I became a magician by accident. When I was nine years old, I learned 1 to make a coin disappear. I'd read The Lord of the Rings and went into the2 to look for a book about spells(符咒). Nine was a strange age when you were 3enough to think that you might find a book of real, actual magic in the library. But in fact, the book I 4 taught me something about magic, and I spent the next months practicing.
At first the magic wasn't any 5 . It wasn't even magic; it was only a trick-- a bad trick. I 6hours each day in the bathroom running through the secret moves in front of the mirror. I dropped the coin thousands of 7in a day, and after two weeks of this, my mom got a carpet and placed it under the mirror to lower the sound of the coin 8again and again.
I heard my dad play pieces of new music on the piano, 9 I knew how to practice -- slowly, going for precision(精确) rather than speed. One day I tried the magic in the mirror and the 10disappeared. It did not look like a magic trick. It 11like a miracle.
One of the lessons I learn very early as a magician is that the most 12 part of a trick has nothing to do with the secret. The secret is simple: a hidden piece of tape, a small mirror, a special playing card. In this case, the 13was a series of tricks to hide the coin behind my hand in the act of opening it, a dance of the fingers that I learned so 14 that I didn't even have to think. I would close my hand, then 15it, and the coin would disappear not by skill but by real magic.
An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money. Only a very expensive operation could save him now and there was no one to lend them the money.
When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother, "Only a miracle (奇迹) can save him now." the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her money from its hiding place and counted it carefully.
She hurried to a drugstore with the money in her hand.
"And what do you want?" asked the salesman. "It's for my little brother," the girl answered. "He's really, really sick and I want to buy a miracle." "Pardon?" said the salesman.
“My brother Andrew has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost?" "We don't sell a miracle here, child. I'm sorry." the salesman said with a smile.
"Listen, if it isn't enough, I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs."
A well-dressed man heard this and asked, “What kind of miracle does your brother need?”
"I don't know," she answered with her eyes full of tears. "He's really sick and mum says he needs an operation. But my daddy can't pay for it, so I have brought all my money."
"How much do you have?" asked the man. "$1.11, but I can try and get some more." she answered. "Well, what luck ,”smiled the man. "$1.11, the price of a miracle for your little brother."
He took up the girl's hand and said, "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need."
That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a famous doctor. The operation was successful and it wasn't long before Andrew was home again.
How much did the miracle cost?
When it comes to long-distance space travel, the biggest problem is that spaceships can only get as far as the fuel onboard allows. In 1964, a British writer Clarke came up with the idea of "solar sailing "in his science fiction. He wrote of large, mirror-like sails that collect power from the sun and free spaceships from the limitation of fuel.
This sci-fi idea was first successfully brought to reality (现实)in 2010 by Japan's IKAROS satellite. Ever since then, the technology has improved mission by mission, with the latest being NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail 3 (ACS3).NASA has recently announced that it's going to team up with Lithuania's satellite-building company NanoAvionics to test its new sail in low-Earth orbit.
To many, a solar sail (太阳帆) may look like a giant solar panel (太阳能电池板), but it actual works very differently. While solar panels take in energy from the sun and change it into power solar sails use photons(光子) given off by the sun to create direct power. Besides, solar panels are big and heavy to carry, while solar sails are just the opposite.
According to Abbott, the CEO of NanoAvionics, the upcoming low-Earth orbit trial with NASA, if successful, will be followed with deep-space missions that involve larger solar sails. These are ideal for low-cost and long-distance space travel because fuel will no longer be a problem.
"It started as a sci-fi dream, "Popular Mechanics reporter Jennifer Leman wrote. "Now it could be the future of space flight."
One early morning, I went into the living room to find my mother reading a thick book called Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again. My interest was aroused only by the fact that the word "Poems" appeared in big, hot pink letters.
"Is it good?" I asked her.
"Yeah," she answered. I leaned forward.
"Patty Poem,'" she read the title. Who is Patty? I wondered. The poem began:
She never puts her toys away,
Just leaves them scattered where they lay …
The poem was just three short sections. The final one came quickly:
When she grows and gathers poise,
I'll miss her harum-scarum noise,
And look in vain for scattered toys
And I'll be sad
A terrible sorrow (痛苦) washed over me. Whoever Patty was, she was a mean girl. Then, the shock. "It's you, honey," My mother said sadly.
To my mother, the poem revealed a parent's feeling when her child grows up and leaves. To me, the "she" in the poem was horror. It was my mama who would be sad. It was so terrible I burst (突然) out crying.
"What's wrong?" my mother asked.
"Oh, Mama," I cried. "I don't want to grow up ever!"
She smiled. "Honey, it's okay. You're not growing up anytime soon. And when you do, I'll still love you, okay?"
"Okay," I was still weeping (流泪). My scare has gone. But I could not help thinking about that silly poem. After what seemed like a safe amount of time, I read the poem again and was confused. It all fit so well together, like a puzzle. The language was simple, so simple I could obviously understand its meaning, yet it was still beautiful. I was now fascinated (着迷) by the idea of poetry, words that had the power to make or break a person's world.
I have since fallen in love with other poems, but "Patty Poem" remains my poem. After all, "Patty Poem" gave me my love for poetry not because it was the poem that lifted my spirits, but because it was the one that hurt me the most.
You might have noticed that sometimes, when you're playing mobile games or making a video call, the picture suddenly freezes (卡顿) because the network speed is too slow. When you try to download a movie on your phone, it seems to take forever.
These annoying things will soon become things of the past, as China just issued commercial licenses (发放商业牌照) for 5G networks on June 6. This means that China's telecommunications (电信) companies will be able to offer 5G network speeds for mobile phone users.
The "G" stands for generation (代). 1G let us talk to each other, 2G let us send messages, 3G gave us mobile data and Internet, and 4G made all of these things faster. So what will 5G bring?
First of all, 5G is so fast that it will allow us to download an entire HD movie in a second. The delay (延时) between sending and receiving data will be shortened. Now, 4G takes about 100 to 200 milliseconds (毫秒), while humans have a reaction time of about 200 to 300 milliseconds. But 5G will get the delay down to 1 millisecond or less, which is almost real-time.
Because of this increase in speed, it will possible to create and use new kinds of technology. Robots will be used to do operations because doctors will be able to control them from somewhere else without any delay. Self-driving cars will be able to drive more safely because they can smoothly communicate with other cars, traffic lights and road sensors (传感器). 5G also makes the Internet of Things (IOT, 物联网) possible.
All in all, 5G will shape every type of technology that it touches. And you won't have to wait too long for that to happen.
There were two fishermen who were close friends. Since they were busy in their personal work and family, they hardly spend time together. It was a Saturday and they decided to drive to a nearby pond to enjoy their day in fishing. Also, they wanted to have some feast with the fish they caught.
After they reached the pond, they sat at a distance and started hunting for fish. The first fisherman got a big and beautiful fish in a few minutes. He decided to cook the fish as a whole fish at noon. He spent some more time and caught a few more fish. He decided to make a grand meal with the fish. Also, he froze a few fish to take them back home.
It was almost more than an hour since they fished. He then went to the second fisherman and asked him if he needed any help. The second man said no. In a few minutes, the second fisherman caught a large fish. However, he put that back into the lake.
The first man was surprised at his act. He remained silent. The second man caught many big fish, but he just put back all those fish into the lake.
Very annoyed by his act, the first fisherman angrily asked him, “Are you mad? Why do you put your fish back into the water? They were beautiful and big!”
The second fisherman replied, “I know they were big, but I don't have the big pan to cook the big fish! So I'm looking for a smaller fish that fits my cooking pan! God is troubling me today.”
By hearing this, the first fisherman was surprised. He advised the second fisherman to cut the big fish into small pieces to suit in the pan and cook them properly.
Many people are just like the second fisherman. We are provided with handful of big opportunities, chances and even fortune that we many times overlook. We need to work out just the same like the big fish fit into a small pan!
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Africa interview during flight proper |
Climbing a mountain is hard work.But one step after another finally brings a person to the （顶点）.Along the way, he can stop and look around.And the （更高的） he climbs, the more wonderful his view(视野) is.If he keeps （攀登）, he will have a new world before him.He will have a new （方式）of thinking everything.
Now learning a foreign language is something (像)climbing a mountain.This new language can give you a new view of life.And it is more than a look at the surface of things.It can open the way into people's minds and hearts, into a culture very （不同） from the one of your own.This will make you （更富有） even in things that money can't buy.Even though you never set foot on a ship or a plane, you can be an armchair (步行)through books.
Like the mountain climber who stops now and then to （欣赏） the scenery around him, everyone who is interested in reading will find （快乐）in books as he fights on to learn more and more of that new language.
What do you know about Mount Qomolangma? At 8844.43 meters high, Mount Qomolangma is the(tall) mountain on the earth. While it is famousits challenging hike, parts of the mountain are facing a problem: rubbish.
According to the UN report, over 140 tons of rubbish has been left on the mountain.an unbelievable number! To reduce (减少) rubbish, China is limiting (限定) the number of people who can climb the(mountain) north side. Only 300 people will(allow) to climb it each year, and only during spring.
Last year, local people removed rubbish on the mountain at a height of 5,200 meters. They(collect) about 8.4 tons of rubbish, according to the Tibet government. This year the local government plans to spend 4 million yuan (set) up a new clean-up campaign, recycle and break down the rubbish from the mountain.
What's more, trash workers will also collect the bodies of(die) climbers. Since the 2019 climbing season, more than 300 people(lose) their lives on Qomolangma.
A group of artists will try to turn some rubbish into art works. They will show these works(wise) to remind people not to leave rubbish when climbing the mountain. Hope it goes well!
要求:
1）100词左右;
2）文中不得出现真实姓名及校名。
