If you studied pictures that ancient people left on rock walls and you tried to determine their meaning, you would not detect interest in romance among the artists. 1, you would see plenty of animals with people running after them. Life for ancient people's earned to center on hunting and gathering wild foods for meals.
In modern times, when food is available in grocery stores, finding love is more 2 in people's lives. The 3 is all around us. It is easy to prepare a list of modern stories having to do with love. An endless number of books and movies qualify as love stories in popular culture.
Researchers are studying whether love, a highly valued emotional state, can be 4. They ask, what is love? Toothpaste companies want us to think attraction is all about clean teeth, but clean teeth go only so far. Scientists wonder how much the brain gets involved. You have probably heard that opposites attract but that 5 attract, too. One thing is certain: The truth about love is not yet set in stone.
First Impression
To help determine the 6 of attraction, researchers paired 164 college classmates and had them talk for 3, 6 or 10 minutes so they could get a sense of each other's individuality. Then students were asked to 7 what kind of relationship they were likely to build with their partners. After nine weeks, they reported what happened.
As it turned out, their 8 judgments often held true. Students seemed to 9 at an early stage who would best fit into their lives.
The 10 Knows
Scientists have also turned to nonhumans to increase understanding of attraction. Many animals give off pheromones — natural chemicals that can be detected by, and then can produce a response in, other animals of the same species. Pheromones can signal that an animal is either ready to fight or is feeling 11 to partnerships. In contrast, humans do not seem to be as 12 as other animals at detecting such chemicals. Smell, however, does seem to play a part in human attraction. Although we may not be aware of chemicals like pheromones consciously, we give and receive loads of information through smell in every interaction with other people.
Face Value
Being fond of someone seems to have a number of factors, including seeing something we find attractive. Researchers had people judge faces for 13. The participants had 0.013 seconds to view each face, yet somehow they generally considered the images the same as people who had more time to study the same faces. The way we 14 attractiveness seem to be somewhat automatic.
When shown an attractive face and then words with good or bad associations, people responded to 15 words faster after viewing an attractive face. Seeing something attractive seems to cause happy thinking.
Look to many of history's cultural symbols, and there you'll find an ancestor of Frosty, the snowman in the movie Frozen. It appeared on some of the first postcards, starred in some of the earliest silent movies, and was the subject of a couple of the earliest photos, dating all the way back to the 1800s. I discovered even more about one of humanity's earliest forms of life art during several years of research around the world.
For example, snowmen were a phenomenon in the Middle Ages, built with great skill and thought. At a time of limited means of expression, snow was like free art supplies dropped from the sky. It was a popular activity for couples to leisurely walk through town to view the temporary works of chilly art. Some were created by famous artists, including a 19-year-old Michelangelo, who in 1494 was appointed by the ruler of Florence, Italy, to build a snowman in his mansion's courtyard.
The Miracle of 1511 took place during six freezing works called the Winter of Death. The city of Brussels was covered in snowmen—an impressive scene that told stories on every street corner. Some were political in nature, criticizing the church and government. Some were a reflection of people's imagination. For the people of Brussels, this was a defining moment of defining freedom. At least until spring arrived, by which time they were dealing with damaging floods.
If you fear the heyday of the snowman has passed, don't worry: I've learned that some explosive snowman history is still being made today. Every year since 1818, the people of Zurich, Switzerland, celebrate the beginning of spring by blowing up a snowman. On the third Monday of April, the holiday Sechselauten is kicked off when a cotton snowman called the Boogg is stuffed with explosive and paraded through town by bakers and other tradesmen who throw bread to the crowds. The parade ends with the Boogg being placed on a 40-foot pile of firewood. After the bells of the Church of St. Peter have rung six times, representing the passing of winter, the pile is lit. When the snowman explodes, winter is considered officially over—the quicker it is burnt down, the longer summer is said to be.
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The Curse of the Were-Rabbit(2005) is the first full-length feature film made by directors Nick Park and Steve Box with their amazing plasticine(粘土) characters Wallace and Gromit. It won an Oscar in 2006, and if you watch it, you'll understand why. It's an absolutely brilliant cartoon comedy. |
Cheese-loving inventor Wallace and his brainy dog Gromit have started a company to protect the town's vegetables from hungry rabbits. However, just before the annual Giant Vegetable Competition, an enormous rabbit begins terrorising the town. It is attacking all the vegetables and destroying everything in its path. The competition organizer, Lady Tottington, hires Wallace and Gromit to catch the monster alive. But they will have to find the were-rabbit before gun-crazy hunter Victor Quartermaine who is desperate to kill it. | |
The screenplay is witty and full of amusing visual jokes. As usual, the voice of Peter Sallis is absolutely perfect for the role of Wallace, and Gromit is so beautifully brought to life, he can express a huge range of emotions without saying a word. And both Helena Bonham-Carter, who plays the part of Lady Tottington, and Ralph Fiennes as Victor are really funny. | |
To sum up, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is an amazing film which is suitable for both children and adults. If you liked Wallace and Gromit's previous adventures and you appreciate the British sense of humour, you'll love this film. Don't miss it! |
One of the executives gathered at the Aspen Institute for a day-long leadership workshop using the works of Shakespeare was discussing the role of Brutus in the death of Julius Caesar. “Brutus was not an honorable man,” he said. “He was a traitor（叛徒）. And he murdered someone in cold blood.” The agreement was that Brutus had acted with cruelty when other options were available to him. He made a bad decision, they said—at least as it was presented by Shakespeare—to take the lead in murdering Julius Caesar. And though one of the executives acknowledged that Brutus had the good of the republic in mind, Caesar was nevertheless his superior. “You have to endeavor,” the executives said, “our policy is to obey the chain of command.”
During the last few years, business executives and book writers looking for a new way to advise corporate America have been exploiting Shakespeare's wisdom for profitable ends. None more so than husband and wife team Kenneth and Carol Adelman, well-known advisers to the White House, who started up a training company called “Movers and Shakespeares”. They are amateur Shakespeare scholars and Shakespeare lovers, and they have combined their passion and their high level contacts into a management training business. They conduct between 30 and 40 workshops annually, focusing on half a dozen different plays, mostly for corporations, but also for government agencies.
The workshops all take the same form, focusing on a single play as a kind of case study, and using individual scenes as specific lessons. In Julius Caesar , sly provocation（狡诈的挑唆） of Brutus to take up arms against the what was a basis for a discussion of methods of team building and grass roots organism.
Although neither of the Adelmans is academically trained in literature, the programmes, contain plenty of Shakespeare tradition and background. Their workshop on Henry V, for example, includes a helpful explanation of Henry's winning strategy at the Battle of Agincourt. But they do come to the text with a few biases (偏向): their reading of Henry V minimizes his misuse of power. Instead, they emphasize the story of the youth who seizes opportunity and becomes a masterful leader. And at the workshop on Caesar, Mr. Adelmans had little good to say about Brutus, saying “the noblest Roman of them all” couldn't make his mind up about things.
Many of the participants pointed to very specific elements in the play that they felt related Caesar's pride, which led to his murder, and Brutus's mistakes in leading the after the murder, they said, raise vital questions for anyone serving as a business when and how do you resist the boss?
Gift from a stranger
My local supermarket is always busy. The first parking space I found was convenient, but I'd noticed a woman in a blue car circling for a while. I was in a good mood, I let her have it. On the edge of the car park I backed into the next available spot—it was a tight fit.
Pretty soon I'd made my way through the supermarket and was back in the fresh air. Feeling good, I(empty) my purse change into the hands of a homeless man and helped a struggling woman reverse park（倒车）.
Just as I approached my car, 1 saw the woman I'd let have my car space earlier. She was giving me odd look—half puzzled, half intent (热切的). I smiled and wished her a pleasant day. As I squeezed back into my car, I spotted the same lady (look) in at me. "Hello," she said, hesitantly. "This _ sound crazy but I was on my way to drop some of my mother's things off at the charity bins.” You are just so much her.” You helped those people, I noticed, and you seemed so happy.” She looked at me meaningfully and passed a box in through the window. “I think she would like you to have it.” (shock), I took it from her automatically. She smiled and walked away.
After a pause, I opened the box. Inside was a beautiful gold necklace with a large grey pearl. It was (nice) gift I'd ever received, and it was from a complete stranger. The necklace was around my neck, a warm reminder of human kindness.
Ask helpful Hannah
Dear helpful Hannah,
I've got a problem with my husband, Sam. He bought a smart phone a couple of months ago and he took it on our recent ski vacation to Colorado, it was a great trip except for one problem. He has a constant urge for next messages; he checks his phone every five minutes! He's so addicted to it that he just can't stand the idea there may be an important text. He can't help checking even at inappropriate times like when we are eating in a restaurant and I am talking to him! He behaves any small amount of boredom can make him feel the need to check his phone even when he know he shouldn't. The temptation to see is connecting him is just too great. When I ask him to put down the phone and stop (ignore) me, he say, “In a minute.” but still checks to see if has posted something new on the Internet. Our life (interrupted). If we go somewhere and I ask him to have the phone at home, he suffers from withdrawal symptom. May this dependency on his smart phone has become more than an everyday problem.
I recently read an article about “nomophobia,” is a real illness people can't suffer from the fear of being without your phone! I am worried that Sam maybe suffering from this illness because he feels anxious if he doesn't have his phone with him, even for a short time.
Who would have thought that little devices like these could have brought so much trouble!
Sick and Tired Sadie
A. access B. alternatives C. designed D. confirmed E. conflicting F. elements G. function H. innovative I. prospective J. separate K. supporting |
Considering how much time people spend in effects, it is important that with A be well designed. Well-designed office spaces help create a corporation's image. They motivate workers and they make an impression on people who visit and might be potential, or , customers. They make business work better, and they are a part of the corporate culture to live in.
As we move away from an industrial-based economy to a knowledge-based one, office designers come up with to the traditional work environments of the past. The design industry has moved away from a fixed office setup and created more flexible “strategic management environments.” These solutions are meant to support better organizational performance.
As employee hierarchies （等级制度）have flattened or decreased, office designers' response to this change has been to move open-plan areas to more desirable locations within the office and create fewer formal private offices. The need for increased flexibility has also been by changes in workstation design. Office and work spaces often are not to a given person on a permanent basis. Because of changes to methods of working, new design allow for expansion or movement of desks, storage, and equipment within the workplace. Another important design goal is communication, which designers have improved by breaking the walls that workstations. Designers have also created informal gathering places and upgraded employees' to heavily trafficked areas such as copy and coffee rooms.
Corporate and institutional office designers often struggle to resolve a number of competing and often demands, including budgetary limits, employees hierarchies and technological innovation (especially in relation to computerization). These demands must also be balanced with the need to create interiors (内饰) that in some way enhance, establish or possess a company's image and will enable employees to and their best.
All these of office design are related. The most successful office designs are like good marriage—the well-designed office and the employees that occupy it are seemingly made for each other.
Youth sport has the potential to accomplish three important objectives in children's development. First, sport programs can provide youth with opportunities to be physically active, which can lead to improved physical health. Second, youth sport programs have long been considered important to youth's psychosocial development, providing opportunities to learn important life skills such as cooperation, discipline, leadership, and self-control. Third, youth sport programs are critical for the learning of motor skills; these motor skills serve as a foundation for future national sport stars and recreational adult sport participants. When coachers develop activities for youth practices and when sport organizations design youth-sport programs, they must consider the implication of deliberate play and deliberate practice.
Research from Telama （2006） states that regular participation in deliberate play or deliberate practice activities during childhood and youth （ages nine to eighteen） increases the likelihood of participation in sports during adulthood by six times for both males and females. Côté （2002） defines deliberate play activities in sport as those designed to maximize enjoyment. These activities are regulated by flexible rules adapted from standardized sport rules and are set up by the children or by an involved adult. Children typically change rules to find a point where their game is similar to the actual sport but still allows for play at their level. For example, children may change soccer and basketball rules to suit their needs and environment （e.g. in the street. on a playing field or in someone's backyard）. When involved in deliberate play activities, children are less concerned with the outcome of their outcome of their behavior. （whether they win or lose） than with the behavior. （having fun）.
On the other hand, Ericsson （1993） suggests that the most effective learning occurs through involvement in highly structured activities defined as deliberate practice. Deliberate practice activities require effort, produce no immediate rewards, and are motivated by the goal of improving performance rather than the goal of enjoyment. When individuals are involved in deliberate play, they experiment with different combinations of behaviors, but not necessarily in the most effective way to improve performance. In contrast, when individuals are involved in deliberate practice, they exhibit behavior. focused on improving performance by the most effective means available. For example, the backhand skills in tennis could be learned and improved over time by playing matches or by creating fun practice situations. However, players could more effectively improve their backhand performance by practicing drills that might be considered less enjoyable. Although drills are used in most effective means available practice might not be the most enjoyable, they might be the most relevant to improving performance.
（Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS）
