Just as slang words, table manners, and other common customs vary greatly from nation to nation, so do rude gestures. The last thing you want to do when traveling to a new country is to offend (冒犯) the locals. Here are some hand motions you'll want to be careful about making in certain countries.
Iran
What might seem to Americans like a universally positive gesture is not, in fact, universal. "Unfortunately, in Iran and neighboring countries, the thumbs-up is the same as the middle finger!" explains Dana Hooshmand, an author for Discover Discomfort. In America, the middle finger is the one showing disrespect; in Iran, it's the thumb. So, bear it in mind to avoid making this sign to Iranians.
Malaysia
As a little kid, you may have been blamed that "it's not respectful to point with your index finger!" especially if you dared pair the gesture with laughter. This is especially true in Malaysia. As a result, employees at Disney parks are trained to avoid doing this. Instead, if they must, they use two fingers or, the common alternative is to point with your thumb (particularly the right thumb).
Thailand
In USA, patting someone's head can be a sweet gesture, and messing someone's hair is a playful one. But in Thailand, it can be a serious offense. The head "is considered the most sacred (神圣的) part of the body, " she explains. So keep your hands away from others' heads to avoid disrespecting.
Taiwan, China
According to the locals, pointing to the moon will offend the moon goddess. Her punishment for this is very specific: She'll cut your ear of, or at the very least cut it in Van Gogh-style. So if you're admiring a beautiful full moon in Taiwan, try your best to keep your hands by your sides.
Working at a bank in New York City in the mid-2010s, Anna Sacks was living the life - just not the life she wanted. Sure, she was happy. But she wanted to do something that felt important and was fulfilling on a deeper level.
Some people seeking meaning might read a self-help book or perhaps volunteer a few hours a week. Sacks packed up her life and moved to Connecticut for three months to participate in Adamah, a Jewish farming program that focuses on sustainable (可持续的) living and growing sustainable food. She returned to New York with a new purpose and a variety of new skills to make her dreams a reality.
"One of the things that really stuck with me from Adamah, which means 'Earth' in Hebrew, was how they handled the waste they had, primarily through composting (堆肥)，" she says. "And I just thought, 'Why aren't we doing that here?"
The Adamah program opened Sacks' eyes to the damage that consumer culture is doing on a local, national, and global level, and the need to find solutions. So in 2016, she took a master composting course and started working with a food rescue program, which she named" trash walking. "
During walks around her neighborhood, Sacks, 31, picked through garbage to look for reusable items. Soon, her trash walks expanded to include company trash cans along with residential trash. Surprisingly, she discovered a wide range of really great stuff - like clothing, decorations, plates and food.
Sacks' main focus is simply getting people to pay attention to how many unnecessary things they buy and then throw away. "Once you become conscious of the way you consume, you can see ways you improve," she says.
The Moon is attracting much attention these days as NASA is ready for its Artemis I launch and preparing for more to follow. The mission objectives are clear: develop a sustainable presence on its surface and pave the way to go to Mars.
And then what? What's the next great leap in humans' quest for the secrets of the universe? When it comes to the near future scientific exploration, there are a few areas of the solar system that will be receiving some special attention.
First off there's Venus, a planet which was a relative paradise (天堂), with oceans and a pleasant atmosphere. Something went terribly wrong there a few billion years ago, and NASA has scheduled a series of missions to explore what exactly is going on there.
At the other end are the gas giants. Several of the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn are covered in thick sheets of ice, and underneath that ice sit oceans of liquid water. NASA has missions planned to investigate those mysterious worlds, hunting for any signs of possible life hidden deep within.
As for us humans, Mars is certainly the grand prize in the coming decades. If we have the adequate drive and funds, we can establish a semi-permanent presence on the red planet, keeping crews working and studying in person on the Martian surface. The other planets of our solar system are not so suitable for people to settle on. Mercury is too close to the Sun for comfort and too far away from the Earth.
Over the coming decades humans expect to see a rise of "space hotels", set up for visiting tourists and scientific explorations. Naturally, turning the space rock into a habitat for humans is not very practical considering our current level of technological maturity, but in my best estimation, it's the next easiest thing to accomplish. after the Moon and Mars, of course.
The typical image of a knitter(编织者) may be a white-haired lady but in the 1940s, young male Royal Air Force pilots used needles as they waited for their next mission. Wartime pilots crashed a lot and knitting helped rebuild flexibility in wounded limbs (四肢) and meanwhile settle wounded minds. They were the basis of early occupational therapy.
Today, millions of people around the world employ the same technique. Occupational therapist Jill Riley was part of a team from Cardiff University that surveyed more than 3,500 knitters and found that the more frequently people knitted, the calmer and happier they felt. As one person surveyed put it, "That rhythm of making stitch (针脚) after stitch is like deep breathing. It's a flow where you don't have to stress about it and you've got the rhythm happening. "
"Flow" is a concept first named by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. As he wrote in his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, The best moments in our lives are not the passive or relaxing times. The best moments usually occur if a person's body or mind is in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. " An artist, Shauna Richardson, knows just how true this is. The artist spent 18 months in a state of flow when she knitted three seven-metre-long lions for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad. To complete the task, she says she had to concentrate all her attention and keep a state of mind driven by rhythm and process.
Csikszentmihalyi also describes the opposite to flow. He points out that although people are healthier and live longer, they often end up feeling anxious and bored and cut off from satisfying work. Because knitting is so accessible - at its heart it's two sticks and one stitch-it helps people build confidence in their abilities. After all, if you make a mistake, you can just pull it all out and start again.
How to Cram (仓促准备) for a Test without Going Crazy
Do you have a test coming up you should have been studying for weeks ago? Don't worry. You're not alone, and all hope is not lost.
You must start with the basics. No, we're not talking about the material you're learning; we're talking about the environment you're in. Do it in a space that isn't crowded or messy. If you're worried about spending more time cleaning than studying, some of other favorite places to cram include coffee shops, bookstores, and parks.
We already stressed the importance of an environment, but we didn't talk about what you are using in that environment. If you have your phone with you, we suggest turning it on silent and putting it away. Close any outside communication applications and remove distractions from your study site to completely focus on the task at hand.
When studying, you shouldn't push yourself past your limit. Our general rule of thumb is to give yourself a break at least once every hour. Each of your breaks should last for at least 10 minutes at a time to ensure you are refreshed and ready to get back into it.
There are few things in the world as stressful as cramming for a test. Luckily, there are methods and tips to ensure you can still come out on top of your next test or exam. Grab a pencil and a notebook and start cramming!
A. So, what are you waiting for?
B. The same goes for your computer or laptop.
C. You're cramming, so it doesn't have to be neat.
D. Electronic products will help you find a rhythm for cramming.
E. In fact, there are a ton of effective methods to cram for a test the right way.
F. If you study in an unorganized place, you will lose focus and the motivation to succeed.
G. It may come as a shock to you, but you should set up a timer to remind yourself of a break.
Smith Justice and his son were coming back from the dentist, when they saw a homeless man in the road. Smith1to give the man some money, but didn't have any cash. His son suggested giving the man the 30 cents he had. But Smith was 2. He didn't want to give this man just 30 cents since the man 3 needed all the help he could get. Moreover, his own pride and thoughts of the homeless man's unknown4to receiving just thirty cents was standing 5.
Smith told his son what people saw as a good thing was not good enough to make a 6 in someone's life. But his son insisted. Smith 7 the window and said to the man, "I'm sorry, man. I don't have any 8 on me but my son wants to give you everything he has right now." The homeless man smiled, "God bless you, little man!" At that moment, the only thing 9 the brightness of the man's smile was the bigger smile on the little boy's face.
A chain reaction of kindness 10 behind them that day in Nashville, Tennessee, as other people rolled down their windows to11, too. Smith suddenly12 that he was the only problem in this situation. He said, "My little boy 13 me by his actions that it's always about the heart. It doesn't 14 how much you have or how little.15 love and sincerity will often bless others more than we think. "
Is there anything nicer than a cooling ice cream on a hot summer's day? This (freeze) dessert is old, but our tastes and consumer habits are changing. How is the ice cream production process changing, and who is driving it?
The recipe is simple, just a (combine) of milk, sugar and fat. But the process is complex, demands time and energy to get the materials mixed, heated, and then cooled. Designers are working (improve) the production process with new equipment. For now, , even with the help of robots, it can take up to two years from testing a new treat to being available to consumers.
So, what new things can we expect? It is millennial (千禧年的) consumers who are driving interest more flavours. They say the tastes for today's ice cream products
(limit) only by our imagination. But according to Elsebeth Baungaard, expert in economy, the next trend will be (little) about innovation and more about size. "I'm sorry to say it's (simple) reducing in size", she says, "but the quality will be higher."
Erika and the Necklace
Erika and her little sister Beth sneaked into their mommy's room. "I'm just going to try on some jewelry," said Erika. She took a necklace and tried to put it on her neck. "Oh, no,' said Beth. "Mommy doesn't like us playing with her stuff. " "Okay, you be the lookout," instructed Erika. "Stand by the door and let me know if Mommy comes up the stairs. "
Before Beth got to the door, Bouncer, the family's Bernedoodle dog, bounded into the room and almost knocked Erika down. The necklace went flying. It had barely hit the floor when Bouncer bit it and raced off.
"Bouncer! Bouncer!" yelled Erika. "Beth, help me get the necklace back. " The girls were hot on Bouncer's tail. "Stop!" they yelled. Bouncer dashed down the stairs and into the living room. He stopped just long enough for the girls to get close to him. Then of he went. "Stop!" yelled Erika. "Beth, you go the other way. We'll corner him in the dining room. "
Erika met Beth in the dining room. Sure enough, Bouncer was there waiting for them. He was down low on his front legs with his tail in the air, ready to play. "Grab him!" screamed Erika.
Just as Beth was about to grab him, Bouncer took off. He whizzed (嗖地移动) by Beth and Erika. "Stop, you troublemaker!" yelled Erika as she raced after him. The girls were getting close again, but Bouncer zoomed down the basement stairs. The girls raced after him. "I don't see him," said Beth. Erika scratched her head. "He's got to be down here. He's hiding. "
Just then Mom called to the girls. "Erika, what's al the noise? What's wrong? I heard you from the yard. " "Uh, oh," whispered Erika. "Uh. . nothing's wrong," she shouted.
Beth dashed up the stairs. Erika heard her telling Mom everything. "That blabber mouth (多嘴的人)，"said Erika under her breath.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
"ERIKA! said Mom. "Up here right now. "
Paragraph2:
Mom and Beth followed her into the basement (地下室), Erika carrying the snacks.
