Annette Larkins is an incredible woman who looks like a healthy 40-year-old, although she just turned 70. She follows a special raw diet and only drinks rainwater.
She looks so young that people mistake her for the daughter, when she's out with her husband of 54 years, but I suppose he isn't complaining.
Mrs. Larkins says the secret to her beauty lies in her special diet, consisting of organic vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts grown in her own garden; she calls it the "fountain of youth". The woman doesn't touch anything that has been cooked.
And another strange thing she does is to collect rainwater, to keep her garden blossoming, but also to drink. But the resident of Miami-Dade County, Florida, didn't always have such a healthy lifestyle. In fact, she consumed meat regularly, as her husband used to own a meat factory way back in the 1960s. It was then that she decided to change her eating habits forever. And what a great decision that was. I mean, just look at her!
When she started off, Mrs. Larkins was just looking for a few health benefits and never expected that she would look like a 40-year-old at the age of 70. Over the 27 years, Mrs. Larkins has been eating raw food, and she has written two booklets called Journey to Health and also produce a DVD containing all her healthy secrets.
Her husband, Mr. Larkins, wishes he had followed her example, because now he looks much, older and also suffers from diabetes (糖尿病) and high blood pressure. He takes prescription medicine every day, but Annette doesn't even take an aspirin.
British people work some of the longest hours in Europe, but are among the least productive. Now some companies are shortening the working week to increase efficiency, health and happiness.
Rich Leigh has introduced a four-day week at his PR company. In fact, his company has Friday off, because his firm has taken a four-day week. It is one of a handful of UK businesses that now operate like this: workers still get paid the same as their five-day salary, but they work a day less. The company found that they achieved just as much—and there were even signs of growth. "The key to the scheme's success," Leigh says, "is how happy our employees now are."
The average British worker takes only a 34 minute lunch break and works 10 hours overtime each week (more often than not this is unpaid). Yet UK productivity falls seriously behind their European neighbors, who tend to work fewer hours.
British working practices have caused loss and damage to the nation's health and happiness. More than half a million workers in the UK quit jobs with work-related stress or anxiety last year. Moreover, the working conditions are changing. Automation (自动化) and AI will have a significant impact on the labor market, where it's a struggle to have regular work.
Britain is the only EU member that allows workers to ignore the EU working time limit and work longer hours. Now it is the time for a change. O'Grady, an advocate, argues that where businesses have increased their profits as a result of automation, success should be shared with workers in the form of reduced hours. "It's time to share the benefits from new technology, not allowing those at the top to enjoy the benefits by themselves." she says.
When you walk on a sandy beach, it takes more energy than walking down a sidewalk, because the weight of your body pushes into the sand. It turns out that the same thing is true for vehicles driving on roads.
"The weight of the vehicles creates a very shallow indentation (凹陷) in the pavement, and it makes it such that it's continuously driving up a very shallow hill," said Jeremy Gregory, a scientist at MIT. He modeled with his teammates how much energy could be saved, and greenhouse gases avoided, by simply hardening the nation's roads and highways.
And they found that hardening 10 percent of the nation's roads every year could prevent emissions equal to 440 megatons of carbon dioxide over the next 5 decades—that amount is equal to how much CO2 you'd spare the planet by keeping a billion barrels of oil in the ground or by growing 7 billion trees for a decade. It reduces 0.5% of projected transportation emissions over that time period.
As for how to harden roads, Gregory says you could combine small amounts of certain fiber with high technology into paving materials. Or you could pave with specially-made concrete, which is harder than ordinary construction materials.
This system could also be a way to shave carbon emissions without some of the usual barriers. "Usually, when it comes to reducing emissions in the transportation department, you're talking about changing policies related to vehicles and also driver behavior, which involves millions and millions of people—as opposed to changing the way we design and preserve our pavements. That's just on the order of thousands of people who are working in transportation agencies." And when it comes to improving our streets and highways, those agencies are where you might say the rubber meets the road.
The record heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, which has seriously threatened dams and caused flood warnings for several rivers in the city, has left 12 people dead and forced about 100,000 to be displaced (转移), the provincial information office said on Wednesday.
The heavy rain across Henan, one of the most populated provinces with 94 million people, began on Saturday, with Zhengzhou being one of the hardest-hit areas. The severe rain in the city is expected to last until Wednesday night.
About 20.2 centimeters of rainfall hit Zhengzhou in just one hour since 4 pm on Tuesday, exceeding China's record for hourly rainfall in inland areas. Also, between 6 pm on Saturday and midnight Wednesday, five weather stations in the city logged record rainfall amounts while 61.7cm of rain had drenched (浸透) Zhengzhou—almost equal to the annual average of 64.1cm, the local meteorological bureau reported.
Around 6 pm Tuesday, floodwater rushed into a section of the tunnel of the city's subway line, trapping passengers inside in waist-high water. A total of 500 people had been evacuated (疏散), and 12 people died. All subways in the city have stopped running.
Meanwhile, Zhengzhou's flood control headquarters said on Wednesday that water storage at Guojiazui Reservoir was at "major risk" of dam failure. People in high risk areas have been warned and started to evacuate. The water levels of other dams in the city have also exceeded the flood warning level.
The Central Theater of People's Liberation Army said on Wednesday morning that it has sent more than 3,000 men and 80 sets of equipment to fight the floods and carry out rescue work in the city as its emergency response level for floods has been raised to level 1.
Other parts of Henan were also hit by heavy rain and record rainfall has been reported in several areas. At 3 am on Wednesday, the province's emergency response level for floods has also been raised to level 1 from level 2.
What's more, the water levels of 32 dams have breached (突破) the flood warning level. In the city of Luoyang, local authorities said the rainfall had caused a 20 meter breach in the Yihetan Dam, and that the dam "could fall down at any time".
If you want to save money on groceries following ways will help you cut $100 out of your monthly grocery bill without too much effort.
Convenience lets you save time for other things you need to get done. Pre-made items may save your time, but they cost a pretty penny. These items come in the form of packaged dinners or pre-cut produce. Instead of that plate of cut pineapple, buy the whole fruit or vegetable for a part of the cost.
Know what to buy in bulk (大批). Shopping at warehouse stores can be a great way to save money, but not every item is worth buying in bulk.
Skip the meat. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the average cost of beef is $4.13 per pound this March. If you skip the beef twice a week, you can instantly cut $30 to $40, if not more, off your grocery bill each month.
Know what to buy in season. Fruits and vegetables are a great addition to your daily diet, but they can add a significant amount to your grocery bill, especially when you buy items out of season. If your favorite items are getting ready to go out of season, consider buying a little extra and freezing them.
However, there are ways to, stretch your dollar further without hurting your habits.
|
A. Store pre-made items. B. Skip the prepared items. C. Shopping for groceries can be an expensive attempt. D. Beef has seen a significant increase in price over the past few years. E. The cost can add up quickly if you're eating beef three or four times per week. F. As produce items go out of season, the become more expensive as the supply decreases. G. Certain items make sense to buy in large quantities as they typically have a longer shelf life. |
My Olympic dream began a few years after I started ski jumping. The Sochi Games are the first time women ski jumpers are1to compete for gold. Before that my Olympic dream was just impossible. So I dearly wanted a(n)2on this historic team. But first, I had to overcome the worst day of my life.
Five months before the Games, an unimaginable amount of3overtook me during my training—my right knee was severely broken. Lying there, a sense of despair4me, and I thought my dream was all over.
To my5, my doctor told me that it was still6to make it to Sochi. He said that7anyone could come back in time, it would be me. I took his words to heart, and decided I wouldn't let anything8me.
The road to my full9demanded hard work. I couldn't10how quickly my body healed, but I could11myself to workouts and rehab (康复治疗). I12hours and hours at the gym. Despite all the sweat, I was13about the outcome due to my injury. However, I was all in because I knew that I had to work hard so that I could have a14to prove myself.
15, my hard work paid off. I passed the strength tests and was named to the 2014 Sochi Olympic team.
Our nation is proud that our ancestors(祖先) made many great (contribution) to the development of the world's civilizations. In ancient China, private teachers travelled from state to state explaining their philosophy. One of the most famous philosophers was man named Confucius. His father died three years after he was born, (leave) the family in poverty, but he received a fine education.
This Chinese man was a well-known leader in philosophy and he (make) many wise phrases and theories about the law, life, and the government. Confucius is famous his philosophy because he made many wise sayings in ancient China helped many people learn about nature, the world, and the human behaviour. He also helped the government and the (rule) by teaching them lessons on how the emperor should rule his kingdom (successful). Actually, Chinese society (influence) by his ideas for more than 2,000 years. And his thoughts are so popular today that many Confucius schools have been built in Western countries (spread) them to people all over the world.
The last race of the day was over. My breathing gradually stilled along with the ripples in the pool, but I stayed in the water, watching sadly as the winners gathered for the medals ceremony.
"Don't look so sad," I heard a voice say behind me. I turned around to see a tall, blond, blue-eyed man standing on the edge of the pool. "You came in fourth, but you are the best in your country." he said smiling. "I'm Ken Schafer, and you?"
"Rima Datta."
"And how old are you, Rima?"
"Fourteen, Sir" I replied lifting myself out of the water. Ken was a swimming coach from California and asked me about my life as a swimmer until then.
My eldest brother, Anil, had taught me how to swim, but I had no real training until I was nine when a coach from the National Institute of Sports came for just three months a year to train the boys at Mayo College, where our father taught. She set aside a couple of hours a week for the daughters of the staff. It was she who had corrected my mistakes and encouraged me to take part in competitions.
Surprised to hear how little steady training I had had, Ken introduced me to the National Institute of Sports in Patiala to be trained in this summer. The train was hard, and I felt quite lonely away from my parents and all that was familiar. But it was Ken, with his tireless enthusiasm, his passion for swimming, and his faith in me that kept me focused.
I won my first gold medal at the national championship that year, a fact that filled me with immense joy and Ken with a sense of satisfaction that his work with me was paying off. Yet he realized that what I really needed was a team to train with and steady coaching year-round.
Then he persuaded my parents to allow me to go to California and train there for a year. He even helped find out a host family for me.
注意：
1）续写词数应为150左右；
2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
Alone on the long flight to Los Angeles, I was filled with doubts, as I had never lived with a strange family.
Paragraph 2:
The kindness of the host family and Ken gave me all the practical and emotional support I needed to train in a swimming club of California.
