GETTING A GRANT
Who pays?
The local education authority (LEA) for the area in which the student is living.
Who can get this money?
Anyone who gets a place on a first degree course, although a student who has already attended a course of advanced further education may not. Students must also have been resident in the UK for at least three years, which can exclude some students from overseas.
SPECIAL CASES
If a student has worked before going to college?
A student who is 26 or more before the course starts and who has worked for at least three years will get extra money—￡155 a year since 26, increasing to a maximum of ￡615 at 29 or more.
If a student is handicapped?
LEAs will give up to ￡500 to help meet extra expenses—such as buying a tape recorder for a blind student, extra heating or special food.
Banking?
Most of the big banks offer special services to students who open accounts, hoping that they will stay with the bank when they become rich officials. A student won't usually have to pay bank charges as long as the account stays in credit. Some banks allow students to overdraw by ￡100 or so, and still don't make charges (though they do charge interest).
Around the world, 62 million girls are not in school. The White House's Let Girls Learn effort aims to change that.
At 13, Hawa Abdulai Yorke left her family's home, in Ghana, Africa, to live with an aunt who promised to send her to school. Instead, the aunt put Yorke to work as her maid. Determined to go to school, Yorke returned home and began selling water in a nearby city to raise money for her education. She did that for three years. What hurt most was that her father had the money to pay the school fees. But he chose to spend the money on a motorcycle.
Yorke's story is familiar to girls growing up in Ghana. There, a girl's place is in the home. Educating girls is considered a waste of money.
"It happens more than it should, where parents have money to send their girls to school but choose not to," says Ryan Roach, a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana, where nearly 55% of girls are not enrolled in secondary school. "Cultural beliefs say education is not a wise investment".
The White House's Let Girls Learn is working to change this view of girls' education, in Ghana and in countries worldwide. First Lady Michelle Obama says parents have to be persuaded that girls' education is a better investment than marriage or household labor. A World Bank study backs that up. It shows that for every year of secondary-school education, a girl's earning power increases by 18%.
Today, Let Girls Learn works in 13 countries, and there are plans to expand the program. Recently, Let Girls Learn hosted a 24-hour event at which girls in different parts of Ghana joined Peace Corps volunteers, tech experts, and university students to brainstorm creative solutions for the barriers to girls' education. Yorke's team came up with an idea for an app that sends a recorded message to parents' phones from a Ghanian celebrity about the benefits of girls attending school.
Yorke, now 22, is about to finish high school. Thanks to Let Girls Learn, she plans to attend college and study computer science. She says working alongside women college students at the Let Girls Learn event strengthened her determination. "I'm focused on my books," says Yorke. "I know if I study hard, I, too, can go to the university and live a happy life."
Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it seems that TV channels will have vanished by 2050. Instead, people will choose a programme from a "menu" and a computer will send the programme directly to the television. By 2050, music, films, programmes, newspapers and books will come to us in the similar way.
In many places, agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages of water. Some scientists predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don't act now.
In the future, cars will run on new, clean fuels (燃料) and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won't be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Also, by 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.
Some big companies now prefer to use robots that do not ask for pay rises or go on strike, and work 24 hours a day. They are also easy to control. And they never argue with people. They can be easily used in a variety of places—factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.
Scientists will have discovered how to control genes (基因). Scientists have already produced clones (克隆) of animals. By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look and how they behave. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?
Have you ever noticed how Americans fill up their entire glass with ice and then pour their beverage (饮品) in, but Europeans take their drinks at room temperature? In the U. S., we've created fridges that give you cold ice at the press of a button, but in Britain they typically serve their tap water warm.
This tradition—if that's what you want to call it—dates back to the 19th century. During that time, it was already commonplace for most American homes to have an ice box. Ice would be harvested in northern America or Canada and shipped across the Atlantic and sold at a high price in British department stores. Can you imagine heading to Macy's to treat yourself to a block of ice?
Putting ice in your drink started to become somewhat of a fashion trend for the wealthy in Britain. Some would put a few cubes in their champagne and sip on their chilled drinks at high-class parties. But, like with any fashion trend, it eventually faded, mainly because the ice was just too expensive. And even once ice boxes began appearing in homes in Britain as well, Brits never took a liking to ice in their drinks.
So, next time you travel overseas, don't feel offended (被冒犯) when your server gives you an eye roll when you ask for ice water.
Characteristics of an excellent scientist
The Free Dictionary defines (定义) a scientist as a person having professional knowledge on one or more sciences, especially natural science or physical science. Let's look at some characteristics of an excellent scientist.
Curiosity.
Scientists such as Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse discovered things mainly because they wanted to know how things work. If a scientist doesn't have the drive to ask questions or even wonder, then he/she never gets to the first stage of the scientific process.
Patience.
There are very few jobs that take longer than this one. Even if you think you have received some education on science, you still have a lot of scientific research to do. If you're an instant-gratification (及时满足的) type of person, this may not be the best choice for you.
Ethical(道德的)qualities.
In order to truly discover and use knowledge for the greater good, a scientist must have a desire to improve people's life as well as the environment and living things, since they are all linked and they can affect one another in the long run. A scientist must report findings honestly regardless of personal or outside commercial (商业的) interests. Sticking to an old belief contradicted (反驳) by evidence is dishonest.
Working habits.
An excellent scientist even takes notes of the smallest observation, keeping it in mind and recording it. He/She also needs to communicate thoughts on paper and verbally. Networking skills connect him/her with colleagues working on similar projects where he/she may discover something new.
A. Becoming a scientist takes a long time.
B. An excellent scientist must be very curious about things.
C. It also defines a scientist as someone who uses scientific methods.
D. However, that belief shouldn't be changed without powerful evidence.
E. He/She can work well alone or in groups, depending on what's needed.
F. To make discoveries in human knowledge, you have to think differently.
G. One of the main places that many scientists work in is the research laboratory.
Clara Daly was sitting on an Alaska Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles. Then a flight attendant asked an urgent question over the loudspeaker: "Does anyone on board know American Sign Language?"
Clara, at the time, 1 the call button. The flight attendant came by and explained the 2. "We have a passenger on the plane who's blind and deaf," she said. The passenger seemed to want something, 3 he was traveling alone and the flight attendants couldn't understand what he needed.
Clara had been 4 ASL for the past year and knew she'd be able to finger spell into the man's palm. So she untied her seat belt, walked 5 the front of the plane, and knelt by the seat of Tim Cook, then gently taking his 6, she signed, "How are you? Are you OK?" Cook asked for some water. When it 7, Clara returned to her seat. The flight attendant 8 again a bit later because he wanted to know the time. On her third 9, she stopped and stayed for a while.
"He didn't need anything. He was 10 and wanted to talk," Clara said. So for the next hour, that's 11 they did. She talked about her family and her plans for the future. Cook told Clara how he had 12 become blind over time and 13 stories of his days as a traveling salesman. Even though he couldn't see her, she "looked attentively at his face with such 14," a passenger reported.
"Clara was 15, " a flight attendant told Alaska Airlines in a blog interview. "You could tell Cook was very excited to have someone he could speak to, and she was such an angel. And Cook said it was the best trip he'd ever had."
One morning, I was waiting at the bus stop, worried about (be) late for school. There were many people waiting at the bus stop, some of them looked very anxious and (disappoint). When the bus finally came, we all hurried on board. I got a place next the window, so I had a good view of the sidewalk. A boy on a bike (catch) my attention. He was riding beside the bus and waving his arms. I heard a passenger behind me shouting to the driver, but he refused (stop) until we reached the next stop. Still, the boy kept (ride). He was carrying something over his shoulder and shouting. Finally, when we came to the next stop, the boy ran up to the door of the bus. I heard an excited conversation. Then the driver stood up and asked, " anyone lose a suitcase at the last stop?" A woman on the bus (shout), "Oh dear! It's me." She pushed her way to the driver and took the suitcase thankfully. Everyone on the bus began talking about what the boy had done, and the crowd of strangers (sudden) became friendly to one another.
|
姓 名 |
莫言(管谟业) |
|
出生日期 |
1955年2月17日 |
|
出 生 地 |
山东省高密一个穷苦人家 |
|
兴趣爱好 |
自幼喜欢阅读、书法(calligraphy) |
|
性格特征 |
开朗、幽默 |
|
教育经历 |
1986年毕业于解放军艺术学院( PLA Academy of Arts) ; 1991年毕业于北京师范大学并获文学硕士学位 (Master's Degree of Arts) 。 主要成就: 2011年凭借《蛙》获中国最高文学奖“茅盾文学奖”; 2012年获诺贝尔文学奖(Nobel Prize in Literature)。 |
|
评价 |
第一位获得诺贝尔文学奖的中国作家, 被誉为是对中国文学做出巨大贡献的作家之一。 |
注意：
1）词数80左右；
2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Ali and his younger sister, Zahra, lived with their parents in a poor neighborhood. Their mother was very sick and their father was struggling to find a job, and they had only a little money with which to buy food. As they had not paid the rent for several months, the landlord was breathing down their necks (盯着他们).
One day, Ali took Zahra's shoes to a shoe repairman to be fixed, but he lost them on the way home. It wasn't until he got home that he realized he had lost the shoes. He was afraid that his parents would be angry and disappointed, so he begged his sister to keep it secret. Zahra agreed and the two decided to share Ali's running shoes. Zahra's school hours were in the morning, so she would wear them first. After school, she would rush back and give them to Ali. He could then run to his school, which began in the afternoon. Although he ran as fast as he could, Ali often arrived late and was warned by the school.
Ali heard about a long distance race that was held for the boys in the city. When he learned that the third prize was a new pair of shoes, he decided to take part. He ran home excitedly and promised his sister that he would win her the new shoes.
The day of race arrived. Ali had a strong start, but halfway through the race he began to get tired and his legs began to ache. Getting more and more exhausted he thought only of Zahra and his promise to her. Dreaming of the new shoes he would win for his sister gave him strength, and he stayed right behind the two fastest runners, determined to finish third. Suddenly, as the finish line drew near, another runner collided (碰撞) with Ali from behind and he crashed to the ground.
Ali looked up and saw the other boys rushing ahead.
Filled with pleasure, Ali walked home quickly.
