What is a big dream? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} or, is a big dream something that provides only entertainment? Children dream big dreams, but there are three barriers(障碍) to realizing dreams. They often kill them before they ever have a chance to grow.

The Self

    Immediately following the birth of a big dream, a negative self-talk takes over and gives all the reasons why it can't happen. This inside voice is the ego (自我). It is there for protecting and should be listened to. Sometimes it is right, but more often it is wrong. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    That's why only a handful of people make their dream come true.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Family and friends are a lot like the ego. They want to protect those they love, so they will often list all the reasons why the big dreams won't come true. Sometimes, family and friends destroy dreams of those they love most, out of their own fear of being left behind.

The World

    If one gets past the first two barriers, one has to face the world. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} In the past, big dreamers were locked up and sometimes even killed when they were shown to the world. Fortunately, in most of the world today, big dreamers just get laughed at.

    The way to realize a big dream is with confidence and action. When children have confidence and then take action, they will be ready to accept any failure. The truth is that every great dreamer whose dreams have never seen the light of success knows failure well. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. How Big Dreams Die

B. Family and Friends

C. They simply fail until they succeed.

D. Does a big dream show one's future?

E. Most people are influenced by the inside voice.

F. It is the last and the most terrible barrier.

G. And their big dream is to be a rock star or a famous artist.

    Professional athletes in most sports start to slow down after the age of 35. Some retire (退役). Jamaican Olympic runner Usain Bolt has talked about retiring, for example. He is only 30 years old. But on Thursday, Serena Williams earned a spot in the Australian Open finals. She will face her older sister, Venus, who won her semifinal (半决赛) match a day earlier. It is the first time that the Williams sisters will play in a Grand Slam final since 2009. Venus is 36. Serena is 35. One of them will win the championship (冠军) at last.

    One older champion will play in the men's final, too. Roger Federer qualified for the final by defeating Stan Wawrinka. Federer, like Serena Williams, is 35 years old It will be one of the sport's oldest finals in a long time.

    Ken Rosewall of Australia is the oldest winner of a Grand Slam. He was 37 when he won the Australian Open in 1972.

    Serena Williams is already the oldest winner of a women's Grand Slam match. She won Wimbledon last year at the age of 34.

    Many people are impressed that three of the finalists are 35 or older. All of the players have recently had injuries (受伤). Federer missed six months due to back and knee injuries.

    He told the crowd that he did not think he would be able to make it back to a Grand Slam final.

    The Williams sisters have had difficulties, too. Earlier this month, Venus won a match in New Zealand but withdrew (退出) from the final after hurting her arm. She also learned in 2011 she had the immune system disorder. The disorder kept her from practicing and staying in good physical condition for a number of years.

    Serena took time off to recover from knee and shoulder injuries after losing in the semifinals of the U. S. Open last September. It is the ninth time that the sisters will face each other in a major final. Serena has defeated her sister six of those times. If she wins, Serena will beat Steffi Graff's record for the most Grand Slam titles ever in women's tennis.

    Green spaces within and around city schools improve the mental development of young children, a study has found. The findings may partly be explained by reduced exposure to traffic pollution, experts believe. Other influences could include the psychological effect of having views of fields and trees rather than roads and buildings.

    The Spanish researchers found each degree of increase in surrounding greenness led to a 5% improvement in the development of short-term, or working memory over a period of one year. It also improved the progress of "superior working memory”—the ability to update memories. with changing information—by 6%，and reduced inattentiveness. Computer analysis suggested that carbon from traffic might account for up to 65% of the trend.

    The researchers carried out mental performance tests on 2, 593 children attending 36 primary schools in Barcelona every three months for a year. Over the study period, participants' working memory increased by an average of 22.8%, and superior working memory by 15.2%, while inattentiveness decreased by 18. 9%.

    The researchers wrote, "Approximately one half of the world population lives in cities, and by 2030, three in five persons will live in urban areas worldwide, Urban areas are a network of non-natural built-up structures with increased pollutant levels and less green environments. Children's exposure to these pollutants has been associated with harmful impacts on their mental development. Our findings suggest a beneficial impact of greens paces exposure on mental development. "

    British experts said the study was interesting, but pointed out some limitations. Professor Andy Jones, from Norwich medical school, said, “The measure of green space used was the number of plants in the neighborhoods of the children and their schools. It was not a direct measure of usable green spaces, like public parks, although they will be included. " Dr Ross Cameron, at the University of Sheffield, said, “The authors suggest a causal link between air quality and green space. They admit, however, that this factor only seems to explain part of their correlations(相互关系), ”

    My summer hols wr CWOT. B4, WE USED 2go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :-@ KIDS FTF. ILNY, its gr8.

    Can you understand this sentence? If you can't, don't feel too bad: neither could the middle school teacher in England who received this as homework. This is Netspeak: the language of computerized communication found on the Internet or cellphones. To newcomers, it can look like a completely foreign language.

    School teachers and parents say this new form of writing is harming (破坏) the English language. Increasing spelling and grammatical mistakes can be seen in students' writing. They fear the language could become corrupted (面目全非的).

    Everyone should just relax, say linguists (语言学家). They believe Netspeak is in fact more of a good thing. David Crystal, from the University of Wales, argues that Netspeak and Internet create a new language use and the almost lost art of diary writing has been picked up again. Geoffrey Nurnberg, from Stanford University, agrees. “People get better at writing by writing,” he says. “Kids who are now doing text messaging, e-mail, and instant messages will write at least as well as, and possibly better than, their parents.”

    Linguist James Milroy says, for centuries, it is believed without exception that young people are harming the language. And when today's teenagers become tomorrow's parents, they too will think this way. Milroy argues that languages do not and cannot become “corrupted”; they simply change to meet the new needs.

    However, Netspeakers do agree that it is important to teach young people how to speak and write Standard English. Cynthia McVey says, “I can understand Netspeak worries teachers and it's important that they tell their pupils that text messaging is for fun, but that learning to write proper English is a must for their future.”

    I can hear the sound of insects and feel autumn is nearing. This means my year of study at Nara University of Education is coming to an end.

    The time I've spent here has flown by so quickly. It seems as if I came here a month ago, but in reality I have to go home soon. When I came here, I missed my family and friends back home and found it hard to overcome loneliness, but on the other hand, I was interested in the new environment and had a lot of fun.

    I had visited Japan three times before coming to study at this university, but when I started living in Japan, many days were filled with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. I sometimes made silly mistakes, but I thought this was the best way to learn about Japanese culture. I was not the only one that was not accustomed to the different customs of Japanese people.

    My plan before coming to Japan was to make friends with some Japanese students in universities. However, I found my best friends were those who came from other countries. I didn't know much about other countries but I came to be more interested in them through making friends from different places, which made me aware of many different and sometimes hard-to-understand customs. Furthermore, I was surprised to see myself thinking more about my own culture and realized I should come to know it better.

    I am really happy that I came to Nara. During my stay, I felt the closer connection between humans and nature here than in Europe.

Magical History Tour

    Join us for our fifth annual exploration of fascinating historic sites around Greater Portland that you've never seen or maybe didn't even know existed! The Magical History Tour is your key to unlocking fascinating historical places that are not usually open to the public. It is a self­guided adventure guaranteed to amaze and amuse both adults and children. Equipped with a map, and at your own pace, you will be greeted by guides at each location ready to share the history of the tour stop.

    In the 5th year of the Magical History Tour, we will be presenting an exciting mix of both new sites and favorites from the past four years.

    The Magical History Tour check in begins at 9: 45 am at Maine Historical Society's Brown Library. At this time, you will find out where the tour will take you as you receive your map and ticket into each site.

    Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates, chances to win tickets and some other exciting opportunities; and feel free to share your tour experiences to our social media pages using # MHStour!

    ●Time: 10: 00 am—4: 00 pm, Saturday, May 11, 2019

    ●Location: 485 Congress Street

    ●Tickets: Get your tickets online, by calling us at 207­774­1 822, or by visiting our Museum Store at 489 Congress Street. $25／Adult  MHS  Member; $35／Adult General Admission; $5／Juniors under age 18.

    ●Volunteering: We need volunteers for the Magical History Tour! Volunteers help for half the day of the tour and are given a free ticket to the tour to enjoy either before or after their volunteer shift!

    For more information, email us at events@mainehistory org or call us at 207­774­1822.