The view from the top of Marina Bay Sands, a giant hotel, mall and casino, takes in the skyscrapers of Singapore, the fleets of ships entering and leaving the city's ports, the scattered tropical islands of the Singapore Strait and the crowds of soggy but determined selfie- takers trying to capture a perfect image of it all from the enormous infinity pool. Among the celebrities the hotel has lured (吸引) for a damp snap are Jing Boran and Fu Xinbo, Chinese film and music stars. China Daily, a Chinese state-owned newspaper, has declared the spot the eighth most romantic in the world. The place displays itself all over Chinese social media and offers special discounts and packages to visitors from China.
Such spin is increasingly important. Last year, for the first time, China was the biggest source of tourists to Singapore, accounting for 3. 2m of its 17. 4m visitors. Between January and September alone they spent more than $3bn ($ 2.3bn).
All across South-East Asia， tourism is booming. The number of visitors jumped by 49% between 2010 and 2015， to more than 109m. Tourism in Asia and the Pacific is growing faster than anywhere else in the world. The region receives a quarter of the world's holidaymakers (Europe’s share is still a half).
South-East Asia’s Edenic islands, ancient temples and delicious food are strong enticements (诱惑，怂恿). Visitors also flock to countries with cheap currencies: the weakness of the ringgit last year helped draw visitors to Malaysia, for example. Many countries in the region depend on the cash: tourism accounts for about 28% of Cambodia’s GDP and more than 20% of Thailand’s.
The most remarkable growth has been in tourists from China. The number visiting South-East Asia has increased fivefold over the past decade. Newly wealthy Chinese spent almost $ 26lbn travelling abroad in 2016, up from $73bn in 2011.
Indonesia, for one, has relaxed its visa rules to attract more of them. More seats on cheap flights have also helped pull in tourists: between 2013 and 2016 the number available each week on flights to South East Asia from China increased from 92,000 to 188,500.
But for the frenzied holidaying to continue to grow, infrastructure must improve, reckons Paul Yong of DBS, a Singaporean bank. Airports in places such as Manila and Jakarta are crumbling and surrounded by snaking traffic. Plans are afoot to increase annual capacity at Bangkok’s airports by tens of millions over the next four years. Hanoi’s Noi Bai will be expanded at a cost of $5.5bn to accommodate 35m passengers by 2020. Airports in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are to be upgraded too.
Other threats to thriving tourism are far harder to plan around, Travel operators tremble at the thought of economic downturns, volcanic eruptions and epidemic diseases. The head of one luxury holiday company says the regional outbreak of SARS, a respiratory disease, more than 15 years ago almost brought the industry to its knees. Political spats between China and its neighbours are another problem. So too is the manner in which Chinese visitors have been vilified in the region for snaffling prawns at buffets, barging into queues and misbehaving on planes. It makes many of them feel unwanted. But given that just 135m of China's 1. 4bn people have ever travelled abroad, South East Asian countries should prepare to welcome many more Chinese — even when they clog up the infinity pool.
1.What can Marina Bay Sands be defined as?
A.A base for making films and musicals.
B.A complex for consumption and recreation.
C.A romantic spot for newly-married couples.
D.A financial center for international businessmen.
2.Who account for the biggest share of holidaymakers to South-East Asia?
A.Locals. B.Chinese. C.Singaporeans. D.Europeans.
3.Which of the following factors may attract more foreigners to South-East Asia?
A.The convenient transportation.
B.The improvement of local security.
C.The relatively economical prices.
D.The extreme poorness in that region.
4.Which may NOT explain the sharp growth in tourists from China?
A.The rise of Chinese financial capacity.
B.The strong desire to consume in cash.
C.Various preferential treatments in that region.
D.Rich resources of tourism in these countries.
5.What is the top priority of these South-East Asian countries?
A.To upgrade their basic facilities.
B.To advertise their quality service.
C.To weaken their cheap currencies.
D.To slow down the growth in tourism.
6.What should Chinese visitors pay attention to while traveling in that area?
A.They should mind their manners.
B.They should handle political conflicts.
C.They should prevent epidemic diseases.
D.They should avoid natural disasters.
One of the newest pieces of public art in Rochester, N. Y., is right in the middle of Main Street. Or, more accurately, it's on the street.
Outside the Eastman School of Music, a group of volunteers repainted the crosswalk to look like three dimensional piano keys in advance of the international jazz festival that happens here each year. People walking by have been commenting on the artwork, but there's more here than meets the eye.
Intersections have had a pretty standard look in the United States for decades. The blank square of pavement, the white lines of crosswalks Increasingly, urban designers and transportation planners say colorful crosswalks and engaging sidewalks lead to safer intersections, stronger neighborhoods and better public health. But the growing push for intersection creativity is meeting
some resistance from the federal government,
And with pedestrian deaths in the U. S. at a 30-year high, those planners say, finding new ways to protect people from cars is becoming more urgent.
Just off Main Street, in Rochester's Beechwood neighborhood, there's another colorful intersection. The sidewalks here are green, the crosswalks are blue, and there's a big, red and yellow sun that covers the whole street. The art has been here a little over a year.
Hutchings says the intersection art makes a big difference for families. He says there are more children outside playing and more adults walking places or riding bikes.
When infrastructure encourages active transit, like walking or bicycling, the result is public health gains, says Ruth Steiner, who directs the Center for Health and the Built Environment at the University of Florida.
Indeed, cities across the country have embraced the idea. Despite the Federal Highway Administration's finding that aesthetically pleasing intersections bring a range of benefits, the agency has taken issue with several examples. Officials in St. Louis decided in 2016 to let the color in artistic intersections fade away after the highway administration said they could distract drivers.
A year later, the agency asked officials in Lexington, Ky.，to remove a rainbow crosswalk downtown because it created “potential confusion for motorists" and danger for pedestrians.
In general, the agency says, “crosswalk art is actually contrary to the goal of increased safety and most likely could be a contributing factor to a false sense of security for both motorists and pedestrians.”
1.Why did a group of volunteers pain the crosswalk to look like keys?
A.To show off their talent in art.
B.To attract more people to the streets.
C.To make it safer for pedestrians.
D.To create atmosphere for the jazz festival.
2.What does Hutchings think of the intersection art?
A.It distracts drivers.
B.It benefits the neighborhood.
C.It results in public health gains.
D.It causes confusion for motorists.
3.What can we infer about Ruth Steiner's opinion?
A.The art brings a range of benefits.
B.Infrastructure should favor traffic safety.
C.Artistic crosswalks are beneficial to people's health.
D.Cities across the country should embrace the art.
4.A proper title for this passage is_________
A.Creative crosswalks meet resistance
B.Colourful intersections and crosswalks
C.New ways to protect people from cars
D.Safety on the road
During a conversation with someone, you've probably had to compete for their attention with a technological device and lost. Maybe the person in front of you diverted their attention to their latest ''urgent" notifications. They' ve probably even interrupted your conversation to answer a call, answer a text message, or check their social media.
Clinical psychologist and sociologist Sherry Turkle has conducted extensive research on the subject that she shared in her book Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age(2015). In this book, she stated that teenagers have reduced their empathetic capacity by 40%，as well as their ability to engage in deep conversation, and that cell phones are to blame.
Nowadays, a large part of social and work related interactions occur through electronic means, such as computers, phones, and tablets. Face- to-face conversations have been relegated to the background, and some people even see them as a waste of time. If you have to solve a business problem, you send an email. If you want to ask for forgiveness, you write a text message.
Since facing conflict or emotional situations can generate anxiety, new technologies offer the possibility of reducing some of it. Young people justify using new forms of communication as an easier and faster way to express their thoughts. They say that mobile devices allow them to rewrite what they want to say, correct mistakes, or avoid tense situations that they wouldn't know how to solve in person.
The problem is that screens don't allow us to enjoy one of the most enriching part of conversation: non-verbal language. We miss out on gestures, intonation, looks, and real emotions. This is quite worrying because, according to experts, 70% of communication is non-verbal.
Human interaction has been replaced with “memes" or emoticons. It's even hard for people to maintain deep conversations for extended periods of time. As a result, humans now have a lot of difficulties in managing their emotions, facing difficulties, and carrying out responsibilities. If you don't share content on the Internet, it's like you don't exist. If you don't share your vacation on social media, people may believe that you didn't actually take it or that you didn't enjoy it, Therefore, what you share is a reflection of who you claim to be, but not who you really are.
Under these circumstances, it's harder to empathize with others and put yourself in their shoes to try to understand their emotions and thoughts. The world is becoming purely visual and superficial.
People build and reinforce their connections during face to-face conversations. This is because you can see how the other person feels and listen to their ideas and concerns. You can empathize with them because you can see their joy or suffering with your own eyes.
Deep, personal conversations awaken emotions inside you. They give you a space to open up and vent, to be heard and respected.
1.We can infer from Para.2 that the book.
A.stresses the importance of face to-face conversation
B.explains teenagers' ability to engage in deep conversation
C.analyzes the reasons for competing for others' attention
D.regards face to-face conversation as a waste of time
2.The underlined word ''non—verbal" in Para. 5 probably means
A.foreign B.spoken C.written D.sign
3.The author would agree that social media platforms.
A.promote deep personal conversations
B.help to put yourself in others' shoes
C.don't necessarily show people's true emotions
D.build connections because you can see joys and sorrows of others
An alternative provision academy in Bexley, South East London are seeking to appoint a Learning support Assistant to join their team permanently from September 2019.
Learning Support Assistant
Start-October 2019
Location-Bexley
Salary-Negotiable
Duration-Permanent
A growing number of children and young adults in the UK are being identified as having Special Educational Needs. These developments have led to an increase in the demand for qualified teachers and support staff. You would be working with some of the most vulnerable and complex young people in the community. It is important that you are enthusiastic and have a true passion for special needs as the children respond positively to familiarity and find it difficult to bond with people if there are regular changes in their class.
This alternative provision school caters for secondary aged students with Social, Emotional and Mental Health. The pupils have a range of learning needs but the school aim to instill the desire to learn and make progress and the belief that they can aim high and achieve their goals.
Benefits of working with Special Needs include:
Small class sizes, usually 5- 10 students
A warm and supporting working environment
Ongoing opportunities for CPD (Continued Professional Development)
SEN points added to your salary
Qualified mainstream teachers CAN teach in special needs schools
You will gain a good understanding of SEND and additional needs
Improve your classroom and behavior management
For further information, please do not hesitate on calling and speaking to some of our specialist SEND consultants about how Special Needs could be the new opportunity you' ve been searching for SEN/SUP.
1.As a Learning support Assistant, you are meant to help those with special needs to_______.
A.lead a normal life
B.develop communicating skills
C.fulfill their dreams
D.fit in with others
2.While working as a Learning Support Assistant, _______.
A.you can upgrade your teaching skills
B.you will teach a large number of students
C.you can get promotion to the management quickly.
D.you will face fierce competition from your colleagues
It took about three weeks for me to become mute(哑的). In 2007, I visited a client as a financial adviser and _________a virus. I had a sore throat. My doctor_________me it would soon return to normal.
_________ it got worse. I could no longer make phone calls and started carrying a little whiteboard to write everything down. I tried to work with people I already knew, who were likely to be more_________with me; but explaining financial details to_________investors with marker pen was a big challenge.
At home, my wife and teenage sons_________as best they could. Soon I was using a computer that read out phrases typed into it.
My situation_________when I was offered a tuition-assisted place at lows State University. I_________ myself by accepting a job in the student services office. Forced to_________with people face to face, I started to have fun with computer voices.
In 2010，I read a news story about a waitress who'd had her voice__________with the help of a doctor in Cleveland. It had to be worth a__________. Dr. Milstein__________me to do some vocal(发声的) exercises to stretch the muscles in my neck and to my astonishment I started to make__________.It was the first time I'd heard my voice in three and a half years.
Then I did more exercises, my voice becoming more__________; Milstein asked me to go over to the window and__________the friends across the street. I was afraid at first, __________I damaged my voice, but he kept__________me. Friends at university heard my voice for the first time and even when I was alone, I talked to myself,
I don't regret those years of__________.I spent more time with my boys and had time to__________where I'd gone wrong as a husband and parent. That time__________my rough edges. I prefer who I am now.
1.A.picked up B.touched on C.made out D.brought in
2.A.shocked B.bothered C.convinced D.condemned
3.A.Therefore B.Moreover C.Eventually D.Instead
4.A.casual B.patient C.cautious D.satisfied
5.A.shallow B.potential C.explicit D.stubborn
6.A.withdrew B.resisted C.declined D.adjusted
7.A.worsened B.remained C.brightened D.arose
8.A.challenged B.applauded C.abandoned D.sacrificed
9.A.correspond B.compete C.compare D.communicate
10.A.regained B.controlled C.softened D.modified
11.A.praise B.try C.bonus D.fortune
12.A.instructed B.promised C.allowed D.warned
13.A.comments B.chokes C.sounds D.rhythms
14.A.aggressive B.disgusting C.confident D.unique
15.A.head for B.yell at C.glance down D.drive away
16.A.even if B.as though C.now that D.in case
17.A.dragging B.pulling C.pushing D.kicking
18.A.silence B.enquiry C.twist D.reform
19.A.doubt B.reflect C.classify D.relate
20.A.sharpened B.maintained C.accumulated D.smoothed
—The deadline is approaching and time is running out.
—_______,or we won't complete the project in time.
A.Come off it B.Take your time
C.Step on it D.Start from scratch
