Have you ever wanted to be Spiderman or Harry Potter? Imagine you could live the life of any film character for one day. We would like our readers to write an article telling us: ·Which character from a film you would like to be; ·Why you would like to be this character; ·What your day as your character would be like. |
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Etiquette
Cell phones, Twitter and Facebook may be killing off the old civilities and good graces, but a young generation of etiquette（礼仪）experts is springing up online these years. Their goal is apparent: to help people deal with etiquette issues in the digital age such as e-invitations—not to mention face-to-face contact in the offline world.
For instance, you may not think you need a lesson on shaking hands when being introduced to someone for the first time, but Gloria Starr, an image consultant based in California, begs to differ. “When you shake hands, it's two or three times up and down—from the elbow and not the wrist. Then smile and introduce yourself,” Starr says in one of her 437 YouTube videos, helpfully bobbing her right hand up and down in demonstration.
How about the way to conduct yourself at the gym? Videos on gym etiquette are a particularly hot topic of late, according to Kevin Allocca, the trends manager for YouTube. A video named “Don't Be That Guy at the Gym” shows five men demonstrating various embarrassing mistakes, like the “meathead”who grunts loudly each time he performs a barbell, or the self-appointed “coach” who offers uninvited advice to other gym-goers. The video has been viewed more than three million times since it was posted.
“People are getting sick of the critical comments that are so common in their online lives,”said Jane Pratt, the chief editor of XOJane, a women's lifestyle site where etiquette posts are a popular feature. “The return of etiquette is in part a response to the rudeness of the interactions they are having online. Being nice is very cool right now.”
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假设你是李明，你校打算下周举行讲故事比赛，你想报名参加，请写一个你觉得有趣的故事并分享给同学。
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Psychologists tell us that there are four basic stages that human beings pass through when they enter and live in a new culture. This process, which helps us to deal with culture shock, is the way our brain and our personality react to the strange new things we meet when we move from one culture to another. If our culture involves bowing when we greet someone, we may feel very uncomfortable in a culture that does not involve bowing.
Culture shock begins with the “honeymoon stage”. This is the period of time when we first arrive in a new culture where everything is strange and exciting. We may be suffering from “jet lag” but we are thrilled to be in the new environment, seeing new sights, hearing new sounds and eating new kinds of food.
Unfortunately, the second stage of culture shock can be more difficult. After we have settled down into our new life, working or studying, buying groceries, doing laundry, or living with a homestay family, we can become very tired and begin to miss our homeland. All the little problems in life seem to be much bigger when you face them in a foreign culture. This period of cultural adjustment can be very difficult and lead to the new arrival rejecting or pulling away from the new culture.
The third stage of culture shock happens when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the host culture. Your sense of humor usually becomes stronger and you realize that you are becoming stronger by learning to take care of yourself in the new place. Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor!
The fourth stage can be called ”at ease at last“. Now you feel quite comfortable in your new surroundings. You can deal with most problems that occur. You may still have problems with the language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with them. If you meet someone from your country who has just arrived, you can be the expert on life in the new culture and help them to deal with their culture shock.
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I read what you wrote about “the good old days” with interest. Despite making some sensible points, to my mind your argument is wildly oversimplified in saying that the old days were better. All too often nowadays, we hear these black-and-white opinions about “globalization“. In my opinion, it’s a grey area and there are important benefits as well as some inevitable downsides as we move away from the good old days.
I feel that cultures well-received globally are not fixed and many of the best things come from culture mixing. For example, many British people didn’t like the very spicy food introduced by Indian people. As a result, Indian food in Britain is not the same as an authentic curry from India, but for some, it’s even better. I took part in some market research recently and found out that even branded goods are often changed to suit local tastes. Did you know, for example, that McDonald’s sells beer in France, lamb in India, and chili in Mexico?
I found it hard to take in what you said about language. Did you really mean that English is ”taking over the world“, as you put it? I don’t think so! I agree that huge numbers of people now speak English. At the start of the 21st century, about one and a half billion(1,500,000,000)people spoke English. That includes about 400 million speaking English as their first language and the rest speaking it as a second or third language. However, in many cases, a new type of English has been created. A kind of ”global English“ has taken off across the world. I think this is good in that it promotes communication in an ever-shrinking, ever more commercial world. People certainly don’t want a single world language, but a new common global language has major advantages for global business, scientific research and tourism.
Some people—like you—may be saddened by the passing of the “old days” but it seems to me that most people are welcoming the mixing of cultures and the new things that are being created all the time.
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Many seniors feel pressured to go straight from high school to college, but Camden Olson, who graduated from Latin School of Chicago in the US last year, didn’t give in. She decided to spend a gap year raising a guide dog for Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Maine.
The nonprofit provides trained guide dogs to blind and visually impaired people.
“I can say I’m living in the dream,” Olson said. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Taking a year off before college, commonly known as a gap year, is becoming more and more popular among American teenagers. According to a survey by the American Gap Association, enrollment in these programmes grew 27 percent between 2012 and 2013. Some students use the year off to figure out what they want to do, travel the world, or save money for college.
Olson is using her time to purpose a passion she’s had since 7th grade. For years, she kept an eye on guide dog services until she came across the opportunity at Guiding Eyes. With support from her friends, family and teachers, Olson went for it.
Olson’s volunteer work centers around Derby, a one-year-old black dog. “My job is to raise him to be well-mannered and socialized,” she said. “Guide dogs have to ignore any distractions. They go everywhere with their visually impaired handler. They give a blind person a lot of independence and emotional support, too.”
Of course, there’s an end in sight for Derby and Olson’s close bond(联系). When Derby celebrates his own graduation, Olson will have to say goodbye to him.
While some look at gap years in negative light, Olson said she’s seen major success. In fact, she’ll be attending Princeton University this fall and is thinking about majoring in ecology and biology.
“I think I’m already so much more mature than I was and aware of what really matters,” she said. “So many kids do come back from gap years a lot more focused and prepared.”
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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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