【推荐1】A New Museum of Ice Cream

The hottest museum in New York has got pop art, its own subway and a line out the door and around the block. It might not really be a museum at all.

The Museum of Ice Cream has built its first location in 2016 in Manhattan. At that time, so many people headed there that its tickets sold out within five days. And then, it was followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami. Now, it founds a permanent (永久的) home in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood.

The newest Museum of Ice Cream is a dream place for people. It provides many kinds of delicious ice creams. But only this can’t explain its success. With the theme of ice cream, things in it are pink. There’s a subway that transports visitors to the dream world of dessert, a top-floor slide which is a child’s dream on the playground, a swimming pool and other items they will enjoy.

Unlike other museums where the phones are not allowed, everything in the Museum of Ice Cream makes taking photos so popular. People who visit it will tend to take many photos. The Rose Mansion and Color Factory that also introduce such experiences owe their success to the Museum of Ice Cream.

There is a sprinkle pool (糖果池) filled with candies. Creative founder Maryellis Bunn   dreamed of swimming in the sea of chocolate when she was a child. “It’s all about fun, and feeling like a kid again,” She said. So she designed it where she and 30,000 other New Yorkers could do that.

Tickets start at $39 and kids under 2 are free,plus more for private sprinkle pool parties and activities with up to 40 friends.

【推荐2】A man once said how useless it was to put advertisements in the newspapers, “Last week,” said he, “my umbrella was stolen from a London church. As it was a present, I spent twice its worth in advertising, but didn't get it back.”

“How did you write your advertisement?” asked one of the listeners, a merchant.

“Here it is,” said the man, taking out of his pocket a slip cut from a newspaper. The offer man took it and read, “Lost from the City Church last Sunday evening, a black silk umbrella. The gentleman who finds it will receive ten shillings on leaving it at No. 10 Broad Street.”

“Now,” said the merchant, “I often advertise, and find that it pays me well. But the way in which an advertisement is expressed is of very importance. Let us try for your umbrella again. and if it fails, I'll buy you anew one.”

The merchant then took a slip of paper out of his pocket and wrote: “If the man who was seen to take an umbrella from the City Church last Sunday evening doesn't wish to get into trouble, he will return the umbrella to No. 10 Broad Street. He is well known.”

This appeared in the paper, and on the following morning, the man was astonished when he opened the front door. In the doorway lay at least twelve umbrellas of all sizes and colors that had been thrown in, and his own was among the number. Many of them had nines fastened to them saying that they had been taken by mistake and begging the loser not to say anything about the matter.

【推荐2】The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was not that we could take drawing classes or painting classes but that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles (风格). It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?

First we had to read about ancient Egyptians (古埃及人) and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (鬈曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn’t see what was so great about art.

On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother’s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn’t stop looking at this painting! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.

【推荐3】“What is civilization?” asked Kenneth Clark 50 years ago in the influential BBC series on the subject. “I don’t know, and I can’t define it in abstract terms, yet. But I think I can recognize it when I see it, and I’m looking at it now.” And he turned to gesture behind him, at the soaring Gothic towers and flying buttresses of Notre Dame (巴黎圣母院).

It seems inhuman to care more about a building than about people. That the sight of Notre Dame going up in flames has attracted so much more attention than floods in southern Africa which killed over 1,000 arouses understandable feelings of guilt. Yet the widespread, intense grief at the sight of the cathedral’s collapsing steeple (尖塔) is in fact profoundly human—and in a particularly 21st-century way.

It is not just the economy that is global today, it is culture too. People wander the world in search not just of jobs and security but also of beauty and history. Familiarity breeds affection. A building on whose sunny steps you have rested, in front of which you have taken a selfie with your loved one, becomes a warm part of your memories and thus of yourself.

This visual age has given beauty new power, and social media have turned great works of art into superstars. Only a few, though, have achieved this status. Just as there is only ever a handful of world-famous actors, so the pantheon (万神殿) of globally recognizable cultural symbols is tiny: the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s David, the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid— and Notre Dame. Disaster, too, is visual. In the 24 hours after the fire started, videos on social media of the burning cathedral were viewed nearly a quarter of a billion times.

Yet the emotions the sight aroused were less about the building itself than about what losing it might mean. Notre Dame is an expression of humanity at its collective best. Nobody could look up into that arched (拱形的) ceiling without wondering at the collective genius of the thousands of unknown craftsmen who, over a century and a half, realized a vision so grand in its structural ambition and so delicate in its hand-made detail. Its survival through 850 years of political unrest—through war, revolution and Nazi occupation—binds the present to the past.

【推荐1】As COVID-19 broke out and spread in the world, many countries are changing their social habits in order to reduce the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus.

France

France is famous for its romantic greetings. They touch each other’s cheeks and make a kissing sound. But now, this habit may be coming to an end. Newspapers in France have begun publishing advice on how to replace kissing on the cheek. French etiquette expert Philippe Li-chtfus, who has been widely cited in the media, said that simply looking into a person’s eyes can suffice (足够) as a greeting.

Brazil

In Brazil, chimarrao is a special drink that is commonly shared among a group of close friends. When they share chimarrao, the tea is passed around in a metal cup, sometimes with a straw, and everyone takes turns drinking from it. But to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, Brazil announced that citizens should not share straws to consume the drink.

Australia

Australians are quite casual when it comes to greetings. “G'day, mate”, a handshake, and smile will suffice. But now the Australian government is urging Australians to take a pat on the back instead of a handshake. “There are other things that can be done, but certainly you could be exercising a degree of care and caution”, said New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard.

Iran

Traditionally, people in the Iran shake hands lo greet with one another. But today, the global pandemic has given rise to the “footshake” as a means of greeting. A video has gone viral in Iran, showing three friends meeting - hands in their pockets, with two of them wearing masks - tapping their feet against each other as a greeting.

【推荐2】Would you like to keep free e-books handy to read on your phone or tablet? Several websites offer e-books you can download without spending any money at all.

Amazon

Amazon is filled with free e-books you can download. Amazon’s Best Seller list is divided into Paid and Free. Check out the free sections in dozens of genres (种类), each listing the Top 100 free e-books so you will have a lot of choices. This list changes constantly, based on how well the books are “selling” and whether they become or remain free.

Over Drive

Over Drive is an e-book service that works with local libraries to lend free e-books to readers. It includes a wide collection of e-books, from new sellers to classics. Sometimes there is a wait for a library e-book, just as there can be for a popular print book.

Project Gutenberg

Started in 1971, Project Gutenberg has over 53,000 free e-books. Project Gutenberg e-books are available to download in the U. S. but may be restricted in other countries if they are still protected by copyright.

Apple i-Books

You can read free e-books on your iPhone and iPad using the i-Books app. Head to the iTunes App Store and click the “Free Books” category. You can see a list of the top best sellers. Click “Get” to download those books to your iPhone or iPad.

Audible

Audible lets you download audio (有声) books. You can get a free audio book when you sign up for a membership. Audible is currently available for listeners in the US, the UK, Canada, India, and Australia.

Finally, when you find a free e-book you want to read, get it right away. Often the offer is open only briefly. If you wait too long, you may discover the book now has a price attached.

【推荐3】Below you will find a profile(概述) of each gap year program. If there is a specific program you are interested in or a question you have regarding these programs, please feel free to contact them directly.

Youth International

Since 1997, Youth International has provided many people with the most exciting and educational experience of their life. It is a learning program that combines international travel, inter-cultural exchange, home stays, volunteer community service work and outdoor adventures.

Phone: 1-720-270-3323

Carpe Diem Education

Through volunteer service, travel and cultural exchange, students of Carpe Diem Education receive a personal insight into themselves and their cultures. We specialize in guiding summer and semester programs for high school students. Each course is carefully crafted to develop leadership and self-awareness within our students, who return home better prepared to be leaders in thought and action.

Phone: 503-285-1800

Center for Interim Programs

Founded in 1980, the Center for Interim Programs is the first independent gap year organization in America.

Based on students’ interests and budget, our experienced teachers help make individual course choices including low cost volunteer options, language programs, research trips and so on. We are committed to helping students find more experiences of formal education and work.

EF Gap Year

An EF Gap Year offers students the ability to explore several countries where you will learn a language, volunteer for a good cause, gain international work experience. Choose between a 12-week semester or 25-week academic year. You can then personalize your program to meet your learning goals and interests by deciding where, when, and how you wish to study on your own. Our well-structured curriculum even allows you to have college-level classes and earn credits toward graduation.

Phone: 1-800-726-9746