选择知识点

In America, Virginia Beach has all the elements of a classic seaside resort: brilliant beaches, a lively boardwalk, plenty of restaurants and nightspots, and amusement rides sure to appeal to kids. Many believe Virginia Beach is at its best in the off­season, when the town is less crowded but the weather is still mild.

Meanwhile, some safety tips should be followed, enjoying the happiness and excitement the beach offers.

The number 1 safety tip concerns ocean safety: pay attention to Flag conditions posted on the lifeguard stands. Lifeguards post a red flag to warn when the ocean water is dangerous. Take them seriously! Tourists from land­locked regions are particularly easily attracted by the magic of the waves. However, a calm ocean can become risky without warning. Make sure you swim near a lifeguard. Swimming without lifeguard protection is almost five times as great as drowning at a beach with lifeguards.

Never swim alone. Many drownings involve single swimmer. When you swim with someone else, if one of you has a problem, the other may be able to get help, including signaling for assistance from others.

Don’t fight the current. The facts show that some 80% of rescues by lifeguards at ocean beaches are caused by currents. These currents are formed by surf and gravity, because once surf pushes water up the slope of a beach, gravity pulls it back. This can create concentrated rivers of water moving offshore. If you are caught in a rip current, don’t fight it by trying to swim directly to shore. Instead, swim parallel to shore until you feel the current relax, then swim to shore. Most rip currents are narrow and a short swim parallel to shore will help bring you to safety.

If you live in a big city, there are many things to drive you crazy on your daily route, and it’s not just overcrowded subway trains.

Vicky Zhao is a mainlander working in Hong Kong. For her, one thing she can’t put up with is people standing on the wrong side of the escalator(自动扶梯) in subway stations. “Escalators help us move faster and save time. It isn’t a place to rest,” the 24-year-old says. “I often see tourists block the way with their suitcases or chatting on the escalators during rush hours. It annoys me to no end.”

Admitting she is not the patient type, Zhao says things are much better in Hong Kong than in cities on the mainland where “stand right, walk left” signs are often ignored.

The logic behind the “stand right, walk left” escalator e tiquette(礼仪) seems obvious. Even though you may want to catch your breath while you’re transported up or down, you should still consider others and leave enough space for people in a hurry, so that they can run and catch the train.

Many cities’ escalators, including London’s and Beijing’s, use the “stand right, walk left” system to speed up the flow of people. (Australia is an exception and you should stand on the left side instead.) But some cities discourage people from moving on escalators out of safety reasons. In Hong Kong’s subway stations there are regular announcements asking people to “stand still” on escalators. Even so, most people in this fast-paced city observe the “stand right, walk left” etiquette.

But the people who stand on esca lators defend the mselves by telling the walkers not to be so impatient. The BBC quotes one stander as saying: “If the person is in such a rush, why not just take the stairs? Even when the escalator is packed and there’s nowhere to move, I see these same people complaining about not being able to pass.”

Whatever the escalator etiquette is in the place you live or visit, do what most people are doing and always be mindful of others: leave enough space between each other, don’t stay at the end of the escalator, and if someone is blocking your way, a simple “excuse me” is enough.

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.

Hu Liˈs heart sank due to the color of the air. Driving 140 kilometers from Tianjin City to Beijing last week，she held her breath as the air became a charcoal grey haze(炭灰色的阴霾)．The 39­year­old businesswoman has lived in Beijing for a decade，and this past month，she said，brought the worst air pollution she has ever seen. It gave her husband a cough and left her seven­year­old daughter housebound(足不出户)．“My husband as well as I is working here，so we have no choice，” she said.“But if we had a choice，weˈd like to escape from Beijing.”

The extended heavy pollution over the last month，which caused punishment in return for a day last week－called the “airpocalypse” by internet users－has largel y changed the way that Chinese think about the countryˈs air. On one day，pollution levels were 30 times higher than levels considered safe by the World Health Organization (WHO)．Flights were cancelled. Roads were closed. One hospital in east Beijing reported they had treated more than 900 children for breathing issues. Bloomberg found that for most of January，Beijingˈs air was worse than that of an airport smoking area.

The smogˈs(烟雾) most threatening aspect is its high concentration(浓度) of PM 2.5－particulate matter that is small enough to breathe deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream，causing breathing infections，lung cancer and possibly damaging childrenˈs development. The WHO has estimated that outdoor air pollution accounts for two million deaths per year，65% of them in Asia.

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.

To have a second child or not, this is a question.

A concern about only one child is whether one child necessarily means a lonely child. Many parents of only child feel guilty of their decision to have only child. There are no other children in the family for the child to associate with, which may lead to the child feeling lonely at times.

Another common argument against having just one child may be more spoiled than one with siblings. Many people believe that a single child will not have learned to negotiate with others, and respect the give-and-take involved in many relationships. Some think this may leave the child less capable of interacting well people his or her own age.

Despite these arguments, the number of parents choosing to have only one child is increasing in the world. For some single-child parents, the pressures of devoting time and energy to a second child can result in them selecting to have no more children. For other parents, the financial burden of having a second child may be the major consideration. Another important consideration is the increasing age at which women give birth to children.

Advocates of single-child families argue that there are advantages for the child as well as the parents. With just one child, the parents can give, and the child can receive, more quality time and attention.

However, there is no simple answer to the question of whether or not to have a second child. The circumstances affecting each set of parents are unique. The important thing, in the end, is to make a decision that both the wife and the husband feel confident.

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.

There is no better way to enjoy Scottish traditions than going fishing and tasting a little bit of whisky(威士忌) at a quiet place like the Inverlochy Castle. When Queen Victoria visited the castle in 1873, she wrote in her diary, “I never saw a lovelier spot ,” And she didn’t even go fishing.

Scotland is not easily defined. In certain moments, this quiet land of lakes and grasses and mountains changes before your very eyes. When evening gently sweeps the hillside into orange light, the rivers, filled with fish, can turn into streams of gold. As you settle down with just a fishing pole and a basket on the bank of River Orchy, near the Inverlochy Castle, any frustration(烦恼) will float away as gently as the circling water. It’s just you and purple, pink, white flowers, seeking a perfect harmony. If you are a new comer to fishing, learning the basics from a fishing guide may leave you with a lifetime’s fun. For many, fishing is more than a sport; it is an art.

Scotland offers interesting place where you can rest after a long day’s fishing. Set against a wild mountain and hidden behind woodland, the beautiful Inverlochy Castle Hotel below the Nevis is a perfect place to see the beauty of Scotland’s mountains. Ben Nevis is the highest of all British mountains, and reaching its 1343-metre top is a challenge. But it’s not just what goes up matters; what comes down is unique. More than 900 metres high, on the mountain’s north face, lies an all-important source of pure water. Its name comes from the Gaelic language “usquebaugh” or “water of life”; and it is the single most important ingredient(原料) in Scotland’s best known drink: whisky.

Goldfish have pretty boring lives, so maybe it’s a good thing they can only concentrate for nine seconds! But according to new research, humans are becoming like goldfish. Our attention span (时长) is getting shorter...and it’s all because of technology.

“We move quickly from one site to another on the web,” says Doctor Ted Selker, a computer scientist from Massachusetts, “and we are losing the ability to concentrate.” With millions of websites to choose from, the attention span of the average Internet user is just seconds. There are other digital distractions（分心）too: email, instant messaging and quickie movies on websites. Some people are worried about the effect on young people. “You need time to understand and think about what you read,” says Julia Wood, from London. “Young people search the net all the time and their brains become full of useless information but there is no time to make sense of it. I am trying to persuade my pupils to read more books, so that they concentrate on one subject for longer.”

Other teachers are trying more unusual methods to improve students’ concentration. Anne Savan, from Wales, was so worried about her students that she started playing Mozart during her science lessons. She says that it had an amazing effect: “The music made them calmer, and their concentration was much better.”　　

But not everyone believes that there is a problem. Ray Cole, an educational psychologist says: “On the web, young people learn to make quick decisions about what is and isn’t worth reading. They might look at five unhelpful websites very quickly, before stopping and reading a sixth useful website more carefully. In a world with so much information available, this is an important skill.”

Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.

By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic（逻辑）behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand. Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power.”

Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll increase your brain power, even if you have no idea how right now. Just start with anything, and create an explanation. For example, start with “I’ll learn chess,” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan, and if you actually do this, you’ll have a better understanding of your brain from now.

Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success.

Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem, why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there.

Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often, they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.