The biggest secret about invention is that anybody can do it! Perhaps this sounds crazy, but it's true. Maybe you have the wrong idea about invention, so read on to discover the truth.
Wrong idea 1: An invention has to be something completely new.
Invention means creating something "new", but the idea could come from something that already exists (存在) . The Wright brothers, for example, got the idea of building a "flying machine" from watching birds.
Wrong idea 2: Inventors are born, not made.
There are a lot of factors (因素) that make invention possible. Take Mozart for example. He was born with a talent for musical composition. But other factors were also important for his creativity. His father was a music teacher, and Mozart practiced for hours every day, from the time he was four years old. Thomas Edison said that being an inventor was "99% hard work and 1% inspiration"!
Very successful creators don't give up when they get something wrong. As one inventor said, "A failure is the right answer to the wrong question."
Wrong idea 3: Inventors are always old people.
Don't believe that you can't invent anything when you are young. Here are two examples of young inventors: Louis Braille went blind when he was a child. When he was fifteen, he invented a system of reading and writing for blind people that is still used in most countries today.
As a young man, George Nissen was watching some artists performing in a show. He watched how they fell into the safety net and then jumped back up again. This gave him an idea, and he invented the trampoline (蹦床).
I remember the green coat in my fifth and sixth grades. When I needed a new jacket, my mother asked what kind I wanted, I described something like bikers' wear. She listened long. I thought she understood for sure the kind I wanted.
The next day when I got home from school, I discovered, on my bed, a jacket which was not what I had expected. I went close to the jacket slowly, as if it were a stranger.
From the kitchen Mother shouted that my jacket was in the closet. I rushed and pulled the clothes in the closet, hoping the jacket on the bed wasn't for me but my brother. No luck, I wanted to cry because it was so ugly and so big. But I knew I'd have to wear it for a long time before I'd have a new one. I looked at the jacket, like, an enemy, thinking bad things before I took off my old and small jacket.
I put the big jacket on. I stood in front of the mirror(镜子)，turning right and left. I looked ugly.
I threw it on my brother's bed and looked at it for a long time before I put it on and went out, smiling a "thank you" to my mom.
The next day I wore it to school. At the morning break, my best friend, Steve, looked at me for a long time. The girls turned away to whisper. The teachers looked at me and talked about how foolish I looked in my new jacket. When it was time for the whole school to get together on the playground, ▲ . Although they didn't say out aloud,“Man，that's ugly," I heard their talks and even laughter.
And so I went, in my jacket. So embarrassed, so hurt, I couldn't even do my lessons for the rest of the day. I received Cs on tests.
I wore that thing for three years. All in those years no love came to me.
I blamed(指责) that jacket for those bad years. I blamed my mother for her bad taste and her cheap ways. It was a sad time for the heart. Anyway, I spent my sixth-grade year, looking forward to something good to happen to me.
And it was about that time I began to grow, still in that green jacket, which had become my brother who went along wherever I went.
"The day will be the most memorable in the history of America," wrote John Adams in 1776. "People will honor it with parades, fireworks and celebrations," he added.
Since 1776, Americans have celebrated July 4 as the country's Independence Day. Several early presidents of the United States died on July 4. They include John Adams, who became the second president. Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the country's third president, both died on the country's 50th anniversary of Independence Day. James Monroe, the fifth US president, died on July 4, 1831. And the 30th president, Calvin Coolidge, was born on July 4.
Most Americans celebrate Independence Day with barbecues, parades and fireworks. But a few celebrate by eating all the hot dogs they can, Since the early 1970s, a restaurant called Nathan's Famous has organized a competition to see who can eat the most hot dogs in a short time. In 10 years, Joey Chestnut has won the men's contest nine times, In 2016, he set a record at the competition by eating 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes. The 2016 women's winner, Miki Sudo, has won in each of the past three years. In 2016, she ate 38 and a half hot dogs. Sudo and Chestnut each won a $ 10, 000 prize.
Let's go back to those fireworks, probably the most common image related to Independence Day. Americans really love fireworks. Where do many of our fireworks come from? . By the way, we also import most of our American flags from China, too.
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SAFETY RULES ON THE MTR TRAINS At the station: ◊Be patient. Line up on the platform(站台) and wait for the train. ◊Be polite. Let passengers get off first. ◊Do not rush onto the train. It is dangerous. ◊When you hear a "beep" sound, do not get on the train. The door is closing. Wait for another train. On the train: ◊Do not eat or drink on the train. It makes the train dirty. ◊Do not run on the train. ◊Give your seat to old men or women, the disabled or women carrying babies. |
Finding a New Place
Max is new in town. His family just moved into a new apartment. Max would like to meet some people. Max asked the landlord (房东) where he might go to meet people of his own age.
"The Community Center is for people of your age. I am sure you could find some friends there," said the landlord. "Is the Community Center far from here?" Max asked. "No. It's only a few blocks away. It's about a ten-minute walk from here," replied the landlord. "Give me a minute. I'll write down the directions."
Max smiled. He hoped that he would make some friends at the Community Center.
The landlord gave Max a note. Max read the words on the note.
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Walk out of the front door of the building. Go west on Main Street till you get to the park. Then, walk north on Taylor Street for one block. The Community Center is on the right, near the Town Hall. |
Max's smile disappeared. He would never be able to find the Community Center because he didn't know how to follow directions that used words like north and west.
Max needed to get a map of his neighborhood. This map could help him find directions. He took the directions and the map from his landlord. He was sure he could find the Community Center.
The landlord told Max that the front door of his building faces west. When he came out of his building, he walked west on Main Street until he came to the park. Taylor Street was right next to the park. He looked at his direction note. It said, "Then, walk north on Taylor Street for one block."
Max looked at the map. He could tell that if he was facing west, north would be on his right. He turned to the right on Taylor Street. He walked for one block. He could see a big building with a sign. It said "Community Center". He found it!
My wife and I are retired (退休的) and one of our main interests is travel. We1traveling on our own to traveling with the tour group. Last month we began the first step (步) of2a European vacation for this summer.
First we got on the Internet to3the places we would like to go to. This is easy enough to do as long as you know4to search information on the Internet. We5to visit the UK, France, Italy and Germany. These are places we have never visited. We quickly found the6bargain prices (廉价) of airplane tickets. We planned the number of days at each place to7sure that we can visit every place not too fast. On the Internet it is also easy to find hotel room prices and addresses. That helps us8money and time. We think living in the little home—like hotels—is better9the four-star hotels. This kind of hotel is always cheap, convenient and safe.
10 we should do enough research on the Internet ahead of time (提前) .
The bicycle is one of the simplest and most useful inventions in the world. What is most surprising is that it was not (发明) earlier, although the great inventor Leonardo da Vinci had drawn pictures of bicycles and also of flying machines and some other things. Those things were not produced until long after he (死).
A person riding a bicycle uses a little energy to make the bicycle (移动), and there is no (污染) at all when you are riding. Even so, in (发达的) countries, most people don' t travel to work by bicycle. It is not because the bicycles are expensive or people feel (疲劳的) if they ride to work. It's because the number of cars on the roads becomes (更大的). It certainly becomes more (危险的) to ride a bicycle.
As a result, more people put their bikes away and go to work in their cars, and in this way, the situation is made more serious. Perhaps the best way to make riding safer and more popular is to (创造) paths only for bicycles, and to make it so difficult and expensive for (驾驶员) to take their cars into the city that they will go back to using their bicycles.
