Some Music Festivals
Pitchfork Music Festival
Anyone who adores indie(独立的) music and upandcoming artists will have an amazing time at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago's Union Park. This is a wonderful festival that explores more underground and lessknown bands than the other big Chicago summer festival, Lollapalooza.
Date: July 14－16
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Music Type: Indie
Price: $75－$365
Essence Music Festival
No matter what time of the year it is, New Orleans is an incredible place to be if you love live music. The Essence Music Festival is a celebration of great artists like Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, and Mary J. Blige.
Date: June 29－July 2
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Music Type: R & B, soul
Price: $126－$2, 700
Sziget Festival
Budapest knows how to organize a party, and Sziget is one of the biggest celebrations of music and culture in all of Europe. You can expect to watch favorite artists like Bad Religion and Mac DeMarco appearing on the stages here during this sevenday festival.
Date: August 9－15
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Music Type: Eclectic, indie, rock
Price: $70－$96
Flow Festival
The Flow Festival is a great excuse to explore the city of Helsinki. Artists including Lana Del Rey and The XX will be playing, among many others. Come to this festival to enjoy a relaxing atmosphere with an earthfriendly attitude.
Date: August 11－13
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Music Type: Rock, soul, jazz
Price: $106－$199
What if you could give your children everything they wanted without them having to take any effort at all to get it？Would they appreciate what they now have？Would they know how to even maintain the lifestyle or how to keep the business moving forward and not downward?
There is some debate among parents of this new generation about the question of whether our children have been given so much that they now expect everything all at once. A case in point is a friend of mine who has a son in his late twenties. It is not that he doesn't have a good paying job and a really nice house. Actually his house is a lot better and bigger than I ever had at his age. But, he is not satisfied with what he has；he wants everything else right now, not tomorrow, but right now.
What he wants is a bigger house, a fancier car, and all the newest gadgets(小玩意) that come on the market. He never thinks he should work a little longer and save his money or that he shouldn't have it all. Maybe we have spoiled our children to expect more than what they should normally expect and then expect all of these worldly possessions to keep coming their way.
Now, the situation with my friend's son is one where his son calls him and complains that life is difficult and that he is having a hard time getting what he wants. The discussion usually then turns to waiting a little longer and working to save money but this discussion usually ends with his son still being disappointed with his life.
Each life must come from work, sacrifice and satisfaction of being able to provide for your family, but there is little room for just wanting when waiting, working and patience could get it done.
All of us need a bit of hardship, struggle, learning to overcome obstacles, understanding perseverance, and developing an attitude that speaks loudly about accepting responsibility for one's own destiny.
The Silk Road is arguably the most famous longdistance trade route of the ancient world. This passage connected Europe in the West with China in the East, and allowed the exchange of goods, technology, and ideas between the two civilizations. Although merchants could make huge profits travelling the road, it was not without risk.
The main Silk Road started in Chang'an (known today as Xi'an), the early Han capital. Travellers commencing their journey from this city could take a northern route that would take them across China's northwestern provinces. After this, they would face the Gobi Desert, arguably the greatest danger of the Silk Road.
The Gobi Desert, the largest desert in Asia, consists mainly of rocky, hard earth. This feature made it easier for traders to travel across, compared to sandy deserts like the neighbouring Taklamakan Desert. Like other deserts, the Gobi Desert is dry and hot, and therefore the biggest challenge travellers faced was obtaining enough water for themselves as well as for their camels.
So, rest stops were created along the route, allowing travellers to rest, eat and drink. These places also promoted the exchange of goods, and even ideas, amongst the travellers who stopped there. Usually, the rest stops were placed within a day's journey of each other. In this way, travellers could avoid spending too much time in the desert, which would make them targets for robbers, another danger of the Silk Road.
Once through the Gobi Desert, travellers would continue their journey into Iran, Turkey, and finally Europe. Whilst this part of the journey may have been less dangerous, it is not entirely without its perils.
It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible. Everybody knows that the nicest men would become fierce tigers behind the wheel. It is all right to have a tiger in a cage, but to have one in the driver's seat is another matter.
Road politeness is not only good manners, but a good sense. It takes the most coolheaded drivers great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarrelling and fighting. A friendly nod or a wave of thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of goodwill and becomes so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such behavior of politeness is by no means enough. Many drivers nowadays don't even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.
However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous. A typical example is the driver who waves a child crossing the street at a wrong place into the path of oncoming cars that may not be able to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to.
An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in a traffic stream without causing total blockages that give rise to unpleasant feelings. Unfortunately, modern drivers can't even learn to drive, let alone master the roadmanship(公路驾车技能). Years ago, experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand more giveandtake(互谅互让)from all road users. It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart.
Sacrificing Sleep to Get Top Grades Doesn't Work
Sacrificing sleep and skipping meals to study in looking for academic excellence actually doesn't work, a new Harvard study has revealed recently. . They usually like getting less sleep or adopting poor eating habits, in a search for top grades. But the new study of 4, 000 British teenagers shows those who display determination, courage and persistence also tend to have healthier lifestyles.
Children who study hard are also likely to look after themselves, and cultivate healthy emotional regulation skills, rather than behaving in ways that are bad for their health. . Studies have shown the harmful effects stress over exams have on young children's health. . The study also found for the first time a link between highachieving students and helpfulness. The research revealed that those pupils who see themselves as having potential rather than having fixed abilities are more likely to help their peers. .
Dr Christina Hinton, a research member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said, ", but rather cultivating healthy emotional regulation skills and effective learning strategies. Our results suggest. "
A. Children struggling for excellence tend to make extra sacrifices
B. Children making sleep sacrifices can lead to excellence
C. The findings showed that children who work hard are also likely to develop health
D. Highachieving students have more potential than those lowachieving students
E. Having a growth attitude appears to have more impacts on the others around them
F. A survey found very young children smoke cigarettes and use energy drinks to prepare for their exams
G. Getting top grades does not require pushing yourself at all costs
My teacher Mr Bush is the most positive person I've ever met. He has the ability to 1 positiveness to young students.
He always smiles and never gets 2 at students. Once I met some 3 because I felt overshadowed by my brother, who seemed to be doing great in every way. Hopelessness 4 me whenever I was in a classroom. But that all 5 when I met my teacher for life, Mr Bush. Having found out about my problems, he just kept 6 me. Because of Mr Bush, my world was filled with 7 and power.
A few weeks ago, everyone in my class was feeling a bit 8 because of a bad day at school. But things got 9 after a close of Mr Bush's class. He drew a picture on the whiteboard that 10 a halffull glass of water. He then said, "Class, the point of view in which you look at things will 11 your feelings. Like this glass of water, some people see it and think ‘What! Only half a glass of water. How 12 I am. ' Whereas other people think ‘Wow, I'm so thirsty. Great! Half a glass of water for me！' It all is in the 13 you think. "
Mr Bush's 14 way of thinking always makes me feel glad and 15. I will always remember him.
More than 1, 250 lit stalls(货摊) brighten the center of Thailand's capital city, (provide) a multicolored sight. The shelter, is designed for the thousands of traders and shoppers at Bangkok's night market, has become an (attract) itself.
The market, which (call) Train Night Market Ratchada in English, was opened in January 2015 and has become popular spot for locals and tourists. Software engineer Prasad Ambati visited the market and took the landscape photographs from a nearby car park. "Those (color) tents and people shopping, eating at stalls and the flashing lights were great. The tents made me think of a giant painting. "
This is (primary) a market that sells yesteryear(旧时) goods, oldfashioned
(collection) of clothes, motorbikes, and secondhand toys. There are also plenty of general market things for sale, cheap clothes, shoes, bags, and other fashion items. But above all it's one of the best places for street food, openair bars with live music frequently
(perform) all over.
Rebecca stretched her tired back. "That's the last seedling(树苗), Pa. Have we planted enough？" Pa walked to the end of the row of cottonwood seedlings. "No, " he said. "We have to plant trees all the way to that rock over there. We'll need about twenty more seedlings. "
"I'll get the seedlings, " offered Rebecca. She longed to cool her feet in the shallow river running through the cotton field. "You'd better let me go, " teased her twin brother, William. "There are dangers all over this prairie(牧场). You may both go, " said Pa.
They went across the shallow river to a sandbar where small cottonwood seedlings grew. Gently, they pulled the seedlings from the sand. "There! That's twenty, with a few to spare. " said Rebecca. "OK, " said William. He led the way to the riverbank, then stopped.
"Look! There's the dugout(防空壕)we lived in when we moved here last year. " He pointed to a hole in the grassy river bank. "Come on, let's go inside. " "No, " Rebecca said. "Then you start back, " said William, handing the seedlings to Rebecca. "I'll catch up. " He ran to the dugout and stepped inside.
Rebecca tied the seedlings into her long apron(围裙) and began to walk. Suddenly she froze in her tracks. A huge prairie rattlesnake(响尾蛇) moved along the river bank. It stopped right in front of the dugout and lay still, coiled up on the warm sunny bank. "William！" Rebecca shouted. "Don't come out！"
"Huh?" William's face appeared at a tiny window beside the door of the dugout. Rebecca pointed toward the rattler. William's face paled when he saw the snake blocking the doorway. He turned desperate eyes toward Rebecca, then he glanced behind himself.
Rebecca's mind raced, trying to think of a way to get William out of there. An idea popped into her head. It was their only hope. It was risky, but it was the only hope. "Don't move, " she said to William in a soft voice. "When I say NOW, you run out of there as fast as you can. " Rebecca removed the skirtlike petticoat(衬裙) from beneath her dress, then dipped it into the river. She squeezed out some of the water, then climbed to the top of the bank, directly above the dugout's opening.
注意： 续写词数应为150左右。
"Get ready to run, William, " she said, keeping an eye on the motionless snake.
……
"Are you OK?" he asked, breathing heavily. Rebecca nodded.
