It's November now and Christmas is on the way. What would be a better way to spend time with your loved ones than sitting down to watch some classic Christmas movies?
1 The Grinch (2000)
This is a Christmas must-watch. It was originally (最初) a children's book written by Dr. Seuss, which I would suggest reading! It's the story of a green monster (怪兽) who wants to destroy Christmas but who in the end discovers the power of love. I promise it's a great film with plenty of laughs along the way.
2 Love Actually (2003)
While this is not a personal favourite of mine, people in the UK love this film. It features (由……主演) famous actors and actresses such as Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman. It might be a little difficult to follow, but the heart-warming story makes it worth watching.
3 Home Alone (1990)
This is one of my favourite films of all time and I would watch it all year round if I could. It tells the story of a boy, Kevin, who is left alone in his house when his large family forget to take him on vacation. While the family are away, burglars (窃贼) try to break into the house and Kevin must protect his home by setting traps. The trips, falls and traps will have you laughing out loud as you watch a 10-year-old boy outsmart two grown men.
4 Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
You can't have Christmas in an English-speaking country without watching this film. It's not funny like Home Alone or The Grinch, but it is really touching. It's about a man who says he is Santa Claus, but nobody believes him except a lawyer and a little girl. The storyline may seem a little childish but you can enjoy it at any age.
When the great library of Alexandria burned，the story goes，one book was saved.But it was not a valuable book，and a poor man got it.
The book wasn't very interesting，but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum(羊皮纸)on which was written the secret of the "Touchstone（点金石）". The touchstone was a small pebble(鹅卵石)that could turn any common metal（金属） into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm，while ordinary pebbles are cold.
So the man sold his house，bought a tent，camped on the seashore，and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up normal pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold，he might pick up the same pebbles hundreds of times. So，when he felt one that was cold，he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold—throw it into sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. The days stretched into months and the months into years.
One day，however，about mid－afternoon，he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He was used to throwing each pebble into the sea as soon as he picked it up. So when the one he wanted came along，he still threw it away.
So it is with opportunity（机会）.Unless we are careful，it's easy to fail to realize an opportunity when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it away.
Mandara seemed to know something big was about to happen. So she let out a yell, caught hold of her 2-year-old daughter Kibibi and climbed up into a tree. She lives at the National Zoo in Washington D.C..
And on Tuesday, August 23rd, witnesses said she seemed to sense the big earthquake that shook much of the East Coast before any humans knew what was going on. And she's not the only one. In the moments before the quake, an orangutan (猩猩) let out a loud call and then climbed to the top of her shelter.
"It's very different from their normal call," said Brandie Smith, the zookeeper. "The lemurs 狐猴will sound an alarm if they see or hear something highly unusual."
But you can't see or hear an earthquake 15 minutes before it happens, can you? Maybe you can——if you're an animal.
"Animals can hear above and below our range of hearing," said Brandie Smith. "That's part of their special abilities. They're more sensitive to the environment, which is how they survive."
Primates(灵长目动物） weren't the only animals that seemed to sense the quake before it happened. One of the elephants made a warning sound and a huge lizard (蜥蜴) ran quickly for cover. The flamingoes (a kind of birds) gathered before the quake and stayed together until the shaking stopped.
So what kind of vibrations (震动) were the animals picking up in the moments before the quake? Scientist Susan Hough said earthquakes produce two types of waves——a weak "P" wave and then a much stronger "S" wave. The "P" stands for "primary". And the "S" stands for "secondary". She thinks the "P" wave might be what sets the animals off.
Not all the animals behaved unusually before the quake. For example, Smith said the zoo's giant pandas didn't jump up until the shaking actually began. But many of the other animals seemed to know something was coming before it happened. "I'm not surprised at all," Smith said.
You must think a computer is the best thing in the world, right? You must think it works at a super speed and can do everything? Well, it's not! In fact, the brain （头脑）is much more powerful than any super computer! Think about when a glass is just about to fall off the table. Your brain controls everything that you need to do to save that glass from falling. First your eyes check out what's going on, then tell your brain, and your brain decides how quickly you need to react(反应), and then your muscles(肌肉) go into action. That is just from your brain. No computer could ever come close to that!
The brain weighs just 3 pounds, but it controls everything you do from thinking, learning, feeling even to breathing and your heart beating. Even though the brain is just 2% of your body weight, it uses around 20% of all your energy in your body. That is a lot for such a small organ(器官). There are about 100 billion tiny, tiny little cells(细胞) in your brain. There are so many that it would take you over 3,000 years to count them all!
Your brain stops growing when you're 18, but it actually keeps on developing and learning new things. So your parents are really super smart! You won't be able to fool them! Believe it or not, your brain NEVER stops working. Even during sleeping, the brain works for long-term memory establishment( 建 立 ). It is realized that the brain is the second organ in the body as the heart that never stops during human lives.
So everyone should be proud of such a gift of nature.
It is always said that China is the homeland of tea, which has a very long history of tea. However, unlike the western custom of using a convenient teabag, Chinese go to a lot of effort and time to prepare good tea for their guests, using tea-leaves, natural spring water and a special kettle etc. to create worldwide famous tea culture. Tea is not just a drinkable beverage (饮料), but also a taste of Chinese traditional culture and inheritance (继承) of spirit. Unsurprisingly, there are various tea-leaves in China.
Ø Color
Good green tea-leaves have jade green with fresh vitality. Twisted pan green tea shows glossy gray green. If some of the tea-leaves have dry, dark and brown color, it means it is old tea. If the leaves have mixed, large contrast colors, it is believed that the tea is mixed with yellow leaves, old leaves and even old tea, which does not live up to the standard of good tea.
Ø Flavor
New tea is extremely clear and transparent with strong aroma (芳香), while old tea is characterized by brown color and weak fragrance. Take green tea and black tea for example, new green tea tastes a little bitter first, and then the fresh sweet taste begins to surface gradually, leaving a long and memorable aftertaste in mouth.
Ø Place of origin
There is great gap of quality among various places of origin. For example, it is well-known that Yunnan produces the best quality Pu'er tea and premium Oolong tea can be found within Fujian Province.
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A. Every tea-leaf has its own shape. B. Some varieties are identified by tightness of the leaves. C. It is always advised to select tea from its main producing areas. D. While you're selecting tea, you should pay attention to following aspects. E. For foreigners in China, drinking tea may seem like a simple refreshment. F. Generally, new tea-leaves look fresh and pleasing, with light green or dark green. G. On the contrary, if bitter taste takes the lead and fresh sweet taste subsides, it is bad tea. |
Advertising is about creating images，and this is especially true when advertising food and drinks. What the1looks like is more important than what it tastes like. If companies hope to sell food successfully，the food must2appetizing（促进食欲的）.
Television advertising of food often uses3. Apparently，food looks especially appetizing if it moves. Chocolate sauce looks much more4when you see it being poured over ice cream than it does just sitting in a jar.
5effects also help to sell food：sausages sizzling(咝咝响) in a frying pan are mouthwatering. A TV6for a brand of coffee had the sound of coffee percolating(过滤) in the background. The commercial was so7that it lasted five years.
The8of food and its packaging is also very important. If the color looks9 ， people won't eat it. Nobody would normally eat blue bread or drink blue beer. Other10food colors are purple，gray，and in some cases，white.
How people expect something to taste often influences how it11does taste. Researchers gave some mineral water to two groups of people. They told one group that the water was mineral water，and almost all people said，"It tastes12. "Then the researchers told the other group that the water was tap water. This group said the water tasted a little funny. The word tap created a(n)13image of chlorine(氯).
It is the same with14. A food manufacturer gave a group of people the same15in a glass jar （瓶，罐）and in a can and asked them to taste it. They all claimed that the product in the glass jar tasted better.
So it seems to be true. Image is everything.
In the United States, over 25 percent of senior citizens (people over 65) live alone. Without friends and family nearby, seniors are at risk of (have) depression (抑郁).
Many communities are trying to deal with this problem. Providence Mount St. Vincent, a retirement home (退休疗养院) near Seattle, Washington, has (recent) run a program. Over 400 senior citizens live at Providence Mount St. Vincent, and over 40 children from a few months old age five go to daycare there. The children spend the day there with the senior citizens while (worker) look on.
The program has clear advantages. For the older people, their social life improves (改善); they read to and play games with the children, and encourage (they) to do other activities. This makes the seniors feel (use) and happy, and if they feel happy, their health may improve.
The children also get a lot from the program. They have patient group of people to play with in a safe environment. Some of the older people (be) disabled, and staying with them helps children learn (be) more understanding of people with disabilities.
Now, there are many programs like the one at Providence Mount St. Vincent. is believed that even if the very young and the very old don't have a shared past or future, their shared present can be perfect.
