Among the works of art ever created by human hands, there are those masterpieces that have left their mark on the history of mankind forever. These artworks have always inspired millions of people for creative daring and new creative discoveries.
Mona Lisa
Probably the most famous painting in the world is Leonardo da Vinci's La Gioconda, better known as Mona Lisa. This painting is an image of Madame Gherardini, the ideal woman of the Renaissance. And it suffered from being damaged, stolen and even hung in Napoleon's bedroom. The painting is officially announced priceless, as this masterpiece is the best art of all time. Mona Lisa is currently kept in the Louvre, Paris.
The Birth of Venus
Another of the most famous paintings is the Birth of Venus. Botticelli's painting illustrates the myth of the birth of Aphrodite. The beautiful goddess floats to the shore in a sea shell and on the shore she is met by one of the Graces. The Birth of Venus is well preserved thanks to the fact that Botticelli applied a protective layer of egg yolk (蛋黄) to the painting. This masterpiece is kept in Florence in the Uffizi Gallery.
The Persistence of Memory
According to the author himself, the picture was painted as a result of abstract associations that Dali had at the sight of processed cheese. Gala predicted quite correctly that no one, once having seen the Persistence of Memory, will forget it. This outstanding painting is located in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Girl with a Pearl Earring
It's an oil painting on canvas (画布) by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, one of his most well-known works. It describes an imaginary young woman in exotic (异国情调的) dress and a very large pearl earring. The work permanently stays in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague.
To create "Washed Up: Transforming a Trashed Landscape". Alejandro Duran gathers plastic trash that is washed up on the beaches of Sian Karan, Mexico's largest federally-protected reserve. The site is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Yet every day, plastic pollution from around the world is washed up onto its shores. These materials inspired Duran to create a series of environmental art pieces, which he re-cords with photos and videos.
Duran was born in Mexico City and is now based in Brooklyn. He said that he had been collecting materials and creating photographs for the past five years, and the work was ongoing. "The project will tell me when to stop."
Each piece can convey a vastly different mood, from the calm greens of soda bottles to the playful rainbows of toothbrushes. "I'm making art," said Duran. "It comes from the context and my moods. You can't say only something dark." The work reflects and plays with natural forms, exploring how humans influence the environment. The colorful and playful images can be much attention-grabbing. "Beauty is a hook (钩子) to attract people's attention," said Duran.
In addition to promoting awareness of the plastic pollution problem, Duran is also involved in educational programs and helps to organize beach clean-ups. He has also made a study of the types of products that are washed ashore in Sian Ka'an, and has identified objects from 50 different countries. Although there's no way to know where or how these objects were dropped into the sea, their labels show the global nature of the problem.
Writing poetry can seem frightening. However, with the right inspiration (灵感) and approach, you can write a poem that you can be proud to share with others in class or with your friends.
A poem might start as a piece of a verse, a line or two that seems to come out of no-where, or an image you cannot get out of your head. You can find inspiration for your poem by doing writing exercises and using the world around you. Once you have inspiration, you can then shape your thoughts into a poem.
You may also be inspired by going for a walk in your neighborhood or to your favorite spot in the city. You may observe people on a park bench or in a public square and use moments from your observations as the inspiration for a poem. You could try writing a poem about a person who is important to you in your life, such as your mother or your best friend. You could use the person as inspiration for your poem.
You can start your poem by focusing on a specific (特定的) theme or idea that you find attractive or interesting. Picking a specific theme or idea to focus on in the poem can give your poem a clear goal or point. This can make it easier for you to limit what images and descriptions you are going to use in your poem. For example, you may decide to write a poem around the theme of "love and friendship". You may then think about specific moments in your life when you experienced love and friendship as well as how you would characterize love and friendship based on your relationships with others.
There are many different poetic forms that you can use, from free verse to sonnet to rhyming couplet. You may go for a poetic form that you find easy to use, such as free verse, or a form that you find more challenging, such as sonnet. Choose one poetic form and stick to that structures so your poem feels cohesive (连贯的) to your readers.
For years, research has linked skipping breakfast with increased BMI (body mass index), but few studies have been carried out into the effect of the other meals of the day.
However, a study conducted at Osaka University concluded that not eating dinner is a significant predictor of weight gain and obesity. As part of their annual check-ups, the students were asked how often they ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Researchers also took into consideration the time of eating, whether participants' meal habits changed over the course of the study, and lifestyle factors.
But the researchers found that those who did so all the time were more likely to be older, more overweight, a smoker or drinker, to sleep for a shorter period of time, and skip other meals more frequently.
These results suggest that skipping dinner, which was much less popular than skipping breakfast, could result in weight gain and a higher likelihood of being overweight than skipping breakfast. It was significantly associated with weight gain of 10% or more, and having a BMI over 25, which is classed as overweight or obese.
The researchers suggested that the reason why skipping dinner could lead to weight gain is that it makes people hungrier so they end up eating more over the course of the day. That's because dinner is typically a meal that lends itself to nutritious foods like lean (少脂的) proteins and vegetables.
The researchers note that their study had drawbacks: Additionally, they didn't take into account factors like exercise or depression.
A. BMI has its limitations after all.
B. Besides, skipping dinner may mean a lower quality diet.
C. It should be repeated to assess a wider group of people.
D. Skipping lunch was more likely to bring about the same outcomes.
E. It followed 20,000 subjects overall above 18 over an average of three years.
F. The number of students who said they sometimes skipped dinner was small.
G. Students skipping dinner has a stronger association with weight gain and obesity.
When Marion Sheppard was unable to see in her 40s, she cried. Wasn't it 1 that she'd been partly deaf since childhood? That struggle and the 2 that usually came with it didn't defeat her, but made her 3 .
Sheppard had always been an enthusiastic dancer since childhood, but now she was so scared that she 4 left her apartment. She worried about the way she would 5 to the world. Hard as it was, Sheppard later 6 herself to go out.
At 61, Sheppard attended a camp organized by Visions for blind people, where she taught her first dancing class. She 7 to teach her class there after that. But she was 8 . She soon convinced Visions to let her teach on a 9 basis. About four years later, her classes won so much 10 that Visions hired her to be on staff. Sheppard's students were mostly seniors whose eyesight had 11 as adults. With confidence-building praise, Sheppard also12 dignity and independence into them. As a way to combine movements with her faith, Sheppard 13 a group called The Blind Sisterhood. What is her 14 for maintaining both physical and mental health despite 15 life throws at her? "Keep it moving!"
Originally constructed around 256 BCE the State of Qin as an irrigation and flood control system, Dujiangyan is a remarkable example of ancient engineering skill and is still in use today. During the Warring States period, people who lived along the banks of the Min River were troubled by annual flooding. Qin governor and irrigation engineer Li Bing investigated the problem (thorough). He (lead) a team to construct a levee to redirect a portion of the river's flow. Then they cut channel through Mount Yulei to discharge the excess water. After the system (finish) no more floods occurred. What's more, it made Sichuan one of the (product) agricultural regions in China the redirected water from the Min River could be used for irrigation. If you visit Dujiangyan, you will see an unusual construction resembles a fish's mouth. This famous attraction, Yuzui, together with two other important parts namely, Feishayan and Baopingkou, was scientifically designed to control the water flow throughout the year. (recognise) as a UNESCO heritage site, Dujiangyan (irrigate) farms while preventing floods for over 2,000 years.
Lunch hour. Escaping from my office, I fled down Main Street in pursuit of freedom from the routine of the day. An old bell clanged(叮当作响)against the door of a dusty used bookstore when I pushed it open.
Looking through the horizon of shelves and lots of magazines, my eyes suddenly met his and my heart began to race. They were the blazing(闪烁) orange eyes of an African lion on the cover of a National Geographic magazine. I hadn't seen those eyes in thirty years, but their impact on me hadn't faded. As a kid I used to dream about Africa, living with wild animals.
The opportunity of spending a "gap year" volunteering in Africa or joining the Youth Corps had long since passed. Or had it? Yes, it's true I couldn't go to Africa for several months, but maybe I could volunteer in Africa for a few weeks.
Over the next several weeks I began to budget and save, determined to make it happen. The big day came. I arrived and met my boss, a young South African ranger(护林员)named Gary. He said, "Let me guess, you're here because you dreamed of Africa."
"Yes!" I smiled.
"Well it's time to wake up. This is a working game reserve. These are wild animals."
"Okay."
"You're going to have to get out of your comfort zone, take some risks, Have the courage of a lion."
The next morning when we began our patrol(巡逻)in an open-air jeep, giant African elephants appeared in the morning mist. I was no longer dreaming in the pages of a National Geographic magazine. I was living them.
Moments later Gary parked the jeep and handed me a heavy shovel(铲子) and said, "Time to shovel dung(粪)." Elephant dung. Mountains of it. It will be used as fertilizer in the reserves sustainable vegetable garden.
Within fifteen minutes my back was aching, and my new work gloves were stretched out and so slippery with dung and sweat that they refused to stay on my hands. This wasn't the dream of Africa I had.
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。
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I began to question myself
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But at that moment I remembered Gary's words "step out of your comfort zone".
