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in contact with, make up, play a part in, be based on, be located in, be native to, in summary, at birth, pick up, come across |
Pingyao, in the centre of Shanxi Province, is a famous historic cultural city of China and a world cultural heritage site. It's 90 kilometres south of Taiyuan on the Fen River.
People lived in Pingyao during the New Stone Age. Its long period as the seat of a county government has left Pingyao with lots of historic buildings and sites, with a 2,700-year history. Ninety-nine of them are under government protection, including Zhengguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Ancient City of Pingyao.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, businessmen organised commercial(商业的) groups that did business nationwide. Shanxi Province had some of the most important ones and Pingyao was their centre. In 1823, a store, known as Rishengchang (Sunrise Prosperity), traded in bank cheques rather than in silver or gold coins. It was the beginning of modern Chinese banking. Branches(分行) were soon set up in major cities in China and other parts of Asia, leading to great development in Pingyao. Its lacquerware(漆器) became well known.
In Pingyao Ancient City are many traditional houses and commercial buildings, 3,797 of which are protected and more than 400 of which are in good condition. Not only do the houses in Pingyao show Shanxi's history and culture, but they are also valuable to the study of its history, customs, ancient buildings and art. Most of these houses are still used as homes and shops of local people.
In 1997, Pingyao Ancient City was listed in the World Heritage List as a "World Cultural Heritage Site".
Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in several ways.
Second, your notes are excellent materials to refer to when you are studying for a test. Third, note-taking offers variety to your study time and helps you to hold your interest.
You will want to take notes during classroom discussions and while reading a textbook or doing research for a report. Whenever or however you take notes, keep in mind that note-taking is a selective process.
The following methods may work best for you.
●Read the text quickly to find the main facts and ideas in it.
●Carefully read the text and watch for words that can show main points and supporting facts.
●Write your notes in your own words.
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●Note any questions or ideas you may have about what was said or written.
As you take notes, you may want to use your own shorthand(速记). When you do, be sure that you understand your symbols and that you use them all the time.
A. Use words, not complete sentences.
B. There are three practical note-taking methods.
C. You must write your notes on separate paper.
D. Otherwise, you may not be able to read your notes later.
E. You will also want to develop your own method for taking notes.
F. That means you must first decide what is important enough to include in your notes.
G. First, the simple act of writing something down makes it easier for you to understand and remember it.
Wildlife has been greatly threatened in the modern age. There are species that are 1 every day. The white-napped crane is a typical example. So scientists are trying their best to 2 the species from going out of existence.
Chris and Tim work at a zoo, helping endangered cranes with their 3. Emma, a female crane, has been in their care since she arrived in 2004.
Born at an international crane foundation, Emma was 4 by human caretakers. This led to an unexpected consequence, though she had a wonderful time there. Emma had 5 taken herself as a crane and become deeply attached to humans. She 6 to live with male cranes, and even had a reputation for killing some of them, which made it 7 for her to become a mother.
8, the two zookeepers didn't want to see the extinction of this precious species. With their patience and efforts, they successfully developed a 9 of artificial breeding(人工繁殖) and natural reproduction. This enabled Emma to give birth to five baby cranes.
The two keepers are proud of their productive work. But before they can be 10, more efforts must be made, because the population of the crane in the wild is on the 11, and many other species appear headed towards extinction. 12, not everyone has realised that wildlife has thoughts, feelings, and most importantly, equal rights to survive.
How can we 13 the ever-widening gap that separates us from other animals? Chris and Tim offered us the 14: human beings took it for granted that their brains held all the solutions, but maybe their hearts can be a better 15.
