选择知识点

In the past, when people had problems, they went to their families or friends to get advice. Today it is possible to get advice from radio shows, TV programs and telephone hot lines, too. A hot line is a telephone line that offers a direct way of getting in touch with advisers. Most hot lines are completely anonymous (匿名的)— callers do not have to say their names or telephone numbers. Most hot lines are usually free, too. Callers do not have to pay for the advice or the phone calls — even if the calls are long distance（距离）. At some hot lines, the advisers are volunteers（志愿者）. Other hot lines pay their advisers for their work. Usually the advisers are full-job people with years of education and experience, but sometimes, the advisers have only taken a short class before starting to work on the hot line. All the advisers listen to people and help them solve their problems.

When most people think of artists, they usually forget the part about the artist being a surveyor of beauty. This is because most people do not realize that there is actually a sort of process when it comes to making art so much so that lots of individuals cannot understand why true artists take their time when creating brilliant works.
    The reason as to why artists take their time when creating their works is because they will first have to look for something beautiful which will inspire them. This is because an artist is someone who appreciates beauty and captures(捕获) the said beauty in a portrait, a song, a novel, and any other forms of artistic medium available to man. Rather than those commercial artists who simply paint a picture because they are paid to do so, a true artist will only work if he or she is inspired. The true artist shall not compromise his or her work because of earth temptations(诱惑) and as such they run the risk of being ridiculed(嘲弄)in exchange for their happiness. History has however shown that the true artist who correctly appreciates beauty is one whose works will end up being celebrated.

    How does a true artist spot beauty? The only possible way to go about doing this is to actually look at the world. This means that the true artist is someone who loves to walk around and look at new things. Whatever it may be, the point here is that the artist does take a bit of time out to survey the world and find something beautiful which would inspire him. At times it even happens that the object that inspires the artist is not a thing but rather a person. At the end of the day, it must be said that each artist has his own views of what is beautiful and what is not. The true artist is someone who appreciates beauty.

    D

It's amazing how we grow from careless kids to responsible teens. What happens in the course that makes us responsible now? It's the seed that we sow(播种) in the beginning which grows and becomes a huge tree. As I sit here, silently thinking about my growth, I wonder over some questions which don't have an answer but it's because of such unanswerable situations that life has become a roller coaster ride.

As a kid, I used to read a lot of story books. In one particular book, I read a story of a bird. From then on, that has become an integral (必不可少的) part of my life. It described a male bird which takes a lot of pain to build a nest and the female bird takes shelter in it and nourishes（哺育） the baby. When the bird learns to fly, the whole family flies off to a different place leaving behind the beautiful nest for other birds to grow their family in it. It made me wonder. How could they so easily give up their house built with so much effort?

One night, when I was deep in sleep, I got this particular dream. I was walking miles on the endless road, completely separated but lined with beautiful trees on the either side. Fascinated by the greenery, I marched towards it only to end up deeper and deeper into the greenery. I happened to stop upon seeing something. It was a massive, wonderful house. I fell in love with that amazing part of art. Yeah, it was indeed a piece of art with every nook and corner touched artistically and lovingly. I don't know why I felt that it was done lovingly. Maybe because things turn out to be beautiful only when we put our love into it --- just like the food prepared by mom which tastes more delicious with her love.

I explored the house only to fall more in love with it. There was a sloping(斜的) roof which matched with the greenery around; the large central open courtyard reminded me of the activities that might have taken place there which felt lively even now when it is completely deserted. The small water body that kept the house cool added to the beauty of the house — of course, it was all dried up now. It's really wonderful how such things add life to the spaces which otherwise just become structures. Such liveliness and happening turns the house into a home. They say ‘THE HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS', but now I began to feel it. This is where my heart belongs. This is what I'm destined(注定的) to do.

When I woke up from the dream, I was clear about everything. I realized where that mile of walk was intending me to lead. I realized what message my dream wanted to convey(传递) me. And years later, when finally my turn of choosing my destination came, I simply closed my eyes, held that book in my hand, pressed it against my chest and relived the dream. When I opened my eyes, I was sure what to do. I decided to choose the road — less traveled. Yes, I took up architecture as my profession because this is what I am destined to do. I wanted to do the same thing that the male bird in the story did, to take pain in building a beautiful house and let others stay in it. This is my dream come true and the happiness that I gain now from this profession is indescribable.

Like all big cities, Paris has a traffic problem: lots of cars, lots of traffic jams and lots of pollution from exhaust fumes (废气). So the city began a scheme (计划) to improve the situation.

Under the Velib scheme (‘Velib’ comes from vélo liberté, or ‘bicycle freedom’) people can take a bicycle, use it for as long as they want, and then leave it at the same or another bicycle station. The first half-hour on the bike is free, but if you don’t return it after 30 minutes, you have to pay. But it’s only −1 a day or −29 a year! The bicycles are heavy (25 kg), and they are all grey and have baskets. There are about 20,000 of them in the city, and around 1,450 bicycle stations. So there are a lot more Velib stations than the 298 subway stations!

Paris is not the first city to have a scheme like this. But not everybody thinks it’s a great idea. One Parisian said, “These bicycles are only for short journeys. If people want to travel across the city, they won’t use a bicycle — they’ll still use their cars.”

A city spokesman said, “The bicycle scheme won’t solve all our traffic problems, of course. But it might help reduce air pollution. Traffic, together with factory fumes, is a big problem. There aren’t any simple answers to traffic problems and pollution in cities. But unless we do something now, there will be more traffic jams and temperatures will continue to rise, so the problems in our environment will get worse. The bikes might help people to lead a healthier life, too.”

What is the color of the universe? Astronomers did not answer this question until two months ago. This was when two American astronomers reported on their study of all the light in the universe. They said that the universe would appear to the human eye to be a light greenish color, called turquoise(青绿色). Karl Glazebrook and Ivan Baldry of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, reported their findings in January. They presented research at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society. They said that finding the color of the universe was not part of their more serious scientific research. They did it for fun.

However, earlier this month, the scientists admitted to making a mistake. They said their finding was much more colorful than it should have been. They now say the light from our universe is closer to white. It is more like a milky or creamy white color.

    The scientists gave a number to each of the colors of the different star systems. Then they added the numbers together and found the average measurement. The scientists used this average to identify the color of the universe. They said it was a very pretty light green or turquoise color. They called it “cosmic (宇宙的) spectrum (光谱) green.” Many newspapers and television stations reported their finding.

Other scientists and color engineers attempted to reproduce the result. Mark Fairchild of the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York was the first person to identify a mistake. He discovered a mistake in the computer software program used by the Johns Hopkins scientists.

When the mistake was corrected, the results changed. The new color of the universe is much less colorful. It is very close to white. The scientists apologized for the mistake. They are now working with the Rochester Institute of Technology to produce more images regarding the color of the universe.

A tender woman, or an independent one, which one would you prefer? A recent research shows that most people would choose the latter.

    This type of woman is called a nühanzi (“tough woman”). Experts believe these characteristics have social and psychological roots among young females in China. Su Hao’s friends all call her a tough woman, because she can finish tough tasks usually carried out by men. For example, she carries 10-litre water to her dormitory on the 5th floor. “I depend on no one but myself,” she says.

    According to a recent survey by China Youth Daily, tough women have become rather common in society. Of the 21,265 respondents, 78.5 percent said they are familiar with a tough woman. About 50 percent said they like women with tough characteristics, while less than 29 percent expressed the opposite view.

    Why are tough women gaining popularity? Shen Meng, a psychological consultant, believes the fierce competition in society is contributing to this trend. “Women are often in a disadvantaged position compared to men,” Shen says. “In order to survive, they have to be independent, strong and tough.” Liu Xiaolin, professor of psychology at Wuhan Mental Health Center, believes tough women are brought up this way. They are often on close relationship with their fathers, who teach their daughters to be brave and decisive,” he says. As a result, these women are more likely to be psychologically healthy and more tolerant to stress, according to Liu.

    Though Liu believes that this is a good trend, Hu Shenzhi, a psychologist at the Guangdong Sunflower Counseling Center, says the popularity of tough woman indicates an unclear line between gender identities, which can lead to relationship problems. “Some women with characteristics that differ from the traditional female image may have a difficult time finding Mr Right,” he says. “Even if they get married, their manly characteristics might cause family conflicts.