PYOP: Pick Your Own Produce at These Local Farms
Hollin Farms Delaplane, VA
Hollin Farms' strawberry picking season will begin in late May, and last several weeks. Hours are 9:00 am-4:00 pm from Wednesday to Sunday. If you come in summer, peaches, blackberries, red raspberries and sour cherries are available. Apples are ready in late summer, and fall brings green vegetables, potatoes, and dig-your-own peanuts. And a special P.S. (备注) to meat lovers: they pride themselves on their grass-fed beef.
Great Country Farms Bluemont, VA
Great Country Farms is well-known for its seasonal festivals and fun farm-themed attractions. Their U-pick strawberry fields will open in May. The weekends of May 20-21 and May 27-28 are the yearly Strawberry Jubilee with live music, pie-eating competitions, tasty food, and more. Admission is $10/child and $12/adult, and it's open daily during 9:00 am-6:00 pm.
Waters Orchard (果园) Gaithersburg, MD
This is a great place for apple picking. Just come in late summer and fall. After parking, it's a 5-10 minutes' walk to the orchard. Hours are12:00-5:00 pm on Fridays, and 9:00 am-5:00 pm on weekends. Pick-your-own (PYO) pricing is by the peck (配克) — $15/half peck, $22/peck, and an entry fee for two is included. It's $5/guest after that.
Homestead Farm Poolesville, MD
Homestead Farm's PYO season begins a little later than other area farms. The first crop will be tart cherries in June, and other berries will be ripe soon after. Peaches and apples come later. There are also animals to visit (goats, pigs, and chickens), and watching goats climb along the goat walk is always a trip for kids. The farm operates seven days a week, and PYO hours are 9:00 am-5:00 pm.
Adding to the achievements of a remarkable year, Taylor Swift has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2023.
Already a superstar before 2023, Swift's career has reached new heights thanks to the beginning of her Eras Tour that brought her 3.5-hour performance to 66 shows in 23 cities across North America, Argentina and Brazil. Promoted by her tour, Swift has been named the most-streamed female artist in the history of Spotify and Apple Music. According to Billboard, the tour made about $900 million (about 6.4 billion yuan) in 2023. In addition, the tour's movie Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour became the biggest concert movie of all time, taking more than $250 million globally.
As she was declared (宣布) a billionaire by Bloomberg in November, a hidden "Taylor Swift economy" also promoted sales for business owners across the US. From soaps to a cruise inspired by her different "eras", interest in Swift-related products went way up.
Apart from her financial contributions, Swift made a significant cultural impact by taking back control of her music. In 2019, her old record label, Big Machine, sold the master tapes of her first six albums (专辑) to Scooter Braun. The sale meant that she didn't have the rights to the albums. In response to this, Swift began re-recording her first six albums, tagging (加标签于) them "Taylor's Version". This move stressed her belief that artists deserve to own their work. "It's all in how you deal with loss," she told Time. "I respond to extreme pain by resisting."
Heading into 2024, Swift will start the Eras Tour again in Japan and Australia. As USA Today noted, "Her current top has been a long time coming, but it may also be just beginning."
Art museums are full of centuries-old paintings with details of plants that today give us clues about evolution and breeding.
Exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, The Harvesters created in 1565 shows farmers cutting wheat nearly as tall as they are. "Nowadays, if you walk through a wheat field, you basically see that wheat is about knee height. The short wheat is essentially a consequence of breeding from the second half of the 20th century," said biologist Ive De Smet.
According to De Smet, wheat is just one example of how historical artworks can allow us to track the transformation of crops over time. He has teamed up with art historian David Vergauwen to seek similar kinds of artworks around the world.
As friends since childhood, their interest in plants in artworks began with a visit to a museum in Russia, where they noticed an old-looking watermelon in an early-7th-century painting. A watermelon is usually believed to be red on the inside. However, that one appeared to be pale and white. De Smet assured the painter had done a poor job. But Verguawen had a different idea. "This is one of the best painters ever in that era. So, if he painted it like that, that's the way it must have looked like."
Other paintings revealed that there were both red and white watermelons grown in the 17th century. The chemical compound that makes watermelons red is lycopene (番茄红素). "There must have been some sort of mutation (突变) preventing the accumulation of that color. Now, with all the genetic knowledge that we have of various plant species, we can look in more detail at how something comes about."
De Smet and Verguawen hope to create an online research database of historical plant artworks. They call for contributions of art enthusiasts around the world via the social media. But they caution, the source paintings need to be realistic. "If you're going to use, for example, Picasso's paintings to try and understand what a pear looked like in the early 20th century, you might be misled." Instead, such an attempt could be fruitless.
In February, news broke that Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff had taken a "digital detox(脱瘾)": 10 tech-free days at a French Polynesian resort. For a small group of people, taking a step back from devices is an achievable dream, but for most, it's an impossibility, especially.
A digital detox requires dismissing technology almost entirely: taking a break from screens, social media and video conferences for multiple days. The goals—reducing stress or anxiety, and reconnecting with the physical world—are well-intentioned. However, experts say a digital detox isn't practical anymore for most people.
"Technology is very much a part of us now. We bank with an app, read restaurant menus on phones and even sweat with exercise instructors through a screen," says Seattle-based consultant Emily Cherkin, who specialises in screen-time management. "It's so embedded(嵌入式的) in our lives, we're setting ourselves up for failure if we're going to go phone-free for a week."
As people become increasingly interdependent on technology, doing a digital detox no longer seems like a reasonable goal. But there may be a more realistic solution that will lessen our tech obsession(着迷), without forcing us to totally disconnect.
Rather than cutting out technology altogether, practice digital mindfulness. Make sure the use of technology is purposeful. Instead of a full detox, digital mindfulness may be more practical for some people: less worry about cutting tech out entirely, and more focus on being intentional with its use.
The goal shouldn't be to cut off technology or to put a full stop. People still need to send an email, but can do so without getting distracted by the various online contents.
This approach is called "grey detoxing"—you're not totally immersed(沉浸的) or totally cut off from technology. Instead of causing ourselves more anxiety by attempting to live without our phones for a week, we can approach unavoidable screen time in a way that feels right for our individual lives.
Practical ways to improve your problem solving skills
Problem solving skills are increasingly valuable in the workplace. . Here's how to improve your strategy.
Train creativity
Problem-solving at its best requires a mixture of structured analysis and out-of-the-box thinking. To train creativity, individuals must engage in activities that stimulate their imagination and encourage new perspectives (视角). Have free-flowing brainstorming meetings that allow for the exploration of various ideas without immediate judgment. .
Improve communication skills
Clear and brief communication is the key to effective problem-solving, acting as the bridge that connects various perspectives and makes individuals toward a common goal.. Clearly defining the problem statement, its influences and the desired outcomes lays a solid foundation for collaborative efforts. Active listening, on the other hand, is the skill of receiving information with intent and focus. It involves not just hearing words but understanding the differences, emotions and underlying messages.
Use technology
. Whether it's data analysis, artificial intelligence or project management software, putting technology into your problem-solving toolbox can simplify processes and offer innovative solutions. By embracing technology as an enabler rather than a replacement for human decision-making, individuals can use the power of innovation to address complex challenges effectively.
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Mistakes are not failures but help you become better. Each misstep provides an opportunity for reflection, learning and refining one's approach to challenges. Analyse what went wrong, identify areas for improvement and use this knowledge to inform your future problem-solving efforts. Creating a culture that removes mistakes within a team or organization trains an environment where individuals feel comfortable admitting errors.
A. Stay informed
B. Learn from mistakes
C. Encourage yourself to think beyond the obvious
D. They could help you achieve more in your personal life too
E. Effective communication begins with expressing yourself well
F. Using tools and technology can really help solve problems better
G. Building trust among team members contributes to problem-solving
I've had the opportunity to look after my mother a lot recently. I want to 1 the experience, in hopes that others can be 2 .
A couple of days ago, my mom had to have an operation to 3 a tumor (肿块), which, 4 , is right on her face. With all the 5 I could gather, I stayed with her throughout the operation, and then continued to stay by her bedside for the next two days, as she 6 in the hospital.
She seemed in good 7 , despite the pains from the operation. I really tried to keep her 8 . We talked happily about funny memories, and I did everything I could to put a 9 on her face.
After the doctor said it was okay for her to return home, I took her home, and have since been taking care of her in whatever 10 way I can - cooking her food, doing housework, and changing her bandages(绷带).
Like a lot of mothers, she 11 that she should do all these things on her own. And of course, I'm sure she can... but I won't 12 her. I really think it's good for us to help people close to us, even if they demand to do things on their own and 13 our help.
I've learned and grown so much from the opportunity to 14 my mother, and I wish everyone the opportunity to help someone 15 you.
As the Year of the Dragon approached, sales of products with dragon elements have seen explosive (grow) on major e-commerce platforms. Dragon, or long in Chinese, (consider) as an important symbol of Chinese traditional culture, is believed to bring good luck and fortune.
Since January, products with dragon-themed elements, such as clothing, daily necessities and gold jewelry (gain) popularity. Items such as red envelopes, mobile phone cases designed for the Chinese Year of the Dragon have also been favored by consumers, and (they) sales have surpassed those in the Year of the Rabbit last year.
Chinese consumers who buy dragon-themed goods are hoping (live) a better life in the new year and displaying a strong sense national pride and confidence in Chinese culture. The rich cultural meanings and the good wishes the dragon carries have not only stimulated people's passion for buying, but also satisfied their rising demand for personalized and (create) products with unique cultural symbols.
Spring Festival is the traditional festival Chinese people attach the most importance to, and it's also peak season for consumption. The shopping craze for dragon-related products ahead of Lunar New Year is essential for (promote) the recovery of the consumer market.
1）活动的时间、地点；
2）活动的目的和意义；
3）你的感想与收获。
注意：
1）词数80左右；2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
It was a bright and sunny day. Daniel woke up and jumped out of bed, ready for a full day outside. He ran down the stairs and sat down at the kitchen table. His mom was making pancakes: Daniel's favorite. She made pancakes every Saturday morning.
"What do you want to do today?" she asked Daniel.
"I think I'm going to go exploring in our backyard," he told her. "It's so nice outside!" Daniel quickly ate up his pancakes and rushed upstairs to get dressed. He put on a red T-shirt and jeans.
"Alright, Mom, I'll be back later!"
"Don't go too far!" she told him.
When he opened the door, Daniel felt a rush of warm air. He smiled at the sun. Perfect hiking weather, he thought. Daniel loved his backyard. There were plenty of tall trees. If he walked far enough, he would reach a lake. When it was really warm outside, he could walk in the water to cool off. The water was always cold.
The leaves were just beginning to grow on the trees after the cold winter. Daniel wandered for a bit. He picked up a long stick and used it to clear a way through the forest.
Suddenly, Daniel saw something in the distance that wasn't a rock or a leaf. When he got closer, he knelt down to investigate. He found a small injured bird between the fallen leaves. He looked around and saw a bird's nest sitting on a branch. He carefully climbed up the trunk of the tree with the nest to get a closer look. The nest was empty, and he didn't see any birds around. Then, he ran back to his house.
注意：1）续写词数应为150左右；
2）请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
"Mom, I found a bird that's hurt!" He told her as he ran through the door.
They took the bird to the animal hospital.
