Nowadays, moviegoers are no longer content with merely watching the show on screen, and eager to step into the scenes and experience the daily lives of characters. A popular movie or TV drama has the power to make a city famous and generate a tourism boom.
Qingdao in Shandong
A famous film during last year's Spring Festival was The Wandering EartII. Interestingly,90 percent of the film was actually shot in Qingdao. For sci-fi fans or film enthusiasts, visiting Qingdao to explore the movie's filming locations has become a popular trend. During the Spring Festival the city recorded more than 3.75 million trips.
Dali in Yunnan
With the premiere(首映) of the TV drama Meet Yourself earlier last year, the Dali Bai Autonomous prefecture emerged as a highly sought-after tourism destination. The scenery and relaxing pace of life described in the drama lead to a tourism boom in Dali. During the Spring Festival, Yunnan province received the second most tourists in the nation with tourism revenue of 38.4 billion yuan, ranking top.
Ningbo Museum in Zhejiang
With the broadcast of the TV drama Three-Body Problem, Ningbo Museum has gained significant attention. Its regional cultural features, traditional architectural elements, and modern techniques serve as a vessel for history and culture. Following the TV show's release, visitor numbers soared to 50,000 during the Spring Festival, marking a remarkable 220 percent year-on-year increase.
Over the years, as I dealt with the pressure of finishing my Ph. D. and starting my post-doctor, I had grown more competitive. I pushed myself to be t ho first to generate thrilling results and to publish in high-impact journals. Those who could have been collaborators(合作者)became rivals I hated.
But the effect of this competitive character was exactly the opposite of what I had hoped for. When I encountered scientific problems, I thought I had to solve them myself instead of asking for help. The pressure became overwhelming. I began to feel alone and lost. I became less and less productive.
I emailed my mentors(导师), explaining that I had put myself second and the job first for too long. They told me that I wasn't the first academic to feel that way, and that I wouldn't be the last. They agreed that I should take the time I needed to take care of myself. So, with my mentors' support and an uncertain future, I left.
Back home, I spent time with family and friends and opened up about my struggles. At first, I was ashamed. But the more I talked about my demons, the more other people told me about their own. I also started to receive emails from my workmates. After a few lines asking how I was, many expressed worries about how they were managing the stress of academic life. Vulnerable(脆弱的) researchers were poking their heads out of their shells. Our relationships deepened. I began to feel less alone.
Three months later, I was prepared to go back to the science that I loved, and I now had a foundation to be more open with my colleagues. I understood that we all struggle sometimes, and that collaboration can be more powerful than competition.
With a bit of time, collaboration has replaced competition. Working with others and seeking help doesn't weaken my value or contributions; it means we can all win. I no longer feel lonely and unhappy.
"There is no time out on the ice," says Toku Oshima, "no calendar but the migrations of sea creatures." She can hunt and fish the same way her ancestors did, traveling by dog sled and sleeping in the wooden hut. In Greenland's northernmost town, the old ways are still alive.
But those ways are under threat. Human-caused climate change has disturbed weather patterns and pushed the rhythms of animals out of tune with the ice and sun. Residents struggle to earn a living through hunting and fishing, leaving them unable to afford the imported oil that keeps their homes warm and lit during the long arctic night. The high cost of electricity and heat has forced some people to abandon their traditional livelihoods—or to leave the town altogether.
"Qaanaaq residents should be able to heat their homes without sacrificing their culture," Oshima said. But that will require them to abandon the culprit behind their challenges of climate change and energy security: fossil fuels. Instead, drawing power from local wind and sunshine can reduce the cost of living in Qaanaaq, easing financial pressures on residents who already live at the edge of survival and it can help the town do its part to control the planet-warming pollution that threatens its very existence.
Together with scientists and engineers from Dartmouth College, Oshima is working to bring renewable energy to one of the most remote places on Earth. The effort is in its infancy, with Oshima's partners still development they hope to install. To succeed in such an isolated and harsh environment, they are leaning on the expertise of those who thrived in this landscape for generations. Each design is intended specifically for conditions in Qaanaaq and tested by the residents themselves.
Dartmouth College engineer Mary albert, the U.S. co-leader for the project, sees it as a potential model for sustainability efforts the world over. "It's cogeneration of knowledge," she said," so Qaanaaq residents can continue to live where they want to live and how they want to live."
A recent study found that there is convincing evidence that time in nature reduces depressive symptoms, decreases stress and improves cognitive function. More time in the green is associated with lower blood pressure, strengthened immune systems, alleviated risk of heart discase and improved sleep.
In a 2024 study, Maddock and his colleagues looked at outpatient mental health service usage, mostly for depression, anxiety or stress, across 1,169 zip codes in Texas. They found that rates of mental health service use were about 50 percent lower in neighborhoods with more greenery. In 2022 Jimenez and her colleagues published a paper in JAMA Open Network using data from the long-running Nurses' Health Study II to show that living in areas with more green space was associated with higher scores for overall cognition and for psychomotor speed and attention. This difference could be partly explained by fewer depressive symptoms.
There are several possible explanations for these findings. One theory holds that nature provides a short break from the mental fatigue of modern life and the built environment, thereby restoring attentional resources. A 2024 experiment that had nearly 100 participants offers support for the idea: the researchers found that a 40-minute walk in nature enhanced people's ability to adjust higher-level cognitive functions——such as problem-solving and multitasking——more than a40-minute walk in an urban environment did.
A second theory suggests that time spent in nature activates the parasympathetic(副交感的)nervous system, which reduces the body's stress responses. Studies show reductions in cortisol(皮质醇) levels—part of those responses—after exposure to greenery. In addition, green space affects health indirectly because time outdoors encourages physical activity and offers chances for social connection, both of which improve mental and physical well-being.
Studies such as Jimenez's and Maddock's are aimed at policymakers more than individuals, but they remind us all of the importance of seeking out greenery wherever we live. And we should all try to heed the advice that Jimenez gives to her students: "I see how stressed they are, especially during exams," she says. "I tell them, 'Go out for a walk.'"
D City walk is equally important to nature walk.
As someone who has been lucky enough to earn his living in the world of book reviewing, I've gradually developed a number of reading-related habits.
When to read
I read from-morning till bedtime, with breaks for my job, family, exercise and household chores. However, somehow they manage to spend three or more hours a day watching television or scrolling through social media on their phones. You pay s your money and you takes your choice.
Where to read
Realistically, the best place to read is at a table or desk with lots of good light. Other good locations include the public library, an outside table at a coffee shop away from background music and other customers, and the quiet car on the train to New York. Trust me: You never will. Instead, as the Nike slogan says, Just Do It.
Be choosy, but not too choosy
A book has to fit my mood or even the season. Spooky stories are for winter; comic novels for spring. What's more, I like to mix it up, the old with the new, a literary biography this week, a science fiction classic the next. I can adjust my expectations up or down but the book must be, on some level, exciting.
I can't open a book without a pencil either in my hand or nestled conveniently in that space between my right ear and skull. For a long time, my weapon of choice was a pencil, but it now tends to be a Paper Mate disposable mechanical pencil. I place two or three vertical lines next to key passages, scribble notes to myself in the margins. All these practices serve one end: to keep me actively engaged mentally with the words on the page.
A. Choose a proper tool B. Be prepared to take notes C. You probably do something similar. D. I spend a lot of time hesitating about what to read next. E. Many people complain that they have no time for books. F. In truth, though, don't expect to find an ideal place to read. G. I hope a few of my practices will be useful in your own reading life. |
It was a warm but breezy afternoon. Belinda and Robert Stone were enjoying a peaceful afternoon. They decided to go for an ocean 1 .
But the couple didn't realize how 2 the current was until they noticed they were floating in the direction of the neighboring 3 , so Belinda decided to swim toward the beach they came from, 4 the current. "I just couldn't get anywhere," said Belinda, 64,who began to scream out for a(n)5 .
Two teenage girls — Emma Bassermann, 14, and Zoe Ireland-Meklensek, 13 — were boogie-boarding near the shore. Zoe heard Belinda's cries for help and 6 her. The two girls swam toward her.
They quickly reached Belinda, and brought her to 7 . Belinda, grateful but still8 , again repeated that her husband was 9 farther out in the ocean. Then immediately the two girls swam off to get Robert. "When we reached him, he was shocked, and he was really 10 ,"said Zoe, who reassured him that his wife was okay and he was going to be okay.
While they pulled him to shore, the current kept pulling them 11 , but they kept going and going. "Both of us together 12 a really good team," said Emma. 13 washed over Belinda as the girls and Robert reached the shore.
"What really sticks in my mind is the 14 of those children," said Belinda. "They really were a couple of 15 on that beach."
Chengdu, a cultural center in Southwest China, is renowned for its opera, a part of Sichuan Opera tradition. An important aspect of Sichuan Opera is the magic of mask changing, also known "face-changing",
vividly coloured masks are changed within the blink of an, eye. It is believed that "face-changing" has its roots in evolution. This art form (originate) from early humans' survival strategies, with aggressive facial expressions and non-verbal cues. The Sichuan Opera is said to have brought this change of emotions on stage.
The techniques include wiping, pulling, and blowing. Among them, "pulling" is a more complex and
(frequent) used technique in which faces are painted on layers of silk cloth and each mask (tie) to a thread which is fastened and (hide) in the costume. The actor swiftly pulls masks (convey) emotions, amusing the au trace. Face-changing is more than a skill; it contains rich cultural meanings, with masks (reflect) characters' psychological and emotional shifts. The patterns of the facial makeup are borrowed from Chengdu and local customs of region. The different kinds of characters and personalities that Sichuan Opera brings alive on stage can be found among common people in Chengdu as well. This is its emotions will continue to resonate(共鸣)with people for a long time.
注意：1.写作词数应为80个左右；2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置做答。
Dear Chris,
Yours,
Li Hua
Garcia, a mother of two sons living in Los Banos, was home alone with them. She had vertigo(眩晕症). Her husband, who had already left for his construction job, couldn't attend to them at home. Garcia often found it hard to take care of her two sons, Thomason, aged 7, andAndrew,5. Fortunately, Garcia lived in a friendly community. Neighbors often came to check on them. Mrs. Mathew, Garcia's next-door neighbour dropped most.
One morning, when Karen Garcia awoke suddenly at 4 a. m., the room was spinning. She felt everything was turning. She had never experienced it before. Both of the kids were asleep. She took her vertigo medication, and it didn't work. She couldn't keep it down, vomiting(呕吐)for hours.
At exactly 7:00 a,m, the children woke up. Usually, by this time, their mother would already be up, preparing breakfast in the kitchen. But today, the house felt frightening still.
The boys began their search, calling out softly at first, then louder when there was no response. They checked the kitchen, the living room, their parents' bedroom, and even the garden. Each empty room increased their fear and anxiety.
They finally approached the bathroom. Pushing the door open, both boys froze in horror. Their mother lay on the floor, pale and unconscious. The kids were rather distraught(忧心如焚的),frantically trying to help her. Thomason called 911, and gave the dispatcher(调度员) the details in a trembling voice.
Before long, a crew of emergency responders arrived at the scene. They quickly made out that Garcia was in medical distress and should be sent to hospital immediately. The atmosphere of the hospital was too much for the kids so they had better stay. Then came the problem: who would accompany them? At that time, Mrs. Mathew appeared, curious at all the mess. She offered to help at once. Watching the ambulance roaring away, they retraced indoors.
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。
Seeing the kids' unsettled faces, Mrs. Mathew decided to do something.
Later that day, word came from the hospital that Garcia was out of danger.
