Sky＆Telescope is much more than "The Essential Guide to Astronomy(天文学) ". It's also the world leader in astronomy-themed trave. If you love traveling as much as you love astronomy, then don't miss the chance to join in one of the tours described below.
Canary Islands Astronomy & Stargazing, September 2023
Join Sky&Telescope on a magical visit to the wonderful Canary Islands-one of the top three astronomical destinations on Earth! Our week-long tour combines special visits to professional observatories(天文台)with several nights of observing stars under the most original night skies on Earth.
Iceland Aurora Adventure, October 2023
Come along on our popular one-week tour of Iceland! You'll explore this attractive island's unique culture and geology during the day. Then, each night we'll seek out Iceland's amazing aurora borealis-a wonderful sight not to be missed. Extend your stay with an optional full-day tour of the impressive, glacier-capped Smelliness Peninsula.
Yucatan Annular Eclipse, October 2023
Enjoy Maya culture on Sky & Telescope's unique 10-day tour across the Yucatán Peninsula. You'll visit the most honored and historic Maya sites-Chichén Itzá, Ek Balam, Uxmal, Kabah, and Edzná-then, arousing the spirit of the great Maya sky-watchers, witness an annular eclipse (日环食)of the sun.
New Mexico Annular Eclipse, October 2023
SORRY, THIS TOUR IS SOLD OUT! But please email tours@skyandtelescope.org to get on the waiting list. On October 14, 2023, the path of the Moon's shadow passes over the historic home of the Tamaya Pueblo Indians in New Mexico. This will be the "home base " for a 6-day tour that explores many of the region's amazing natural and astronomical attractions.
Wu Wuliu, 24, recently uploaded a video in which he used artificial intelligence (AI) to create a digital image of his late grandmother on Bilibili. He posted the video to honor his grandmother, who died in January. Wu said his grandmother brought him up and they had a close relationship.
As a designer, Wu came up with the idea to "bring her back " by imitating (模仿) her appearance, voice, personality and memories through AI applications. He imported several photos of his grandmother into the programs to create a lifelike image, then uploaded her voice messages to imitate her voice and accent. Finally, he turned the AI language into conversations that might happen between him and his grandmother.
The "grandmother " can blink (眨眼) nod and even heartily laugh. When Wu asked her if she had prepared holiday goods for the Spring Festival, she said in dialect, "I bought two bottles of cooking oil and they smell good. " When Wu asked what she said to his father when she was alive, she said, "I told him not to drink too much and save money. "
By "talking " with her, Wu said he could comfort himself from the pain of his loss. "From a psychological (心理学的) view, AI technology can better preserve the image and personality of late loved ones, providing comfort to those who are sad, " said Chen Zhilin, a national-level psychological adviser. "However, over-communicating with it should be avoided. More importantly, we must learn to value the present. "
It is no secret that China has an amazingly rich history and culture. My first exposure (接触) to Chinese culture came totally by chance. One day, I entered my grandfather's personal library and took a book named Tao Te Ching from one of the shelves. As an 8-year-old, the book's content completely confused me, but it provided me with an early connection to a beautiful and great philosophical (哲学的) tradition that still influences me today.
Around this time, I also came across several cartoons heavily inspired by traditional Chinese culture and martial arts such as Avatar: The Last Airbender and Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat. Both cartoons describe beautiful landscapes and buildings similar to those found in classical Chinese paintings. This further developed my love of the rich and beautiful culture.
At school I began studying Chinese. My interest in the language developed early on, combining my love of travelling with my love of meeting new people. Later on, my interest in the language developed into exploring widespread Chinese culture. I wanted to challenge myself in a totally new linguistic (语言的) landscape and listen to the lives and stories of others in their own language. I have been lucky enough to have lived in China for around three years. I loved every second I spent there and there is never a shortage of things to see and do, people to meet, and foods to enjoy.
It is safe to say that my journey to studying Chinese has only just begun and these first steps are only a drop in the ocean of lifelong learning, but as the Chinese philosopher Laozi says, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. "
With energy bills rising, and global temperatures changing, Deep Green, a small data center startup, and Exmouth Leisure Center have found a way to help each other.
The Internet and computer systems are now integral to the running of most businesses, so there are more and more data centers. In order to keep temperatures down, data centers have to use an effective air conditioning system. In 2022, the data center industry used around 4% of global electricity. The data center market will grow three times in the next ten years.
Since 2020, energy costs for a swimming pool have reportedly increased three times, leaving many centers with no choice but to close. They say by March 2024, 40% of council areas could risk losing their swimming pools if nothing changes. Similarly, data centers have had to raise their fees in order to cover the extra cost of cooling their equipment, making it impossible to offer a competitive rate.
Where most normal data centers waste the heat that the computers create, Deep Green has found a solution to benefit everybody. They have built a small data center in Exmouth Leisure Center, allowing the heat from the servers to heat the swimming pool.
This solution is free of charge, and Exmouth Leisure Center is expecting to save around £20,000 a year. Because the data centers run 24 hours a day and are necessarily built with backup power systems, they make for excellent and continuous heat output.
Deep Green is already in discussion with Greenwich Leisure Limited who run seven swimming pools across London, as well as the Commons Project Foundation who hope to set up a data center to warm 70 London flats.
Writing poetry is a way to express emotions without directly stating what you are describing. Writing poetry for the first time can be challenging, but there are so many ways to start and finish a poem. People like Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Frost all changed the way people understand and write poetry. Look up some poems by famous writers to see what you like and what you don't like.
Keep in line with your emotions. You can easily put emotions into your poetry if you understand what you are feeling throughout the day. Try to note whenever you are feeling a strong emotion and what made you feel it.
Decide on a theme for your poem. A theme is your topic and your opinion on the topic. In order to create a theme, you have to explain your opinion on what you are writing about.
Use rhyming (押韵的) words if you'd like your poem to have rhythm. Some poetry uses rhyming words at the end of each line or every other line to create a flow. If you'd like to use rhyming words in your poetry, try to insert them as you write, instead of thinking of them before you start writing. For example, a poem could use rhyming words, like seen, clean, mean and glean. Feel free to use rhymes in your poetry!
Don't feel like your poem has to be a certain length. There is no limit as to how long a poem is. Some are a mere sentence long, while others are paragraphs long or even the length of a novel. It all depends on when you are satisfied with your work. You can work your way up to longer poetry over time.
A. Your first poem can be short
B. Revise your first draft of your poem
C. Remember that not all poems rhyme
D. A lot of poetry is flooded with feelings
E. Read famous poems as examples to follow
F. Something like "a sunflower " is just a topic
G. Use descriptive language to create a picture
Vincenza Sparacino has always loved travelling by air. After 1 all over the world, she returned to "travel car camping style " with her best friend. She bought a van(面包车) using her 2 , building it out with friends' help. Vin said, "The 3 things about van life are the impressive places and the endless 4 . I never know what the day or week has waiting for me 5 and I love that feeling! " Vin's friends have supported her 6 from day one, and will even fly to 7 her for a week or two whenever she's parked up somewhere cool.
She has recently begun to make a(n) 8 through TikTok to keep her life going, where she opens up about everything from "easy van life recipes " to how she keeps her cats safe while 9 . Her videos also cover 10 questions people might have about van life, from how she11vclothes, to what her monthly expenses look like.
Although Vin mainly gets 12 reactions to her way of life, she has had to deal with a few negative assumptions but doesn't let them get her down. There are of course some 13 , but she believes nothing would ever make her 14 van life.
Offering advice to others wanting to follow in her footsteps, Vin said, "Just do it! It's such a(n) 15 way of life and it's so worth taking the risk! "
Each country has its own unique culture, often represented by symbols, such as foods, arts, and music. When you think of America, what symbols come to your mind first?
Perhaps one of most famous symbols of the US is fast food. Fast-food restaurants became popular when people began driving cars around the country. Many of the earliest fast-food restaurants were drive-ins (免下车餐馆) where people ate their cars while they were parked. However, now drive-throughs have become popular. You can just drive up to a window, pick up the food, then drive away. Americans spend about 10% of (they) income on fast food. No wonder America (call) the "Fast-food Nation "!
Jazz is often considered "America's music ". It is a music style created in the United States by African American musicians. Jazz music (definite) broke through the color barriers, and has become a key part of American culture. One of the early jazz (performer), Louis Armstrong, helped jazz beyond the United States to the world. Jazz musicians freely make up their own music(express) their own feelings, even while (play) in a group.
There are many other symbols of America, such as the Statue of Liberty, Hollywood, and Broadway. These are but a few symbols show something of American culture.
Mary led a fairly sheltered life and was quite shy. In every social occasion, her outgoing husband took the lead, striking up conversations with strangers. In October 2015, Mary and her husband retired and moved to the beautiful seaside city, Nanaimo, where Mary was looking forward to some quiet, creative activities. One day, they heard about an upcoming storytelling event near their neighborhood and decided to take part in it.
As the storytellers told stories on stage, the audience laughed, cried and sang. Like everyone else, Mary was also attracted by their performance. Somewhere in the middle of the storytelling, Mary suddenly had an exciting idea. She whispered to herself, "I love stories! I want to be a storyteller! "
Mary knew that storytelling requires getting up on a stage under bright lights and addressing strangers. Besides, storytelling requires self-confidence and memory. She thought, "I'm a shy person and public speaking is my greatest fear. I'm already sixty years old and my memory isn't that great. What if I get up there and forget my story? Where am I going to get the talent, memory, and courage needed to become a storyteller? " But she had never felt so alive before and she wanted to be a storyteller so much that she decided to challenge herself.
So when the storytellers finished their storytelling and said there would be storytelling training courses the next month, Mary registered and asked her husband to sign up as well. She needed his support, as she was too shy to stay with a roomful of strangers by herself.
The courses were given in a library near their neighborhood. It would train learners to tell stories fluently and confidently. Mary and her husband arrived early before the first course began. They found there were about thirty learners, including the young and the old. Mary was quite nervous, beginning regretting her decision.
注意： 续写词数应为150个左右;请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
When the course began, Mary found a young, smiling teacher came in.
After all the courses finished, Mary signed up to tell a story on stage.
