Family sizes are shrinking around the world. In many countries, families are having fewer than two children.
Smaller families mean many children now grow up with fewer cousins. This is hard to imagine, as I come from a large extended family with 23 first cousins on one side and 25 on the other.
Sometimes when I can't sleep, I test my mental acuity (敏锐度) by trying to name all my relatives. Then in the morning I get up and wonder if I should make an appointment with a brain specialist.
Of course, almost all of those cousins have married and had children and now their children are having children.
With extended families growing so large and spreading so far, get-togethers have nearly become a thing of the past.
One of the last gatherings on my father's side was at the home of a cousin who has a place in the country on top of a hill. A tent was set up with long tables creaking (吱嘎作响)under the weight of fried chicken, potato salad and chocolate cake. A fishing hole waited nearby for the kids. Vehicles poured in from every direction, parking on the drive, the grass, wherever they could find a spot. There was talking and laughing and joking and food.
While such gatherings had grown infrequent, we were all happy to be together.
Although some of us had not seen one another since so-and-so's wedding or somebody's father's funeral, most people were still easy to recognize. Three sisters who sat together all had the same beautiful skin their mother had.
The cousin with bright blue eyes who raced her horse as a teenager still had bright blue eyes. An older cousin who gave me piano lessons when I was young and naughty seemed to have forgiven me.
We share a gene pool (基因库) of people who work hard and laugh often.
It was very dark when the last set of taillights (尾灯) disappeared into the night, . As we gathered our things, said our goodbyes and prepared to leave, a cousin called to me saying, " Don't forget where you come from".
I never could. And I'd never try.
It's commonly thought that boys perform better than girls in math and science. Researchers have challenged that stereotype (刻板印象) for a longtime, and a recent study, published in the journal Nature Communications in September, found a new way to attack it.
The study found that women are better than men at sustaining (维持)their performance on longer tests, including math and science.
Researchers Pau Balart, from the University of the Balearic Islands in Spain, and Matthijs Oosterveen from Erasmus University in the Netherlands, analyzed data collected every three years from 2006 to 2015. The data came from 74 countries and regions, for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). This is a standardized test of 15-year-old students' performance in reading, math and science.
Their earlier results agreed with earlier findings that boys do better than girls in math and science. But when they compared the two groups' scores at different stages of the test, girls tended to perform more stably(稳定地) in math and science, while boys started getting fewer correct answers.
Although boys seemed to show advantages from the start in math and science, the authors wrote, "This finding suggests that longer tests shrink it in math and science, " according to Nature. To prove this, the researchers analyzed another database with over 400 math tests, which lasted longer than PISA's two hours. They found that, at least for math, the scoring gap between boys and girls decreased.
This isn't the observation of better test endurance (忍耐力) in women. Oxford University used to add an extra 15 minutes to its math and computer science exams. They found female students' scores improved.
Olga Shurchkov, an associate professor at Wellesley College in the US, told Newsweek: "This study is important because it provides cross-country evidence that suggests these gender (性别) gaps can be reduced. "
In her earlier study, she found that, given more time, women tended to be more careful and make fewer mistakes. They also were less likely to quit a task early. This also supports the finding of the present study.
Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. When he was 17 years old, he traveled across Europe and Asia with his father, who wanted to do trade with the Chinese.
When they eventually arrived in Beijing, they were warmly welcomed by Kublai Khan, the Yuan Dynasty Emperor. Marco was very clever and could speak four languages. The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends. He asked Marco to serve in his court and sent him to so many important tasks across the country.
Marco Polo, in turn, was amazed by how beautiful and powerful China was. He was very impressed by Beijing and the Emperor's Palace, especially the Summer Palace. There were many inventions and developments in China, which were not available in Europe at that time. Marco Polo was amazed to see Chinese people using paper money in markets. In Europe, people paid for goods with gold pr silver. He was also confused by the black stones people used to burn for fuel, as he had never seen coal before!
After 17 years of service to the Emperor, Marco Polo returned to Italy. Unluckily, a local war broke out, and he was caught and put into prison. He met another prisoner who enjoyed listening to his stories about China. The prisoner was an author and he took dictation while listening. Later he wrote the stories in a book called The Description of the World, one of the best sellers(畅销书) in Europe.
People have been enjoying the benefits of cycling (骑自行车) in Amsterdam for years. It is a good city for cycling because it is flat and there are plenty of places for bicycle parking. Today some people call Amsterdam "City of Bicycles" because of the convenience for bicycles there.
In the 1960s, a group of cycling fans had an idea. They believed that it would be better for everybody if cars weren't allowed in the city center and only bicycles were. They were hopeful that this would help to save energy, reduce pollution and provide free public transport. The group painted hundreds of bicycles white and placed them in lots of neighbourhoods around Amsterdam for people to use. Then a problem came—thieves took all the bicycles within weeks!
However, more than thirty years later, the "white bike' is back in town—this time with a computer chip (芯片) to record its every move! To take a bicycle, you have to insert a special card. The new " white bike" is not actually white but is an unusual design with bright colours. The bikes are parked at special parking places and people who want to use them have to take them to another special parking place that has enough room.
There is already less traffic in central Amsterdam, because both locals and tourists have been using the white bikes. Instead, thanks to the good ideas of lots of people, like the cycling fans in the 1960s, many people around the world have been enjoying city centre streets without cars many years.
Beating school fears
There are real fears and imagined ones. Most school dangers are imagined. Many students have learned to fear teachers and classrooms, textbooks and tests. So first let's determine what the fears are, and then attack them in a good problem-solving way.
Fear of failure
Most students have plenty of ability to meet school demands. Most assignments and courses are within reason, more likely to be boring than difficult. Once you have had a few successes, you will begin to overcome this fear.
Fear of teachers
This is clearly an unreal fear. Look around at your fellow students. Some of them will be teachers. As you can see, there is nothing special about them. You can get to know them better out of class. Visit them and chat with them.
Fear of talking in class
Anyone can make a mistake, but an hour later people will not even remember a mistake was made. Also keep in mind that your performance in class is almost never the main part of your grade.
This fear can help you watch for real danger. The future can be dangerous. But to let it keep you from trying new things would be to give up life. Your own experience shows that most of the time things work out all right. The more things you try out, the more you will feel at home.
A. Fear of starting out
B. Fear of potential danger
C. Rarely is it lack of ability that makes people fail.
D. This is because they are much more concerned with themselves.
E. So don't hand over power to teachers that they don't really have.
F. However, school institutions have made most people think otherwise.
G. Often something else is the real problem, not what you first identified.
Which comes first, happiness or money? Are richer people happier? And 1, how do people get richer? A recent study could tell you the answer.
The study 2 thousands of teenagers and found that those who felt better about life as young adults 3 to have higher incomes by the time they 4 29. Those who were happiest earned an average of $8, 000 more than those who were the most 5.
The researchers, from University College London and the University of Warwick, say that very gloomy (沮丧的) teens, no matter how tall or smart they were, earned 10% less than their peers, 6 the happier ones earned 7 30% more.
Happier teenagers have an easier time 8 school, college and the job interview, 9 because they always feel better about life. It may also be true that happier people find it easier to make friends, who are often the key to homework help or networking.
A report in June suggested that professional respect was more important than 10 in terms of workplace happiness. In August scientists announced that they had found the 11 for happiness in women. Alas! The same gene doesn't appear to have 12 effect on men. And in October researchers in the UK and in the US announced that people who eat seven portions of fruit and vegetables a day report being the happiest.
If it is really true that happier kids 13 being wealthier kids, is it necessary for parents to get their kids to do the homework? The fact is that no homework will make kids happy but surely hurt their grades. Studies do show, 14, that more education 15 better-paid jobs, which may give us a deep thought.
After a long summer holiday, my new life at senior high school (begin) at last. I was little anxious (焦虑的） in the morning, (worry) that I would not make new friends. I was not outgoing after all. However, things turned just fine. Both my teachers and (classmate) made a good impression on me. They were friendly and helpful. In fact, one of my classmates was so talkative he kept talking to me over the experiment! Maybe he was just trying to impress me, but I felt quite angry I couldn't concentrate. I was too frightened (tell) him to leave me alone. It would be awkward if I did. The classes were much more difficult than at junior high school. There is a lot for me (explore). I hope I can fit in soon.
Actually, the film you see on the screen is the product of a huge amount of hard work, most of takes place the scene.
Another aspect I is visual special effects.
Props also a film's success.
Most people that regular exercise for the body and mind but what exactly are its health benefits?
When you plan an exercise routine, the first thing is you expect to improve: heart and lung , muscle strength or flexibility.
1）表示难过和理解；
2）找出错误原因并及时改正；
3）鼓励他重拾自信，实现梦想。
【注意】
1）词数100左右；
2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3）开头和结尾已为你写好。
Dear Tony,
……
Yours,
Li Hua
