—________ he speaks it like a native speaker.
He's an old cobbler(修鞋匠) with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street; he'll fix them for you right away.”
But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman(手艺人). “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can't do it well.”
“The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait” — without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap(鞋带), you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, “Come back in a week.”
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.
“See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work.”
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange, dusty felt hat, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.
These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption(消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.
It is in the smallest space.(be famous for以……而闻名)
Opened in September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland is the second Disney Park in Asia. It experienced a difficult time upon its opening. The Park, as well as two themed hotels, was built on Lantau Island.
The Park opened to strong competition in the form of Ocean Park. Hong Kong Disneyland is one of only two parks in Hong Kong, which has become one of the world's leading cities in recent years. It kept Chinese cultural traditions in mind when they built the Park to avoid a cultural backlash (抵制). Designers added to the custom of Feng Shui.
Disney and Hong Kong announced the Park in 1999, and construction (建设) began in 2003. The Park had one of the shortest construction periods in Disney history. Disney actually announced that the opening of the Park would be brought forward, from 2006 to September 2005.
The Park attracted 5.2 million visitors in its first year, below the expected 5.6 million. There was a lack of attractions, with Fantasyland opening with just one dark ride. Summer Passes were announced to increase the number of tourists. Autopia, Stitch Encounter and it's a Small World opened between 2006 and 2008 to offer more attractions at the Park.
The number of tourists dropped in 2007 to just over 4 million, so Disney planned a big expansion (扩大) project to attract more tourists and bring the Park back to its normal level. In July 2009, the Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed a three-land expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland, and in 2010, Toy Story Land opened.
These new attractions have certainly paid off, with the Park earning record profit (盈利) in 2013. In that year, over 7 million guests entered the Park.
With enough room for a second Park and the promise of more attractions to come, it seems that there is indeed a great beautiful tomorrow for Hong Kong Disneyland.
Shukri Noor, 12, arrived in Anchorage, Alaska, one year ago. The sixth grader and her family are refugees (难民) from Kenya. "Since I didn't speak English, it was hard to communicate with others," Shukri said. "I had no friends."
"Anchorage receives about 130 refugees every year. Most are from Somalia. The rest come from Iraq, Sudan, Cuba, Central America, and other places. Like Shukri, many of the kids feel alone. They're dealing with a lot of adjustments (适应)," Katie Bisson says. She manages to support for newcomer students in the Anchorage School District (ASD).
At the Newcomers' Center, the ASD offers a special program for students who are new to the US. The kids spend part of each day at the center and part of the day at their neighborhood school. At the center, the students study English and other subjects.
The main goal is to help newcomers reach the point where they attend their neighborhood schools all day. "Until then," Bisson says, "they have the support of being with kids like them, who are facing the same challenges (挑战)."
Anchorage has a population of 300, 000.Among the ASD's 48, 000 students, 98 languages are spoken. According to Bisson, the ASD's newcomers program helps students understand a new culture so they can "start off on the right foot".
The Newcomers' Center gives attention to middle school and high school students. For younger kids, the ASD offers a six-week summer program, which Shukri attended. "It helped me learn the language," she says. "I played sports with kids after class, and I played math games with my classmates. I feel very comfortable now."
On September 11, 2001, Omar Eduardo Rivera, a blind computer technician (技术员), was working on the 71st floor of the World Trade Center with his guide dog (name) Dorado. When the hijacked (被劫持的) plane hit the tower, Rivera knew would take him a long time to escape from the building, but he wanted his lovely dog to have a chance (get) out so he set him free in the crowded stairwell. "I thought I was lost forever—the noise and the heat were (terrify) —but I had to give him the chance of escape. So I touched his head, gave him a push and ordered him to go," Rivera said.
The dog (immediate) disappeared into the crowd, but a few (minute) later Rivera felt the dog feeling his legs. Dorado came right back to his side and a co-worker (bring) by him as well. Then Dorado and the selfless co-worker (help) Rivera climb down 70 flights of stairs, took nearly an hour. No sooner had they escaped from the building it fell down completely, and Rivera says he owes his life to his faithful dog.
