Hospital of the Future
To most people, hospitals are associated with illnesses, injuries and sometimes, death. Of course, births that deserve(celebrate) take place there too, but with their grey rooms flooded by daylight lamps and still air, hospitals are often not at the top of anyone's favourite places to visit. Healthcare professionals and patients alike wear anxious faces, hurrying endlessly along the hallways painted an unpleasant green, or stuck in the comfortless wards; the ill health and despair almost sensible in the air. It is no wonder then, that almost everyone is afraid of hospital visits. However, with the rapid advancement of technology nowadays, along with human-centric approaches towards interior design, the hospitals of the future look and feel broadly different, bringing the visitors a more pleasant experience.
A patient's journey at the hospital always begins at the reception, patients are usually crowded into row upon row of creaky plastic chairs, filling out boring paperwork and awaiting their turn. Instead, fully integrated online systems may turn this process into a breeze, (allow) patients to check in electronically to register themselves smoothly. With waiting times minimised, lobby spaces may be(well) furnished with comfortable sofa chairs and potted plants around to bring clam and relaxation to an otherwise typically distressing situation.
Digital medical devices become increasingly mainstream in the diagnostic(诊断的) process, awkward physical examinations may soon become a thing of the past. (power) by artificial intelligence, machines would become the efficient mode of detecting physical abnormity, as high-tech sensors scan your body, processing data through supercomputers in the hospital's mainframe, leaving absolutely no margin error. With patient consent, this data may even be stored in the cloud for future reference by different medical facilities if the need arises, especially in emergencies.
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A. resist |
B. illegal |
C. include |
D. decision |
E. positive |
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F. negative |
G. exploration |
H. situation |
I. judgement |
Peer Pressure
Teenage years are one of the most exciting yet confusing stages in a person's life. You are no longer a child, yet not quite an adult. You are at a time of , trying to find out your preferences, one of which, is your pastime.
Some pastimes have no moral implications. For example, shall we play basketball or soccer? However, there are other choices that need to be made based on your values, beliefs and principles in life. Some examples
attending a party where there will be alcohol and drugs freely given out, lying to your parents or even skipping school to watch a movie with some friends. How do you respond? Are you tempted to follow them?
Wanting to feel part of a group may force you to do things against your better . However, it is right to say no to anything that is , potentially causes harm or is hurtful to you or others. You may be afraid to refuse for fear of losing friends or being laughed at but do not let that stop you from standing up to peer pressure and being true to yourself. If your friends are true friends, they will respect your and not force you to join them.
There are some steps you may take to steer clear from peer pressure. Firstly, stay away from friends who force you to do things that you know are wrong. Instead, spend more time with friends who share the same values and principles as you. Next, be true to yourself and stand up for what you believe in. And if a
gets out of hand, do not hesitate to approach an adult you trust for help.
It may not always be easy to peer pressure, but do know that you will feel good about yourself later. And even without you realising it, you may have been an activator in your group to bring about a positive change. Others in your group may just follow your lead and gain courage to always do the right thing.
It's 3000 years ago, and people make the things they need by hand. They use metals, such as bronze and tin, to make tools and weapons, but these metals are hard to find. A group of people called the Hittites begin 1 with a unique rock called iron ore, which is easy to find and mine. They make a(n) 2 : By heating this rock, they get a new metal, called iron, which they can shape into sharp knives and other tools. The Hittites see little use for iron, 3 , beyond making these simple tools. Never in their wildest dreams can they imagine the4 iron will have on the world. But it's where the story of the 5 begins.
This early form of iron isn't strong enough for large things like buildings. Over thousands of years, though, people learned ways to make iron stronger. They 6 their rock ovens, raising the temperature and adding different minerals to the ore. Each experiment 7 the process, as people learned to change iron into carbon steel.
Finally, in 1855, an English engineer named Henry Bessemer invented a machine that turned large amounts of iron into steel in just minutes, which is strong and can be made into nearly any 8 , including frames for tall buildings. Still the first skyscraper wasn't built for almost 30 years. Why? Nobody wanted to walk up and down all those stairs. Tall buildings need a way to elevate people and objects. Although elevators existed, they weren't safe enough for people. Pretty soon, seeing steel cables supporting bridges led people to 9 how steel cables could make elevators safe. And with safe elevators, you could build much 10 buildings. In 1884, the Home Insurance Building, the first skyscraper, rose. It was 138 feet high — higher than any other building at that time. It had ten storeys and four elevators — a miracle at the time!
The mighty skyscraper is much more than a building, though: It's a 11 of what we can accomplish when we just try things. Inventions come from ideas, big and small, and from people old and young. So put on your thinking caps, because the great inventions of the future 12 your ideas today!
This hobbit was a very well-to-do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses have lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected; you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is the story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained — well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.
The mother of our particular hobbit — what is hobbit? I suppose hobbits need some description nowadays, since they have become rare and shy of the Big People, as they call us. They are (or were) a little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves(小矮人). Hobbits have no beards. There is little magic about them, except the ordinary everyday sort which helps them to disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come along clumsily, making a noise like elephants which they can hear a mile off. They are likely to be fat in the stomach; they dress in bright colours (chiefly green and yellow); wear no shoes, because their feet grow natural leathery soles and thick warm brown hair like the stuff on their heads(which is curly); have, long clever brown fingers, good-natural faces, and laugh deep fruity laughs(especially after dinner, which they have twice a day when they can get it). Now you know enough to go on with. As I was saying, the mother of this hobbit-Bilbo Baggins, that is — was the famous Belladonna Took, one of the three remarkable daughters of the Old Took, head of the hobbits who lived across The Water, the small river that ran at the foot of the The Hill.
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Saving the Planet is Kids' Task
Environmental problems plague every country, but where there's energy and enthusiasm, there's hope. Nowhere is energy and enthusiasm more boundless than amongst school-age children. Now thousands of Australian children can have fun while learning to develop a real passion for protecting the environment. Sponsored by Australia Post, the ‘Ollie Saves the Planet' interactive CD-ROM and associated website (www.olliesworld.com ) introduce children to the concept of conservation and encourage them to consider their actions in the areas of waste, water, energy, air, and bio-diversity. It is a great resource for classroom activities and school projects, with lots of games for hours of entertainment. A complimentary(免费赠送的) copy of the CD-ROM, which retails for $24.95, has been sent to every school throughout Australia to show young environmentalists how they can ‘reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink'. Order your CD-ROM today! Hours of easy-to-use edu-tainment Suitable for PC and Mac Project resource information Extensive teachers' notes & lesson plans A range of interactive games and puzzles Real-life case studies Hurry, the environment needs your help! Call 1800 804 078 NOW! AUSTRALIA POST |
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A. Therefore, the teachers we worked with remarked that lessons are typically focused on the physical processes of climate change. B. However, at present, much of climate change education is focused on the physical aspects of climate change, often at a global scale. C. The next stages of our research will reflect how a separated community has come together through this journey towards climate literacy. D. Being climate literate allows individuals to become active participants in the fight against climate change. E. This collective psychological distancing means many fail to recognise the urgency of the climate crisis. |
How to Improve Climate Literacy
Climate literacy is the ability to identify, understand and explain information associated with climate science.
Over the past few years, many young people and educators have pushed for the inclusion of climate literacy in national curricula. So what are the best ways in which this can be embedded within already packed school timetables?
True climate literacy must address not only the science of climate change, but also issues of climate (in)justice, including how climate change affects people and places unevenly and contributes to inequalities within and across nations.
Many people in developed countries like the UK therefore see climate change happening elsewhere and to other people, with less relevance to their own lives.
We need to start highlighting the local effects of climate change to ground abstract understanding in reality.
One way to do this is through visual storytelling. Storytelling, often involving drawings and paintings, has been used by human communities to pass on knowledge or tales of caution for at least 30,000 years — as you can see from the cave painting.
One effect of storytelling is its ability to create cognitive dissonance: the mental conflict and discomfort felt when a person's behaviour isn't in line with their beliefs. Stories that demonstrate the consequences of not acting eco-consciously — especially if those consequences are shown visually — can be a good way to do this, leading to individuals being more likely to take climate action in their own lives or by confronting corporate activities.
