1 . One good part about school is field trips. Students can get out of the classroom and into the real world, even if just for a few hours.    1    Whether it is learning how to feed chickens on the farm or understanding how gravity works at the science museum, these hands-on learning experiences bring them benefits.

Students do better in school. Students who go on field trips generally have better grades.    2    In fact, in a study conducted by some researchers, 89% of adults said educational trips had a positive, lasting impact on their education and career. It's because the trips made them more curious and interested in and out of school.

    3    When exploring a new place, students have the opportunity to listen to and talk to new people. They can learn how to effectively communicate with strangers, get along with them and work with them. For example, they may acquire the skill of using body language to interact with strangers.

Students learn to be more independent. A field trip includes many things. Although adults are in charge, it’s also up to students to figure out what exhibits they want to learn about, how they can finish certain tasks, etc. During field trips, students can have many such situations to learn to be independent. In the process, they sometimes may feel unpleasant and stressed.    4    

Students develop a stronger connection to a neighborhood. By getting out of the classroom and, into the streets, students can become more familiar with a neighborhood.    5    Moreover, they have the chance to communicate with local people, which also improves their connection to the neighborhood.

2 . Every summer, as a child, I spent with my parents the annual family holiday, flying away from our home in the West Midlands to their birthplace in Ireland.

I enjoyed it, but once, I behaved differently and left home. Package tours and long-distance flights became my idea of a holiday. I then went and ran into an Englishman who also came of Irish stock, and we both felt the urge to renew our knowledge of Ireland.

It was important for us to discover something different from our childhood visits. So that’s how we came to drive along the winding St John’s Point Peninsula (半岛) in Donegal, part of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, to visit a unique part of the 20th-century history — the Donegal Corridor.

When anyone drives to the point where the land runs out, he sees giant white stones fixed firmly in green grass spelling out “EIRE” and “70”, while the Atlantic wind fiercely blows across the headland and the ice-white waves smash into the rocks below. The meaning behind the stones? They date back to the Second World War when St John’s Point was number 70 in a total of 83 Look Out Points (LOPs), observation stations set up and maintained by Ireland all around its coast.

There lies a bit of curious UK-Ireland history. Although Ireland was officially neutral during the war, the Battle of the Atlantic was being fought close to Irish shores, and these LOPs, staffed by local volunteers known as Coast watchers, passed on information on activities connected with the sea and weather fronts to London.

At St John’s Point, we were standing right under the Donegal Corridor, a long narrow area of airspace in which Ireland ensured safe passage during World War II to planes in the RAF (Royal Air Force) from bases in the UK-governed North of Ireland. The stone markings acted as reference points to aircrews.

Standing on this rough area of land surrounded by the wild and windy ocean brought home to us the conditions in which the Coast watchers and aircrews in the RAF cooperated in a shared history.

I revolted against my family tradition that summer, and I fulfilled my aim of discovering something new and absorbed all Donegal has to offer: empty golden beaches, mysterious ancient stone circles, folk music and crafts, and tasty food. I had fallen in love with Ireland all over again.

3 . Last Tuesday I took my two daughters to town by car. It began to rain __________ so I decided I would leave the children in the car before I __________ a shop. I told them not to __________ anything and told them I would be __________ within a few minutes. Then I locked all the doors and left __________ happily looking out of the window.

I returned to the car in less than five minutes but the girls had __________! I could hardly believe my__________. The car doors were __________ locked, the windows tightly shut and on the back seat were only two coats. Being ____________, I ran to the corner of the street ____________ there was no sign of them. I rushed up to an old lady nearby and asked whether she had seen two small girls but she said “No”.

Feeling quite sick with ____________, I sat on the driver’s seat, and __________ to stop trembling (发抖). Suddenly, I ___________ a merry laugh behind me. I got out of the car, ran round to open the boot (车尾行李箱) and inside were two very red-face and excited children. They had obviously ___________ the back seat, climbed behind it and then been unable to push the seat forward again. With tears in my eyes, I ___________ and pulled their ears.

8 . Hawking was one of the most famous scientists in the world. But humor was always a big part of Hawking’s effort to bring physics to the masses. In his 2010 book, The Grand Design, for instance, he describes how, in 1277, the religious government declared scientific laws such as gravity to be wrong, since they seemed against their belief. “ Interestingly,” the text adds in a humorous way, “ the religious leader was killed by the effects of the law of gravity a few months later when the roof of his palace fell in on him. ”

Hawking was only 21 when he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis — ALS (肌萎缩侧索硬化). For most people, the condition would have been a disaster. But Hawking rolled over difficulty as if it were just a rock under his wheelchair. “Life would be tragic (悲剧的),” he once said, “ if it weren’t funny. ”

So Hawking made jokes. There was the time when talk show host John Oliver asked him about parallel (平行的) universes. “ Does that mean there is a universe out there where I am smarter than you?” Oliver joked. Hawking’s dry reply: “ Yes. And also a universe where you’re funny.” Hawking liked physical humor too. He reportedly enjoyed wheeling his chair over the feet of people who annoyed him, including Prince Charles. “ A malicious (恶意的) rumor,” Hawking said. “ I’ll run over anyone who repeats it. ”

Hawking’s greatest hit, humor-wise, was probably the cocktail party he held in 2009. It was a “welcome reception for future time travelers,” he said, so naturally he sent out the invitations the day after the party. No one showed up yet. “ Maybe one day someone living in the future will find the information and use a wormhole time machine to come back to my party,” Hawking explained. After all, he never missed a chance to have fun.

9 . Opening Notice for the National Museum of China (NMC)

Admission:

NMC is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00-17:30 (no entry after 16:30), and is closed on Mondays (except for public holidays). All visitors are required to book online 1-7 days in advance via the NMC official website or WeChat platform.

Audio Guide Rental:

Audio guide devices are available at the West Hall Service Desk for RMB40, with a RMB100 deposit (押金). A valid (有效的) ID is necessary. Damage to an audio guide causes a fee based on the level of damage. Lost devices are subject to payment of the full purchase cost.

Facilities:

Wheelchairs and strollers (婴 儿 推车 ) are available for free use on the day of visit at the Service Desk. A valid ID card and a deposit of RMB500 are required.

Photo Policy:

Photography is allowed in the NMC collection exhibitions without using flash, selfie sticks, or tripods. Temporary exhibits may have specific photo policies, indicated by clear signs put up at both the entrance and the corresponding exhibit halls.

Transportation:

Bus Route:

You can take the No.1, No.2, No. 52, No. 82, No.120 buses, or Sightseeing Line 2, Tourist Bus Line 1 and Line 2 and get off at Tian'anmen East Station.

Metro:

You can take Metro Line 1, get off at Tian'anmen East Station, and exit the station through Exit C.