Ways to Create Calm in Your Daily Life
Most of us need some space for calm in our lives. A few simple minutes can create much needed moments of calm.
Go walking. Walking is perfect and you can do it well anywhere. Simply walking and taking in the view is stress reducing.
Listen to music. Many people listen to music to calm themselves down. Music actually lifts us out of ourselves. Discover what music works for you.
Do some activities. Certain activities like yoga and tai chi need quiet focus.
Try out some of these ways and you’ll soon be practicing “moments of calm”.
| A．But what if you are in the city? |
| B．Notice the animals around you. |
| C．They are perfect for active calming. |
| D．Music is a way to express the way that they are feeling. |
| E．It’s a time to get stressful thoughts out of your head. |
| F．With enjoyable music even work can be “music to your ears”. |
| G．You don’t have to find a mountain to sit on, or empty your mind of all thoughts for hours. |
At 102 years old, toy inventor Eddy Goldfarb is still going like freshly wound Yakity-Yak Talking Teeth, one of his more than 800 creations. Goldfarb also dreamed up the Bubble Gun, battery-powered Stomper vehicles and KerPlunk, in which hopeful players hold their breath as they strategically remove sticks without disturbing the marbles above.
“Being active and being creative is my secret, and I think it could apply to a lot of people,” the Toy Industry Hall of Fame inductee (新成员) says in an interview before singing the praises of his pair of 3D printers. “That’s the most wonderful machine because you start with nothing, and it goes layer by layer and builds something.”
The Chicago native still creates in his workshop and is the focus of Eddy’s World, a documentary that aired on TV. The 28-minute film is directed by his daughter, Lyn Goldfarb.
Goldfarb knew he was going to be a creator at 5 when his father invited an inventor to dinner. “That’s when I learned the meaning of the word,” he says, “and I knew from then on that I was going to be an inventor.” The designer couldn’t afford college and joined the Navy during World War II. He thought of the ideas for his first three toys while serving on the USS Batfish.
Goldfarb feels “very lucky” to still be alive at his age. He owes his longevity(长寿)to being creative and his optimistic personality. “During the war, I was on the submarine (潜艇) and saw a lot of action, and I think I realized what’s important and what’s not,” he says. “I found out that most things aren’t that important. I can overlook a lot.”
What’s next for the centenarian (百岁老人)? He’d fancy another milestone birthday. “Oh, I’d like to turn 105,” he says. “I’m fortunate that I’m healthy. I don’t have any of the aches and pains that I heard about all my life. So life is worth living. At 105, we’ll start thinking about what we should do.”
1．What does the first paragraph tell us about Goldfarb?| A．He is a highly respected toy inventor. |
| B．He is one of the oldest toy inventors. |
| C．He has invented less than 800 toys. |
| D．He is still active in toy invention. |
| A．He directed a short film. |
| B．He once dropped out of college. |
| C．He was not famous until he was 102. |
| D．He became the focus of a documentary. |
| A．At the age of five. | B．While serving in the Navy. |
| C．When dining with an inventor. | D．During his stay with his daughter. |
| A．Lucky and wealthy. | B．Greative and positive. |
| C．Determined and generous. | D．Ambitious and hardworking. |
Between 20 and 40 per cent of planet Earth is covered in grasslands, across every continent except for Antarctica. Grass is a low-growing, flowering plant with groups of narrow leaves growing from its base. Strong roots typically hold this plant’s leaves firmly to the ground.
One of the most common sights along stretches of grass is grass-eating animals. This is because many large animals rely on extensive grasslands to survive, and grass grows well with this regular trimming (修剪). The plants gain their energy from sunlight and require healthy cells to do so. If the leaves aren’t cut, the tips die and start to rot. When they are damaged with a clean cut, however, the cells are caused to grow quicker and produce new, healthy tissue. This is also why cutting your garden’s grassland regularly can make your grass look thicker and healthier.
Humans rely on grass for food, too. Many grasses, such as w heat or corn, are harvested as a main part of some diets. Meanwhile, grass is used indirectly to produce food in the form of livestock (牲畜). Cattle farmers require grass in their fields to feed cows and sheep before they are turned into meat for human consumption.
One of the most debated questions is how long ago grass evolved. Because grass doesn’t preserve well as a fossil, a definitive answer is hard to come by. Until recently, many scientists estimated that grass began to grow on Earth between 50 and 65 million years ago.
However, within the last decade, a piece of 100-million-year-old amber (琥珀) was found that appeared to contain the oldest grass fossil to date. Studies of fossilized dinosaur faces (粪便) also suggest that some dinosaurs lived at the same time that grass grew on the planet, incorporating it into their diets.
1．What is the function of the roots mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．To fix the leaves to the soil. | B．To store water and nutrients. |
| C．To support the growth of the plant. | D．To protect the plant from animals. |
| A．By improving soil quality. | B．By encouraging cell growth. |
| C．By preventing the tips from dying. | D．By attracting more animals to eat them. |
| A．Grass doesn’t preserve well as a fossil. | B．There are no fossils of grass available. |
| C．There is no solid evidence of its evolution. | D．Scientists can’t agree on its origin. |
| A．The Variety of Grass | B．The Development of Grass |
| C．How Grass Change Life | D．How to Make Grass Grow Well |
Using fatty foods to comfort eat during times of stress can harm the body’s recovery from the pressure, research suggests.
Although many people turn to unhealthy foods such as chocolate, crisps or pastries when they are feeling the strain, researchers have found this can reduce blood flow to the brain and cause poorer vascular (血管的) function, which in turn can have a negative effect on mental health and increase the risk of heart disease. The researchers suggest people resist the attraction of convenient treats by eating fruits and vegetables instead.
Prof Jet Veldhuijzen van Zanten said, “We looked at healthy 18- to 30-year-olds for this study, and to see such a clear difference in how their bodies recover from stress when they eat fatty foods is staggering.” For people who already have an increased risk of cardiovascular (心血管) disease, the impacts could be even more serious. We all deal with stress all the time, but especially for those of us in high-stress jobs and at risk of cardiovascular disease, these findings should be taken seriously. This research can help us make decisions that reduce risks rather than make them worse.
The study involved a group of young healthy adults who were given two butter bread as breakfast. The participants were then asked to do mental maths, increasing in speed for eight minutes, and alerted when they got an answer wrong. They could also see themselves on a screen.
The researchers found that consuming fatty foods when mentally stressed reduced vascular function by 1.74%. Previous studies have shown that a 1% reduction in vascular function leads to a 13% increase in cardiovascular disease risk.
“We also know that the elasticity (弹性) of our blood tubes, which is a measure of vascular function, declines following mental stress,” said the study’s first author, Rosalind Baynham from the University of Birmingham.
1．What’s the finding of the research?| A．Why people like fatty foods. |
| B．How people recover from stress. |
| C．What people should eat to keep fit. |
| D．Eating fatty foods when stressed is bad for health. |
| A．Seeking low-stress jobs. | B．Dining out in clean restaurants. |
| C．Examining your body regularly. | D．Eating more fruits and vegetables. |
| A．Disappointing. | B．Shocking. |
| C．Confusing. | D．Exciting. |
| A．A magazine. | B．A textbook. |
| C．A science fiction. | D．A recipe book. |
How to Plan a Surprise Party
●Pick a party theme.
●Pick a place your guests of honour frequents to avoid suspicion (怀疑). If you tell your party-persons that you’re heading to the nicest restaurant in town, they’ll know that there’s an occasion. However, if you tell them that you’re heading to the same restaurant you go to every Thursday night, suspicion will be kept at a minimum.
●Pick a date before the actual occasion. If this surprise party is for a birthday, holding a party on the day might be a little hard to turn into an awesome surprise.
●Choose your guests.
A small group. This is easier to manage, people can keep their mouths shut, and it creates a more warm environment. However, it’s less impressive and more people might be upset that they’re not invited.
A large group. This is harder to manage, the word might slip out, it’s harder to get a space, but in the end, your party-persons might be surprised by seeing everyone they love in one room.
●
| A．So choose a place that seems “normal”. |
| B．It isn’t much better if something emergent happens. |
| C．To avoid that, plan something before the actual date. |
| D．Be sure your guests of honour would want a surprise party. |
| E．You have two options: a small gathering or a big get-together. |
| F．An easy way to get guests excited about a party is to give it a theme. |
| G．The hardest part about a surprise party is making sure your guests don’t find it out. |
On August 2, 2023, Paul, 68, and Dawn Molineux, 66, from the United Kingdom, visited Southport’s Hickory’s Smokehouse to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary (周年纪念日) in advance. The actual date of their anniversary was August 29 but
The couple, who were high school sweethearts, found out at the beginning of the year that Paul had a
Paul wrote on a Facebook food review group for Southport about how Davies went
After enjoying their meal, some drinks, and a delicious dessert, Paul and Dawn
Paul admitted he was “lost for words” when Davies explained how touched he was by their story and had
| A．time | B．money | C．medicine | D．food |
| A．save | B．prepare | C．finish | D．use |
| A．mental | B．curable | C．serious | D．minor |
| A．offered | B．intended | C．pretended | D．refused |
| A．anniversary | B．victory | C．graduation | D．relationship |
| A．entirely | B．normally | C．highly | D．warmly |
| A．sign | B．postcard | C．sculpture | D．flag |
| A．guest | B．leader | C．server | D．host |
| A．judgment | B．impression | C．knowledge | D．reputation |
| A．far and wide | B．off and on | C．up and down | D．above and beyond |
| A．interested | B．engaged | C．involved | D．absorbed |
| A．inquired | B．recognized | C．expected | D．created |
| A．worried about | B．asked for | C．set aside | D．took out |
| A．told | B．spoke | C．wrote | D．read |
| A．prepared | B．covered | C．made | D．provided |
A type of glazed pottery(釉陶)with the main colours of yellow, green and white was very popular in the Tang dynasty. It was later called tri-coloured glazed pottery of the Tang dynasty, or Tangsancai.
Tri-coloured glazed pottery was usually used as burial
Tri-coloured glazed pottery of the Tang dynasty was mostly produced in Xi’an, Luoyang and Yangzhou,
Tang people were open-minded
Tri-coloured glazed pottery is the
Yours,
Li Hua
Like many kids, last summer I learned to ride a bike. Only I am in my 30s. When I was a child, I had no one to teach me. My mum never learned. My parents divorced (离婚) when I was 4, and in an attempt to perform parental responsibility, my father bought a bicycle for my brother and me to share.
My mum later remarried. When my brother and I were laughed at because we were the only kids past 6 years old who still relied on training wheels, my stepdad removed them, but in doing that, I lost interest and trust in the activity. I was so scared—I was quite tall for my age at 7 and I was worried I’d fall off. I thought I was too old to learn too.
Not knowing how to ride didn’t bother me initially, until we moved to the suburbs, where bicycles were popular. On trips to the convenience store to buy candy with my friends, I was always the last to arrive, on foot. By then, I was 12 years old.
In my early 30s, I remember feeling envious as I watched children as young as 3 learn to balance on bikes. Among them were my neighbours, whom I would occasionally babysit. Then something changed. The fear within was still there, but something much stronger was taking over.
I decided to join a women’s bike-riding workshop. There, I stood in an urban park, determined to overcome my fear. Meeting women from diverse backgrounds, all seeking cycling skills for various reasons, strengthened my determination. The first thing I noticed was how different each person’s learning curve (曲线) was. Some were balancing in no time, while others, like me, needed a bit more time. The workshop was a safe space, full of encouragement and support. Each time I fell, there were hands to help me up, and every time I made progress, there were cheers to celebrate it. Several weeks later, I learned to ride.
To enjoy the joy of riding, I bought my own bike.
Learning to ride a bike in my 30s taught me that it’s never too late to learn something new. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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