Want to experience Berlin's Museum Island? Love to pack as many activities and as much sightseeing as possible into your trip? Then we recommend the Berlin Welcome Card—Berlin's official tourist ticket—a godsend to your bank account!
Free city guidebook
It comes with a useful guide, a removable map of the city and its main public transport routes. The guide also includes suggested tours and helpful tips as you make your way across the city.
Discounts from many attractions
The Card has over 200 sights and attractions as discount partners with savings up to 50%. With the Card, you get to experience them at a special price, book tickets for museums, boat trips & guided tours online in advance and secure your desired date and time. When booking, select the tickets marked with the BWC discount.
Free public transport
Berlin is divided into the fare zones A, B and C for which you will need an appropriate travel ticket to use the public transport service (bus & rail). Section A is composed of the Berlin inner city up to and including the S-Bahn Ring. Section B is located outside the S-Bahn Ring up to the city limits. Section C is the area around Berlin, including the town of Potsdam, the Sachsenhausen Memorial Site and Berlin's BER Airport.
The Berlin Welcome Card is available as follows:
Like most of his classmates, Zhang Yixuan is facing academic pressure as he is preparing to attend the national college entrance examination, or gaokao, next year. However, compared with playing smartphones and games, Zhang Yixuan prefers spending his summer vacation walking in wild nature, meeting little creatures like crabs. His bedroom is packed with dozens of "living treasures" that he has collected from the outdoors including insects, fish, and crabs.
It is the microscope that his father bought him that makes the bedroom look more like a mini-biology lab than anything else and it's a place where Zhang can devote himself to identifying or observing crabs day and night. With the help of the microscope, Zhang buries himself in studying the natural world. Sometimes he spends hours simply examining one leg of a crab. It was his deep interest in nature that led Zhang into a new world of discovery.
Last year, a group of crabs caught Zhang's attention since they looked unusual compared with the commonly seen ones in Rongxian county where he lives. He decided to take seven of them home. After much observation and lots of researches by reading related articles and documents, Zhang speculated that it must be a new species. And it proved to be true by experts.
The hardworking and gifted teenager is very grateful to his parents for their understanding and support. His father Zhang Lefei, who was born in a rural area, loved catching fish and crabs himself at an early age. So he and his wife would take their son out into nature to explore as much as possible and would allow him to observe crabs quietly without any disturbance.
They say interest is the best teacher. And so are parents, it seems.
Australian scientists have started vaccinating (接种疫苗) wild koalas against the disease chlamydia (衣原体病) in an ambitious trial in New South Wales (NSW). They want to test a way to protect the animals against the widespread condition that causes blindness, the inability to have babies, and death.
"It's killing koalas because they become so sick that they can't climb trees to get food and females are unable to have babies," said Dr. Samuel Phillips, a microbiologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Around half of the wild koala population in the Northern Rivers region of NSW—about 50 animals—will be caught and vaccinated. "We want to evaluate what percentage of the koalas we need to vaccinate to meaningfully reduce infection and disease," said Dr. Phillips.
The first koalas were caught and vaccinated in March and the effort is expected to last about three months. Researchers use telescopes to spot koalas in the trees, then build fences around the tree bases with doors leading into cages. After a few hours or days, the koalas climb down from one tree to seek tasty leaves on another and wander into the harmless traps.
After a check-up to make sure the animals are in good condition, researchers give them anaesthesia (麻醉) to make them sleep before they manage the vaccine. They watch the koalas' health for 24 hours after they wake up to make sure there are no side effects. The goal is to vaccinate healthy koalas to prevent them from becoming infected with chlamydia. The researchers mark the koalas' backs with pink dye so the same animals aren't caught twice.
It is not known what caused koalas to catch chlamydia. But the scientists believe it was probably from exposure to the infected sheep and cattle. It spreads when koalas mate, or it can be passed from a mother to her babies.
In the US only about 3% of early childhood teachers are male. Experts say this may have a great influence on young children whose understanding of gender roles and identity is rapidly forming. Research has found that getting access to different teachers is of benefit to children. This means the youngest learners are more likely to be exposed to a wide variety of games and communication. It can also help them develop healthy ideas about gender.
"In our society and world, we tend to have very specific stereotypes (刻板印象) of gender roles," said Mindi Reich-Shapiro, an assistant professor in the Borough of Manhattan Community College, and one of the authors of a recent study. "It's necessary for the kids to see other possibilities and paths they can choose."
Although they largely felt supported by colleagues and families, many male teachers surveyed stated that in their career as early education teachers, they did face social and cultural resistance. Some even noted that the parents were surprised or concerned when they found a male teacher with their kids. Moreover, the male teachers were sometimes advised not to hug children.
Reich-Shapiro and other researchers have made some suggestions to increase the number of male early education teachers. Low wages have long been considered as a major problem in this field. More than 70% of male teachers said they intended to stay in the early education workforce, and pointed out that the major motivator for their commitment to their long-term career was an increased salary. Thus, the report recommended that all preschool educators be paid as much as the primary school teachers. The government should establish support groups and provide guidance and professional advice for male early education educators.
Reich-Shapiro said that traditional recruitment methods for early childhood teachers could not handle the gender gap in the field. He suggests providing young individuals with opportunities to stay and work with children either through training or voluntary programs, targeting groups of men who are considering changing their jobs, such as fathers and fathers-to-be.
The Importance of Community
A community can help us feel connected to something larger than ourselves. Experiencing a sense of belonging is vital for our psychological well-being.
Being part of a healthy community can help us feel connected to others, as well as feel we're part of something larger than ourselves. For those, a community can provide that necessary sense of belonging.
When we're going through a difficult time, it can be greatly helpful to have people who we can turn to. Community members can offer us emotional support, practical help and advice. They can also help us feel we aren't alone in our struggles.
A community can also help us develop a sense of identity. When we're part of a community, we learn about shared values and beliefs. This can help us feel we have a place in the world and that we are part of something important.
Finally, a community can also help reduce stress and loneliness. When we're part of a community, we have people to talk to and connect with. And therefore we feel less stressed and we feel we're part of something larger than ourselves. Research shows that people who are part of strong communities are also more likely to exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet.
Thus, community helps reduce stress and loneliness and ultimately benefits our physical health in addition to our mental health.
A. This can help us to feel less alone.
B. Finding community is well worth the effort.
C. We also learn about our history and culture.
D. There are a number of ways to connect to a community.
E. Being part of a healthy community can also provide us with support.
F. They tend to have lower blood pressure and a lower risk of overweight.
G. This is especially important for people who've experienced mental shock or loss.
Mr. Vedder has impacted my life in ways even I cannot imagine. In my seventh-grade year, I was 1 to Mr. Vedder, an English teacher beyond any other.
When I was younger, I 2 becoming famous like every other student of my age. When I 3 into Mr. Vedder's classroom on the first day of school, he made me 4 what I truly wanted to do: write. He liked writing, and pushed me to share his 5 . And in fact his enthusiasm greatly 6 me. After that, I always 7 myself with a 8 in my hand or a story to write.
In the classroom, Mr. Vedder was a(n) 9 role model. Even on the darkest, 10 and longest days, Mr. Vedder was there to make all of us feel that the day was going too fast, and we didn't want it to 11 . Actually, in his class, everyone genuinely wanted to learn.
If one were to 12 Mr. Vedder, they would know that he was involved in education. This is due to his 13 with students. Unlike any other teacher I have ever seen, Mr. Vedder can connect with his students better than the students themselves. Having Mr. Vedder as a teacher is 14 to having him as a friend.
Mr. Vedder has changed my life forever and for the better, and I'm 15 for what he has done for me.
For Chinese people, nothing is more common than drinking hot water every day. Different Westerners' drinking cold water at home or in restaurants, Chinese people are always seen carrying vacuum cups whichever season it is. Why do they have a (prefer) for hot water?
In the past, the authorities suggested (drink) boiled water to prevent infectious diseases, because it was (general) considered a way to kill off bacteria (细菌). Even now, equipping hot water dispensers (饮水机) (recommend) in public places like schools, hospitals and railway stations．
Another reason is Chinese people's eating habits. It's believed that hot water helps keep the body's internal temperature, which can be (benefit) to health by improving blood circulation and digestion. is widely accepted in China that drinking a glass of warm water in the morning helps kick-start the digestive system.
Finally, traditional Chinese medicine places great emphasis on the concept of yin and yang, hot water is considered to be yang and cold-water yin. It's believed that drinking hot water can balance the yin and yang in the body lead to better overall health in cold weather conditions.
So next time you have a cold, will you still be (confuse) about a Chinese friend's tip for drinking more hot water?
Mom sat down at the kitchen table and looked at the awards dinner invitation as though she had received bad news from far away. "Baby, it might be a mistake. Sometimes they accidentally send these things out to the wrong people." She spoke slowly and with care in her voice. I was only in the first grade; I didn't understand the big deal and didn't really care about a mistake.
I was embarrassed by the process of learning. On the first day of school my mom talked to my teacher for a long time while I sat at one of the little tables and met people who would be my friends for years including Katie. I was so absorbed in my friend-making that I did not care what my mom was saying to my new teacher and I certainly could not have known that she was expressing her concern about me possibly having a learning disability.
My academic progress was never a topic of conversation. I did not know anything about grades or academic competition. I didn't care. I just liked my beautiful teachers. I loved my friends. I enjoyed doing all the worksheets and activities. My grades did not mean anything to me.
At the awards dinner, we sat by my best friend Katie and her family. She and I talked and laughed all through the meal. But mom looked like she was still expecting bad news. She reached across the table and held my hand right before the principal started handing out awards. "Remember, sweetie, we're just here to enjoy the dinner."
The awards were given out by subject. Within each subject, the grade winners were announced and received a certificate (证书). Math. No Rebecca. Science. No Rebecca. Reading. Katie got that one. She smiled broadly. I caught my mom's face. She was near tears. She looked at me as if I were hurt. But I was fine. She was the one who was hurt, watching all the other children get awards while her own was passed over again and again.
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。
All the subject awards were given out and my name was not called. A few seconds later, " Okay, the Overall Achievement Medal for the first grade—Rebecca Youngblood." |
