修改时间：2021-05-20 浏览次数：181 类型：同步测试
London's newest skyscraper (摩天大楼) is called the Shard and it cost about 430 million pounds to build. At a height of almost 310 metres, it is the tallest building in Europe. The Shard has completely changed the appearance of London. However, not everyone thinks that it is a change for the better.
The Shard was designed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Piano. When he began designing the Shard for London, Piano wanted a very tall building that looked like a spire (尖顶). He wanted the glass surfaces to reflect the sky and the city. The sides of the building aren't regular. So the building has an unusual shape. It looks like a very thin, sharp piece of broken glass. And that is how the building got the name: the Shard. Piano says that the spire shape of the Shard is part of a great London tradition. The shape reminds him of the spires of the churches of London or the tall masts (桅杆) of the ships that were once on the river Thames.
The Shard has 87 floors. At the top, there is an observatory. At the moment the building is empty, but eventually there will be a fivestar hotel. There will also be top quality restaurants, apartments and offices.
Before building work began, a lot of people didn't want the Shard though the plans were approved. Now they are still unhappy about the Shard. Some critics say that such a tall skyscraper might be good in a city like New York, but not in London. They say that the best thing about the Shard is its spire shape. But that is the only thing. There is no decoration, only flat surfaces. The Egyptians did that 4, 500 years ago. They also think the Shard is too big for London. It destroys the beauty of the city.
Other critics don't like what the Shard seems to represent. They say that the Shard shows how London is becoming more unequal. Only very rich people can afford to buy the expensive private apartments and stay in the hotel. But the people who live near the Shard are among the poorest in London. So the Shard seems a symbol of the division in society between the very rich and the poor.
The Shard now dominates the London skyline. It is not certain, however, that ordinary London citizens will ever accept it as a valuable addition to the city.
A MENTORING (导师制) program is giving life changing opportunities to Banbury youth.
Young Inspirations was founded two years ago to provide mentoring sessions for students and unemployed young adults aged 11 to 21.
Alex Goldberg, the program's founder, said: "We set up Young Inspirations because we wanted to give young people experiences which will potentially be life changing and broaden their outlook.
"We try to create work experience opportunities that will really make a difference to our youth. For example, we've secured internships (实习) with worldfamous firms such as Honda."
"At a time of funding cutbacks where schools are finding it more and more difficult to offer this kind of mentoring, it is extremely important that these opportunities are available both to help youth with their school work and grades and to give them opportunities which may help shape their futures." Kieran Hepburn, 14, is one of a group of Banbury youth who has benefited from the program so far. In October the Banbury School pupil was accompanied by Young Inspirations staff to Paris where he was an observer at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) International Youth Forum (论坛).
The event was held for young people from around the world, to seek their views on how the future of youth and education should look. Kieran joined several hundred observers mostly in their 20s and was the only UK school pupil to attend the event. Kieran thinks the trip was a life changing experience. "Before we left I didn't quite know what to make of it but when we got there we didn't stop, it was amazing, " he said, "We went to three or four hours of debates each day and then did something cultural each afternoon."
The main theme of the forum was how youth can drive change in political and public life. It dealt with issues (问题) such as drug abuse, violence and unemployment.
Kieran said: "It has really helped me to improve my confidence and social skills as well as my school grades and I was voted most improved pupil at school in August."
The Young Inspirations mentoring sessions take place each Friday in Banbury. For details visit www.younginspirations.com.
Michelle Kwan was born on July 7, 1980, in Torrance, California. The daughter of Hong Kong immigrants (移民), Kwan watched her older brother play ice hockey as a kid. She began skating when she was five, and entered and won her first figure skating competition at seven. She won the world title in the 1994 World Championships at the age of 13, and earned a spot as an alternate (候补者) for the 1994 Olympic Games. Kwan went on to capture the world title in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003.
At the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998, Kwan was believed to win gold, but ended up with a disappointing silver medal when fellow US skater Tara Lipinski surprisingly took first place. Shortly before the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002, Kwan, who was then the reigning world champ, surprisingly fired both her choreographer (编舞者), Lori Nichol, and longtime coach, Frank Carroll. Once again, she failed to get the gold medal when she finished third behind Irina Slutskaya of Russia and US skater Sarah Hughes, who took first.
As a student at the University of California at Los Angeles, Kwan has continued to compete since her defeat (战败) in Salt Lake City. In February 2006, she was unable to take part in the Olympic Games in Torino, Italy because of a serious injury. Though Michelle Kwan did not compete during the 2006－2007 figure skating season, she has turned down an offer to work for NBC Sports and says she is not retiring.
The first newspapers were written by hand and put up on walls in public places. The earliest daily newspaper was started in Rome in 59 BC. In the 700's the world's first printed newspaper was published. Europe didn't have a regularly published newspaper until 1609, when one was started in Germany.
The first regularly published newspaper in the English language was printed in Amsterdam in 1620. In 1621, an English newspaper was started in London and was published once a week. The first daily English newspaper was The Daily Courant (《每日新闻》). It came out in March, 1702.
In 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first American newspaper in Boston. But not long after it was first published, the government stopped the paper. In 1704, John Campbell started The Boston Newsletter (《波士顿新闻通讯》), the first newspaper published in the American colonies. By 1760, the colonies had more than thirty daily newspapers. There are now about 1,800 daily papers in the United States.
Today, as a group, English language newspapers have the largest circulation (发行量) in the world. But the largest circulation for a newspaper is that of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Dhimbun (《朝日新闻》). It sells more than 11 million copies every day.
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A. It shows 412 distinct ways we feel. B. These can be combined into more than 10, 000 facial shapes. C. These particular muscles are difficult to control, and few people can do it. D. They decided that it was a mental state that could be introduced by "I feel" or "he looks" or "she sounds". E. He said the expression of these feelings was universal and recognizable by anyone, from any culture. F. It is as if they are programmed into the brains of "normal humans" wherever they are and whatever their races. G. We thought of trying to describe each emotion, but it would have been almost impossible to make clear rules for this. |
I know just how you feel
Do you feel sad? Happy? Angry? You may think that the way you show these emotions is unique. Well, think again. Even the expression of the most personal feelings can be classified, according to Mind Reading, a DVD exhibiting every possible human emotion.
In the mid 1800s, Darwin divided the emotions into six types—anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise and enjoyment. More complex expressions of emotion were probably learned and therefore more specific to each culture. But now it is believed that many more facial expressions are shared worldwide. The Mind Reading DVD is a systematic visual record of these expressions.
The project was designed by a Cambridge professor. His research team first had to define an "emotion". Using this definition, 412 emotion terms were identified and discussed, from "afraid" to "wanting".
Then each expression is acted out by six different actors. "It was really clear when the actors had got it right," says Cathy Collis, who directed the DVD. "Although they were given some direction, the actors were not told which facial muscles they should move. "
Someone who has tried to set such rules is the American, Professor Paul Ekman, who built database of how the face moves for every emotion. The face can make 43 distinct muscle movements. Ekman has also found that it may not be possible for people to reproduce them artificially. The most difficult expression to reproduce is the smile. It isn't only about stretching the lips, but tightening the tiny muscles around the eye. If we learnt to recognize whether someone was using their eye muscle when they smiled, we would be able to distinguish true enjoyment from false.
I had worried myself sick over Simon's mother coming to see me. I was a new 1, and I gave an honest account of the students' work. In Simon's case, the grades were awfully low. He couldn't read his own handwriting. 2 he was a bright student. He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension. His work in no way reflected his 3.
So when Simon's mother entered the room, my palms (手掌心) were sweating. I was completely 4 for her kisses on both my cheeks. "I came to thank you," she said, surprising me beyond speech. 5 me, Simon had become a different person. He talked of how he 6 me, he had begun to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had 7 spent an afternoon at a friend's house. She wanted to tell me how grateful she was for the 8 I had nurtured (培养) in her son. She kissed me again and left.
I sat, stunned (惊呆), for about half an hour, 9 what had just happened. How did I make such a lifechanging difference to that boy without 10 knowing it? What I finally came to 11 was one day, several months before, when some students were 12 reports in the front of the class. Jeanne spoke 13, and to encourage her to raise her voice, I had said, "Speak up. Simon's the expert on this. He is the 14 one you have to convince, and he can't hear you in the 15 of the room." That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, 16 more, and became happy. And it was all because he 17 to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed 18 was the one who took the last seat that day.
It taught me the most 19 lesson over the years of my teaching career, and I'm thankful that it came 20 and positively. A small kindness can indeed make a difference.
"If you're talking to me in a noisy restaurant and my nerve system is good at locking onto the sound of your voice, I understand what you say better."
The research at Northwestern University shows that (play) a musical instrument is good for your brain. And the brain remembers how to "lock onto" the important sounds, , our ears may not work as well as we age, and that helps us to hear better.
A scientist, living in France twenty years ago, (write) about what he called the "Mozart Effect". He said that could be helpful to the brain when listening to the classical music of Mozart. Some researchers said that Mozart's music would make you much (smart), or even have some health disorders (cure). Others said that there was nothing special about Mozart's music. Any kind of high energy music would work. So if the cost of a musical instrument or music lessons is too costly, can we get same brain experience just by listening?
Usually people have teachers, or they can teach themselves music. , the point is that they're actively playing a musical instrument and engaging in making music instead listening to music passively.
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I have always quite irrationally (无理性地) proud myself on my good health, for I only occasionally had to take a day off the work when I have had a cold. So I was quite offended (使不舒服) by my doctor, whom thought me fat. When we ran to each other in the street the other day, taking one look at me and told me that I was definitely fat and that I did not make effort to lose some weight, I could expect to have a heart attack before long. He added that, as many middleaged man, I led an inactive life. It was true that I had been getting fatter, so it was because I was getting older.
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