| flat; desert; tissue; do our part; all over the world; take action; shoot; battery; transport; institute |
I was told that the movie (make) by the famous director would be a hit. I had been longing for it.
Yesterday, I (give) two tickets for it. I got dressed beautifully and went to the movie theatre downtown. This was my first time to be in an American movie theatre, and several things that seemed unusual to me happened. First, I was surprised that people were eating during the movie. Usually, popcorn, candy and soda water (sell) in the theatre. Such things can hardly (see) in my homeland. However, they (sell) well in the US, and young people love eating them. I don't understand why people buy food to eat during the movie. Also, before the movie was shown, a lot of people were talking. But as soon as the movie got (start), everyone became quiet. Another unusual thing was that at the end of the movie, nobody applauded. While the credits were (show), people were leaving. It was also strange to me that popcorn boxes and candy wrappers (leave) on the floor of the theatre. I was also surprised that the movie theatre was so small and narrow. I (tell) that the theatre was big at one time. But it (divide) into several small theatres so that several movies could be shown at the same time. It was said that more money could be made in that way.
Handwriting can create or break the first impression. If your handwriting is difficult for others to read, you will sometimes feel embarrassed. . It needs lots of practice to improve your handwriting.
. Try each of them out on a piece of paper by signing your name. Find out which type of pen you can write best with. You may be amazed at the change in your handwriting just by changing to another pen.
. Do not just do what feels comfortable because that is just your old bad habit coming back. Try to hold the pen lightly and don't press too hard.
Use your chosen pen to write Os on some pieces of lined paper. Write until you have filled up all the lines. Be careful with each O that you write. . Practice writing Os as much as possible. Remember that practice makes perfect. You may practice for weeks or months if you need to. .
As your handwriting shows some signs of improvement, go ahead and keep on practicing by writing more words.
A. Prepare different types of pens
B. Practice holding your pen in different ways
C. However, a bad writing habit is hard to break
D. Choose a type of pen with which you write best
E. It won't help if you write a lot of careless Os on the paper
F. Two to three months' practice is enough to get good handwriting
G. After you are confident in your Os, do the same thing with your name
The first CCTV (closedcircuit television) cameras appeared in Britain in 1953, and by the 1960s there were already a few cameras in major streets in London. Today, there are more than four million CCTV cameras across the country.
That's one camera for every fourteen people. The cameras are there to film dangerous or illegal behaviour. With new software, they can recognise the faces of known criminals, and a new kind of CCTV in the Netherlands can discover angry voices and warn the police of trouble. But these cameras don't just watch criminals; they watch all of us, almost all of the time. Every time we go into a shop, or use a cash machine, or travel on public transport, a camera records our actions.
The amount of surveillance (监视) in towns and cities across Britain is increasing. Some goods in shops now have RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags (标签) stuck on them. When you pick up one of these things, the RFID tag sends a radio message to a CCTV camera and the camera starts filming you. Shops say that this technology helps to catch shoplifters—but only by treating everybody as a possible criminal.
Cameras and tags are not the only ways of monitoring (监视) our actions. Every time you make or receive a call on your mobile phone, the phone company knows the number of the phone you are calling and how long the call lasts. It is even possible to work out your exact location.
And what about satellites (卫星)? Are they watching us from space? How much can they see? Anybody with a computer can download Google Earth and get satellite photos of the entire world.
Even when you are at home, you are not necessarily safe from surveillance. When you use your computer to visit websites, you are probably sending and receiving cookies without realising it. Cookies move information from your computer to the website and record which websites you visit. Modern technology is making it easier and easier to stay in touch, but it is also making it nearly impossible for us to hide.
Kong Zi, also called Confucius (551—479 B. C. ), and Socrates (469—399 B. C. ) lived only a hundred years apart. During their lifetimes there was no contact between China and Greece, but it is interesting to look at how the world that each of these great philosophers came from shaped their ideas, and how these ideas in turn, shaped their societies.
Neither philosopher lived in times of peace, though there were more wars in Greece than in China. The Chinese states were very large and feudal, while the Greek citystates were small and urban. The urban environment in which Socrates lived allowed him to be more radical (激进的) than Confucius. Unlike Confucius, Socrates was not asked by rulers how to govern effectively. Thus, Socrates was able to be more idealistic, focusing on issues like freedom, and knowledge for its own sake. Confucius, on the other hand, advised those in government service, and many of his students went on to government service.
Confucius suggested the Golden Rule as a principle for the conduct of life. "Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you." He assumed that all men were equal at birth, though some had more potential (潜能) than others, and that it was knowledge that set men apart. Socrates focused on the individual, and thought that the greatest purpose of man was to seek wisdom. He believed that some had more potential to develop their reason than others did. Like Confucius, he believed that the superior class should rule the inferior (下层的) classes.
For Socrates, the family was of no importance, and the community of little concern. For Confucius, however, the family was the centre of society, with family relations considered much more important than political relations.
Both men are respected much more today than they were in their lifetimes.
