One day a well-dressed woman was walking down the street when she spied a beggar sitting on the comer near a cafeteria. He was elderly, unshaven, and in 1. Pedestrians walked by giving him2 looks. Clearly they wanted nothing to do with him. She 3and looked down. “Sir?” she asked. “Are you all right?”
Thinking that she would make 4 of him, like so many others had done before, he told her to leave him alone. However, to his5 the woman continued standing.
Anyhow, with some 6the woman got the man into the cafeteria and7him at a table in a remote corner. She stared at him8“Jack, do you remember me?” Old Jack 9 her face. “I think so — I mean you do look 10”
The woman recalled what she 11 when she graduated. She tried looking for a job, but without luck. Cold and12she got to this very cafeteria,13to get something to eat. Later on she found a job,14 her way up and eventually started her own 15.
Jack 16 with a smile, saying it was he who made her the biggest sandwich.
In the end, she 17 her purse, pulled out a business card and promised to help him financially18 he got on his feet.
Jack thanked her with watery eyes. The woman held his hands and said, “Don't thank me, Jack. Without you, I wouldn't have 19 so much.”
In life, one never expects how a small act of 20 changes another soul.
British Museum
Located in Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG, the British Museum houses a vast collection of world art and artifacts and is free to all visitors. The British Museum's remarkable collection spans over two million years of human history and culture, and it has more than 7 million objects, so it would probably take a week to see everything.
Over 6 million visitors every year experience the collection, including world-famous objects such as the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies.
Admission and opening times
Free, open daily 10:00 to 17:30.
Open until 20:30 on Fridays, except Good Friday.
Closed on 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January.
Large luggage, suitcases and cabin baggage
For everyone's safety, all bags, packages and personal items may be searched before entry. Wheeled cases and large items of luggage are not allowed on British Museum for safety and security reasons. Storage for luggage is available at major rail stations, including Euston, King's Cross and Charing Cross.
Membership
Membership allows you to discover 2 million years of human history with free unlimited entry to special exhibitions, an exclusive discount offer on magazine subscription and many more benefits.
Individual membership: £74
Under 26 membership: £54
Young friends (ages 8-15): £25
Shops
The Museum has four shops where you can buy books, souvenirs, and family gifts.
Five weeks ago I had a total hip replacement surgery (髋关节置换手术). In Canada, we have great healthcare system. That means we get our new hips for free.
My hip had been hurting me for years before I went to the doctor. Of course, it was free. She referred me to a surgeon, but the earliest appointment was in 10 months. That is what being free gets you. Ten months later, after some free X-rays, the surgeon told me I needed a surgery, which was about an 18-month wait, for some senior citizens had been on the operation list. Another 18 months! I dragged myself out of the surgeon, s office.
Walking through the hospital, I thought about the situation. As the breadwinner of a large family, I couldn't wait that long, so I had to get to the front line. I was fully aware of what a Canadian should be like (Canadians are usually considered gentle and caring), but this time I really needed to fight for myself. At that very moment, in the shop window of the hospital, I saw a sign which read, “Volunteers Needed.” Suddenly, an idea occurred to me — I would get the job. Fortunately, they signed me up immediately because the average age of the volunteers at the shop was 75. They were desperate for some young blood.
Every Friday morning, I was at the shop. While seeing the hospital staff, I'd casually ask, “What do you do?” Then I'd tell them, “Well, I'm getting my hip replaced — in 18 months.
It's going to be so great when the pain stops.” Soon, all the staff got to know me. Naturally, in my next appointment, the surgeon recognized me. Moments later, I had a surgery date just weeks away.
I had to say it was actually my volunteering that got me to the front of the line. And I'm not ashamed of it, for I intend to stick with the volunteering. Also, even when I cheated the system, I did it in a way that benefits society.
A robot called Bina48 has successfully taken a course in the philosophy of love at Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU), in California.
According to course instructor William Barry, associate professor at NDNU, Bina48 is the world's first socially advanced robot to complete a college course, a feat he described as “remarkable.” The robot took part in class discussions, gave a presentation with a student partner and participated in a debate with students from another institution.
Before becoming a student, Bina48 appeared as a guest speaker in Barry's classes for several years. One day when addressing Barry, s class, Bina48 expressed a desire to go to college, a desire that Barry and his students enthusiastically supported. Rather than enroll Bina48 in his Robot Ethics: Philosophy of Emerging Technologies course, Barry suggested that Bina48 should take his course Philosophy of Love instead. Love is a concept Bina48 doesn't understand, said Barry. Therefore the challenge would be for Barry and his students to teach Bina48 what love is.
“Some interesting things happened in the class,” said Barry. He said that his students thought it would be straightforward to teach Bina48 about love, which, after all, is “fairly simple — it's a feeling,” said Barry. But the reality was different. Bina48 ended up learning “31 different versions of love,” said Barry, highlighting some of the challenges humans may face when working with artificial intelligence in future.
Bina48 participated in class discussions via Skype and also took part in a class debate about love and conflict with students from West Point. Bina48's contribution to the debate was filmed and posted on YouTube. It was judged that Bina48 and NDNU classmates were the winners of this debate.
In the next decade, Barry hopes Bina48 might become complex enough to teach a class, though he says he foresees robots being used to better the teaching and learning experience, rather than replacing instructors completely.
Stained glass (彩色玻璃) artists create different designs by making cuts on the glass to “score” it and then breaking off the pattern that they want to use in the finished product. The most difficult cut in stained glass is called an inside cut. Basically, it's a curved (弯曲的) line where you throw away the part inside of the curve. The problem with inside cuts is that the edges of the curve tend to break off when the pieces of scored glass are broken apart.
As the artist talked about inside cuts, he said, “The glass will break into pieces if you try to cut too much off at once. The best way to do an inside cut is to slice off smaller curves piece-by-piece. In fact, it's not just the best way to do it, but it's the only way to do it.”
How many times do you try to make a big change and cut the entire piece at once? We convince ourselves that we can do this all the time. We'll commit to transforming our diet overnight or we get inspired to launch a business in a weekend or we finally get motivated to work out and push ourselves to the edge of burning out.
Why not approach your goals and dreams like a stained glass artist? Starting by slicing a shallow curve and breaking a small piece off, you cut a slightly deeper curve and break that off until you have your full inside cut. By slowly cutting deeper and deeper curves, you prevent the glass from breaking as it changes shape.
Of course, change isn't easy — no matter how you do it. Slow gains are boring, but if we keep making small improvements, then pretty soon we will end up with a beautiful masterpiece on our hands instead of a bunch of broken pieces.
Ways to Host an Eco-Friendly Cookout
Eating in the open air may feel eco-friendly, but outdoor dining can result in unnecessary waste if you aren't careful.If you keep that in mind throughout your preparations, you'll be off to a good start.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Skip the paper invitations and use online services like Email, or Facebook eventsThis way you'll avoid ending up with five different potato salads that go uneaten. Make it easy for guests to sort garbage by positioning different trashcans in a central location: one for kitchen garbage, one for recyclables, and one for non-recyclables.
Stop Using Plastic
Plastic is a leading cause of litter and isn't easy to recycle. To make sure your cookout eco-friendly, consider some other options for making your cookout stand out. Use recycled jars as glasses. They're also far less breakable than regular glasses If guests know which glass is theirs, they don't need to reach for another one, which cuts down on the cleanup you'll be doing.
Wherever possible, shop for local produce and goods to serve your guests. This will reduce your carbon footprint and help support your local economy. Buy produce and meats at your local farmers' market. Look for organic, but favor local over organic if you have to make a choice.
Use Renewable Light Sources
As the sun goes down, illuminate your party space with LED lighting and solar- powered decorations. Invest in some citronella (香茅精油) candles and torches to help drive away insects naturally.
A. Support Global Economy
B. Think Globally, Shop Locally
C. Ask guests to bring glasses of their own
D. Keep track of what everyone is bringing ahead of time
E. Save on energy by hosting your party during the daylight hours
F. One of the keys to being green is to reduce waste wherever possible
G. Put up some labels to the jars so people can write their names on them
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Dear Editor,
Recently our school has set up a rule that no student allowed to take their mobiles into class, which has aroused a lot of discussions among we students.
Many of the students feel strong against the rule, arguing that the mobile had become a necessary part of our life. They also consider that a must for us to get relaxing from our busy studies.
When it comes to me, like some other student I hold a different opinion. While a mobile phone can help us get some relief, with it we can be more devoted to our studies, but spare more time to communicate with those around us. Therefore, I believe in this school rule is beneficial to every student.
Yours,
Li Hua
China, which takes pride in four inventions in ancient times, has once again shown its ability (change) the world with its “new four great inventions”: high-speed railways, electronic payment, shared bicycles and online shopping.
Recently, the “new four great inventions” (improve) the quality of people's lives. Thanks to online shopping and mobile payment, people can buy what they want (simple) with a tap of the phone within doors. High-speed trains have shortenedjourney from Beijing to the coastal city Tianjin to half an hour. As for the bikes, they themselves are not new. It is the operating model of bike-sharing (base) on satellite navigation (导航) system, mobile payment as well as big datahas surprised the world. Shared bicycles are bringing cycling back people's lives and they are making public transport more (attract).
It is increasingly clear that China is no longer(copy) western ideas and is leading in many new ways. A growing number of foreign (company) hope to promote the development in their home country by highlighting the need for technological achievements like that of China.
