Like any new ninthgrader on the first day of school, Joemar Class had ninthgrader emotion (情绪). He's not used to school in Hartford. He's used to going to school in his hometown of Florida, used to seeing his friends, used to having class in Spanish.
"Nervioso，"he said in Spanish.
We first met Joemar in midOctober in the San Juan Airport. His father, Guillermo Class, had sold his car to buy plane tickets to get his kids and fly them up from Puerto Rico. The island was almost destroyed (毁坏) by the deadly storm — Hurricane Maria.
Now, they are settling into their new home in Hartford's South End. A week later, and, using his wife's car, Class drove 16yearold Joemar to his first day at Bulkeley High School. After a short ride, he got out in front of his new school. Inside, he met Gretchen Levitz — the school's program director.
"I see you have a new uniform (校服)," Levitz said. "You look great. Are you ready for a good first day？"
Then he met a couple of teachers.
"Hello," they each said in Spanish. They asked where he's from, and told him they were happy to see him. Then, Levitz took him on a quick tour of the school before classes began — to her office, the school store, the library, and the dining hall.
A total of 19 languages are spoken in Bulkeley High School. "We have so many new students coming here from other countries every single day," Levitz said. "So it's not like he's the only one who has that feeling."
"You could tell he's a little worried," Guillermo said as we left. "But, at the same time, he's looking forward to it."
A recent study followed nearly 1,500 old people for 10 years. It found that those who had a large network of friends lived longer than those with fewer friends by more than 20%.This study isn't the only one that shows friendships can be good for our health.
Lots of research has shown social support and good health are connected. One recent study focuses on people with ovarian cancer. It says those with lots of social support had much lower levels of a protein connected to more dangerous cancers. This made their treatments (治疗) work better. In another study, women with breast cancer in a support group lived twice as long as those not in a support group. They also had much less pain.
Sheldon Cohen, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, says strong social support helps people deal with stress. "There may be more benefits as well," Cohen says. "Friends encourage you to look after yourself better. And people with more friends have higher selfconfidence, so they feel they have more control over their lives."
Other studies show people with fewer friends are likely to die sooner after having a heart attack, compared with people having a strong social network. Having lots of friends may even lower your chance of catching a cold. "People with social support have fewer immune (免疫的) problems and lower levels of stress," says Tasha Howe, who works at Humboldt State University. "We are social animals, and we were born to be in groups," Howe says. "We have always needed others to survive better. It's in our genes." People with a big social group are likely to be more at peace, which leads to better health, Howe says.
Today we take a look at the word "smart". If someone says you are smart, what do they mean? Is it a good thing or something bad? This is because the word "smart" has many meanings.
For example, someone could say you look smart or are dressed smartly. That means they like your physical appearance or what you are wearing.
But if something smarts, it can be unkind or hurtful, either physically or mentally. If you accidentally trip over a chair and fall down, you might shout, "Ow! That smarts!" Or if a friend says something that hurts your feelings, you can say you are smarting from the hurtful comments.
If you are standing too close to a campfire, you could say your eyes are smarting from the smoke of the fire. Here the word "smarting" means feeling a sharp pain.
If someone is smart as a whip, they are able to think very quickly.
Some people are considered street smart. They may not have a strong education. But they are good at dealing with people and problems in the real world. Other people might be book smart. This means they have spent many years in school. But they may not be so smart when dealing with people or realworld problems.
And then there is a definition of smart that means to talk or behave disrespectfully. If you say something disrespectful to your parents, they might say, "Don't get smart with me!" Here, "smart" means showing a lack of respect by saying something unkind. This definition of smart can also be used as a verb.
A. Do they really mean you are smart?
B. The answer is not as easy as you might think.
C. People have different attitudes towards being smart.
D. In fact, maybe that person is no longer your friend.
E. But the most common meaning of "smart" is to be intelligent.
F. However, different people have different ways of being smart.
G. If you smart off to the wrong people, they could hit you in the face.
of them drinks coffee.
Writing an art exhibition review is a creative experience that helps you express your ideas about an artist's work. Your review will provide a description (说明) of an art exhibit.Here are some tips that may help you write a good art exhibition review.
Walk through the show to watch the artwork. Spare 1-2 hours to experience the art exhibit so you have plenty of time to examine the artwork. Move through the exhibit slowly, examining each piece of artwork. Besides, make several passes through the exhibit.
Take notes on the description, the form and your impression. Be as detailed as possible so you can use your notes to write the full review. First, note the title and theme of each work. Finally, record your impression on the art, how it made you feel, and what worked or didn't work within the piece.
While you don't need to include audience responses in your review, it may help you improve your own review of the show. Watch flow others comment on the exhibit and write down the sentences that they say.
Talk to the artists if they're present at the exhibit. If you attend on the opening night, you may meet the artists. Ask about what they hope the audience will experience, and how they created their works. Take notes on what they say so you can use the information to write your review.
A. Notice how others are reacting to the artwork.
B. The reasons can be explained from several aspects.
C. These will help you find something new about the works.
D. Take the chance to chat with them about what inspired their works.
E. Besides, compare your review with other reviews to find out the differences.
F. Then write down the medium, materials, and techniques used to create the piece.
G. This helps visitors know what to expect from the exhibit and gives advice to the artist.
The latest sports craze is not even a sport. According to a recent article, "esports" are attracting a large number of audience.
In esports, players and teams compete in popular video computer games such as Dota 2 and Ovenvatch. Fans fill arenas to watch the action live on huge television screens.
The games have gone way past kids playing against each other while sitting on a sofa at home. The International, a major competition for players of Dota 2, awarded $24 million in prizes, with the winner taking home almost $11 million. A recent esports competition attracted more than 80,000 fans to the Olympic Stadium in Beijing, China.
I have to admit that I am not a big fan of computer games. I know that some games can be educational, but I think too many kids spend too much time sitting in front of a screen shooting space aliens. I think it would be better if kids spent more time reading or playing real sports such as basketball, baseball and soccer.
And please don't tell me that competitive gaming is real sport because it requires handeye coordination. According to my American Heritage Dictionary, a sport is "an activity involving physical exertion and skill". I don't think anyone works up much of a sweat playing video games.
Too often, regular sports send kids a kind of message. Competition starts early, when lots of kids are not ready for the ups and downs of games. Tryouts and travel teams come next, giving too many kids the message they are "not good" at sports. So lots of kids quit sports and start playing more video games.
Maybe everyone in youth sports, including coaches, parents and kids, should think more about the advantages of real sports.
Performances
Let's Face the Music
Ria Jones, the world-famous star of Cats and Les Misérables, returns home for two special concerts. Ria invites you on a memorable journey that goes from musical to classical and from classical to pop. Songs from Miss Saigon perfectly mix with Disney favorites from Beauty and the Beast along with popular standards for a great evening in the company of a very special vocal talent.
Song Recital
Judy Coe performs widely as a soloist (独唱者) in America and is also a music teacher. The program includes songs from Porgy and Bess, a successful American opera, with special solo piano arrangements by Katherine Morris. Judy ends the concert with songs whose texts are by Shakespeare, Yeats, Eliot, Oscar Wilde and Emily Dickinson.
Mayte Martin
Mayte Martin is the best-known Catalan singer. She has been very popular since her early twenties, when she won a string of prizes. She has taken part in Barcelona's WOMAD festivals and in the Gipsy King's celebrated festival Mustique Gitano at Nimes. She will be accompanied by her regular solo guitarist, two dancers and a "clapper".
The Adventure of Malic
This show is about the fantastically dangerous life of an imaginary Iberian character called Malic. In this show he visits China and gets into fights with dragons and then travels to Barcelona where he comes across many dangerous characters. The show is told using Chinese shadow puppets (皮影), with a live narrator-musician who gives life to the show in English.
I am the tree who used to live in the king's gardens. Every spring thousands of moths came out of me. The moths attracted birds, in turn provided food for bigger animals. (gradual), the gardens were filled with life and color. The king was very (pride) of his gardens, in which thousands of creatures representing hundreds of species now lived. They turned the gardens a paradise that everyone enjoyed. I was old, withered and dry, and turned out that I was the only thing in the gardens that the king disliked.
Then one day the king had me cut down and (replace) with fountains. But to his surprise, all the animals living in the gardens (go) in time. The king sent for advisers, none of them came up with a solution.
Many years passed before a young man (present) himself to the king. He pointed out that it was the "moth poo" that played a key role in keeping life balanced. The king took his (explain) seriously. He wanted to recreate the former beauty of his gardens. However, it would take many years to restore the balance of nature, for I was delicate.
There are (different) between American English and British English in (pronounce). In fact, some words are more often used by the Americans.
"Wanna" and "gonna" are two examples of (formal) spoken American English. Both of them are examples of reductions, which tend to be used for function words such as auxiliary verbs. "Wanna" means "want to", and "gonna" takes on the (mean) of "going to". They are (common) used in daily (communicate). You'll hear these phrases in movies, pop music, and other forms of entertainment (娱乐), but you are almost (likely) to hear them in more formal shows, like the news.
So please remember that they should not be used, (except for texting, perhaps) in (write) English.
(词性: 词义:)
(词性: 词义:)
