A Pulling weeds. B. Wiping the walls. C. Cleaning the bathroom.
A Selection of Muscgms and Attractions in Washington DC
The Tidal Basin
The basin, part of the West Potomac Park, is surrounded by a path that's perfect for walking, running or cycling. The memorials to Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King Junior are two highlights surrounding the lake. It is the location most associated with Washington's Cherry Blossom(樱花) Festival that takes place each spring.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The museum opened in late 2016 after more than a decade of planning. It is dedicated to African American history and culture and is organized like a vertical timeline, starting with the Atlantic slave trade om the 1400s and moving up to the 21st century. Higher up are exhibitions on African American music, theatre and art. It's a powerful experience and also very popular: you'll have to apply for a timed ticket to enter.
The Newseum
Further along Pennsylvania Avenue is the Newseum, loved for the 800 newspaper front pages from around the world that are hung outside every morning. Inside, there are moving exhibits showing how important historical events have been reported, such as the September 11 attacks. Alongside newspaper pages from the day after the attacks, there's a video exhibit highlighting the work of journalists reporting on the Twin Towers falling. A must if you're interested in journalism.
National Gallery of Art
The art gallery is an impressive space: two buildings, linked' underground, and a sculpture garden next door. Inside the light-filed East Building there's modern art, including a roomful of Jackson Pollock's murals(壁画),Andy Warhol's Green Marilyn and Roy Lichtenstein's Look Mickey.
The classical West Building tends to house older artwork: the European impressionists and Italian Renaissance art(from artists including Da Vinci and Raphael)are two highlights.
Bike-share systems hold the potential to reduce traffic and pollution in big cities. While they have received considerable attention, their promise of urban transformation is far from being-fully realized.
New research in the journal Management Science found a key reason is that while companies have focused on bike design and technology aspects, there has been minimal research done on operational aspects such as station density(密度) and bike-availability levels.
"Almost 80%of bike-share usage comes from areas within 1,000 feet of the bike-share stations, or roughly four city blocks," said Elena Belavina, one of the study authors. "Anything past 1,000 feet, potential users are almost 60% less likely to use a station."
The study, "Bike-Share Systems: Accessibility and Availability", analyzes the relationship between ridership and operational performance in bike-share design systems to achieve higher ridership.
Using data from the Velib' system in Paris, with roughly 17,000 bikes and 950 stations, the study estimates the impacts of two aspects of the system performance on bike-share ridership: accessibility, or how far the user must walk to reach stations, and bike availability.
There are two impacts of availability: First, a short-term impact is that if nearby stations do not have bicycles when a user wants to take a trip, users must go to stations farther away or abandon using bike-share. Second, if users typically expect a lower chance of finding a bicycle, they are less likely to even consider bike-share for their trips and the system will have lower ridership in the long term.
"Most users choose to abandon using bike-share." said Belavina. "But overall, we find that a 10%increase in bike availability would increase ridership by more than 12%."
Between increasing bike-availability and decreasing walking distance, the study finds that the latter has a higher impact. Bike-share operators with limited resources must prioritize building more stations close to riders.
Where should those stations go? The authors recommend locations where there are many point s of interest and locations with lower bike availability.
In some parts of the world. people are likely to plan for the future, while in others people are more likely to live in the moment. In some societies people prefer more personal space; in others they are comfortable being in close quarters in public.
There are a number of theories about where cultural differences between societies come from. In a growing number of cases, researchers have found that human culture an be shaped by key features of the environments in which people live.
Ecology includes basic physical and social characteristics of the environment—such factors as how rich a place is in resources, how common infectious(传染性的) diseases are, how heavily populated a place is, and how much threat there is to human safety. Variables like temperature and the availability of water can be key ecological features.
For over 200 societies, our lab at Arizona State University gathered comprehensive data on nine key features of ecology--such as rainfall, temperature, infectious disease and natural resources —and dozens of aspects of
human cultural variation--including values, strength of social norms(社会规范), personality, motivation and institutional characteristics. With this information, we created the Eco Cultural Dataset.
Using this dataset, we were able to generate a range of estimates for just how mach of human cultural variation can explained by ecology.
We ran a series of statistical models looking at the relationship between our ecological variables and each of the 66 cultural outcomes we tracked. For each of the cultural outcomes, we calculated the average amount of the cultural diversity across societies that was explained by this combination of nine different ecological factors. We found that nearly 20% of cultural variation was explained by the combination of these ecological features.
Importantly, our statistical estimates take into account common issues in cross-cultural research. There will likely be unmeasured similarities between societies with shared historical roots and traditions.
Ecology isn't the only reason people around the world think and behave differently. But our work suggests that, at least in part, our environments shape our cultures.
How often is your mind quiet? If you're a typical human being, the answer is probably very rarely. For most of our days, our attention is focused on external things—the tasks of our jobs, TV programs, or social media interactions. In the moments when our attention isn't focused externally, it's usually focused on what is called "thought-chatter"—a stream of mental associations consisting of expectations of the future, memories, daydreams, and so on.
But from time to time, we all experience moments when our thought-chatter quiets down, or even disappears altogether. In these moments, we experience a sense of great well-being. We feel a sense of inner harmony. We feel as if we're free of problems, and feel satisfied with our lives as they are.
There are many activities that have the effect of quieting our minds, and so produce a state of well-being. For example, think about what happens when you-go walking in the countryside. You might feel stressed when you start out, but slowly, after-a couple of miles, your mind begins to settle down. The beauty and stillness of nature attracts your attention and you're no longer in your thought-chatter. By the end of the walk you feel almost like a different person. You feel more alive, and much happier—largely because your mind is now quiet.
This is why people love to look at beautiful works of art. When people see the paintings of Monet or van Gogh, they experience a mind-stop ping moment, in which they're taken out of their thinking minds and experience a sense of great well-being.
The strange thing is, though, that most of the time this happens unconsciously(不知不觉地). We usually don't associate this well-being with a quiet mind. And we usually don't think of a quiet mind as the aim or result of these activities.
Our estimate of how enjoyable an activity is may depend on its mind-stop ping capacity. In other words, the very best performances—and the most rewarding activities—are those which are so attractive and intense that they can completely stop our minds.
I'm not saying that inner quietness is the only reason why we enjoy these activities. Nevertheless, we should certainly become more aware of the association of a quiet mind with well-being. And at the same time we should be aware that it's possible for us to consciously and directly create a quiet mind; rather than as a byproduct of certain activities. And in the end we might develop a permanent quiet mind and attain a state of ongoing content and harmony.
Ten years ago, not many families in the United States would consider homeschooling a serious option for their children. There were negative feelings about homeschooling, especially among school educators, who considered it crazy or irresponsible. But things have changed now. As homeschooling becomes more widely practiced, school communities are becoming far more accepting and recognize that it can meet real needs.
Homeschooling provides community life that is valuable to children. Participating in-community life, homeschooled children relate socially with a wide variety of people.Without social pressure from age-separated classrooms, kid feel more comfortable forming friendships.
We often hear parents and kids talk about how relieved they feel from being free d of traditional schooling and nightly homework. With independent learning, they have more time to talk and listen; more time to spend in libraries, museums, and concert halls; or to hike, ride bikes, read, or think. These changes are what happens when family life is driven by the needs of families, rather than the needs of institutions.
Homeschooling also creates better learning environments for children who have been wrongly considered as having all sorts of imaginary "learning problems" in public and private schools. The educators want the children to be fixed so that they will fit; the parents correctly sense that their children are fine and only need something different: more space, freedom to move, a safe environment, or respectful treatment from others.
A. Homeschooling helps children lo broaden their knowledge.
B. In homeschooling families, life is likely to be less stressful.
C. Some people choose homeschooling for socialization benefits.
D. Homeschooling success stories are often reported in the media.
E. People can see how easy it is to get along with homeschooled kids.
F. For these families, homeschooling helps a child build a life that works.
G. The combination of two kinds of schooling has a great effect on a child.
My passion has always been caring for animals. That's why I1 at Bidcawee. Bideawee is a shelter(收容所) for cats and dogs, where all the animals are equally 2 . Whether the cat or the dog stays for a day or years, each one has a special place in my heart.
Most of the shelter dogs are so gentle and friendly that they cause me to wonder why no one has taken them3 yet. The others need a bit of 4 and love to warm up, but once they 5 you, you fall in love with them. One of my favorites is a dog called Lola. She always bar k at strangers. However, once she sees you often and gets 6 around you, she greets you with her tail wagging(摇摆), side to side.
A common characteristic with all of the dogs, though, is that they can adapt to changes and 7 the life at the shelter. And that's what I find so amazing about them. Timmy is a 7-year-old dog that was8 after around six years with his owner. Nevertheless, he doesn't just stay there, thinking about the past and9 bis person to come back. Instead, he focuses on the 10 and is friendly with everyone. A two-year-old dog called Noob lost leg in a car accident. However, he plays with other four-legged dogs 11 , as if the injury didn't bother him.
Bidcawee constancy 12 their volunteers, but to me, they have done more for me than I could ever give to them. I truly enjoy every moment I 13 at this animal shelter, which gives me a14 to be with all these lovely dogs and cats. It is definitely one of my most rewarding 15 .
A group of children in Zimbabwe, a country in southeast Africa, are closely following a series of martial arts(武术) movements (perform) in a slow and focused manner accompanied by deep breathing,their eyes fixed on their Chinese tai chi master.
Actually, group of tai chi enthusiasts are enjoying the power of concentration under the guidance of their instructor, 45-yeat-old Zhu Wei, is the captain of the Chinese medical team in Zimbabwe.
"Tai chi increases focus and makes students, from school children to college students, (concentrate)on studies." he says.
Tai chi is a mind-body exercise rooted in multiple Chinese traditions, including martial arts, (tradition) Chinese medicine and philosophy. It emphasizes a mind-body connection (use) gentle movements, meditation(冥想) and deep breathing.
Martial arts (recognize) as a fitness practice, with a wide range of health benefits. Zhu says tai chi provides mental health benefits like improved focus, as well as decreased stress, anxiety and depression. In addition, it can improve a (child) confidence and physical strength.
Organizer of the children's events Abraham Matuka says keeping youngsters busy and entertained with activities like tai chi (help) meet challenges of drug and other teenager crimes in low-income townships.
注意：1.写作词数应为80左右：2.请按如下格式在答面卡的相应位竖作爸
Dear Miss Ellis, I'm writing to ask for you help. …… Yours sincerely Li Hua |
Lisa Sweeney is a 32-year-old mail carrier in Staten Island, New York. Four months ago, she noticed that something wasn't right at one of the homes on her rote. It was her quick action that made all the difference.
One afternoon in August, an old woman named Mari e Boyer, who lived alone, fell at the foot of the stairs in her home. She was just lying unconscious(昏迷的) on the floor.
The next afternoon, her re gular mail carrier, Lisa Sweeney, passed by and noticed something unusual. Though she and Marie hadn't had much conversation over the years, Lisa knew her habits. She was surprised not to see Marie working in her garden, because she usually spent most afternoons there when the weather was fine.
I just had a feeling in my heart that Marie was inside. "Lisa recalls. She went straight round to the back of the house, thinking that the old woman might be in the kitchen, but she didn't find anybody there. Puzzled, Lisa returned to the front of the house and knocked bar d on the door. There was no answer. She thought that this was very strange, so she knocked on a neighbor's door, but he'd been away on vacation and arrived home just a short time before so he didn't know anything. Just then Lisa noted that Mane's bottle of milk, which was delivered early in the morning, was still on the doorstep. It was a clear warning sign.
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。
"I must get in to see what's happened." Lisa said to herself.
……
Lisa's quick action not only saved a life but also started a friendship.
