With the attractive scenery and the possibility of a sighting of a monster(怪物), Loch Ness is the one of those rare destinations that engages everyone.
Urquhart Castle
Captured by Edward I in 1296, this prized castle changed hands between the Scots and the English on several occasions. Though ruined today, it's still possible to climb the Grant Tower and visit the battlements and prison cells. A café and the visitor centre offer modern facilities in historic surroundings.
The Loch Ness Centre
For those who wish to digest the complete history of Loch Ness, this centre is particularly good at documenting the history of this mysterious streteh of water, including many attempts to search for Nessie, the infamous monster. It also holds curious artifacts(手工艺品) such as the diving suit worn by Lloyd Scott when he undertook his underwater marathon.
The Clansman Centre
At the south end of Loch Ness, this attraction uncovers the truth surrounding 18th-century family life. Audience members get the opportunity to put on Highland dress and there's a demonstration of how weapons were used. The presentations take place within the recreated interior of a Highland house, adding atmosphere and authenticity(真实性).
South Loch Ness Trail
This route invites hikers along the quieter south side of Loch Ness, passing through three villages, and taking in the Falls of Foyers. Walkers hike a mix of minor roads and forest tracks, with highlights including Suidhe Viewpoint (a mountainous view at 1,200 feet). If it sounds too easy-going, then consider the Loch Ness 360° Trail instead for a more challenging route.
School Counseling (咨询)
In our grandparents' time, it was unthinkable. In our parents' time, it was unusual and nobody spoke openly about counseling. These days, more and more schools are asking for this service and it is considered a necessity for most. Why is it? What has changed in the last fifty years to have made counseling at schools so important?
"One reason is that we expect schools to do more to protect their pupils than we did in the past," says school counselor, Mike Hudson. "Also, our society doesn't work as well as it should. Many parents are either under pressure of work or face the economic problems of unemployment, while children are under more and more pressure to do well at school. Many pupils feel they are pushed to their limits by their parents and teachers. "
Most school children face some kind of relationship problem at some stage with family members, teachers or other pupils, so it helps to have somebody to talk to.
From the pupil's point of view, it is easier to talk to a counselor in confidence rather than a family member or teacher. This solution is less embarrassing to pupils, who are not forced to face the person that they had problems with in the first place. They can calmly talk things through without arguments.
School counselors advise not only students but also their teachers and parents, and offer other services as well, such as deciding learning disabilities or assisting parents and guardians to make the correct decisions about their children's education.
Counselors can help students with problems ranging from the most serious, like a death in the family, to what an adult would consider really trivial, like an argument with a friend.
In a society that is becoming more and more stressful, this service is providing children with a supportive way to express their fear and worries.
My Grandpa Forgets Who I Am
A few days ago I visited my grandfather in hospital. He has Alzhemier's—a degenerative disease that usually starts slowly and gets worse over time. I thought I was prepared to see him. I knew chances were slim that he'd actually recognize me.
He didn't. As a matter of fact, he had no idea that he even had grandchildren. But he was excited that somebody came to visit him. I tried to explain to him who I was. But after he told me multiple times that he didn't have grandchildren, I gave up. And my heart broke into a million little pieces.
I was tired of explaining things to him. So I just smiled. He smiled back. It's a genuine smile. Like a long time ago, when he'd take me by the hand and made this big world a little bit less scary for me. Now I have to take his hand.
We sat in silence for a little while, before he told me to call my grandma. This was the first time I had tried so hard to hold back tears. My grandma died four years ago and he didn't remember. He thought she was stuck on her way to pick him up.
My grandpa used to be a strong, hard-working man. He was the person you turned to when you needed your car fixed, your tires changed or something heavy to be carried. Sadly, that man left this world a long time ago, and left behind a man that is lost and scared.
I want to help him. I want to make him feel better. I want to tell him about his old life, and how great it was. So I sat with him and I held his hand, and every once in a while I told him how good he looked and how much I liked the color of his shirt and how it brought out the blue in his eyes. I told him that my grandma was on her way whenever he asked about her, and I made sure the glass in his hand was always filled with water.
I can't take away his pain. I can't help him remember. I can't make the disease go away. All I can do is hold on to the memories—hold on for both of us.
Eradajere Oleita thinks she may have a partial solution to two of our country's long-standing problems: garbage and poverty. It's called The Chip Bag Project. The 26-year-old student and environmentalist from Detroit is asking a favor of local snack lovers: Rather than throw your empty chip bags into the trash, donate them so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the homeless.
Chip eaters drop off their empty bags from Doritos, Lay's, to other favorites at two locations in Detroit: a print shop and a clothing store, where Oleita and her volunteer helpers collect them. After they clean the chip bags in hot soapy water, they slice them open, lay them flat, and iron them together. It takes about four hours to sew a sleeping bag, and each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags, depending on whether they're single-serve or family-size. The result is a sleeping bag that is "waterproof, lightweight, and easy to carry around," Oleita told The Detroit News.
Since its start in 2020, The Chip Bag Project has collected more than 800,000 chip bags and, since last December, it has created 110 sleeping bags. Sure, it would be simpler to raise money to buy new sleeping bags. But that's only half the goal for Oleita — whose family moved to the United States from Nigeria a decade ago in the hope of attaining a better life — and her fellow volunteers. "We are dedicated to making an impact not only socially, but also environmentally," she said.
And, of course, there's the symbolism of salvaging bags that would otherwise be abandoned in the trash and using them to help the homeless. It's a powerful reminder that environmental injustice and poverty often go hand in hand. As Oleita told www. hourdetroit. com, "I think it's time to show connections between these issues. "
Most people can admit that they've found themselves at one point or another feeling like they are not themselves. They may feel trapped in a cycle that they don't like. .
Getting stuck in a rut(刻板乏味的生活)means you're not sure how to go forward or backward. If you think this sounds like you, then you're not alone. The great news is that you can turn things around and get yourself back up in no time. Take a look at the following tips.
Make a Change
The first step to get out of the situation is to identify what it is about the circumstances that is getting you down. . In that case, you should move somewhere else. In other cases, you may hate your job. Rather than simply accepting it as your fate, start looking for new jobs. The idea is to start taking action instead of just being a spectator of your life.
Accept Things as They Are
Once you start taking action to change the situation, then it becomes much easier to accept things as they are. Acceptance doesn't mean you accept that things never change. . Stop allowing yourself to live in denial(否认). Things will be much easier to improve if you acknowledge things as they truly are. You're in a rut, and that's perfectly okay!
Treat Your Body Well
All too often, people don't realize the connection between mind and body. If you're feeling less than being stellar(杰出的) in your mind, then it may have something to do with how you're treating your body. . You may achieve it by doing things like eating well or engaging in more exercise. Treat your body well, and your mind will follow.
Don't forget the importance of allowing yourself to have some breathing room and a break once in a while. Practice self-care by doing things like spending time with friends or having your hair cut. The idea is refreshing yourself so that you don't burn out. Pushing yourself too hard will only worsen your rut. Recharge your battery by remembering to refresh yourself.
A. Practice Self-care
B. Push Yourself Hard
C. Perhaps it's where you live
D. Most people refer to this as a rut
E. Your body may tell you what to do
F. It means that you aren't fighting reality
G. Consider making changes in your lifestyle
I have grown up with pictures and shapes. Ever since I was a little girl, still1 able to read, my mom would set me up on her lap and read children's picture books for me. She would point to each picture, trace each line and tell me which shapes made the pictures up2 by the tracing of her finger, I would stare and concentrate my eyes to catch every3 that her finger made and would listen for the name of the shape. If I4 anything, I would beg her to repeat the page over and over again, until I had the name and figure of the shape in my5 .
As I entered the second grade, my memorization of the shapes6 with me, I learned newer, complex shapes and my knowledge of shapes7 to the point where my old picture books I had at home could no longer8 my need for shapes. Instead, I9 the world as my new, 10 picture book and read each building, house and truck as rectangles(长方形), squares with triangles and rectangles with circles on the bottom. If I could, I would go up to each object and follow the tracing11 that my mom did when I was younger. I'd take my finger and trace along the outlines of the object and12 what kind of shapes made it up.
At school, during the13 , other kids would say playing dodge ball, but I would say playing spheres(圆球). 14 other kids saw a red wagon(马车), I would break the wagon down in my mind into a rectangle and two circles. I was the only one that saw these "pictures" broken down into shapes, where as everyone else saw it as a15 . Now that I am a senior in high school, I still see things in the same way.
For the first time in 94 years, the Palace Museum has extended its opening hours, allowing the public to celebrate the Lantern Festival at night in the ancient palace.
About 3,000 lucky visitors received free tickets from the government, among was Zhang Zhifu, a 77-year-old public security volunteer. It's a mark of gratitude for her volunteer work. "It is (true) an honor to be granted this special privilege," Zhang said.
To guarantee the (safe) of the palace, festival organizers (plan) this year's Lantern Festival event used LED lights rather than traditional paper lanterns and red candles. It's a fascinating event for visitors to absorb (they) in the festive atmosphere in the museum. Discussion of the Palace Museum's new look lit up social media following Tuesday's display.
Since he became director of the Palace Museum, Shan Jixiang (bring) many changes to the world's (large) royal complex (建筑群). Once in a speech the 64-year-old director shared his idea about how to make traditional (treasure) come alive again. " matters to a museum is not how many visitors they have, but how close they are people's daily lives," he said.
注意：词数80左右。
参考词汇：中国百年成就China's 100-Year Achievements
It was my twelfth birthday, and what I really wanted most was a new bicycle. But I knew that my family couldn't afford one, so I settled for a bedside table with lockable drawers, safe places to keep my private stuff.
We went to the charity shop where we found an old dark one. It didn't look too cool, but I thought that I would paint it to make it look better.
After we took it home, I was getting ready to paint it. When I pulled the drawers out, I felt something stuck to the back of a drawer. I reached in the drawer all the way, and guess what? A sealed bag with some papers was in it.
When I opened the bag, I realized that the papers were official documents. And, wrapped in them was a bunch of ten and twenty dollar bills! Talk about finding a treasure! And on my birthday!
"Is this some kind of joke?" I said aloud. I went ahead and read the papers, and they turned oul to be a will. Some old lady was leaving her savings for her son and grandchildren.
I was going crazy. Was I the luckiest twelve-year-old ever? With this money I could buy the coolest bicycle. Who knows?
I began counting. When I reached a thousand dollars, my mother was knocking on my bedroom door. I quickly closed the drawer with the money in it.
"Do you want some help? Is everything all right?" she asked.
No, everything was not right. Actually, my stomach was growling(低吼).
"I'm okay," I lied.
When my mother left my room, I lay on my bed, starting thinking. What a dilemma(窘境)! I wished there were someone I could talk with. Could I keep it and get all kinds of stuff for me and my family? It wouldn't be too bad for me to keep it, if I shared it… right? Thoughts ran through my mind. But I really didn't need someone else to give me the answer.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
I finally made a decision and called my parents into my bedroom.
……
Though surprised, the shop owner helped find the family's telephone number.
