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A night at the movies is always a good idea. But when you leave the theater and realize you just dropped $45 on a ticket and some snacks, you'll wish you had been patient enough to wait until the movie came out on Netflix. The average movie ticket price in the United States in 2000 was $5.39; now, a ticket is over $9.

The main reason that movie tickets have gotten so expensive is because of inflation (通货膨胀). It was actually more expensive to go to the movies in the 70s than it is now. A ticket in 1978 cost $2.34. If you plug that into an inflation calculator, the same ticket would cost you $9.46 today. According to the National Association of Theater Owners, the average cost for a ticket today is $9.11.

Another reason you need to spend some of your life savings to see a movie on the big screen is that theaters are competing with streaming services that produce their own films, such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. And let's be honest, sitting at home on your sofa or in your bed is more comfortable than sitting in a cold theater.

Because of streaming technology, theaters have to do something to bring in customers. Attractions—including alcohol, reclining seats (躺椅), surround sound, and 3-D movies are all examples of that. And those upgrades come at a price, leading to more expensive tickets.

"There's all that extra cost, and it's really important for theater owners and companies to make that experience as enjoyable as possible," Patrick Corcoran, vice president of the National Association of Theatre Owners told Marketplace. "Because you're offering a superb experience—audience expectations are for the latest and greatest technology. Audiences are willing to pay more for a particular experience."

We live in a town with three beaches. There are two parts less than 10 minutes' walk from home where neighborhood children gather to play. However, what my children want to do after school is pick up a screen — any screen — and stare at it for hours. They are not alone. Today's children spend an average of four and a half hours a day looking at screens, split between watching television and using the Internet.

In the past few years, an increasing number of people and organisations have begun coming up with plans to counter this trend. A couple of years ago film-maker David Bond realised that his children, then aged five and three, were attached to screens to the point where he was able to say "chocolate" into his three-year-old son's ear without getting a response. He realised that something needed to change, and, being a London media type, appointed himself "marketing director from Nature". He documented his journey as he set about treating nature as a brand to be marketed to young people. The result was Project Wild Thing, a film which charts the birth of the World Network, a group of organisations with the common goal of getting children out into nature.

"Just five more minutes outdoors can make a difference," David Bond says. "There is a lot of really interesting evidence which seems to be suggesting that if children are inspired up to the age of seven, then being outdoors will be on habit for life." His own children have got into the habit of playing outside now: "We just send them out into the garden and tell them not to come back in for a while."

Summer is upon us. There is an amazing world out there, and it needs our children as much as they need it. Let us get them out and let them play.

The Biggest Stadiums in the World

People have been pouring into stadiums since the days of ancient Greece. In around 80 A.D., the Romans built the Colosseum, which remains the world's best known stadium and continues to inform contemporary design. Rome's Colosseum was 157 feet tall and had 80 entrances, seating 50,000 people. However, that was small fry compared with the city's Circus Maximus, which accommodated around 250,000 people.

These days, safety regulations-not to mention the modern sports fan's desire for a good view and comfortable seat—tend to keep stadium capacities (容量) slightly lower. Even soccer fans tend to have a seat each; gone are the days of thousands standing to watch the match.

For the biggest stadiums in the world, we have used data supplied by the World Atlas list so far, which ranks them by their stated permanent capacity, as well as updated information from official stadium websites.

All these stadiums are still functional, still open and still hosting the biggest events in world sport.

·Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Pyongyang D. P.R. Korea. Capacity: 150,000. Opened: May 1,1989.

·Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U. S. Capacity: 107,601. Opened: October 1, 1927.

·Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania, U. S. Capacity: 106,572. Opened: September 17, 1960.

·Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, U. S. Capacity: 104,944. Opened: October 7,1922.

·Kyle Field, College Station, Texas, U. S. Capacity: 102,512. Opened: September 24, 1927.

It was the first day of our new grade. Everyone in the classroom was chatting happily, excited to see each other again after the long holidays. When the door slid open, all of us stopped talking and turned to look. In came our teacher Ms. Green, followed by an ordinary-looking boy.

"This boy's name is Mark," Ms. Green announced. "He comes from another school, and he's going to be in our class from today. Make sure all of you welcome him warmly. "

The class clapped. But I didn't want to have a second look at the newcomer, for he had no outstanding qualities, considering his small figure and casual T-shirt.

"Oh, I forgot to mention one thing," Ms. Green spoke up. "Mark actually has hearing problems. Normally he would have hearing aids on, but his old ones have just been broken. His doctor suggester that he stay at home until he got his new ones. However, Mark insisted on attending his first day of school. So if you want to communicate with him, you have to write your words on a piece of paper."

This single speech sent the whole class into noises. Some students looked at each other with expressions of surprise. Others voiced cries of concern out of pity.

Ms. Green calmed everyone down. "I'd like someone to personally help him out throughout the day. Do I have any volunteers?"

"How can a disabled person be intelligent?" I thought to myself. I refused to raise my hand, expecting someone else would. But nobody did or said anything. Dead silence spread across the classroom.

It was by total bad luck that my eyes happened to meet Ms. Green's.

"How about you, James? She asked me. "Is it okay for you to take care of Mark just for today?"

It is difficult to refuse a request by someone, especially if that person is a teacher. I sighed (叹气) and nodded slightly.

Ms. Green gestured for Mark to sit beside me and then asked us to share our holiday stories with the class.

注意：

1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2）续写部分分为两段,每段的开头语已为你写好。

Immediately, the class became excited.

……

Then Mark rose from his chair and walked onto the platform.