Top Four Marathons
Portland Marathon
The marathon welcomes 8, 000 people every fall. It's a great event for first-timers because everyone is cheered on with enthusiasm no matter how long it takes to cross the finish line. The time limit for the full marathon is now at a pace of minutes per mile, or 6 hours and 33 minutes, but in the past it had an open time limit. They promise you'll still receive your medal if you fall behind the pace, but you have to finish using the sidewalks.
TCS New York City Marathon
As the world's biggest marathon, the TCS New York City Marathon attracts over 50,000 people to the Big Apple each November. The time limit is generous eight and a half hours, but participants must move to the sidewalks if they drop below 15-minute mile. The famous course snakes through five boroughs (行政区) of the city and crosses five bridges to end in Central Park.
Honolulu Marathon
The marathon attracts over 30,000 participants each December. The race starts on Ala Moana Boulevard in downtown Honolulu and snakes its way along the breathtaking Hawaiian coastline to the finish line in Kapiolani Park. The start time is at 5: 00 am with finish line services officially open until 2: 00 pm. However, the organizers allow everyone to finish and have waiters on hand
until 4: 00 pm.
Boston Marathon
The marathon is held in May every year. For this event running isn't allowed as the city streets aren't closed off. Participants must instead make their way along sidewalks under the guidance of event organizers and city police. The event attracts over 8,000 people who can choose anything from three-mile walk to the full 26.2-mile Boston Marathon route.
Flying High
Barrington Irving made his historic flight and founded an educational non-profit-making organization. The secret, he believes, is having a dream in the first place, and that starts with learning experiences that inspire kids to build careers.
The moment of inspiration for Irving came in his parents' bookstore. One customer, a professional pilot, asked Irving if he'd thought about becoming a pilot. "I told him I wasn't smart enough; but the next day he took me to the cockpit (驾驶舱) of the commercial airplane he flew, and just like that I was hooked."
To follow his dream, Irving turned down a football scholarship to the University of Florida. He washed airplanes to earn money and increased his flying skills by practising at home on a $40 flight simulator (模拟) video game. Then another dream took hold: flying alone around the world. He faced more than 50 rejections for sponsorship before convincing some companies to donate
aircraft components. He took off with no weather radar, no de-icing system, and just $30 in his pocket.
After 97 days, 26 stops and dozens of thunderstorms, he touched down to a cheering crowd in Miami. "It was seeing so many young people watching and listening that pushed me into giving back with my knowledge and experience." Irving has been doing it ever since. He set up his non-profit-making organization, Experience Aviation (航空 ), aiming to increase the numbers of youth in aviation and science-related careers. "We want to create chances for students to accomplish something amazing," he notes. The most powerful educational tool is the example his own life provides.
Standing in line for the latest iPhone at the Apple store, queueing for tickets to Wimbledon or even just waiting at the post office might just have got a lot easier. Japanese car-maker Nissan announces that it has just the thing to relieve the painful legs of tired queuers.
The new system of "self-driving" chairs is designed to detect when someone at the front of the queue is called, and automatically move everyone else one step forward in line. The new invention is shown off in a company video, which shows a busy restaurant with customers waiting outside.
In the video, diners are sitting in a row of chairs, but will not have to stand when the next hungry diner is called to a table. Instead, the chairs, equipped with autonomous technology that detects the seat ahead, move along a path toward the front of the line. When the person at the front of the queue is called, the empty chair at the front can sense it is empty and so moves out of pole position. Cameras on the remaining chairs then sense the movement and follow automatically.
The system, which is similar to the kind used in Nissan's autonomous vehicle technology, will be tested at selected restaurants in Japan this year, Nissan said. It appeals to anyone who has queued for hours outside a crowded restaurant: it eliminates the boredom and physical pain of standing in line," Nissan added.
Although Tokyo has some 160,000 restaurants, long queues are not uncommon. Chosen restaurants that meet the criteria will be able to show the chairs outside their restaurants next year. Nissan also released a short video showing the chairs being used in an art gallery, moving slowly in front of the various paintings to let viewers appreciate the art without the need to stand up.
Blue Planet II's latest episode (情节) focuses on how plastic is having a destructive effect on the ocean and slowly poisoning our sea creatures. Researchers recently also found that sea creatures living in the deepest place on Earth, the Mariana Trench, have plastic in their stomachs. Indeed, oceans are drowning in plastic.
Though it seems that the world couldn't possibly function without plastics, plastics are a remarkably recent invention. The first plastic bags were introduced in the 1950s, the same decade that plastic packaging began gaining popularity in the United States. This growth has happened so fast that science is still catching up with the change. Plastics pollution research, for instance, is still a very early science.
We put all these plastics into the environment, but we still don't really know what the outcomes are going to be. What we do know, though, is disturbing. Ocean plastic is estimated to kill millions of marine animals every year. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by it. One in three leatherback turtles, which often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, have been found with plastic in their bellies. Ninety percent of seabirds are now eating plastics on a regular basis. By 2050, that figure is expected to rise to 100 percent.
And it's not just wildlife that is threatened by the plastics in our seas. Humans are consuming plastics through the seafood we eat. I could understand why some people see ocean plastic as a disaster, worth mentioning in the same breath as climate change. But ocean plastic is not as complicated as climate change. There are no ocean trash deniers (否认者 ), at least so far. To do something about it, we don't have to remake our planet energy system.
This is not a problem where we don' t know what the solution is. We know how to pick up garbage. Anyone can do it. We know how to deal with it. We know how to recycle. We can all start by thinking twice before we use single-use plastic products. Things that may seem ordinary, like using a reusable bottle or a reusable bag—when taken collectively, these choices really do make a difference.
What's the easiest way to stay warm in the super cold?At least that's what Santa Claus told me.
Over Christmas, Dennis and I went to Finland. We brought back some tips for keeping warm in a cold temperature.
Three layers（层）work wonders.
Start with the base layer, which sits right on your skin: choose something absorbent (有吸收力的).A sweater is a good choice. The most important layer is the outer clothes, which should be waterproof（防水的）and windproof.
You lose heat from every millimeter of uncovered skin, which was the biggest lesson I learned on the trip. My whole body was well covered. But I missed one spot: my face. So it often felt like the wind was going to blow my nose off.
Exercise and don't just stand still.
When it's cold, exercising may be the last thing you feel like doing, but be smart. When we first got to Finland, we were freezing. But after a couple of minutes jumping around, we felt less cold.
Have a heater.
You may want to turn it on all the way up, but it's best to keep it between 18 and 20 degrees.Remember not to create a huge difference between inside and outside.
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A. Grow a crazy beard B. Cover every bit of your skin C. The key is what your layers are D. That will keep you comfortable E. Don't forget to keep your hands and feet warm, too F. The middle layer keeps your body heat from getting away G. Take a walk, faster than your normal speed, and you will feel the difference |
We went out to dinner tonight to celebrate my daughter's beautiful performance. We don't do this often because of our1budget.
I noticed a very 2 mom come in with her three children, maybe about age 4 or 5. She looked like she had just 3work. She sat with her children quietly taking care of them and4all their needs. Then I noticed as soon as the last course5
arrived, she took a bite of her food in a hurry and then one of the6had to go to the bathroom. They all left the table and she7them—so lovingly and8— especially after what may have been a long day at work. She was still wearing some kind of uniform.
I9myself from the table and quietly went to the hostess stand. I 10$15 tothe hostess and said, "Can you put this anonymously(匿名地) towards that mom of 3 children's11? I am hoping it will12at least the children's meals." The waitress had a lovely smile and accepted the13 I didn't stand around14 as I didn't want anyone—even my own family— to15 what was going on. I wanted it to be completely anonymous.
For the16of my meal, I did all I could not to pay any more attention17to the table, as I didn't want her to suspect that it was me that had18their dinner.
It feels so19to live in this type of world, full of love and20, instead of anger, sadness and self-service.
China is the world's largest center of goods-making and the world's largest exporter of goods. Chinese agriculture not only helps feed(develop) places but also helps feed other major world powers. China has helped many(Europe), South American and North African countries deal with the economic crisis(危机).
China,has grown fast over the past decade, is now the largest economy outside the group of developed(country). China, in particular, is in the news every day. Generally, it(see)as one of the world's major economic powers. China's economy is twice larger than that of Brazil, India, and Russia, withhuge population, four times that of the US. Over the past 20 years, China has grown(rapid).
I am very proud(be) here in China and to have a great community of Chinese and foreigners. I hope one day, I will be able to contributethe development of the world's economic and scientific research. This one year of my life was amazing. I hope the coming days will be more exciting and at every step of my life, I(learn)something new and interesting.
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：在错的词下画一横线，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限一词。
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第 11处起）不计分
A little kid fell into the lake while she was playing with her little friends. They were too frightening to know what to do next. Unfortunately, a pretty lady and a man passed by and saw the drowning girl. The man immediate dived into the water and took the girl to the bank at a same time. The lady called the ambulance on time. Before the ambulance came, the lady, who proved to be a nurse, performing first aid to the kid. A few of minutes later, the kid sent to the nearest hospital and finally saved. The story is a good example where first aid can make a lot of differences. From it, we know it is necessary to know basic first aid skills so that we can be better preparing for an emergency.
