Welcome to one of the largest collections of footwear（鞋类）in the world that will make you green with envy. Here at the Footwear Museum you can see exhibits（展品）from all over the world.You can find out about shoes worn by everyone from the Ancient Egyptians to pop stars.

Room 1

    The celebrity（名人）footwear section is probably the most popular in the entire museum.Started in the 1950s, there is a wide variety of shoes and boots belonging to everyone from queens and presidents to pop stars and actors! Most visitors find the celebrities' choice of footwear extremely interesting.

Room 2

    Most of our visitors are amazed and shocked by the collection of "special purpose" shoes on exhibition here at the Museum of Footwear.For example,there are Chinese shoes made of silk that were worn by women to tie their feet firmly to prevent them from growing too much!

Room 3

    As well as shoes and boots,the museum also exhibits shoe-shaped objects.The variety is unbelievable.For example,there is a metal lamp that resembles a pair of shoes,and Greek wine bottles that like legs!

The Footwear Library

    People come from all over the world to study in our excellent footwear library.Designers and researchers come here to look up information on anything and everything related to the subject of footwear.

    Grown­ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced ever since. A man who has not had a chance to go swimming for years can still swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after many years and still ride away. He can play catch and hit a ball as well as his son. A mother who has not thought about the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” or remember the story of Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

    One explanation is the law of overlearning, which can be stated as follows: Once we have learned something, additional learning trials(尝试)increase the length of time we will remember it.

    In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, bicycle riding, and playing baseball long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and remind ourselves of words such as “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” and childhood tales such as Cinderella and Goldilocks. We not only learn but overlearn.

    The multiplication tables(乘法口诀表)are an exception to the general rule that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school, because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood.

    The law of overlearning explains why cramming(突击学习)for an examination, though it may result in a passing grade, is not a satisfactory way to learn a college course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little overlearning, on the other hand, is really necessary for one's future development.

    The Silk Road was a historical network of trade routes that connected China and the Mediterranean Sea, allowing cultural and economic interaction between the East and the West. Begun in the 2nd Century B C, the Silk Road carried goods, ideas, and even illness for thousands of miles between great civilizations for more than a thousand years. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It was the creation of Germany's Ferdinand von Richthofen, who traveled to China several times in the second half of the 19th Century.

    China's powerful Han Dynasty began expanding its trade routes towards the West in the years around 100 B.C. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Some shipments made it through to Europe and to northern and eastern Africa, through the port of Alexandria.

    As its name suggests, the Silk Road was home to large amount of silk, which made its way from China to the Mediterranean and, to Rome. It wasn't only silk, however, that was carried along the Silk Road  {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Chinese traders brought delicate porcelain plates and thin but durable paper money. Romans brought delicately carved pottery (陶器）and jewelry to China.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Merchants carried shipments from major center, and then others carried the foods farther on the route. Many merchants traveled in groups, called carvans (商队). Many carvans and individual merchants traveled with bodyguards because theft along the routes was not uncommon.

    Several cities along the Silk Road became major trading centers. Some of the more famous of these were Alexandria, Karakorum, Antioch, Constantinople, and Persepolis. Local taxes placed on goods traveling along the route were quite common. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. The name, however, is a modem idea.

B. Diseases also spread along the Silk Road.

C. It sent silk and other goods to other civilizations.

D. Merchants would prepare some supplies in advance.

E. Goods did not travel with the same person all along the route.

F. As a result, many goods traveled only part of the way due to the high cost

G. Many other things made their way from the East to the West, or from the West to the East.

    Imagine a child standing on a diving board four feet high and asking himself the question:“Should I jump? This is what motivation or the lack of it can do. Motivation and goal setting are the two sides of same coin. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Like the child on  the  diving  board, you will stay undecided.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} More than that, how should you stay motivated to achieve the goal? First, you need to evaluate yourself , your values your strengths, your weaknesses, your achievements, your desires ,etc. Only then should your you're your goals

    You also need to judge the quality and depth of your motivation. This is quite important, because it is directly related to your commitment. There are times when your heart is not in your work. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} So, slow down and think what you really want to do at that moment. Clarity（清晰）of thoughts can help you move forward.

    Another way of setting realistic goals is to analyze your short and long term objectives, keeping in mind your beliefs, values and strengths. Remember that goals are flexible.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} They also need to be measurable. You must keep these points in mind while setting your goals.

    Your personal circumstances are equally important. For example, you may want to be a Pilot but can't become one because your eyesight is not good enough.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}You should reassess your goals, and motivate yourself to set a fresh goal.

    You will surely need to overcome some difficulties, some planned, but most unplanned. You cannot overcome them without ample motivation. Make sure that you plan for these difficulties at the time of setting your goals.

A. This can affect your work.
B. So how should you motivate yourself?

C. However, this should not discourage you.
D. So why should we try to set specific goals?
E. They can change according to circumstances.
F. Motivation is what you need most to do a good job.

G. Without motivation you can neither set a goal nor reach it

Tips on Young Adult Life

    As you grow rapidly through your teenage years, you will experience a lot of changes. The changes may seem difficult. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Don't panic! You will deal successfully with them! You are a young adult now!

    With more responsibility, you will find more freedom to make your own choices. This is a time to be well informed about making choices. In this way you can make healthy balanced decisions. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} You may already know your career path or you may have no idea at all what you want to do. Both situations are fine! Work hard and the right opportunity will show itself to you.

    Young adulthood means greater freedom and more choices. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} But try not to shut your family out of your life. You should learn to think of others even though you are old enough to look after yourself.

    It is also perfectly natural at this time for you to spend more time with your friends than your family. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} A true friend will stand by you no matter what happens.

    This period is a part of the life cycle. There are some people who will be with you throughout life's journey. There will be some people with whom you part and go separate ways. Leaving school can be hard. The reality is that you may not even see all of your classmates again.

    You are a young adult. It is your life. No one can live it for you. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} So making the right choices will be important to you. Life is for living. Enjoy your life wisely!

When adult humans meet a baby, many can't help speaking in a higher-pitched (更高音的) and sing-song y voice. This shift, known as parentese, is not unique to humans. It has also been observed in animals like monkeys and gorillas. Now, scientists are adding one more species to that list: bottle-nose dolphins.

Dolphins are intelligent animals that live and hunt in groups. They communicate in a unique way: Every individual produces its own signature sound that acts much like an ID card, usually by its first birthday. But how does each come up with its distinctive whistle? For babies, it might have something to do with listening to Mum. To solve this mystery, researchers examined the sounds mother dolphins make.

Scientists studied 34 years' worth of recordings of sounds made by 19 female bottle-nose dolphins. When the mother dolphins were near their young, they continued to make their signature sounds, but at a higher frequency. They also used a wider range of frequencies than they did when their babies were not nearby.

This discovery suggests that using these modifications, mother dolphins assist their young in learning how to produce these calls themselves. Since baby dolphins often spend some years with their mothers before living on their own, it makes sense that this adaptation would help them learn to communicate. At the very least, the higher-pitched whistle likely gets the babies' attention. "It's important for a baby to know, ‘Oh, Mum's talking to me now,'" says marine biologist Janet Mann.

This kind of research could help us understand how language developed in humans. "It is absolutely essential to have basic knowledge about other species and how they communicate," says Mann. "I would be really interested to see whether dolphins also change their sounds when interacting with babies of others, which is what happens in humans."