— ______. Just let me know when, and I'll be there.
— She had an essay to finish that evening.
— We have been preparing for the ______ of a new advertising campaign next month.
Kid as he is, Obocho Peters is already a role model to his community.
The boy dreams of giving1families a better life, especially when it2education. And he is making it happen through a ( n )3he started two years ago. The wheels began turning in Obocho's4after he saw the movie Avengers: Infinity War. He asked his mum to buy him5of the characters.6, she couldn't afford them. Then Obocho decided to7his old clothes so that he could buy the toys himself. He also began wondering how he could make a 8in his community.
" When my mum shared her hardship with me, I9that other families must face these10problems when taking care of their children, " Obocho wrote. " That idea turned into the business I have today — to help the community11. "
He started Obocho's Closet, a shop that sells donated pieces of clothing for $10 and under. It started as an online store but after12more than $10,000 on an online fundraising platform, Obocho opened a physical13this year on his birthday. His main14is to provide families with15choices so that they can save money for college funds (资金). He also uses some of the money earned to16the local financial classes where parents learn about budgeting, saving and using credit cards.
In June 2019, Obocho was17" Heroes of the Month " for his great18to his community. What a smart,19kid! We can only20all the great things Obocho will go on to accomplish.
Do you like watching documentaries? If you do, here are some you might be interested in.
Tiny World
If you're a fan of the often-overlooked small species, then this series on the " tiny heroes " is for you. Written by Planet Earth II's show runner Tom Hugh-Jones, Tiny World is narrated (讲述) by Paul Rudd, who played the superhero Ant-Man in the Marvel films. More than 200 species were filmed over the course of nearly a decade. The majority of filming took place in the wild. The first six episodes (集) are available now. The remaining six episodes will be released next year.
Night on Earth
What do animals get up to while we're sleeping in bed? Using new low-light camera technology, this six-part series, another documentary from the producer of Planet Earth II, reveals the night-time behaviour of creatures across the globe, from urban otters moving through city streets to the whale sharks that exist in the depths of our dark oceans.
Extinction: The Facts
From the start, it's clear that this Attenborough documentary is going to be a tough and emotional watch. The programme follows on from a 2019 UN report, which showed that a million species face extinction. Following on from presenting Climate Change The Facts last year, Sir David Attenborough's latest hard-hitting documentary looks at the crisis of biodiversity (生物多样性) loss.
Virunga
Virunga is titled after Virunga National Park in Congo — " one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet " , according to the park's website, and home to an endangered group of mountain gorillas. This Netflix documentary not only aims to capture the wildlife in the national park, but also the dedication of teams aiming to protect it.
The Appalachian Trail winds some 2,190 miles across 14 states in the eastern US. Although it attracts thousands of serious hikers each spring, only one in four hikers completes the entire trail.
The Sutton family recently finished hiking the entire trail. They are a unique trio (三人组) as their son Harvey turned five on the trail, which makes him the youngest to complete the Appalachian Trail.
Josh and Carrie Sutton said they needed to take breaks from busy work called mini-retirements. " We set the family goal of living a life with extraordinary stories. Doing things like hiking with a child on the Appalachian Trail gives you extraordinary stories, " Josh Sutton said.
When Harvey turned three, they took him winter camping, and by the time he was four, the family completed a 50-mile hike, camping over six days. Seeing that Harvey developed a passion for hiking, they planned a thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail. Hiking from end to end is called a thru-hike and generally takes five to seven months to complete.
They hit the trail in Georgia on January 13, 2021. The first weeks were cold. The trail was icy and snow-covered, and the weather was often cloudy and bitter, so they made slow progress. They would wake up early each day, pack their gear (装备), and then start walking. As they had many miles to cover each day, they had to be inventive and started using imagination and Skittles (彩虹糖) as incentive for little Harvey.
The family completed their journey on August 9, 2021. Little Harvey learned to count all the way to 2,193, the total miles his little feet traveled, and a big number for someone who just started kindergarten. " I will do it again because I like it so much, " said Harvey.
Although the Suttons are now back home, they have incredible memories of this mini-retirement. The journey is a life-changing experience for the Sutton family and is an inspiration for families who dream of taking a similar journey.
Motion picture, also called film or movie, series of still photographs on film, projected in rapid succession onto a screen by means of light. This new art form became one of the most popular and influential media of the 20th century and beyond. In early twentieth-century France, a new form of entertainment was becoming a hit — motion pictures. People crowded into theatres for short, silent, black-and-white films that showed everyday happenings, such as a train pulling into a station. These images were dimly projected onto white sheets. Usually, there was no sound. Occasionally, men at pianos played music to match the scenes.
Later, with the introduction of colour and sound, the silent film soon disappeared. Colour and sound introduced a new world into the cinema and steadily grew more effective. It can be used to produce a powerful dramatic impression. Moving images at theatres are now no longer novel, but back at the beginning of the art form, surprises lurked (隐藏) around every corner. During the initial showings of basic silent movies, some people in the audience screamed in fear, reacting to what they saw as if it were happening in real life. Moviegoers were known to even leap out of their seats due to the trains on the screen. At that time, few people understood what motion pictures were, so audience members could easily be fooled.
Today, people crowd into theatres for the latest 3D movies. Even older movies, such as the popular Star Wars series, are being re-released in 3D. Moviemakers are excited about the ability to involve the audience more directly in the story or film. In addition, theatres invest tens of thousands of dollars on high-quality audio systems so that everything from the safest whispers to the largest explosions sounds clear and realistic. Sound, dialogue, and music are used in combination not only with one another but also with the visual image. They can overlap and vary in intensity in a flexible and complex pattern with those high-quality audio systems.
What will movies be like 100 years from now? Will audience be able to smell scents in the films, taste the food that characters are eating, or even become part of the stories themselves? Only time will tell.
Is changing answers in your test a good idea?
Maybe you can answer a question in seconds. However, do not just trust your first instinct (直觉) in a test. Instincts are not about finding the truth. They are about survival. Your brain doesn't think through most stuff in life. It just uses shortcuts (捷径) to fool yourself into thinking you know.
Do you remember how it felt to be learning something new? At first it could be complicated. There were hundreds of details that your brain needed to look out for. When you're learning anything new, your brain is working overtime. Now imagine how you feel doing that new thing you learned before. It gets easier, right? Stuff gets easier because the brain starts creating shortcuts for decision making.
When you're taking a test, these shortcuts are usually your first instincts. If you see an answer that instantly looks related to the question, then your brain is going to start ringing alarm bells ( " This might be it " ). The logical part of your brain hasn't even come into the station and the conductor is screaming, " All aboard! "
Changing your answer is letting the logical part of your brain take the wheel. You are going to end up right more often than you end up wrong.
" But my experience says otherwise! " That's because your experience is just another shortcut. When you're examining your completed test, your brain probably has a shortcut of looking at your wrong answers and skipping the ones you got right. The bright red pen will direct you straight to your problem areas. That means you're probably not getting a fair representation of your results.
When you get an answer wrong because you changed your answer, you will probably notice it. It will stand out. The bright red circle just pulls your brain in. It forces your attention to it. Since it's a question you probably spent a minute or two on, you'll remember why you got it wrong. When you get an answer right because you changed your answer, the opposite happens. There are no red circles directing your attention to how awesomely smart thinking twice was. It will just slide unnoticed while you let your eyes wander over other red marked areas you need to think about.
Steve and Joanna have lived on the remote Bardsey Islanda major British nature reserve, since 2007. They moved there by responding to an advertisement looking for a family to run the island's farm.
" The children had loved holidays here and had no doubt about island life. But Steve and I wondered whether we could cope, being the only inhabitants in such a remote place, " recalls Joanna " But the role and place fitted us. " The couple's strong faith gives them a deep connection with the island.
Their life is demanding with just two of them managing the island's farm, 30 cows and fragile ecosystems. Joanna also works for the RSPB Wildlife Charity and tries to grow enough vegetables to keep them self-sufficient. In general Joanna and Steve's lives are a cycle of alternating solitude and interaction (孤独与互动的交替) " In spring and summer the island becomes very busy with visitors, and I'm growing vegetables to sell and working in our café. By autumn I'm looking forward to winter. I long for some peace and privacy, and I love having time to be creative " says Joanna.
Bardsey's population doubled last Christmas when a second couple moved into the island — to look after the bird observatory " We have each other round for meals and help each other out, " says Joanna. " It's been lovely. Many people choose island life for similar reasons — whether it's to escape the stress of big city life or its in search of new opportunities like starting a business. That tends to bring the community together. "
" I read somewhere that islands can either free you or become your prison " Joanna concludes. " We feel so privileged to live on Bardsey and be free to be who we are. I find myself more relaxed and less stressed living here. "
请你给负责预选赛的外教老师Mr. Black写一封信，请求参加预选赛，内容包括：
1）写信的目的；
2）自我推荐（自己的优势，语言能力，比赛经验等）；
3）期待答复。
参考词汇：英语能力竞赛 English Proficiency Contest
注意：
1）词数不少于100；
2）可适当加入细节，使内容充实、行文连贯。
Dear Mr. Black,
Yours,
Li Jin
