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The Terra-cotta Warriors(兵马俑) |
The Terracotta Army or the "Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses", is a collection of terracotta sculptures showing the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. The purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife, and to make sure that he had people to rule over. Other terracotta non-military figures were also found in other pits(坑) and they include officials, acrobats (杂技演员), strongmen and musicians. Sadly, no photography or filming is allowed inside. |
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Eiffel Tower |
If you are planning a romantic getaway to Paris, don't think about posting a selfie(自拍) in front of the Eiffel Tower. Taking photos is illegal, but the problem isn't with the building itself. The light show on it, designed by Pierre Bideau in 1985, is actually an artistic display and protected by copyright, Snopes explains. And since the lights go every five minutes, snapping a photo that doesn't break the law is impossible. |
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Westminster Abbey |
Westminster Abbey is a wonderful Gothic church. Yet no matter how historic or breathtaking it may be, you're not allowed to take photos. I Luckily, there is a pretty good reason for it, according to the church's website:" We want you to take in its unique beauty and history without any distractions. We want to keep the sacred atmosphere of a church. |
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The Sistine Chapel(教堂) |
As it's one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world, it's an upsetting thing that tourists aren't allowed to take photos around or inside. The chapel went under repair work funded by the Nippon Television Network Corporation of Japan. The costs ended up being $4. 2 million. In return, Nippon got special rights to film and photograph the artwork. That copyright actually ended three years after each part was complete, but the Vatican decided to keep the ban in place to protect the precious artwork from harmful camera flashes. |
It was the last time Susan Butcher ran the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1992. An hour into the race, Susan and her sled dog team sped down a hill and crashed into a fallen tree. Although hurt, Susan continued the difficult race.
The Iditarod Race started in 1925 when a doctor in Nome, Alaska was desperately in need of medicine to stop the spread of a deadly disease. Only a hospital had what he needed, but it was 700 mile-away! In January, it was too dangerous to send a boat and too stormy for his tiny airplane. The only hope was to use several sled dog teams following a trail, called the Iditarod Trail. They passed the medicine from one sled team to another. Wind and snow did not stop the men and their dogs. The medicine was delivered in record time. The race follows the route of the famous medicine run. Over 1, 000 miles long, it is considered the toughest race in the world.
Susan Butcher was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In her teens Susan was given a Siberian husky dog and became very interested in huskies as sled dogs. After reading about the Iditarod Race, Susan moved to Alaska. She got several jobs to earn money to buy herself a sled and a team of huskies.
After years of hard work and training, Susan achieved her dream of racing on the Iditarod Trail.
In 1978, at the age of 24, Susan entered the race for the first time and became the first woman to finish in the top 20. In 1982 she came in second. In 1984 she was leading her team across a frozen waterway when they fell into the water. Her lead dog managed to pull Susan and the other dogs out of danger. Remarkably, she came in second.
In her fourth race, in 1985, a starving moose (驼鹿) attacked her dogs, killing two and injuring eleven. Susan had to leave the race. In 1986 Susan joined the race again. This time, she won. She won again in 1987. In 1988 she became the first person ever to win three Iditarod races in a row. Unbelievably, Susan won for the fourth time in 1990.
There are around 600, 000 vegans(素食者) in the UK. That's just over 1 % of the population-an amount expected to increase to 25% by 2025. And if there's one type of food that Brits love, it is fast food. People in the UK love it so much that there was a 34% increase in the number of fast food outlets from 2010 to 2018. It's no surprise, then, that vegan fast food is also on the rise.
Vegan fast food has become big business. At Just Eat, an online food delivery company, vegan orders more than doubled in 2018. Greggs, a chain of high-street bakeries, named its vegan sausage roll the "fastest-selling product in six years". And big franchises such as McDonald's and KFC have announced meat-free chicken nuggets (鸡块) to come in the future.
What's driving this popularity? Katrina Fox, founder of Vegan Business Media, believes it's the result of the breaking down of stereotypes (成见). "Vegan food is no longer seen as a bit of cucumbers and cabbages- you can eat pretty much anything.
It's also claimed that there are health benefits. John Marulanda, owner of Mooshies- a vegan burger bar in London- wants to implement (执行) a change to a healthy version of fast food. Something, he claims, that comes as a result of the inherent(固有的) nutritional value of the ingredients they use.
But, is vegan fast food actually healthy? Azmina Govindji of the British Dietetic Association says "not to assume" that is the case. "It's fine if those products have got vitamin B12, iodine or calcium added to them. But they can still be fried(油炸), it can still have lots of creamy, fatty sauces and lots of salt.
Given the current growth in orders, the trend for vegan fast food isn't likely to disappear any time soon. Health-wise, it may not be any more nourishing than regular fast food, but for many, it's a big benefit that there is no animal suffering in the process.
New research has revealed something amazing: it appears that plants can communicate after all.
It has been known for some time that plants use chemicals to communicate with each other. This happens when a plant, say a bean plant, gets attacked by insects. The plant releases tiny amounts of chemicals from the leaves that are being eaten. This is like a warming, or a call for help: "I'm being attacked!" When another bean plant detects the chemicals from its injured neighbour, it starts to release its own different chemicals. Some of these chemicals drive insects away. Others attract insects- the wasps. (黄蜂)! The wasps kill the insects that are eating the bean plants. Scientists hope to learn more about this plant warning system, so that we can use it to grow crops without pesticides.
More surprisingly, plants also use sound to communicate. People can't hear these sounds, but plants are making them. Some plants make noises with their roots. Con and chilli plants do this. They also "listen" to the noises from other plants. A chilli plant can tell if a neighbouring plant is helpful, or unfriendly. Some trees make clicking noises when there is not enough water, indicating drought is arriving.
Most surprisingly of all, plants have an amazing system of communication that can link nearly every plant in a forest. Scientists call this system the "wood wide web". It is in some ways similar to the Internet we use. While the Internet is a worldwide network of computers linked by cables and satellites, the wood wide web is linked underground by fungi (真菌). This fungal network links the roots of different plants to each other. Using the wood wide web, plants can share information and even food with each other. For example, some pine trees can send food to smaller pine trees to help them grow. But just like our own Internet, the wood wide web has its own version of "cyber crime". Plants can steal food from each other, or spread poisons to attack other plants. Perhaps one day scientists will learn how to create a "firewall" to help prevent these attacks within the wood wide web.
Scientists are learning more every day about the secret ways in which plants talk to each other. Who knows? Maybe one day we will know enough about plant communication to be able to "talk" with them ourselves.
Do You Have a Positive Attitude?
Who would you rather hang around with? Someone who always acts in low spirits? Or someone who manages to see the good around him, even when things aren't always going great?
Having a positive attitude can help you in many ways. Your friends will definitely a ppreciate you more if you see the silver lining rather than just the dark clouds!
The less pressure you feel, the better you will feel over all. So if you've been feeling tired, put on a happy face and you just might feel better soon.
But how can you have apositive attitude when life is hard? It's more than just turning life's lemons into lemonade. But it's worth it.
A positive attitude doesn't mean ignoring life's troubles. It just means looking for the good in things, rather than being a pessimist(悲观主义者) and concentrating on the bad in things. Sometimes your attitude can make all the difference.
Identify(识别) those areas of your life that might not be going so well. Focus on one at a time and think of ways you can find the positive in things.
A. The answer is to have a positive attitude.
B. Having a positive attitude can take some hard work.
C. They are likely to make you have negative thoughts.
D. Having a positive attitude can also reduce your stress level.
E. If you have a positive attitude, you're more fun to be around.
F. When you feel better physically, you naturally feel better mentally.
G. It's no surprise that people enjoy being around positive people rather than negative people.
About three years ago,a tornado attacked our town. My father and I1to visit my grandparents to make sure they were okay. Upon arrival, I took my regular seat and 2 with Grandma about what was on our mind to pass the time. 3, the power was outand it got dark in what seemed like a matter of minutes.
Then, Grandma turned to me and asked with 4 eyes that stared right past me, "Now you're graduating this year, aren't you?" As a freshman, I was 5 about this strange question. Actually, Grandma could exactly 6 you when every one of her grandchildren was born. 7, I assured her that I was not yet a(n) 8 and still had a few years until graduation.
Soon, my father asked if I was ready to go home. I silently 9 my head一 yes. Into the car, 10and couldn't stop weeping. My father asked me what was wrong. "Is Grandma going to 11 my graduation?" I asked.
It took him a long time to respond, "Yes. She may not know where she is, but she will be there, no matter what.
The rest of the carride home was 12 When we eventually arrived home, I rushed to my room and cried for hours. That night, I could picture that Grandma's 13 would be changed from the care giver to carereceiver.
Ever since that talk with my Grandma, I have matured and 14. Her Alzheimer(阿尔茨海默症) has progressed to about stage 3 now. At my graduation, I was sitting on the stage seeing Grandma there sitting with the rest of my family." Shemay not know where she is, but she will be there". My father's words 15 in my ears.
(dress) in orthopedic(矫正的) shoes, a penguin from the San Diego Zoo, who could not walk due toillness, got another chance to run like other penguins.
Lucas, the African penguin, (have) trouble walking for more than three years because of the problem in hisspine(脊柱), which causes its muscle weakness and pain in the legs.
The penguin looked lonely and different other ones for its limited mobility. Wildlife (researcher) decided to do something.
"I've known Lucasfor a long time, so being able to provide him with a (possible) to live anormal life brings a smile to my face," said Dr. Beth, a senior vet at the zoo.
The boots (fit) in place, sothey will help Lucas to fully participate in the colony and show behaviors that are more typical for penguin一such as climbing the rocks, swimming, nesting and finding a suitablemate.
With his new boots, Lucas's walking has improved, which makes his exploration in his rocky habitat (easy) and hisposture(姿势) became more natural, (allow) him to gain better balance while standing.
"We were pleasantly surprised at the change the boots bring," said one animal keeper. "Seeing him move about now gives us hope he may be able tolive a full life."
We're driving along a road and saw a piece of card saying: Bungee Jumping, 5km" and an arrow pointing to the left. I couldn't even see a road going left and there was no sign of any bungee jumping, but you insisted.
"We don't have to do the bungee jumping, we can just go there and see what's happening. I'll be interesting!" As usual, you got your way. I gave in and off we went along this dirt road. After driving for a long time, suddenly some trees appeared like a small wood. "This must be the place," you said. We pulled over. As soon as we're out of car, we heard voices of people shouting and laughing. It sounded like they're having a good time. In the middle of the wood there were some people. They're polite and friendly, but I felt like we're interrupting.
Once there had been a river, but now there was just a dry ditch(沟). A metal bridge crossed the ditch. The bridge didn't look too stable. I thought the kids had built it. The kids were in the middle of the bridge. They're all leaning over and looking down into the ditch. They're shouting and laughing. Another person was hanging from a long piece of elastic rope in the middle of the ditch. He was laughing madly. The other people slowly pulled him up to the bridge. As the guy came to the top he looked shocked but also very happy.
"I want to do that!" you said. And you knew what I wanted to say: What will happen if the rope breaks? I didn't say it, but I was thinking it. I didn't say anything, because I knew that you wouldn't have answers for any of my questions. You've always been a lot more adventurous than me.
注意：
1）续写的词数应为150左右；
2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I remembered when I was a kid, my friend had a bicycle with no brakes.
……
I breathed in, closed my eyes, didn't think about anything and jumped.
