The Dead Sea might be the most famous salty body in the world, but it's by no means the only one. Here, we uncover some other salt lakes around the world.
Salt Sea
The most famous of the lot-the Salt Sea-is a natural place to start. It's technically not a sea at all, but a land salt lake. Its waters are mainly drawn from the Jordan River, and the high salinity(盐度) means no life can survive here, so don't expect any colorful fish. However, much amusement results from the sea's buoyancy(浮力): bring some reading material to the waters and lie back. Nature will do the rest.
Lake Assal
Surrounded by black volcano rocks, Lake Assal takes the title of being the lowest point in Africa. Vast salt fields mark its edges; the lake has long been at the center of the area's salt trade, on which the region's African locals still rely. Though the area might not be suitable to live in, the waters are rich in minerals and related to health benefits.
Don Juan Pond
Don Juan Pond might not win any prizes for its beauty-at four inches deep, it's little more than a pond, but worth visiting. Its salinity content of almost 40 percent makes it one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth, meaning it doesn't freeze even when Antarctic temperatures drop to -50℃. And with suggestions that water in a similar form could exist on Mars, there's more than one reason for scientists to study this fascinating dry, cold environment.
Great Salt Lake
The biggest salt lake in the western hemisphere(半球) and the one that gave Salt Lake City its name, the Great Salt Lake finds its home in northern Utah. What makes the lake well-known is not only the lake's blue and green waters and white-sand beaches, but Great Salt Lake State Park and Antelope Island State Park both offer super hiking and biking trails, and great long views.
Thrown from his horse three times and repeatedly got wet to the skin while camping in a heavy rain, Chris Walker, the farmer from Gloucestershire was, at 55, the oldest of the competitors in this year's 1, 000 km race across the steppe (大草原). Despite the hardships of his eight-day journey, Walker was delighted to finish third in the annual contest.
The Mongol Derby, described as the world's toughest horse-riding endurance race, began in 2009 as an annual event. Competitors race between checkpoints 35 km (22 miles) apart, where they change horses to ensure the animals are healthy. They spend nights at one of 28 stations, set up their own camp or enjoy the warm welcome of friendly Mongolian families.
Walker, was an hour ahead of his competitors as the race entered its eighth day but unfortunately he faced an hour and a half penalty because during one of the regular checks his horse had a high heart rate, which is forbidden during the contest.
Walker said he had gone to Mongolia to "give it a go" but realised that he stood a chance of winning after teaming up with Patrick Heffron, a competitor from Ireland, who finished third equal alongside his companion.
"The horses are quite wild. I got thrown off three times. I fell off in a marmot (土拨鼠) hole," he said. "You're going along and you suddenly disappear. You have to hang on to your horse for dear life or it goes off. "
Walker said it was important to form a team, mainly because falling off alone means that there was no one to help you with your horse. "Neither of us had prior desires to win this race but we realised:'We're in front. 'So we pushed, "he said.
Asked whether he was attracted to return to see if he could win, Walker replied: "Probably, though I'm getting a bit old."
Technology is developing by leaps and bounds. A small device such as a smartphone now has more processing power than rockets to the Moon once had. New tech brings many advantages, making our lives easier and opening up new opportunities. One piece of kit that's been really taking off recently is the drone. This pilotless mini aircraft, originally developed for aerial (航空的) photography and warfare，is now bringing us benefits closer to home. In the last few years, tech companies such as Amazon, Alphabet and Uber have promised us delivery drones-bringing goods to our doorsteps in a matter of minutes. While progress in developing them has been slow, drones are becoming more and more involved in our life.
Drones are helping to connect with and enhance the lives of people in remote locations. In the UK, the Royal Mail wants a fleet of 500 drones to help deliver the mail to faraway communities. Windracers, the company developing the drones, say theycan ny in fog and produce 30% fewer emissions than comparable piloted aircraft. And in Coventry in the UK, construction has started on an air center, which will act as a base for police and delivery drones. Urban-Air Port Limited is working with car-maker Hyundai on the mini-airport, known as a skyport.
Drones can also play a part in improving the health of millions of people. For example, an incredible development project by the University of South Australia is for drones to eventually be able to survey populations for disease by reading the blood oxygen levels of humans from the air. They'll also be able to scan for other vital signs, like coughing and a high temperature.
It seems that the sky is the limit for what drone technology can achieve. The only thing that sometimes keeps it from working is regulation. Writing for the BBC, Jessica Brown says: "If our skies are to become as crowded as our streets, airspace rules need updating to prevent accidents."
According to a recent study, children explore more than adults and it helps then learn better than grown-ups. The study notes when adults attempt something new but get a negative result, they often won't try it again.
Dr. Alison Gopnik, one of the co-authors, said "That might seem like the most base kind of intelligence-even rats stay away from a path leading to a shock. The downside is that we will never learn the world is more complicated. Children, however, have intense curiosity and drive to explore and this helps them learn many different things and quickly. "
Together with NYU scientist Emily Liquin, Gopnik conducted a scientific experiment to test if young children's drive to explore more than grown-ups influences the way they learn.
They gave 64 young children and 87 adults a game where each placed different blocks on a machine with one rule: If the machine lights up, they get a prize consisting of a star, but if the machine doesn't light up, they lose twice as much. The goal of the game was to discover that all the blocks work except for the ones with white spots.
Most of the children were able to figure out the rule correctly, whereas more than 70% adults couldn't, but it came at a cost: The children earned fewer stars.
The experiment shows adults often leap to faster conclusions, while children are more willing to explore and gather more information before they decide on a result.
The experiment only studied four to seven-year-olds compared to adults in the United States, noting more research is needed to generalize it to a broader population and context, according to the paper.
Gopnik concludes, "We grown-ups are often so anxious to exploit that we don't explore, so afraid of losing stars that we miss the chance to learn something new.
Children, however, are natural explorers, willing to sacrifice stars for the sake of information. We need both types of thinking to grow up, but adults might learn something from those curious kids. "
We've all heard of terms IQ and EQ, which are commonly used. But have you heard of AQ? Being able to handle these rough periods we all go through is not only important in our personal lives but in our professional lives too.
Adverse situations can take us by surprise and shock us. Failed friendships and relationships, financial hard times and even sorrows of losing beloved ones can occur outside of work. AQ measures our ability to withstand the shocks when life throws curveballs at us and can be used to predict our resilience(承受力) when there is a dramatic change. So how can we learn to be more resilient?
Luckily, there are some steps you can take to help you be more resilient in the face of adversity. Resilient people often have an aim and are able to concentrate more on a desired outcome, seeing negative situations as a bump in the road on the way to achieving their goal. Learning to relax and regulate your emotions is another key step. One way to help you out of stress is by practising breathing exercises. Similarly, focusing on unhappy or uncertain things can cause you to be stressed. See difficulties more as an opportunity to learn and grow emotionally. Finally, make sure you have a good social support network.
We can't prevent things happening in life. But taking a few steps to be more resilient can make them a little easier to get through.
A. Sometimes they aren't pleasant.
B. First, try and find a meaningful goal.
C. Setting a realistic goal is the first step to your successful career.
D. AQ measures your ability to deal with the ups and downs of life.
E. Being able to talk with someone about the challenges we face can help.
F. These three quotients (指数) are essential spiritual qualities for everyone.
G In the workplace, it could be in the form of being fired or missing a promotion.
How to bring out your art potential? Traditionally, people may bury themselves in learning1skills at a studio and begin from drawing lines. However, Wiebe from School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan, has her own2. She is trying to do something that shows her love for art and also benefits the3.
4by a group of old ladies in Canada who plant sustainable art materials and5their videos on YouTube, Wiebe learned about how to plant, harvest and separate fibers. She planted different fruits and vegetables traditionally used to dye(染色)6. She then put their peels into boiled water to make a dye. For her, it's a7process but enjoyable.
Wiebe plans to eventually buy some land in Detroit to grow these8art materials. "I'd set it up like a co-operative where artists can9a few hours a week and then freely use all the10that I grow," she told Minnesota News.
Wiebe also likes fiber-based art, such as quilting, sewing and weaving. She has11those techniques to her recent works, displayed as part of the annual Senior Exhibition at her school. The first is a quilt made of pieces of her father's pants and12with pieces of her family's clothing. The second is a towel she13from one of her used sweaters-with an accompanying video showing her14.
"I've been drawing since I was . It's never been a question for me that I would do something art-related, but rather what more specific art-related thing I'll15doing." said Wiebe.
Qiang embroidery(羌绣) has a long and rich history, dating back to the Han Dynasty, it was adopted for use on clothing. It makes use of many kinds of stitches(针法) and (usual) is practised by women more often than not. A pair of embroidered shoes can take as long as ten days to produce, making the practice a test of both skill and patience.
Chen Yunzhen, from Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County in Sichuan Province, (be) a master of Qiang embroidery. As part of her efforts to stop the endangered technique from (appear), Chen began visiting the surrounding regions to teach embroidery. In 2014, she established a Qiang embroidery workshop that has since provided free training to over 20,000 people.
(breathe) new life into Qiang embroidery, Chen has continued to keep open mind, introducing new products like personal accessories, notebooks and bags in addition to the traditional clothes. Chen's two daughters returned to their hometown to help support her efforts after graduating from university. With her daughters' youthful sense of (innovate), Chen has combined metalwork and Qiang embroidery to create earrings, rings and necklaces popular young consumers. She is also considering live streaming to promote her handmade products.
According to Chen, the Qiang people do not have a (write) language, so Qiang embroidery must (preserve) and developed as part of efforts to sustain its culture.
注意：1. 词数80左右; 2. 开头与结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇:刷短视频 watch short videos
Good morning, everyone.
I'd like to
……
That's all. Thank you.
Having worked at a small food store for two years, I thought I had become successful at what our manager called "customer relations". I firmly believed that a friendly smile and an automatic "sir", "madam", "thank you" and "sorry" would see me through any situation. But on a Christmas night an old woman shook my belief that such a glib(油嘴滑舌的) response could smooth over any difficulty while dealing with other human beings.
The moment she entered the store, the woman presented a sharp contrast to our shiny store with its bright lighting and neatly arranged shelves. Walking as if each step were painful, she slowly pushed open the glass door. On such a zero-degree night, she was wearing only a faded print dress, a thin sweater too small to button, and black slippers with the backs cut out to expose heels. There were no stockings or socks on her blue-veined(青筋的) legs.
After walking around the store for several minutes, the old woman stopped in front of the rows of canned vegetables. She looked at the row of cans, finally picked up a can of corn and stared at the label. At that point, I decided to be a good and polite employee and asked her if she needed help. As I stood close to her, my smile became harder to maintain. An unpleasant smell of sweat rose from her torn clothing.
"I need some food," she muttered in reply to my bright "Madam, can I help you?"
"Are you looking for corn, madam?"
"I need some food," she repeated, looking down at the can in her hand, "Any kind. "
"Well, the can of corn is ninety-five cents, madam." I said in my most helpful voice. "Or if you like, we have a special on bread today."
After a short pause, she lifted her head and said, "But I can't pay."
For a second, it was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that she could take the corn. Then the employee rules flooded into my mind: remain polite but do not let the customers take advantage of you.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右; 2. 续写部分分为两段,每段的开头语已为你写好。
At the thought of that, I managed a friendly smile.
……
Instantly I rushed out of the door with the can of corn and stopped the old woman.
