It was the morning before I was presenting a paper at an academic conference in Paris. Unexpectedly, the babysitter I'd 1 for to watch my daughter texted to say she couldn't 2 it. Worried I'd have to cancel the3, I asked the organizers, two men, if they knew of any last-minute babysitters.
"4 her!" they said. "We'll watch her well."
So, with uncertainty and anxiety, I did. While I presented my5in a theater hall, they entertained my daughter by letting her draw on the whiteboard and6on the walls. During the Q&A, my daughter demanded to be7. As she sucked, her diaper(尿布)leaked onto my trousers. Afterward, several people came up to me to8me for my bringing her. A woman said that one of her favorite9was bringing her daughter to her workplace.
Unfortunately, my experience is not the10practice. For most working women, bringing their children to work or having a flexible11is not an option. When flexibility is offered, it comes with a huge
12: advancement to higher positions is less likely for parents, usually mothers, who13flexibility. In 2016, only 200 companies had official14allowing children to15at a workplace during working hours.16, bringing children to work is a rising phenomenon.
17, in bringing this generation of children to working events or offices, I'm sure we're teaching them a valuable lesson about work-life 18. My hope is that, when these children become leaders, they'll19we didn't shut them out of work spaces.20, they will build the policies for a fairer and more enjoyable workplace.
Below are four books of the 10 Best Books of 2019. Which one will you add to your booklist?
Exhalation(呼吸)
By Ted Chiang
Many of the nine deeply beautiful stories in this collection explore the material consequences of time travel. Reading them feels, like sitting at dinner with a friend who explains scientific theory to you without an ounce of condescension(傲慢).Each thoughtful, elegantly crafted story poses a philosophical question; Chiang organizes all nine into a conversation that comes full circle, after having travelled remarkab1e val1eys, deserts and plains.
Lost Children Archivef(档案)
By Valeria Luiselli
The Mexican author's third novel—her first to be written in English — unfolds against a backdrop of crisis: of children crossing borders, facing death, being confined, being deported unaccompanied by their guardians.
The novel centers on a couple and their two children, who are taking a road trip from New York City to the Mexican border; the couple's marriage is on the edge of collapse and the woman tries to help a Mexican immigrant find her daughters, who've gone missing in their attempt to cross the border behind her. The brilliance of Luiselli's writing stirs anger and pity. Acutely sensitive, Luiselli has delivered an experimental book, one that is as much about storytellers and storytelling as it is about lost children.
The Yellow House
By Sarah Broom
In her first extraordinary, fascinating appearance, Broom pushes past the baseline expectations of memoir to create an entertaining and inventive combination of literary forms. Part oral history, part urban history, part celebration of a bygone way of life, "The Yellow House" is a full accusation of the greed, discrimination, indifference and poor city planning that led her family's home to be wiped off the map. Tracing the history of a single home in New Orleans East, from the ‘ 60s to Hurricane Katrina, this is an instantly essential text, examining the past, present and possible future of the city of New Orleans, and a true reflection of America.
No Visible Bruises
By Rachel Louise Snyder
Snyder's thoroughly reported book covers what the World Health Organization has called "a global health problem of epidemic proportions." In America alone, more than half of all murdered women are killed by a current or former partner; domestic violence cuts across lines of class, religion and race. Snyder exposes myths (restraining orders are the answer, abusers never change)and writes movingly about the lives of people on both sides of the equation. She doesn't give easy answers but presents a wealth of information that is its own form of hope.
Supermarket shelves are filled with plant-based alternatives to cow milk, including soy, nut, and coconut milk. These products are popular with consumers who cannot drink cows' milk for health reasons, as well as with those concerned about animal welfare and environmental sustainability. While the dairy-free(非乳制的)options work well with cereal or in coffee, they fail miserably when it comes to making milk-based products like cheese or yogurt. However, these shortcomings may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a new company in California, which has figured out how to create animal-free milk in a laboratory!
Perumal Gandhi and Ryan Pandya founded the company in 2014 after becoming increasingly annoyed with the lack of cows' milk-free alternatives, particularly for cheese. For Gandhi, who stopped consuming animal products five years earlier due to environmental and animal welfare concerns, the motivation to create a better alternative stemmed from his love of cheesy pizza. Pandya was spurred into taking action after being forced to eat some "really bad" dairy-free cream cheese on his sandwich.
The two MIT biomedical engineering scientists decided to join forces to create a more realistic alternative to dairy-based products. In their university lab, the pair spent nine months first isolating(分离)cow DNA then inserting it into yeast. This genetic modification enabled the yeast to produce the necessary milk proteins. The final step of the process involved mixing the proteins with some plant nutrients and fats.
The dairy-free milk not only tastes like the real thing but is also healthier, has a longer shelf life and, most important of all, is Earth friendly. According to the company's website, when compared to conventional(传统的)milk production, their process uses 65% less energy, creates 84%o less greenhouse gas emissions and requires 91% less land and an amazing 98% less water! Best of all, since it contains real milk proteins, the product behaves like the cow-produced version, which means vegetarian consumers will no longer have to deal with soggy cheese on their sandwiches and pizzas.
The company plans to bring their creation to market later this year and their first product will most likely be cheese since there are already numerous good cows' milk alternatives available to consumers.
Agnes de Mille was a dancer and a choreographer(编舞). Early in her career, de Mille had created the choreography for a ballet called Three Virgins and a Devil. She thought it was good work, but nobody made much of it.
A few years later, de Mille choreographed a ballet named Rodeo. Again, she thought her work was solid, but it resulted in little commercial fame.
Then, in 1943, de Mille choreographed Oklahoma!, a musical show that enjoyed nearly instant success. In the coming years, Oklahoma! would run for an incredible 2,212 performances, both around the nation and abroad. In 1955, the film version won an Academy Award.
But the success of Oklahoma! didn't bring her much happiness. She thought that her work on Oklahoma! was only average compared to some of her other creations. She later said, "After the opening of Oklahoma!, I suddenly had unexpected success for a work I thought was only fairly good, after years of neglect for work I thought was fine. I began to think that perhaps my entire scale of values was untrustworthy. I talked to Martha."
Martha was Martha Graham, perhaps the most influential dance choreographer of the 20th century.(Although not as well-known by the general public, Graham has been compared to other creative geniuses like Picasso or Frank Lloyd Wright.)
During their conversation, de Mille told Martha Graham about her frustration. "I confessed that I had a burning desire to be excellent, but no faith that I could be."
Graham responded by saying:
"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open."
It doesn't kill germs better than cooler water, but turning tap temperatures high, the US burns carbon equal to the emissions of Barbados.
People typically wash their hands seven times a day in the United States, but they do it at a far higher temperature than is necessary to kill germs, a new study says. The energy waste is equivalent to the fuel use of a small country.
It's cold and flu season, when many people are concerned about avoiding germs. But forget what you think you know about hand washing, say researchers at Vanderbilt University. Chances are good that how you clean up is not helping you stay healthy; it is helping to make the planet sick.
Amanda R. Carrico, a research assistant professor at the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment in Tennessee, told National Geographic that hand washing is often "a case where people act in ways that they think are in their best interest, but they in fact have inaccurate beliefs or outdated perceptions."
Carrico said, "It's certainly true that heat kills bacteria, but if you were going to use hot water to kill them it would have to be way too hot for you to tolerate."
She explained that boiling water, 212°F(99.98℃), is sometimes used to kill germs - for example, to clean drinking water that might be polluted with germs. But "hot" water for hand washing is generally within 104°F to 131°F(40℃ to 55℃.)At the high end of that range, heat could kill some germs, but the sustained contact that would be required would scald the skin.
Carrico said that after a review of the scientific literature, her team found "no evidence that using hot water that a person could stand would have any benefit in killing bacteria." Even water as cold as 40°F(4.4℃)appeared to reduce bacteria as well as hotter water, if hands were scrubbed, rinsed(冲洗)and dried properly.
In fact, she noted that hot water can often have an unfavorable effect on hygiene. "Warmer water can harm the skin and affect the protective layer on the outside, which can cause it to be less resistant to bacteria," said Carrico.
Using hot water to wash hands is therefore unnecessary, as well as wasteful, Carrico said, particularly when it comes to the environment. According to her research, people use warm or hot water 64 percent of the time when they wash their hands. Using that number, Carrico's team calculated a significant impact on the planet.
"Although the choice of water temperature during a single hand wash may appear minor, when multiplied by the nearly 800 billion hand washes performed by Americans each year, this practice results in more than 6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions annually," she said.
That's roughly equal to the emissions of two coal-fired power plants, or 1,250, 000 passenger vehicles, over the course of a year. It's higher than the greenhouse gas emissions of small countries like El Salvador or Armenia, and is about equivalent to the emissions of Barbados. If all US citizens washed their hands in cooler water, it would be like eliminating the energy-related carbon emissions of 299,700 US homes, or the total annual emissions from the US zinc or lead industries.
The researchers found that close to 70 percent of respondents said they believe that using hot water is more effective than warm, room temperature, or cold water, despite a lack of evidence backing that up, said Carrico. Her study noted research that showed a "strong cognitive(认知的)connection" between water temperature and hygiene in both the United States and Western Europe, compared to other countries, like Japan, where hot water is associated more with comfort than with health.
The researchers published their results in the July 2013 issue of International Journal of Consumer Studies. They recommended washing with water that is at a "comfortable" temperature, which they noted may be warmer in cold months and cooler in hot ones.
The Maginot Line was one of the largest military structures ever built, second only to the Great Wall of China. It was a series of sand traps, forts, turrets(炮塔), and obstacles that spanned more than 450 miles of France's border with Germany. Built between 1930 and 1940, it was one of the world's most impressive forts, yet it proved to be almost useless.
The Maginot Line was named after the man who argued for its construction, French Minister of War André Maginot. André Maginot had fought with the French against the Germans in the First World War. Much of this conflict took place along the Western Front, which was a line of trenches(战壕)across which the two sides faced one another. Both sides dug in deep and each lost many men over little ground. Conditions were horrid for all and there was a deadlock for many years as neither side was able to move the other.
Maginot never forgot these awful conditions. He wanted to build a line of defenses that would give the French an advantage in a similar conflict. It made sense that he feared that the Germans would attack France again. Germany's population nearly doubled France's. The line of defenses that Maginot pictured would allow a smaller French army to hold off a larger German force. In 1929, Maginot convinced the French Parliament to fund his vision.
Though calling it a line makes it seem thin, the Maginot Line was in fact quite deep. It was fifteen miles wide at some points and varied in structure. There were outposts(前哨站)disguised(伪装)as houses. These were manned by troops and equipped with explosives. There were antitank rails and obstacles. These were planted in the ground to prevent tanks and trucks from passing. There were sand traps armed with mounted machine guns and anti-tank guns. These were for pushing back attackers. And there were many large and small fortresses(堡垒)along the line. Each had dining halls, lots of supplies, and air conditioning. The Maginot line would give the French a supreme edge in the case of a head-on invasion by the Germans.
Unfortunately for the French, the Germans did not attack head-on. They positioned a decoy(诱饵)army in front of the line to distract the French. While the French waited, the Germans snuck a larger force through Belgium. Belgium is France's northeastern neighbor. The French did have some defenses along their border with Belgium, but this part of the Maginot line was weak. The Germans made quick work of these defenses. Within five days of their initial attack they were well into France.
Once they were in France, the Germans attempted to seize the main forts along the Maginot Line. They were not successful. The forts had proved to be strong, but they failed to hold back the Germans. The Germans had taken Paris, France's capital city. Soon after the French commander ordered his men to stand down. He commanded the French defenders to leave their bases along the Maginot Line. These soldiers were then taken to POW camps.
While the Maginot Line did not work in the way that the French had hoped, they did benefit by having built it. Belgium and England were strong allies. England had promised to protect Belgium. Belgium declared itself a neutral country, one which wanted to stay out of wars. When Germany invaded Belgium to bypass the Maginot Line, they violated Belgium's neutrality. This led to England entering the war sooner.
Though the Maginot Line is no longer used militarily, many of the buildings remain. Some of the forts are now wine cellars(酒窖)or mushroom farms. One was turned into a disco club. Today the Maginot Line is often used as a metaphor. People may refer to a failed project in which someone placed a lot of hope as a Maginot Line. Also, the Maginot Line lives on as the best-known symbol of the common saying that "generals always fight the last war."
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Introduction to the Maginot Line |
Built between 1930 and 1940, it was the largest military structure ever built, only next to the Great Wall of China. |
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It was made up of varieties of forts, more than 450 miles of France's border with Germany. |
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How was it built? |
In WWI, the Western Front was deadlocked for many years, both heavy losses. |
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Never forgetting terrible conditions, Andre Maginot suggest building a line of defenses to their own , considering Germany has nearly twice the population of France. |
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What did the inside of the Line look like? |
Outposts to be houses were controlled by troops and equipped with explosives. |
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Antitank rails and obstacles were planted to prevent vehicles passing and sand traps were armed with guns to attackers. |
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Fortresses along the Line had canteens, supplies and air-conditioning. |
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was the Line out of action? |
Germany gave up a attack and bypass the Maginot Line into France. |
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The defenses along the border with Belgium was weak. |
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past |
Leading to England into the war. |
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now |
Acting as wine cellars or mushroom farms. |
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Being transformed into a disco club. |
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Moral |
A white hope but turned out to be a . |
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A symbol of the saying "generals always fight the last war." |
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While overseas study programs in college seem to be more common these days, many students are still missing out on the chance to travel and learn abroad at an even younger age.
So many organizations are providing summer camps for high school students to study abroad during the summer holiday. They offer their camps in locations around the world, with a variety of program types to choose from. You can spend your summer doing everything from volunteering with turles in Costa Rica to learn about art history in Italy. Plus, while these programs can be costly, scholarships as well as financial aid are often available to high school students who want to travel.
Travelling abroad as a high school student could have a huge impact on your views of the world, your career path, and especially your future travels. If you're interested in this, find out what place and type of program works for you, then learn how you can make it happen.
【写作内容】
1）用约30个词概括上述信息的主要内容；
2）用约120个单词阐述你对靑少年参加国际夏令营的看法，并用2—3个理由或论据支撑你的理由。
【写作要求】
1）写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；
2）作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
3）不必写标题。
【评分标准】
内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
