It's the season for final exams! If ever there was a time to take advantage of all tools imaginable to help your students get the best grades possible, it is now. Fortunately, the app market has exploded with useful assistance, and here are some of the best apps I recommend to help your students study better and learn faster:
iTunes U
Apple's own iTunes U offers a popular app with free lectures and coursework from many of the best schools in the world. Even if you don't use it for your regular curriculum, you can still supplement with Stanford's impressive tools on topics such as coding iOS apps or Statistics 101. The best part? It's free! Well, if you have an iPhone that is enough, otherwise you'll have to keep reading.
Wunderlist
For best study results, Wunderlist will help your students with their time management skills. It can set due dates, reminders and to-do lists. The app is free. It works on both iOS and Android phones.
Coursera
This is an online education app that has partnerships with many top colleges and universities, including Ivy League schools. Students can sign up and study at their own pace to supplement their knowledge, because these schools offer both curriculum course study materials and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). It helps students aim for higher grades and perhaps some scholarship cash. The courses are very affordable, and the app can be downloaded on both iOS and Android phones.
Evernote
Evernote features bookmarking, composing, clipping and more, and is very popular as a note taking app. You can download it on multiple platforms, and it's all free. Don't miss out on this little helper to help your students learn faster and better.
Huang, 24, is a native of Maodao township in Wuzhishan county, South China's Hainan Province. Born into a family of the Li ethnic group, he was exposed to Li culture as a child, especially the ethnic brocade (织绵), which is famous for its bright, striking colors. But he had no idea how to weave it. "My parents are lifetime farmers, and no one in the family really knew much about weaving the brocade" he said.
Huang did not know much about craftsmanship until he was in high school, when local authorities organized an event to introduce intangible cultural heritage to the school campus in 2016. "I was fascinated instantly" he said. Since then, he fell in love with Li brocade and became the only boy in his home village who could weave it.
"I developed a genuine and everlasting love for the ethnic craft, but some villagers cannot understand why a man is addicted to weaving" he says. "They think it's a girl's thing." Regardless of it, Huang continued chasing after his weaving dream.
The intangible cultural heritage of Li brocade dates back to more than 3,000 years. In line with Li tradition, the weaving techniques are only "passed on to women, not to men", as in ancient China, men were supposed to do farm work while women weaved.
In recent years, Hainan education authorities have introduced the traditional craft in local schools, so that the younger generation can understand and learn about the ethnic culture.
When Huang learned of the ancient craftsmanship in high school, he started weaving almost immediately. "I gave my first handmade brocade piece to my teacher to express my gratitude for her guidance." said Huang.
When the explorers first set foot upon the continent of North America, the skies and lands were alive with an astonishing variety of wildlife. Native Americans had taken care of these precious natural resources wisely. Unfortunately, it took the explorers and the settlers who followed only a few decades to decimate a large part of these resources. Millions of waterfowl(水禽) were killed at the hands of market hunters and a handful of overly ambitious sportsmen. Millions of acres of wetlands were dried to feed and house the ever-increasing populations, greatly reducing waterfowl habitat.
In 1934, with the passage of the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act, an increasingly concerned nation took firm action to stop the destruction of migratory ( 迁徙的) waterfowl and the wetlands so vital to their survival. Under this Act, all waterfowl hunters 16 years of age and over must annually purchase and carry a Federal Duck Stamp. The very first Federal Duck Stamp was designed by J.N. "Ding" Darling, a political cartoonist from Des Moines, Iowa, who at that time was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as Director of the Bureau of Biological Survey. Hunters willingly pay the stamp price to ensure the survival of our natural resources.
About 98 cents of every duck stamp dollar goes directly into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund to purchase wetlands and wildlife habitat for inclusion into the National Wildlife Refuge System — a fact that ensures this land will be protected and available for all generations to come. Since 1934, better than half a billion dollars has gone into that Fund to purchase more than 5 million acres of habitat. No wonder the Federal Duck Stamp Program has been called one of the most successful conservation programs ever initiated.
The Government's sugar tax on soft drinks has brought in half as much money as Ministers first predicted it would generate, the first official data on the policy has shown.
First announced in April, 2016, the tax which applies to soft drinks containing more than 5g of sugar per 100ml, was introduced to help reduce childhood obesity9 (肥胖). It is believed that today's children and teenagers are consuming three times the recommended level of sugar, putting them at a higher risk of the disease.
Initially the sugar tax was expected to make £520m a year for the Treasury(财政部). However, data of the first six months showed it would make less than half this amount. At present it is expected to generate £240m for the year ending in April 2019, which will go to school sports.
It comes after more than half of soft drinks sold in shops have had their sugar levels cut by manufacturers (制造商) so they can avoid paying the tax. Drinks now contain 45 million fewer kilos of sugar as a result of manufacturers' efforts to avoid the charge, according to Treasury figures. Since April drinks companies have been forced to pay between 18p and 24p for every litre of sugary drink they produce or import, depending on the sugar content.
However, some high sugar brands, like Classic Coca Cola, have accepted the sugar tax and are refusing to change for fear of upsetting consumers. Fruit juices, milk-based drinks and most alcoholic drinks are free of the tax, as are small companies manufacturing fewer than 1m litres per year.
Today's figures, according to one government official, show the positive influence the sugar tax is having by raising millions of pounds for sports facilities（设施）and healthier eating in schools. Helping the next generation to have a healthy and active childhood is of great importance, and the industry is playing its part.
Do you often listen to music at loud volumes? You should know that this habit is bad for your hearing, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Over 1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss due to listening to loud noises for long periods of time, WHO said.
The United Nations has standards for safe listening. It is not safe to listen to sounds that are louder than 85 decibels (dB,分贝) for eight hours or 100 dB for 15 minutes. The sound of a busy road is about 85 dB and the sound of a rock concert can be about 100 dB.
Most of us are born with about 16,000 hair cells(听毛细胞) in our inner ears. These cells detect sounds. However, listening to loud noises for a long time can make these cells work too hard and cause some of them to die.
Some people might think that their music isn't all that loud. For example, if you are in a noisy place like the subway, you might turn up your music too loud without realizing it. Later, when you listen to it at the same volume in a quiet place, it may sound uncomfortably loud.
WHO said the "safe level" for most sound is below 80 decibels for up to 40 hours a week. .
A. Listening to music or watching a TV show at loud volumes can harm your hearing.
B. Young people are more sensitive to different sounds than elder people.
C. There are different ways to protect your hearing.
D. Loud noises are harmful to the inner ear.
E. This is what causes hearing loss.
F. But this can depend on where you are.
G. A level of 80 decibels is roughly equal to the noise of a subway.
Elsa Desmond knows she is not going to win a medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics. But she is 1 as the first women's luge (无舵雪橇）Olympian from Ireland. She was the 26th to 2 the line in the first run of the women's race on Monday night, 3 than none of the other athletes. That did not 4to her. She celebrated with a large smile on her face.
Although she will not win in Beijing, she has already won some 5. She had been given many reasons why she could not compete: she is too short, she did not start 6at a young age, and she could not balance a(n) 7 job with competing in a sport. The biggest difficulty simply might have been that Ireland did not have a luge organization. So, she 8one herself; she had to 9.
And now, 10, she is a luge Olympian. "I'm a doctor in general surgery, I have all these really visible challenges, but I think everyone has worked as 11as they can to be here." She has delayed parts of her job to compete in the Olympics, but her 12gave her the time off. And her co-workers are becoming big luge fans, extremely proud of her.
Desmond has 13two demanding jobs — sliding a few months out of the year and living a life in medicine. Last season there was a(n) 14when she had to take important medical examinations in hotels in Germany where other sliders were staying. "I had to 15signs on my door saying 'Do not disturb, exam in 16'in about six different languages."
Desmond got the 17of representing her country in Beijing, and being one of two people 18Ireland's flag during the opening ceremony on Friday. "I don't think I can 19words how excited I was to lead out the team. I really hope that I make my country 20."
Ocean pollution is serious. It can kill ocean creatures even harm humans. It's vital to focus on this issue and find ways to prevent pollution in our waters.
Pollution in the ocean (severe) harms sea creatures. For example, ocean animals often mistake pieces of plastic for food. As a result, their bellies fill up with plastic from bottles, containers and beach toys, can be deadly to the animals.
Ocean pollution (cause) risks for humans, too. Polluted water can result diseases among swimmers. Also, people eat fish which might （poison）with harmful chemicals from oil leaks and rubbish in the sea water.
Some people may argue that ocean pollution is not serious, (believe)that the ocean is so vast that it can absorb all kinds of pollution. However, the examples of ocean creatures (kill) by pollution prove them wrong.
In (conclude), it's clear that ocean pollution is a (challenge)problem. We need to learn more about how to stop it.
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
During my schooldays, school regulations were strict. Being punctual for classes were essential. Sport was compulsory, and every week we had to go for a five-kilometre run, wearing just the T-shirt and a pair of shorts even on freezing cold days. We all had to attend to morning assembly every weekday, except for boys of other faiths, who allowed to stay in their classrooms. But there were also so much silly rules to follow, that irritated or even upset me. For example, every one had to polish their shoe every day, and no one was allowed trousers with zippers, only buttons. Every day I would check my mailbox, look forward to my mom's airmail letter. But he lived in Asia and, to my great disappointing, I only got a reply once a fortnight.
1）运动的好处及注意事项；
2）个人的运动经历与感受；
3）呼吁大家热爱运动和生活。
注意：
1）词数100左右；
2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Hello, everyone. The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games was held with history-breaking success,
putting sports back in the spotlight.
……
That's all. Thank you.
