AJourney Back in Time with Scholars
Classical Provence(13days)
Journey through the beautiful countryside of Provence, France, with Prof. Ori Z. Soltes. We will visit some of the best-preserved Roman monuments in the world. Our tour also includes a chance to walk in the footsteps of Van Gogh and Gauguin. Fields of flowers, tile-roofed(瓦屋顶)villages and tasty meals enrich this wonderful experience.
Southern Spain(15days)
Spain has lovely white towns and the scent(芳香)of oranges, but it is also a treasury of ancient remains including the cities left by the Greeks, Romans and Arabs. As we travel south from Madrid with Prof. Ronald Messier to historic Toledo, Roman Merida and into Andalucia, we explore historical monuments and architecture.
China's Sacred Landscapes(21days)
Discover the China of "past ages," its walled cities, temples and mountain scenery with Prof. Robert Thorp. Highlights(精彩之处)include China's most sacred peaks at Mount Tai and Hangzbou's rolling hills, waterways and peaceful temples. We will wander in traditional small towns and end our tour with an exceptional museum in Shanghai.
Tunisia(17days)
Join Prof. Pedar Foss on our in-depth Tunisian tour. Tour highlights include the Roman city of Dougga, the underground Numidian capital at Bulla Regia, Roman Sbeitla and the remote areas around Tataouine and Matmata, uique for underground cities. Our journey takes us to picturesque Berber villages and lovely beaches.
When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called "Brownie". My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games. Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them. We always felt better when she was around.
One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up (咬破) one of my Dad's shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, "Bad girl," she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.
Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet. She went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she'd let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we'd be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. She never barked (吠) or tried to get away. Funny thing is that she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.
Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss the days when she was with us.
More than 10 million Chinese cultural relics have been lost overseas, lots of which were stolen and illegally shipped out of China during the times of war before 1949. About 1.67 million pieces are housed in no more than 200 museums in 47 countries, which accounts for 10 percent of all lost Chinese cultural relics, and the rest are in the hands of private collectors.
Most of these treasures are owned by museums or private collectors in the United States, Europe, Japan and Southeast Asian countries. There are more than 23,000 pieces in the British Museum, most of which were stolen or bought for pennies more than 100 years ago.
The major method to recover these national treasures was to buy them back. In some cases, private collectors donated the relics to the government. Also, the government can turn to official channels to demand the return of relics.
In 2003, a priceless bronze pig's head dating from the Qing Dynasty was returned to its home in Beijing after it was removed by the Anglo-French Allied Army over 140 years ago. Macao entrepreneur Stanley Ho donated 6 million yuan to buy it back from a US art collector and then donated it to the Poly Art Museum in Beijing.
Although buying-back is the most feasible way to recover the lost treasures, limited funding is always a big headache.
In recent years, the Chinese government has improved efforts to recover the precious cultural relics lost overseas. It has started a national project on the recovery of the treasures and has set up a database (数据库) collecting relevant information. It has signed several international agreements with many countries on this matter, and is also looking for international cooperation to recover the relics by working closely with several international organizations.
The measure of a good night's sleep is usually based on two things—the amount of time spent sleeping and the quality of that sleep. But now researchers say there is a third thing that matters even more than the other two when it comes to keeping good sleep habits, and that is having a regular bedtime.
A study has found that going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day have an important effect on one's health. Adults who stick to a regular bedtime tend to weigh less, have lower blood sugar and reduced risk of heart disease.
The researchers studied the sleeping habits of 2, 000 adults with an average age of 69. They found that people with greater irregularity in their sleep patterns tended to go to sleep later at night, feel sleepy and sleep more during the day, and experienced reduced light exposure. These people were also more likely to be stressed. Among the three kinds of sleep problems, sleep regularity was the most strongly associated with health.
Of course, there are many people for whom this may be impossible, such as night-shift workers or those with late-night duty. But for those who don't have mandatory (强制的) reasons to stay up late, they should make an effort to go to bed at the same time every night. Skip the late afternoon coffee. Get off the phone. Try this calculator to figure out the best bedtime.
As Matthew Walker, a scientist, wrote, "The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life." Surely that's reasonable enough to go to bed on time.
The word addiction usually makes you think of alcohol(酒精) or drugs. Some people are compulsive (难以自制的) shoppers. Others find it impossible to pull themselves away from their work. Still others spend countless hours watching TV or playing computer games.
Many people enjoy going to malls or stores more and more every day, but it's more than a common hobby for some of them. They have turned into shopaholics. They are people who simply enjoy shopping and walking around spending money without being able to stop doing it. They are hooked on shopping and usually buy things that they don't need. Even though they don't have enough money, they buy everything they want.
The question is: why do they have this addiction? There isn't a specific answer. Some people go shopping when they are sad, worried, upset or lonely and they want to feel better. They use this activity as a way to forget their problems. Shopaholics say that they feel more important and better after they buy something.
Shopaholism seems to be a harmless addiction, but it can bring out problems. Some of them can be psychological(心理的). If this is the case, people addicted to shopping should go to a support group to help them break this habit. However, the process, like for most addictions, is long, and they suffer a lot. They just think about satisfying their feelings, so they spend money they don't have.
A. Once you are addicted to alcohol or drugs, it is difficult to get rid of.
B. Over the years, shopping has become a very common activity.
C. They also tend to have this addiction when they feel guilty (内疚).
D. However in modern-day society we are seeing some new kinds of addictions.
E. People addicted to computer games consider the games as great ways to enjoy themselves.
F. They get deep in debt, and they can even go bankrupt (破产) and get sent to prison.
G. It can also cause financial (财务的) problems.
A 24-year-old woman has achieved an unbelievable achievement that many of us dream of − visiting every country on Earth.
Lexie Alford was born into a family of travel agents, which gave her the opportunity to 1 places such as Cambodia, Dubai and Egypt during her childhood, according to Forbes magazine. She began saving up at age 12 to 2 her goal of visiting all countries. By her 18th birthday, she had travelled to 72 nations. In October, 2016 she realized she could see the 3 nations on her list in time to set an official record. Many people 4 her travel on social media platform Instagram, so she decided to chase the world record partly to 5 others. "Honestly, in the beginning, I 6 wanted to push the 7 of what I thought I could do with my life and see as much of the world as possible in the 8," she told Forbes. "It wasn't until things started getting really9 that I realized I was inspiring people around me, especially the 10."
"I also loved visiting Northern Pakistan, for the natural beauty of the mountains and kindness of the locals were astonishing." Lexie Alford said. "The most pleasant surprise about travelling to all these misunderstood areas of the world was that the countries that I had the 11 expectation for 12 being the most incredible."
"My13 for young people is to believe that you can do anything you set your mind to do. If you want to travel, you have to dream BIG − to travel around the world and never 14; it's only a matter of 15 until you make it a reality."
One year, and now another. It's still not the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. How do you feel when (talk) about the pandemic?
Many studies (carry) out looking into the impact of COVID-19 on mental health in the past three years. (surprising), experts have found that there are more people suffering from depression and anxiety disorders than they imagined during this period, reported CNBC.
study published in February found that in 2020, there were 76 million new cases of anxiety disorders and 53 million new cases of major depressive disorders all over the world. Besides, the study found that those had a higher chance of being affected were women and younger people.
According to Valentine Raiteri, a psychiatrist (精神科医生) working in New York, one of the main (reason) for these mental illnesses is the loss of daily social communication. Raiteri told CNBC that many of his patients are still working remotely with many feeling "disconnected and (lose)".
Since going outside becomes (convenient) due to the pandemic than before, people are unable to share big moments like weddings or final moments family, friends and loved ones. Alex Desatnik, a psychologist in the UK working with adults and children, told CNBC that he believes it will take "at least a generation" (recover) the damage to many young people.
The Kite Without a Thread
One day a father and son went to the kite-flying festival. The young son was very happy when he saw the sky filled with colorful kites. He asked his father to get him a kite and a thread with a roller so that he could fly a kite, too. The father went to the shop at the park where the festival was being held, and bought a kite and a roll of thread for his son.
His son started to fly the kite, and soon his kite flew high up in the sky. After a while, the son said, "Dad, it seems that the thread is holding up the kite from flying higher. If we break it, the kite will be free and will also fly even higher. Can we break it?" The father said, "Of course!" And he cut the thread from the roller. The kite started to go a little higher, which made his son very happy.
注意：1）续写词数应为150左右；2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
But slowly, the kite started to come down.
……
The father explained, "Son, the thread was not holding the kite from going higher.
