Everyone fails from time to time. We try to learn from our mistakes and move on, leaving them behind. But one museum is doing quite the opposite. It's a showcase (展示)for failures, both famous and forgotten.
Inspired by the Museum of Broken Relationships in Croatia, Samuel West, a psychologist from Sweden, decided to make our silly mistakes public. He founded the Museum of Failure in 2017. Now the museum is hitting the road, with a traveling exhibition in Shanghai from Jan 18 to March 17. The Museum will display over 100 "failed" products from big-name companies such as Nokia, Apple and Coca-Cola.
"I really hope you see that these mega-brands (大牌)that everybody respects screw up too," West told The New York Times. "I hope that makes you feel less apprehensive (惴惴不安的)about learning something new."
West's opinion isn't new. The famed German-American physicist Albert Einstein once said, "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." This idea has even been embraced (接纳)by big companies in the US. Silicon Valley, for example, is the home of some of the worlds most innovative tech companies. A common slogan is, "Fail fast, fail often."
However, there are reasons for this. The best companies are those that encourage failure, embrace out-of-the-box thinking and allow employees to make mistakes and see what happens, wrote Simon Casuto of Forbes.
This may lead to carelessness and a lack of effort. Some people are skeptical of this so-called "culture of failure". They are worried that if failure becomes "a badge (奖章)of honor", as Wired magazine put it, it may even be seen as "uncool" when someone tries to reduce the risk of failure.
"Sometimes people hide behind failure, when they could have prevented it," wrote Anna Isaac of The Telegraph.
So it's important that you set apart the two kinds of failure — the kind that shows laziness or incompetence and the kind that takes you forward. The key is whether you've learned something from your mistakes.
The impact of the government's lockdown policy is approaching me. First came the extension of spring break of my university, then the movement of classes online, and then the shutdown of business. About that time, in the middle of March, I shut down too.
I cast about for something to do. The most obvious path was to help with the care of my grandson, Charlie, since his parents were thrown into managing their own work-from-home situations. Almost as a joke, I asked whether Charlie might enjoy learning a little Greek. It was strange that he should have jumped at the chance. I came to teach Greek from 2: 45 to 3: 30 pm, five days a week, to an eight-year-old.
I have been teaching for over 40 years. I have taught adult education and continuing education courses by the score. But teaching Greek to an eight-year-old may be my crowning achievement, which clearly would last long as his interest lasted.
Each letter was an achievement for both of us. To be sure, the zeta eta theta was easy enough to remember. But the end of the alphabet is not so easy, to say nothing of the letter epsilon. After a couple of dozen corrections, I had to decide that elspion was close enough. Along the way there were laughs, and jingles, I would never try in a "normal" classroom.
My husband and Charlie's parents said that our sessions were the highlight of those hard days as well. Charlie was learning a bit of Greek, I was stretching my old skills in a new and beloved direction, and our family got into delight. One of Charlie's first Greek words was the word for joy, char a. I pronounced it loudly, chara! Charlie responded with his own enthusiastic chara, adding, 'Chara, that's what we will have when our society returns to normal!" Yes, darling child, we will have joy then, but we also have it now.
By 2035, NASA wants to land humans on Mars. But reaching the red planet, on average around 140 million miles away, will be difficult. Colder than Antarctica and with little to no oxygen, Mars is an unfriendly environment. Besides, the longer it takes astronauts to get there and the longer they stay, the more they are at risk.
That's why scientists are looking at ways to reduce trip time. Seattle-based company Ultra Safe Nuclear Technologies (USNC-TECH) has offered a solution: an NTP engine that could get humans from Earth to Mars in just three months. Such an engine takes advantage of nuclear technology. Currently, the shortest possible trip for an unmanned spacecraft is seven months, but a manned mission is expected to take at least nine months. Shorter missions would limit the astronauts exposure to space radiation, but there is still concern about the radiation sent out from the nuclear reactor inside the spacecraft. This would be mitigated through the rocket's design, which would help ease the scientists' concern.
To protect people on the ground, the NTP spacecraft would not lift off directly from Earth, Jeff Sheehy, a NASA scientist, adds. Instead, a regular chemical rocket would carry it into orbit, and only then would it fire up its nuclear reactor. Once in orbit, it could do little harm, as heat radiation cannot move through a vacuum(真空). If disaster struck and the rocket's reactor broke up, pieces would not land on Earth— or any other planet—for thousands of years. By that time, the radioactive substance would have ''naturally got to the point where it wasn't dangerous anymore”.
Michael Eades, director of engineering at USNC-TECH, says that nuclear-powered rockets would be more powerful and twice as efficient as the chemical engines used today, meaning they could travel further and faster, while burning less fuel. "Nuclear-powered rockets will be key to opening up the solar system but it could be at least two decades before they are used widely,9, he says, adding that numerous demonstrations and tests would need to be carried out before an astronaut is sent to Mars in an NTP rocket.
It may be hard to choose the right gift for aging parents, grandparents or loved ones. Elderly people have more than likely received a lifetime of gifts already. Also, they often have different ideas of what a valuable gift may be.
If you are buying gifts for old relatives, travel gear is a great option. Traveling can be uncomfortable for anyone. Choose gifts that will help the elderly family members travel in comfort. They will be thankful that the trip will be a little bit easier.
Giving gifts that help your elderly loved ones exercise is an excellent way. Your loved ones aging joints will benefit from items designed to help seniors keep active. These gift options cater to the specific challenges old people face when they exercise.
If old adults in your life enjoy having company over, find tools that will help make it easier for your loved ones to host social gatherings. If your loved ones enjoy cooking, use that as inspiration for your gift idea. If they prefer games, find something in that field.
Seniors who seem to have everything are an especially tough crowd when it comes to giving gifts. For old adults in your life who you struggle to find gifts for, the answer may lie in taking a more personalized approach. For example, many grandparents will love photograph albums that record a favorite memory or a family event.
A. It shows that you care about their health.
B. Here we have some great gift ideas for you.
C. Seniors may face unique challenges while flying or taking a train.
D. They can play an important role in strengthening your relationship.
E. Different seniors might have different attitudes towards receiving gifts.
F. Prepare unusual gifts that will make their life easier and more enjoyable.
G. Finding gifts for old family members with special hobbies seems less challenging.
"I have no idea what to get you this New Year," my husband Larry said. I 1 with a knowing smile as the same 2 to me in finding him something. 3 we like remembering each other with gifts on holiday, we had reached the 4 in lives where we didn't need more things. Actually, we were 5, clearing out and getting rid of unneeded stuff.
Then an online article was 6. It was about schools having to turn away some children from receiving 7 for they had no money to pay. And a thought 8 me. "Let's each give money to the school for our presents," I said 9 the article with Larry. "Great idea. It's also a 10 to pay it forward,—to offer our kindness and love," Larry smiled.
When our children were small, Larry and I were 11, losing sources of income. During the hard time, we 12 to pay any bill. It wasn't easy for us to ask for help, as we'd been brought up on principles of 13. Someone then offered a hand.
Now that we were in much more 14 circumstances, we could give back. I visited our local elementary school, and explained we'd like to help children who couldn't 15 their lunches. The receptionist looked first 16 and then pleased. She 17 me to the cafeteria to talk with the head there. The lady taking 18 accepted our gift of cash with thanks. "This will make a big 19 to so many children, she said.
20 there weren't as many presents in our room, but it was one of our best New Years.
Chinese archaeologists announced Saturday new major discovery has been made at the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins Site. This site archaeologists recently have found six new sacrificial pits (祭祀坑) and unearthed (出土) more than 500 items (date) back to 3,000 years ago lies in Sichuan Province and was first found in 1929. So far, (vary) cultural items (unearth) from four of the pits, including pieces of gold masks, gold foil, bronze masks, bronze trees, ivory and jade. The rest of the (new) discovered pits are still under excavation(开发).
Covering 12 square km, the relics site, (locate) in the city of Guanghan, about 60 km from Chengdu, is believed to be the remnants of the Shu Kingdom. In the process of excavation, archaeologists made full use modem technologies (ensure) the safety of the relics and sound management of relevant data and material. The project featured scientific cooperation and a (combine) of archaeology with conservation and research.
1）愿意帮助；
2）指出危害；
3）给出建议。
Dear James,
……
Yours,
Li Hua
We probably know that smoking is bad for our health. But what about e-cigarettes? Introduced as a "less-harmful or safer" alternative to smoking, e-cigarettes or "vaping" has gained increasing popularity. However, the Chinese government released a notice to ban the online sales of e-cigarettes from Nov. 1st and further reduce the young's access to the products.
This means that e-cigarette makers have to close their online stores and take down online advertisements for e-cigarettes. So far, some e-cigarette firms have closed sales links on their websites, and more than a dozen online stores have removed related products, Xinhua reported. This is not the first government measure to limit the use of e-cigarettes. In August 2018, e-cigarettes were banned from sale to people under the age of 18.
Research has shown that e-cigarette companies tend to target young people with their advertising campaigns, according to the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration. It's found that many firms have been misleading young buyers with messages like, "E-cigarettes could help you quit smoking," and, "E-cigarettes are healthy and harmless." Some even claim that vaping symbolizes "young," "fashionable" and "trendy" to attract the young. Michael Blaha, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, also mentioned that a lower per-use cost than traditional cigarettes and a wide range of sweet flavors, like apple pie and watermelon, contribute to vaping's popularity among young people.
However, e-cigarettes contain nicotine (though not always), flavorings, and other chemicals, they are harmful to health. Taking in nicotine during youth can lead to addiction and cause long-term harm to brain development. Flavorings added to e-cigarettes can produce more harmful toxins after heating. Thus, it is advisable that the young should limit the exposure to e-cigarettes.
