Boston Attractions Guide
Boston's Freedom Trail
Starting at the Boston Common, but easily picked up at any point along the way, the Freedom Trail offers historical insight into the city and its surroundings. With 16 official stops along the way, you can check out one, some or all of the sites on this route where a red trail painted on the sidewalks takes you throughout Boston.
ADMISSIONS: Free
Fenway Park
Boston fans are crazy about baseball. Ask many and they will claim it as their religion, and offer Fenway as their place of worship. Even if baseball is not your thing, be sure to catch a game at Fenway Park, home of the legendary Green Monster. Tickets can be hard to come by, so seek them out well in advance.
ADMISSIONS: Adult $26; Child $13
New England Aquarium
The adventure begins before you step foot through the door. Watch the Harbor Seals swirl around in the outdoor tank while you wait for your tickets. Catch a show in the glass enclosed classroom overlooking Boston Harbor, and plunge your hands into the touch tank where rays and sharks are circling and awaiting your touch.
ADMISSIONS: Adult $32; Child $21
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the most respected orchestras in the world. Playing host to a variety of concerts throughout the year, including the Holiday Pops, The Boston Symphony Orchestra wows crowds. History has been made within these walls where songs like the popular "Sleigh Ride" have been composed.
ADMISSIONS: Adult $17; Child& Senior $12
Rain or shine, Tsering Chopa treks for long hours to deliver mail. For 18 years, the Tibetan mailman has been a vital link between the remote town and the rest of the world.
At 5,373 meters above sea level, Pumachangthang in Nakarze county of the Tibet autonomous region is China's highest township. The oxygen level is less than 40 percent, the annual average temperature -7℃ and the average life expectancy only 49.5 years. The area of the township is about 1,500 square kilometers. The distance from the county town is some 70 km and a single trip to all the six villages can be as long as 160 km.
In 2005, Tsering Chopa became the first mailman of his hometown. In nearly two decades since his first mission, he has delivered over a million newspapers, more than 20,000 letters and 10,000-plus parcels in Pumachangthang, and has never been accused of failing or mixing up mail.
One night, a local resident Nyima Tsering's daughter had fainted and desperately needed help. Knowing that, the mailman arranged for a car right away and sent her to the county hospital. He also gave some cash to the family for the girl's treatment. Nyima Tsering's daughter recovered soon, and Tsering Chopa became an idol in the village.
The busiest time for Tsering Chopa is between July and August each year, when students are waiting for their admission letters from various universities. He recalls once he had to deliver mail to one student whose family had already moved away. He had to ask neighbors several times to find the new address. It was summer and the usual road to the village was blocked because of rain. He trekked for more than 20 km and struggled with shortness of breath all the way to finally deliver the letter.
In 2019, Tsering Chopa received the China Youth May Fourth Medal. "It is an acknowledgment of what I do and a token of encouragement as well," he says. "And I want to help more people living in remote areas. I want to bring the world closer to them and take them closer to the world."
Using CRISPR genome（基因组） editing on a few common crops, a team of plant and soil scientists seeks to greatly increase and speed up carbon storage to help fight climate change.
To prevent dangerous levels of global warming, scientists say it won't be enough to just stop burning fossil fuels that release carbon into the air. Because it's nearly impossible for humanity to do that as fast as is now required, we will also need to pull carbon out of the air and secure it.
Plants are among the best tools we have to do this, since these living solar collectors already capture billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year from the atmosphere through photosynthesis（光合作用）. About half of that carbon winds up in roots and eventually the soil, where it can stay for hundreds to thousands of years.
But what if we could create plants and soils that are better at capturing carbon? With CRISPR genome editing—a new molecular（分子的） biology tool that allows scientists to make edits to the DNA code that underpins all life—that might be possible.
Last month, the Innovative Genomics Institute （IGI）, a research team founded by CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna, began to explore the idea. With an $11-million donation from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a team of researchers made a three-year effort using CRISPR to create new crop varieties that photosynthesi ze more efficiently and transport more carbon into the soil. Eventually, the researchers hope to create gene-edited rice and sorghum seeds that could—if planted around the globe—pull more than a billion extra tons of carbon out of the air annually.
It's an ambitious goal, and the team is likely to face numerous challenges in the lab before its CO2-cleaning plants can be put in the ground. Additional social, policy, and ethical considerations will determine whether those crops are widely accepted by farmers. But the researchers believe their ambitious project is beneficial to cope with climate crisis.
Forgetting names, faces, or events is a universal human experience; even those who see their minds sharp struggle with memory loss from time to time. Most consider these mental mistakes to be annoyed, and they're seen as a potentially worrisome sign of cognitive（认知的）decline. But neurologist Scott Small, who studies and treats Alzheimer's disease（老年痴呆） at Columbia University, thinks this view of forgetting is all wrong. In fact, some amount of forgetfulness is critical for our minds and relationships to function at their best.
We're developing drugs to protect against memory loss. But many psychologists have joked that what they want is a forgetfulness drug. Too much memory poses a challenge in any long-term relationship. Anger, hatred—they all come from not being able to let go of emotional memories. People who repeatedly think of anger or fear suffer, often in loneliness.
Living in a noisy, ever-changing world, forgetting details is actually a perfect adaptation. Creativity isn't making something out of nothing. It's making connections between already-known elements—ideas, words, visuals, or expressions—to create something new. But to make new connections, the existing connections in your mind have to be loose. If the connections between those elements are too tightly bound in our memory, there's no room for creativity.
What can we do to help our brains forget what we need to forget? One of the best ways to make sure that you don't have a brain that's burning too. hot with bad memories is to stay socially engaged. Another thing to do is to sleep, and sleep well. Many experts have concluded that we sleep in order to forget, so it makes sense that sleep has been shown to improve creativity. If you're short of sleep, your brain is on fire with too many memories. The brain is like a lawn of grass—you need to keep it trimmed（修剪） to make way for new memories, new connections, and new growth.
The Spotlight Effect
Have you ever felt as if the entire world was watching while you made a mistake? Well, here's some good news: it's likely that no one even noticed.
We have this experience not only when we make mistakes but also when we perform well. Every time we do something that is a little different from what we usually do, we may assume that everyone around us will notice. The spotlight effect might happen when we make a mistake in a game, have a bad hair day, or give a terrible answer in class. In these moments, it feels like everyone is watching.
The spotlight effect exists because we all get used to seeing things through our own eyes. Every person is the main character in his or her story, and the events of our lives seem to have great importance.
The spotlight effect is a very common part of the human experience. However, in some cases, it can lead to extreme social anxiety and nervousness around other people. Everyone suffers some degree of social anxiety. We all care about what others think, and we all want to be liked. It's normal to wonder about what effect we have on other people. If someone is so nervous that they can't make good decisions, then it's time to take action and improve the situation.
Learning about the spotlight effect is important because it can help us reduce our anxiety. Next time you feel like everyone is staring at you, remind yourself that it's just your mind playing tricks on you. If you fill your mind with thoughts of your friends and family, it will help you be less self-conscious.
A. However, this can be a problem when the anxiety is too much to handle. B. That's why fewer people notice the embarrassing circumstances they encounter. C. Another good exercise is to make an effort to notice the people around you, rather than focusing on yourself. D. The spotlight effect is a trick of the mind that makes us believe that people notice us more often than they really do. E. What you can do at this moment is to ignore them. F. We are so busy examining ourselves that we actually observe very little about everyone around us. G. It can also appear when we score a big goal, ask someone on a date, or do a good deed. |
Never do I realize it has been so long since my father left us. I have often thought what a1 world it would be without children; and what a cruel world without the2 .
My father was a very warm and3 man, quick to lend a hand to anyone who needed it. I always4 my father and deeply admired his way with people.
He was in a care center for years after suffering a series of diseases that impacted his ability to walk and caused his5 to be slow and not clear. It6 me very much to see him there, and we tried to visit him several times a month. My toddler daughter, Kelsey, read stories to him, and he lay listening as her7 ra n wild, pretending to read words from the books she held in her tiny hands. They loved each other dearly, and he was her "Papa." Kelsey was only four years old when Dad died. I was8 for weeks, and Kelsey tried to comfort me. Oftentimes she cried with me or tried in some way to make me feel better. Nothing helped.
I needed my9 on this Earth, and sometimes my heart10 so badly that I thought it might be broken because of sadness.
While we were preparing for Thanksgiving, I heard Kelsey talking to her daddy. They were chatting about Papa and how he had gone to11 and was now watching over us. She said in the sweetest voice, "Daddy, since Mama doesn't have a daddy anymore, do you think you could just 12 yours with her?"
I sighed in relief, bursting into tears. From that day on, my sadness13 . I knew my father had given Kelsey gifts of care, kindness and14 for others.
He would15 forever, in her.
From London's Trafalgar Square to major cities across Britain, tens of thousands of British people have joined Chinese communities （welcome） the arrival of the Chinese New Year.
In Manchester there was a Dragon Parade, （lead） by a very breathtaking 54-meter long dragon, ending in Chinatown people could enjoy a wide range of Chinese food and enjoy a spectacular fireworks show. （celebrate） also took place in Liverpool, Birmingham, Lake District, Durham, Edinburgh, Leeds and Newcastle.
Academic Dr. Wu Kegang said, "The Chinese New Year event in Britain is now （impress） than ever and it is growing every year".
On arrival in Britain 26 years ago from Guangdong, south China, first thing Wu noticed was that Chinese New Year was celebrated （main） in towns and cities with big Chinese communities. "You would go to London Chinatown and join your countrymen to celebrate, to Chinatowns in places like Liverpool and Manchester for events almost only held for Chinese people," Wu recalled.
" is different now, is that we are seeing local communities all over the country taking part alongside their own Chinese populations," he said. "It is clear to me that the event will continue to grow in Britain where Chinese New Year （earn） its place in the calendar of events so far."
近年来，我国旅游业发展日新月异，但是许多景区的环境却被严重污染，触目惊心。假如你是李华，寒假期间你目睹了许多游客的不文明行为，为了改善你家乡的景区环境，请你以"How to Be a Civilized Tourist"为题写一篇短文。注意：1. 写作词数应为80左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
How to Be a Civilized Tourist
What does it mean to be a hero? I think a hero is someone who goes out of his way to make others happy. My hero is Mr. Wright, my chorus（合唱队） teacher.
When I was 12 years old, my grandparents passed away. I was really close to them, and losing them was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. I couldn't eat, sleep, or think; I felt like I couldn't even breathe. It was as if my whole world had fallen down from under me, and I fell into this huge hole of depression（抑郁）.
Although I was battling depression, I was determined to make my high school years the best of my life. It was difficult to be happy, but I had to try. I joined Women's Choir. Mr. Wright was the choral director and he was so funny that the first day, I just knew I had made the best decision of my life.
As the year progressed, I loved chorus more and more. I began to smile again and really enjoy life.
Then one day that all changed. My friends —or those that I thought were my friends —started talking about me behind my back. I was hurt, and I sat by myself. Mr. Wright came over and asked what was wrong. The look in his eyes told me that I could trust him. Trying hard to fight back tears, I told him the whole story. When I finished, he nodded and told me, "If you never learn anything from me, learn this: No one is worth stealing your joy."
Paragraph 1: What Mr. Wright said really struck a chord（心弦） in my heart.
Paragraph 2: Mr. Wright is a hero to everyone he meets.
