For many foreigners, finding new friends can case the often overwhelming task of adjusting to a new life abroad. The following countries can definitely feel more welcoming than others.
Uganda
This East African country received the highest marks for friendliness. According to the InterNations report, 57% of foreigners in Uganda gave 'general friendliness' the best possible rating （the global average was 26%）. Not only that, not a single respondent ranked this factor negatively. Uganda isn't without its problems, however, including the occasional power failure, and pollution from old cars
Costa Rica
The Central American country ranks high across all factors when it comes to how easily foreigners fit in. Almost nine out of 10 foreigners（89%）are pleased with the general friendliness of the population, and eight out of 10（79%）feel at home, according to the survey.
"If you make an effort to understand and eagerly accept the Costa Rican culture, you are very much welcomed with open arms and considered a friend. "
Colombia
This South American hotspot feels like home fast, according to many foreigners.
"The Colombian people are eager to show their country in a positive light and are very receptive and hospitable towards newcomers, "said Anne. Colombia is one of the countries in the world with the lowest percentage of foreign-born residents.
Oman
As one of the sunniest countries in the world, Oman also has friendly residents who reflect the warm climate. A welcoming culture rooted in faith also leads to an openness with newcomers.
While the cost of living in Oman is growing more expensive, it was recently ranked by Mercer as one of the more affordable places to live in the Middle East.
Maybe no one forgets their first bicycle and there is no exception to a woman like me. Mine was a Schwinn coaster bike, second-hand, painted a distinctive red and yellow by its previous owner. I remember riding too fast down the big hill on Springfield Avenue. I knew at once that the world was mine to explore.
A couple of years later, when I was 11, my grandmother visited from England, bringing me a bike. It was a shiny dark green, with three gears (齿轮) and hand brakes. As the owner of the first English bicycle my neighbors and classmates had ever seen, I was, for a time, almost a star.
Unlike my coaster bike, it was light and responsive - riding it felt like flying. I rode it past big stone houses with their huge yards and trees. I rode past brick row houses. I rode alone and with groups of friends.
That beloved bike went with me to college, carrying me to the library and to classes. Beyond transport, it was often a prop (道具): pushing it along as I walked the college paths made me feel less self-conscious. Somehow, conversations flowed more easily on either side of a bike.
After college, I lived abroad for a time. Returning from London, I discovered to my horror that my parents had sold my bike. For years after that, I didn't have a bicycle that was specifically mine. But after a while I missed riding. Eventually, on a fall day, I bought a bicycle with wider tires than my old bike and seven gears.
Still, I was a bit apprehensive. I was out of practice and a lot older. I brought the bike home and put on my helmet - I'd never worn a helmet before. Then I got on the bike. After a hesitant, slightly shaky start, I felt exactly as I was on that long-ago day on Springfield Avenue: free. Soon I was riding along. It seemed that everyone I passed smiled and waved or called out, great day for a bike ride! And I knew they all remembered their first bike and how it had set them free. I wanted to call back to them, "I still can!"
More than a billion people around the world have smartphones, almost all of which come with navigation (导航) apps such as Google or Apple Maps. This raises the question we meet with any technology: what skills are we losing? Talking with people who're good at finding their way around or using paper maps, I often hear lots of frustration with digital maps. North/South direction gets messed up, and you can see only a small section at a time.
But consider what digital navigation aids have meant for someone like me. Despite being a frequent traveler, I'm so terrible at finding my way that I still use Google Maps every day in the small town where I have lived for many years. What looks like an imperfect product to some has been a significant expansion of my own abilities.
Part of the problem is that reading paper maps requires specific skills. There is nothing natural about them. In many developed nations, including the U. S. , one expects street names and house numbers to be meaningful references, and instructions such as "go north for three blocks and then west" make sense. In Istanbul, in contrast, where I grew up, none of those hold true. For one thing, the locals rarely use street names. Why bother when a government or a military group might change them again? Besides, the city is full of winding, ancient alleys that meet newer avenues at many angles. Instructions as simple as "go north" would require a helicopter or a bulldozer (推土机).
Let's come back to my original questions. While we often lose some skills after leaving the work to technology, it may also allow us to expand our abilities. Consider the calculator: I don't doubt that our arithmetic skills might have dropped a bit as the little machines became common, but calculations that were once boring and tricky are now much more straightforward—and one can certainly do more complex calculations more confidently.
We've all been there — watching late-night TV and a commercial comes on for something that looks positively mouthwatering. Maybe it's yummy pizza, a refreshing beer, or steamed chicken wings. We think "how I wish I could get my hands on that right now" but instead settle for a bowl of instant noodles or some biscuits and cheese.
A Japanese professor wants to change that, and has developed a prototype for a lickable television screen device that can imitate food flavors.
According to a report from Reuters, the device is called Taste the TV (TTTV) and it uses a moving belt of flavor canisters (气雾罐) that spray in combination to imitate the tastes of particular foods. The device works by releasing flavor from 10 canisters onto a sheet of film that is rolled over the TV or tablet screen, which users can lick.
"The goal is to make it possible for people to have the experience of something like eating at a restaurant on the other side of the world, even while staying at home, " Homei Miyashita, a professor at Meiji University in Tokyo, told Reuters, adding that it could be beneficial for people who want to interact with foods from around the world during the pandemic.
According to a demonstration video, researchers mixed various foods and used sensors to "taste" them. The video shows other ways the TTTV could be used. For instance, you could add flavoring to toast, or make one food taste like something else entirely. The canisters can spray different flavors, which mix them together to create the desired taste profile.
Miyashita told Reuters the device could also be helpful for distance learning classes for cooks or chefs, or could be used for tasting games and quizzes.
True beauty is not found in looks. Changing the way you think about beauty will give you life-long confidence.
Place your beauty in your identity but not your identity in your beauty. If you hold onto youthful beauty as a narrow definition of yourself, you won't enjoy your looks as you age. Mirrors tell us only a part of what we show to the outer world. Go past your reflection and see the real self!
The fountain of youth doesn't exist. Despite many anti-aging products, there is no magic solution to stopping the effects of aging. You should stop devaluing (贬低) yourself just because you are getting older. Aim for a healthy life and keep yourself strong and fit. Eat healthy diet and be committed to a daily exercise routine. Lots of efforts are needed.
Beauty relates to physical and psychological aspects. However, Serena Williams never hides her unusual powerful physique (体格). Instead, her showing her muscles enhances her appeal. Many fans think she is beautiful. This proves that looking beautiful and attractive goes beyond our looks.
Beauty matters to all of us, but to those who age beautifully, it matters neither too much nor too little. Do enjoy our lives to the fullest. True beauty is about accepting yourself. It is also about feeling good about yourself.
A. Everyone does it.
B. It comes from the inside.
C. Go beyond your mirror image.
D. You will feel better over a long term.
E. It's human nature to believe beauty is everything.
F. People generally think beauty is only a skin-deep issue.
G. Be less scared of aging and you will looks more beautiful.
It was well after midnight, I stood silently staring out of the ninth floor window of the New York hospital. At 9 a. m. , I was1into an operating room. After an eleven-hour2, I was put into a recovery room. It was then that I first saw him. He was so3and stood in the doorway of the recovery room. He sent out sympathy and 4to me.
The man would be standing in the doorway, smiling and nodding as I would pass with one or more members of my family. On the fourth week I was allowed to walk up the corridor(走廊) 5. As I passed his room, I stopped a minute to6. He introduced me to his wife and his son who was7in a hospital bed. He explained that he and his wife had brought their boy to this hospital of hope from Iran. They were still8but things were not going well. For three more weeks we9 our conversations, each giving the other the gift of caring and friendship.
There did come a day when the doctor told me I could10 the hospital the following morning. The next morning he came to my room. I told him I would pray for his son. He 11 me but shrugged(耸肩) indicating the hopelessness. This man in his sorrow was so12 for me. I could feel his love. As I turned to walk down the corridor to the elevator, he was 13 and stood in the doorway, smiling, nodding and giving his blessing.
Fifteen years have passed and I think of him 14and he is always in my heart as I feel I am in his. I think it is because when we face the15 , our hearts and souls are open to those around us and we are able to accept the love and kindness of others, almost freely and thankfully as children accept love.
Most people who keep animals choose to have dogs, cats, fishes or small birds. But Recep Mirzan keeps different animal on his farm in Western Turkey.
The 63-year-old retired postal worker has a swan, a large and long-lived bird (find) in many parts of the world.
Mirzan rescued the swan from a (danger) situation many years ago. Mirzan and a group of friends (drive) in their car when they saw an injured swan with a broken wing. Mirzan (immediate) took the swan with him to protect her from (enemy) . He kept her in the car until that afternoon he was able to take the swan to his home.
He named the swan Garip. It (mean) "strange" in the Turkish language but is also used to describe a person who has had difficulties in their life. After Garip's broken wing improved, she remained with Mirzan. Mirzan is not married and has no children, so the swan is like a child to him. When Garip is out of her pen, an area is used to keep her protected, she follows Mirzan wherever he goes.
According to the group Swan Sanctuary, in Britain, swans live in the wild for only about 12 years. But in protected environments, they can live up 30 years.
Helen was a young girl. Her parents taught her to be kind, and she always was. And she lived a happy life. Unluckily, one day, her mother had an accident. Her right leg was hurt badly and needed an expensive operation.
Her family couldn't afford to pay for it. Although their friends and relatives all tried their best to offer help but it was far from enough. And they were unsure what to do next.
One day, walking down the street to a bookstore nearby, Helen noticed an old man trying hard to climb the steps to a nearby park. The old man with Alzheimer's disease（阿尔茨海默氏症）left home days ago and ended up wandering around the streets while his son, Dr. Smith, a doctor of the City Hospital, had been trying to find him but in vain.
"He can't climb the steps. He looks so weak." Helen said to herself. Without hesitation, she ran over to him.
"Sir, let me help you!"
The man made no response, then Helen repeated it. Slowly raising his head, the man looked at her, surprised. Helen gave him a smile and then helped him climb the steps. "Your hands are shaking!" Helen said anxiously. "Are you okay?"
"I'm so hungry," he murmured. "I want to walk… to the park for… a rest." After helping him sit on a park bench, Helen rushed home and returned with some food, only to find the man was lying on the ground, unconscious. "Sir, please wake up!" she cried in anxiety. "What should I do?" she wondered.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Looking around, she noticed a woman standing meters away talking on the phone.
……
"He's my dad! Where did you find him?" Dr. Smith cried.
