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 (Reader's Digest). Your information will only be used in accordance with our privacy policy. Entry implies acceptance of these rules. For more details, tips and guides, visit readersdigest.co.uk/inspire/photo-competition.
North Americans value independence, and Europeans value togetherness. I never fully understood that stereotype until two months ago, when I left Canada for a 4-month period in a lab in France. On my first day, Pierre, a Ph. D. student, tapped me on my shoulder and asked: "Coffee?" I nodded and followed him to the common room, where other grad students were filling in. I sat there, cautiously sipping the bitter liquid and trying hard not to reveal my uncultured tastes, while lab chatter filled the air.
Coffee breaks are a ceremonial part of lab culture here. The chatter sometimes turns to serious scientific topics. But mostly, the meet-ups offer a chance to wind down, to share stories about life inside and outside the lab and to sympathize with people who understand what you're going through.
The lighthearted atmosphere and sense of community is a welcome contrast to my life in Canada, where I spent most of my workdays in isolation. I went into the lab each morning with set goals for my day. At lunch, I'd keep my eyes glued to my computer while I fed forkfuls of salad into my mouth, trying to power through my to-do list. For 9 months, I struggled to figure out why I couldn't exactly copy the results of another study. I didn't want to trouble my advisor too much. I was also hesitant to ask my labmates for help.
How much we were missing! Researchers need community because good ideas don't just come from reading literature and thinking deep thoughts. It's helpful to bounce ideas off others, and, to have a venue to share the day-to-day ups and downs of life.
Would coffee breaks have solved all my problems? Probably not. But I think sharing ideas with my peers would have helped solve my research dilemma. My time in France has taught me that it's important to create space for organic conversations about lab life. A scientist's life can feel isolating, but it's not necessarily so when you're connected to a supportive community.
A BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. A BioBlitz is also known as a biological inventory（清单）or biological census （统计）. The primary goal of a BioBlitz is to get an overall count of the plants, animals, and other organisms that live in a place.
A BioBlitz differs from a scientific inventory in a number of ways. Scientific inventories are usually limited to biologists, geographers, and other scientists. A BioBlitz brings together volunteer scientists, as well as families, students, teachers, and other members of the community. While a scientific survey often focuses on unique or isolated areas, BioBlitzes focus on areas that are connected to residential, urban, and industrial areas. Finally, scientific surveys may take a long period of time to conduct. A BioBlitz lasts a short period of time, traditionally 24 hours.
These differences make a BioBlitz a unique biological survey that encourages a relationship between the natural and human communities of a given area. Citizens work alongside scientists to learn about the biological diversity of local natural spaces. In the process, they gain skills and knowledge and develop a stronger connection to their home environment. A BioBlitz promotes and improves local natural spaces by empowering citizens to better understand and protect biodiversity.
Hundreds of BioBlitzes have been conducted all over the world, primarily in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The first BioBlitz was sponsored by the National Park Service and the National Biological Service in Washington D.C.'s Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in 1996. Surrounded by heavy residential and industrial development, Kenilworth Park was thought to have very little biological diversity. Scientists, however, tallied more than 900 species that first year and added even more species to their list at continuous Kenilworth BioBlitzes.
As we enter a period of profound economic uncertainty, shown by recent well-known layoffs and a culture of "quiet quitting", thinking about the future of work might well seem a scary prospect.
Indeed, an ever-increasing digital skills gap threatens to stop businesses adopting the game-changing technologies that will help to power growth in the months and years ahead. For instance, with each exciting new technology comes a growing concern about whether we have a digitally skilled workforce ready to take advantage of it. After all, keeping the workforce up to speed with the latest advances is a key element of the digital transformation process, which will prove essential if we hope to improve business productivity and efficiency alongside our efforts to achieve sustained growth.
Likewise, at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, the cybersecurity skills gap was named as one particular area of concern. There's good reason for this focus: if businesses can't protect themselves against external threats, they risk going backwards. And that's before they even start thinking about achieving growth. This is why we need to address the digital skills gap urgently.
Well, we should change in order to help attract and keep a more diverse pool of talent, giving businesses a far better chance of finding the up-to-date digital skills they need. And, when it comes to engaging and empowering the current workforce, learning and development opportunities will be key, helping employees to enhance their skills for the benefit of both themselves and their employers.
To make this all happen, leaders and employers must demonstrate a commitment to teaching their workforces digital skills by setting clear expectations and providing all the resources required. One approach, for example, would be to focus on the potential in the existing talent pool by identifying those already skilled in digital capabilities and supporting them to upskill their colleagues. Creating a culture of learning, with an emphasis on personal growth, can be an impressive motivator in the workplace.
Of course, it's all well and good saying that digital skills are paramount, but a workforce with purely hard skills will not future-proof a business. There's a need for soft skills that support the broader goal, so as not to ignore the other competencies required in a digital transformation: communication, critical thinking, creative design skills, and leadership. To exploit the technology to its full potential, such qualities are equally important.
Fundamentally, getting the interaction right between humans and technology will be vital if businesses are to succeed. As a result, human skills must not be underestimated. Every business will need a range of people with a variety of skills — not only those experts in math, engineering, and science, but also those with creative minds and leadership qualities.
A Wonder Plant
Every rainy season, the mountain gorillas（大猩猩）of Central Africa travel to the foothills and lower parts of the Virunga Mountains to feed on bamboo. For the 650 or so that remain in the wild, it's a vital food source. Gorillas aren't the only locals keen on bamboo. For the people near the mountains, it's a valuable raw material used for building houses and making household items. But in the past 100 years, resources have come under increasing pressure as populations have exploded and large areas of bamboo forest have been cleared to make way for farms.
All over the world, the ranges of many bamboo species appear to be reducing, endangering the people and animals that depend upon them. A report published by the UN Environment Programme has shown just how horrible our ignorance of global bamboo resources is.
Bamboo is a wonder plant. Its ecological role extends beyond providing food and habitat for animals. Bamboo tends to grow in stands made up of groups of individual plants that grow from root systems. Its expansive root systems are significant for preventing water loss and soil erosion（浸蚀）. In India 25% of paper produced is made from bamboo fiber, and in Brazil, 100,000 hectares of bamboo are grown for its production. Because of its flexibility and strength, it has traditionally been used in construction. Bamboo is often the only readily available raw material for people in many developing countries.
Ray Townsend, vice president of the British Bamboo Society, says, "Some plants are threatened because they can't survive in the habitat — they aren't strong enough or there aren't enough of them, perhaps. But bamboo can take care of itself — it is strong enough to survive if left alone. When forest goes, it is transformed into something else: there isn't anywhere for forest plants such as bamboo to grow if you create a cattle grass land."
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A. Sadly, this isn't a single story. B. It is the physical disturbance that is the threat to bamboo. C. Until now, bamboo has been viewed as a second-class plant. D. Without it, their chances of survival would be reduced significantly. E. Besides, bamboo's most immediate significance lies in its economic value. F. More than a billion people rely on bamboo for either their shelter or income. G. Despite bamboo's value in ecology and economy, its situation is increasingly worrying. |
One summer afternoon, when I was about eight years of age, I was looking at a beautiful rainbow. Somebody said, "If you should go to the 1 of the rainbow, you would find there great pots of gold and silver." Without 2 , I rushed from the house, and set off toward the woods.
I was so sure that I knew just 3 that rainbow ended. I remembered how glad and proud I was in my thoughts, and what fine presents I promised to all my friends out of my 4 . So thinking and laying delightful plans, almost before I knew it I had 5 the thick forest, and the end of the rainbow was not there! 6 I saw it shining down among the trees a little farther off; so on and on I 7 , through the thick bushes and 8 rapid streams. The woods grew thicker and darker, and the ground wetter. Suddenly I met in my way a 9 porcupine（豪猪）, who made himself still larger when he saw me. Fearing that he would attack me, I ran from him as fast as my 10 feet would carry me. In my 11 and hurry I forgot to keep my eye on the rainbow, and when, at last, I 12 and looked for it, it was nowhere in sight! It had quite 13 away. I burst into tears, for I had lost all my 14 and had nothing to show for my pilgrimage（朝圣之旅）but muddy feet and a wet and torn body.
But I soon found that my 15 had only begun: I was lost! I could not tell which was east or west, but 16 about here and there, crying and calling, though I knew that no one could 17 me. All at once I heard my nickname called, so I jumped up. It was my eldest brother. He hugged and kissed away all my tears, and then he told me what the rainbow 18 is: "It is only painted air, and does not 19 on the earth. But it tells us something more. When you set off on a pilgrimage, you will be 20 by the rainbow through all the dark places of this world to treasures in your heart, better, far better, than silver or gold."
A leaf fell into the water and changed the taste of it. Henceforth, tea was born.
China is known as the home of tea. Since ancient times, tea (influence) Chinese culture, leaving its pleasant smell in poetry, etiquette（礼仪）and customs. Many tea lovers enjoy tea not just for its flavor, but forbeauty of tea ceremonies.
Picking tea(leaf) is an important spring activity in the Yangtze River basin in South China. The earliest tea is often ready(pick) before Qingming, which is observed in early Aprilthe temperature begins to rise and rainfall increases. This precious small output of tea, widely(seek) after for its outstanding quality, is called Mingqian tea.
East China's Zhejiang province is acknowledgeda major producer of tea. White Tea in Anji county and West Lake Longjing Tea in Hangzhou are two famous teas in both China and abroad. In spring, local hillsides are filled with tea workers(sow) seeds on their land. In the peak seasons, many tourists flock to witness the beautiful scenery of tea farms for(they), while enjoying a(fresh) brewed（沏）cup of tea.
The leaf has traveled a long way and continues to bloom, even today.
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号(∧),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。
Apply for a foreign university is a huge project. Here is my experience. I did voluntary work in Grade One. I listed all of my achievement and the voluntary work I have done. After completing the online admission process, I took a deep breath and dreamed about our dream college. However, except offer from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), I total got eight rejections. One day, I locked myself in my room but thought about what I had done. Finally I understood that I could learn nothing from the experience even though those rejections were made me sad. I accepted the UCSD's offer and adjusted myself quickly. For this attitude, everything I saw of UCSD thrilled me.
