Here are four tourist attractions in Havana in Cuba. Museum of the City
The Museum of the City was built in 1796 The building once served as the Presidential Palace and home to colonial governors. The museum's exhibits include collections of weapons,history and art as well as rooms documenting wars for Cuban independence.
Tel: +53-7-861-6130 .
Open: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
Admission:$ 3
Revolution Square
Revolution Square is one of the largest open public spaces in Cuba and one of the largest public squares in the world. The site is home to the 138-foot Jose Mart Memorial, the tallest structure in Havana,which celebrates the national hero. Cuba's important leaders, including Fidel Castro, usually use the platform in front of the memorial to address the large crowds that gather on the square. The Jose Marti Memorial also includes a museum and an elevator that takes tourists to the top of the monument.
Tel: +53-7-338-6363
Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,Monday through Saturday.
Admission:$ 5
Cigar Factories
Cubans famous cigar-making factories are open to the public. Three cigar factories in Havana offer public tours that show how Cuba's cigars are hand-rolled in the traditional way. The Partagas Cigar Factory,founded in 1827,is the oldest in Havana. The other two factories open for tours are La Corona and Romeo Julieta, and they include gift shops.
Tel: +53-7-338-060
Open: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Admission:$ 10
Old Havana
Old Havana is the capital's historic district,which dates back to 1519 when Spain used the city as a colonial port. Old Havana was important Spanish naval (海军的)base. Presently,Old Havana's stone streets are home to museums, hotels and restaurants among the grand colonial buildings that once housed Spanish power.
Tel: +53-7-885-752
Open: daily.
Admission: free
I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband unexpectedly died of a heart attack.About a week after his death,she shared some of her views with a classroom of students.
As the sunlight came in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over,she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there.She paused and said,"Before class is over,I would like to share with all of you a thought that is unrelated to class,but which I feel is important.Each of us comes to this world to learn,share,love,appreciate and give.None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end.It can be taken away at any moment."
Her eyes beginning to water,she went on:
"So I would like you all to make me a promise.From now on,on your way to school,or on your way home,find something beautiful to notice.It doesn't have to be something you see.It could be a scent of freshly baked bread from someone's house,or it could be the sound of the wind slightly rustling the leaves in the trees…"
The class was completely quiet.We all picked up our books and left the room silently.That afternoon,I noticed more things on my way home from school.
Take notice of something special you see on your way home today.Go barefoot on the beach at sunset.For as we get older,it is not the things we did that we often regret,but the things we didn't do.
The European Commission has recently proposed classifying nuclear and natural gas as sustainable sources of energy. The proposal will place the sources on the EU's "green" list. However, the proposal has already divided member countries.
France, Hungary, Poland, and Romania have supported the proposal as a stepping stone to clean energy. Much of Eastern and Central Europe still depends on fossil fuels like coal for energy. While renewable energy sources like the wind and sun have become more affordable, technology has not advanced enough to store power for long periods of time. Therefore, an immediate transition (转变) might not be possible for Europe.
Proponents of the proposal agree that natural gas is still a fossil fuel. Nevertheless, it emits less carbon dioxide than coal and could serve as a more sustainable alternative during the transition to greener energy sources. Nuclear energy plants are another promising energy source and release water vapor instead of carbon dioxide as a by-product. Because of this, proponents view nuclear and natural gas as "bridge" sources that can pave the way to a low-carbon future.
Other European member states are opposing the proposal for a number of reasons. Under the proposal, gas power plants labeled "sustainable" could emit 270g worth of CO2 for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity they produce. A panel of experts has criticized these guidelines, recommending that only 100g of CO2 per kWh could be considered sustainable.
Spain, Denmark, and Luxembourg have charged that the proposal would distract from renewable energy goals. Germany, a long-time opponent, has questioned about including nuclear power in the list. Nuclear power plants may be low-carbon, but the storage of nuclear waste continues to be an issue. It is also costly to construct them and would use up financial resources that could be invested in other renewable energies.
Despite being there for your safety, many people still ignore the red man at traffic lights and cross early, running the risk of a deadly accident. Now Smart, a car maker, has come up with a smart idea for an experiment to see if safety could be improved at traffic lights by encouraging pedestrians to wait for the green man with a "Dancing Traffic Light".
The Dancing Traffic Light was designed to draw the attention of people who were standing waiting to cross the road in Portugal. It shows a dancing red figure, as opposed to the static (静态的) figure that is normally shown. The figure is a low-resolution (低分辨率的) representation of someone who is in a room nearby, dancing.
Those who want to dance can go into the room and then select music of their choice. When the traffic light turns red, the music plays and the individual can then start to dance. A video is fed of the person dancing in real time to the traffic light and the dancing red figure can keep pedestrians amused while they wait.
Apart from providing entertainment for pedestrians as they wait to cross the road, there is also the "gaming" side to the Dancing Traffic Light as anyone can be the dancing figure and so he or she can contribute to the project.
This isn't the first time that entertainment has been used for positive social outcomes. The Volkswagen Fun Theory campaign involved a Piano Staircase which encouraged people to walk up the stairs instead of using an elevator and the Bottle Bank Arcade that was made to encourage people to recycle.
Smart said that 81 % more people stopped at die red light to watch it dance while they waited for the green light to appear.
Why you're more creative in coffee shops
Some of the most successful people in history have done their best work in coffee shops, Pablo Picasso, JK Rowling, Simone de Beauvoir and Bob Dylan, to name just a few. , people across nations and centuries have tapped into their creativity working at a table in a cafe.
. The combination of noise, casual crowds and visual variety can give us just the right amount of distraction to help us be our sharpest and most creative.
Some of us stick in our earphones as soon as we sit down to work in a public setting. . So, the jazz muzak, light conversation and barkeeper banging coffee grounds out of the grinder aren't an annoyance—they could help you come up with your next great work.
There's also the fact that in a coffee shop, we're surrounded by people who've come to do the same thing as us, which acts as a motivator. You see other people working and it puts you in a mood where you just naturally start working as well. .
Visual variety is another factor that has an effect on people's creative thinking process. And hitting different coffee shops each time keeps things even more varied. People come and go. The daylight changes. The aromas (香味) of coffee and food vary. and don't deliberately choose to work in this location because of them, these activities around us prod our brains to work a bit differently than at home.
A.As these cafe settings can also benefit work groups
B.Just observing them can motivate you to work harder
C.However, background noise can benefit our creative thinking
D.But wearing earphones at your desk differs from doing that in a cafe
E.While we tend not to take conscious notice of these things around us
F.Whether they're painters, composers, philosophers, writers or rock singers
G.There're many ways coffee shops start our creativity in a way offices or homes don't
A weak old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and a four-year old grandson. The old man's hands1 and his eyesight was poor. The family are together at table, but the elderly grandfather's shaky hands made eating rather2 . Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, often3 spilled(泼洒) on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became 4 at the mess (脏乱). "We must do 5 about grandfather," said the son. I've had enough of his spilled milk and food on the floor. So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family had their dinner at the dinner table 6 . Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a 7 bowl. Sometimes when the family glanced in grandfather's 8 , he had a tear in his eye. Still, the couple always blamed him when he 9 a spoon or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in 10 .
One evening before supper, the father 11 his son playing with small wood pieces. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" The boy 12 , "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up." The words so 13 the couple that they were speechless. Then tears started to 14 down their cheeks. Though no word was 15 , both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took grandfather's hand and led him back to the family dinner table gently. From then on, the grandfather ate every meal with the family.
Six (month) ago, Xie Lei boarded a plane for London (study) for a business qualification. It was the first time she (leave) her motherland. And now she is halfway through her (prepare) year which is a must for any student before (apply) for a degree course. And following is what she told us about her life in London.
"It is not just study that's difficult. You have to get used a whole new way of life, which can take up all her concentration in the (begin). Luckily, I live with a host family, give me lots of good advice. Living with host families, in which there may be other college students, (give) me the chance to learn more about the new culture. Also, when I miss my family, it's a great comfort to have substitute family to be with."
Desiree, a 4-year-old girl, was sobbing quietly over her father, Ken, who had died nine months earlier. She was hugging a photograph of her father with her fingers running around his face. "Daddy", she said softly, "Why won't you come back?"
Instead of gradually adjusting to her father's death, Desiree refused to accept it "Daddy will be home soon," she'd tell her mother. "He's at work." When she played with her toy telephone, she pretended she was chatting with her father "I miss you, Daddy," she'd say. "When will you come back?" Desiree's situation made her mother worried.
Days later, it was Ken's birthday. "How will I send him a card?" Desiree asked her mother "How about if we tie a litter to a balloon." her mother said, "and send it up to heaven?" Desiree's eyes immediately lit up.
Her mother took her to a store and Desiree picked out a balloon with HAPPY BIRTHDAY above a drawing of The Little Mermaid (美人鱼). Desiree and her father had often watched it.
The child's eyes shone as they were on the way to Ken's grave. Then Desiree dictated (口述) a letter to her Dad. "Daddy, Happy birthday, I love you and miss you," she rattled off (快速说). "I hope you get this and can write to me on my birthday in January."
Her mother wrote the message and their address on a small piece of paper, which was then wrapped in plastic and tied to the end of the string on the balloon. Finally, Desiree let fly the balloon. For almost an hour, they watched the shining spot of silver grow smaller and smaller till disappear. "Now Dad's going to write back to me," Desiree said confidently.
Every day since they'd flew the balloon, Desiree had asked her mother, "Do you think Daddy has my balloon yet?" Several weeks passed, and she stopped asking.
Paragraph 1
One day, 3,000 miles away, Wade was on a duck hunt when suddenly something in the bush caught his eyes.
Paragraph 2
Desire's fifth birthday came and later on the afternoon, a package arrived.
