1 . On Monday, May 9, James Givens, a police officer in Cincinnati, Ohio, was sitting in his panda car. Just at that moment he heard what sounded like a _________. He turned around only to find a goose pecking (啄) at the car door. This was highly _________ given that the birds typically preferred to observe _________ from a distance.

But on this day, the goose appeared to be determined to get his _________ and kept pecking until Givens opened the car door and _________. The police officer says that though the bird then began to _________, it kept turning around to make sure he was _________. When they finally stopped, Givens _________ why the mother goose had been so — she wanted him to _________ her gosling (幼鹅) that had been trapped in some balloon string.

__________ that the mother goose would __________ him if he got close to the baby, Givens called the local SPCA (保护动物协会). __________, they were unable to send anyone to help right away. Therefore, he had to call his fellow police officer Cecilia Charron, who was nearby and soon __________ Givens. Concerned that the gosling would not survive the __________, Cecilia decided to take on the task herself.

As it turned out, there was __________ to worry about. The mother goose appeared to understand that Charron was trying to help and watched __________ from a safe distance as the officer untied the trapped bird. As soon as the little gosling was __________, it ran as quickly as possible to its __________, and they took off shortly after. Charron, a 24-year-old soldier of the police force, said this would probably __________ to be the most memorable incident of her __________!

2 . The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is one of the best books I have read in years. This is a page turner with complex characters and situations that will make you think hard about friendship, good and evil, betrayal, etc. It is intense and a great book by many measures.

On one level, The Kite Runner is the story of two boys in Afghanistan and Afghan immigrants in America. It is a story set in a culture that has become of increasing interest to Americans since the September 11, 2001 attacks. It also explores the history of the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. On this level, it provides a good way for people to learn more about Afghan history and culture in the context of the story.

Looking at The Kite Runner as a story about culture, however, misses what the book is really about. This is a novel about humanity. This is a story about friendship, loyalty, cruelty, longing for acceptance, redemption, and survival. The core story could be set in any culture because it deals with issues that are universal.

The Kite Runner looks at how the main character, Amir, deals with a secret in his past and how that secret shaped who he became. It tells of Amir’s childhood friendship with Hassan, his relationship with his father and growing up in a privileged place in society. I was drawn in by Amir’s voice. I sympathized with him, cheered for him and felt angry with him at different points. Similarly, I became attracted by Hassan and his father. The characters became real to me and it was difficult for me to put the book down and leave their world.

I highly recommend this book, especially for book clubs. For those of you who are not in a reading group, read it and then loan it to a friend. You are going to want to talk about it when you finish.

We are so used to many beautiful things that we may even take them for granted without realizing how much     1     (inspire) they have given us. Here are three fascinating architecture designs.

Singapore’s ArtScience Museum,     2     (shape) to resemble a lotus flower, appears to float above the waterfront promenade (公共散步场所). Its roof collects rainwater and the water is recycled. Visitors are often amazed to find     3     (they) in an urban building that so     4     (true) captures the beauty of nature forms.

Harare’s Eastgate Centre is a superb example of biomimicry. It was created by Mick Pearce who was inspired while watching a nature documentary     5     termites (白蚁) were constructing their nests. Just like the mounds of termites, the Center is covered in holes to draw air into the building during the day and the heat absorbed by the wall warms the cool air at night,     6     (create) a comfortable temperature inside.

The Algae House in Hamburg is     7     excellent piece of work of making natural organisms part of a building. Its surface is covered in panels that contain algae (藻类). The panels capture heat     8     the sun and convert it into energy that powers the building. The algae grow faster in bright sunshine and provide shade. Besides, the algae can     9     (harvest) and used to produce fuel. Therefore, the building uses less energy and reduces the damage to the environment by generating its own renewable energy.

Creating buildings such as these     10     (enable) us to live in closer harmony with our environment.

5 . The University of Greenwich Tours

Take a tour of our campuses and find out from our students what it’s like to live and study at the University of Greenwich (GU).

Greenwich is a world heritage (遗产) site, where our guides will take you from our brand-new Dreadnought building, through the antique Queen Anne and King William buildings. On the way, you will pass the recently redecorated Painted Hall as well as the Greenwich town center.

Our Avery Hill Campus covers the Southwood site. This ancient Victorian site houses teaching and library facilities, student accommodation, the students’ union and sports facilities. Our student guides will show you all the key characteristics of Southwood site, and also give you a tour of our Skills Labs.

Dating from 1903, the Medway Campus is located near Chatham Historic Dockyard in Kent. Self-guided tours include the teaching and learning facilities as well as the impressive student accommodation. The campus features a mix of social and leisure facilities, including our Students’ Union Hub, a restaurant in Pembroke building.

Explore the historic Maritime Campus and discover its rich maritime history. Our knowledgeable guides will show you around the campus. The tour will include a visit to the beautifully restored Old Royal Naval College, where you can learn about its fascinating history and stunning architecture.

Are you looking forward to having a tour? Click here and book one now. Welcome!

6 . Tai chi is a wellness practice that combines slow, gentle movements and postures with mindfulness.     1    . As a traditional, slow-moving form of Chinese martial art, tai chi is known to increase flexibility and improve balance. Now, new research suggests it’s better than more vigorous aerobic exercises for lowering blood pressure in people with prehypertension (高血压前期) .

In the study, researchers in China randomly assigned 342 adults with prehypertension to one of two interventions. Roughly half the people participated in aerobic exercise, including jogging, climbing stairs and cycling.     2     Both groups got hourlong sessions four times a week.

After 12 months, those in the tai chi group saw bigger drops in their blood pressure than those in the aerobic exercise group. What’s more, nearly 22% of the people who practiced tai chi saw their blood pressure fall to within normal range.     3     And fewer patients in the tai chi group went on to develop high blood pressure.

    4     The practice tends to elicit (引起) more of a response from the parasympathetic nervous system (副交感神经系统) that relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger, says Rut h Taylor-Piliae, a professor at the University of Arizona’s College of Nursing.

Tai chi is appealing as a form of exercise because it is low impact and requires little space or equipment. “I think the beauty of tai chi is that you don’t have to have a special gym membership or special clohing, “ Taylor-Piliae says. “Once you learn tai chi, you can do it anytime, anyplace, anywhere.     5    ”

Recently     1     Internet slang word foxi has become popular, encouraging young people to remain calm and peaceful and avoid conflict as much as possible,     2     other words, to live with an “I don’ t care” attitude. The word     3     (create) in Japan in 2014 to describe young men who no longer bother to follow someone else’s life path. They prefer to stay in their own world without     4     (disturb) and care little about passion and success.

Now, Chinese internet users are pairing the word with other words to describe a similar mindset, for example, “foxi students” are those     5     study just the right amount—they don’t cut class, but they don’t burn the midnight oil, either. However, some feel     6     (worry) about it, for they say that foxi actually reflects the     7     (real) that young people are losing their will    8     (fight). They are pretending to keep a healthy and wise attitude towards failure     9     (simple) because they’re unable to succeed.

But no matter what, there is one thing that “foxi youngsters”should keep in mind: Not only keep a calm mindset about failure,     10     be positive about school, work and life.

10 . Eradajere Oleita thinks she may have a partial solution to two of her country’s problems: garbage and poverty. It’s called the Chip Bag Project. The 26-year-old student and environmentalist from Detroit is asking a favor of local snack lovers: Rather than throw your empty chip bags into the trash, donate them so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the homeless.

Chip waters drop off their empty bags from Doritos. Lays. and other favorites at two locations in Detroit:a print shop and a clothing store. where Oleita and her volunteer helpers collect them. After they clean the chip bags in soapy hot water, they slice them open, lay them flat, and iron them together. They use padding (衬垫) and liners (衬里) from old coats to line the insides.

It takes about four hours to sew a sleeping bag and each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags depending on whether they’re single-serve or family size. The result is a sleeping bag that is “waterproof lightweight and easy to carry around”. Oleita told the Detroit News.

Since its start in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has collected more than 800,000 chip bags and, as of last December, created 110 sleeping bags. Sure, it would be simpler to raise the money to buy new sleeping bags. But that’s only half the goal for Oleita — whose family moved to the United States from Nigeria a decade ago with the hope of attaining a better life —and her fellow volunteers. “We are devoted to making an impact not only socially, but environmentally,”she says.

And, of course, there’s the symbolism of rescuing bags that would otherwise land in the trash and using them to help the homeless. It’s a powerful reminder that environmental problem and poverty often go hand in hand. As Oleita told hourdetroit.com, “I think it’s time to show connections between all of these issues.”