Pack a sunhat and your favorite book, and get ready to uncover the beautiful magic of Cuba. The country is buzzing with its local charm. Here are the top activities that really contain Cuba's essence.
Soak up Cuba's live music scene
If you have been in Cuba for more than a day and still haven't heard any live music, you are clearly hanging out in the wrong bars. Welcome to one of the most musically diverse countries on the planet, where melodious guitars rule over background tapes and singing seems just another form of verbal communication, Cuba has a well-developed musical industry.
Sleep overnight in Cuba's casas
Stay in a private homestay and you quickly uncover the unique Cuban's everyday life. Thare the rocking chairs on the porh, the front rom fu of family heirlooms, and he her conversations over breakfast. Casas in Havana and vinales are positively splendid, while om remain refreshingly down-to-earth; all offer a wonderful view of Cuba that no hotel could copy.
Escape to the beach and dive in the Caribbean
Cuba's beaches are famous for a reason - they are uncrowded, well given with tropical beauty and extremely varied. You can enjoy the wild, deserted eco beaches of the Peninsula de. Guanahacabibes where turtles lay their eggs. Search around long enough, and you're sure to find your own slice of favor. What makes it the best place for diving are the uniquely clear and protected Caribbean waters.
In 1954, Eleanor - my grandma - in great need of income, walked into the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. There she convinced some of the greatest scientists that she was the perfect person for their ant collection.
As a teenager, Eleanor spent hours wandering around the halls of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, flipping through gift shop books about insect mounting(固定于载片上). But that was all her experience in the field.
During her job interview at Harvard, when Philip Darlington, an influential zoologist at that time, asked Eleanor about her specialty, she replied, "Oh, I like everything. "
"He probably realized right then that I have nothing special," she says. She once worked in a hardware store in New York, and she had no typing skills to be a secretary. She had dropped out of the Tyler School of Fine Arts to marry. But that artistic background was a selling point for the Harvard Job, and she was hired on the spot.
Now artistic background are common for researchers. At that time, however, hiring a woman who had dropped out of art school was certainly a risk. It paid off, Eleanor's job as a technician required the same quality that art school had demanded. She began each day at the museum mixing glue(胶水). Then she pulled the dead ants from the containers and set them out to dry. Some ants were small-barely 3 millimeters long-requiring patience and a careful hand. Eleanor needed to fix the ant bodies with a spot of glue and write a label for each of them.
The job required her to work quickly, yet correctly. "The average person never really hears about the expertise and the effort that goes into it. " said Wilson, an expert at the Museum. Rushing would risk ruining a rare specimen (标本), but Eleanor could process ants as quickly and many as 200 a day. Wilson said that she was the best technician who ever worked for him.
The souk in the city of Fes in Morocco is an ancient shopping center with lots of narrow alleys crowded, with shops and stalls. In the souk, people are making deals. This is business. Moroccan-style, and many people in the souk are bargaining (议价) as hard as they can.
All the sales happen face to face; it's very personal and very busy! The vendors(摊贩) have everything a shopper could possibly want. There are sandals next to fish bowls, and nearby, birds in cages watch the whole scene. In the souk, there really is something for everyone. A visit to the souk is a lesson in Moroccan bargaining culture. For visitors, the question is not What should I buy?" but "How should I buy it?" That's where they get a real education in making a deal.
A Dutch couple talk about what they have learned so far in the souk. "You have to start somewhere around one third of the price they say at first. And then you bargain up to 50 percent,"said the husband. "And they go down twice as hard as we go up with the price! Then you get it at a much lower price than the original one," added his wife. It's really a game. The Moroccans are very good at bargaining and probably the best in the world. Visitors, however, had better be careful!Beginners at bargaining pay more. Sometimes 20 to 30 percent more than the price the Moroccan people pay.
The vendors of the souk are not trying to cheat customers. It's more like a test to find out who is the strongest bargainer. The real test for any bargainer is the carpet shop, where the sellers really pressure customers to buy something. Sometimes, strong salesmen don't give up easily! One English tourist explains, "Once you end up in a shop, you sit there drinking tea, and you say "I don't want to buy anything But then he's like, Well, just offer a price. . .500? What's your best price?'And you're like,"We don't want to buy it. ' And they said,"OK, 300!"
It was a fall day in 1888. Two cowboys came across what looked like a tall city carved into a cliff. It looked empty and lonely. The only sounds were the whistling wind and the crunch of ice underfoot. Where were they?
The men had discovered the cliff homes of the ancient Pueblo at Mesa Verde. Soon, archaeologists rushed there to learn more about these people of long ago. Buildings are some of the only evidences left to tell us about people who lived in what is now the south western US more than 1400 years ago. At first, the ancient Pueblo moved from place to place. After a while, they began to build homes hidden under cliffs. The ancient Pueblo were creative skilled craft people and talented artists. We still do not know much of their story. But lucky for us they left behind these buildings.
We study ancient people by looking at the way they lived -- from the style of their homes to the pictures they drew. The art of the ancient Pueblo explains their beliefs, struggles, and daily lives. Some of their art shows people hunting animals. Other art might tell about a legend or make predictions about the future. But we don't know for sure.
The ancient Pueblo made art using the materials they had. They made colored paints using nearby plants. Like many traditional people throughout the world, the ancient Pueblo painted hand prints on rock. They also used sharp stones to create rock carvings.
Pottery also provides clues about the lives of the ancient Pueblo. These ancient pots and dishes are in amazingly good shape, which seems to be sitting around for seven days instead of 700 years. They are like a vividly-written historical book telling us about everyday lives of the ancient Pueblo.
Modern Pueblo, including the Hopi and the Zuni, still live in adobe(土胚) houses. Some modern Pueblo live on top of hills while others live in modern communities. They work with scientists and the government to protect the heritage sites. They want people to be able to learn about their culture for years to come.
As we all know, the universe includes the Sun and Earth, the planets and moons, the galaxies, stars and other forms of matter and energy. .
Within the universe are billions of galaxies. A galaxy such as our own Milky Way contains billions of stars. Like many stars, the Sun is orbited by planet, comets, and billions of stars and asteroids. Together they form a solar system, around which the Earth moves.
Scientists think that before the universe existed, all matter and energy were gathered in a tiny point. Then the point exploded. This explosion is called the Big Bang. After the Big Bang, the universe expanded at an amazing rate. It took about 400 million years for the stars and galaxies to form. Earth and the rest of the solar system came into being about 9 billion years after the Big Bang.
We still have much to learn about the universe. One important question remains unanswered: Does life exist beyond Earth? Scientists do not have the answer. They hold different ideas about it. . Others believe that there are thousands of worlds with people or animals living there yet to be discovered. But no one can say for sure.
Some think that the universe may continue to expand forever. Others feel that the galaxies, solar systems and planets might someday be torn a part. Whatever happens to the universe, don't worry--it's not going to happen for billions of years!
A. One of those is the Sun.
B. The Sun and the Earth are also in the solar system.
C. Some people believe that people have a good life on Earth.
D. The expansion then slowed and, over time, the universe cooled
E. In other words, the universe includes space and everything in it.
F. Scientists are also trying to determine what the universe will be like.
G. Some think that Earth is the only planet in the universe with intelligent life.
Two brothers who lived on neighboring farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious1 in 40 years of farming side by side. They had been 2 tools, helping each other as needed. Then the long cooperation 3 . A small misunderstanding grew into a major difference, which exploded into an exchange of 4 words.
One morning the elder brother found a carpenter(木匠) outside his house looking for jobs. The elder brother pointed to the creek (水渠) between the two farms, and said "My neighbor, in fact, my younger brother is on that farm, and we don't 5 . Last week he dug a very 6 creek between our farms just to 7 me. I want you to build me something so that we don't have to see each other's face from across. "
The carpenter said "I think I understand the8 . I will be able to do a job that will please you" The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, nailing.
At sunset when the carpenter had finished his job, the elder brother's eyes opened wide and his jaw 9 . What the carpenter built was a 10 connecting one side of the creek to the other! To his surprise, his brother 11 the creek to meet him with a 12 smile and arms wide open to hug him.
"You are really kind, my brother! In spite of my rude behavior, you still insist that blood relations can 13 be broken! I am truly 14 for my behavior," said the younger brother.
Then they saw the carpenter carried his toolbox on his shoulder. "Why not stay for a few more days?" asked the elder brother.
"I'd love to stay," the carpenter said, "but I have more 15 to bridge!"
Beijing Opera is a national treasure of China. It dates back to the late 18th century. At that time, four Huiban Opera Troups (徽班)entered the capital (celebrate) Qianlong's birthday. Although it is called Beijing Opera, (it) origins are not in Beijing but in Anhui and Hubei .
There are four main roles: sheng, dan, jing, chou. Sheng is the male roles, dan is the female roles, chou is clown roles and jing is roles brightly-painted face masks. The different colors of the faces represent different characters and each role has its (fix) singing and acting styles. So Beijing Opera is a (combine) of acting, talking, singing, dancing, and music.
Meilanfang is a famous Chinese name in the world of Beijing Opera. Since he visited Japan in 1919, Peking Opera (become) more and more popular with people around the world. The painted face impresses people most! Many find it (fascinate)!
But the music is very loud and the performers usually sing in extremely loud style. That is because in the early days,Beijing Opera (perform) mostly on open-air stages in streets, tea-houses or courtyard, they played loudly so that the crowds can hear clearer.
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Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer. He one of the greatest composers in the history of music. In February 1824, the famous German composer's ninth symphony was finally completed. As he proudly his name at the bottom of the page, Beethoven tried to imagine how people would respond when they heard it for the first time. Before the performance, the backstage at a very famous theatre in Vienna was tense. Beethoven was afraid that the performance would be a . After all, what use is a conductor who could not hear his orchestra - even if he is a musical ?
The audience did not hesitate to applaud(鼓) loudly as the composer walked out onto the stage for the first time in 12 years. The theatre's musical director, Michael joined him and together the two men the orchestra. For more than an hour, Beethoven jumped about in front of the orchestra, waving his arms wildly in the air, and madly turning the pages of his score.
As the final, joyous note the end of the symphony, the audience jumped to their feet, and cheering. But Beethoven continued conducting, still his performance. It was not until Caroline, one of the singers, took his arm and turned him to face the audience that the great man realized his symphony was a success.
