Ieoh Ming Pei, an influential architect of the twentieth century, has created many cross-cultural projects. His distinctive identity — as     1     American architect born in China — gives him a special transnational background. Scholars typically try to locate his design inspirations in his childhood memories, connecting Pei with his dual-cultural (双文化) background and     2     (describe) his buildings based on his biography. Suzhou, the town     3     Pei family was located, is often mentioned by scholars as a way     4     (understand) I. M. Pei’s Chinese cultural background. The city is famous     5     its architecture and landscape, especially its ancient gardens.

    6     (found) in 1960 and originally located in the national historic landmark, Zhong Wang Fu Palace complex, the Suzhou Museum has been a highly-regarded regional museum with a number of significant Chinese cultural     7     (relic).

A new museum designed by world-famous architect I. M. Pei     8     (complete) in October 2006, covering over 10,700 square meters and located at the cross of Dongbei Street and Qimen Road. The design of this new museum     9     (visual) adds to the traditional architecture of Zhong Wang Fu. I. M. Pei designed the current building of the Suzhou Museum in     10     (associate) with Pei Partnership Architects at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

6 . Justin Gavin, 18, was on a walk to a local shop. Then he saw something that made his heart _________. A small SUV _________ in flames (火焰) drove past him.

“I’m yelling (叫喊) to stop the car! Your car is on fire! Your car is on fire!” Gavin said. But the driver — a mother of three kids, couldn’t stop. That’s when, Gavin says, he didn’t have _________ to think and fell into action. He ran after the burning car to help the family _________. “I just felt like if I were in that _________, I would want somebody to help me out,” Gavin said. “I guess my instincts (本能) _________.”

When Gavin finally reached the _________, it had come to a stop. He _________ the car door and helped the mother out of the driver’s seat first. As the flames grew larger, he pulled the three children in the back seat to _________. Moments later the car was swallowed by flames.

“It kind of got __________ because I didn’t know whether I was going to be able to get everyone out in time. And __________, I did,” Gavin said.

The mother __________ the teen with saving her family’s life. The police department honored Gavin as a __________ and awarded the teenager with a “challenge coin” to acknowledge his __________ act.

Gavin said the experience was inspiring and changed his __________ of life. “It made me realize life is short and valuable,” Gavin said.

7 . The best travel destinations are not only beautiful but also safe, and offer a unique experience.     1    . The following factors will help you pick your next travel destination.

Explore new travel destinations

    2    . It would be impossible for you to travel to all of them. One of the best ways to narrow down your choices is by looking at new places that have caught your interest recently. And ensure that you have never been there before. If you are an adventurous traveler, explore remote and less popular destinations that offer unique experiences.

    3    

When choosing your next travel destination, visa requirements can be a game-changer. You don’t want to go through the hassle (麻烦) of applying for a visa only to find out that getting one is not possible. Some countries offer visa-free entry or visas on arrival for certain nationalities. That’s something to consider when making your decision.

Think of your travel budget

That’s probably the most important factor when choosing a holiday destination. You need to ensure that your chosen destination is within your budget. But don’t worry; there are plenty of affordable places to travel to. Southeast Asia, for example, is very budget-friendly.     4    .

Consider the mode of travel

That might not be important for some of you, but it is for some people who try to avoid flying, sailing, or bus as much as possible due to fear of heights, enclosed spaces, or motion sickness. And that’s completely understandable.     5    . If you have any fear or simply don’t like certain types of transportation, ensure to factor that in when making your decision.

8 . When we’re facing a complex problem, we often gather a group to brainstorm. We’re looking to get the best ideas as quickly as possible. We love seeing it happen — except for one problem. Group brainstorming usually backfires.

Extensive evidence shows that when we generate ideas together, we fail to maximize collective intelligence. Brainstorming groups fall so far short of their potential that we get more ideas — and better ideas —if we all work alone. As the humorist Dave Barry quipped (打趣道),“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be: ‘meetings’.” But the problem isn’t meetings themselves — it’s how we run them.

To unearth the hidden potential in teams, instead of brainstorming, we’d better turn to a process called “brain writing”. The initial steps are solo. You start by asking everyone to generate ideas separately. Next, you pool them and share them anonymously (匿名地) among the group. To preserve independent judgment, each member evaluates them on their own. Only then does the team come together to select and refine (完善) the most promising options. By developing and assessing ideas individually before choosing and stating them, teams can surface and advance possibilities that might not get attention otherwise.

An example of great brain writing was in 2010 when 33 miners were trapped underground in Chile. With time of the essence, the rescue team didn’t hold long brainstorming sessions. They established a global brain writing system to crowd source independent ideas. A tiny plastic telephone ended up becoming the only means of communicating with the miners. And the specialized drill that ultimately made it possible to save the miners was suggested by a 24-year-old engineer.

Organizational behavior scholar Anita Woolley helps to explain why this method works. They find that a key to collective intelligence is balanced participation. In brainstorming meetings, it’s easy for participants to become in favor of the most powerful people. The brain writing process makes sure that all ideas are brought to the table. The goal isn’t to be the smartest person in the room — it’s to make the room smarter.

9 . The “mark test” (or “mirror test”) is a way to test animal intelligence — whether an animal can recognize itself, especially animals with large brains. A mark is put on an animal, usually in a spot that can only be seen with a mirror. Then the animal is allowed to look in a mirror. If the animal seems to pay attention to the mark, scientists believe the animal has recognized itself.

But some scientists believe the mark test doesn’t work well for all animals. Roosters (公鸡) are a good example. Scientists at the University of Bonn recently ran the mark test on roosters. They put a pinkish triangle on the chest of the roosters. But when the roosters looked in a mirror, they didn’t seem to notice the mark.

The scientists needed a different way to test whether the roosters could recognize themselves. When there’s danger — like a hawk (鹰) flying above — roosters make loud calls to warn nearby chickens. But roosters only make the cries if other chickens can hear them. If they’re alone, they remain quiet so the hawk won’t see them. The scientists realized that they could use the shadow of a hawk to test if roosters could recognize themselves in a mirror.

First, the scientists let the roosters spend time getting used to being in a closed-in space and having a mirror around. Then, they ran several tests by making a hawk shadow appear above the bird and watching how the rooster reacted.

When there was no mirror, the roosters reacted as usual. They called out when they were near another rooster, but remained quiet when they were alone. But when a rooster was in a space where it could see itself in the mirror, it wasn’t fooled into thinking there was another rooster. It remained silent despite the hawk shadow.

It proves the roosters knew they were seeing themselves in the mirror, and not other roosters. That suggests that the mark test may not be a good test of whether an animal can recognize itself.

The scientists hope their results will encourage other scientists to look for better ways of testing self-recognition in animals.

10 . AMTRAK TRAIN TICKETS FROM WASHINGTON TO NEW YORK

Deals and discounts

The train company has a discount policy on train tickets. It offers a discount for family groups (3 or more people) and babies. It offers a 50% discount for babies under the age of 24 months. Disabled people and people with reduced mobility can receive free assistance at the train station and on the train.

Ticket refunds and exchanges

If the passenger has any problem before the trip, the train company allows some kind of changes like: refund if the client won’t travel anymore or schedule changes. But remember, there are cancellation fees that vary according to the advance of the change request.

Boarding on train

It’s important to arrive at the station one hour before your train leaves, so you can check your ticket without problems.

Baggage size and weight limits

Each train company has its own rules about carrying luggage. The company allows the transport of one or two pieces of luggage weighing up to 20kg.

Pets on train

American train companies do not allow the transport of animals in their carriages.

Have an awesome train trip!