Pick the best e-bikes of 2024 for you!
MK1-E GEN3 VARI
Price £7,099 Weight 49kg
The MK1-E Gen3, a three-wheeled e-bike, offers a dream of joyful rides with kids up front. Suited for flat cycle lanes, its performance may differ on rainy British streets. The250W Bosch motor and 500Wh battery make up for less athletic legs, while its leaning mechanism provides stability in turns. Choose the Vario model with a belt drive for a better experience. It can travel a maximum of 44 miles.
DECATHLON RIVERSIDE
Price £999 (down from £1,299) Weight 21.9kg
Fashioned from lightweight Aluminum and Magnesium, this e-bike covering distances of up to 56 miles is affordable and portable. With a detachable(可拆卸的) 418Wh battery,it's convenient for recharging unnoticeably at work. Available in three sizes, it's easy to transport with a quick-release lever for removing the front wheel. Decathlon branches offer workshops for quick fixes while you wait, leaving you time to eye up the kayaks.
ORBEA GAIN M10
Price £8,999 Weight 11.5kg
Less is more! Step over, turn on, and you'll quickly appreciate why. Its deep carbon rims, Pirelli tyres and a Shimano Drive Train give you a pro-racer look. It smoothly delivers power to match your pace and the battery is good for 100 miles. One day all e-bikes will be made this way—but hopefully cheaper!
RALEIGH CENTROS
Price £2,999 Weight 28kg
The well-equipped cruiser has an adjustable stem for comfort, suspension seat post, mudguards, and chain guard for protection. It includes a rack and kickstand but is heavy due to these features. Suitable for forest trails, its wide tires aren't meant for tough off-roading. Despite not being lightweight, its large battery and powerful motor make for a smooth, effortless ride, shrinking road distances. It can go at least 150 miles.
In Gaza, a 15-year-old boy named Hussam Al-Attar has gained recognition for his device that provides electricity to light the tent he shares with his family. Using two fans from a resale market, he created small wind turbines to produce electricity, earning him the nickname"Newton"of Gaza. This comparison involves the English scientist, Isaac Newton,known for his major scientific discoveries in the fields of physics, mathematics and astronomy.
"We here are living in darkness and tragedy, and rockets are falling on us, therefore I thought of creating light, and did so,"said Al-Attar. His family are staying in a tent that is partly attached to a house. He was able to climb onto the roof to set up two fans, one above the other. The wind can turn the fans, which produce small amounts of electricity. He then connected the fans to wires and built a charging station. Al-Attar also built switch es to control a lighting system made out of wood.
He said his first two attempts failed and it took him a while to develop a working system. "I started developing it further, bit by bit, until I was able to extend the wires through the room to the tent that we are living in, so that the tent will have light."
Al-Attar added he was happy to be able to create something to help " ease the suffering" of his family members. He said he is looking forward to the future when conditions can improve in Gaza.
"I am very happy that people in this camp call me Gaza's Newton," Al-Attar said. He added, "Because I hope to achieve my dream of becoming a scientist like Newton and creating an invention that will benefit not only the people of the Gaza Strip, but the whole world."
Scientists have recently made some fascinating discoveries about how baleen whales produce their unique underwater songs. Through a study published in Nature, researchers explored the voice boxes of three beached baleen whales (humpback, minke, sei) to remove the secrets.
The study, led by Coen Elemans of the University of Southern Denmark, involved examining the whales' larynxes (喉) and conducting experiments in the lab. By blowing air through the voice boxes, scientists identified the tissues that vibrate(震动) and even created computer models to match them to recordings of similar whales taken in the wild.
They lack vocal(发声的) cords and teeth but feature a unique U-shaped tissue structure that helps breathe air rapidly. This, coupled with a thick cushion of fat and muscle in voice boxes, enables whales to produce songs by pushing the tissue against the cushion.
Elemans said they depend on the production of sound to communicate in the dark of the deep oceans. "For example, humpback females and their calves communicate by voice, and humpback males sing to attract females," he added.
Jeremy Goldbogen, a professor of oceans, said, "This is the most comprehensive and significant study to date on how baleen whales vocalize."
Meanwhile , whale expert Joy Reidenberg said the whale voice boxes tested were from younger animals, not adult males, so further experiments on adult males are needed to confirm the study's findings. "Right now, our technology involves sticking a scope(镜头)into a whale to see what exactly is vibrating. However, we're never going to be able to do that in a wild animal,"she added.
Despite that, these experiments offer valuable insights into how these creatures communicate and how human activities, such as shipping noise, impact their connection through songs.
A Chinese movie "No More Bets" could potentially frighten Chinese visitors away from Thailand, as researchers and data suggest. The film portrays Chinese citizens are tricked into online investments, gambling, and digital money called cryptocurrency in an unnamed Southeast Asian country. A report said criminal groups have forced hundreds of thousands in Southeast Asia into illegal activities.
While the movie topped the box office in China, making over $500 million in its first month, concerns have been raised about its impact on Chinese tourism. At one point in the movie, abducted Chinese travelers are traveling in a small vehicle, which runs under a road sign for "Sukhumvit", a well-known area in Bangkok. Despite experts playing down the lasting effect on tourism to Thailand, there are worries that it may discourage some tourists,particularly those heading to Bangkok.
The movie's success has also caused reactions in neighboring countries. Cambodia banned its showing due to the presence of Khmer language and Myanmar said it tarnishes the country's image.
Vincent Zhuang, a former Robb Report employee, remains positive about Thailand as a tourist destination for Chinese travelers but acknowledges that bad news can easily keep away some possible visitors. With "No More Bets" based on true events, it has added credibility among viewers.
There has been a noticeable decrease in Chinese arrivals to Thailand, with only 2. 2million recorded through August, falling short of the predicted 5 million by the end of 2023. Actually other reasons must be considered though. With the current world economy facing a slowdown, air travel to Thailand remains below pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, a shooting incident in Bangkok in September claimed the lives of three individuals, resulting in60,000 Chinese tourists calling off their plans to visit Thailand .
Trapped in a burning high-rise building, you may be waiting for a while until you're rescued.Here are some tips you'd better follow.
An unexpected fire alarm will be unsettling and scary, but panicking won't help. Stay calm, and try to figure out whether the fire is above you, below you, or on your floor. Then feel the door to your unit. If it is cool, you should be able to leave your apartment and head for the nearest exit..
On your way, smoke inhalation(吸入) is the leading cause of death in fires, and it will be practically unavoidable in a burning high-rise building.Meanwhile, cover your mouth and nose with your shirt to avoid smoke as you breathe.
If it's too dangerous to leave your apartment, you still need to protect yourself against smoke coming in. Get to an area where you can close the door and seal the cracks.Once you've done that, you should call the fire department, and report your exact location in the building. Help will be on the way, so try to be patient, and stay calm.
That can further help the firefighters find where you are. Don't break any windows, and don't open your window too much, because it might let smoke in. But if you have it open a little, rescue personnel should still be able to see your signal and get to you safely.
In the face of such situation, remaining calm and sticking to these guidelines can make all the difference.
A. Hang a light-colored cloth out of your window.
B. Test your unit's fire alarm, and check it regularly.
C. Wetting towels and jamming them under doors count.
D. Your decision during that time can be a matter of life or death.
E. So when passing through smoke, you have to crawl on all fours.
F. When leaving, close all doors behind you to starve fire of oxygen.
G. With fire racing towards you, panic often leads to costly mistakes.
"Could you tell me which way to Bloor and..."He1 to get the next word out, a pained look on his face, but I knew better than to finish his2 for him.
"... Bathurst?"he said after several3 of struggling. When I started to answer, he told me that he didn't actually need to know. He was practising stammering(口吃)4 , he explained, hoping to become more 5 doing so around strangers.
I6 with excitement. "Are you doing that because it's National Stammering Awareness Day?" I asked, always7 to connect with other people who stammer. When the man asked how I knew that, I said that I grew up with a stammer.
He8 , with a longing look:"And I suppose your stammer has magically9 since then?"
His question gave me pause.
I understood why he assumed this—when compared to his fairly10 stammer, I sounded fluent, stammer-free. But even as we spoke, my stammer had influenced my speech. For example, I'd11 International Stammering Awareness Day as National Stammering Awareness Day to avoid the tricky front vowel sound at the beginning of the word—a sound I12 to struggle with now.
And while it's true that my stammer was more 13 when I was a child, this was partially because I'd since found workarounds(解决办法) for difficult words and sounds,helping me14 the worst of it.
When I answered his question, I settled on the simple15 that I had grown out of my stammer. However, deep inside, I had only learned to deal with what life might offer strategically.
1. 阅读下面材料，根据上下文填写空白处所需的内容(1个单词)或所提供单词的正确形式。
In 2023, "Cun Chao,"was to become a national feast. This grassroots event caughteye of the nation's netizens, and suddenly the (peace) county of Rongjiang, home to just 385,000 locals, the matches took place , became a hive of activity.
But this was not for cash grab. The players are all(amateur) and entry to the stadium is free. The winning side(award) a cow to take back to their village, and the runners-up a pig last season.
In late July, villagers entered the stadiumtheir ethnic clothing, proudly(raise) baskets of their local produce overhead. Singing and dancing filled the streets.Honestly speaking, Guizhou people were(undoubted) down-to-earth.
As finals fever heated up, the county received more than 900,000 visitors and earned over
1.07 billion yuan from tourism, a figure that was hard( imagine) before it. Then every room in town was booked. Our camera crew even slept four to a bed. Yet no one(mind), as we were part of something special. After all, who could sleep when the countryside was awakening?
I've been teaching for over thirty years, and Mr. Bath stood out as one of the best teachers to work with. We taught fourth grade together, and I learned a lot from him because he was patient and understanding. He did something amazing with Besta, who was one of the saddest kids I'd ever seen. Besta really didn't like school. He didn't like the kids who always knew the answers, and most importantly, he didn't like himself. During class activities, his classmates would raise their hands, eagerly volunteering to work with one another, but not Besta. When kind-hearted classmates approached him asking if he needed a partner, Besta just avoided eye contact, often saying no. Even with encouragement, Besta seldom participated.
When Besta first came into Mr. Bath's class, he seemed lonely and annoyed. He didn't pay attention to anyone else and just sat down, knocking some books onto the floor. Mr. Bath tried to talk to him and even touched his shoulder, but Besta moved away. Still, Mr. Bath welcomed him warmly, saying,"Hi, Besta. I'm glad you're in my class. We're going to have a great year."Besta looked around, thinking Mr. Bath must be wrong. Why would any teacher want him in their class? While Mr. Bath was happy and relaxed, Besta seemed upset and lost.
But things changed after class that day when Mr. Bath asked Besta to demonstrate his basketball skills. "Hey, Besta," Mr. Bath said, noticing Besta's talent, "You're good at basketball. Let me teach you a special move."It was a trick shot that no one else could do.With Mr. Bath's help, Besta learned it quickly and did really well! Everyone cheered for him.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式作答。
As the school year went on, Besta began to change gradually.
Ten years later Mr, Bath retired, One day he received a message at school.
