WHERE TO STAY IN SYDNEY
Whether you want to stay in a converted beer factory, a luxury hotel on the harbour or an advanced loft-style room, Sydney has a huge range of top-quality hotels.
1. THE OLD CLARE HOTEL
Located in the heart of Sydney's Central Park district, The Old Clare Hotel, providing luxurious (豪华的) rooms and facilities, takes up a historic Chippendale pub and the nearby former beer factory site. This hotel has been lovingly restored by Peng Loh, a Singaporean businessman with a passion for redecorating heritage properties.
2. HILTON SYDNEY
This is luxury accommodation right in the centre of Sydney, with world-class restaurants, one of the city's best bars. Just upstairs sits Glass, the award-winning small restaurant by celebrity chef Luke Mangan. Downstairs lies The Marble Bar, a Sydney hotspot for decades and heritage listed due to its extensive use of marble, dating back to 1893. Rooms are simply fashionable.
3. THE LANGHAM
Grand harborside luxury can be expected at The Langham, located in the Sydney centre. The hotel makes the most of its impressive harbour views with a marble-decorated hall that takes your breath away. Don't forget to check out the art, with a collection of Australia's most famous painter. Try their famous high tea menu, and be sure to check out the incredible underground swimming pool available to guests only.
4. FOUR SEASONS HOTEL SYDNEY
Another luxury stay with amazing harbour views, the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney sits on the edge of Sydney's historic Rocks district. A Deluxe Harbour Room will give you a breath-taking view, with dark wood and silk inside in calming colours. Downstairs is Grain, one of the best-known whisky bars in the city.
D . Luxurious facilities.
Dad's comb was jade green. I heard he bought it when he married Mum, which made the comb two years older than I was. Every night, he would smile, hand me the comb and say, "Be a good girl and help Daddy clean it, OK?"
I was more than happy to do it. At age five this mundane task brought me such joy. I would excitedly turn the tap on, then brush the comb with a used toothbrush as hard as I could. Satisfied that I'd done a good job, I would proudly return the comb to Dad. He would smile at me and place the comb on top of his wallet.
About two years later, Dad left his sales job and started his own wholesale business. I started primary school. That was when things started to change. He didn't come home as much as he used to – just a couple of times a week. And when he did come home, it was always late and I'd already be in bed. I started to get mad. I stopped waiting for him to come home, and stopped going downstairs to check on him.
Today, I'm no longer a kid. I've graduated from college and got a job. Dad's business has got back on track. Things are better now. Yet the uncomfortable silence between Dad and me persisted.
Two days before my birthday last year, Dad came home early. As usual, I helped him carry his bags into his study. When I turned to leave, he said, "Hey, would you like to help me clean my comb?" I looked at him a while, then took the comb and headed to the sink.
I passed the clean comb back to Dad. He looked at it and smiled. But this time, I noticed something different. My dad has aged. He has wrinkles next to his eyes when he smiles, yet his smile is still as heartwarming as before. The smile of a father who just wants a good life for his family. Dad carefully placed his comb on top of his wallet.
After so many years, he still organizes his personal items in the same meticulous way. I guess some things never change. And for that, I'm glad.
The idea of low material desire, low consumption and refusing to work, marry and have children, concluded as a "lying down" lifestyle, recently struck a chord with many young Chinese who are eager to take pause to breathe in this fast-paced and highly-competitive society.
Many millennials (千禧一代) and generation Zs complained to the Global Times that burdens, including work stress, family disputes (纷争) and financial strains, have pushed them "against the wall". They said they hate the "involution (内卷)," joking that they would rather give up some of what they have than get trapped in an endless competition against peers.
"Instead of always following the 'virtues' of struggle, endure and sacrifice to bear the stresses, they prefer a temporary lying down as catharsis (宣泄) and adjustment," said a scholar. "It is no wonder that some young people, under the growing pressures from child-raising to paying the mortgage (按揭) today, would try to live in a simple way and leave the worries behind."
Interestingly, the majority of millennials and Gen Zs reached by the Global Times, who claim to be big fans of the lying down philosophy, acknowledged that they only accept a temporary lying down as a short rest. It is true that with the great improvement of living conditions, some Chinese youth have partially lost the spirit of hardship and are not willing to bear too much hard work. But in fact, lying down is not entirely comfortable. Young people who lie down always feel guilty about their constant loss of morale (士气) far beyond their reach.
"Young people on campus have both aspirations and confusion about their future, but most of us have rejected setting ourselves up in chains to waste opportunities and challenges," a postgraduate student told the Global Times. "It's no use running away. I have to 'stand up' and face the reality sooner or later."
When you walk on a sandy beach, it takes more energy than striding down a sidewalk — because the weight of your body pushes into the sand. Turns out, the same thing is true for vehicles driving on roads. The weight of the vehicles creates a very shallow indentation (凹陷) in the pavement (路面) — and it makes it such that it's continuously driving up a very shallow hill.
Jeremy Gregory, a sustainability scientist at M.I.T. and his team modeled how much energy could be saved — and green-house gases avoided — by simply stiffening (硬化) the nation's roads and highways. And they found that stiffening 10 percent of the nation's roads every year could prevent 440 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions over the next five decades — enough to offset half a percent of projected transportation sector emissions over that time period. To put those emissions savings into context — that amount is equivalent to how much CO2 you'd spare the planet by keeping a billion barrels of oil in the ground — or by growing seven billion trees — for a decade.
The results are in the Transportation Research Record.
As for how to stiffen roads? Gregory says you could mix small amounts of synthetic fibers or carbon nanotubes into paving materials. Or you could pave with cement-based concrete, which is stiffer than asphalt (沥青).
This system could also be a way to shave carbon emissions without some of the usual hurdles. Usually, when it comes to reducing emissions in the transportation sector, you're talking about changing policies related to vehicles and also driver behavior, which involves millions and millions of people — as opposed to changing the way we design and maintain our pavements. That's just on the order of thousands of people who are working in transportation agencies. And when it comes to retrofitting (翻新) our streets and highways — those agencies are where the rubber meets the road.
Living with Alzheimer's (老年痴呆症), Lata, an 83-year-old lady finds focus and inspiration in tribal art, and the only memories she is left with — her childhood.
Young Lata attended an English school in Mumbai. She first picked up a brush as a child, learning the basics of art from her older sister Mai. She recalls performing a song along with a famous singer at a function and having her paintings displayed at a school exhibition.
However, her happy days didn't last long. She dropped out of college to help support the family by selling paintings and hand-painted sarees (莎丽服). After getting married, she moved with her husband to their home in Bandra East, where they have been living for nearly six decades.
Four years ago, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's which has affected her short-term memory. It was her son Paresh who helped her pick up her passion for painting again. He got her painting supplies and books on animals and plants. Now, she can spend hours painting the most detailed images. And for those hours, she is at peace and is focused. She is also most comfortable while doing some housework. She knows where everything in her kitchen is and still refuses to keep help at home.
From encouraging her art to answering all her questions when she forgets things from minute to minute, he did everything patiently. For Lata, everything is new every day and it's her painting that keeps her going. Talent has no age!
A. She still cooks three meals a day.
B. Doctors' advice was to keep her engaged.
C. Her other constant support has been her husband.
D. It is very important to make the home comfortable.
E. She frequently talks about her childhood memories.
F. Her father passed away before she could complete her education.
G. She had a keen interest in music and art despite having no formal training.
My family went on holiday for a week this summer. I was surprised to learn the sleeping 1 for the night — my young daughter had agreed to sleep in a first-floor bedroom by herself.
As we 2, we discussed the deer we had 3 on our way. "I hope we could see a bear or two this 4!" my wife shouted. At bedtime, my wife and I went to the upstairs room, and my parents-in-law (岳父母) headed for a 5 on the first floor. My wife and I were about to sleep when our daughter appeared with a/an 6 look on her face. She said a 7was scratching (刮出刺耳声) at her window. I decided it would be best if I slept downstairs and my daughter shared the room with my wife.
On my way down, I passed my father-in-law, asleep in front of the 8.
I was in bed only a few minutes when I heard a tap … tap on the window outside. Something was indeed out there. 9, it wasn't a bear — I told myself. I fell asleep soon. Some time later, I was 10 by a strange sound. I saw a large 11 in the doorway and froze as it 12 closer to me. I realized what it was — only after my father in-law bent down to give me a kiss. "It's David." My father-in-law jumped back. We laughed 13 at the awkward moment, and I explained his granddaughter's bedroom 14. I told him that the only thing 15 than a bear attack was Papa Bear coming in to kiss me good-night.
Thousands of years ago, the West Lake in Hangzhou was connected to the sea. The Qiantang River, not far away from the West Lake, (enter) the sea in the eastern part of this area. The solid material such as sand, stones and mud carried by the river (eventual) settled at the bottom and blocked the connection between the West Lake and the sea, (make) it an inland water.
Since the ninth century AD, the breathtaking scenery of the West Lake in all seasons (appear) time and again in poems, stories and legends. impresses people most is that there are about 630 legends of the West Lake alone. Su Dongpo wrote a poem to praise the West Lake compare it to Xizi, a Chinese legendary (beautiful). From then on, the West Lake got another elegant name — Xizi Lake.
In 2011, West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou was included the World Heritage List. It is now visited by an endless stream of (visitor) from home and abroad. Perhaps some of them will add (they) own stories to West Lake's wealth of literature.
1）活动安排；
2）报名要求及方式（满16周岁）；
3）呼吁参加。
参考词汇：惠东海龟国家级龟自然保护区 Huidong Sea Turtle National Nature Reserve
双月湾the Double-moon Bay
注意：1）写作词数应为80左右；
2）请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Voluntourists Wanted
……
English Society
In our kitchen, there was a wooden table and three chairs — one for Dad, one for Mom, and one for me. In the cellar (地窖), the very last jar of apple jam lay quietly on the shelf, waiting to be turned into an apple pie when Dad came back. Mom sat at one end of the table. I sat in the middle between her and Dad. I tried not to look at Dad's empty place. Dad had gone to the city to look for work for a long time.
Every night, I lay awake in bed and waited for the train to stop. Waited to hear the creaky (嘎吱作响的) gate Dad's going to fix when he came home. Waited to hear the sound of his work boots dropping on the step by the kitchen door, and his voice calling, "I'm home!"
Every night, as I lay there, I stared at the window and the curtains Mom made from empty flour sacks (麻布袋).
Every night, Mom came to kiss me good-night — after the train's gone by. She had been listening, too. "Go to sleep. Your dad will be home soon. Maybe for Thanksgiving."
Time dragging by, it finally came the day before Thanksgiving. I went to sleep with the sound of train wheels in my head, whispering, "Maybe tomorrow, maybe tomorrow."
Early the next morning, the smell of coffee woke me. I ran into the kitchen. There he was! Dad lifted me onto his shoulders and pretended to stagger from my weight. "How's my boy? You've gotten so big that I can barely lift you up anymore."
He put me down, and I stared at the two sacks on the table. One said FLOUR — I knew that word. I tried reading the other: S-U-G-A-R. Dad whistled admiringly and winked at me. Mom and I had been practicing my letters most days. I could see that Mom was pleased with me. "I'm going to bake a pie for your dad's homecoming dinner. Jimmy, bring me that jar of apple jam from the shelf in the cellar." Mom smiled at me.
注意：
1）续写词数应为150左右:
2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Hearing this, I took the steps two at a time to the cellar.
……
"Never mind, boy, accidents happen," Dad said and wiped my tears.
