Barbican Art Gallery

    A world-class arts and learning center, the Barbican pushes the boundaries（界限）of all major art forms including dance, film, music and theater.

    Tickets

    Adult: £10 online/£12 at the door

    13–17 years old: £6 online/£8 at the door

    Children aged 12 and under: Free

    Opening Times

    Sat – Wed: 9 am–6 pm

    Thu – Fri: 10 am–9 pm

    Reviews

    By Steven Ashmore

    When traveling, I always look for museums and sites that have evening hours. We went to the Barbican Gallery on a Thursday evening and caught their recent Lee Krasner exhibition. It was fabulous. The gallery is two levels with numerous smaller spaces, making the exhibition an interesting and enjoyable experience.

    By Laura Miller

    I have just watched To Kill a Mockingbird here. The play and actors were fantastic. Nice and clean ladies' toilets with hot water. During the break, they were selling the usual ice cream and drinks. Not all staff were friendly, but most were. I would come again to watch another show or even the same one.

    There was once a famous scientist who made several important discoveries. Once he was asked how he could be so creative. He replied that it all came from an experience he had with his mother when he was 2 years old. He was trying to take a bottle of milk out of the refrigerator. But the bottle was too slippery(滑的)and he dropped it. The kitchen floor was covered in milk.

    Instead of shouting at him or punishing him, his mother said, "Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have never seen such a huge puddle of milk. Would you like to play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?"

    So he did. After a few minutes, they cleaned it up together. Then his mother said, "This was a failed experiment in how to carry a big bottle of milk with two tiny hands. Let's fill the bottle with water and see if you can find a way to carry it without dropping it."

    The little boy learned that if he held the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!

    The scientist then added that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be afraid to make mistakes. He learned that mistakes are just opportunities to learn something new.

    Do you live in a city? You've probably noticed how noisy and crowded life in a city can be. What if you could live next to a calm lake instead?

    As it turns out, living near bodies of water – lakes, rivers, ponds, even oceans – can help us feel both happier and healthier. Those who live less than a kilometer from the coast are around 22 percent less likely to have mental health problems than those who live 50 kilometers or more away, according to a study by researchers from the University of Exeter, UK. People who visit the coast at least twice a week tend to experience better general and mental health as well.

    So how does "blue space" make us feel better? For one thing, aquatic environments tend to have less pollution and more sunlight, both of which are linked to better mental and physical health. People who get more sun tend to be happier than those who do not.

    There's also the air above the sea. After spending time near the ocean, you might find that you feel more relaxed than usual. This is because sea air is filled with negative ions(负离子). These ions balance our levels of serotonin(血清素), a chemical that affects our moods. With balanced serotonin levels, we feel more calm and relaxed, according to Daily Mail.

    Finally, people who live near water tend to be more physically active, according to the Guardian. Water sports like swimming and rowing can help us stay in shape, which in turn keeps us healthy.

    In this digital age, people measure their popularity by the number of likes and followers they get on social media. But as it turns out, people are happiest when their friends are high quality – not high quantity.

    Scientists from the University of Leeds, UK, studied data from two online surveys of nearly 1,500 people. Those who took the survey gave details about their age, social interactions, and how satisfied they were with their social lives. The researchers found that those who had a small number of close friends generally tended to be happier than those who had a large number of superficial(关系浅表的)friends.

    "Loneliness has less to do with the number of friends you have, and more to do with how you feel about your friends," said Wandi Bruine de Bruin, one of the researchers.

    Bruine de Bruin found that older people tended to have smaller social circles than young people, but the people in these circles tended to be closer to them.

    Younger people, on the other hand, tended to have bigger circles that were made up of "peripheral(次要的)others" – people who are not true friends, but just people they know. These people had no influence on the younger interviewees' happiness.

    The results of the study show that the opinion society has about old people being sad and lonely might not be accurate.

    "The research shows that older adults' smaller networks didn't prevent social satisfaction and happiness. In fact, older adults tend to report better well-being than younger adults," said Bruine de Bruin.

    Online courses have become popular in many countries. There are different kinds of online courses, but most show a video of a teacher and students in a classroom. Students watch the video online and take part in online activities. Some courses are free and open to anyone.        Of course, watching videos on a screen is not the same as taking part in a real class.

           In Singapore, eight schools have been chosen to try new ways of using technology in the classroom. The schools have tablets(平板电脑)and touchscreens instead of books and blackboards in the classrooms.        Through them, students can communicate with each other and work on projects together.

    In South Korea, some students have been taught English by teachers in the Philippines and other countries since 2011. The teachers are in their home countries and are connected to the Korean classrooms via the Internet. Instead of looking at a screen, the students interact with a robot in the classroom. The robot is controlled by the teacher.       

    Thanks to technology, more and more ways of teaching and learning are being developed.

           But one thing is for sure – there has never been a more interesting time to be a student.

A. E-learning can be successful.

B. There are also social media platforms(平台).

C. Other kinds of e-learning are being tested around the world.

D. They give students anywhere the chance to study at any time.

E. Nobody knows what the classroom of the future will look like.

F. And it can move around the classroom and talk with the students.

G. The courses that are taught via the Internet are called online courses.

    Once Confucius(孔子)was passing by a village where he saw an old man with his young son pulling water from the well. Confucius was1to see this as at that time people harnessed(使用)horses or oxen to pull2from the well.

    Confucius with3went to the old man and said, "Why are you unnecessarily4yourself and the young man, now that we have harnessed horses and oxen?"

    The old man5to him, "Please speak6I don't want my son to hear this. I can answer you, but please7when my son goes for lunch."

    Confucius was puzzled. He kept8and waited until the old man came to him alone at9time. Confucius questioned, "Why would you not let your son10what I said?"

    The old man replied, "I am 85 years old and yet I have11to work side by side. If today I12horses to pull water, then my son will not be able to have the same strength at 85 as I have now. That's why I13you not to speak about it in front of my son. It's a question of his14. We've heard that in towns people use horses or machines to pull water from the well.15if I use them now too, then what will he do? What16will it have on my son's health? If he is saved from doing hard work now, then how will he be able to17his health? "

    What we do today will affect us18. What we do on one hand has an immediate effect on the other. He who19during the daytime destroys his repose(休息)of the night. Rest has to be earned through20.

    My aim in life is        (save) the environment for future generations. I want to become        environmental consultant after I graduate. Too many people think that pollution can't        (stop) if we want the country to develop. But that is not true. We can cut back        dangerous and dirty waste from factories. Even though a factory        (produce) a large quantity of goods, it doesn't mean that it has to pump a lot of pollution into the environment.

    I want to teach people to buy products        have been recycled, as well. This is much        (good) for the environment, because it means we don't need to cut down as many trees. Companies and        (business) can still operate, but the Earth will not have to suffer.

    There is no debating that we also have a problem with population. The number of people in the world keeps        (grow), and we are producing more rubbish and using up more raw materials. What if they run out? I am confident that if we are all willing to work together, we can overcome these challenges and keep the Earth clean and        (health).

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），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：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

    My grandfather is an old man, and he has always been happily. He likes travelling and has been to many places in China. Last month, he visits the Forbidden City which the emperors once lived. He even dreams of travelling to different foreign country one day. He thinks it is important try to understand as much about the world as possible. Therefore, he never left his hometown in his youth, because she had to work to support his family. He wanted to study for medicine, but he never got into an university. He hopes I can study hardly in the university and get a good job in the future.

注意：1）词数100左右。

2）开头和结尾已为你写好，不记入总词数。

Dear Mary,

    After reading your letter, I know that you worry about making friends.

    Good luck in making friends.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua