English people invite chimney sweeps(烟囱清扫工) to their homes once or twice a year, usually when the new year comes. In many western countries, there is a job called chimney sweep. Chimney sweeps clean up chimneys. They go up to the roof and put the brush down the chimney. They clean up the dust this way. They protect people from dangerous fires and smoke. Italy is the birthplace of this job. Every September, the country holds the International Chimney Sweep meeting. Chimney sweeps from all over the world get together there. They wear black uniform and take their tools. They walk down the streets. Some of them show their amazing skills of chimney sweeping, such as climbing to the rooftop.
In some countries, people like to shake hands with chimney sweeps on the New Year's Day. They believe the chimney sweeps can bring them good luck. When some soccer teams didn't do well in their games, they will invite chimney sweeps to watch the game. It's said that the chimney sweeps can help sweep away the bad luck. In Germany, the traditional uniform of a chimney sweep is a black suit and top hat with gold buttons on the jacket. In old days, fees for a sweep service were collected at the start of each new year so they were often the "good luck bringers". Today, chimney sweeps have a chance to win a trophy(奖杯) every year. If someone is the year's best chimney sweep, this person can take a trophy home.
①Clean up chimneys. ②Reduce risks of fire. ③Bring people good luck.
On June 9, 1870, Charles Dickens died at the age of 58. The next day, a head line in the New York Times read: "Death of the Great Novelist...Mourned(哀悼) by the People of Two Continents(大陆)."
The head line was not overstating the fame(名望) of Dickens. Even today, the readers all over the world love the British novelist. Dickens created some of the most unforgettable characters. You must have heard of or even read some of his novels: Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities. A Tale of Two Cities has sold more than 200 million copies. Since 1897, there have been more than 300 film and television adaptations(改编版本) of Dickens' works. A Christmas Carol has had nearly 50.
Natalie McKnight is a literature professor who studies Dickens and his works. She explained why the novelist has been so popular. One important reason is that Dickens writes from his heart. He tried very hard to produce emotional effects among his readers. For example, A Christmas Carol was written to make readers think about how they could make a difference to their society. People always enjoy works that make them laugh, cry and think. Many other 19th-century novelists wrote entertaining works. However, few of them worked as hard as Dickens to engage readers' mind.
Dickens wrote about situations and emotions that still interest people today. He used his pen to fight social inequality and gave voice to the poor. His works led to many important social changes.
Inthis September, many people with red hair came to the Netherlands(荷兰). 36. They watched fashion shows and learned the history ofred hair. They also dressed in the same color and took a group photo together.
Onlyabout 1 to 2 percent of people in the world have red hair color. Inmany European countries such as the Netherlands, there are many stories andcustoms about the rare hair color.
In ancient Egypt,people often shaved their hair and wore wigs(假发). Itlooked beautiful and was easier to keep clean in the deserts. In China,sometimes Miao women make their hair look like the horns of oxen(牛角). It is for scaring away the beast and showing their love for oxen.In Africa, Himba people(辛巴族) use red mud to coat theirhair. It protects their hair from the sunlight. In Malawi(马拉维), many women braid(编辫子). It also helps them to manage the hair, as their hair is curly. It takes a lotof time to brush and wash. However, it hurts when they braid their hair.
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A. Most of them are in Europe. B. After a few days, they may feel better. C. They think braided hair looks really nice. D. They celebrated the Redhead Days together. E. People from different places have different hair culture. |
Are electric cars good for the Earth? Many of us would probably say yes. But Robert Sansone knows the answer to that question isn't that simple. Many people call Sansone a natural-born engineer. It is not surprising if you look at what the boy has done. The 17-year-old has completed nearly 60 engineering projects in his free time.
A couple of years ago, Sansone watched a video about the advantages and disadvantages of electric cars. The video explained how the motors of these cars are made. Most of them use rare-earth metals(稀土金属). These materials are very expensive. They cost hundreds of dollars per kilogram. Even worse, they are often collected in ways that are harmful to the Earth. "Must we use these metals? Is there a more environmentally-friendly way to make electric motors?" Sansone thought. He had heard of the synchronous reluctance motor(同步电动机) before. But its performance should be improved.
Over the following year, Sansone put one design after another to the test. Things didn't go well at first. He failed fourteen times before coming up with a working model. The model is about 40% more powerful than a traditional one. And it doesn't make use of rare-earth metals. These efforts have earned Sansone a big award. The teenager took part in this year's Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair with his motor. It is the world's largest pre-college science competition. He stood out from among more than 1,800 competitors to win first prize.
Sansone, however, isn't yet done with his invention because it is far from perfect. There is still a big problem: It is difficult to make. This means it is not very likely to become widely used. So Sansone has continued to improve and test his motor. Hopefully Sansone's design will completely change the electric car industry one day.
Therewas once a little grey planet that was very sad. The people living there haven'tlooked after it. They were busy with their inventions 1 they haven't got much time to care the littlesad planet. There 2 rubbisheverywhere and almost no plants or animals were left.
Oneday, when a little boy was walking on the planet, he 3 a small red flower in a corner. The flower wasalmost dying, so the boy 4 dug it up and started to look for a placewhere he could plant it. He searched all over the planet, but everywhere was so5 that the flower couldpossibly live in nowhere. Then he looked up at the sky and saw the moon. Itseemed that maybe the 6 could live there.
Sothe little boy put on his astronaut suit and climbed into space ship. He putthe little red flower in the back and they went off 7 the moon.
Farfrom all the pollution, the boy took good care of the flower. The flower 8 to grow and surprisingly more flowers cameout. The whole moon was covered with 9.
Theinteresting thing is, whenever the flowers open up, there was a soft red flash,like a warning light. Maybe it is telling us, if we don't 10 our planet, flowers will have to grow on themoon.
Dogsreally are man's best (friend). A new study said that dogs can smell ifa human is feeling (stress).
Theycan smell the difference in (breathe) and sweat(汗液) from people. Then they can tell people are stressed ornot. They can be 93.75 percent right! Scientists got breath and sweat frompeople both before after doing a hard math problem. They looked atheart rate(心率), blood pressure(血压) and stress level in the study. The dogs found stress in 675 of 720people, or 93.75 percent of the time. The study (use) four dogs. Theywere between 11 to 36 months old.
Stress (change) people's breath and sweat. Dogs can smell that change. Thisfinding helps us understand how dogs may know humans' thoughts and feelings.
Thereare other amazing things dogs can do with (they) noses. They can findpeople and things. They can warn people and look after them. Some dogs can tellif someone is about to have a heart attack(突发心脏病). they can warn them before it happens. Some dogs can also help look afterpeople after this has (happen).
Qatar(卡塔尔) is a desert country. The highest point of Qatar is in the south of the country. Qatar has a dry desert climate and temperatures can easily reach more than 40℃ in summer.
Most food must be imported into the country. People in Qatar need to have good relationships with nearby countries. However, Qatar is a very rich country because of its rich mineral resources(矿产资源) such as oil and natural gas. Qatar has the third largest natural gas reserves(储量) in the world, after Russia and Iran. The main trading partners of Qatar are India, China, Japan, South Korea, the USA and the UK.
Doha是卡塔尔的首都。 It once was a fishing village, where pearl fishers were looking for their fortunes and also a famous center for horse and camel breeding(饲养). Qatar was a popular stop with traders exploring and shipping goods from India and China. After World War I, Qatar became a British Protectorate(保护国) in 1916. The country only gained independence from British rule in 1971.
卡塔尔是一个有很多外国人居住的国家。 There are about 3 million people live in Qatar, but only 12% of all people living in Qatar are Qatari(卡塔尔人). Only about one quarter of the total Qatar population is women. In fact, the people in Qatar are the richest in the world. Many famous buildings in London are owned by Qatari. About 14% of the Qatari is a millionaire. In Qatar, people mostly speak Arabic. English is the second most spoken language in the country. The most popular sports in the country are soccer, handball and tennis.
