The Benefits of a Decluttered Home
A cluttered space has the potential to cause stress, impact productivity and generally make household tasks much more difficult. No matter how clean and organised your family have been, it’s very normal to accumulate a lot of stuff over time. Raising children can mean your own well-being and goals for your home are put on hold during this time. So, why not transform your house into what you’ve always wanted it to be, now you have the time and space to do so?
When your home is cluttered, your mind can become cluttered too. Not to mention the stress caused by being unable to locate something amongst the piles and piles of things you own. Start small by decluttering just one room—say, the living room, for example—and see just how much calmer you feel when you spend time in there in your newly decluttered space.
Just because you’ve got your eyes closed doesn’t mean that you’re suddenly blind to all the clutter surrounding you. Your brain will be mentally processing all the external stimuli of the clutter, making it difficult to wind down and settle your mind, ready for sleep. Clear out your bedroom and see how easy it is to drift off without the clutter around you.
A lot of people find it difficult to concentrate when surrounded by clutter, such as trying to work at a messy, disorganised desk. Excess things surrounding you can have a negative impact on your ability to focus. All the things around you will be competing for your attention, decreasing your productivity and increasing stress levels.
Without all that clutter, you should find your concentration levels increase. Not to mention, you’re certain to get a boost of creativity now that your head is cleared and you’re free to think about what you’re doing without being distracted by the things around you.
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Green is an important colour in nature. It is the colour of grass and the leaves on trees, the colour of most growing plants.
Sometimes the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes it describes something that is not yet ripe or finished.
Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a “green thumb”. The expression and a similar one, “green fingers”, come from the 1990s. A person with “green thumb” seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grown quickly and well. You could say that the woman next door has a “green thumb” when her garden continues to produce long after your plants have died.
You may wish to have a “green thumb”, but you surely do not wish to be a “greenhorn”. A “greenhorn” is a person who has no experience, who is new to a situation.
In the 15th century, a “greenhorn” was a young cow or ox whose horns had not yet developed. A century or so later a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in a battle. By the 18th century a greenhorn had the meaning it has today—a person who is new in a job.
Green is also the colour used to describe the powerful emotion, jealousy. The “green-eyed monster” is not a frightening creature from outer space. It is the name given by Shakespeare in his play Othello to jealousy.
When someone talks about the “green-eyed monster”, he is talking about the unpleasant feeling a person has when he thinks he has lost the person he loves to someone else. You could say that a person has been suffering from the “green-eyed monster” ever since his girlfriend began going out with someone else.
In most places in the world, a green light is a signal to go ahead. A green light traffic signal means your vehicle may continue on.
In everyday speech a “green light” means approval to continue with a program or action. A government agency may be given the “green light” to go ahead with a project after the government approves it.
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Great Adventurers to Mt Qomolangma
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the impossible possible.They have been on top of the world.They climbed Mount Qomolangma!Tenzing Norgay is among the world’s famous mountain climbers;he was one of the first two individuals who reached the summit of Mount Qomolangma with Sir Edmund Hillary on May 29,1953.
In 1935, he got an opportunity to join in the Mount Qomolangma expedition. He was employed by Eric Shipton. In 1953 he took part in the seventh expedition to Mt Qomolangma.A member of the team, Edmund Hillary was also there. This expedition took 400 people, of which 362 were porters. The expedition set up base camp in March,1953.Working slowly it set up its final camp at the South Col at 7,890m.On May 26 Bourdillon and Evans attempted the climb but turned back when Evans’ oxygen system failed.The pair had reached the South Summit,coming within 91m of the summit.Hunt then directed Norgay and Hillary to go for the summit.Snow and wind held the pair up at the South Col for two days.They set out on May 28 with a support trio of Alfred Gregory,Ang Nyima and a member called Lowe.The two pitched a tent at 8,500m on May 28 while their support group returned down the mountain.
On the following morning Hillary discovered that his boots had frozen solid outside the tent.He spent two hours warming them before he and Norgay attempted the final ascent wearing 14kg packs.They finally reached the summit but only spent fifteen minutes there.Hillary took the famous photo of Norgay posing with his ice-axe, but since Norgay had never used a camera,Hillary’s ascent went unrecorded.Additional photos were taken looking down the mountain in order to reassure that they had made it to the top and that the ascent was not faked.
The two had to take care on the descent after discovering that drifting snow had covered their tracks,complicating the task of retracing their steps.The first person they met was Lowe,who had climbed up to meet them with hot soup.Then they climbed on down the mountain.
After a lot of struggles they stood on the top of Mount Qomolangma.They have been on top of the world!
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Instagram Concerns
Although the popular social media APP Instagram can be used in many positive ways, there are significant risks to your child that all parents should be aware of.
Many Instagram users are known for their perfectly posed and edited photos of delicate life. The line between reality and what is posted on social media is often vague. Teens often find it impossible not to compare their appearance, belongings, status, and lifestyle to the lives of those they follow. It is so easy for a child to become consumed by this constant comparison. If your child has gathered a large Instagram following or does not have proper settings turned on, shared information may be public for all to see. Although content showed in your child's Instagram feed is tailored toward their browsing history and interests, it is possible they could encounter potentially inappropriate subject matter.
Feeling concerned or worried? Rather than banning your child from the platform entirely, you might consider the following:
When a child spends too much time viewing life through the images of others, they can forget to take the time to truly live their own life. Encourage your child to incorporate plenty of screen-free and Instagram-free time into their daily lives. One way you can influence your child to develop a healthy relationship with social media is by demonstrating one yourself. Set aside your own screen-free time each day. Also, it is crucial that, as a parent, you understand your child's social media presence and have open and honest conversations about the dangers of self-comparison and oversharing on Instagram. If you notice your child is constantly experiencing the side effects of Instagram-despite your best efforts-take the steps necessary to protect your child. For some, this may mean locking the app on your child's phone until a compromise can be reached.
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Studies have shown that children from poor families have more difficulty in school than other boys and girls.Children with higher socioeconomic roots seem better prepared and perform better on school tests.
Now, American researchers may have found a biological reason for that difference.They found differences in the brains of students who had low standardized test scores.Their brains had less gray matter and their temporal lobes(颞叶) developed more slowly than the other children.The findings were reported in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.Temporal lobes and gray matter are very important brain areas, says researcher Barbara Wolfe.“The brain areas are critical in the sense that they keep developing until individuals are well into their adolescence or early 20s,and critical in the sense that they are important for executive function,” she said.
Researchers studied brain images of nearly 400 children and young adults.The youngest subjects were four years old.The oldest were 22.Researchers looked for a connection between the person’s socioeconomic status and his or her test results.On average, young people from poor families had test scores between 3 and 4 points below what is expected for their age group.The poorest students scored between 8 and 10 points below the developmental norm.
Ms Wolfe says there are several reasons why poorer students often have lower scores.One reason could be poor children do not get the food they need for healthy development.Poor parents are less likely to stimulate their children’s brains through talk，play, and activities.Ms Wolfe also blames the “stress that parents face in trying to deal with poverty, putting food on the table”. The researchers say that up to 20 percent of the achievement gap, or difference in test performance,could be tied to poverty.
Ms Wolfe suggests early action may improve the brain development of children living in poverty.Reaching out to children when they are very young could help raise their test scores and academic performance when they are older.
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Computer Science Career Opportunities
Computer scientists and engineers continue to be in great demand. As businesses everywhere use increasingly sophisticated and complex computer technology in their daily operations, there is a greater need for the expertise of highly-skilled professionals. As a result, there are more jobs created in the U.S. than transferred offshore.
In fact, good jobs — offering a high salary, interesting work and benefits — are plentiful in the computer science field. However, to obtain one, you will need to complete a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in the subject area. Most colleges and universities offer degrees in computer science and computer engineering, and Cabrillo College courses transfer to the majority of them.
Once you have completed your degree in computer science, a typical career path is software development. The U.S. Department of Labor lists software developers among the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. The most recent study predicts that software developer jobs will grow by 24.0% nationally in the ten-year period ending in 2026. By comparison, the average job growth rate for all occupations is 7.4% for the same period. In California, jobs for software developers, applications are expected to increase by 40.1%, between 2016 and 2026, far exceeding the average rate for all occupations of 10.7%.
Because of the high demand for job candidates with a computer science background, careers in computer science-related fields are well-remunerated. The average starting salary for a new computer science graduate is over $72,000 per year nationally, while the median salary for all software developers and programmers is over $103,000 annually. By comparison, the median salary for all occupations is $50,516 per year. Thus, as a computer science graduate, you can expect to make more than twice the salary of most occupations.
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7 December is International Civil Aviation Day. Of course, we immediately think of the Wright brothers, the great pioneers who invented and put the first airplane into the sky.
The more you study the efforts the brothers made, the more you admire them. These were men who had a dream—to do what only the birds had been able to do. For thousands of years it had only been a dream and a mad one, too. It’s mad because it seemed against nature and mad also because of the dangers involved. But the Wrights flew up to 100 times a year. It was the process of trial and error that led to them producing a machine that could actually carry people through the air safely.
They were brave men. They showed courage, without which human beings would never have made any progress. A Wright brothers expert, David McCullough, gave an example of their courage. He noted that the brothers never flew together. Why? “If one got killed, the other would still be alive to carry on with the mission (使命)，” he wrote in his book The Wright Brothers.
Determination was all that they had in the beginning. They weren’t from fancy, rich backgrounds. No business or university sponsored (资助) their efforts. They had to do everything themselves. They put their lives on the line every time they climbed into the pilot’s seat.
The philosopher Aristotle had something to say about courage. He said that it is “the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees (保证) all the others”. Surely the story of the Wright brothers backs up these words. Courage is also part of the American belief that anything is possible if you put your whole heart and soul into it. The Wright brothers certainly had a cando attitude, and they taught us one great lesson: We need ambition and courage if we want to see our plans through to the end.
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In the development of mobile communication technology from 1G to 5G, Chinese mobile communications have made great advancements. For example, China has accounted for 21 items in the 5G standards that have been drawn up for the world, while the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea possess 9, 14, 4 and 2 items respectively.In particular, the Polar Code of Huawei has been accepted as the control channel code by 3rd Generation Partnership Project, which is regarded as a significant breakthrough for Chinese mobile telecommunication in the international standard formulation.
It is obvious that 5G is able to provide technological support for equipment connectivity and the transmission (传输) of massive amounts of data and this will enable the Internet of things, driverless vehicles, virtual reality and smart cities.For example, it will enable smart homes that make life easier for people, and effectively help ease traffic pressure in cities and create a safer driving experience.Moreover, 5G can realize integrated connection (集成连接) and remote control of equipment, personnel and production, which will greatly improve the production efficiency and intelligent manufacturing level of enterprises.
It is believed that China holds favorable conditions in three aspects for the development of 5G in the future.First, the consumer market is huge in China.It is estimated that Chinese 5G users will account for 40 percent in the world, which means it would give huge market for 5G commercialization.Second, with the high maturity of 4G technology, China has the world’s largest and most extensive 4G networks, and with its 40 percent of 4G base stations in the world, the equipment will provide a solid foundation for the construction of 5G networks.Third, China has displayed complete mobile communication industry chains, which, therefore, provide an advantageous industry ecological environment for the commercialization (商业化) of 5G.
Owing to its technological advantages and huge market potential, it is expected that Chinese 5G will transform to powerful industrial advantages and economic dynamics (经济动力). While sharing the benefits of its 5G technology with the people of the world, China still needs to make continuous efforts to maintain its leading position in 5G.
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9 . 阅读下面短文,根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。
Among all the fast growing science and technology,the research of human genes,or biological engineering as people call it, is drawing more and more attention now. Discussions about it are increasingly heated around the world.
The greatest thing that gene technology can do is to cure serious diseases that doctors at present can almost do nothing with, such as cancer and heart disease. Every year, millions of people are murdered by these two killers. up to date, doctors have not found an effective way to cure them. But if the gene technology is applied,not only these two diseases can be cured completely, bringing happiness and more living days to the patients,but also the great amount of money people spend on curing their diseases can be saved. Therefore, it benefits the economy as well.In addition,human life span(寿命) can be prolonged.
Some families have genetic diseases.This means their children will for sure have the family disease,which is a great trouble for these families.Gene technology can help people give birth to more healthy and clever children.In the past,doctors could do nothing about genetic diseases.But gene technology can solve this problem perfectly.Scientists just need to find the wrong gene and correct it,and a healthy child will be born.
Some people are worrying that the gene research can be used to create human beings in large quantities. In the past few years,scientists have succeeded in cloning animals such as mice,sheep,and dogs.Therefore,these people predict that human babies would soon be cloned and that it would be beyond control,leading to some disastrous consequences.But many believe that cloned babies will not come out in large quantities,for most couples in the world can have babies in a very normal way and they also believe the governments will control gene technology and make laws to make sure the gene technology will help better our lives instead of harming us.
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When a student cuts class, fails to prepare for class or do homework, or is unable to answer even simple questions about the topic being studied in class, it is clear that the student is not learning well, and teachers may wonder why. One of the causes might be language anxiety. Language anxiety is a fear occurring when a learner is expected to perform in the foreign language. That is, when a student is asked to perform in the target language in class, he is likely to become nervous and fail to do it.
The good news is that so far some research has suggested language anxiety can make students focused, get good grades and build up high self-confidence. Despite these benefits, most research has also shown a negative relationship between language anxiety and performance.The negative kind of anxiety harms learners’ performance in many ways. As time goes by, they will doubt themselves, refuse to join in discussions and try to avoid using the language.
Teachers and researchers might sometimes be able to judge language anxiety through measuring scales (评价标准)．There are a number of scales, the best known of which is called the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale or FLCAS.The FLCAS was developed to measure the specific anxiety reaction of a student to a foreign language situation. However, this is not recommended because researchers consider that language anxiety is observable in class.
To help students to deal more effectively with language anxiety, teachers are advised to allow students to perform differently according to their own abilities. More importantly, teachers ought to provide various opportunities for classroom success in the language. In this way, students can be freed from the pain of severe language anxiety.Gradually they will become more and more confident of their language abilities and eventually experience what it means to succeed in the language classroom.
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