Christmas is a time for eating great food, giving and receiving presents, and most importantly spending time with your family watching some classic Christmas movies.
The Grinch (2000)
This is a Christmas must-watch and one of Jim Carrey's best performances. It was also originally a nursery tale book written by Dr Seuss. It's the story of a green monster who wants to ruin Christmas but who in the end discovers the power of love and generosity. I promise it's a great film with plenty of laughs along the way.
Love Actually (2003)
While this is not a personal favourite of mine, people in the UK absolutely love this film. It has many featuring actors and actresses. It might be a little difficult to follow as there are complex plots, so I recommend watching a translated version or enabling subtitles (字幕) in your native language. However, the heart-warming elements of the film make it worth watching.
Home Alone (1990)
This amusing masterwork is one of my favourite films of all time. It tells the story of a boy, Kevin, who is left alone in his house when his large family forgets to take him on vacation with them. While the families are away, burglars try to rob the house and Kevin must protect his home by setting traps. The trips, falls and traps will have you laughing out loud as you watch a 10-year-old boy beat two grown men.
Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
You can't have Christmas in an English-speaking country without watching this movie. It's not funny like Home Alone or The Grinch, but it is incredibly touching. It's about a man who claims to be Santa, but nobody believes him except a lawyer and a little girl. The story-line may seem a little childish but you can enjoy it at any age.
As Simon Kindleysides, 34, took his first step in the London Marathon in April, he felt as if magic was in the air.
"As we were walking toward the first mile, we actually started joining all the runners," he said. "Everyone was on the streets, cheering, and that was a magical moment." As time went on, the crowds and other racers spread around. Kindleysides and his team of eight supporters continued walking.
Kindleysides, who is paralyzed(瘫痪的)from the waist down and typically uses a wheelchair, was equipped with an exoskeleton(体外骨骼)to help him walk. His supporters walked with him to change the batteries in his exoskeleton so he could keep moving.
In 2013, Kindleysides was diagnosed with a brain tumor (肿瘤) that was growing in a way that pressed on certain nerves, leading to him losing feeling in his legs. He was told he would never walk again. Before his paralysis, the London-based singer and dancer had "always wanted to run a marathon," he said, but he never made the plan to do so--until this year.
During the London Marathon, the last two miles were the hardest. "At that point, I was exhausted. It was freezing cold, and I was hurting emotionally," Kindleysides said. But he kept going. "I didn't want to let people down. I had a team of eight, and I was raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity," he said. "I didn't want to let them down, myself down, and I thought if I would get this far, I would have to continue."So he continued and made history as the first paralyzed man to complete the London Marathon on foot.
Then, recovering at home, he shared his accomplishment with his three children. "They used to say I'm the only dad in their whole school who's in a wheelchair, and now they say I'm their dad, the only one who has walked a marathon," he said.
Kindleysides is training to complete three more marathons next year, including the London Marathon again.
Ten minutes of gentle exercise can immediately change how certain parts of the brain communicate and coordinate (协调) with one another and improve memory function, according to an encouraging new study.
The scientists invited 36 people of different ages to the lab and had them sit quietly on a fixed bicycle for 10 minutes or, on a separate visit, pedal the bicycle at a pace so gentle that it barely raised their heart rates. It also was short, lasting for only 10 minutes. Immediately after each session of the sitting or slow pedaling, the people completed a computerized memory test during which they would see a brief picture of, for instance, a tree, followed by a variety of other images and then a new image of either the same tree or a similar one. The people would press buttons to show whether they thought each image was new or the same as an earlier shot. The test is difficult, since many of the images closely resemble one another. It requires rapid, skillful scanning recent memories to decide whether a picture is new or known. Next, the scientists had each people repeat this process--riding or sitting on the bike for 10 minutes and then completing memory testing--but the testing now took place inside an M. R. I. machine(磁共振成像仪)that scanned the people's brains while they responded to the images.
Then the researchers compared results. The effects of the exercise were clear. The people were better at remembering images after they had ridden the bike, especially when the images most closely resembled one another. In other words, the harder their memories had to do their best, the better they performed after the exercise. The M. R. I. scans showed that memory parts of each people's brain lit up at the same time with parts of the brain associated with learning, indicating that these physically separate parts of the brain were better connected now than when the people had not first exercised.
The University of Birmingham is the first excellent UK Russell Group university to announce that it will accept the "Gaokao" exam for high-flying Chinese students wishing to join its undergraduate courses in 2019. High school students who complete the "National Higher Education Entrance Examination", or Gaokao, with top grades will be able to apply for direct entry onto Birmingham degree programmes without first completing a foundation year which is a routine for the freshman.
Gaokao is usually taken by students in their last year of senior high school and, every year, each province in China sets the grades required to gain admission to its universities. It is usually held across China in early June. Students are tested in Chinese, Mathematics, a Foreign Language and social sciences or natural sciences.
University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood said: "The University of Birmingham has been challenging and developing great minds for more than a century. We welcome people from around the globe to study at Birmingham and Chinese students form an integral part of our education and research community. We are further opening access to Birmingham's wealth of education opportunities for the brightest and most dedicated Chinese students by accepting this strict and important qualification. I look forward to welcoming these high-flying students to the University of Birmingham. "
Gaokao is increasingly accepted by universities in Australia, the USA, Canada and mainland Europe. Birmingham will only be considering high quality students who achieve a minimum 80% Gaokao score and meet additional academic and English language requirements.
Professor J on Frampton, Director of the University of Birmingham's China Institute said:" The University of Birmingham has a long history of educating students from China and one of our most famous graduates is Li Siguang-the founding father of Chinese geology. I am delighted that the University is now accepting the Gaokao. This gives the brightest and best Chinese students an opportunity to move straight into the first year of our undergraduate programmes and experience the benefits of studying at a global Top 100 university, such as Birmingham. "
Porridge doesn't have a very tasty name, does it? . I'm here to try and convince you that porridge can be a delicious, convenient and very healthy way to start the day.
Porridge is a type of food served for breakfast, usually a type of grain with either milk or water. It is thicker than liquid, but not solid. , so it's a very good option for people who are ill, and it provides long-lasting energy for the day.
Porridge preparation, such as the amount of materials and cooking time depends on what you choose to use as your porridge base. , I put a very big handful of oats (麦片) in a pot, add a little bit of water and about 200ml of milk, and let the mixture boil. It takes about five minutes to cook.
Once it's cooked, the fun part is adding the flavors (味道). Porridge alone doesn't have a very strong flavour. , I think this is what makes porridge exciting! It is like a blank piece of paper-you can add almost anything you want to the porridge base. Seeds, nuts and dried fruits are very healthy options to add and can give you energy for the day. But if you don't like these, or you're allergic, then sugar and chocolate are also very tasty options.
. Either oats or corn or both are "staple foods" for most people on the earth. You can usually buy big bags of either, then add local materials to make your porridge interesting-whatever is cheap and convenient to find, wherever you are.
Hopefully porridge sounds a lot tastier now!
A．If you've never eaten it
B．If I'm cooking for myself
C．The porridge base is very easy to digest
D．It doesn't have a very tasty reputation, either
E．It is often heated up but lacks all kinds of nutrition
F．You can make porridge almost anywhere in the world
G．Although some people think this makes porridge boring
After my husband's Chinese kung fu school was open for about a week, my daughters and I decided to see how it was going. We were deeply 1 to see there wasn't a single student in the school. My husband was standing 2 in the school waiting for customers.
We had to 3! We decided to be his 4 until he got some "real" ones. We thought it was better to have five people in the school 5 just him if a passerby looked in the window. He started teaching us 6 and forms. We found that some of them actually were 7 to ballet moves but much more difficult. It was kind of fun but 8, too! We were attracted by then, so we 9 as learners.
10, we got actual students in our school. There were many men and teenage boys, and we 11lots of other girls and women as well. One special student was a 12 seven-year-old girl. She was going 13 and had other health problems. With my daughters' help and 14, this little girl got to be a real kung fu kid. Although she is now a sightless, grown adult, I'm confident she can 15 herself if she needs to.
I am 16 to say my daughters are more confident in every area of their lives. This experience taught me to 17 things I never would have 18 before kung fu. I haven't been 19 in all of my efforts, but I'll give almost 20 of niceness a try!
The Truth about Whisky
Whisky is probably most famous product of Scotland. Whisky making provides work several thousand people in the Scottish Highlands and islands, and whisky is Scotland's biggest goods (sell) to every corner of the world.
The qualities of whisky come from the water which (use) to make it the rich "peaty"(多泥炭的) water of Scotland. When whisky is first made, it is (actual) clear, not brown in colour. The colour comes from the wooden (container) in which the whisky is stored for several years to allow it (mature) from a little added sugar.
For many years, whisky has been one of the most popular drinks all over the world, and Scotland (produce) more and more of it so far. But whisky sales have not increased as fast, so there are now large reserves of whisky in Scotland, especially the better and (much) expensive whisky. So a lot of the whisky sold today was made several years ago when people thought that whisky would get more and more popular. That is , today, a lot of the whisky in the shops is marked with "Ten years old", or even "Fifteen years old".
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧),并在其下面写出该加的词;
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉;
修改：在错的词下划一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2．只允许修改10处,多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Writing was my favorite class at school. My teacher, Bebe Usi, was devoting and encouraging. We each spent several classes make a paper mask and wore it when reading our own work before the class. I have forgotten that composition now, but I remember the feeling of mask on my face and my heart was beating wild as I shared my composition. I was afraid of but proud. I have written many compositions before that but none of which had been chosen to be read before the class. They perhaps weren't the best composition and the most beautiful mask in my class. But they both were my.
