选择知识点

If you go to the seaside in Britain, you may see some small hills of sand, but nothing very impressive. Of course, Africa is home to many beautiful “sandscapes”, but I was in China, so I went to Dunhuang.

I had spent my first day looking at the beautiful Mogao caves. Now I wanted to experience something very different.

I have been walking in Asia, Europe and America, but nothing prepared me for walking over hills of sand. Whenever I took a step up a hill, my feet would sink into the sand and move backwards. Sometimes it seemed as if I were moving in the wrong direction.

  I wanted to see the sunset so I had to climb to the top of the highest sand dune.（沙丘）The sun was beating down upon my back as I walked slowly over the sand. Some plants had managed to survive in the dry ground but not many.

As I climbed higher, the hills of sand became steeper and my feet started to slip further backwards. I ended up with my hands and knees, crawling (爬行)upwards through the top. I just let go if I would fall the way down. But I refused to give up: inch by inch, I made my way to the top of the sand dune.

When I got there I was amazed by what I saw. The sand formed a very sharp point, just like a knife-edge. One side of the dune was bathed in sunshine, the other covered by shade. As I looked into the distance, the same pattern was repeated on all of the hilltops, and the difference between dark and light was beautiful.

As the sun began to sink, the shadows grew longer and the light became warm and orange. The wind had come to life and sand was blown against my legs as I walked along the dunes. Soon it was getting dark and I could only just make out the line of footprints that marked my journey to the top of the hill. I slowly made my way down to the bottom, my path lit by the dying sun.

Traveling can be a fun way to gain life experiences,  especially  during  Spring Break-a week-long school vacation in the United States.

But what if youˈre a student and donˈt have enough money for a trip? Donˈt worry. Here are some useful suggestions.

   ●Save: This probably is the most important preparation for traveling. Cut expenses to fatten your wallet so youˈll have more choices about where to go and how to get there.

   ●Plan ahead: Donˈt wait until the last minute to plan your trip. Tickets may cost more when bought on short notice. Giving yourself several months to get ready can mean security (安全) and savings.

   ●Do your homework: No matter where you go, research the places you will visit. Decide what to see. Travel books will provide information on the cheapest hotels and restaurants.

   ●Plan sensibly: Write down how much you expect to spend for food and hotels.  Stick to (坚持) your plan or you may not have enough money to cover everything.

   ●Travel in groups: Find someone who is interested in visiting the same places.  By traveling with others you can share costs and experiences.

   ●Work as you go: Need more money to support your trip? Look for work in the places you visit.

   ●Go off the beaten path: Tourist cites may be expensive. You may want to rethink your trip and go to a less-known area. Smaller towns can have many interesting activities and sights.

   ●Pack necessary things: The most important things to take are not always clothes. Remember to take along medicine in case you get sick and snacks in case you cannot find a cheap restaurant.

   ●Use the Intemet: The net can help to save money. Some useful websites include www.

Travelcity. com, www. bargains- lowest fare(票价) . com  and www. economic  travelcity. com.

  By planning sensibly, even students can enjoy the travel. Your travel experiences will be remembered for a lifetime.

If Confucius(孔子)were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. Heˈd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out. 
     While many people in China will remember Confucius on this special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. Itˈs nothing personal. Most Americans donˈt even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes. 
     But this doesnˈt mean that Americans donˈt care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China. 
   In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy(哲学).Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
     So the old thinkerˈs ideas are still alive and well. Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West. 
     As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.

You’re in a department store and you see a couple of attractive young women looking at a sweater. You listen to their conversation:

"I can't believe it-Lorenzo Bertolla! They are almost impossible to find. Isn't it beautiful? And it's a lot cheaper than the one Sara bought in Rome." 

They leave and you go over to see this incredible sweater. It's nice and the price is right. You've never heard of Lorenzo Bertolla, but those girls looked really stylish. They must know. So, you buy it. You never realize that those young women are employees of an advertising agency. They are actually paid to go from store to store, talking loudly about Lorenzo Bertolla clothes. 

Every day we notice what people are wearing, driving and eating. If the person looks cool, the product seems cool, too. This is the secret of undercover marketing. Companies from Ford to Nike are starting to use it.

Undercover marketing is important because it reaches people that don't pay attention to traditional advertising. This is particularly true of the MTV generation-consumers between the age of 18 and 34. It's a golden group. They have a lot of money to spend, but they don't trust ads.

So advertising agencies hire young actors to "perform" in bars and other places where young adults go.Some people might call this practice misleading, but marketing executive Jonathan Ressler calls it creative. "Look at traditional advertising. Its effectiveness is decreasing." It is true, because everyone knows an ad is trying to persuade you to buy something. However, you don't know when a conversation you overhear is just a performance.

Five million people visit Grand Canyon in the US every year. For the purpose of helping protect Grand Canyon for your fellow visitors and future generations, please follow the guidelines below.
Camping
   To protect the park, camping is allowed only within permitted campgrounds. Permits are required for overnight camping at the North Rim. Advance booking can be received by mail. Please write: Information Center , P.O. Box 129 , Grand Canyon , AZ 86023 .
Fires
   Because of the extreme fire danger, campfires are not allowed except at Mather and Desert View campgrounds. Collection of firewood is not allowed either.
Hiking
   Please stay oil permitted paths. Otherwise you may destroy desert plants. Pack out what you pack in, so you leave no signs of your visit. It is important to keep in mind that you are in a national park where wildlife exists.
Weather
   The weather at Grand Canyon can change very quickly. With so much rock, lightning causes a particular danger during sudden summer storms. These storms also frequently bring floods inside valleys, a danger to hikers. Watch the skies and check daily weather reports.

Wildlife
   Do not feed park wildlife. There have been a few cases at Grand Canyon National Park where deer were purposely shot because there are plastic bags that left them sick and weak. Hungry deer car be dangerous and have kicked and bitten visitors at Grand Canyon . Some other animals will also beg and bite. For your own safety and the well-being of the animals, please do not feed wildlife, no matter how gentle they may appear.

Are you sometimes a little tired and sleepy in the early afternoon? Many people feel this way after lunch. They may think that eating lunch is the cause of the sleepiness. Or, in summer, they may think it is the heat. However, the real reason lies inside their bodies. At that time-about eight hours after you wake up-your body temperature goes down. This is what makes you slow down and feel sleepy. Scientists have tested sleep habits in experiments where there was no night or day. The people in these experiments almost always followed a similar sleeping pattern. They slept for one long period and then for one short period about eight hours later.
  In many parts of the world, people take naps (小睡) in the middle of the day. This is especially true in warmer climates (气候), where the heat makes work difficult in the early afternoon. Researchers are now saying that naps are good for everyone in any climate. A daily nap gives one a more rested body and mind and therefore is good for health in general. In countries where naps are traditional (传统的), people often suffer less from problem such as heart disease.

Many working people, unfortunately, have no time to take naps. Though doctors may advise taking naps, employers do not allow it! If you do have the chance, however, here are a few tips about making the most of your nap. Remember that the best time to take a nap is about eight hours after you get up. A short sleep too late in the day may only make you feel more tired and sleepy afterward. This can also happen if you sleep for too long.

 If you do not have enough time, try a short nap-even ten minutes of sleep can be helpful.

It was a comfortable sunny Sunday. I was going to meet an old university friend I hadnˈt seen for years, and was really excited to hear all his news.

My train was running a little late, but that was no big problem—I could text him to say I would be delayed. He would understand. But... where was my mobile phone? I had that familiar sinking feeling. Yes, Iˈd forgotten it at home.

No mobile phone. Iˈm sure Iˈm not alone in feeling anxious, on edge and worried when I donˈt have my phone with me. In fact, I know Iˈm not alone: two­thirds of us experience ‘nomophobia’，the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. Thatˈs according to a study from 2012 which surveyed 1,000 people in the UK about their relationship with mobile phones.

It says we check our mobile phones 34 times a day, that women are more ‘nomophobic’ than men, and that 18－24 year­olds are the most likely to suffer fear of being without their mobiles: 77% of them say they are unable to be apart from their phones for more than a few minutes.

Do you have nomophobia?

·You never turn your phone off

·You obsessively check for texts, missed calls and emails

·You always take your phone to the bathroom with you

·You never let the battery run out

Itˈs funny to think that around 20 years ago the only people with mobile phones would be businesspersons carrying their large, plastic ‘bricks’. Of course, these days, mobile phones are everywhere. A UN study from this year said mobile phone subscriptions would outnumber people across the world by the end of 2014.

And when there are more phones than people in the world, maybe itˈs time to ask who really is in charge? Are you in control of your phone, or does your phone control you?

So, what happened with my university friend? When I arrived a few minutes late he just laughed and said: “You havenˈt changed at all—still always late！” And we had a great afternoon catching up, full of jokes and stories, with no interruptions and no nagging(唠叨的) desire to check my phone. Not having it with me felt strangely liberating. Maybe Iˈll leave it at home on purpose next time.

Peter loved to shop used articles. Almost a month ago, he bought popular word game that used little pieces of wood with different letters on them. As he was purchasing it, the salesgirl said, “Uh, look, the game box hasn’t even been opened yet. That might be worth some money. ”

Peter examined the box, and, sure enough, it was completely covered in factory-sealed plastic. And he saw a date of 1973 on the back of the box.

“You should put that up for auction (拍卖) on the Internet, and see what happens. ” the salesgirl said.

“Yes, you’re right. People like something rare.” Peter agreed, “I can’t imagine there being very many unopened boxes of this game still around 40 years later.”

“Don’t forget to tell me if you sell it.” the salesgirl smiled.

“No problem.” Peter said.

After he got home, Peter went online to several auction websites looking for his game. But he couldn’t find it. Then he typed in the name of the word game and hit Search. The search result was 543 websites containing information about the changes of the game. Over the years, the game had been produced using letters in different sizes and game boards in different colors. He also found some lists of game fans looking for various versions of the game. Peter emailed some of them, telling them what he had.

Two weeks later, Peter went back to the shop.

“Hello. Do you still remember the unopened word game?”

The salesgirl looked at him for a second, then recognized him and said, “Oh, hi!”

“I’ve got something for you,” Peter said. “I sold the game and made $1,000. Thank you for your suggestion.” He handed her three $ 100 bills.

“Wow!” the salesgirl cried out. “Thank you, I never expected it.”

Scientists today are making greater effort to study ocean currents (洋流). Most do it using satellites and other high-tech equipment. However, ocean expert Curtis Ebbesmeyer does it in a special way — by studying movements of random floating garbage. A scientist with many years’ experience, he started this type of research in the early 1990s when he heard about hundreds of athletic shoes washing up on the shores of the northwest coast of the United States.

Ebbesmeyer found out in his researches that the shoes — about 60,000 in total — fell into the ocean in a shipping accident. He phoned the shoe company and asked if they wanted the shoes back. As expected, the company told him that they didn't. Ebbesmeyer realized this could be a great experiment. If he learned when and where the shoes went into the water and tracked where they landed, he could learn a lot about the patterns of ocean currents.

The Pacific Northwest is one of the world's best areas for beachcombing (海滩搜寻) because winds and currents join here, and as a result, there is a group of serious beachcombers in the area. Ebbesmeyer got to know a lot of them and asked for their help in collecting information about where the shoes landed. In a year he collected reliable information on 1, 600 shoes. With this data, he and a colleague were able to test and improve a computer program designed to model ocean currents, and publish the findings of their study.

As the result of his work, Ebbesmeyer has become known as the scientist to call with questions about any unusual objects found floating in the ocean. He has even started an association of beachcombers and ocean experts, with 500 subscribers from West Africa to New Zealand. They have recorded all lost objects ranging from potatoes to golf gloves.

Conflict is on the menu tonight at the café La Chope. This evening, as on every Thursday night, psychologist Maud Lehanne is leading two of France’s favorite pastimes, coffee drinking and the “talking cure”. Here they are learning to get in touch with their true feelings. It isn’t always easy. They customers — some thirty Parisians who pay just under $2 (plus drinks) per session — care quick to intellectualize (高谈阔论), slow to open up and connect. “You are forbidden to say ‘one feels,’ or ‘people think’,” Lehanne told them. “Say ‘I think,’ ‘Think me’.”

A café society where no intellectualizing is allowed? It couldn’t seem more un-French. But Lehanne’s psychology café is about more than knowing oneself: It’s trying to help the city’s troubled neighborhood cafes. Over the years, Parisian cafes have fallen victim to changes in the French lifestyle — longer working hours, a fast food boom and a younger generation’s desire to spend more time at home. Dozens of new theme cafes appear to change the situation. Cafes focused around psychology, history, and engineering are catching on, filling tables well into the evening.

The city’s psychology cafes, which offer great comfort, are among the most popular places. Middle-aged homemakers, retirees, and the unemployed come to such cafes to talk about lover, anger, and dreams with a psychologist. And they come to Lehanne’s group just to learn to say what they feel. There’s a strong need in Paris for communication, says Maurice Frisch, a cafe La Chope regular who works as religious instructor in a nearby church. “People have few real friends. And they need to open up” Lehanne says she’d like to see psychology cafes all over France. “If people had normal lives, these cafes wouldn’t exist”, she says, “If life weren’t a battle, people wouldn’t need a special place just to speak.” But them, it wouldn’t be France.