Cleaning your desk, watering your plants, and tidying clothes are not always fun tasks. But I often find myself1 them. When I'm having trouble with writing something and a deadline is coming up, I'll clean up the papers around my office. Sometimes, that's when I feel the most2 during the day.
Scientists say there are many reasons why these tasks can be enjoyable and helpful. The pleasure from these tasks and their benefits may well3 you to do more of these little jobs too. Doing small chores can be good because they keep our minds4 . They help us focus less on things that worry us. Even if we find it hard to relax with other things we do, we might find that5 helps us appreciate the present moment. But it6 where we place our focus.
In a study about the advantages of washing dishes for mental (心理的)7 , scientists divided people into two groups. Half were told to focus8 on washing the dishes while they did it. The other half just read instructions on how to wash dishes9 being told to focus on it. Afterwards, the people who really focused on washing the dishes felt much better and10 nervous.
Living in Shenzhen's thick forests and woodlands, the Hainan blue flycatcher(霸鹟科) is a bird with a length of around 15 centimetres. Male (雄性的) birds have bright blue feathers on their upper parts and pale white or yellow feathers below. They also have a black eye mask and throat patch. Female (雌性的) birds are less colourful, with olive brown feathers and less noticeable markings.
The Hainan blue fiycatcher does not move to other places. It stays in its living place all year long. Some birds in Shenzhen have come from northern Guangdong and decided to stay there. These birds are very good at catching insects while flying. They eat different types of insects, like flies, beetles, caterpillars, and spiders. By eating these insects, the birds help control these populations and keep the living world balanced.
The breeding (繁殖) season for the Hainan blue flycatcher is between March and June. During this time, female birds lay up to four eggs. Both the male and female birds take care of the eggs for about two weeks. They both also feed and care for the baby birds once they are born. After a couple of weeks, the baby birds learn to fly and the family grows larger. The young birds then leave the homes and become independent not long after that.
Many people like to watch the Hainan blue flycatcher because of its beautiful colors and interesting behaviour. The bird's lovely songs and bright feathers make it a wonderful sight to see. This helps people like and want to protect the natural living places where the Hainan blue flycatcher lives.
"The hunting dog!" cried Holmes. "Come, Watson! Come!"
We ran quickly over the moor (荒野). We heard one last cry then a dull, heavy sound. We stopped and listened. but no other sounds broke the silence. Holmes put his hands to his forehead and hit his feet on the ground.
"We are too late, Watson."
"No, no, surely not! Can you see anything?"
"Nothing"
"But, listen, what is that?"
Suddenly we heard a low sound of pain. A man was lying on the ground. As we came near, we saw the dead body of Sir Henry Baskerville! He was wearing his brown tweed suit.
"Oh, no!" said Holmes and his face was white with shock in the darkness. Holmes moved closer over the body. Suddenly he began laughing."A beard(胡须)!" He said."This man has a beard!"
"A beard?""It is not Sir Henry--why, it is the prisoner who got away, Selden!"
It was indeed the face of Selden, the bad man.
Then, suddenly, it was all clear to me. I remembered that Sir Henry had given his old suit to Barrymore, and Barrymore had probably given it to Selden.
"Then Selden is dead because of this suit, said Holmes, "Think, Watson! Someone gave the dog some of Sir Henry's clothes-probably the boot from the hotel in London. The dog picked up Sir Henry's smell and ran after this poor man."
Suddenly we saw someone walking towards us. It was Stapleton. Holmes spoke very quietly: " Ssshhhh! Dontsay a word to show your doubt!"
"Hello, Dr Watson. What are you doing on the moor?" asked Stapleton. Then he saw the dead body and added:"Oh no! What's this? Is our dear friend Sir Henry dead?"
Then he looked at the dead man. "Who ... who is this?" he asked.
"It's Selden, the prisoner. He's dead."
Stapleton looked at the body. "That's terrible," he said, "There was a strange noise. I was worried about Sir Henry. I wanted to check he was alright."
"Really?"asked Holmes.
Several stick puppets dressed in traditional costumes are playing and having fun on the stage. They can change their facial expressions and do difficult movements. The puppeteers use three rods to control the puppets from below. This amazing art needs hard work from people like Wang Maowei, a 40-year-old puppet maker from Xiaoyiin Shanxi.
Stick puppets have a long history in Xiaoyi. They became popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Wang fell in love with puppet-making when he was a teenager and decided to focus on learning this skill. In 2008, Xiaoyi's stick puppets were recognized as part of China's national cultural heritage.
Making a stick puppet takes about 40 to 50 days. They are usually 75 centimetres to 1 metre tall and have different costumes for different plays. To make them, you need to understand art and have basic skills. Wang says that traditional Xiaoyi puppet plays use the style of local operas, which are liked by older people. But he realized that to attract more people, he needed to change the puppets' appearance.
Traditionally, stick puppets are made of wood, which is time-consuming and heavy. But Wang found that craft paper is a better material. It's lighter and easier to put things inside the puppets' heads to make them move. Some puppets can even do face-changing, which is a special skill in Chinese operas.
Journey to the West, a famous Chinese novel, is often shown as a puppet play. In the story, the Monkey King has special powers. To show this in the play, Wang uses special techniques to make the puppet's eyes move. His hard work and creativity make the puppet shows even more exciting and enjoyable for everyone to watch.
A. Learn all you can about the test beforehand. B. Don't tell yourself that you have to do well C.Your anxiety will increase if you go to take a test in a hurry. D. Anxiety becomes a problem only when it runs out of control E. If you find yourself anxious, stop and organize in a new way F. If this sounds familiar, then you might suffer from test anxiety. |
What does it feel like to have test anxiety ? Although you have prepared well, when the test comes, you find yourself so nervous that even the easiest questions seem difficult, And here are some tips to help you deal with test anxiety.
Prepare well
Preparing well for a test can make you relaxed and help reduce the anxiety when the test day arrives. Knowing the types of questions and whether they are choice questions can help make sure that there will be no last-minute surprises.
Arrive early
Arrive at least 10 minutes early. If waiting for the test to begin makes you nervous, bring along a magazine or other books to keep your mind busy. Avoid talking with people who are anxious before a test.
Pay attention during the test.
During the test, do everything you can to keep attention. For example, you can sharpen your pencil, ask a question to clear your mind, or take a deep and calm breath. All these can help reduce your anxiety and bring your attention back to the test.
Accept a little anxiety
A little bit of anxiety before a test is a good thing. If you did not feel nervous at all, you might not want to do your best.
A. As the Internet develops quickly, those who suffered from online violence get mental problems. If we reduce the possibility of online violence by law, things will be great.
—Zhang Hangming,14, Tianjin
B. I think it's wise to encourage more people to have a third child, Free education for the third child will greatly do good to both families and our country.
—Wang Zining,14,Shenzhen
C. I think the suggestion is of great value. Life education can guide us students to actively face the challenges and difficulties in life, and form positive values and outlook on life.
—Chen Yitian,15,Chengdu
D. I think learning a foreign language is very important. It's not only a language but also abridge of communication between different countries. What we need is to find ways to make English learning easier and happier.
—Fen Chengrui, 12, Shanghai
E. I support this idea. Although people have a week-long holiday during the Spring Festival the actual holiday time is three days and they have to work two days on weekends. Such long working hours will make people tired, which may affect people's health.
—Lai Yijiang,13,Lanzhou
F. I support this idea. With the development of smart and health technologies, we can use hem to provide strong support for medical services and health management systems for the elderly. It's our responsibility to respect and care for the elderly.
—Qian Wencan,15, Beijing
Smart health technology should be used to enable the elderly.
Increase the public holidays for the Spring Festival from three days to five days.
Life education in the textbooks for primary and secondary schools should be included.
Lower the foreign language score in the college entrance examination to 100 points.
Provide free education for the third child of each family from kindergarten to high school education.
Recently a beautiful toy named "Happy Loong" (catch) the hearts of visitors to the Gansu Provincial Museum in Northwest China. The toy was made in shape of a loong, or Chinese dragon and over 1000 round and smiling loong toys (sell) in the first week.Wu Xiaoyu, the (young) of the 24 designers said that the team wanted to create a more lovable traditional loong (meet) the tastes of young people. The museum souvenir (纪念品) markets in China, both online and offline, win the hearts young people. For example, the Palace Museum and the Liaoning Provincial Museum offer nearly 300 types of cultural (product).These creative souvenirs attract so many young Chinese museum-goers they make money for many museums.
According to Cui Youxin, head of the team, making cultural products should be (true)creative. It requires a rich knowledge of (culture) background. "Only those deeply rooted in the soil of Chinese history and culture can stand the test of time." she said.
