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Increase your creativity

Every month I face the same problem—how to write educational, informative and, hopefully, interesting articles. . At other times my mind goes blank (空白的), and I experience a creative block. 

At times we all face creative challenges in life, from designing websites to decorating our apartments, but there are ways to work through creative slumps (低潮). 

Daydream

For years, others may have told you to stop daydreaming. . Daydreaming sometimes helps you take a more creative approach to your problem. 

Be happy

Some studies suggest that a positive mood encourages creativity because it increases activity in the parts of the brain related to decision-making and feelings. 

Face-to-face conversations with friends can lead to creative thinking. 

Take risks

Don't let fear hold you back. You won't succeed at everything you try. But with each new effort, you will build self-confidence and develop new skills for the future.

Limit your amusement

Everyone enjoys entertainment. . Literature and audiobooks are better forms of amusement because they force you to use your imagination. 

Look for inspiration

Activities such as listening to music, going to museums and travelling all provide sources of inspiration. 

Go offline and go outside

Remember how much fun you had as a child running, playing and pretending? Your imagination simply ran away with you. , and can help you get back some of that creative energy from your childhood. 

A. Get social

B. Make friends

C. Nature settings fire the imagination

D. In fact, letting your mind run briefly can actually be helpful

E. Sometimes I can just sit down at my computer and the words just flow

F. Reading relaxes the mind and encourages you to use your imagination

G. But watching TV, for instance, requires little thought and can actually decrease creativity  

Have you ever noticed that the stars sometimes appear brighter in December, January and February? There's a link between cold air and the night lights. "Part of it is that it tends to be drier in the winter," said Diane Tumshek, an astronomer at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Even though it's invisible, moisture can change the way light moves through the air. And in the summer, moisture can make stars appear more dull.

Air temperature is also what puts the twinkle twinkle in the little stars. "Even on very clear nights, some of the atmosphere is cooler, and some of the atmosphere is warmer," said Tumshek, who also works with the Allegheny Observatory. "And when the light from a star passes through those bubbles of varying temperatures, it bends and shifts the light, so that we are seeing stars appear to dance or twinkle," she said.

For star lovers in the United States, there's another factor that comes into play for bright winter stars, although this is a matter of coincidence. "During Earth's journey around the sun, there are just simply more bright stars visible from the Northern Hemisphere in the winter sky," Tumshek said. If you really want to see a shiny star, just try to find a burning ball of gas called Sirius near the horizon. At 8.6 light-years away, Sirius is relatively close to Earth and the brightest star visible in the night sky. It is also large — nearly twice as big as our sun and 20 times as bright. So this winter, when the world turns cold and it seems like we should be spending more time indoors, consider asking an adult to go exploring outside. With a warm coat and a clear sky, any night can be turned into a treasure hunt. All you have to do is look up.

Race walking shares many fitness benefits with running, research shows, while most likely contributing to fewer injuries. It does, however, have its own problem. 

Race walkers are conditioned athletes. The longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50-kilometer race walk, which is about five miles longer than the marathon. But the sport's rules require that a race walker's knees stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot remain in contact with the ground at all times. It's this strange form that makes race walking such an attractive activity, however, says Jaclyn Norberg, an assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem, Mass.

Like running, race walking is physically demanding, she says, According to most calculations, race walkers moving at a pace of six miles per hour would burn about 800 calories per hour, which is approximately twice as many as they would burn walking, although fewer than running, which would probably burn about 1,000 or more calories per hour. 

However, race walking does not pound the body as much as running does, Dr. Norberg says. According to her research, runners hit the ground with as much as four times their body weight per step, while race walkers, who do not leave the ground, create only about 1. 4 times their body weight with each step. 

As a result, she says, some of the injuries associated with running, such as runner's knee, are uncommon among race walkers. But the sport's strange form does place considerable stress on the ankles and hips, so people with a history of such injuries might want to be cautious in adopting the sport. In fact, anyone wishing to try race walking should probably first consult a coach or experienced racer to learn proper technique, she says. It takes some practice.

As the world starts to become increasingly aware of the dirty carbon footprint left behind by airplane travel, could it be time to bring back to the air ship? Hybrid Air vehicle, a UK-based company, has recently displayed a new concept design of their around 100-passenger air-ships that hopes to revolutionize city tripping, all while reducing carbon emissions (排放). The images of the flashy inside parts are just an ambitious plan for the moment, but the company argued the air ship would be well-suited to city-to-city trips. 

A journey by air ship would take slightly longer than one by airplane. For example, a flight from Liverpool to Belfast across the Irish Sea is approximately 4 hours and 24 minutes, check-in and security time included, while the air ship will take 5 hours and 20 minutes in theory. However, the payoff comes in the amount of carbon dioxide released—67. 75 kilograms (149. 36 pounds) of carbon emissions per passenger by plane, compared to 4. 75 kilograms (10,47 pounds) per passenger by air ship. 

The company claims their standard Airlander 10 model can now complete journeys with a total of a 75 percent reduction in emissions compared to conventional aircrafts. They eventually hope to introduce a hybrid-electric (混合电能的) model by 2025, which would reduce emissions by 90 percent, then a totally electric model by 2030 that would be a zero emissions aircraft. 

In a bid to attract air travel enthusiasts, the company also hopes to make the experience more pleasurable than the typical journey of sticky seats and minimal leg room. "For many decades flying from A to B has meant sitting in a metal tube with tiny windows—a necessity but not always a pleasure. On Airlander, the whole experience is pleasant, even enjoyable," George Land, Commercial Business Development Director at Hybrid Air vehicle, said in a recent statement.

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After knowing that she couldn't bear a child，Helen was devastated(悲痛欲绝的)．One day while she was driving home from the café，a dirty puppy（幼犬)in the road caught Helen's attention. After consideration，Helen and her husband eventually decided to take him home. And they later named him Ollie. 

Two years later，Ollie had grown into a large ball of fur. Ollie was Helen's world，and she hated it whenever someone addressed him as her rescue dog. Helen never went out with-out Ollie. One day，they were hanging out together outside a supermarket，unprepared for what was coming their way. 

"Hey boy，wait in the car. I'll be back，alright?"Helen said as she patted Ollie on his head. She locked him in the car and headed to the supermarket because Ollie hated crowded places and never accompanied Helen to the stores.

Moments later，there was a sudden outburst of chaos(混乱). Helen was busy shopping and had no idea it was raining heavily outside. The whole area began to flood unexpectedly. People rushed to every open store they could find for shelter. 

12-year-old boy Matt was looking for a place to run to safety when he spotted people running to the supermarket nearby. He had no time to think and ran after them. 

Matt hurried upstairs with the rest. Suddenly，Helen noticed the situation and was. alarmed. "What happened?"she asked a man and screamed at the top of her lungs when she learned of the flood. All she could think of was Ollie trapped in the car.

"OLLIE…, left my dog in the car,"she cried，running toward the window. "My dog is trapped in the car. Somebody，please…"

Matt looked outside and saw the car Helen pointed to was in the flash flood. Helen was frightened to go out because she didn't know how to swim. Matt understood Helen's anxiety and ran to her pet's rescue. 

He grabbed an iron rod(棒子)from the corner and raced downstairs. "Hey kid，where are you going? You will drown,"someone shouted. But Matt turned a deaf ear to him because he was determined to save Ollie. In the meanwhile，some people placed a call to the rescue center.

注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右;2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

He braved the currents (水流) and swam to the car. 

……

Minutes later, a; rescue team arrived. 

注意：
1. 写作词数应为80左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

The Road to Success

With high yield and superior quality，Chinese hybrid rice varieties have been introduced around the world，. (benefit) more people. The export of China's hybrid rice technology started many years ago. In 1979，China provided hybrid rice seeds to another country for the first time，and 40 years later，in(real)，China's hybrid rice has been planted in dozens of countries in the world. 

In the past 40 years，Chinese scientists  (devote) to providing assistance to many other countries. China has trained more than 14,000 hybrid rice professionals for more than80 developing countries through international training courses. This technology has spreadmore and more places in the world so far. 

Yuan Longping， cultivated the world's first high-yield hybrid rice strain not only earned respect from Chinese people but also the global community. His hybrid rice research has been( entire) saving millions of people from hunger. Yuan's dream was( solve) the global food shortage and promote hybrid rice around the world. China has achieved great wonder，feeding nearly one-fifth of the world's population with less than nine percent of the world's total land. And China is(will) to contribute to global food security and calls for joint efforts to end global hunger and poverty. 

It( believe) that Yuan's dream will come true one day. 

There will be some people who question or judge our motives(动机). But that shouldn't stop us from being friendly， generous and1 to others. Sometimes we are the giver of an act of kindness. Other times，we are the2 . It doesn't matter. Kindness makes everyone feel 3 . 

My daughter4 this story. Many years ago a man who lived in New York City decided to5 his parents two hours north. As he approached their small town，his car6 A woman stopped to7 a ride to a mechanic(修理工) in town，and as they 8 on the way，he learned that she was a local realtor(房地产经纪人). He shared that he was from the city visiting his9 . They went their separate ways，but he never10 her kindness. 

Forty years later，his parents died，and the son needed to11 their house. He remembered the realtor who had helped him many years ago and called her office.12 ，the woman had passed away. Her daughter and granddaughter were running the13 and ended up being his realtors. As it turns out，they sold the man's parents' house to my daughter and son-in-law! A simple act of kindness had a(n)14 decades later.

In most 15 ，we don't know the long-term effect of our acts of kindness. But the receiver often never forgets. 

How to Enjoy a Sick Day

Being sick can be a difficult time. You might not feel like doing much on a sick day，buta few activities can help you make the most of it. A sick day can be a great opportunity to re-lax and focus on your health.

Laugh

Even though you might not feel well，laughing can help improve your immune system(免疫系统)． Laughing has been shown to reduce stress levels and increase your body's natural killer cells that fight against invading(入侵)cells. 

Use some of your free time to call up someone you love chatting with. Having a great conversation with a friend or family member has been proven to raise levels of oxytocin，which can help with healing and well-being. 

Do something you love

 This can help take your mind off being sick and improve your mood. Try some of the following examples to make your sick day an enjoyable one: listen to music，play a board or video game，and do your favorite craft if you feel well enough. 

Get in some light exercise

If you have a cold，you might want to try getting some light exercise during your sick day. Listen to what your body is telling you if you do exercise. Exercise is fine if the only symptoms you have are a runny nose，congestion，or sneezing. Do not exercise if you have any symptoms in your chest，like coughing，fever or muscle aches. Stop immediately if you start to feel worse. 

A. Then you might feel better. 

B. Improve your own condition. 

C. Here are some effective tips. 

D. Talk with a friend or loved one. 

E. Don't over do it and stop if you feel worse. 

F. You still need to eat and maintain caloric energy. 

G. Take some time for yourself during your sick day. 

Detecting a person with a high temperature who could be carrying COVID-19 isn't as easy as it may seem，especially in a crowd. Yet that's what public health authorities(官方) want to do in the countries around the world. 

Thales，an electronic equipment manufacturer，is conducting a study with the NHS(National Health Service)Scotland for a new system to detect individuals with high temperatures，whether they're on their own or in the middle of a crowd. The trial is being conducted at the emergency department of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. This first section of the trial was performed over a four-week period with around 100 patients—a relatively small sample，admittedly，but big enough to show some interesting correlations (相关性) and confirm whether the concept was trusted. The trial could now be extended to a much broader population of patients. 

"Most existing solutions are based on industrial systems and they're not designed for medical uses,"said Willie Alexander，Technical Director for Thales Optronics. "They can on-ly scan one face at a time，they're less accurate，and they need to be operated by specialist technicians. With our system，we can scan entire groups of people at the same time and focus on the parts of the face with the same temperature as an ear thermometer(温度计)，which is the standard equipment for healthcare professionals. And the solution uses machine learning, so the more patients we work with，the better the model gets. "

lf the promising initial results of this trial are confirmed，the solution could be used in other sensitive public spaces where groups of individuals need to have their temperatures taken quickly and reliably，such as border areas and airports. And because it 's entirely contactless and none of the data is stored，the method makes both the testers and the people being tested less worried. 

While it may sound like something that has come out of your nightmares, cyborg cockroaches (蟑螂机器人) have arrived as friends rather than enemies. 

Scientists in Japan have designed a new remote controlled insect, equipped with a battery"backpack" that is powered by solar panels. The cockroach, which is part insect and part machine, is intended to enter dangerous areas, monitor the environment or undertake search and rescue missions without needing to be recharged. The researchers from the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research had to install some items into a tiny pack to allow for all the cockroach's natural movements.

Being able to survive the tough conditions，cockroaches，the ancient insects，have been the stimulus for a number of technologies in recent years. Therefore，different teams of scientists have designed various remote-controlled robo-bugs (机器虫) that can climb walls，carry objects and find humans during search and rescue missions. 

Previously，wires were attached to the cyborg cockroach's two sensory organs to send electrical signals that caused the"insect"to move right or left. A battery was necessary for the sending and receiving of these electrical signals，which needed to be charged up.

So the RIKEN team wanted to create a more practical one. Finally，they designed an on-board solar cell that could continuously ensure that the cockroach stayed charged while it worked. The solution was to design a special" backpack"that could neatly carry both the wireless leg-control module and rechargeable battery. This was attached to the top of the in-sect，and was 3D printed to fit perfectly to the surface of the cyborg cockroach. It allowed this electronic device to be firmly fitted on the"insect"for over a month.

The Beijing Expo Park，where the International Horticultural Exhibition(国际园艺展)took place in 2019，has become a camping resort this summer. Twelve camping areas each named after the constellations(星座)have recently opened to the public at the park. 

"When I see parents and children put down their mobile phones and enjoy their family time，I feel happy. At this moment，all our efforts in organizing this camping festival have paid off ," said Xue He，a camping operator at the park.

"Located in the Yanqing district of Beijing，the camping area covers about 280,000 square meters. It provides more than 1,000 camping spots where tourists can spend their leisure time on picnics，fishing，horse riding，boating，and many other activities,"said Han Weiwei，a manager of the Beijing Expo Park Investment and Development.

At the camping area named after Sagittarius，tents are spread throughout the woods, while a wooden trestle(支架) connects the campsites. "We pursue harmony between humans and nature，so the original plants were preserved as much as possible,"said Liu Xiao'ou，an operator in the area.

"Horse riding is one of the most popular activities here,"Liu said，adding that campers can ride horses in the Sagittarius area under the guidance of coaches. Children can also interact with some little cute horses which are less than one meter in height.

As the altitude in Yanqing is higher than that in downtown Beijing，the expo park is much cooler in summer. "This is favorable for camping. These abundant activities have given" Is so much fun," said a resident surnamed Yin from downtown Beijing.

In the coming three months，the Beijing Expo Park is going to host more than 30 activities during the camping festival，including bicycle races，fishing contests and night runs，ac-cording to the organizers. 

Asia is a land of timeless charms with a long history，distinctive cultures，breathtaking landscapes and delicious cuisines. Travelling to Asia，Kathmandu，Ulaanbaatar and the TajMahal in India are always on the top list. No matter what you are interested in，our specialists are able to customize a perfect Asia tour itinerary（路线》for you. 

Agra，India

The Taj Mahal in Agra is one of the most famous monuments in India and a world cultural heritage. It was selected as one of the"New Seven Wonders of the World". Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum in Agra. It was built between 163l and 1653 by the order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife—Mumtaz Mahal.

Bangkok，Thailand

Bangkok，known as the"City of Angels"，is the capital and largest city of Thailand. Being one of the most popular travel destinations in Asia，Bangkok well integrates cast and west cultures. You will appreciate the architecture of the Grand Palace，experience the floatingmarket and taste authentic Thai food there.

Kathmandu，Nepal

Kathmandu is a place that once you went to，it would stay in your heart forever. The city is surrounded by mountains. Founded in 723， it is an ancient city with a history of more than1,200 years. The three Durbar Squares of Kathmandu，Patan and Bhaktapur are all worth to be explored. Also，you could challenge yourself to climb the Himalayan mountains. 

Ulaanbaatar，Mongolia

The capital of Mongolia，built on the huge steppe(草原)，Ulaanbaatar is an important transportation center on the Trans-Siberian rail line. The national parks of Gorkhi-Terelj and Hustai will enable you to experience horse riding and the daily life of herdsmen(牧民).