The four best specialty food festivals in the US
Maine Lobster Festival — Rockland, Maine
Rockland is the self-proclaimed (自封的) lobster capital of the world, and its annual Maine Lobster Festival provides the state's favorite lobsters and crabs. It takes place five days each summer and includes feasting on fresh seafood, a parade and live music. The Maine Sea Goddess Coronation and the Great International Great Crate Race, where contestants jump from crate (木箱) to crate and risk falling into the cold Atlantic Ocean, are don't-miss events.
Windy City Smokeout — Chicago, Illinois
This four-day event in Chicago combines two things we love: live music and great BBQ. Over 20 of the world's best cooks serve up their smoked foods, while top country music talent takes the stage. Bands, beer, BBQ — what could be better?
Picklesburgh — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Picklesburgh bills itself as "The Destination for All Things Pickled (腌制的)" for one weekend each July. Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente Bridge transforms into Picklesburgh, complete with a giant flying Heinz pickle balloon. Attendees can expect various foods and cocktails that feature pickled ingredients, as well as live demos and pickled goods.
Vermont Cheesemakers Festival — Greensboro, Vermont
Arguably the country's top cheese state, Vermont plays host to the Annual Vermont Cheesemakers Festival each summer at Highland Center for the Arts. This single-day event offers an unequalled chance to meet the state's best cheesemakers and taste their world-class products, alongside other local foods, craft beer, wine and spirits.
As the lyrics to Taylor Swift's hit song "Bad Blood" go: "Cause, baby, now we got bad blood. You know it used to be mad love." It's a song about falling out of friendship, but to 14-year-old Hallie Barnard, who was born with a rare blood disorder, the song holds a much deeper meaning.
At just 15 months old, Barnard was diagnosed (诊断) with Diamon Blackfin Anemia, or DBA, and she spent most of her life in and out of the hospital. The Swiftie said she relied on the singer to bring her joy.
The only way to survive DBA is with a bone marrow transplant (骨髓移植) and Barnard was desperate for one. But she knew thousands of other patients are, too. So, a few years ago, she decided to do something about it, creating her own foundation: Hallie's Heroes. "It started selfishly as just trying to save my life, but then we realized there were so many other children out there that needed a bone marrow transplant," she said. "So, so far we've tested 8,000 people and found over 300 matches."
After a 9-year wait, Barnard got her own match — through her own foundation. But more obstacles stood between her and normal life as a kid. The blood disorder led to a cancer diagnosis: osteosarcoma. She received surgery to cut the cancer out of her leg at MD Anderson in Houston.
The recovery was difficult, but Hallie said she stayed hopeful. "My survival instinct (本能) just kicked in. I was trying to do anything that I could to survive. So, of course, it was scary but in my mind, I was just thinking that I wanted to be at my sister's future weddings. I wanted to play games and run again," she said.
Her survival instinct — combined with Taylor Swift-helped her through her operation, where doctors cut her cancer out, and reattached her foot and ankle to her upper leg to work as a knee.
Answers may only feel like they're on the tip of your tongue. Sometimes you know there's just the right word for something, but your brain can't find it. That depressing feeling is called the tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state — and for decades psychologists assumed it was caused by a partial recollection of the answer. But new research suggests this experience may be largely an illusion (错觉). Being sure you know something doesn't mean you actually do.
In a series of experiments, college students attempted to answer 80 general knowledge questions with one-word answers. If they didn't provide a correct answer, they were asked if they felt like the answer was on the tip of their tongue and to provide partial information such as its first letter, its number of syllables (音节), or what it sounded like. The team found that people in a TOT state were more likely to volunteer partial information — doing so five times as often in one experiment.
But that information tended to be wrong. Guesses at sounds and syllable counts were no more likely to be right in a TOT state than otherwise. Averaged across several experiments, first-letter guesses were only slightly more likely to match the correct answer (roughly 11 versus 8 percent). Yet participants said they thought their guess was correct 58 percent of the time while in TOT states versus 7 percent otherwise.
Previous research has shown that TOT states are not completely illusory — people better recognize correct multiple-choice answers following such states (55 versus 42 percent) — but this work indicates that we can't fully trust them. The evidence suggests that instead of partial recollection leading to a TOT state, a reverse (相反的) process may be taking place: Something causes the feeling, which then motivates people to search their memories.
"One possibility is that people detect familiarity with the question itself," says the study's senior author Anne Cleary, a psychologist at Colorado State University. "It may be signaling: ‘something relevant is here in memory — let's do a search.'"
An 11-minute quick walk every day could prevent one in ten premature deaths worldwide, according to the largest ever study of its kind. Globally, one in ten early deaths could be avoided if everyone met just half the NHS target for moderate (适度的)-intensity physical activity, the pooled data analysis suggests. The results were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Moderate-intensity physical activity is defined as activity that raises the heart rate and makes people breathe faster, but still leaves them able to speak. "If you are someone who finds the idea of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week a bit daunting, then our findings should be good news," said Dr. Soren Brage, of Cambridge's Medical Research Council epidemiology unit.
Researchers looked at 196 peer-reviewed articles, covering more than 30 million participants from 94 large study teams. They then examined the link between levels of physical activity and the risk of heart disease, cancer and early death.
At least 75 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity lowered the risk of early death by 23%. It was also enough to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 17% and cancer by 7%. "We know that physical activity, such as walking or cycling, is good for you, especially if you feel it raises your heart rate," said Prof. James Woodcock, also of Cambridge University. "But what we've found is there are substantial benefits to heart health and reducing your risk of cancer even if you can only manage 10 minutes every day."
The researchers calculated that if everyone in the studies had done the equal of at least 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, about one in six early deaths would have been prevented. But even if everyone had managed at least 75 minutes a week, about one in ten early deaths would have been prevented, the research found.
Travelling Economically
● Get a ride to travel destinations with friends or acquaintances (熟人). If people you know are driving to a location you would like to visit, take advantage of the opportunity to ask them for a lift. Offer to help with gas money or, if you don't have any cash, offer a trade or service instead.
● Practice safe hitchhiking to get around. Ask each driver several questions before getting in the vehicle, including what their name is, where they are heading and why they are going there. Follow your gut instinct (直觉) and avoid getting into a car with anyone who gives you a bad feeling.
● There are many ridesharing websites and apps that allow budget travellers to find a shared lift to their destination. These sites will also screen and identify the drivers, making the ridesharing experience safe and simple. Search for available rideshares in your area, which may vary in cost but will cost significantly less than travelling alone.
● Join a free hospitality (好客)-sharing community. You will be able to chat with participating members living in the area you are travelling to and arrange accommodations before travelling. In addition to being able to sleep on someone's couch or in their spare room, you may find someone to show you around the city.
● Camp at inexpensive campsites. Camping can be a budget-friendly activity if you find the right park or site. Visit //www.uscampgrounds.info/ for a comprehensive list of North American campgrounds, which indicates sites with a rate of $12 or less per night.
A. Get to new destinations with ridesharing services.
B. Hitchhiking is not an exact science but an art form.
C. Search online for camp sites near your travel destination.
D. Hitchhiking is a free way to travel, but you need to be cautious.
E. One of my big worries when it comes to camping is keeping everyone safe.
F. Be a polite and respectful co-traveller to show your appreciation for their generosity.
G. Find free accommodations in other cities by joining a couchsurfing community online.
Desmond Jumbam grew up in a poor family in Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon. His mother worked 21 as a cleaner and cook for an organization to 22 him to school in Yaoundé.
"It was not always easy but my mother sacrificed a lot to 23 that I got the best education. In 2010, I 24 Harvard University with enough money for only one semester. My mother took a huge 25 for that."
With the help of family, scholarships and a job as a private teacher, Desmond was able to afford school fees for a "very 26 first two years" in the US. But having achieved so much in the country, Desmond has now returned to Cameroon to 27 his knowledge and skills there.
Desmond couldn't have got as far as he has without the 28 of his family. He said: "I will avoid common advice like ‘don't 29 ' and ‘follow your dreams'. At the risk of sounding 30 , I would advise anyone with big dreams to expect severe adversity (逆境) ahead."
Everyone faces some 31 in getting to their goals and dreams, especially for those from 32 communities. Desmond was one of those children. He hopes his story will 33 children to know that it is completely 34 to achieve the dreams which may seem beyond their 35 , despite the severe adversities ahead.
May 22 marks the annual International Day for Biological Diversity, theme for this year is "From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity". Nearly half of the global GDP output is related biological diversity. Nearly 40 percent of the global population makes their living on marine or coastal biodiversity.
China is one of the world's most biologically (diversity) countries. China is home to the world's third largest number of higher plant species with 35,000, (account) for the world's 10 percent of the category. The country also owns 686 species of mammals and largest number of unique mammal species. China has 24.02 percent of (it) territory covered by forest and (top) the fifth globally in terms of forest resource coverage.
From the perspective of the world, however, the numbers of wild animals in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region have dropped 66 percent and 55 percent (respective) due to habitat degradation (恶化), development and pollution, climate change and diseases. The threat that worldwide biological diversity is under is worsening as 41 percent of the world's amphibians, 26 percent of the mammals and 14 percent of birds are facing extinction.
What are we supposed to do? Don't eat, purchase wild animals. Reduce using plastic (item). Save water and power. Reduce (consume) of domestic paper. Plant trees and forests.
One day Officer Jackson and Steve were discussing a serious case when they were informed of a disturbance (骚乱) in the nearby subway. So, they walked out of the station and got into their car.
The two officers had expected they'd have to deal with an annoying beggar troubling the passers-by for money. But when they arrived at the crime scene, they were shocked at the beggar's appearance. The man had tears in his eyes and was sitting on the subway stairs, looking untidy and tired.
"Excuse me, sir," Officer Jackson said. "You can't stay here, nor can you bother the people to give you money. You have to leave this place."
"Look, officers," the man sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble, okay? I lost my cane (拐杖), and I can't walk without it. I wanted a few cents so I could get myself something to eat."
The two officers exchanged looks, knowing the man wasn't a disturbance but someone who really needed their help. So they promised to get him food, buy him a cane, and drop him home.
After doing that, the officers drove to the beggar's home, only to discover he had no home at all. He was just wandering in the streets and living off the leftovers he managed to find.
The poor man said his name was Eugene. When he was working at a skyscraper construction site, he was injured and became disabled, losing his ability to walk. Unfortunately, his disability forbade him from doing physical labor, and he wasn't well-educated to find a desk job, so he remained jobless. Because he couldn't provide for his family, his wife and children left him. "I don't have any hopes of changing my destiny (命运), officers," the man said.
But Officer Jackson wanted Eugene to change his life. "You're still young," he said.
"You can't lose hope so soon. He brought him something warm to eat, helped him take a shower, and gave him his warm boots. After his work, Officer Jackson drove Eugene to a shelter for the homeless and left.
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。
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Since that day, Eugene had never expected to meet the two officers again. A few months later, Eugene was a changed man. |
