A rainforest is an area covered by tall trees with the total high rainfall spreading quite equally through the year and the temperature rarely dipping below 16℃. Rainforests have a great effect on the world environment because they can take in heat from the sun and adjust the climate. Without the forest cover，these areas would reflect more heat into the atmosphere, warming the rest of the world. Losing the rainforests may also influence wind and rainfall patterns，potentially causing certain natural disasters all over the world.

    In the past hundred years，humans have begun destroying rainforests in search of three major resources（资源）: land for crops，wood for paper and other products，land for raising farm animals. This action affects the environment as a whole. For example，a lot of carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）in the air comes from burning the rainforests. People obviously have a need for the resources we gain from cutting trees but we will suffer much more than we will benefit.

    There are two main reasons for this. Firstly，when people cut down trees，generally they can only use the land for a year or two. Secondly，cutting large sections of rainforests may provide a good supply of wood right now，but in the long run it actually reduces the world's wood supply.

    Rainforests are often called the world's drug store. More than 25％ of the medicines we use today come from plants in rainforests. However，fewer than 1％of rainforest plants have been examined for their medical value. It is extremely likely that our best chance to cure diseases lies somewhere in the world's shrinking (萎缩的) rainforests.

    For years now, I've been wanting to sell our house, the place where my husband and I raised our children. But to me, this house is much more than just a building.

    In the front room, there's a wall that has hundreds of pencil lines, marking the progress of my children's growth. Every growth stage is marked in grey, with each child's name and the date when they were measured. Most people I know have been featured on a wall like this, or at least had a wall like it in their home.

    Of all the objects and memories, it is this thing in a home that is the hardest to leave behind. Friends I know have returned home after work only to discover their wall of heights has been freshly painted over. A new paint job wouldn't normally be greeted by tears, but erasing that evidence of motherhood hurts more than it should. Our children grow in so many ways, but the wall is the physical evidence of their progress, right there for everyone to see.

    Over the years, I've talked about how much I would hate leaving that wall behind when I moved, even though the last marks were made 10 years ago when my children stopped growing.

    So one day, while I was at work, my children decided to do something about it. They hired Jacquie Manning, a professional photographer. She came to our house, and over several hours, took photos of the hundreds of drawings and lines, little grey fingerprints and old marks. Somehow, she managed to photograph all those years of memories perfectly. Afterwards, she put all the photos together into one image, changing them into a beautiful history of my family.

    Three weeks later, my children's wonderful gift made its way to me — a life-size photo of the pencil lines and fingerprints that represents an entire lifetime of love and growth.

    Reuel Tolkien (1892 ~ 1973), the British linguist, writer. He created a fantasy novel “The Lord of the Rings”, the well-known trilogy (三部曲).

    Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. When he was 4 years old, his father died and his family moved back to England. Tolkien graduated from Oxford University when he was 23 years old, and participated in the First World War. During the war, Tolkien suffered from “trench fever” and stayed in the hospital until the end of World War I. It was the days in the hospital that he began his writing career first.

    After the war, Tolkien became a linguist. He was an edition of the “New English Dictionary” of 1918 ~ 1920. However, he was more researching to Anglo-Saxon language which makes his extensive contacts in Britain and the Nordic spread all over the folklore and mythology.

    In 1937, Tolkien completed his first work “The Hobbit”. Although this was a fairy tale, it was also suitable for adults to read. Because of good sales, publishers (Allen & Unwin) convinced Tolkien to write its sequel. This encouraged Tolkien to complete his most famous works the epic (史诗) trilogy “The Lord of the Rings”. The works of writing went on for almost a year with the support from his good friend Lewis.

    At the beginning “The Lord of the Rings” was similar works for children, but after that writing style quickly became serious and dark. “The Lord of the Rings” was one of the most popular literary works in the 20th century in terms of sales and readers' evaluation. Tolkien's influence is important, for the success of “TheLord of the Rings” makes the fantasy novels of this literature genre (体裁) developed rapidly.

    Pastime is a bi-monthly magazine for curious young minds. Many of the topics we write about won't be covered in the classroom. All the articles are written in a lively style, and each one is paired with drawings by some of the country's most talented artists.

    History focuses on archaeological (考古的) sites around the world where archaeologists work to unearth important finds.

    World includes stories about daily life, folk tales, and history and traditions of the people and places.

    Sport includes nutrition tips, information about up-and-coming young athletes, and sports events.

    Art stimulates a child's cultural life, from film to theatre through to writing and music.

    On top of all that, Pastime is packed with items to stimulate a youngster's imagination, including pages of puzzles and a step-by-step guide to creating their own impressive-looking drawings.

    In every issue, we review the latest books top authors write for youngsters. There are also short works of fiction written especially for Pastime by some of our best writers.

    We know that children at this age are dealing with many emotions and sometimes difficult feelings, so we have a personal advice page to reply to questions dealing with personal and moral problems.

    Unlike many of today's throwaway comics, Pastime is written and designed to be kept and treasured. We know children love going online — but we also know how much they enjoy holding a printed magazine in their hands, and the excitement they get when each new issue drops through the letterbox personally addressed to them.

    Subscription

    Pastime is published six times a year. An annual subscription costs just £20 and makes a great gift for any child aged eight to twelve.

    To order by phone: Dial 1-800-821-0156 and use Offer Code WEBSAVE86 for print-only subscriptions.

    You can cancel at any time for magazines that haven't shipped yet.

Take one step closer to the lights on Broadway－build essential theater skills and start carving out your own creative professional path

Immersing themselves in the amazing, unparalleled New York theater scene, students will explore and analyze the craft, including creating an original piece and meeting professionals in the field. Throughout the term, students will use both classroom work and site visits around the downtown to examine and complete the creative process of taking an initial idea to production, gaining technical expertise (专业知识) and fluency in theater.

Students will also explore different areas of professional skill development, including playwriting structure and techniques, acting methods that help bring a play to life, scene structure. The course is open to all students－from those who are curious about the field but have no prior experience to those who already have one (or more!) plays, waiting to be developed.

Course Highlights

● Complete a hands-on experience in playwriting, acting and production, learning about the real processes the industry uses to create theater productions.

● Brainstorm, develop a concept, write and workshop a draft of a short play or scene, and bring it to stage with input and feedback from instructors and peers.

● Get a close-up view of the often-opaque (不透明的) business of theater, focusing on impacts to the profession brought about by social movements and current events.

Tuition*

● Residential Program (Students live in dorm-like facilities in the center of the city): $6,845

● Day Program (Students commute to class every day and do not receive accommodation and board): $5,560

(We encourage graduating seniors to apply before June 21, 2024 for a $425 discount on tuition.)

Term Date: July 21－Aug 2, 2024

Application Deadline: Friday, July 12, 2024

Contact Admission: info@nytedu.com

*We believe financial circumstances should not prevent someone from joining our program. Explore financial aid and scholarships.Learn More