Since the modern Olympics began in 1896, it has been held in more than 40 different cities. That gives Olympic fans quite a few possible travel destinations to choose.
Beijing, China
Olympic fans should consider visiting the Beijing Olympic Park to check out the special buildings of the so-called "Bird's Nest" and "Water Cube" — the national stadium and aquatics center built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Popular historic places in Beijing include the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and Tian'anmen Square.
Innsbruck, Austria
Located in the heart of the Alps, Innsbruck is known as a great winter destination — which explains why it has hosted not one but two Winter Olympics. Known for its mountainous views, Innsbruck is the perfect stop for outdoor adventurers.
Mexico City, Mexico
This wonderful travel destination offers a wide number of popular museums, historic buildings, and public parks. People will love shopping for fresh meat and produce at the markets, taking a cooking class, and generally eating their way through Mexico City, which is especially known for its culinary (烹饪的) experiences that include both globally well-known restaurants and locally favored street carts.
Melbourne, Australia
Nearly half a century before Sydney hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics, Melbourne became the first Australian host city in 1956. Head to the "cultural capital of Australia", located in Victoria on the southeastern coast, for an energetic cafe culture and art scene. Melbourne offers something for every type of traveler and everyone can enjoy an evening at one of the city's many rooftop bars or a day of wine tasting.
Goldfish have pretty boring lives, so maybe it's a good thing that they can only concentrate for nine seconds! But according to a new research, humans are becoming like goldfish. Our attention span (时长) is getting shorter and it's all because of technology.
"We move quickly from one site to another on the web," says Dr. Ted Selker, a computer scientist from Massachusetts, "and we are losing the ability to concentrate. " With millions of websites to choose from, the attention span of the average Internet user is just seconds. There are other digital distractions (分心) too: email, instant messaging and quickie movies on websites.
Some people are worried about the effect on young people. "You need time to understand and think about what you read,"says Julia Wood, from London. "Young people search the net all the time and their brains become full of useless information but there is no time to make sense of it. I am trying to persuade my pupils to read more books, so that they concentrate on one subject for longer. "
Other teachers are trying more unusual methods to improve students' concentration. Anne Savan, from Wales, was so worried about her students that she started playing Mozart during her science lessons. She says that it had an amazing effect, "The music made them calmer, and their concentration was much better. "
But not everyone believes that there is a problem. Ray Cole, an educational psychologist says, "On the web, young people learn to make quick decisions about what is and isn't worth reading. They might look at five unhelpful websites very quickly, before stopping and reading a sixth useful website more carefully. In a world with so much information available, this is an important skill. "
Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer (征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two "Irelands". Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750，000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8. 2 million in 1841 to 6. 6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warmhearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were "the greatest talkers since the Greeks". Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
Men have long been puzzled by the amount women pack, when they go on holiday. They despair (绝望) as they watch their beloved spend much money on extra baggage charge. Nearly half of these women admitted to lying about the weight of their case to their partner before leaving for the airport, in fear of being made to unload some unnecessary items.
But it's a fact that women pack more than they need. On average, a woman needs around 57 items in suitcase for a two-week holiday, yet most women pack nearer to 150 items, ranging from skirts, tops, underwear and high heels. In addition, women pack more sun cream, make-up and hair appliances than they are likely to need. They all take up space in the suitcase, only a third of them will see the light of day once at the holiday place.
79 percent of women admitted to taking extra items with them, with the reason for this being "just in case". Women plan their holiday wardrobe months in advance. Packing enough clothes and other items to last a month is not enough for some women. They'd take a chance to shop for new items while holidaying abroad. So they'll return with even more luggage in their cases.
Professor Karen Pine said, "Women are tempted to take familiar items with them on holiday, often everything except the kitchen sink. Some people find traveling stressful, particularly when they're unsure about the home comforts available at their holiday place. They over- pack to help cope with those feelings of stress and reduce the uncertainty. "
This will come as no surprise to some men, who are used to trying to squeeze their partner's luggage into the boot of the car with their own, smaller case. On the other hand, men pack very lightly, with only an average of 40 items for a two-week holiday.
Five Tips for Dealing with Your Boss!
Do you have the best boss in the world? Or the worst? Either way, you need to know how to deal with him/her if you want to be happy and successful at work. Here are our top tips.
Ask
There's a saying in English, "If you don't ask, the answer will always be no. " Do you want a raise or a holiday? Yes, sometimes it's scary (令人害怕的), but it'll be easier if you plan what you're going to say first.
Work can be stressful (有压力的). But always remember to keep your cool when dealing with your boss. If you stay calm, you'll earn their respect (尊重). If you're unhappy about something, wait until you've calmed down before speaking to him or her.
Get it in writing
If your boss promises you something (like a raise or a holiday), ask for it in writing. That way you'll have a paper trail.
Understand your boss
Every boss has a different management style. Is yours a micromanager or are they handsoff? Are they organised or disorganised? Understand their style so you can decide how to work with them.
Get along well with your boss
You see your boss a lot. Almost as much as you see your family! So try to stay on good terms with him or her.
A. Do what you say you'll do.
B. Learn to control your feelings.
C. Are they good or bad communicators?
D. You won't get it if you don't ask your boss.
E. You should tell your boss when you've made a mistake.
F. If they suddenly "forget" what they said, you may take it out.
G. If the relationship breaks down, your job will be even more stressful.
Rosa liked making up stories. She was so 1 that her classmates believed her from time to time. In fact, the whole class believed her! At first she supposed it was 2. Now, as she got up to 3 before the class, She knew that make –believe stories had some way of coming back to make you sad.
Rosa's parents were separated. Nine months out of the year, Rosa lived with her mother in an apartment on Anderson Street. But when summer 4, she went to her father's farm in Arizona.
The farm was great! Rosa rode horses and 5 with some farm work. Her father, however, was so 6 that he couldn't find time to go places with her. When she arrived each summer, her father would 7 her at the airport and take her out to eat. And the day she went back to the 8 he would always buy her a present.
When summer came to a close, Rosa 9 to her mother. At school she heard lots of stories her friends told about their family trips. Rosa wished she had a 10 to talk about.
Not long after 11 began, Rosa was looking through travel magazines in the school library. They talked about many exciting 12, like England and Germany. When Rosa's friends asked what she had done that summer, she made up something that was not 13. Remembering the travel magazines she had looked at, she told her classmates that she and her father had gone to 14.
When the class began studying England, Mr. Thomas asked Rosa to tell all the things she could 15 about her trip to England!
The Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese festivals. It is often (call) "Lunar New Year", because — as part of the lunisolar (阴阳的) Chinese calendar — the date is partially determined based on lunar phase (月亮或行星的相位). The festival traditionally (begin) on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar and ends with the Lantern Festival is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year's Eve, a day when Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner, is known as Chú Xī. It literally means "Year-pass Eve".
According to (tale) and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against mythical (神话的) beast called Nian (年兽). Nian would come on the first day of New Year to devour livestock (牲畜), crops, and even villagers, (especial) children. To protect , the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian (eat) the food they prepared, it wouldn't attack people any more. One time, people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid the colour red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used fireworks (frighten) away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again.
involves following a balanced diet.
He was addicted to computer games, and .
Only when I left my hometown .
When he woke up,.
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1）时间与地点：4月10日，学校演讲大厅；
2）进行这次讨论的意义；
3）同学们讨论的具体内容；
4）对活动的感受。
注意：1）词数80左右；
2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
