Beautiful Britain Photo Competition
What represents the beauty of Britain for you? Is it rolling green hills and hidden valleys of the countryside?Here's your chance to capture it in a photo! The competition will be judged by professional photographer James Eckersley. The judge's decision is final and winners will be informed by email or post.
You must own the rights to the photograph you submit for entry. You must be able to supply a high-resolution copy of the photograph suitable for print publication. Competition is open to residents of the UK, aged 18 or over, except Reader's Digest employees and any associated partners or attached companies. There is no cash alternative and prizes are not transferable. Multiple entries will be accepted. Winners must agree to publication of their winning photograph, along with their name. The winning entries will be published in our July issue, with the top winner gracing the back cover. Contributions become world copyright of Vivat Direct Ltd (t/aReader'sDigest). Your information will only be used in accordance with our privacy policy. Entry implies acceptance of these rules. For more details, tips and guides, visitreadersdigest.co.uk/inspire/photo-competition.
Anthony Doerr's new bestseller, All the Light We Cannot See, holds special appeal for me. That's how I would describe it. From the poetic language, to the realization of what the tile actually means：that underneath the surface of history, there is light that has not been seen, and stories that have gone untold.
I'm going to be honest—love for this book didn't hit me straight away. In fact, my first attempt to read it last month ended with me putting it aside and going to find something easier, lighter and less descriptive to read. But this book is built on beautiful imagery. Both in the literal sense—the physical world of 1940s Paris and Germany, and the metaphorical（隐喻性的） sense-scientific and philosophical references to light, to seeing and not seeing, and the differences between the two. It's a beautiful work of genius, but it does get a little complicated at times.
However, when we get into the meat of this World War II novel, it's also an upsetting story of a childhood torn apart by war. It's about Parisian Marie Laure who has been blind since she was six, and a German orphan called Werner who finds himself at the center of the Hitler Youth. Both of their stories are told with sensitivity and sympathy, each one forced down a path by their personal circumstances and by that destructive monster-war.
I think this is the kind of book you will never appreciate if you stop too soon-I learned that lesson. From the first to last page, there is a theme of invisible lines running parallel to one another and sometimes, just sometimes, crossing in the strangest way. These two lives we are introduced to seem to be worlds apart, and yet they come together and influence one another, It was this, more than the predictably awful tale of war, that made me feel quite emotional.
A lot of media attention has focused on the harmful effects of working long hours. Logging excessive hours at work is rooted in the work culture of the West. From Bay Area startups to various multinationals, their idea is centered around how many hours you can clock at work. It is assumed that the more hours you put into your job, the more career prospects you'll get out of it.
A new study in Europe challenged this assumption, however. From their analysis of nearly 52, 000 people from 36 European countries, they concluded that it's not the number of hours you clock at the office, but how intensely you work during those hours, that affects career-related outcomes. Researchers found people, with similar jobs and education levels, were more likely to suffer poorer well-being and inferior career prospects, including satisfaction, security and promotion, when they worked at an intense level for long periods. According to Hans Frankort, a senior lecturer in strategy at Cass Business School, the research suggests career benefits of excessive work effort-longer hours or harder work-may never materialize.
Employers should reduce work intensity rather than try to control excessive hours, the authors concluded."Compared with overtime, work intensity predicts much greater reductions in well-being and career benefits,"Hans Frankort said.
There is also a range of things for employees to do to ensure they're working smarter, and not just harder. Beth Belle Cooper, a former content creator at Buffer, the social media scheduling app, suggests taking more breaks to refresh your mind and reset your attention span. She also recommends taking naps to consolidate new information in the brain and help you avoid burnout. You might also consider completely unplugging from work more consistently, and for longer periods of time. This is what Sean McCabe and his small team does when they take a week-long vacation every seventh week.
Swot satellite is scheduled to be launched Thursday morning to conduct a comprehensive survey of Earth's vital resource. By using advanced microwave radar technology it will collect height-surface measurements of oceans, lakes and rivers in high-definition detail over 90% of the globe. It's really the first time to observe nearly all water on the planet's surface.
The major mission is to explore how oceans help to minimize climate change by absorbing atmospheric heat and carbon dioxide in a natural process. Oceans are estimated to have absorbed more than 90% of the extra heat trapped in the Earth's atmosphere by human-caused greenhouse gases Swot will scan the seas from the orbit and precisely measure fine differences in surface elevations（高度）around smaller currents and eddies（漩涡），where much of the oceans' decrease of heat and carbon is believed to occur."Studying the mechanism will help climate scientists answer a key question: What is the turning point at which oceans start releasing, rather than absorbing, huge amounts of heat back into the atmosphere and speed up global warming, rather than limiting it,"said Nadya Shiffer, Swot's program scientist.
By comparison, earlier studies of water bodies relied on data of rivers or oceans taken at specific points, or from satellites that can only track measurements along, a one-dimensional line, requiring scientists to fill in data gaps through extrapolation（外推法）.Thanks to the radar instrument, Swot can scan through cloud cover and darkness over wide ranges of the Earth. This enables scientists to accurately map their observations in two dimensions regardless of weather or time of day and to cover large geographic areas far more quickly than was previously possible.
"Rather than giving us a line of elevations, it's giving us a map of elevations, and that's just a total game changer," said Tamlin Pavelsky, Swot freshwater science leader.
Top Tips on Staying Warmer in Colder Months
With the rising cost of living affecting all of us, staying warmer this winter feels like it's going to be a difficult task. The government has already brought in measures to help with the cost of living. .
Read on for some small tips that could make a big difference and help you stay warmer in colder months.
Love layers
Rather than snuggling into one big jumper, think about wearing plenty of thin layers instead. It acts as an insulator（绝缘体）—keeping you warmer than if you just wore one thick one. Don't forget the thermal underwear when it's really chilly. Clothes made from wool and cotton are the warmest.
Warm from the inside out
Winter is a great time for rustling up soups and stews, but even a bowl of hot porridge can set you up from breakfast onwards. Eating hot, nutritious dishes can keep you warm and healthy. .
Heat carefully
If you're able to heat all of your rooms, keep your main living room at 18-21℃(64-70°F.)and the rest of your house around 16C(61°F.). .Heat the living room during the day and the bedroom just before you go to sleep. And don't forget to have your heating system serviced regularly to make sure it's working well.
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Staying active is good for your health in general, but if it is too cold to walk outside, then catching up on the household chores is a great way of making sure you're getting up and about. Even light exercise can keep you warm, so grab that vacuum cleaner or duster, get moving and make your house shine.
A. Do the housework
B. Exercise regularly
C. Given the price of fuel, if this isn't possible, be selective
D. However, there are still other things you can do to keep the heat in
E. Therefore, try to eat at least one hot meal a day with regular hot drinks
F. Multiple thin layers allow warm air to become trapped between the layers
G. Along with layers, make sure you wrap up in a scarf, hat and gloves when you are outside.
My mother worked as a housekeeper, was given many leftover things when clients 1their junk, including used toys as well as many other treats. My older sister and I always loved sharing the 2books and board games that Mom brought home. We3divided everything.
One December day, an old-model toy car arrived in the load of goods. It was as long as my forearm and 4both hands to lift. My sister didn't want it, so it was all mine. I immediately began brushing it clean and5it to a bright candy-apple red. It was a thing of beauty, and I glowed as much as it did from pride of6.
Our 7from France came to visit that Christmas, and my young French cousin fell in love with that wonderful, shiny red automobile. He'd been8so far in life, suffering severe, life-threatening illnesses as a child and hurting himself badly earlier in the year when he accidentally9and fell on the icy sidewalk. By now, everyone knew how I felt about the car，10nobody dared suggest that I give it to him. But, deep down, I knew it was the 11thing to do. So, when they left, my red car went with him. Though I was upset to see it go, my heart12when I saw his beaming face as he tightly grasped it.
I still think about that car and 13it to this day. But with that beloved recyeled Christmas gift, I14with my cousin for life.
Years later, my cousin presented me with a replica（复制品） of the red toy car, a reminder of the joy of giving. He cherished the original gift and wanted to pass on the15that it's better to give than receive.
Dressed like a princess, Xiang Chenxi sets up her lights and camera and begins live streaming. She greets her fans a sweet, gentle voice just like any other live streamer, unlike others, Xiang is sitting in a wheelchair and has a breathing tube implanted （嵌入） in her throat.
"Hi, there! This is fairy Chenxi who loves handicrafts and life,"says the30-year-old, her bright smile (shine). Behind her(be) shelves of clay figurines（泥人） that she has made. Xiang teaches people how to make such figurines through her live streams.
Xiang was diagnosed at the age of 8 with a rare disease. She lost the ability to walk and . (reduce) to a wheelchair user. In 2016, Xiang decided to share her own story online of she deals with her own challenges to encourage those severely ill to persevere. Meantime she began to make clay figurines while interacting with her audience.
Xiang's handicrafts enjoyed enormous popularity. However, she had just made major progress in live streamingher condition worsened to the edge of death. She even expressed her final wish in the recorded video (donate)her body. The(courage) woman miraculously survived after two weeks of treatment, but she has to live on ventilator （呼吸机） support for the rest of her life.
(ask) what advice she would give to others in trouble, Xiang said,"Regardless of how difficult life may be, we must maintain strong willpower."
My great-grandmother Eileen is fierce, loyal and strong and a bit of a legend in her own lifetime, which now stretches to 92 years. I should add that we're not allowed to call her Gran, because she says it makes her feel old.
That summer, I lost my job and felt hopeless. One day, I paid a visit to her. She picked up a box which she placed on the coffee table."There you go," she said."You do know what you're doing with these things, don't you?"It was a new phone. Her current mobile was pretty ancient. I was amazed it was still going.
"Yes,"I said."Good. That's why I ask you. You young people know more about such things than us oldies. You can take it home with you and get it all set up," she went on."Then, when you bring it back, you can show me how to use my new phone, such as getting on the internet, sending e-mails and so on."She smiled so sweetly that I felt a surge of love for her.
I grabbed the box and stood up. Setting up the phone would be easy. It was teaching her how to use it that may prove challenging. The following day I headed back to my great-grandmother's with the phone.
"Here's your phone. It's all ready to use." For the next hour, I was busy setting up her pass code and fingerprint recognition, which she said was like something out of James Bond.
She chose a picture for her screen and it was all going so well until I tried to show her how to swipe（滑动屏幕）."What do you mean, swipe?" she asked. She was 92, I reminded myself. This had been tiring for her.
She pressed at the up arrow and got angry when nothing happened. When I finally got her to swipe, she didn't put the right amount of pressure on and the menu slipped away. After what seemed like hours, she threw the phone across the room and it landed on the sofa."Take it away!"she howled."I want my old phone back!"
I picked up the phone and was about to leave to give her time to cool down when I realized I didn't want to go home when she was angry and upset.
注意：续写词数应为150左右，请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
| Paragraph 1:"Come on, Eileen. One more try."I said. Paragraph 2: I was not feeling so hopeless any more now. |
