Sugar cane cultivation(甘蔗种植) originated in southwest Asia, where Marco Polo reported in his
In the fourteenth century, the island of Cyprus was the location of major sugar farms,
Brown sugar
Pedestrians only
The concept of traffic-free shopping areas goes back a long time. During the Middle Ages, traffic-free shopping areas were built to allow people to shop in comfort and, more importantly, safety. The modern, traffic-free shopping street was born in Europe in the 1960s, when both city populations and car ownership increased rapidly. Dirty exhaust fumes from cars and the risks involved in crossing the road were beginning to make shopping an unpleasant and dangerous experience. Many believed the time was right for experimenting with car-free streets, and shopping areas seemed the best place to start.
At first, there was resistance from shopkeepers. They believed that such a move would be bad for business. They argued that people would avoid streets if they were unable to get to them in their cars. When the first streets in Europe were closed to traffic, there were even noisy demonstrations, as many shopkeepers predicted they would lose customers.
However, research carried out afterwards in several European cities revealed some unexpected statistics. In Munich, Cologne and Hamburg, visitors to shopping areas increased by 50 percent. On Copenhagen’s main shopping street, shopkeepers reported sales increases of 25-40 percent. Shopkeepers in Minneapolis, USA, were so impressed when they learnt this that they even offered to pay for the construction and maintenance costs of their own traffic-free streets.
With the arrival of the traffic-free shopping street, many shops, especially those selling things like clothes, food and smaller luxury items, prospered. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good news for everyone, as shops selling furniture and larger electrical appliances actually saw their sales drop. Many of these were forced to move elsewhere, away from the city centre. Today they are a common feature on the outskirts of towns and cities, often situated in out-of-town retail zones with their own car parks and other local facilities.
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“My work is done.” Those words were some of the last penned by George Eastman. He included them in his suicide note. They mark an ignoble end to a noble life, the leave taking of a truly great man. The same words could now be said for the company he left behind. Actually, the Eastman Kodak Company is through. It has been mismanaged financially, technologically and competitively.
But George Eastman is not how he died, and the Eastman Kodak Company is not how it is being killed. Though the ends are needless and premature, they must not be allowed to overshadow the greatness that came before. Few companies have done so much good for so many people, or defined and lifted so profoundly the spirit of a nation and perhaps the world.
Kodak served mankind through entertainment, science, national defense and the stockpiling of family memories. Kodak took us to the top of Mount Suribachi and to the Sea of Tranquility. It introduced us to the merry old Land of Oz and to stars from Charlie Chaplin to John Wayne, and Elizabeth Taylor to Tom Hanks.
A.It showed us the shot that killed President Kennedy, and his brother bleeding out on a kitchen floor. |
B.George Eastman was not only interested in commercial profits, but also in the improvement of other people’s lives. |
C.In an era of easy digital photography, when we can take a picture of anything at any time, we cannot imagine what life was like before George Eastman brought photography to people. |
D.For 20 years, its leaders have foolishly spent down the patrimony(祖传的财物) of a century’s prosperity. |
E.Before George Eastman brought photography to people, painting was the only way for people to keep a record of their ancestors. |
F.It is impossible to understand the 20th Century without recognizing the role of the Eastman Kodak Company. |