It is always a little sad to say goodbye to a long-time friend you are leaving forever, a (1) you have spent many hours with, in all sorts of (2) . David didn’t think I should be so (3) about the separation. "It’s (4) a car," he said. "And we need a (5) one. "
B.
We were standing in the hot car park outside a car dealer’s office, keys to the new (6) in David’s hand, keys to the old one in mine. David took the keys and handed them to the (7) As we drove away, I (8) to look at my trusty friend, standing silent and alone.
C.
As it turned out, I (9) the new car. It ran beautifully, all the tires were good, (10) I happily stopped buying gas every week. Our teenage children were (11) to ride around in a small green car (12) a smoky van (小型客货车). It began to feel like our family’s car.
D.
Still, I (13) looking in the rear-view mirror (后视镜) and seeing the seats (14) I used to put my little children. I still thought about the family (15) in that car and the fun we had together.
E.
Then one day, I happened to go to a (16) . I parked in a sea of vehicles (车辆). As I (17) through the car park on my way into the store, I saw a (18) blue van coming slowly toward me. A little boy and a girl looked out the window at me as I stared at them in great (19) . The boy smiled at me cheerfully and waved. Then, as I waved back slowly with (20) feelings, and then walked quickly away toward the store’s entrance, I burst into tears.
I’m told that during an international game of chess (国际象棋), many beautiful moves could bc made on a chessboard. In a decisive (36) in which he was evenly matched with a Russian master (37) , Marshall found his queen under serious attack. There were several ways of (38) , and since the queen is the most (39) piece, spectators (观众) thought Marshall would naturally move his queen to (40) .
B.
Deep in thought, Marshall used all his time to consider the (41) . He picked up his queen, paused, and placed it down on the most (42) square of all--a square from which the queen could be (43) by any one of three enemy pieces.
C.
Marshall had sacrificed (牺牲) his queen--an unthinkable move. Everyone else was (44) .
D.
Then the Russian, and the (45) , realized that Marshall had actually made a (46) move. It was clear that no matter how the (47) was taken, the Russian would soon be in a (48) position. Seeing this, the Russian admitted his defeat.
E.
When spectators recovered from the (49) of Marshall’s dating, they showered the chessboard with money. Marshall had achieved (50) in a very unusual and dating fashion--he had (51) by sacrificing the queen.
F.
To me, it’s not (52) that he won. What counts is that Marshall had broken with standard (53) to make such a move. He had looked (54) the usual patterns of play and had been willing to consider an imaginative risk on the basis of his judgment and his judgment alone. No matter how the game (55) , Marshall was the winner.
Planning Your Visit to the California Science Center
B.
Hours & Admission
C.
The California Science Center is open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. The IMAX Theater is open daily. Please read our movie times page or call 213-744-7400 for show information.
D.
Admission to the Science Center’s permanent (长期的) exhibition is free. Admission prices for the IMAX Theater are based on age group, and lower-priced tickets are given to groups of 15 or more people. Ticket prices also apply to three Science center attractions: the High Wire Bicycle, the Motion Based Simulator and the Ecology Cliff Climb.
E.
If you’re coming in a group of 15 or more people, please check our group reservations page. Food and bank services are offered for your convenience. For more information about Science Center hours or programs, please contact us.
F.
How to Find Us
G.
South of downtown Los Angeles, the California Science Center is built in Historic Exposition Park, just two blocks west of the Harbor (110) Freeway at the Exposition Boulevard Exit. There are buses going to the Science Center. For more information, see Map & Directions.
H.
Planning Tips
I.
Don’t miss our Special Exhibits. They change throughout the year, always offering new and interesting ways to learn about science.
J.
When you arrive, be sure to check at the Information Center for the day’s special activities. If you are with children under 7, stop by the Discovery Rooms in Creative World or World of Life for some hands-on learning.
Do you remember the Millennium (千禧年) Goals When world leaders celebrated the year 2000 with a serious promise to reduce poverty (贫穷) and hunger, check the spread of AIDS, get boys and girls into school, and improve public health, all by 2015
B.
Well, three years down the road, and the UNDP’s yearly collection of facts and figures already shows that if we carry on as we are, the only goal likely to be met is that for reducing poverty by a half, and that is entirely due to the success of one country--China. It is so vast that the fast-growing economy in China lifts millions of people above the poverty line, even though in Africa, Latin America and the former Soviet Union, people have actually been getting poorer.
C.
Otherwise, progress is good only in parts. East Asia should meet its goal of reducing hunger by a half by 2015, and Latin America and the Caribbean are not far behind, but at the present speed of progress, Africa and South Asia won’t get there for another hundred years.
D.
The good news is that it can be done--there are success stories. Ghana--an economic basket case in the eighties and early nineties--has managed to find a way out of its difficulties and it’s now comfortably in the middle range of countries, way ahead of the much more naturally wealthy Nigeria. For Congo, Cambodia or Iraq, ruined by war, or every southern African country damaged by AIDS, there is a Mauritius or a South Korea steadily working its way up the league table towards a better life for its people.