Tiny Countries You Never knew Existed
Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe off Africa's west coast is only 372 square miles, but it has Impressive, undamaged nature, rich in biodiverse species. The amazing needle-like volcanic peak Pico Cao Grande rises 1,000 feet into the air. The islands are home to only around 200,000 people today.
San Marino
Only 23 square miles with a population of just 34,000, the little-known country of San Marino, surrounded by Italy, is the world's fifth smallest country. With the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mount Titano, the country is said to be the oldest republic in the world.
Dominica
Dominica covers only 290 square miles, with some of the best diving in the Caribbean, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site of volcanic Morme Trois Pitons National Park. In Dominica, you'll see rainforests, waterfalls, and coastal views. The island is also home to the only remaining population of the Kalinago, who are part of the island's 74, 900 inhabitants.
Kiribati
This Pacific island country 33 coral islands is 313 square-miles, but it's the only country in the world to fall into all four hemispheres (半球). The country's 109, 000 residents live in only 21 of the islands see this tropical paradise before it is no longer--rising seas are threatening to swallow the country whole.
Once, a lioness and her cub were hunting in the jungle. The baby asked its mother, "Mother, why are we hunting when a deer is already at home?”
The mother said, "My love! We can' t eat that deer because it has surrendered (投降) himself seeking our help. He is wounded and helpless. We must help him.”
The baby cub was surprised and questioned again, "Why so? That's our food, we can eat it.”
“Honey, you are right! It's our food and we can kill him in any second but do you think he deserves to be killed when he has come to-us for protection?”
The baby cub couldn't understand her mother's vulnerability(软弱). It kept quiet and paced with its mother. At last, they didn't get anything and came back to their cave.
The deer, on the other hand, was terrified of his own decision of taking shelter in the cave. Unfortunately he had no choice! He was attacked by a hunter and somehow managed to escape. While running for his life, he saw the cave and without a second thought entered it. He had already got a shot from the hunter. When he realized he was in the lions cave, he gave up the idea of running back again. The deer gazed at the lioness with a pitiful look, tears rolling down He sat there as if he urged for the mercy of the lioness.
The lioness came closer to the deer, smelled it and slowly moved out of the cave with her cub.
When the lions came back, the cub asked its mother to kill the deer again. But the lioness was firm on her decision. She said, "Sweetheart! We can-manage one night without any food. Tomorrow, I would definitely fetch out some food for you.”
The cub said nothing, grunted(嘟哝）a little.
When the cub slept, the lioness whispered to the deer, "Run, away from this area because I doubt if I could save you any longer if the next time situation demands!"
The deer looked at the lioness with gratitude and slowly walked away from the cave.
Breakdancing is set to make its debut(首次亮相) as an Olympic sport at Paris2024, Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris organizing committee, said on February 21". Skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing which have already been added to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, have been invited to return in Paris.
Estanguet said the choices responded to a need to make the Olympics "more urban" and “more artistic". "We have chosen to present the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with the four sports because they are creative, appealing to youth and completely in line with our vision. They reflect perfectly Paris 2024's identity.”
Breakdancing is an example of a sport "which can be played anywhere and anytime in urban and other environments." It appeared at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in the form of head-to-head "battles". In competitive breakdancing, "breakers face off in "battles" against each other, either as individuals or teams. Breakdancers use- a mix of physical and artistic skills combining elements from gymnastics or acrobatics(杂技).
The IOC had announced that the number of competitors at Paris 2024 would be restricted to 10,500, which limited the opportunity to add sports. But the organizers said the inclusion would not necessitate the construction of permanent facilities and would involve just 248 competitors, including 32 breakdancers. The surfing events are likely to be held in established surf center such as Biarritz or Lacanau in southwest France.
The inclusion still needs to be rubberstamped by the IOC, which is expected to decide on which sports to add in Paris after next year's Tokyo Games.
If humans pump enough carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, the stratocumulus clouds(层积云) could disappear, and the earth's temperature could climb sharply to heights not predicted in current climate models. It would burn the planet. That's the conclusion of a paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience and described in detail by Natalie Wolchover for Quanta Magazine.
As Wolchover explained, clouds have long been one of the great uncertainties of climate models. Computer models that easily capture the complexity and detail of most climate systems just aren't powerful enough to predict worldwide changes in cloud behavior. But clouds are important. They reflect sunlight away from the earth's surface. And stratocumulus clouds are those white blankets you might have seen as you looked out the window of arm airplane, rolling out below you and hiding the ground Researchers suspect that certain sudden, past jumps in temperature may have been caused by changes to clouds like these.
For the new research, scientists modeled just a small patch of sky using a supercomputer. They found that if carbon dioxide levels reach about 1, 200 parts per million(ppm) in the atmosphere, stratocumulus clouds break up. That's a very high carbon dioxide concentration. Right now, levels have climbed past 410 ppm--a dangerous change from 280 ppm before the Industrial Revolution.
But humans put more and more CO2 into the atmosphere every year. If current trends continue, the earth could reach 1, 200 ppm within 100 to 150 years. This could happen if our society doesn't follow through on any of its commitments to reduce emissions(排放), Wolchover reported. And even if it does, the result would be another 8 degrees Celsius of heat added to the global average, on top of the dangerous changes already underway due to greenhouse gases.
That's an enormous change, and it goes beyond predictions of worldwide ice melt and catastrophic sea level rise. And, once the stratocumulus clouds are gone, Wolchover reported, they likely wouldn't reappear until atmospheric carbon dioxide levels dropped below where they are currently.
There's still some uncertainty in the data. The 1, 200 ppm figure could change as scientists look into the issue further.
Reducing class size has traditionally been seen as an important way to improve a student's educational experience. Many often believe that smaller classes would permit teachers to give more personal attention to their students..
But one recent study suggests there's not much research-based evidence to support this idea. The research was collected by a team from Denmark's Danish Center for Social Science Research.
The study notes that one of the main problems with reducing class size is that it can have very high costs. . Financial limitations make it very difficult for many schools to reduce the number of students in the classroom.
The new study began by examining 127 studies on classroom size. Its goal was to examine the major research studies already completed on the subject. . In the end, the research centered on 10 main studies with possible sampling (采样)problems.
The researchers concluded that there's some evidence to suggest that reducing class size may lead to some improvement in a student's reading achievement. . They found just a 53-percent chance that a randomly selected test score from a student from a small class would be higher than the selected score of a student from a larger class. . This led the researchers to conclude that there would be no benefit at all to math students in a smaller class size.
A. But they said the effect is very small
B. For mathematics achievement, the result was 49 percent
C. This can theoretically lead to improved academic results for students
D. Many public opinion studies have shown teachers favor smaller class sizes
E. The effects of larger class size can stay long after the students complete their education
F. Increasing class size is one of the most common ways school systems control education spending
G. They especially centered on those trying to measure if smaller class size led to greater academic success
After a failed marriage, depression, not working for four years, and sending out over 200 resumes in the last five months, today I got a $60,000/year job in my field of1.
I'd been in the running for this job for one and a half months. They received 140 2, interviewed 20, and it was3to me and one other person.
But three days ago I got a call from them saying they had 4 to move forward with the other candidate. I 5them for the opportunity. They wished me luck in my 6, and I spent the entire day7.
Then yesterday my would-be-boss called, and said she and the HR manager who initially 8 me couldn't get me off their 9 because of my enthusiasm, attitude, and the excitement I couldn't 10.
She told me the president of the company11 hired the other candidate because he was 12 in a particular software program, which I am only slightly familiar with. The president is old school, so he went with the13 bet.
The woman told me she went to bat for me with the 14 these last couple of days 15she believed I was the one the company16.
She also told me I was the only person out of 20 interviews who 17 them afterwards and said thank you for the 18 of meeting with me. The ONLY person.
I've had some very hard truths to face and had to19 who I am. It's been a(n)20few years, but those little sunshine rays are finally touching me.
To celebrate the Lantern Festival the Palace Museum organized its first light show in the Forbidden City.
The complex, home to Chinese emperors for five (century), was opened at night for the first time in 94 years. It was lit up with giant red lanterns and projections of ancient paintings. Masterpieces such as Along the River During the Qingming Festival were projected on the roofs, giving visitors a feeling like walking time. The design team smartly combined high technology(light) with the principles of cultural relic preservation.
Only 3, 000 people (allow) in on that day: 500 people who booked their tickets online, and 2, 500(invite) guests including model workers, officers, soldiers, and ambassadors.
With series of well-planned and tourist-friendly cultural activities, the Palace Museum is now on a campaign to make traditional Chinese culture more (access) to the general public. It has set an example to other museums in our country, most of seem to be still living in days gone by. Hopefully, the handsome turnover will be used(appropriate) to better protect the Forbidden City and improve (it)international image of being part of the world's cultural heritage.
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：在错的词下划一横线，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。
Yesterday we took part a tree planting activity organised by our class. Early-in the morning, we set out for Bantou Reservoir in Xiamen. When we were arrived there, we began to work immediately. Firstly, we dug holes that are slightly larger than the root balls. Next, we gentle placed the trees into our new homes. After that, we refilled the holes use enough soil to support the root. Finally, we watered the trees. Three hours passed by after we knew it. Tired as we were, we felt exciting, talking and laughing all the way home. How an unforgettable experience!
| 汉语水平口语考试(HSKK) | ||||||
| 考试时间 | 考试科目 | 报名截止日期 | 成绩公布日期 | |||
| 纸笔考试 | 网络考试 | |||||
| 2019年 | 3月23日（星期六） | HSKK | 2月24日 | 3月13日 | 4月23日 | |
| 2019年 | 5月11日（星期六） | HSKK | 4月14日 | 5月1日 | 6月11日 | |
参考词汇:纸笔考试 paper-based test;网络考试 Internet-based test
注意：
1）词数100左右。
2）可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯
