After two years of careful consideration, Robert McCrum has reached a conclusion on his selection of the 100 greatest novels written in English. Take a look at a few in his list:
The Pilgrim's Progress by John Banyan (1678)
A story of a man in search of truth told with the simple clarity and beauty of Bunyan's prose makes this an English classic.
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719)
By the end of the 19th century, no book in English literary history had enjoyed more editions and translations. This world-famous novel is a complex literature that one cannot resist.
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726)
A great work that's been repeatedly printed, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels comes third in our list of the best novels written in English.
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (1748)
Clarissa is a tragic heroine, pressured by her dishonorable family to marry a wealthy man she dislikes, in the book that Samuel Johnson described as “the first book in the world that shows the knowledge about the human heart”.
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (1749)
Tom Jones is a classic English novel that gets the spirit of its age and whose characters are well-known since they have come to represent the society at that time.
Emma by Jane Austen (1816)
Jane Austen's Emma is her most outstanding work, mixing the best parts of her early books with a deep sense of feelings.
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe (1838)
Edgar Allan Poe's only novel—a classic adventure story with supernatural elements—has fascinated and influenced generations of writers.
No fashion event attracts the world quite like the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. In November 2017, more than 55 models descended upon Shanghai for the lingerie（内衣）maker's first show in Asia. Victoria's Secret cast eight Chinese models for the show, including Liu Wen, double the number that walked in 2016.
Liu Wen, a Chinese fashion model, started her modeline career in 2005 after competing in the reality TV show New Silk Road World Model Contest. Although she did not win the competition, Liu soon began working full-time as a model, eventually becoming a national success story after working with fashion magazines like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar that are popular in China, In 2007, she was signed to the Marilyn agency, and has since walked for Burberry. Givenchy, Chanel, Tom Ford, Proenza Schooler and Tommy Hilfiger.
Liu walked a record 74 shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris for the autumn/ winter 2009 season, followed by 70 for spring/summer 2010, making her the second most-booked catwalk model that year. She has also achieved 15 international Vogue covers to date.
In 2009, Liu became the first woman of Chinese origin to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Liu also participated in the 2010—2012 shows. She returned to the Victoria's Secret runway again in 2016.
In the past, Liu has said that after modeling she might enjoy working as a stylist or, were the opportunity to arise, as an actress-she feels that modeling and acting have much in common, but for now she enjoys modeling and working in the fashion industry. She has stated that she knows that, as a career choice, working as a fashion designer or stylist would be “very hard work”, but she is now more seriously considering becoming a stylist because she would like “to share her fashion style -tomboyish, vintage, and comfortable-with the world”.
An autonomous vehicle designed for making local commerce deliveries was uncovered by Nuro. The vehicle is about the height of an SW but far narrower than a typical car. The electric car features four outside compartments（暗格）—two on each side -to hold separate deliveries. Each compartment can be tailored to a specific use, such as cooking a pizza or refrigerating a package.
“We can use self-driving technology to deliver anything, anytime, anywhere for basically all local goods and services,” Nuro co-founder Dave Ferguson said. “Consumers used to be okay with two-week paid shipping. It became two-week free delivery, followed by one week, two days, and the same day. Now same-day delivery isn't fast enough for some customers.”
Nuro isn't alone in building robots for local commerce deliveries. Earlier this month, Toyota, a Japanese car company, uncovered a concept vehicle that could be used for package delivery. A handful of startups—including Starship Technologies, Marble and Dispatch—are testing small robots for deliveries on sidewalks.
Nuro's vehicle will likely face legal hurdles. Fully autonomous vehicles without a test diver aren't legal in California today, and many companies have shifted testing o states where regulators are more welcoming of autonomous vehicles, such as Arizona.
Nuro expects to face fewer challenges because it doesn't carry passengers. Nuro's narrow size may also be helpful when navigating streets and avoiding pedestrians. The vehicle isn't equipped with any special features to communicate with pedestrians or other road users. Some companies have tested and patented solutions such as digital screens that signal the car's next move. Ferguson said his team conducted studies and found that such techniques could confuse people. Nuro believes it's better to make sure the car performs predictably, so that human drivers know what to expect from it.
“We feel by creating this new technology that's going to enable this last mile delivery, we're going to be creating new markets and doing things that previously weren't possible,” Ferguson said. “This is not swapping out jobs with robots. It's creating new markets. There will definitely be new employment opportunities.”
Would you buy a car that released calming smells into the air when you are stuck in heavy traffic? Would you buy a robot that smells like a human being?
Many people have seen the 3-D computer-made environments of virtual reality (VR). Now these virtual worlds will not just look and sound real. Researchers have created VR environments that even smell like the real things. With the new technology, users open a virtual door and step into a new environment, like a rainforest. After they enter this virtual world, special equipment releases forest-like smells into the air to make the experience seem more real.
Suzanne Fisher-Murray said, “it is a really wonderful experience that you have because you're exploring this environment and you have smells with it.”
In the United States, Smell-O-Vision was designed to provide smells during the showing of a movie. The Smell-0-Vision system was once popular in the 1960s. Now, Emanuela Maggioni says it is close to becoming popular again. “The connection with emotions, memories, and…the sense of smell,” Maggioni said. “It is unbelievable what we can do with technology.”
The uses for smell technology are not just limited to films and the performing arts. Researchers showed a computer program where users could imagine themselves driving a car. The system included a special smell-spraying machine. Dmitrijs Dmitrenko said, “We want to deliver the smell of lavender（薰衣草）every time the person drives over the speed limit. We choose lavender because it's a very calming smell.”
Scientists are experimenting with smell instead of sounds or image-based alerts on telecommunications equipment. And businesses are already using smell to influence people's behavior. “Not only.…in stores…But on the other side, you can create and stimulate immediate buying,” Maggioni said. “So you're in a library and you smell coffee and actually you are unconsciously having the need to drink a coffee.”
Rich and Famous
Twenty years ago the most common ambition of American children was to be a teacher, followed by working in banking and finance, and then medicine. But today's situation is quite different. Instead they most commonly say they want to be a sports star, or an actor—in other words, they hope to become a celebrity.
According to experts, young people desire these jobs largely because of the wealth and the fame. Let's take athletes and singers as an example. Their careers are short-lived. Many athletes' best time only lasts a few years and singers can have a very limited career. The field that was once the focus of their lives becomes something they have little or no involvement in. As a result, they'll have a feeling of worthlessness and a lack of control. The truth is quite simple: they have been so far removed from it for so long.
In spite of these disadvantage, there is greater ambition than ever among young people to achieve that status. They are not satisfied just making a living—they want to be rich and famous. Globally, more and more TV shows provide talent competitions where winners can achieve their goals in just a few weeks or months. They unrealistically believe that this lifestyle is easily obtained and leads to great satisfaction.
While many people argue that there is nothing wrong with having such ambitions, others feel that this trend will finally lead to dissatisfaction as more and more people are unable to reach their goals. That means they ignore the simple fact that great effort is needed before success. As a result, many people won't realize their childhood dreams, which could have a negative effect on their happiness.
A. The younger generation don't favor these professions any more.
B. In many ways this has been brought about by the celebrity culture.
C. Unfortunately, they do not always have a positive effect on people's life.
D. Besides, it can be difficult for them to adapt back to a normal everyday life.
E. People no longer have a sense of satisfaction once their goals have been achieved.
F. This quick way of gaining wealth and fame creates a celebrity culture among people.
G. The reason is that they don't realize it takes talent and hard work to be rich and famous.
In the town of Swedesboro, New Jersey, 5th grade students are determined to make 2,000 paper cranes（纸鹤）by the end of the school year. Their 1 is to put smiles on kids' faces.
The idea of 2 the paper cranes started when their 3, Tara Milward, read them the story Sadako and the One Thousand Paper Cranes in class. Sadako was 4 with leukemia（白血病）at a very young age. She 5 folding the paper cranes along with her family and friends, 6 this was a symbol of hope for Sadako to get 7 one day.
The students of Harker School wanted to 8 Sadako's story. They began buying paper, 9 paper cranes, and decided to make 2,000! They want to send the 10 1,000 cranes to Hiroshima, Japan where Sadako lived. The next 1,000 cranes are11 to a local hospital. Wherever a paper crane is made, the students are12 that something so simple can help someone 13 hope.
They are so devoted to the 14 that they work on it in every minute of their 15 time to help them towards their big goal of 2,000 paper cranes. To achieve their 16 goal, all of the students are coming together and working very 17. They are eager to spread the hope to their friends and families, also a 18 of this extraordinary project.
The students are 19 by Sadako's story and are making their impossible dream come true. They hope to make a 20 around the globe to show that everyone can make the world a better place.
For those have seen War for the Planet of the Apes, it's easy to come to this conclusion-the movie isn't about war or the planet, and it's not (necessary) even about the apes. The movie is about (survive) and the choices we all make when one wants to survive, good or bad.
With a story that should have been full of conflict and violence, it takes a different approach. You may find (you) exposed to small pockets of action. While recent sci-fi movies have become (know) for their action and scenes, War for the Planet of the Apes has taken science fiction a thoughtful and intelligent direction.
War for the Planet of the Apes may not be the action and monster film that you had in mind, it's the kind of film that will make you want to sit in silence in the theater for a few minutes after it ends, taking in you've just witnessed.
The few movies that have that effect (be) usually about humans, but this film enables people (feel) that way about apes. And that is what makes it a masterpiece.
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下面画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I am the shared bike. I'd like to be on the street to serve for people. They can ride me just via a mobile app. But horrible things happen a few days ago. Several people stole some of us with paying their bills on the app but treated us badly. They broke my saddle and even threw my friends everywhere. We felt angry for which those bad guys had done. Thanks to some kindly people, we received careful “treatment”. Now, you help as well as the whole society's attention is what we need most. We are designed to help people who are stuck the heavy traffic. We are neither toy nor private vehicles. Please obey the basic rules.
