, it has all its plots well _____on established historical records and archaeological findings.
ProjectArt is an arts program providing free arts classes to children at public libraries in major US cities.
1to the arts encourages children's self-worth, helps them communicate and improves their2in academic areas. Yet, since the 1980s, access to arts education for American school children has been on the3.
But where the American public school system is4children, non-profits are5to fill the emptiness, and one organization in particular has6plans to become the largest free art school for children in the country.
ProjectArt, founded by AdarshAlphons in Harlem in 2011, is7to New Orleans and San Francisco, two cities with many homeless young people and giving the organisation a(n)8in a total of eight cities across the US.
Its executive director, Diana Buckley Muchmore9with ProjectArt in its early days, and one experience impressed on her the10that art can make on a child's development.11her friend Alphons in teaching in a Harlem community center, Buckley Muchmore met a boy. "He was very quiet, but I12with him through a sculpture he was making13wood, and he slowly started to14to describe his work," she remembers.
Since then, Buckley Muchmore has watched as ProjectArt has embraced a model of15with the country's public library systems. The libraries give them16space, access to existing communities and materials to17the children's creations.
In the meantime, the organization is working to serve the particular needs and take18of the resources of its newest cities. In San Francisco, Buckley Muchmore has an eye on big companies like Airtbnb and Adobe, which she hopes to19for funding. The organization also receives20from foundations and individuals.
"In terms of less populated communities, we'll get there too," says Buckley Muchmore. "Eventually, we'll be in all the cities that have libraries."
It can be tough to pull kids away from their computers and mobile devices these days. While they're playing games, wouldn't it be great if they could be learning at the same time? Good educational apps offer fun challenges that teach specific grade-level skills. Here are 4 that combine fun and learning.
Understanding Math—Addition and Subtraction ($3.99; iOS)
Understanding Math—Addition and Subtraction goes beyond basic comprehension to instill a deeper understanding of the whys and hows of math. The app tracks your child's progress to determine strengths and weaknesses in different skill areas, and you can customize your child's learning experience to suit the needs.
Word Creativity Kit ($52.99; iOS)
Word Creativity Kit aims to make creative writing fun while also build up grammar rules. The app presents a series of words from seven categories, such as space or fantasy. Kids add their own words to finish the complete thoughts that these words have inspired.
Barefoot World Atlas ($4.99; iOS)
Barefoot World Atlas helps kids learn about geography and world cultures with a touch of the screen. Each region features a set of subtopics, from wildlife and natural features to native people, landmarks, and architecture. These facts and illustrations are delivered in photographs, sounds, and hundreds of mini videos.
My Grades & Homework (S0.99; iOS)
A combination of grades and homework tracker, My Grades & Homework can help your child stay organized and on top of the progress in school. A convenient calendar and course list format offer a glance at your child's assignment schedule that he/she might not normally get from standard homework planners.
Scientists have discovered a "monster black hole" so massive that, in theory, it shouldn't exist.
It's a stellar black hole—the type that forms after stars die, collapse, and explode. Researchers had previously believed that the size limit was no more than 20 times the mass of our sun because 8S these stars die, they lose most of their mass through explosions that expel matter and gas swept away by stellar winds
This theory has now been toppled by LB-1, the newly discovered black hole. Located about 15.000 light years away, it has a mass 70 times greater than our sun, according to a press release from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The findings were published by Chinese researchers in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
"Black boles of such mass should not even exist in our galaxy, according to most of the current models of stellar evolution," said Liu Jifeng, head of the team that made the discovery. "LB-1 is twice as massive as what we thought possible. Now theorists will have to take up the challenge of explaining its formation."
Scientists are now scratching their heads at how LB-1 got so huge.
The Chinese team has proposed a number of theories. LB-1' sheer size suggests that it "was not formed from the collapse of only one star," the study said— instead, it could potentially be two smaller black holes orbiting each other.
Another possibility is that it formed from "fallback supermova." This is when a supernoma—the last stage of an exploding star—ejects material during the explosion, which then falls back into the supernova, creating a black hole.
This fallback formation is theoretically possible but scientists have never been able to prove or observe it. If this is how LB-1 formed, then we may have "direct evidence for this process" for the first time, the study said.
There are several types of black holes and stellar black holes like LB-1 are on the smaller side, according to NASA. Supermassive black holes are much bigger—they can be billions of times the mass of our sun,
Scientists believe supermassive black holes may be connected to the formation of galaxies, as they often exist at the center of the mass star stems but it is still not clear exactly how, or which form first.
Buck did not know that there was trouble ahead, Trouble for every dog with strong muscles and warm long hair, from Seattle to southern California. Some men had found a yellow metal in the Arctic darkness, and thousands of other men were rushing there. These men wanted dogs that were heavy, with strong muscles for working hard and furry coats to protect them from the cold.
Buck lived at a big house in a sunny valley in California which was owned by Judge Miller. He was neither a house dog nor a kennel (狗窝) dog. The whole of Judge Miller's land was his. Buck was king—king over all the crawling, flying things of Judge Miller's lands, humans included.
His father, Elmo, had been the Judge's inseparable companion. And when he died, Buck took his father's place. He was not so large—he weighed only sixty kilogram—for his mother, Shep, had been a Scottish sheepdog. Hunting and other outdoor activities had hardened his muscle, and swimming had made him healthy.
This was Buck in the autumn of 1897, when the discovery of gold in the Klondike brought Men from everywhere to the frozen north. But Buck did not read the newspapers. And he did not know that Manuel one of the gardeners helper, was not a good man. Manuel gambled (赌博) and wasted the little money he had. No one saw him and Buck go off on what Buck thought was a walk. No one saw them arrive at the railway station where Manuel sold Buck to a man who was waiting for him.
After two days ho was cried off the train in Seattle into a small, high-walled yard. There a fat man in a red sweater broke open the cage with a small axe (斧头)，while holding a club (棍棒) in the other hand. When there was a big enough opening, Buck jumped out like a red-eyed devil, straight at the fat man. But in mid-air, just as his teeth were going to close on the man, he received a shock that he had never felt before. It turned him over and onto the ground. He had never been struck by a club in his life, and he did not understand. He was smashed down a dozen times.
Buck saw that he stood no chance against the man with the club. He had learned the lesson, and for the rest of his life he never forgot it. It was his introduction into the world of primitive law.
In the end a small man called Perrault paid three hundred dollars for him, and he was led away with Curly, a good-natured Newfoundland dog.
What do people in the outside world do when they want to learn something? They go to somebody who knows about it, and ask him. They do not go to somebody who is supposed to know about everything —except, when they are very young, to their parents: and they speedily become dissatisfied with that variety of knowledge. They go to somebody who might reasonably expected to know about the particular thing they are interested in. When a man buys a motor-car, he does not say to himself: "Where can I find somebody who can teach me how to run a motor car?" He does not look in the telephone directory under T. He just gets an experienced driver to teach him. He just pays attention and asks questions and tries to do the thing himself, until he learns.
But this case, of course, assumes an interest of the pupil in the subject, a willingness and even a desire to learn about it, a feeling that the matter is of some importance to himself. And come to think of it, these motives are generally present in the learning that goes on in the outside world. It is only in school that the pupil is expected to be unwilling to learn.
When you were a child, and passed the door of the village blacksmith(铁匠) shop, and looked in, day after day, you admired his skill, and stood in awe of his strength; and if he had offered to let you blow the bellows for him and shown you how to make a red-hot penny, that would have been a proud moment. It would also have been an educational one. But suppose there had been a new shop set up in the town, and when you looked in at the open door you saw a man at work painting a picture; and suppose a bell rang just then, and the man stopped painting right in the middle of a brush-stroke, and started to read aloud “How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix"; and suppose when he was halfway through, the bell rang again, and he said, "We will go on with that tomorrow," and started to chisel the surface of a piece of marble; and then, after a little, somewhat exhaustedly, started in to play "The Rock of Ages" on a flute, interrupting the tune to order you to stand up straight and not whisper to the little boy beside you. There's no doubt what you would think of him; you would know perfectly well that he was crazy; people don't do things in that way anywhere in the world, except in school.
And even if he had assured you that what were taught were later in your life going to be matters of the deepest importance and interest, and that you should start in now with the determination of becoming proficient in them, it would not have helped much. Not very much. It's nonsense that children do not want to learn. Everybody wants to learn. And everybody wants to teach. And the process is going on all the time. All that is necessary is to put a person who knows something —really knows it—within the curiosity-range of someone who doesn't know it: the process begins at once. It is almost irresistible.
If there were no teachers—no hastily and superficially trained Vestals who were supposed to know everything—but just ordinary human beings who knew passionately and thoroughly one thing and who had the patience to show little boys and girls how to do that thing—we might get along with our learning pretty well, Of course, we'd have to pay them more, because they could get other jobs out in the larger world; and besides, you couldn't expect to get somebody who knows how to do something, for the price you are accustomed to pay those who only know how to teach everything.
a. exemplification(举例)
b. exaggeration(夸张)
c. personification(拟人)
d. irony(讽刺)
e. analogy (类比)
"Hey! So, this Lin Daiyu in A Dream of Red Mansions -" The boy elbowed his deskmate, "Why would she hold a funeral for the flowers, and cry while doing so? What was it that made her so sad?"
"You'd wonder, wouldn't you?" the girl said. And she explained confidently: "What Lin Daiyu did exhibits the qualities and characteristics of literati (文人学士) in ancient China. This was called 'grieving over spring's passing and saddened at the arrival of autumn'. That is to say, they tended to express their sentimentality (伤感) in the description of things amidst seasonal changes. This poem you just read, A Sad Song for the Flowers, is a typical work mourning the spring."
"But spring and autumn are the best seasons. So beautiful! Why would they trigger(引发) these feelings in poets?"
Exactly they do trigger them! The turn of the
seasons 
at the end of spring or the beginning of autumn often triggered the realization of the elapse of time and the shortness of life. Poets, particularly the lonely, troubled and unfulfilled ones, would describe habitual scenes, such as fallen flowers and running water in spring, or cold wind and cold drizzle in autumn, as symbols of the unavoidable fading of all things vigorous and beautiful. They put into their poems not only the imageries but also their epiphanies(领悟)."
Seeing the boy was impressed by her eloquence, the girl beamed proudly.
He said, "Well put! I get it now. There are plenty of poems with similar subjects that I have read. Maybe it is common in Chinese classical poetry. But, wait, why is it so? Why were the Chinese poets affected with such a sentiment? Is it limited to Chinese poets?"
"Uh... I wouldn't say that it is entirely absent from foreign literature, but it is definitely more noticeable in Chinese literature..." flummoxed by the question, the girl was speechless now.
As the two were engaged in their discussion, their Chinese teacher came in. They turned to him for help immediately.
The teacher said, "Behind the strong emotions about spring and autumn is the general sensitivity of the Chinese people to the changes of Nature. I'm sure you both have learned in history class that ancient China was an advanced agricultural civilization, which largely depended on Nature to grow crops and reap the harvest. This in the long run gave the Chinese people a deep sense of awe in the face of Nature, and great sensitivity to the changes of the weather, which triggered their emotions at the turn of seasons."
"In the case of Daiyu and the 'flower funeral', it's easy to understand in the context of the traditional Chinese concept of the Unity of 'Man and Nature', which regards Man as an essential part of Nature. What Daiyu was doing was relating herself to the flowers, and sympathizing with them, which was philosophically and cognitively pre-programmed in the Chinese cultural DNA."
Title: Grieving Over Spring's Passing and Saddened at the Arrival of Autumn
| Why did Daiyu flowers in a sad mood? | |
| ⒈She related herself to the flowers and with them. | ⒉What she did was of literati in ancient China, expressing their sentimentality by things amidst seasonal changes. |
| Why would spring and autumn trigger in poets? | |
| ⒈The turn of seasons often ancient people of the passing of time and shortness of life. | ⒉Habitual scenes would be used by poets to the disappearing of the past vigor and beauty. |
| Why was such a sentiment noticeable in the Chinese poets but in foreign literature? | ||
| ⒈Chinese people were generally to the changes of Nature. | ⒉Traditional Chinese concept believed Man and Nature were , Man as an essential part of Nature. | ⒊It was philosophically and cognitively pre-programmed in the Chinese cultural DNA. |
P= professor; S=students (In a philosophy class)
P: We all have this one life to live. A fleeting shadow amongst all that exists in this vast universe. We have the ability to accomplish anything, truly anything, if we use our time wisely.
P: (putting some golf balls into the jar) Is this jar full?
S: Yes.
P: (after add some pebbles into the jar) Is it full now?
S: Yes.
P: (after inserting some sand into the jar) How about now, is the jar full now?
S: Yes.
P: Good… (pouring some beer into the jar)
S: … (laughing, smiling, thinking, …)
P: Now I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things, your family, your friends, your health and your passions. The pebbles are the other important things, your car, your job, your home. The sand is everything else, the small stuff.
P: Now if you put the sand in the jar first you won't have room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same is true in life. If you spend all your energy and your time on the small stuff, you won't have time for all the really important things that matter to you.
P: Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Take care of the golf balls first. The really important things. Set your priorities. Because everything else is just sand.
S: Professor, what does the beer represent?
P: I'm glad you asked. It goes to show that no matter how full your life may seem to be, there is always room for a couple of beers with a friend.
1）用约30个词概括上述文中的内容；
2）谈谈你对文中教授观点的看法，用适当理由或论据支撑你的看法。
3）就文中所述哲理，谈谈在学习中该怎样践行教授的观点（或你的观点）。
【写作要求】
1）写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；2）作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
【评分标准】：内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
