How Arts Promote Our Economy
When most people think of the arts, they imagine the end product, the beautiful painting, a wonderful piece of music, or an award-winning performance in the theater. But arts groups bring broader value to our communities. The economic impact of the arts is often overlooked and badly judged.
The arts create jobs that help develop the economy. Any given performance takes a tour bus full of artists, technical experts, managers, musicians, or writers to create an appealing piece of art. These people earn a living wage for their professional knowledge and skills.
Another group of folks is needed to help market the event. "If you build it they will come" is a misleading belief. Painters, digital media experts, photographers, booking agents and promoters are hired to sell tickets and promote the event. According to the Dallas Area Cultural Advocacy Coalition, arts agencies employ more than 10,000 people as full-or part-time employees or independent contractors.
A successful arts neighborhoods creates a ripple effect（连锁反应）throughout a community. In 2005, when the Bishop Arts Theatre was donated to our town, the location was considered a poor area of town. After investing more than $1 million in reconstructing the building, we began producing a full season of theater performances, jazz concerts, and year-round arts education programs in 2008. Nearly 40 percent of jazz lovers live outside of the Dallas city limits and drive or fly in to enjoy an evening in the Bishop Arts District.
No doubt the theater has contributed to the area's development and economic growth. Today, there are galleries, studios, restaurants and newly built work spaces where neighbors share experiences, where there is renewed life and energy. In this way, arts and culture also serve as a public good.
Teco Theatrical Productions Inc. made use of Bloomberg's investment of $35,000 to get nearly $400,000 in public and private sector support during the two-year period. Further, Dallas arts and arts-based businesses produce $298 for every dollar the city spends on arts programming and facilities. In Philadelphia, a metro area smaller than Dallas, the arts have an economic impact of almost $3 million and support 44,000 jobs, 80 percent of which actually lie outside the arts industry, including accountants, marketers, construction workers, hotel managers, printers, and other kinds of art workers.
The arts are efficient economic drivers and when they are supported, the entire small-business community benefits.
It is wrong to assume arts groups cannot make a profit. But in order to stay in business, arts groups must produce returns. If you are a student studying the arts, chances are you have been ill-advised to have a plan B. But those who truly understand the economic impact and can work to change the patterns can create a wide range of career possibilities.
Arts as an economic driver | Our communities from arts in terms of economy. |
of arts' promoting our economy | Arts activity demands a(n) effort. It involves creation, performance, and . ★Artists make a living through their creative work. ★Others get paid by marketing the event. |
Arts have a gradually spreading . They could help promote other industries whether they lie inside or outside arts. ★Besides tickets, some jazz lovers will pay their to and from the events. ★Arts contribute to cultural development when people gather together to share their experience and renew their energy. | |
Investment in arts could produce potential economic results. ★TeCo used a $35,000 art investment to attract an overall support of $400,000. ★In Dallas, one dollar invested in arts could harvest and extraordinary return of nearly $300. ★In Philadelphia the arts have created about 35,000 job opportunities for workers arts industry. | |
Art students making a good living | With these in mind, art students need not worry about their career and have a(n) plan. |
There is a woman named Tao Porchon-Lynch. She was born in India in 1918. So, if you do the math, she's 99. And at the age of 99, she has been recognized as the oldest yoga teacher in the world. She has been teaching yoga in a gym in her hometown, full-time, since 1967.
But that's not all she's done. She has also been a model, actress and dancer. She became a model after she graduated from high school. She acted in more than ten fields. She won a lot of medals as a dancer in many competitions. She once said, “If you try your best and never give up, nothing is impossible.” And she is a firm believer in positive thinking. She dreams the impossible dreams, and she is also well known as a thinker.
Tao Porchon-Lynch is not the person who talks the talk; she is the person who walks the walk. When she makes up her mind to do something, she takes action to do it without delay. At the age of 85, she learned how to dance and even won several dance competitions. She offers this piece of advice to others, “Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Don't delay. Tomorrow never comes.”
So, what about retirement? At 98, she is well past the age when many people make retirement plans. Retiring, it turns out, is not Tao's style. “A little girl, who is only 6 years old and is now learning yoga with me, once asked me, ‘Dear granny, what are you going to do when you retire?'” Tao Porchon-Lynch told the little girl that she had no plans to retire but instead would continue to teach yoga and dance her way to next planet.
| Why choose eco-fashion? | ||
| of fashion | Ecological | Textile & clothing production processes; Issues related to |
| Ethical | Working involved | |
| Problems with fashion | Textile | Cotton-planting: use of pesticides; Sheep-farming & wool-cleaning: global warming; Synthetics-making: waste |
| Clothing production | Producing a lot of waste; Using chemicals; a great deal of energy | |
| Consumption levels & shopping habits | New clothes: bought in increasing quantities Old clothes: away quickly | |
| to problems | Fashion producers | Ways to recycle and waste: Switching to green energy; Reducing energy use; Selecting sustainable materials; Choosing local suppliers |
| Selecting environmentally friendly clothing Reducing clothing consumption | ||
| Choosing eco-fashion can contribute to our personal health. | ||
The loss of handwriting in our high-tech world saddens me. People of all ages openly admit their handwriting is becoming worse as keyboards replace pen and paper. Increasingly, schoolchildren deal with assignments on computer and struggle to write, having had little practice. I am of the generation that learnt to write with a dip pen in kindergarten and a fountain pen in high school; by the time I reached university, like everyone else, I used a functional ballpoint. Handwriting has filled every aspect of my life since I was first taught to shape letters on the lined pages of my exercise books.
From the age of 12, I have kept a handwritten journal, recording my thoughts and feelings regarding both the significant and boring aspects of my life. Through this daily practice I connected with myself, explored experiences and found a way to interpret and make sense of my relationships. Although I rarely reread my written material, the process of writing has remained with me as a means of processing my feelings and filtering（过滤)）my experiences.
Yet today, handwritten letters are as rare as a red panda. Few of us write letters any longer, even to those to whom we are close. We communicate differently when we e-mail or text, both methods characterised by speed and informality. The deep thinking, which accompanied a handwritten letter, is almost entirely absent. We may be communicating more frequently and with more people, but the depth and quality of our communication has reduced.
Sadly, modern technology tends to be temporary. Few of us keep old e-mails or even print them out, so a sense of history and memory is lost. Archivists（档案管理者）report that more information has been lost in the past decade than in the previous 150 years. It is too easy to press the delete button.
In many other areas of records, material is now in the digital format. Yet saving material in a digital format only is extremely unstable. How it will survive the future remains a problem.
In this digital world of text, e-mails and instant messaging, the perceived value of writing is no longer obvious and the case for retaining the practice of writing needs to be made. Should we save the humble pen and paper when laptops and mobiles are functional, universal and unstoppable? Should children continue to be taught to write with a pen and paper?
With its passing, a good mode of self-expression is being lost. I invite readers to engage with handwriting and become aware of this special skill that has created civilization for centuries.
Paragraph outline
Detailed information
The current of handwriting
▲ Students to computers to complete their homework.
▲ With little practice, students have writing.
▲ We seldom write letters even to people we are close to.
The author's link with handwriting
▲ The author himself to handwriting from kindergarten to university.
▲ The author kept of his thoughts and feelings by keeping writing journals.
▲ The author also takes of writing to process his feelings and filtering his experiences. The with modern communication methods
▲ There is an of depth and quality in e-mails and texts.
▲ The temporariness of modern technology tends to give to the loss of some history and memory.
▲ Saving materials only in a digital format is not very stable.
▲ A style of self-expression is being lost.
The author's to people for handwriting
Write as much as possible and realize the importance of this special art.
| Definition | A learning in which people of average IQ find it to learn to read and acquire other language skills |
| Origins | Genetic causes or brain before birth, which affects and hearing abilities |
| Finding of the earlier study | reading dyslexics don't function properly in a left part of the brain |
| Discovery of the new study | Reading Chinese uses the part of the brain |
| Conclusion | Reading Roman alphabets and reading Chinese characters place different on the brain. Dyslexia is not the same in every and does not have the same roots. |
| Dyslexia needs to be treated in different ways |
My name is Clara. I still remember that chilly December day,sitting in science class. I'd finished a worksheet early and picked up a TIME for Kids magazine. A piece of news caught my eye: NASA was holding an essay contest to name its Mars rover(火星探测器). Before I even knew anything else about it,a single word flooded my 11-year-old mind, Curiosity.
I couldn't want for the bell to ring so I could get started on my essay.That afternoon, I raced home, sat down at the computer, and typed until my fingers ached. “Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind...”
Five months later, my mon received a phone call, and immediately, a wide smile spread across her face.
On August 5,2012, at 10:31 p.m, the rover named Curiosity touched down safely on the surface of Mars,and I was honored to have a front-row seat in NASA.
Curiosity is such an important part of who I am.I have always been fascinated by the stars,the planets,the sky and the universe. I remember as a little girl,my grandmother and I would sit together in the backyard for hours.She'd tell me stories and point out the stars,Grandma lived in China,thousands of miles away from my home in Kansas,but the stars kept us together even when we were apart.They were always there, yet there was so much I didn't know about them.That's what I love so much about space.
People often ask me why we go to faraway places like Mares.My answer is simple because we're curious.We human beings do not just hole up in one place.We are constantly wondering and trying to find out what's over the hill and beyond the horizon.
Your life is composed of all the little things we experience everyday, and knowing how to find joy in some of those little things is one of the easiest ways to let happiness slowly fill your cup. In order for that to happen, you need to do two very simple things, put yourself in such situations that you can experience happiness there, and then find a way to savour the experience and let it sink into you.
To put yourself in the position of experiencing happiness every day, Lahan Catalino, Ph.D, at the University of California, San Francisco, recommends an approach called “prioritizing positivity”—organizing your day-to-day life on purpose so that it contains situations which naturally give rise to positive emotions. It involves both carving out time in your daily routine to do things that you really love and heavily weighing the positive emotional consequences of major life decisions, like taking a new job, and you will regularly find yourself.
Then how can we find away to savour the happy experience and let it sink into you? Here is what psychologist Rick Hanson, the author of Buddha's Brain explains.
Let a good fact become a good experience.
Often we go through life and some good thing happens—a little thing like we checked off an item on our To Dc list, we survived another day at work, the flowers are blooming, and so forth. Hey, this is an opportunity to feel good. Don't leave the money lying on the table: recognize that this is an opportunity to let yourself truly feel good.
Really enjoy this positive experience.
Practice what any school teacher knows: if you want to help people learn something, make it as intense as possible—in this case, as felt in the body as possible—for as long as possible.
When sinking into this experience, sense your intention that this experience is sinking into you.
Sometimes people do this through visualization, like by sensing a golden light coming into themselves or a soothing balm inside themselves. You might imagine a jewel going into the treasure chest in your heart—or just know that this experience is sinking into you, becoming a resource you can take with you no matter where you go.
It might seem a little cliche to say“stop and smell the roses”, but it's moments like those that can be stored in your happiness bank and withdrawn later. Living a happy life can be as simple as accepting the happiness that's already around you. If you want more, it's OK to go out and achieve it, but don't forget where happiness really comes from.
Let Come Naturally With the “Little Things” | |
to let happiness come your way | *Put yourself in situations you experience happiness. *Find a way to savour the experience and let it sink into you |
Giving to positive things | *Organize your everyday lifeto experience positive emotions. your time to do things you love as well as heavily weighing the positive emotional consequences. |
Enjoying the experience and letting it sink into you | *Let a good fact become a good experience so that you have the to feel good. *Really enjoy the positive experience as long as possible *When sinking into this experience, be of your intention so that it becomes a resource to take with your wherever you go. |
*Happy moments like “stop and smell the roses” are *Living a happy life can be as simple as accepting the happiness already around you. | |
请阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
注意：请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。每个空格只填一个单词。
Population Change
Why is the world's population growing？The answer is not what you might think. The reason for the explosion is not that people have been reproducing like rabbits, but that people have stopped dropping dead like flies. In 1900,people died at the average age of 30.By 2000 the average age was 65.But while increasing health was a typical feature of the 20th century, declining birth rate could be a defining one of the 21st.
Statistics show that the average number of births per woman has fallen from 4.9 in the early 1960s to 2.5 nowadays. Furthermore, around 50% of the world's population live in regions where the figure is now below the replacement level(i.e.2.1 births per woman)and almost all developed nations are experiencing sub-replacement birth rate. You might think that developing nations would make up the loss(especially since80% of the world's people now live in such nations),but you'd be wrong, Declining birth rate is a major problem in many developing regions too, which might cause catastrophic global shortages of work force within a few decades.
A great decline in young work force is likely to occur in China, for instance. What does it imply? First, China needs to undergo rapid economic development before a population decline hits the country. Second, if other factors such as technology remain constant, economic growth and material expectations will fall well below recent standards and this could invite trouble.
Russia is another country with population problems that could break its economic promise. Since 1992 the number of people dying has been bigger than that of those being born by a massive 50%,Indeed official figures suggest the country has shrunk by 5% since 1993 and people in Russia live a shorter life now than those in 1961.Why is this occurring? Nobody is quite sure, but poor diet an above all long-time alcoholism have much to do with it. If current trends don't bend. Russia's population will be about the size of Yemen's by the year 2050.
In the north of India, the population is booming due to high birth rates, but in the south, where most economic development is taking place, birth rate is falling rapidly. In a further twist, birth rate is highest in poorly educated rural areas and lowest in highly educated urban areas. In total,25% of India's working-age population has no education. In 2030,a sixth of the country's potential work force could be totally uneducated.
One solution is obviously to import foreign workers via immigration. As for the USA, it is almost unique among developed nations in having a population that is expected to grow by 20% from 2010-2030,Moreover,the USA has a track record of successfully accepting immigrants. As a result it's likely to see a rise in the size of its working-age population and to witness strong economic growth over the longer term.
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⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑪
“Urgent action required”, “Do you still want to hear from us?”, “We've updated our privacy policy”, “Should we stop sending you updates? If not, act now!”
Many of us will have received emails like this during the past few weeks. Triggering this flood of emails is something called GDPR that comes into effect in just under two weeks' time. Often the emails warn that if you don't respond, you will be removed from the company's database, which raises a lot of questions. What action, if any, do you need to take? Could it affect you financially?
GDPR, which stands for General Data Protection Regulation, has been described as the biggest overhaul（彻底检查）of online privacy since the birth of the internet. It is designed to give all EU citizens the right to know what data is stored on them and to have it deleted, plus protect them from privacy breaches（破坏）. It comes into effect on 25 May.
The new rules encourage the requirement for explicit and informed consent before data is processed. As a result, companies and organizations around the world are contacting users to check they are happy to carry on receiving their emails.
However, many of us seem to be going down with “GDPR fatigue（厌倦）”: one article last week claimed that the “reconfirmation rate” - the proportion of people saying they want to continue receiving a company's emails - at UK micro-businesses was averaging just 10%, which meant “they could lose 90% of their subscribers - the life-blood for their business”. So it's no wonder some firms have adopted policies such as offering to enter people into a prize draw in return for them going in and updating their communication preferences.
The average adult is said to have about 100 “data relationships” — companies and organizations that hold our personal data. Meanwhile, the reason why the company that occasionally emails you newsletters is now asking for your consent is perhaps because you never explicitly gave it permission to send you stuff. Maybe you only get its emails because you went to an event it organized ages ago or you once downloaded something from its website. Under the new regime, that almost certainly wouldn't count as explicit and informed consent, hence it's getting in touch now.
The bottom line is that if it is a company or organization that you want to continue hearing from, you should probably click the button or log in to ensure you keep getting its emails. If it doesn't hear from you, it may decide to take you off its database.
Passage outline | Supporting details |
The influences of junk mails | ◆ They flood into our lives. ◆ They to remove us from certain databases. ◆ They cause receivers to be about the possible risks. |
Theof GDPR | ◆ It will guarantee all EU citizens the to accept or refuse. ◆ It will require privacy from companies. |
The from most receivers and the policies adopted by some firms | ◆ Most receivers are to continue receiving such emails. ◆ Some firms hold activities so that people may win a if they go in. ◆ Some firms offer to update people's communication preferences. |
The reason and bottom line for companies sending such emails | ◆ Companies hope to obtain explicit from their users. ◆ The information you left doesn't mean you allow them to send you stuff. ◆ Without your reply, companies may take you off their databases. |
In the years of my growing up, Dad was strict with me. He made sure I made my bed and did my homework. He would call in advance to make sure there was no alcohol at the party. I got so angry with him for laying down the law. I would scream, “ I hate you!” Dad would yell back, “Good! I don't care!” Deep down I knew he did.
One time at a party, I drank too much alcohol and got so sick. I said, “ Call my dad.” Next thing, Dad was carrying me to the car. I woke up the next morning, thinking I would definitely be criticised. As expected, I got a roasting, but I now understand why I need discipline.
Dad was 29 when he got his big roles in films. I had an early start at the age of nine with a role in a 1990s TV series, but it wasn't until I finished film studies that I pursued my career as an actress. Like those early days for Dad, I faced lots of rejections. Working in such a competitive industry, I've sometimes thought, “ I can't do this any more.”
Once, after a trip to Hollywood, I returned to Australia so depressed and spent months in my bedroom painting, listening to Eckhart Tolle's music and trying to find myself again. Dad sat me down and said,“Alice, I know it's hard, but it's all about persistence(坚持不懈).”
Now I get to work with Dad a lot, which I love. We both passionate about acting, which comes from us being so interested in people. If it weren't for Dad, I wouldn't be where I am today. He's my biggest fan, and when you have that in your life you can go a long way.
Age has its privileges in America, and one of the most important of them is the senior citizen discount. Eligibility(资格) is determined not by one's need but by the date on one's birth certificate. The discounts have become a routine part of many businesses—as common as color televisions in motel rooms and free coffee on airliners.
People with gray hair often are given the discounts without even asking for them; yet, millions of Americans above age 60 are healthy and solvent (有支付能力的). Businesses that would never dare offer discounts to college students or anyone under 30 freely offer them to older Americans. The practice is acceptable because of the widespread belief that ＂elderly＂ means ＂needy＂. Perhaps that once was true, but today elderly Americans as a group have a lower poverty rate than the rest of the population. To be sure, there is economic diversity within the elderly, and many older Americans are poor. But most of them aren't.
It is impossible to determine the impact of the discounts on individual companies. For many firms, they are a stimulus to revenue. But in other cases, the discounts are given at the expense, directly or indirectly, of younger Americans. Moreover, they are a direct irritant(刺激物) in what some politicians and scholars see as a coming conflict between the generations.
Generational tensions are being fueled by continuing debate over Social Security benefits, which mostly involve a transfer of resources from the young to the old. Employment is another sore point. Supported by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans are declining the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the job—thereby lessening employment and promotion opportunities for younger workers.
Far from a kind of charity they once were, senior citizen discounts have become a privilege to a group with millions of members who don't need them.
It no longer makes sense to treat the elderly as a single group whose economic needs deserve priority over those of others. Senior citizen discounts only enhance the myth that older people can't take care of themselves and need special treatment; and they threaten the creation of a new myth, that the elderly are ungrateful and taking for themselves at the expense of children and other age groups. Senior citizen discounts are the essence of the very thing older Americans are fighting against—discrimination by age.
Outline | Details |
Introduction | Age determines whether an American can be given a discount, which is a commonin American business life today. |
Origin of senior citizen discount | Since the senior citizens are often treated as people who are in they are given such priority. |
situation | ●The situation has changed a lot where the majority of the elderly are not poor at all. ●Younger Americans were at a(n) directly or indirectly due to the discounts given to the elderly, thus leading to conflicts between generations. ●The number of older Americans to work rather than retire is on the increase, which means opportunities for young workers. ●It is no longer a kind of charity because millions of senior citizens don't need the priority . |
Conclusion | ●It's unwise to offer discount priority to the elderly. ●It will mislead people to think they are unable to to themselves. ●People may think that they are ungrateful and they're hurting the of other age groups. ●Actually senior citizen discounts, to some extent, against their age. |
Some years ago industries had more freedom than they now, and they did not need to be as careful as they must today. They did not need to worry a lot about the safety of the new products that they developed. They took little notice of the health and safety of the people who worked for them. Often new products were dangerous for the people who used them and conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of the workers.
Of course, sometimes there were real disasters which attracted the attention of governments and which showed the need for changes. Also scientists who were doing research into the health of workers sometimes produced information which governments could not ignore. At such times, there were inquiries into the causes of the disasters or the problems. New safety rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries; however, the new rules came too late to protect the people who died or who became seriously ill.
Today many governments have special departments which protect customers and workers. In the U. S, for example, there is a department which tests new airplanes and gives warnings about possible problems. It also makes the rules that aircraft producers must follow. Another department controls the foods and drugs that companies sell. A third department looks at the places where people work, and then reports any companies that are breaking the laws which protect the health and safety of workers. Of course, new government departments and new laws cannot prevent every accident or illness, but they are having some good results. Our work places are safer and cleaner than before. The planes and cars which we use for travel are better. Producers are thinking more about the safety and health of the people who buy and use their products.
On my first job as sports editor for the Montpelier Leader Enterprise (MLE), I didn't get a lot of fan mail, so my attention was caught by a letter on my desk one morning.
When I opened it, I read: “Sweet piece of writing on the Tigers. Keep up the good work.” It was signed by Don Wolfe, the sports editor Because I was a teenager (being paid the grand total of 15 cents a column inch), his words could not have been more inspiring, I kept the letter in my desk drawer until it got old. Whenever I doubted I had the right stuff to a writer,I would reread Don's note and walk on air again.
Later, when I got to know him, I learned that Don made a habit of writing a quick, encouraging note to people in all walks of life, “When I make others feel good about themselves, ” he told me, “I feel good, too.”
Over the years, I've tried to copy Don and write uplifting words. In a world too often cold and unresponsive, such notes bring warmth.
Why are positive note writer in such short supply? My guess is that many who shy away from the practice are too self-conscious. They are afraid they will be misunderstood. Thus it may cause troubles and problems. And it sounds insincere on the phone, Also, writing takes time；it is far easier to pick up the phone.
The drawback of phone calls, of course, is that they do not last. A note attaches more importance to our well-wishing. It is a matter of record, and our words can be read more than savored (回味) and treasured, and they bring strength and love to us.
Today I sent a warm letter to my old boss. I don't know if it will make his day, but it made mine. As my friend Don Wolfe said, “Making others feel good about themselves also make me feel good too. ”
(No more than 5 words)
Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee(黑猩猩).
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination(排除法). A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (品种) known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.
It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can't talk back. Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!
“The gaokao,China's national college entrance exam,is winning more recognition as a way for universities overseas to evaluate Chinese students,”recruiting officers said.
Stanley Nel,vice-president of international relations at the University of San Francisco in the United States,who is responsible for the university's admissions from China,said he had had several inquiries from US universities about how to recruit Chinese students on the basis of their gaokao scores.
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) have long been two musts for students from other counties,including China,to apply to study in the US.
USF,a private university in California,started a pilot program to accept Chinese students based on their gaokao scores in 2015.The idea came from USF President Paul Fitzgerald's belief that standardized tests like the SAT are not very good predictors of how well students will do at the university."We are aware of the many criticisms that have been made of the gaokao,but it has the advantage of being what educational experts call a 'criterion-referenced' exam: It tests whether students are able to master a given body of knowledge,"he said.
Currently,at least four higher education institutions in the US are recruiting Chinese students based on their gaokao performances.The Illinois Institute of Technology,a private institution in Chicago,started the practice first,in 2009.Outside the US,countries including Spain,Italy,Singapore,France and Australia also recognize gaokao scores.
More than 200 students from China requested an interview with USF last year.74 of them were selected for a follow-up interview,44 received offers and 20 accepted the invitation and joined USF for the 2015 fall semester. Students admitted in this way have done "exceptionally well" in the past academic year,Nel added."The average GPA for all gaokao students is about 3.5 out of 4.For all other students—American and non-gaokao international students—American and non-gaokao international students—the average GPA is 3.2,"he said.
Zhu Zihao gained admission in computer sciences at USF in 2015 through the program and performed well in his first academic year.He said that students who had experienced China's gaokao usually had comprehensive basic knowledge,which helps them excel in studies.
Nel said,"students admitted through China's gaokao are not only smart but extremely conscientious（认真的）and hardworking."
"This year we hope to recruit about 50 students in this way,and even more in years to come,"he said.
The gaokao | ||
Past situation | Universities in the US evaluated Chinese students according to two: The Test of English as a Foreign Language and the Scholastic Aptitude Test. | |
situation | The gaokao is increasinglyas a way of evaluating Chinese students by universities abroad. | |
of the people concerned | Stanley Nel—the person responsible for the university's admissions from China | ●Chinese students having received good scores in the gaokao performed academically well when studying in America. ●Chinese students admitted through China' gaokao are smart, conscientious and. |
Paul Fitzgerald—USF President | ●Despite thethe gaokao has received,it has its advantages.It tests students'to master a given body of knowledge. ●Some standardized tests cannotstudents' performance at the university well. | |
Zhu Zihao—a student admitted to USF in 2015 | Theof the gaokao is helpful for the performance at the university well. | |
Future situation | More Chinese students will be recruited by the universities overseason their performance in the gaokao. | |
The benefits of being an independent business are truly great. Beyond the rewarding nature of owning something truly unique, small businesses have the edge over their big business counterparts in many areas. Consider the importance of being independent and how that independence can help drive your business.
To some, having fewer customers simply means less cash flow; however, having a smaller base also allows you to focus more on customer satisfaction.
Companies are always searching for ways to improve customer service and have more of their business. Whether through paying special attention to who comes through your door or monitoring your customers through the social network, it's less of trouble to make sure your customers' needs are being met when there's a smaller sample to deal with. In addition, it becomes much easier to create a personal connection with buyers when you have enough time and attention to show them some love.
Small businesses have an inherent advantage over their big box competitors in the sense that they can offer something different. People want to see the independent businesses that offer unique products and flavor to their communities. Your business can be the difference when it comes to what customers want.
Of course, big box companies will almost always beat you down when it comes to price. Consider, however, that if you can offer a truly unique product or experience, price becomes much less of an issue.
People like the idea of supporting local independent businesses versus “the big guys”. So, what businesses are booming due to the rise of independence?
Craft Beer(精酿啤酒) —- The craft beer movement in the United States is supported so widely that big breweries have taken to creating their own competing “craft beer” brands in an attempt to follow the trend. While Anheuser Busch represents nearly half of America's breweries, craft beer has seen a huge jump in sales in recent years.
Video Games —- Whether through PCs, traditional consoles or mobile games, independent developers are supported by enthusiastic fans and micro-transactions in an industry that was formerly dominated by bigger developers.
Musicians —- The modern web offers immense opportunities to musicians, resulting in more economic and artistic freedom. A surprising number of mainstream artists have seen great success from their independent releases, such as Macklemore's The Heist, which has sold over one million copies in the United States alone.
Some small businesses don't want to be small businesses forever. Regardless, consider what independence does for you and your company. If you offer something out of the ordinary, you can build an audience that respects your individuality and supports your cause.
The necessity of being an independent business | ||
A on customer satisfaction | A smaller sample of customers makes it easy to customers' needs. | |
With enough time and attention to show customers some love, an independent business person finds it easier to connect with them . | ||
An offer of something completely different | Small businesses can offer something the ordinary to their communities. | |
Being different can a large number of active consumer groups. | ||
A really unique product or experience can make customers price less seriously. | ||
An appeal to an independent business | In the USA, craft beer is very popular with people, having well in recent years. | |
Independent game developers gain the support of crazy fans in an industry that to be in the control of bigger developers. | ||
A surprising number of mainstream artists great success to their independent releases. | ||
A chance to for some small businesses | For some small businesses, independence can attract a group of people that respect their individuality and support their development. | |
Commercial advertisement was once thought of as a technique of the marketers to inform the potential buyers about the availability of certain products. It was seen more as a medium to inform the buyers rather than persuade them to buy. The present day marketers see advertisement as a medium to damage the image of their competitors and their products. This indeed, is an undesirable and an immoral practice. Instead of speaking about their own products, these marketers speak about the drawbacks (often without any basics) of the competing products.
People watching TV advertisements would notice that there has always been an advertisement war between the marketers of different consumer goods. A few such cases are given below.
⑴Parachute Coconut Oil vs. V.V.D. Gold
Sometime back, the producer of V.V.D Gold Coconut Oil claimed in their TV advertisement that only their products were superior and the one sold in blue colour bottles (the reference was to Parachute coconut oil) was suitable only for un-natural hair.
⑵Tata Salt vs. Captain Cook
Tata salt was first iodised (碘处理) salt marketed by an Indian Company. It has been enjoying a good and steady market. Captain Cook, another producer of iodised salt, who entered the market later, had to adopt some strategy to get control of the market. The TV advertisement of Captain Cook stressed on ‘Free flow' of their salt when transferred to a container. The producer of Tata Salt retaliated (报复) by saying that the claim of Captain Cook was a trick and those who were quality conscious should deal with it with caution.
⑶Pepsi vs. Coca Cola
Coca Cola was selected as the official soft drink for the Wills World Cricket 1996. When the cricket series was on, the marketers of Pepsi constantly advertised on TV. Their advertisement gave the idea that the cricketers preferred only Pepsi and as a matter of fact there was nothing official about it.
⑷Horlicks vs. Complan
Sometime back, the TV advertisement of Complan, a health drink directly attacked Horlicks, which has been in the market for several decades. The claim of Complan was that their brand (which according to them was Brand C) has a higher percentage of ingredients compared to Brand H (reference was nothing but to Horlicks).
The above examples clearly show how the technique of advertisement is misused by some marketers to ruin the image of their competitors. This, certainly, is not a healthy trend.
Any marketer should only speak about his products and not about his competitors' products. The awareness of consumers has certainly increased over the years and they are no longer easily taken in. There are many consumer products like salt, oil, shaving blades etc. But one thing for sure is that offering the same product in a different container will not make the product different.
Mass media like Radio, Television and newspaper should not allow advertisements that tell lies. Legal regulations, in this regard, should also be made stricter.
Comparison of the past and the present | |||
In the past | A technique mainly used for offering | ||
At present | A trick used as a means of unfair | ||
Unhealthy trend of the of advertisement | |||
Products | Wrong | ||
V.V.D. Gold | No product of the kind could it. | ||
Captain Cook | Captain Cook stressed on their “free flow” when their product was put into a container. | ||
Tata Salt | Tata salt warned consumers to be. | ||
Pepsi | Too much advertisement on TV seemed to say that Pepsi was the cricketers' . | ||
Complan | Complan claimed that their product was much in ingredients. | ||
Solutions | ●Only products of their own are allowed to be in the advertisement. ●Stricter laws should be made to protect every producer's and consumer's benefits. | ||
Age has its privileges in America, and one of the more prominent of them is the senior citizen discount. Anyone who has reached a certain age — in some cases as low as 55 — is automatically entitled to dazzling array of price reductions at nearly every level of commercial life. Eligibility is determined not by one's need but by the date on one's birth certificate. Practically unheard of a generation ago, the discounts have become a routine part of many businesses — as common as color televisions in motel rooms and free coffee on airliners.
People with gray hair often are given the discounts without even asking for them; yet, millions of Americans above age 60 are healthy and solvent(有支付能力的). Businesses that would never dare offer discounts to college students or anyone under 30 freely offer them to older Americans. The practice is acceptable because of the widespread belief that “elderly” and “needy” are synonymous (同义的). Perhaps that once was true, but today elderly Americans as a group have a lower poverty rate than the rest of the population. To be sure, there is economic diversity within the elderly, and many older Americans are poor. But most of them aren't.
It is impossible to determine the impact of the discounts on individual companies. For many firms, they are a stimulus to revenue. But in other cases the discounts are given at the expense, directly or indirectly, of younger Americans. Moreover, they are a direct irritant in what some politicians and scholars see as a coming conflict between the generations.
Generational tensions are being fueled by continuing debate over Social Security benefits, which mostly involve a transfer of resources from the young to the old. Employment is another sore point. Buoyed (支持) by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans are declining the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the job — thereby lessening employment and promotion opportunities for younger workers.
Far from a kind of charity they once were, senior citizen discounts have become a formidable economic privilege to a group with millions of members who don't need them.
It no longer makes sense to treat the elderly as a single group whose economic needs deserve priority over those of others. Senior citizen discounts only enhance the myth that older people can't take care of themselves and need special treatment; and they threaten the creation of a new myth, that the elderly are ungrateful and taking for themselves at the expense of children and other age groups. Senior citizen discounts are the essence of the very thing older Americans are fighting against — discrimination by age.
Outline | Details |
Introduction | Age determines whether an American can be given a discount, which is a common in American business life today. |
Origin of senior citizen discount | ●Since the senior citizens are often treated as people who are in , they are given such priority. |
situation | ●The situation has changed a lot where the majority of the elderly are not poor at all. ●Younger Americans were at a/an directly or indirectly due to the discounts given to the elderly, thus leading to conflicts between generations. ●The number of older Americans to work rather than retire is on the increase, which means opportunities for young workers. ●It is no longer a kind of charity because millions of senior citizens don't need the priority . |
Conclusion | It's unwise to offer discount priority to the elderly. ●It will mislead people to think they are unable to to themselves. ●People may think that they are ungrateful and they're hurting the of other age groups. ●Actually senior citizen discounts, to some extent, against their age. |
People in the United States have many ways to get news, some of which are available 24 hours a day. In a recent survey（调查）, about 15 percent of American interviewees said that they spend less than one-half to two hours per day watching, listening to, or reading the news. News comes from every source, not only from printed ways, but from TV, radio, and the Internet as well.
With the increased availability of news, serious questions have been raised about the role of the news media in society. Should the media report every detail about every story, even when the information does not seem timely or valuable? Some researchers are concerned that by focusing on everything at once, the media increasingly ignore the more important social, political and economic problems that we face. We cannot concentrate on what's important by reading about what is not. One extreme example of this is the type of information covered by the tabloid（小报）media, which focus on negative stories of violence and crime.
How can people deal with all the news that is available to them? Some become “news resisters” and choose to turn their backs on news, resisting their desire to turn on the TV and read the paper every day. They argue that although daily news reports may provide us with many facts, they do not include the background or some information that we need to understand news events. They suggest that, instead of daily reports, we look for information that has more in-depth analysis of the news, such as monthly magazines.
| Students in the US and | Students in China, Japan and Korean | |
| What do they value? | goals and purposes | |
| Ways of study | working individually | listen to the teachers |
| forming their own ideas and opinions | memorizing and | |
| a lot of discussion in the classroom | not much discussion | |
| Learning to think for themselves | learning much more math and by the end of high | |
| studying more hours each day and more days each year | ||
| good for a society that values ideas. | good for a society valuing and self-control | |
| disadvantages | students haven't memorized many basic rules and facts when before | Information is forgotten easily |
Hillary Rodham Clintons，a Strongwoman
There are many Hillary Rodham Clintons— the experienced lawyer, the best-selling author, and the first US First Lady to be elected to the United States Senate (参议院).
Born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, 1947, Hillary's childhood was happy and she was well educated. Her parents encouraged her to take up anything that interested her and to be strong.
When young Hillary returned home from school with straight A's, her father remarked that it must be an easy school. The girl once ran back home crying after someone had hit her at school, but her mother wouldn't let her in. "There is no room in this house for cowards (懦夫)," said her mother.
A little older, young Hillary put all of her energy into politics. As a student leader, she discussed political issues with friends and researched social problems.
She entered Wellesley College in 1965. Graduating with high honors, then in 1969, Hillary entered Yale Law School, where she met Bill Clinton, a fellow law student. They got married in 1975. The former president often recalls the day when Hillary went to him and said, "If you're going to keep staring at me, I might as well introduce myself." The two soon became partners in moot court (模拟法庭), political campaigns, and the journey of love.
When Bill was elected president in 1992, Hillary wasn't content with just being First Lady. From working to reform national healthcare to fighting for the rights of the poor, she refused to stop fighting for what she believed in.
She was often criticized by her husband's opponents for actively involving herself in politics. But in keeping with her personality, Hillary always kept her head held high.
"When she takes on a project, she works tirelessly until it is completed," said Betty Lowe, an old friend of the Clintons.
Women's International Center proudly gave the Living Legacy Award to Hillary Rodham Clinton for her great contributions in so many fields, especially honouring her work for women and children.
On December 1, 2008, US President-elect Barack Obama nominated(提名)Hillary as Secretary of State.
Title: Hillary Rodham Clintons，a Strongwoman | ||
● of an ordinary family, she spent a happy and disciplined childhood. | ||
●Though she was an excellent student, her parents were very with her. | ||
●A little older, young Hillary showed special interest in . | ||
●As a student leader, she was with social problems, and often discussed political issues with friends. | ||
●After from Wellesley College in 1969, she entered Yale Law School. | ||
Career | ●A talented lawyer, the best-selling author, and the first US First Lady | |
●She made great in many fields, especially in promoting national healthcare and for the rights of the poor. | ||
●She was for her work for women and children. | ||
●She was nominated as of State in 2008. It was determination that made her a successful stateswoman. | ||
Green is not always referring to the color. In some cases, it is the term used for being environmentally friendly. If you've been looking to replace your furniture, consider going green because environmentally friendly furniture offers many benefits. Here are a few tips to get you started on your hunt for the perfect eco-friendly furniture.
First, environmentally friendly furniture isn't harmful to your health. Also its manufacturing process doesn't cause damage to the environment in any way. Besides, by purchasing eco-friendly products, you prevent deforestation and global warming to some extent in your own way. You do your part in protecting the environment. Environmentally friendly furniture is cost-effective as well.
The materials that are used in furniture are what make them green. Materials can be good for the environment either because they are materials that are considered renewable resources or they are all natural. A lack of chemicals and toxins (毒素) in green furniture also means it is a better choice for the environment. It may be hard to imagine that a sofa or a table could actually be a green product but they really can be depending on what they're made of.
There are a lot of renewable sources that manufacturers could use when building the furniture, so you should be keeping an eye out for them. Bamboo can be an excellent replacement for wood and can also replace plastics and metals in some furnishing. Cotton is a sofa fabric that is safe for the environment and it can be replenished (补充) often. Hemp is also a renewable source that can be used for fabric and twine.
Recycled materials also can be made into green furniture. Metals can be recovered and remade into new things such as frames and foundations for sofas. Recycled plastic can also be made into furniture such as tables and chairs. Touching up old furniture instead of buying new items is very cheap way to be green. Yard sales and second-hand stores sell furniture too and buying the used means new things won't be made, so no more damage has to happen to the earth.
Therefore, when you want to hunt for the perfect environmentally friendly furniture, you should try to know the type of materials which are used in building the furniture.
Environmentally friendly furniture | ||
●It is to your health ●Its manufacturing processdamaging the environment in any way. ●It prevents deforestation and global warming to some extent ●It helps yousome money as well. | ||
Requirements of the materials | ●The materials should be renewable and natural ●The materialsfewer chemicals and toxins. | |
Materials often used in green furniture | Renewable materials | ●Bamboo can be used towood, plastics and metals. ●Cotton is a soft fabric which can be often replenished. ●Hemp is also a good material. |
Recycled materials | ●Metals can be recovered and to make new things frames and foundations for sofas. ●Recycled plastics can be made into tables and chairs. ●Purchasingfurniture is also a good idea | |
conclusion | It is to know the type of materials used in the furniture while you're hunting for the perfect eco-friendly furniture. | |
Aside from the health benefits of laughter (which are numerous and significant), having a sense of humor about life's difficulties can provide a way to bond with others, look at things in a different way, normalize your experience, and keep things from appearing too overwhelming or scary. Properly developed, a good sense of humor can keep people and relationships strong.
Studies show that having a smile on your face can make you feel better, and can lead you to actually feeling happier (rather than just looking happier). Even if the smile is fake, the benefits you will experience are real! Also, a fake smile leads readily to a genuine one. If you are able to put a smile on your face, the laughter will come more easily, and the stress will melt more easily.
If your situation seems ridiculously frustrating, recognize what can develop into humor in just how ridiculously frustrating and annoying it is. In your imagination, take the situation to an extreme that becomes even more ridiculous until you find yourself amused. For example, when you're waiting in a long line at the store, you can imagine that hours pass, then days, visualizing yourself accepting visits from loved ones from your new home in this ultra-long line, holding your children's birthday parties in aisle seven so you can be there to enjoy them...you get the picture.
Besides, find a friend with whom you can laugh also works! You can each share your frustrations, and laugh about them in the process. Even when your friend isn't there, you can feel less stressed by thinking about the retelling that will come later.
You can have a “most annoying boss” game with your friends, or try to count how many times the same potentially frustrating event happens in a day.(“I was cut off in traffic 7 times today—I'm almost up to 10!”) This works well for predictable or repetitive annoying situations that you can't control; you can begin to value them in their own special way instead of letting them upset you.
One of the factors that drive the popularity of shows like Modern Family or movies like the classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off, is that they take somewhat universal situations that many people find frustrating and push them a little further, pointing out the silliness of it all.
What's more, you can try joining Funny Clubs.Years ago, when Oprah had a show rather than a network, she did a part on Laughter Yoga that interested me, and I researched a club on my own, finding it to be a terrific place to enjoy a good laugh. Whether you mean business or laugh at the silliness of it all, taking part in the exercises of laughter yoga with other humor-participants can be a very effective way to get back in the practice of getting some more laughter into your day.
Title | Develop a good sense of humor |
Developing a good sense of humor concerning in life is an effective coping technique.It leads to better relationship as well as simple stress management. | |
Suggestions | *Start with a It's shown in the studies that wearing a smile can help you feel happier.The more you laugh, the the stress is to melt. |
*Value the extremes: Imagine the situations to an extreme so that you can recognize thehumor. | |
*Have an interesting friend: Share frustrations with your friends. If your friend isn't with you, the retelling to come can help lighten your moods. | |
*Make it a Value your frustrations in a “most annoying boss” game or count the times of the same potentially frustrating events in a day. | |
*Watch funny shows and Realizing that some frustrating situations are actually funny can help you endure them with a smile-even if it's ironic. | |
*Join laughter yoga clubs: Whether you are taking laughing or just laughing at the silliness of it all, joining a laughter yoga club is of much help. |
Pleasure and Enjoyment
When considering the kind of experience that makes life better, most people first think that happiness consists in experiencing pleasure: good food, all the comforts that money can buy. We imagine the satisfaction of traveling to exciting places or being surrounded by expensive devices. If we cannot afford those goals, then we are happy to settle for a quiet evening in front of the television set with a drink close by.
Pleasure is a feeling of contentment that one achieves whenever expectations set by biological programs or by social conditioning have been met. The taste of food when we are hungry is pleasant because it reduces a physiological (生理的) imbalance. Resting in the evening while passively absorbing information from TV, with alcohol or drugs to dull the mind overexcited by the demands of work, is pleasantly relaxing. Traveling to Acapulco is pleasant because the exciting novelty (新奇) restores our sensations (感觉) exhausted by the repetitive routines of everyday life.
When people think further about what makes their lives rewarding, they tend to move beyond pleasant memories and begin to remember other events, other experiences that overlap(重叠) with pleasurable ones but fall into a category that deserves a separate name: enjoyment. Enjoyable events occur when a person has not only met some expectation or satisfied a need or a desire but also gone beyond what he or she has been programmed to do and achieved something unexpected, perhaps something even unimagined before.
Enjoyment is characterized by this forward movement: by a sense of novelty, of accomplishment. Playing a close game of tennis that stretches one's ability is enjoyable, as is reading a book that reveals things in a new light, as is having a conversation that leads us to express ideas we didn't know we had. Closing a contested business deal, or any piece of work well done, is enjoyable. None of these experiences may be particularly pleasurable at the time they are taking place, but afterward we think back on them and say, “That really was fun” and wish they would happen again. After an enjoyable event we know that we have changed, that our self has grown: in some respect, we have become more complex as a result of it.
Experiences that give pleasure can also give enjoyment, but the two sensations are quite different. For instance, everybody takes pleasure in eating. To enjoy food, however, is more difficult. A gourmet (美食家) enjoys eating, as does anyone who pays enough attention to a meal so as to discriminate the various sensations provided by it. As this example suggests, we can experience pleasure without any investment of psychic energy, whereas enjoyment happens only as a result of unusual investments of attention. A person can feel pleasure without any effort, but it is impossible to enjoy a tennis game, a book, or a conversation unless attention is fully concentrated on the activity.
Pleasure and Enjoyment
Main contents | Detailed information |
Pleasure | Pleasure is a feeling that one achieves what one has on a biological or social level. Things like good food, exciting travelling and a quiet rest can ring one pleasure because they can help restore one's physiological balance, reduce one's heavypressure and save one from boredom. |
Enjoyment | Enjoyment from the achievement of something unexpected or even unimagined before. Enjoyment a sense of novelty and accomplishment such as a close tennis game, a valuable book and a conversation productive of ideas. |
Pleasure is often related to the comforts that money can buy, while enjoyment, more linked to one's inner world, makes one feel rewarded and changed for the. While some experiences give both pleasure and enjoyment, some enjoyable ones are not pleasurable when taking place but bring wonderful feelings. Pleasure requires nowhile enjoyment can never be achieve without the investment of the full of attention. | |
Conclusion | Enjoyment is a level of pleasure and the two differ from each other in several aspects. |
It is now mandatory(强制) for drivers or passengers to wear seatbelts while in a car in all states. In addition, it is also mandatory for kids of be in some kind of specialized car seat. Given the strict requirements in other vehicles, why don't buses have seatbelts?
The main answer, at least for school buses, is that seatbelts do not make school buses safer. Overall, traveling on school buses is the safest way to travel—40 times safer than riding in a car—with only a handful of deaths occurring to passengers on school buses every year. The seats on the school bus are placed very close to each other and have high backs that are thickly padded. As a result, in an accident the students would be propelled forward a very short distance into a padded seatback that in a way is like an airbag. In addition, the fact that people sit high off the ground on school buses also makes it safer to travel on them.
While school buses feature high backed seats and elevated seating locations, the same cannot be said of city buses. However, from a practical angle, there's little need to require seatbelts on city buses. Although the design of the modern low—floor city bus is less safe than the design of school buses, the fact that city buses rarely travel at speeds greater than 35 miles per hour means that any collision is likely to be small, Also, given that most trips on city buses are short and that many trips have standing passengers, the presence of seatbelts will make even less of a difference.
Another answer why buses do not have seatbelts is cost. It is estimated that adding seatbelts to buses would add between $8,000 and $15,000 to the cost of each bus. In addition, seatbelts would take up room currently used as seats, meaning that each bus would have fewer seating places. The additional room in the bus taken up by seatbelts would mean that bus fleets would have to increase by as much as 15% just to carry the same number of people. Such an increase would be especially difficult in cities that experience overcrowding on their vehicles.
Regardless of whether their passengers have seatbelts, all buses provide seatbelts for drivers and most bus companies make their drivers wear seatbelts in order not to be influenced by a collision.
Why don't buses have seatbelts? | |
Topic | Everyone is to wear their seatbelts in a car while no seatbelts are provided for passengers on buses. |
School buses: ●Seatbelts make no．in improving the safety of the school bus. ●Traveling on school buses is safe thanks to their seats with high padded backs, which canthe students from danger because they are propelled forward into them in a collision. ●Sitting high off the ground on school buses also to the safety | |
City buses: ●Their low traveling speed reduces the risk of a collision ●City buses tend to travel a short ●Many passengers stand while on a city bus, making seatbelts | |
●Fixing seatbelts on buses can in an increase in cost. ●Seatbelts can also limit the number of seating places by room on a bus. ●As a result, an increasing number of bus fleets are required to carry the same number of people. | |
A rule | All buses provide seatbelts for drivers, who should wear seatbelts to the impact of a collision. |
