Four new books to read
The books that are included in this list can meet your reading needs at any time of year.
Nobody Will Tell You This but Me
Bess Kalb
In this book, the author shares the advice her beloved grandmother Bobby left her. Bobby was a powerful woman who should never be underestimated, and she was very knowledgeable about the family's traditions and secrets. The book proves that family bonds can endure through generations and beyond death.
We Came Here to Shine
Susie Orman Schnall
We Came Here to Shine focuses on the strong female friendship between an aspiring journalist and an unlucky actress at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Leaning on each other, these two ambitious women struggled against adversity(困境) at a time when women had little say.
A Star Is Bored
Byron Lane
Favored by television star Jonathan Van Ness, this novel is partly based on the author's experiences as the former personal assistant to Carrie Fisher, a legendary American actress. The book follows Charlie Besson, the new assistant to the Hollywood icon, Kathi Kannon. Their three-year journey together is an unforgettable adventure that is funny, heartbreaking, and hopeful.
Fast Girls
Elise Hooper
The story in Fast Girls took place during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where Betty Robinson, Louise Stokes, and Helen Stephens overcame difficult pasts to attain Olympic glory as the world's fastest female athletes. Beyond the athletic journey, they also aimed to challenge the social standards of what females can achieve.
"Anyone knows single parents who can't afford to get their child's hair done for school? I will braid (编辫子) it for free!" Brittany Starks wrote on a Facebook post.
She decided to offer her hair braiding services after a family friend delivered backpacks full of school supplies, clothing and shoes for Cayden and Ceniyah in early August. "At the time, I didn't have anything for my kids to start school," said Starks, who is in between homes and staying with her mother. "It meant so much to me."
The unexpected gift made a big difference to Starks and her children, and it motivated her to pay it forward. Starks, who works two receptionist jobs, also braids hair part-time. "The hair-braiding process involves washing, blow-drying, and finally dividing the hair into small sections and braiding it. It also requires multiple supplies — including combs, brushes, hair jam and additional pieces of hair to weave in. It costs anywhere from $150 to $400 at a salon (美发厅), depending on the style," Stacks explained. "But it can last for months and is a huge timesaver in the mornings."
When she wrote the Facebook post, she assumed only a handful of people would reach out, but before she knew it, she had 35 appointments booked. Her Facebook inbox was suddenly full of messages from single parents, whose stories of hardship and financial challenges mirrored her own.
"There's a huge need for this. I could really relate to a lot of the women who reached out, and it made me realize that what I was doing was really important," said Stacks. "What got me the most was seeing the kids smile." Given that there was less than two weeks before the start of school, Starks knew she needed to enlist help.
Solar farms offer one way to meet the world's decarbonization targets, but they could also be used to deal with another of the planet's big problems: loss of biodiversity. The approach is starting to take off. Residents of Barnsdale, for example, will soon play host to a new solar farm lined with grass field of wildflowers and native grasses, which Banks Group, the developer, says will promote pollinating insects.
The idea comes from the combination of two long-term trends: declining numbers of pollinating insects and the growing amount of land distributed to solar farms. According to the Center for Biological Diversity in Arizona, more than 40 percent of insect pollinators globally are listed as "highly threatened"—an issue that could seriously threaten food security. Meanwhile, solar-energy competence has been increasing. Matthew O'Neal, a scientist at Iowa State University, would like to see more solar developers seize this opportunity.
The benefits of such projects don't stop at the insects. Research from Yale's Center for Business and the Environment indicates that pollinator-friendly solar farms can raise crop output on nearby farmland, increase the recharging of groundwater and reduce soil erosion. In 2018, a US Department of Energy study found that if all existing and planned solar facilities near soybean and cranberry crops included pollinator home and increased output by just one percent, annual crop values could rise by US $1.75 million, US $4 million and US $233,000, respectively.
"Farmers could identify unprofitable areas, such as poor, highly erodible lands, as candidates for a pollinator-friendly solar farm. There's the potential to increase their net income with pollinator motivation projects," says O'Neal.
With enough forward thinking, these studies show, clean energy can provide new environmental opportunities. "We're at a turning point with energy production and we're seeing more opportunities to provide extra benefits that wouldn't have been considered with older methods of energy generation," says O'Neal. "You never heard of a coal mine planning pollinator conservation."
Women are still underrepresented in top academic positions. One of the possible explanations for this is the increasing importance of obtaining research funding. Women are often less successful in this than men. Psychology researchers Dr. Romy van der Lee and professor Naomi Ellemers investigated whether this difference also occurs at the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and examined potential explanations.
The researchers were assigned by NWO to carry out this study as part of the broader evaluation of NWO's procedures and its gender diversity policy. The aim was to gain more insight into the causes of the differences in awarding rates for male and female applicants for research funding. The analysis addressed an important "talent programme" of NWO, the Veni grant. "Whoever receives this grant has a greater chance of obtaining an important appointment at a university, " says Naomi Ellemers.
Van der Lee and Ellemers investigated all the applications submitted by male and female researchers over a period of three years: a total of 2823 applications. Under the direction of NWO these applications were assessed by scientific committees consisting of men and women. The results demonstrate that the awarding rates for female applicants (14.9%) are systematically lower than those for male applicants (17.7%). "If we compare the proportion of women among the applicants with the proportion of women among those awarded funding, we see a loss of 4%," said Ellemers.
The study reveals that women are less positively evaluated for their qualities as researcher than men are, "Interestingly the research proposals of women and men are evaluated equally positively. In other words, the reviewers see no difference in the quality of the proposals that men and women submit," says Romy van der Lee.
In search for a possible cause for the differences in awarding rates and evaluations, the researchers also investigated the language use in the instructions and forms used to assess the quality of applications. This clearly revealed the occurrence of gendered language. The words that are used to indicate quality are frequently words that were established in previous research as referring mainly to the male gender stereotype (such as challenging and excellent). Romy van der Lee explains: "As a result, it appears that men more easily satisfy the assessment criteria, because these better fit the characteristics stereoty-pically associated with men."
In response to the results of this research, NWO will devote more attention to the gender awareness of reviewers in its methods and procedures. It will also be investigated which changes to the assessment procedures and criteria can most strongly contribute to more equal chances for men and women to obtain research funding. This will include an examination of the language used by NWO. NWO chair Jos Engelens said, "The research has yielded valuable results and insights. Based on the recommendations made by the researchers we will therefore focus in the coming period on the development of evidence-based measures to reduce the difference in awarding rates."
Perhaps you've stopped doing what you want because you're afraid of what others think of you. You feel that you must do what they expect and that you must meet their expectations, otherwise you'll lose their approval. Then, you'll be able to do what you want freely.
Think about yourself, about what you really like and are interested in. You must lead your life independently. However, you might feel afraid to do it because you've always done everything to gain the approval of others. You need to get out of that zone, move to new places, and explore your full potential.
By surrounding yourself with people who think like you, you'll realize that you don't feel judged. Then, you'll start doing what you really want. Your new friends will integrate into your life and you'll also keep your genuine friends. On the other hand, those who are always ready to see the negative and question what you're trying to do will drift away.
To overcome your fear of what others think and of their non-approval, you should start talking about your plans, For instance, you might want to tell a handful of friends about your wishes and dreams. You'll feel confident in yourself and you'll be able to go on your new path without any fear.
It's unavoidable that not everything will be plain sailing, and you'll find obstacles along your way. People in your environment often don't understand what you do no matter how much you explain it, so ignore them.
A. There is no need to think about what you want.
B. You don't have to change your circle of friends.
C. Your life belongs to you, as well as your actions.
D. By talking to them, you'll be able to organize your plans and ideas.
E. If this is the case, it's time to start working on your self-esteem (自尊).
F. You must do what you want without being affected by what others think.
G. However, you must trust in yourself and seek the necessary strength to move forward.
This was a day that would forever define Billy. It was March 20, 2012, around 5 pm at a nearby beach when young Billy, who was a college student, 1 the waves for a quick surf with his best mate Tyson.
What came next is the stuff 2 movies are made of - except this was real. Falling out of a wave, Billy accidentally 3 on the back of a giant shark. "l felt his jaws 4 onto my legs, and he was thrashing(翻来滚去) me around like a doll. I only survived because of Tyson, who raised the 5 , and the amazing local lifeguards ,"Billy 6 . He is now a loving dad, with an 11-month-old son, Mikey.
Billy's 7 is nothing short of a miracle -both mentally and physically. He is still so confident in the water
and seeing the 8 it brings him far outweighs those concerns.
Unlike many other victims, Billy does not 9 the killing of sharks. "I'm no expert, but we're in their natural habitat, "he explains. "These attacks are generally a case of 10 identity - they think we're marine life."
Now, Billy is back on the beach, 11 sandcastles with his little boy, knowing that whatever happened here a decade ago will never stop them from making many more precious 12 together. "I've already had Mikey in the shallow waves on the board, and no surprise- he's 13 ! My scars from the attack are like a badge of honor, and something to show Mikey as he gets older as a 14 of how hard his daddy fought to be here." boasts the 15 dad.
The first-ever online marketplace for allotments(菜地), AllotMe, has unveiled plans for rapid (expand) after securing more than 250, 000$ from investors. Proposed in May last year by Conor Gallapher, the plan seeks ( address) the shortage of available garden space in response to rising demand in towns and cities, particularly in London, there are waiting lists of up to 40 years for allotment sites.
Known as the "Airbnb for Gardens", AllotMe has grown in popularity, with more than 100 hosts (list) underused space to grow fruit and vegetables across the UK. Some users have already successfully rented space from hosts for more than a year. Now Conor ( prepare) a summer campaign, AllotMents 2.0,to increase the number of plots (小块土地) listed by more than 2000percent.
"AllotMe (found) as interest in garden space in cities increased during the pandemic, but highly limited supply ," says Conor. "People are telling us that this is a service they want and we'll continue our mission to revive underused space in cities by providing a ( true) sustainable solution that encourages people to grow their own and eat more healthily ,too."
Conor adds that AllotMents 2.0 will focus on encouraging hosts to think about how the platform can enable ( they) space to work for them, whether that's earning money to spend on other things, managing outdoor space they can't helping the environment through passive sustainability.
Mr. Watson's store was widely known throughout the neighborhood. It sold many different things. Every day after school, Jess came to the store and he loved to look at the pipes (烟斗). One pipe especially caught his eye. He imagined that some day he would be a grown man and could smoke a pipe, just like this one. He did not remember his father, but he knew his dad smoked a pipe.
Jess reached out and touched the pipe. He kept thinking that when he was old enough, he would go to work and his mother could stay home. He would not have to wait three hours after school until she came home from her job. Oh, why? He wondered, did it take so long to grow up and take his father's place.
He looked around the store and put the bowl of the pipe in his hand. He just wanted to get the feel of it — nothing more. He was lost in his dream, wishing he could be like his father.
Suddenly he was shocked out of his dream. He heard footsteps behind him. He turned around quickly. It was Mr. Watson, the friendly store owner. Jess was unable to move.
"Hello, Jess," Mr. Watson said, and kept on walking. Jess struggled to answer but could not get his voice up. He swallowed and smiled weakly as Mr. Watson walked away. Jess's thoughts became unclear. Was he suspicious?
Suddenly the store seemed extremely warm. Jess watched his feet begin to move and take him out of the store. He felt the cool air outside and it was good, yet, he felt an emptiness inside himself. Like one walking in his sleep, he moved toward the ground. He looked around and saw the empty swings. He slipped into one and leaned against its chain. The cold metal links hurt his side.
Sitting on the swing, he gave the ground a push with one foot. A sharp pain caught him in the stomach. He knew it was the pipe he felt. He had walked out of the store with it.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2）应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
The sun was slipping down through the trees and it was time to go home.
Paragraph 2:
Looking at the long shadows of the trees coming towards him, Jess now knew what he had to do.
