Fatima has been the only woman working as a tour guide in Afghanistan. She grew up in rural Gohr Province, where there was no schooling available to girls, but she convinced her family to let her take lessons. When Fatima was nine, her family settled in Herat and she was able to get some informal education. She practiced her English by listening to BBC radio, which she could pick up when high enough in the hills.
"My brothers and sisters were forced to get married. I decided that I would not continue in their tradition. That was why I decided to work," Fatima says. She signed up for Facebook and began joining groups for people interested in history. Tired of people who only knew Afghanistan as a place of war and conflict, she started writing regular posts about places in her country. Then she started getting comments and responses from her new online friends.
In 2020, one of them - a man known as "Big Tom" － invited her to be his guide during his traveling in Herat. After that, Fatima continued to get work by word of mouth. Eventually she came to the attention of Untamed Borders, a travel agency that specializes in trips to more inaccessible areas. It hired her, making her the country's first female professional tour guide.
Of course, being a pioneer is never easy. Fatima says many people in her life have told her that it's too dangerous for a woman to work, especially if it means interacting with men one-on-one.
Fatima says that the support of her employers and the people she has met through giving tours is what keeps her motivated. There's also the implication of what could happen if she does quit: "Challenges are always a part of my life. If I give up, then other women will never start."
Just as China sets the world pace in e-commerce, it's doing the same for live streaming. More than 100 million viewers watch a live online video event every month. The live streaming format typically involves a famous person showing a product and answering questions from a digital audience. It takes place in real-time and usually on a smartphone, accounting for some 95% of e-commerce activity in China.
China is filled with live streaming webcasts, much of it non-commercial, such as young people discussing their lives, showing dance moves, etc. But live streaming has also become one of the most cost-effective tools for e-commerce in China.
Why are consumers and brands both welcoming this medium?
First, there's a functional advantage to live streaming. It allows experts to show the product being used, to show various techniques, and to point out the results. The audience can ask questions in anonymity (匿名), but the experience is interactive and immersive (沉浸式的).
Consumers feel that they are actually handling the product themselves. Instead of picking a product off a shelf, they are now part of the process, shaping the outcome from the convenience of the living room sofa. The best live streaming allows room for a joke, or even a small mistake. After all, this is how friends talk with one another. As consumers grow in experience and taste, they would rather participate in a chat. Live streaming invites the brand into the home in much the same way you would invite a friend.
Consumers often feel a sense of empowerment (授权). The brand must be responsive to viewers in real time because consumers have the power to hold them responsible for their products through questions.
Live streaming can also be particularly useful for new-to-market brands who do not have the ability to create a buzz. Live streaming provides assurance the product is used, accepted and sometimes loved.
A song plays in a crowded supermarket. To some people, this is just background music. But others can take out their smartphones and discover that implanted in the music is information, maybe a Wi-Fi password or a website URL. The scene is the vision put forward by Simon Tanner from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
"The whole idea is basically that we can send data locally without any setup," Tanner explained, "We don't have to type any passwords or pair devices or anything like that. We just have speakers that can broadcast data along with a song and anyone in range could access it." He also discovered not all music is created equal when it comes to data. It's easier to hide it on songs with more distracting loud notes.
If data wasn't hidden and was just put into a song, it might sound like random static (静电噪声) or a series of unpleasant sounds. But Tanner's program looks at very small parts of the song, and analyzes which tones are most dominant (支配的). Then data is added to the dominant tones. Because the data is now masked in the dominant tones, the song doesn't sound different to the human ear, but it does to a microphone.
Now, the data is transferred in about 200 bits(比特，存储单位) per second, which could be the length of a Wi-Fi password, or a short message. As the research continues to mature, the amount of data that can be stuffed into a song will likely expand to 1120 bits, which is the length of a standard text message.
But this will never be a system for mass data sending. For one thing, the more data you put into a song, the more noticeable it comes and the more difficult it is to hide. For another, this system of placing data in music isn't quicker than current ones. And it isn't the most secure system. Anyone in the room could receive the data with the app.
The quality of our decisions today will determine the quality of our life tomorrow. However, even smart people make stupid decisions.
But by far, the most powerful is "confirmation bias (认知偏差)" which refers to our tendency to look for and favor evidence that confirms our pre-existing beliefs and at the same time ignores or devalues information that contradicts our beliefs. Then, how can we best fight against confirmation biases and avoid making bad decisions?
Step 1: Practice self-awareness.
Self-awareness is a process of discovery, of exploring your inner knowing. Becoming more self-aware can help you understand your wants, needs, and desires as well as your strengths and weaknesses. Studies have shown that self-awareness exercises that encourage you to slow down and relax could also help you to improve your creativity and decision-making. Some common techniques like journaling and observing others are simple and powerful.
Step 2:
It takes courage to admit you're wrong after the fact. It takes even more courage to disprove and challenge your own assumptions before the decision. Next time you're faced with a problem or challenge, try not to make unreasonable decision based simply on your personal beliefs and emotions. This will prepare you to make a well-rounded good decision.
Next time you feel absolutely certain about a decision, remember that you may be wrong. Stay open-minded to the possibility that there is a lot more information that you don't know yet. After all, people may easily fall into victims of confirmation biases.
A. Prove yourself wrong.
B. Have courage to face challenges.
C. Here are different methods to make wise decisions.
D. Two simple steps can help you avoid making bad decisions.
E. There are several mental errors that may affect decision-making.
F. Instead, seek out all possible ideas that may contradict your current beliefs.
G. There are many exercises and activities you can do to develop your self-awareness.
It all started when I learned to read, or rather, before I learned to read.
I was two years old, and my grandma believed it was as good a 1 as any to absorb me in Russian poetry. And my first 2 sentences were recitation of Russia Poet Pushkin's U Lukomorya Dub Zeleniy (《海湾旁有棵绿色的橡树》). She read it to me so many times that I had it 3.
Throughout my childhood, I'd always had a lot of. 4 about who I would become when I was older. I'd be an inventor, a doctor^But they 5 in middle school. I spent a few years wandering 6 through life, having no idea what I was 7 about.
Then I met Mrs Apryl, the type of person that 8 everyone the second they walked in a room. So I didn't just want to get a good grade in her class for my own 9, but I also wanted to make her 10 . Months went by, and I worked harder. I wrote in class and 11essays at home on top of that. And each time, I'd bring it to her for12. "Veronica," Mrs Apryl pulled me aside and 13 on the last day of school, "I told the 14 of the school newspaper you should write for them."
And that was that. I 15 in September with a brand new mentality (心态）. Not purposeless any more-I had a 16: to be a journalist. Doing well at the school newspaper was the first 17 to get there.
Now, I'm 18 for newspapers all around the world. It's still the bottom rung(脚蹬横木） of the ladder, and I've got miles left to 19 ，but at least I've 20 somewhere.
By 2050, humans may need to clear an additional 3. 35 million square kilometers of land for agriculture, would squeeze more than 17, 000 animal species from some of their lands.
Luckily, the impacts can be minimized, says conservation scientist David Williams of the University of Leeds. "We can feed the planet messing it up too badly."
To figure out , Williams and colleagues first identified habitats most likely (clear) for cropland. The team then calculated amount of food needed to sustain (维持) projected human population growth for 152 countries and (map)where crops would likely be grown in each. By 2050, the world's cropland would need to increase by 26 percent, the team found. The growth is (large) concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia.
Changing the global food system could nearly erase these biodiversity. (loss). We can improve crop yields, transition to more plant-based diets, or increase food imports for countries where agricultural (expand) threatens the most species. The world needs to feed a （grow) population, but it can be done more sustainably.
At dawn, Taylor opened her sleepy eyes and looked out of the window at the foggy field below.
"NO!" she cried, now fully awake. Buttermilk the cow was in Mama's daisy patch (雏菊地）.
I must have forgotten to lock the gate last night, Taylor thought as she pulled a sweater over her head. Mama was planning to sell daisy bouquets (花束)at the fair next week, but Buttermilk was eating the flowers.
Taylor hurried outside and grabbed the lead rope on the wall. "Why can't you stay in the field?" she called to Buttermilk as she headed across the yard to the daisy patch.
Buttermilk still stood there chewing flowers. Annoyed, Taylor thought to herself, "When I grew up, I'll be an artist and paint pictures all day. I'll never own a cow. Too much trouble."
Just as Taylor was about to throw the lead rope onto Buttermilk's collar, the family dog, Red, rounded the corner of the house. Startled, Buttermilk took off, tearing through the daisies and across the yard. She finally ran through the open gate and into the field.
"Thank goodness!" Taylor said as she closed the gate and secured the lock.
She turned to look at the flower garden, where most of the daisies were either eaten or trampled (踩踏).
Mama came out of the house. "What's going on?" she asked. She looked sadly at her garden.
"I forgot to lock the gate," Taylor said. "I'm so sorry."
"I know you are" Mama sighed and gave Taylor a hug. "You learned an important lesson today."
Taylor's heart was heavy as she went back into the house. She had to think of a way to make it up to her mother.
注意：1）所续写短文的词数应为 150 左右；
2）至少使用 5 个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
Suddenly, a painting on the wall caught Taylor's eye.
Paragraph 2:
The morning of the fair, Taylor came downstairs to invite Mama to see the surprise.
