Every time I reach for a book at Rydal Mount, I feel I should ask William Wordsworth's permission. It's 9 pm on a Friday night in March, and I'm about to spend a night in the former home of the poet—the first journalist to do so. I've said goodnight to the young curator(馆长) Leo Finighan. And now it's just me and one of the most influential writers, alone together in his library.
On and off from 1813 to 1850, he was here, receiving visitors and editing his work. I can't help feeling his spirit is still around.
"This is still, in part, a family house and we're probably not as precious about it as we should be," Chris Andrew had told me. He is Wordsworth's great-great-great-great-grandson and the main promoter of a plan to open Rydal Mount to overnight guests for the first time. "But we prefer it this way," he added. "It preserves the closeness to the poet. We can offer a more personal connection as a result. "
As I take a copy of his complete works back to my chair, they all seem to be gathering round. Here comes the poet. He's back from the garden, where he would pace the path, composing lines. Upstairs Dorothy, his sister, is unwell. It's an extraordinary feeling, as though at any moment I'm going to hear someone's voice. By 9:30 pm, I'm in bed. I have a sound sleep in the best bedroom in the house. It's the one that Wordsworth and his wife Mary used.
Before I have to go the next morning, there's still time for a poem and I choose The Tables Turned from Lyrical Ballads. It begins with "Up! up! my friend, and quit your books" and I can't help smiling at the volumes in front of me. It feels like he's talking directly to me. Not surprising, really, given the fact I'm sitting in his bedroom.
Lawrence Ganti from the US has lived in Switzerland, Japan, and India. When his work with Merck, a company that develops treatments for many of the world's most challenging diseases, first took him to Japan, he was struck by how comfortable his Japanese co-workers were with silence. During meetings in the US, people are usually uneasy with quiet and fill a quiet period with talk. Not so in Japan. "You don't break the silence unless you have something important to say," says Ganti. Surprisingly, when he next lived in India, he found conversations were typically lively, loud and full of interruptions (打岔). "Silence is never expected," he says.
The Japanese value the building of trust and relationships, Ganti adds. In Japan, nothing might be achieved in the first meeting, and no real progress may be made until the parties sit down for a lunch or dinner. Ganti remembers greeting foreigners who flew to Japan with the intention of holding their meeting and flying out that same day. "It's just a half-hour discussion," they told him. He replied, " That half-hour discussion won't go anywhere. "
Cyrus Sabouri from New Jersey, the US, had similar experiences in the Middle East. He lives in Bahrain, where he works for American Express Middle East. "Meetings can require personal introductions, which often consume more of the meeting than the things to be discussed," he says. He was frustrated by this custom when he first moved to the island nation. "You eventually learn that it is hard to draw the line between business and personal life," he says. "Warm and friendly relationships can be the difference between a deal or no deal with the Bahraini. "
Ganti's current job with Merck takes him throughout Latin America. While each country presents its own cultural puzzle to figure out, Ganti has found that cultures have a lot in common. In many parts of Latin America, for instance, giving straight advice or criticism in conversation isn't typical. To make a point, he did just that in meetings, and attendees were often shocked. "I'm usually sent to places where change is needed," Ganti says. "You have to make changes. "
Though diet and exercise are recommended as ways to improve health, new UCR research is the first to examine the long-lasting, combined effects of both factors when they are experienced early in life. "Any time you go to a doctor with concerns about your weight, almost without fail, the doctor recommends that you exercise and eat less, "said researcher Marcell Cadney. "That's why it's surprising most studies only look at diet or exercise separately. In this study, we wanted to include both, " he said.
The researchers found that early-life exercise led to reduced anxious behaviors and an increase in adult muscle and brain mass. When fed Western-style diets high in fat and sugar, the mice not only became fatter, but also grew into adults that preferred unhealthy food.
To obtain the findings, the researchers divided the young mice into four groups--those with access to exercise, those without access, those fed a standard, healthy diet and those who ate a Western diet. Mice started on their diets immediately after weaning (断奶), and continued with them for three weeks until they reached adulthood. After an additional eight weeks of "washout ", during which all mice were housed without wheels and on a healthy diet, the researchers did a behavioral analysis and measured levels of several different hormones.
One of those they measured, leptin, is produced by fat cells. It helps control bodyweight by increasing energy consumption and signaling that less food is required. Early-life exercise increased adult leptin levels in adult mice, regardless of the diet they ate.
Previously, the research team found that eating too much fat and sugar as a child can change the microbiome (微生物群) for life, even if they later eat healthier. Going forward, the team plans to study whether fat or sugar is more responsible for the negative effects they measured in Western-diet-fed mice.
This study offers great opportunities for health interventions in childhood habits. "Our findings may be related to understanding the potential effects of activity reductions and dietary changes associated with overweight, " said Marcell.
Space is where our future is—trips to the Moon, Mars and beyond. Most people would think that apart from comets(彗星) and stars, there is little else out there. Scientists are now concerned that if we don't clean it up, we may all be in great danger.
The first piece of space junk was created in the year of 1964, when the American satellite Vanguard I stopped operating. However, since it kept orbiting around the Earth without any results, scientists became increasingly comfortable abandoning things that no longer served any useful purpose in space.
The junk varies from tiny pieces of paint chipped off rockets to cameras, huge fuel tanks, and even odd items like the million-dollar tool kit that astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn Piper lost during a spacewalk.
The major problem with the space trash is that it may hit working satellites and damage travelling spaceship. In addition to this, many pieces of junk may crash with each other and break into pieces which fall back to the Earth. Ground stations have been built to monitor larger pieces of space trash to prevent them from crashing into working satellites or space shuttles. They will stop littering in space and to clean up the trash already there.
A. It lost its connection with the ground centre.
B. To avoid this, scientists have invented several ways for clearing the sky.
C. The junk floats slowly around the Earth.
D. However, since our space journey started, we have left much trash in space.
E. It is said that there are now over 500,000 pieces of man-made trash orbiting the Earth at speeds of up to 17,500 miles per hour.
F. Future plans include a cooperative effort among many nations.
G. It hasn't resulted in any serious problems up to now.
As online schooling took effect in the US, parents noted many children lacked learning space at home. So, they got 1 . They built, collected, and donated desks, 2 remote learning for kids in need.
In Mitch Couch's home in California, his daughter and son kept 3 the kitchen table for remote lessons or being bothered. This gave him an 4 —he would make them their own desks. The desks were kid-size, simple and 5 , made of wood. But they 6 . Then he thought：Why not provide other children with individual learning areas to 7 their supplies?
"I spent only $20—significantly less than what stores charge for desks that are suddenly in 8 , " Couch said. "I decided to show others how to build desks. So I made a video about desk—making to 9 fellow parents. "
A grocery store saw Couch's 10 online, offering to fund materials if he would build more. They also 11 local school officials to help identify those in need. At first, there was an order for 20 desks, but it quickly 12 by at least 50. By now Couch is so 13 —he can knock one out in about 15 minutes.
Couch says the messages of 14 from parents and students kept him going, sharing thank-you cards from parents saying their kids were "doing better and 15 more because they have their own space".
The Silk Road was a network of trade routes (connect) the East and the West in ancient and Medieval times. In addition to silk, varieties of other goods (trade) along the Silk Road, and the network was also important for migrants and travellers, and for the spread of religion, philosophy, science, technology, and artistic ideals. The Silk Road had a significant impact the lands through which the routes passed, and the trade played a significant role in the development of towns and cities along the Silk Road routes.
Many merchants (商人) along the Silk Road were involved in relay trade, an item would change owners many times and travel a little bit with each one of them reaching its final buyer. It seems to have been (high) unusual for any individual merchant to travel all the way between China and Europe or Northern Africa. Instead, many merchants specialized in transporting goods through (variety) sections of the Silk Road.
The Silk Road established (early) connection between the East and the West. It was of great significance in the promotion of world (civil) and the progress of human society. Research and development of the Silk Road today continue to have incredible impact.
提醒：请将所选答案对应的字母序号，填涂到答题卡相应位置。
A. claimed B. maintain C. determine D. flexible
E. leapt F. sharp G. ignored
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provide for response carry on transmit trip over |
