France is a wonderful country with many beautiful villages worth visiting. Here are four new villages on the country's official list of its most beautiful villages.
Polignac
This small village in the Haute-Loire region tends to be a hit with hikers mainly because of the breathtaking self-guided trails (小径) that can be found in the green countryside. If you're after beautiful views and a real "off the beaten track" atmosphere, you won't be disappointed.
Le Malzieu-Ville
With its historic walls, towers, gates, and old houses, this riverside spot in Lozere often attracts brave explorers. Owning scenic hiking trails and eye-catching geological formations (地质结构) in the area, it's not surprising that Le Malzieu-Ville also draws in hikers from around the region.
Tournon-d'Agenais
In Tournon-d'Agenais, you can't miss its busy marketplace where you can pick up some of the best local produce, not to mention the food festivals and events held throughout the year. The village's hillside location also means that there are some great views of the landscape to be had—if you can brave the step (陡峭的) steps that lead you to the top of the village.
Cordes-sur-Ciel
This village in Tam has some impressive ancient walls and buildings for history lovers to discover, while dessert lovers will want to check out the interesting museum exhibiting various kinds of chocolate. Its streets are lined with shops, local bars, and other museums that show the region's history, while the surrounding countryside can make for a great excuse to enjoy some hiking.
Graduation is a significant milestone for everyone. An 89-year-old man called Rene Neira had been trying to finish a degree since the 1950s. However, in the 1960s, he was so passionate about urban and economic development of the southside of San Antonio that he stopped school and got involved with the local government. From that time, one of his life goals was to earn a degree in economics. In 2017, the grandpa and his 19-year-old granddaughter both enrolled (入学) at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
"There were times when we would get lunch together, be in the library together, and just work silently side-by-side," Melanie Salazar, Rene's granddaughter, recalled. "He always had something to say, especially if his professors had different opinions than him," Melanie said. "And there were often times when a professor would invite him to talk about the past."
Rene's college years weren't easy. "He has worked very hard over time. Especially in recent years, with hearing loss and going through seasons of not having a car, there was a term where he had to take medical leave because he had a stroke, so he couldn't go back to school that term. And then the pandemic started," said Melanie.
After four years, their hard work finally paid off—they graduated. Together, they stood on the stage. Everyone broke into applause and cheered for this fantastic pair.
Their story has been making waves online. People have nothing but good words for them, "Awww... I love stories like this. This was such a beautiful moment. Congratulations to both of them. Grandpa definitely demonstrated that one shouldn't give up their dream no matter how long it takes," one wrote. Another wrote, "I'm motivated to go back to school myself, thanks to his example."
Rene had the determination to finish his degree even at an advanced stage in his life. Hard work, patience, and determination are the keys to success, especially when the path is not easy or clear.
It might be a shock, but video games might be added to the 2024 Olympics. The debate over this gives both sports and video game fans something to consider.
The Olympic Games were created in the 1890s with the inspiration of replicating (重现) the ancient Olympic Games which were a celebration for the ancient Greek God, Zeus. Thereafter, it changed to be a great competition to show off the athletes' strength, physical abilities, and skills. On the other hand, video games were first made for entertaining the people. It wasn't until 1972 that the first competitive video game was created. Afterwards, people held competitions to exhibit players' skills: hand-eye coordination (手眼协调), quick thinking, and even teamwork. With these two types of similar events, it's easy to see why people are considering combining the two.
With this addition to the Olympic Games, it gives the competitors more competing events, gives different types of entertainment to viewers, and allows more people to join the Olympics. Besides, allowing video games in the Olympics will not only exhibit physical strength, but also bring intelligence, reaction speed, and more teamwork to the competition.
However, every coin has two sides. One disadvantage of this extension of the Olympic Games is the increase of "Haters". There have already been cases of people who dislike video games in their everyday lifestyle. If the two activities were to combine, the popularity of this event would be lowered.
The worst downside appears. If video games were to enter the Olympics, it would not be the competition that it was originally made to be. The Olympics were made for great athletic abilities and skills, not for pushing buttons to control something that isn't physically real.
With both positive and negative effects, it will be a hard choice whether or not to place video games in the Olympics. Although the final decision hasn't been made yet, we'd better keep open-minded about that.
For all the importance we place on words, whether spoken or written, much of the communicating we do regularly comes through body language. According to pioneering research by Dr. Albert Mehrabian, only 7 percent of the meaning we get from human communication comes from the actual spoken words used. An additional 38 percent comes from tone of voice while a large 55 percent comes from body language alone.
Researchers have long identified that certain kinds of body movements and facial expressions can communicate information about the emotions we happen to be experiencing at the time. But are these emotional signals shaped by different cultures or are they universal to all humans?
A new research article published in the journal Emotion attempts to answer this question through a cross-cultural study. The researchers traveled to Ratanakini, Cambodia to study members of a distant Kreung hill tribe (部落). Living in Cambodia's highlands, the Kreung are still largely remote from the outside world except for occasional visitors. They have yet to be assimilated (被同化) as many other societies have been.
In the study, a set of videos were prepared featuring an American woman, displaying three positive emotions (happiness, love, and pride) and three negative emotions (anger, fear, and sadness) using body language alone. The effectiveness of these videos was tested using thirty-four American participants. The videos were then presented to twenty-six Kreung individuals (eleven of whom were female). They were asked to describe the emotions being displayed in their own words.
Results showed that the Kreung participants tended to be quite accurate in guessing which emotions were being presented. The overall accuracy rate was sixty-two percent though their accuracy in detecting specific emotions such as anger and happiness was far higher. Overall, there was no significant discrepancy between Kreung and American raters in detecting emotions, though American participants did much better in detecting pride and love.
Still, the study does suggest that body movements can express emotions such as anger, fear, sadness, and love even for individuals belonging to different cultures. Emotional signals reflect basic human needs and desires that all humans share. Learning more about how basic biology and social factors shape the way we communicate may well be essential in helping to understand ourselves better.
It's never easy to say no, especially when we're invited somewhere by someone close to us. Maybe it's time to learn how to tur down an invitation without hurting people's feelings.
Delay your response. Avoid responding immediately to a request you believe you will turn down. A quick "No" will rob (剥夺) you of time to come up with a kind refusal. A simple "Let me check my calendar and get back to you" will often work.
Check your calendar for conflicts. If you are lucky, you will have a scheduling conflict. You can honestly decline due to the conflict. If the person insists on inviting you, they may ask you for a better time. When you see your calendar is busy, take a little extra time in advance to think about a kind refusal if they ask for a better time.
If you know you want to decline before checking your calendar, you may have a reason in mind. Do you dislike the task? Are you planning to go to that event with someone else? Think about reasons you can give that focus on aspects of the request, instead of the aspects of the person requesting it.
Remember to respond. If you do not respond, they may think you feel they are not important. So do remember to reply to requests. Emphasize non-personal reasons for declining.
A. Avoid admitting your schedule is open.
B. Identify exactly why you want to decline.
C. So be prepared to respond with a more direct refusal.
D. This gives you time to create a response in your head.
E. But you often find yourself saying yes and regretting it later on.
F. Keep these in mind if the other party asks why you are declining.
G. Forgetting about a request may hurt people or make you an impolite person.
I'm a young American woman, living in China and teaching English. It's sometimes very 1 when I can't speak Chinese well and don't have any friends nearby.
One night, I was riding my bicycle home when I noticed that my key had 2 my keychain. I did my best to 3 , but couldn't see anything with nearly no light on the street. I 4 to ask anyone to help because I didn't know how to communicate with them. So I just kept looking, but without 5 .
At one point a man on a motorbike 6 when he saw me. I tried my best to say what I was kept looking for. But he just said something I didn't understand and 7 away. I was a bit 8 but I just kept looking. About ten minutes later he came back,9 me a small flashlight, and waved goodbye. What a nice 10 to offer a stranger in the middle of the night! Although it didn't give much light, it 11 helped me see where my key wasn't. After a while, a car pulled up, and the same 12 to communicate took place. Then the man turned his lights on and stayed with me until we found it.
I learned from this experience that language does not have to be the 13 in communication. All one can do in an emergency is hope that someone else will come to your 14 . I hope I will always try to shed (散发出光) a little light for someone else whenever the opportunity 15 .
Bird-and-flower painting, called huaniaohua in Chinese, is a kind of (tradition) Chinese painting. The huaniaohua was named after its subject matter. It gained (popular) in the Tang Dynasty, matured by the end of that period during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and (full) reached its peak during the Song Dynasty. Most huaniaohua paintings belong to the scholar-artist style of Chinese painting. The huaniaohua became popular in East Asia, and it (introduce) into Japan during the 14th century.
According to Chinese tradition, the huaniaohua, is considered one of the treasures of Chinese culture, covers "flowers, birds, fish, and insects"; thus, it can deal a wide range of natural (topic).
The huaniaohua paintings are inspired by the beauty of the flowers and birds (find) in nature. The intended purpose of the huaniaohua is not simply to imitate (模仿) nature, but to use different painting styles (express) the personality and ideas of the artist. In Chinese culture, different types of birds and flowers hold their own symbolic meanings.
注意：1.词数80左右；2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
One day before Christmas, Mom and Dad called me into the family room. I knew what we were going to discuss. Every year we would choose a family who needed some help, and we would secretly take gifts to their house. Dad said, "It's time we decided which family to help this year."
Some years it had been really easy to decide, but this year I couldn't think of anyone. When none of us said anything, Dad looked at Mom, "Maybe Mom has some advice." Mom smiled, "Actually, I do know of someone who needs our help. This year I think we should help Mrs. Brown."
"But, Mom," I said, "she's not poor or sick. She doesn't even like kids. Besides, she seems to have plenty of money, we always see her dressed in nice clothes."
"I know that Mrs. Brown has enough money to take care of herself," Mom said. "And I know that she isn't very pleasant to be around. But that's exactly why I think she needs our help."
I listened as Mom continued. "Mrs. Brown has three children who have children of their own but they never come to see her. She is very lonely and unhappy. I think she needs someone to let her know that she is loved." "You mean she's poor in love?" I asked. "Yes, and sometimes it's much more painful to be poor in love than it is to be poor in money."
We were all quiet for a few minutes. Then Dad said, "Let's take a vote. How many of us would like Mrs. Brown to be our special family this year?" Mom's hand went up. Dad raised his hand. Looking around, I slowly raised mine.
All the following week we cut out snow flakes, made popcorn strings and red and green chains from paper strips to decorate the Christmas tree, and prepared cookies and candies. We carefully put everything inside one big box on which was Mrs. Brown's name.
Then came the big day. We decided to give Mrs. Brown a surprise. Since the box was very big, we decided Dad would carry it to the door. After he returned, it would be my job to ring the doorbell and run back before Mrs. Brown opened her door.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；2.请按照如下格式在相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
Dad carefully set the box beside the door before he left to hide himself away.
Paragraph 2:
On Christmas Eve, my family decided to visit Mrs. Brown.
