题型:阅读理解 题类:常考题 难易度:普通
There are plenty of mindless activities to keep a child busy in this information age. Yet despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Alice wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition which she won last year.
As a writer, I know about winning contests—and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection letter from the publisher. I also know the pressure of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn't win the contest again? That's the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and destroyed hopes can resurface in our children.
A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, "Don't you want to win again?" "No," she replied. "I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade."
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly "guided" by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.
Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借鉴) my daughter's experience.
While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.
Mill 180 Park is truly a park for the 2lst century, designed to copy all of the great urban parks -Central Park in New York City, Hyde Park in London and Ueno Park in Tokyo. Through the use of computerized sound and some other modern systems, we've brought the outside in, surrounding our visitors with green space and a remarkable sense of the natural world.
We spent a lot of time trying to learn why these parks are so beloved, what makes them work so well for their sponsors, and how they provide a place of rest for so many.
A wake up call for the senses |
These parks are beautiful. They provide much needed relief from the daily stress of city living in any particular moment. But with the good, every one of these parks suffer from the same shortcoming-they are not fit to live when the weather is bad. What this means is that our parks are only really available to us some of the time. |
Change in the air |
Enjoying Mill 180 Park is not weather dependent. We used modern building techniques and technology to create a park that can be enjoyed in every season, during every type of weather. |
Our focus |
While imagining the possibilities for Mill 180 Park, we focused our design process on five characteristics that were common in all of our favorite urban parks: BEAUTY: Including natural and man-made qualities, delighting the senses of visitors. GREENERY: Bringing nature to the city, with a variety of plants and green spaces. MINGLING: Providing a place for people who wouldn't normally come into contact to meet and share experiences. TRANQUILITY: Offering a place away from the noise, waste, and excitement of city life. PROGRAMMING: Serving as a site for artistic, cultural, and amusement events that bring the community together. When you visit, you'll be aware on an intellectual level that you are not in an expansive outdoor space, but your senses will tell you otherwise. |
Opening time and price |
All months of the year. Admission is free from Jan .I to Nov.30. |
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