So many stories, so little time. Our favorite book clubs for kids will ensure that your kid is reading the coolest picks on the bestseller list and beyond!
Book Culture
This community bookstore goes above and beyond to make itself a destination for reading and playing alike. In addition to its inviting children's room, packed with puzzles, art supplies, clothing and toys, the store attracts kids with its weekend storytelling sessions (一段时间), often featuring guest appearances by authors popular with kids.
Thalia Kids Book Club
Kids stay in close touch with best-selling authors and participate in writing workshops and literary camps around the city. In the past, campers have met with big names like Norton Juster (The Phantom Tollboth) and Rebecca Stead (When You Reach Me). Camp runs July 14—Aug 8, Mon—Fri, 9 am—4 pm. One-week session $675. Ages 9 to 13.
Dimenna's Children's History Museum
This new 18,000 square-foot space is perfect for those who can't resist good books, including new releases, small press collections, translated works and more. But the bookshop is not just a place to make purchases. The 160-seat auditorium, reading room and classroom space will welcome book lovers for a wide variety of events. All ages.
The Center for Fiction
In an effort to add a personal touch to reading, this 18,000 square-foot space offers its own take on a book club for schools in the area—completely free of charge. Readers are invited to meet the authors they've been reading in class, ask questions and learn about the stories in a welcoming environment.
Andrea Martínez, a 21-year-old law student at the National Autonomous University of México, has been admitted as the country's first female college football (橄榄球) player. When Martínez tried out for the team, she assumed the school had a women's team where she might be placed, but was told she would be playing alongside the men.
Martínez got her start as a soccer player before trying out for the university's football team after they posted an open call for kickers. Martínez wasn't out to play football specifically, but saw that she could apply her talents as a soccer player to a new game. "The decision I made was to try a new sport. Nothing else," she said. "I was very happy when I heard the news that I had been the girl selected."
Martínez is not the only soccer player turning to football, especially as it becomes more popular throughout the country. It is estimated that there are about 48 million football fans in Mexico and the numbers are growing. Martínez is also not the first female college football kicker, although she is the first one in Mexico. In 1997, Liz Heaston became the first woman in the US to play that position on a college team. However, Ashley Martin was the first woman to score a point as a kicker in 2001.
It was never Martínez's intention to become famous, but that's exactly what has happened. So far, Martínez has done more than 80 interviews and has seen herself on the cover of every major newspaper in the country and even on national television, a rarity (罕见的事) for any college football player.
"There are little girls and boys who come and ask me for a photo or come up and say very nice words to me," she said. "It's the most satisfying thing I've ever felt, realizing that perhaps I'm inspiring them a little."
The Okapi Wildlife Reserve, located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to one-sixth of the remaining wild okapi in the world. It protects many other wildlife species as well as one-fifth of the Ituri forest. But despite its status, the reserve is under threat from human activities.
Mining, deforestation (森林破坏), and illegal hunting are all threatening the reserve, and criminals have murdered several people, including forest guards, since 2012. Forest loss is expanding rapidly. In 2020, the most deforestation in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve since records began in 2002 was recorded via satellite data. Since 2002, the area has lost about 7% of its total forest cover. Most recently, satellite data shows deforestation along the Ituri River in late 2021, likely from illegal gold mining.
"Miners are actually eating the reserve out of its wildlife by hunting animals for food. There is almost no wildlife left around the mine itself, and wildlife numbers are greatly reduced around mining towns," said John Lukas, co-founder of the Okapi Conservation Project.
Protecting the reserve is important for the endangered okapi and other wildlife that call the region home, but preserving the area's forests is of particular significance in dealing with climate change.
"The forests of Congo, more than forests in the Amazon and in Asia, store carbon even in times of drought and rising temperatures," explained Lukas. "Preserving the forests not only provides habitats for okapi, elephants and chimpanzees but gives humans time to adjust our source of energy to be more sustainable and carbon neutral (碳中和). Hopefully the Western world will financially support the countries of the Congo basin to value their forests as sources of life and not just a kind of goods to be sold."
Life expectancy (寿命) in Africa rose by nearly 10 years in the first two decades of this century, according to the World Health Organization. "This rise is greater than in any other region of the world during the same period," the WHO said.
In the year 2019, the average African could expect to live to be 56. However, that is still well below the global average of 64 years. WHO official Lindiwe Makubalo warned the life expectancy gains could easily be lost unless countries strengthen and make greater investments in the development of health care systems.
Makubalo said Africa has made a good start over the past two decades. On average, she said, access to essential services like basic health care improved to 46% in 2019 compared with 24% in 2000. "Other factors include improvements in reproductive, newborn and child health care, as well as advances in fighting infectious (传染的) diseases, such as TB, malaria and HIV."
While progress has been made in preventing and treating infectious diseases, the report found health services for non-infectious diseases are lagging. It says the great rise in diabetes, cancer and other non-infectious diseases could jeopardize (危害) health gains if those conditions continue to be ignored.
The report says the COVID-19 outbreak has brought about greater damages to essential health services in Africa compared to other regions of the world, which might affect healthy life expectancy.
"It is important that significant improvements are made in health services, and governments ensure quality, equal and accessible services for all," Makubalo said.
According to the report, some progress has been made in achieving universal health coverage, but it is far from enough. Health officials say one of the key measures to improve access to health services is for governments to increase their public health budgets. That, they say, would reduce the huge out-of-pocket expenses by families that are pushing millions of people into poverty.
Try to picture the world before refrigerators. That may be difficult! They may also help store leftovers there after dinner. Yes, life today would be quite different without refrigerators. How did people keep their food fresh before these machines were around?
In cold areas, ancient people could freeze their food. They could then store it in ice and snow. Warmer places allowed for drying food in sunlight. Experts say these early practices gave people the option to settle and form communities.
One advanced method of food storage arose in Persia around 400 BC. People there stored food in structures called Yakhchal, which were buildings made from mud brick to keep ice frozen during even the warmest summer months. During the Middle Ages, people stored meat by salting or smoking it. These foods could then be stored in cool places, like caves, allowing people to save food for difficult times.
Later, buildings called ice houses or ice pits were built upon the idea of the Yakhchal. Such ice houses were very common by the 1800s. At the end of the 19th century, many people kept their food fresh in iceboxes made of wood. Ice delivery businesses grew with more homes requiring ice to store food.
By the 1930s, many people were using electric refrigerators to keep food fresh. Many refrigerators today come with built-in ice makers. Some people even choose smart refrigerators that can help them with meal plans and grocery shopping.
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A. They would also dry many foods, including grains. B. These containers held large blocks of ice to keep food cool. C. No one knows for sure how people first learned to store food. D. After all, kids today are used to grabbing a snack from the fridge after school. E. Since then, growth in technology has led these machines to become more advanced. F. With no means to store food, ancient people often went hungry or even died. G. Actually, people found different ways to keep their food fresh thousands of years ago. |
Andrew Chilton was diagnosed with autism (自闭症) at age eight. There was a lot to1. Would he ever have a job? Live2? Doctors and school officials3that Andrew might not even graduate from high school.
Andrew's family would do anything for him. Christy Chachere, the boy's personal care attendant, saw the4right away. "You have to let him5," she told the family. "It's the6way he learns to do things on his own."
No longer would Andrew's mother write his papers. His younger brother wouldn't7him to operate the computer. Christy wouldn't help him with homework either.
Andrew8. Loudly at times. But then what Christy expected began to9. Andrew would come home from school, get a snack and start on his homework. Christy was10there. She wouldn't do his papers for him. But she showed him how to get organized. Best of all, Christy offered11once his work was done. She'd12him to a store where he could buy Pokémon cards. To the movies. Or out to eat his favorite food.
Christy has been with Andrew for six years. She has successfully helped13the life of a boy with autism. One14at a time, Andrew gained independence. He graduated from high school and entered community college. "Life has never been15," said Andrew.
The world is in a climate crisis. We need to change how we get our power, which (mean) we need to end the use of fossil fuels, like oil and gas. The European Space Agency (ESA) has started on work that could provide (million) of homes with clean and reliable energy. It has approved three-year project to test huge solar farms in space. These solar farms are expected (send) energy wirelessly from space into peopled homes. An ESA spokesperson said one solar-farm satellite could create the same amount of electricity a power station on Earth. She added that the satellites will be around 1.7 km in (long) and their aim is to have many of these giant satellites (place) in low-Earth orbits. They could cut our use of fossil fuels and reduce energy shortages.
The ESA project (call) Solaris. Josef Aschbacher, is currently the director-general of the ESA, said that Solaris could be of great significance. "We humans are consuming large quantities of fossil fuels. We need to change the way we produce energy. We especially need to reduce the fossil fuel part of our energy production," said Josef. "It would be (absolute) fantastic if we could do it from space. It would be a solution to lots of problems."
One Christmas Eve, my seventeen-year-old son called me from the bakery where he worked part-time. He was on the evening shift with a couple of co-workers, and the store was about to dose. The person from a local charity who was scheduled to pick up the leftover bread and cakes hadn't shown up. He was worried about what to do with the food, so I suggested he call the manager to ask for advice. The manager told him to throw the leftovers into the garbage—approximately $1,500 worth of fresh baked goods.
It seemed completely wrong for all this good food to go to waste, so we talked about where we could take it. A new homeless shelter had just opened in our area, so I called and asked if they could use a delivery of free baked goods.
An excited staff member said, "Yes, please!" I drove to the bakery and, together with my son and his co-workers, we loaded up the truck and made our way to the homeless shelter. As we walked toward the entrance, a woman stopped and held open the door for us. Thinking we were staff, she thanked us for what we were doing and said she was really grateful for her new temporary home. She introduced herself and told us her street friends call her "Star". We chatted for a while on the sidewalk with light snow falling around us. She said that moving off the streets into the shelter had saved her life.
Star told us she spent her days looking out for those who needed help and trying to do kind things for others whenever she could. Then she asked for a favor. She showed us a phone number. She'd wanted to tell her friend she was okay so he wouldn't worry, but she couldn't afford the long-distance call. I said I would be happy to pass on her message. She wrote his name on a card. Then she hugged us both, and we wished each other a merry Christmas.
注意：
1）续写词数应为150左右；
2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
On Christmas morning, I called the number on the card. A man answered the phone.
A few months later, I was driving when I saw Star standing in the middle of the crosswalk.
