One of the things that makes your smart-phone so smart is that if you pull it out in the sun, it senses that—and dials up the screen brightness to compensate. But it’s not a perfect solution.
“First of all, it’s still not bright enough—you have to remember how respectable sunlight is.” Shin-Tson Wu, a physicist at the University of Central Florida. The other problem, he says of the brightened screen, is it kills the battery. So Wu and colleagues have produced a battery-sparing alternative: an anti-reflective screen-coating. Based on the eyes of moths. “Nature is so rich! We can learn a lot from nature. “The thing Wu and others have learned about moth eyes, is that they’re uneven, dotted with tiny projections. That uneven surface reduces the reflection of light off their eyes- thought to help the bugs escape predators (捕食者), and see better in low light. So Wu and his team built a similar surface with tiny dimples (凹), to cut down on glare. He says the dimpled coating could improve the readability of a screen by five to 10 times, compared to a normal smart-phone screen. The details are in the journal Optica.
The tech hasn’t been commercialized yet, and that could take a few years. Which gives researchers time to take advantage of another property of these surfaces: they’re flexible. Meaning the possibility of bendable displays. Combine that with the bendy batteries we reported on in a recent podcast(播客), and it looks the smart-phones of the future could be set for a real transformation.
1.Why do the researchers develop the anti-reflective screen-coating?
A.To brighten the screen. B.To make profits.
C.To take in the sunlight. D.To save the use of battery.
2.What inspired the invention of the screen?
A.The predators. B.The reflection of light.
C.The eyes of moths. D.The smooth surface.
3.How does the screen work?
A.It helps bugs escape.
B.It slows down reading.
C.The smooth surface protects our eyes.
D.The rough surface decreases the reflection of light.
4.What do the researchers expect of the screen?
A.I’ll transform itself. B.I’ll be environment-friendly.
C.I’ll reach consumers soon. D.I’ll be powered by recyclable batteries.
William Lindesay has been interested in the Great Wall of China since seeing it in a school atlas（地图册）as a child in England. I vividly recall seeing in the " Oxford School Atlas" the Great Wall with its battlement symbol. From that moment, I had in my mind that when I grew up I'd go to China and walk along the Great Wall from end to end.
Lindesay's about 3 ,000-km solo run along the Great Wall began in 1987. Running the length of the wall was a brave expedition, venturing into sparsely populated regions where there was little chance of help if the runner had an accident. During another trip, Lindesay and his team ventured deep into the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. The explorers almost died from dehydration(脱水） . In total, Lindesay estimates in an interview that he has spent about 1,600 days of his life, or four full years, on the Great Wall in all seasons.
Lindesay and his wife, Wu Qi, whom he got to know and fell in love with during his trips in China, had a farmhouse at the foot of the wall. During his exploration, he noticed some sections of the wall were badly damaged and covered with litter. Modernization and development were making the situation even worse. "Some people say it will take generations to change; I say we don't have generations of time. It's got to be much quicker, " he said. Lindesay always carries a garbage bag with him in the wilderness, picking litter along the way. Lindesay uses a garbage bag as his calling card. The cloth bag bears a set of nine simple guidelines in Chinese, which calls on people to observe while traveling or camping outdoors : "Take your own garbage home" "Pick up? litter left by othersDon't damage plants or flowers, or pick fruit" and lots more.
1.What sparked William Lindesay's dream of exploring the Great Wall?
A.Seeing a movie about the Great Wall.
B.Experiencing a war for the Great Wall.
C.Surfing a website about the Great Wall.
D.Admiring the Great Wall in the school atlas.
2.What does the underlined word "sparsely" mean?
A.Remotely. B.Rarely.
C.Frequently. D.Largely.
3.What worsened the situation of the Great Wall?
A.The destroyed ecosystems. B.Waste caused by farms.
C.The increasing tourists. D.Modernization and development.
4.What sort of man was William Lindesay?
A.Strong - willed and selfless. B.Determined and grateful.
C.Warmhearted and impolite. D.Considerate and optimistic.
Your creativity and ideas can help other teachers. Submit your art lesson plan or activity today. Don’t forget to include additional resource documents or a photo.
Wet Chalk Painting Grades: K -4th
Lesson Plan Objectives: Development of fine motor skills (协调性) and creatively expressing the child’s ideas and thoughts by a new medium.
Materials Needed : Colored chalk, water, drawing paper, sponge, and newspapers.
Lesson Procedure: Dip the colored chalk into water and draw on the paper. Another way is to put the drawing paper on newspapers, dampen it with a wet sponge, and then draw.
Submitted by: Jack
Sidewalk Drawing Grades: K -5th
Lesson Plan Objectives : Development of the creative process by doing artistic drawings in a new way and development of fine and gross motor skills (全身协调性).
Materials Needed : Sidewalk or outdoor chalk and lots of sidewalk.
Lesson Procedure : Give the children the chalk and let them draw whatever they choose on the sidewalk. You may also consider using this in teaching some other lessons(i. e. science).
Submitted by: Peter
Rose - Colored Lorgnette Grades: Any
Materials Needed: Half an egg carton (包装盒), scissors, glue, colored paper, scotch tape (通明胶带) and a seven inch stick.
Lesson Plan Objectives: Child will construct an object that allows them to view the world in a variety of colors and will learn why certain objects in their colored environment look the way they do when certain colors are mixed.
Lesson Plan Procedure : Cut windows in the bumps of half an egg carton. Glue circles of colored cellophane over the windows with rubber cement. Tape on a stick for a holder.
Submitted by: Jennifer
1.Which art lesson plan is presented by Jennifer?
A.Wet Chalk Painting. B.Sidewalk Drawing.
C.Rose - Colored Lorgnette. D.Rainbow Fan.
2.What common material does Wet Chalk Painting and Sidewalk Drawing require?
A.Scissors. B.Chalk. C.Stick. D.Sponge.
3.Rose - Colored Lorgnette is aimed at ___.
A.encouraging the child to paint at will B.developing the child’s motor skills
C.expressing the child’s ideas and thoughts D.bettering the child’s understanding of colors
探访北京老字号商铺，了解老字号时代变迁, 见证传统工艺与现代创意的结合(explore time-honored businesses in Beijing; follow the businesses’ evolution and witness the combination of traditional craftsmanship and modern designs)
图一：看到“北京印迹•北京老字号探访”活动介绍，积极报名
图二：在大栅栏地区参观老字号商铺，听历史文化研究者讲解老字号的历史（传统）
图三：参观内联升鞋店，感受传统工艺与现代创意的结合（现代）
图四：撰写报告，抒发感想
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假如你是高三（1）班班长李华，请你给曾经在你们班交换学习的英国同学Jim写信，让他录制一段视频为同学们加油，在考前班会上播放。邮件内容包括：
1.此次班会的目的；
2.对视频的要求（时长，内容......）。
注意：1．词数不少于50；
2．开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Jim,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
Optimism Bias (偏见)
While we often like to think of ourselves as highly rational and logical, researchers have found that the human brain is sometimes too optimistic for its own good. If you were asked to estimate how likely you are to experience illness, job loss, or an accident, you are likely to underestimate the probability that such events will ever impact your life. 1.
This bias leads us to believe that we are less likely to suffer from misfortune and more likely to attain success than reality would suggest. We believe that we will live longer, and that we will be more successful in life than the average. 2.
The optimism bias is essentially a mistaken belief that our chances of experiencing negative events are lower and our chances of experiencing positive events are higher than those of our peers. And this overly positive assumption doesn’t mean that we have an overly sunny outlook on our own lives. 3. People might skip their yearly physical, not wear their seatbelt, or fail to put on sunscreen because they mistakenly believe that they are less likely to get sick, get in an accident, or get skin cancer.
Cognitive neuroscientist Tali Sharot, author of The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain, notes that this bias is widespread and can be seen in cultures all over the world. Sharot also suggests that while this optimism bias can at times lead to negative outcomes like foolishly engaging in risky behaviors or making poor choices about your health, it can also have its benefits. 4. If we expect good things to happen, we are more likely to be happy. This optimism can act as a self-fulfilling prophecy. By believing that we will be successful, people are in fact more likely to be successful.
5. After all, if we didn’t believe that we could achieve success, why would we even bother trying? Optimists are also more likely to take measures to protect their health such as exercising, taking vitamins, and following a nutritious diet.
A.Optimism also motivates us to pursue our goals.
B.But we are also highly motivated to be so optimistic.
C.But definitely not everyone is blessed with such luck.
D.This is because your brain has a built-in optimism bias.
E.It can also lead to poor decision-making, which can sometimes have disastrous results.
F.This optimism enhances well-being by creating a sense of anticipation about the future.
G.Various causes may lead to the optimistic bias, including cognitive and motivational factors.
