Explore Central Park, one of the largest city parks in the world and one of the most famous symbols of New York. Let's have a look at its main sights.
Central Park is New York's largest city park and one of the biggest in the world, with an area of 843 acres. This park is home to man-made lakes, waterfalls, grass and wooded areas. You will also find the Central Park Zoo, among other attractions in this green space of New York.
Besides being the city's primary green lungs, Central Park is also a favorite spot for many New Yorkers. It is perfect for sunbathing, going for walks, or doing outdoor sports. Something that we found curious is seeing so many people running with their babies in prams (婴儿车).
On Foot or By Bicycle
To get to know some of the wildest parts of Central Park we suggest walking. However, to get a general feel for the whole park, the best thing to do is to hire a bicycle and enjoy the scenery.
If you decide to hire a bike, you will find lots of bike rental stores around Central Park that are not very expensive.
Open Time
From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. From 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Price
Entry to the Park is free. But if you visit some parks like Central Park Zoo, you need to buy a ticket.
Transport
Subway: Line 5, 6, 7, A, B, C and D. Bus: Line M1, M2, M3, M4 and M10.
Port Lympne Reserve, which runs a breeding (繁育) programme, has welcomed the arrival of a rare black rhino calf (犀牛幼崽). When the tiny creature arrived on January 31, she became the 40th black rhino to be born at the reserve. And officials at Port Lympne were delighted with the new arrival, especially as black rhinos are known for being difficult to breed in captivity (圈养).
Paul Beer, head of rhino section at Port Lympne, said: "Obviously we're all absolutely delighted to welcome another calf to our black rhino family. She's healthy, strong and already eager to play and explore. Her mother, Solio, is a first-time mum and she is doing a fantastic job. It's still a little too cold for them to go out into the open, but as soon as the weather warms up, I have no doubt that the little one will be out and about exploring and playing every day."
The adorable female calf is the second black rhino born this year at the reserve, but it is too early to tell if the calves will make good candidates to be returned to protected areas of the wild. The first rhino to be born at Port Lympne arrived on January 5 to first-time mother Kisima and weighed about 32kg. His mother, grandmother and great grandmother were all born at the reserve and still live there.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, the global black rhino population has dropped as low as 5500, giving the rhinos a "critically endangered" status.
Many years ago, my dad was facing a serious heart condition. He was unable to do a steady job. He fell suddenly ill and had to be admitted to the hospital.
He wanted to do something to keep himself busy, so he decided to volunteer at the local children's hospital. My dad loved kids. It was the perfect job for him. He ended up working with the seriously ill children. He would talk, play, and do arts with them.
One of his kids was a girl with a rare disease that paralyzed (瘫痪) her from the neck down. She couldn't do anything, and she was very depressed. My dad decided to try to help her. He started visiting her in her room, bringing paints, brushes and paper. He stood the paper up, put the paintbrush in his mouth and began to paint. He didn't use his hands at all. All the while he would tell her, "See, you can do anything you set your mind to."At the end of the day, she began to paint using her mouth, and she and my dad became friends. Soon after, the little girl was sent home because the doctors felt there was nothing else they could do for her. My dad also left the children's hospital for a little while because he became ill. Some time later after my dad had recovered and returned to work, in came the little girl who had been paralyzed and only this time she was walking. She ran straight over to my dad and hugged him really tight. She gave him a picture she had done using her hands. At the bottom it read: "Thank you for helping me walk."
My dad would cry every time he told us this story and so would we. He would say sometimes love is more powerful than doctor, and my dad—who died just a few months after the little girl gave the picture—loved every single child in that hospital.
If maths is the language of the universe, bees may have just uttered their first words. New research suggests these busybodies of the insect world are capable of addition and subtraction (减法) — using colors in the place of plus and minus symbols.
In the animal kingdom, the ability to count — or at least distinguish between differing quantities — isn't unusual: It has been seen in frogs, spiders, and even fish. But solving equations (方程式) using symbols is rare, so far only achieved by famously brainy animals such as chimpanzees and African grey parrots.
Building on previous research that says the social insects can count to four and understand the concept of zero, researchers wanted to test the limits of what their tiny brains can do.
Scientists trained 14 bees to link the colors blue and yellow to addition and subtraction, respectively. They placed the bees at the entrance of a Y-shaped maze (迷宫), where they were shown several shapes in either yellow or blue. If the shapes were blue, bees got a reward if they went to the end of the maze with one more blue shape (the other end had one less blue shape); if the shapes were yellow, they got a reward if they went to the end of the maze with one less yellow shape.
The testing worked the same way: Bees that "subtracted" one shape when they saw yellow, or "added" one shape when they saw blue were considered to have aced the test. The bees got the right answer 63% to 72% of the time, depending on the type of equation and the direction of the right answer — much better than random guesses would allow—the researchers report today in Science Advances.
Though the results came from just 14 bees, researchers say the advance is exciting. If a brain about 20,000 times smaller than ours can perform maths using symbols, it could pave the way to novel approaches in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Just don't ask the bees to do your homework anytime soon.
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. You can use these skills to create calm in your busy schedule.
Go walking. Walking is perfect and you can do it well anywhere. Simply walking and taking in the view is stress reducing. It makes room for new ideas to take root. Appreciate nature. When we think of nature we think of getting out into the open air, and that's great if you can. Actually , nature is everywhere. Find a park or a small patch (小块地) of great green, or just stick your head out of the window! You have many ways to appreciate nature.
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. They are good for the body, mind and spirit. Classes are a good place to begin, but once you learn the skills, you can practice anywhere: home, school or even on the road.
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.
The heaviest snow in a hundred years hit the south of China. It snowed1 for half a month. Many people were2 in railway stations, bus stations and airports. People did everything they could to fight the3 ; nobody was killed from cold and4 . Gradually, the trapped people all went back home5 . While fighting the snow, people6 their animal friends until a moving story of a swallow couple appeared on the Internet.
The couple hadn't eaten anything for several days7 the snow. They tried to fly into people's home to warm themselves, but every house was8 tightly. They got to a side of a balcony (阳台)where wind couldn't reach. They jumped and flapped (拍打)their wings to9 the attention of the people inside the house, who were10 their own things. The wife's body was11 . She couldn't move any longer. The husband came near and12 her with his wings. The husband lost his heat soon because of his opened wings.
The next morning the housemaster went to the balcony to13 his flowers and saw a dead swallow outside. 14 it, he found they were two embracing (拥抱) together. Thinking of the15 the snow had brought to people, he was moved to tears. He took them in for giving them some warmness they couldn't feel any longer. He found a small box, filled it with some hay (干草) and lay the couple in. He buried them in the garden of the community.
Every Saturday night Mama would sit down by the kitchen table and divide the money Papa had brought home into several parts. Each part had different use. For example, the big silver pieces were for the rent. In our (day) life, Mama tried her best not to draw money out her Bank Account, however hard the life was. When Nels wanted to go on to high school, my family members and I did our best (earn) or save money instead of (go) to the Bank. To get enough money, Nels (volunteer) to work in Dillon's grocery after school; Papa decided (give) up smoking and I planned to look after the Elvington children every Friday night.
Twenty years later, when the check of my first story came, I hurried over to Mama's and asked her to put in her Bank Account. She had to admit that she had never been inside a bank.
Actually, Mama's Bank Account mentioned many times by Mama was just (make) us children feel secure.
Jenny was the only child in her home. She had a quarrel with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn't help weeping sorrowfully when she thought of the scolding from her mother. Wandering aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat, but it was not possible for her, since she had nothing with her. She stood beside a stand for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she sighed and had to leave.
The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, "Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?"
"Oh, yes. . . but I don't have money on me…" she replied.
"That's nothing. I'll treat you today," said the man. "Come in."
The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently.
"What is it?" asked the man kindly.
"Nothing, actually I was just touched by your kindness!" said Jenny as she wiped her tears. "Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so merciless compared to a stranger!"
1） 第一节 根据文本内容从方框中选择恰当的词并用其正确形式填入文本图示中, 每词限用一次, 有两词为多余选项。
kind treat mercy hunger expect move anger wander strict complain sorrowful possible | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
One afternoon Jenny quarreled with her mother and left home with . |
| She felt and wept. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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in the street for hours， Jenny felt hungry. |
| Jenny something to eat， but it was for her. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A seller had a small talk with Jenny and her to a bowl of noodles. |
| She was and cried silently because of the seller's . | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jenny thanked the seller and that her mother showed no care for her. |
| She thought her mother was in her. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2）第二节根据文本内容回答下列问题
After running out of the house, what did Jenny think of her mother?
Hearing what Jenny said in the last paragraph, what will the seller probably say to her?
What do you think Jenny will do in the end?
