4 World Heritage (遗产)Sites in China
The Temple of Heaven
Located in the southern part of Beijing, the Temple of Heaven is a magnificent complex (综合建筑群) of fine cultural buildings set in gardens. The sacred (神圣的) place served as a complex of sacrificial (献祭的) buildings for the Ming and Qing emperors, and is the largest one in Beijing among several royal altars (神坛) to Heaven, Earth, the Sun , the Moon and other symbolic forces of nature. It symbolizes the relationship between earth and heaven — the human world and God's world — which stands at the heart of Chinese cosmogony (宇宙进化论).
Mogao Caves
Located on south-east of the Dunhuang oasis, Gansu province, the Mogao caves, also known as the Thousand-Buddha Caves, are the world's largest and longest used treasure house of Buddhist art. According to historical records, the carving of the caves started in 366 AD and continued for about 1000 years. The 492 well-preserved cells and cave sanctuaries (内殿)in Mogao, housing about 45000 square meters of murals (壁画)and more than 2000 painted sculptures (雕塑), are well-known for their statues (雕像)and wall paintings.
Fujian tulou
Fujian tulou consists of (is made up of) 46 buildings constructed (built) between the 15th and 20th centuries. Several stories high, the earthen houses were built along an inward-looking , circular(圆形的) or square floor plan as housing for up to 800 people each. They were built for defense(防御) purposes around a central open courtyard (庭院)with only one entrance and windows to the outside only above the first floor. Housing a whole clan (家族), the houses functioned as village units and were known as " a little kingdom for the family".
The Leshan Giant Buddha
The Leshan Giant Buddha is said to be the biggest Buddha statue in the world. The way in which the cultural features (特色) have been integrated (成为一体)with the natural scenery is considered to be a precious legacy (遗产).The Giant Buddha statue, carved on the mountain, stands 71m high, with its back against Mount Jiuding. There are more than 90 stone carvings and Buddha shrines (神坛)on both sides of the Giant Buddha.
In an effort to fight the "throw-away culture" and promote reuse and repair, the city of Berlin has taken the unique step of opening its own secondhand department store.
This isn't your grandma's thrift shop (旧货商店). It resells perfectly good items that would otherwise be thrown away. A pun on the German words for "department store" and "conserving house", B-Wa(h)renhaus sells a wide variety of products. Far from simply selling old items, the electronic goods have been fixed by expert technicians and come with a year's guarantee. And, to reach more secondhand shoppers, the store was set up right in the middle of the famous Karstadt department store.
With the success of its initial six-month trial run, the city plans to open four more similar operations in other parts of Berlin. By 2030, it hopes to have at least one location in each of Berlin's 12 districts. Since 2008, city policies and educational campaigns have reduced average annual household waste by about 25 pounds per resident. It also recycles about 49% of its mineral construction waste. Currently, the city estimates that 8% of abandoned electronic goods and 6% of huge items thrown away can actually be reused. The goal is to expand the market for these items beyond the usual bargain hunters and eco-conscious consumers.
"Three years ago, we started collecting all kinds of used goods," city spokesperson Dorothee Winden said. "There are lots of things that are well-preserved and functioning but aren't being used anymore. The goal is to give these things a new life with somebody who can use them." The store also includes an education center to encourage more sustainable lifestyles — and also gave an award to a project that recycles school uniforms, so that parents don't have to buy new ones every year.
It is believed that human story begins in Africa and ends about 200,000 years later with their seven billion descendants (后代) spread across the Earth, living in peace or at war, their faces lit by campfires and computer screens.
In between is an exciting tale of survival, movement, isolation, and conquest, most of it occurring before recorded history. Who were those first modern people in Africa? What routes did they take when they left their home continent 60,000 years ago to expand into Europe and Asia? When and how did humans reach the Americas? For decades, the only proof was found in a small number of scattered bones and artifacts that our ancestors left behind on their journeys. In the past 20 years, however, DNA technologies have allowed scientists to find a record of ancient human migrations in the DNA of living people.
"Every drop of human blood contains a history book written in the language of our genes," says population geneticist Spencer Wells. The human genetic code, or genome, is 99.9 percent identical throughout the world. But while the bulk of our DNA is the same, what's left is responsible for our individual differences — in eye color or disease risk, for example. On very rare occasions, a small change, called a mutation, can occur, which is then passed down to all of that person's descendants. Generations later, finding that same mutation in two people's DNA indicates that they share the same ancestor. By comparing mutations in many different populations, scientists can trace their ancestral connections.
These ancient mutations are easiest to track in two places: in DNA that is passed from mother to child (called mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA for short), and in DNA that travels from father to son (known as the Y chromosome, the part of DNA that determines a child will be a boy). By comparing the mtDNA and Y chromosomes (染色体) of people from various populations, geneticists can get a rough idea of where and when those groups separated in the great migrations around the planet.
Scientist at University College London have discovered sets of regulatory genes, which are responsible for maintaining healthy hearing. The finding, made in fruit flies, could lead to treatments for age-related hearing loss (ARHL) in humans.
Globally, one-third of people aged over 65 experience hearing impairment, and while there are thought to be more than 150 genes that may affect hearing loss, there is no unified (统一的) view on how to use these to develop hearing loss treatments.
In the study, published in Scientific Reports, researchers are at the UCL Ear Institute assessed the hearing ability of the common fruit fly across its life span (around 70 days) to see if their hearing declines with age.
A fruit fly's ears share many molecular (分子的) similarities with the ears of humans, making it an ideal tool for the study of human hearing loss.
Researchers found that the antennal ears of fruit flies also display ARHL with nearly all sensitive hearing measures starting to decline after 50 days of age. This made the researchers want to know if there were any "age-variable" genes in the flies' inner ears which have kept the ears healthy for 50 days of their lives.
After closer examination, researchers identified a new set of regulatory genes-homeostasis genes. These genes are often responsible for picking up sound and the overall sensitivity of the ear. Using this information, scientists were then able to genetically modify (修改) the genes and prevent the flies from getting ARHL.
Professor Joerg Albert, lead author of the study, said: "While many studies have been conducted into the hearing function of fruit flies, ours is the first to look at the mechanistic and molecular detail of their auditory life course."
"The fact that these genes are conserved in humans will also help to focus future clinical research in humans and thereby accelerate the discovery of new pharmacological or gene-therapeutic strategies."
Why do people take "selfies(自拍)?"
Researchers at Syracuse University in New York tried to answer that question. People who post selfies and use editing software to make themselves look better show behavior connected to admiring themselves too much, the Syracuse researchers said. As social media can be shallow, it is a good place for people to "work towards satisfying their own overmuch pride."
People who post group selfies show a need for popularity and a need to belong to a group, the Syracuse University research found.
Other findings from the study include: There are no major differences on how often men and women post selfies and how often they use editing software.
The Newhouse School's Associate Professor Makana Chock worked on the study. She said, posting selfies on social media is not all that different from what people have done for many years. On trips, our parents and grandparents used cameras to take photos. Before social media, people would bring back photos to show friends and family. You had no choice but to look at them. If you are a nice person, you commented about how nice everyone in the photos looked, especially children and the person showing the photos.
On social media, it is a different experience. People can decide not to look at photos of their friends and family even if they click "like" or even "love" under the Facebook selfie.
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A. That was the old way of "clicking" like. B. They came up with some surprising answers. C. Different people have different opinions about it. D. Such people think very highly of themselves, especially how they look. E. Both cameras and phones are useful tools to record people's experiences. F. There are other reasons, besides admiring themselves, why people post selfies. G. But men desire to be seen as popular more than women when posting selfies. |
When faced with tough difficulties or troubles, people always give us positive words. 1 can lift our spirits indeed, but sometimes in some case it 2 depresses us. Psychology calls it "toxic positivity." What is it? Let's see the following 3.
Between sleepless nights, diapers (换尿布) and feeding times, having small children at home could leave Priscilla Goins feeling 4. She loved her kids, but it was a lot. "I would sometimes say 'I just want a minute to myself,'" Goins, of Knoxville, Tennessee, said. "People would be like: Oh, you'll miss it when they're 5 or you should value it." That made her so mad. She doesn't 6 what people say. She disagreed at all. Actually, in those moments, she simply wanted 7 that she was going through the tiredness 8.
A focus on positive thinking, while putting challenging and 9 experiences to the side, is what some experts call "toxic positivity." Being cheerful is not a bad thing. Certainly, a 10 attitude can be a gift to those around you, but it shouldn't 11 listening thoughtfully to others' experiences. When you are choosing to look at 12 from one angle-in this case a positive angle-you are very likely to dismiss or deny an authentic 13. That's toxic positivity, which is what Goins 14 when she was looking for a bit of mercy about the 15 of parenting young children. Even if you're trying to 16 someone, ignoring someone's tough experiences can leave them feeling that they should 17 negative feelings in the future. 18 trying to find a positive spin, we are supposed to use accepting and comprehensive words. Sometimes we just need to say "Yeah, me too," or "That makes total sense." It's allowing someone to express something that is 19, even if it's hard to hear or it's 20.
PM stands for particulate (微粒的)matter: the term for a mixture of solid particles(粒子) and liquid droplets in the air. Some particles are large or dark enough to be seen by our eyes. Others are so small that they can only (discover) with a microscope.
These particles come in many sizes and (shape) and can be made up of many different chemicals. Some come directly from a source, such as fields or fires. Most particles form the atmosphere as a result of complex reactions of chemicals, are pollutants from power plants, industries and automobiles.
Particulate matter (contain) microscopic particles that are so small that they can be breathed in and make one (serious) ill. Some particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter can get deep into your lungs some may even get into your bloodstream. Of these, particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, also known as PM2.5, create the (great) risk to health.
Fortunately, every day the Air Quality Index (AQI) tells you how clean or (pollute) your outdoor air is, along with associated health effects that may be of concern. The AQI translates air quality data into numbers and colors that help you understand when (take) action to protect your health.
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：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：
⑴每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
⑵只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
I was far behind most of my classmate when I become a senior three student. Moreover, I couldn't follow the teacher completely in class. One day, I was too much exhausted and confused to concentrate on which the teacher taught. Unfortunate, I was invited to share my own idea. As you can imagine, I couldn't say a word. Feeling embarrassing, I ready to be criticized. Much on my astonishment, the teacher instructed and encouraged me patiently. I was such touched that I was determined to try his best to study hard. Now I am quite confident about my study.
