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Featured August Programs in the National Portrait Gallery

Kinship: An Artist Talk with Sedrick Huckaby

Join us for an artist talk with Sedrick Huckaby, whose life-size paintings and sculptures refer to universal human connections and memorialize figures central to his life—his family members and those close to him. The artist will discuss the centrality of community and kin (亲属) to his practice. This event will take place in Sedrick Huckaby’s Kinship gallery space from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 5.

Weekend Workshop: Mindfulness in the Museum

Join Art Educator Sean Murphy for an interactive workshop in mindfulness and art. Inspired by the exhibition, Kinship, participants will be guided through breathing exercises, and a mindfulness activity before visiting the galleries and creating their own mindfulness books. This workshop will take place in G Street Lobby from 10 a.m.to 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 12.

Expressive Arts Workshop: Family Memory Box

Family memories can connect us to those important in our lives. Join us in this interactive art making workshop to create “family memory boxes” to hold special photos, items, and memories of loved ones. No previous art making experience is required. This workshop will take place in G Street Lobby from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Aug. 19.

Virtual Portrait Signs: A Tour in ASL

Join us for a virtual tour of 1898: Imperial Vision and Revisions, which is the first major Smithsonian museum exhibition to examine the War of 1898 and the legacy (遗留) of this controversial chapter in history. This deaf-led presentation will include voice interpretation.

This exhibition will take place from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 19. The Zoom link will be emailed on the morning of the program. Questions? Please email Jonesve@si.edu.

1. Which programs share the same theme?

A. An Artist Talk with Sedrick Huckaby and Mindfulness in the Museum.

B. An Artist Talk with Sedrick Huckaby and Family Memory Box.

C. Mindfulness in the Museum and Family Memory Box.

D. Family Memory Box and A Tour in ASL.

2. What do you know about the exhibition A Tour in ASL?

A. It is an in-gallery tour led by the deaf.    B. Its presentation will be emailed to visitors.

C. It is friendly to hearing challenged people.

D. It is the first major Smithsonian museum exhibition.

3. What is the purpose of this text?

A. To invite more people to visit the gallery.   B. To involve more people in the programs.

C. To train more people to become artists.    D. To introduce the gallery to visitors.

B

The Vjosa River, one of the last wild rivers in Europe, has been declared a national park by the Albanian government, making it the first wild river park on the continent.

Home to more than 1,000 animal and plant species, the river flows for 270 kilometers, from Greece, through Albania and into the Adriatic Sea. Giving the credit to no dams or other artificial barriers, it is rich in aquatic (水栖的) species and supports a large number of wildlife species, including some endangered ones.

The wild river national park will include almost 13,000 acres of land, crossing most of the body of the country, with thousands of people living in its surroundings. The decision to establish the park is more important than people may realize. For years, the Vjosa’s fragile ecosystem has been under threat: at one point as many as 45 hydropower plants (水电站) were planned to build across the region. But thanks to the campaigning by environmental NGOs, the tiny Balkan nation was placed at the forefront of river protection.

Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama, described the creation of the national park as a “truly historic moment” for nature as well as social and economic development. “Today we protect the only wild river in Europe once and for all,” he said. “This is to change a mindset. Protecting an area does not mean that you make it in isolation from the economy.” He said national parks attract 20% more tourists compared with non-protected areas.

The park will cover the 118 miles of the Vjosa in Albania, three main tributaries (支流), and some land, including areas at risk of flooding. Other tributaries will be added afterwards. Unlike the IUCN’s Wilderness Protected Areas, which limit the number of visitors, it will allow recreational tourism and some other activities such as local fishing, particularly for 60,000 residents in the catchment.

“We hope it will inspire others to come together to protect the wild places in a meaningful way,” said Ryan Gellert, Patagonia’s CEO, and added that the park was proof that the destruction of nature did not have to be the price of progress.

4. Which of the following contributes to the Vjosa River’s biodiversity?

A. The existence of natural construction.   B. The emergence of artificial barriers.

C. The absence of human disturbance.   D. The effect of governmental policies.

5. What is the purpose of the campaign launched by environmental NGOs？

A. To maintain Vjosa’s ecosystem.    B. To establish hydro-power plants.

C. To create jobs for local residents.    D. To protect the tiny Balkan nation.

6. How is the park different from IUCN’s Wilderness Protected Areas?

A. It covers more tributaries.     B. It attracts tourists to fishing.

C. It limits the number of visitors.    D. It allows economic development.

7. What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?

A. Social progress results in destruction of nature.

B. Protection of nature conflicts with social progress.

C. Social progress doesn’t necessarily mean destroying nature.

D. Protection of nature doesn’t have to cost society much money.

C

You jerk(猛然一动)awake in the middle of the night in confusion. Is there a figure standing in the corner of the room? Your brain begs your legs to move, but nothing happens. The anxiety increases. Your eyes scan the room. Just as you’re about to hit peak panic, you sit up and the figure disappears.

You’ve just experienced sleep paralysis(瘫痪), which is the name experts give to all sorts of weird things that occur during sleep. It happens when the brain temporarily disables the body to prevent it from acting out the vivid dreams occurring during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. It often comes with a feeling of immobility, and a sense of choking. The good news is, it’s absolutely normal, even if it’s terrifying.

But when sleep paralysis happens outside of deep sleep—when a person is just dozing off—it can be “disruptive of the architecture of sleep,” said Baland Jalal, a researcher who investigates the phenomenon. That could lead to more sleep paralysis.

While not everyone who has sleep paralysis experiences hallucinations(幻觉), seeing a person or a ghost in the room is the most common vision, said Jalal. The mechanisms behind sleep paralysis remain unclear, but research indicates that certain risk factors may increase the likelihood of experiencing a jerk, including extreme exercise before sleep, inadequate sleep, emotional stress and worry, and excessive stimulant consumption (like caffeine and nicotine), especially later in the day.

“For most people, it is not indicative of any kind of disease. If you are really worried about it, regular sleep and other simple relaxation techniques, like meditation, deep breathing and yoga, may help,” said Dr. Nathaniel Watson, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. While the experience feels frightening, the episodes last only a few seconds or minutes at most. Most people slip out of it as quickly as they fell into it, he said.

8. What is sleep paralysis?

A. A frightening dream that interrupts sleep.

B. A physical symptom of anxiety disorders.

C. A mental disease that affects sleep quality.

D. A brief state of being conscious but frozen.

9. What do people who have sleep paralysis often experience?

A. Involuntary cough. B. Unreal sensation.

C. Sharpened vision. D. Sustained immobility.

10. What does Dr. Nathaniel Watson say about sleep paralysis?

A. It is caused by inadequate sleep. B. It can be a warning signal of diseases.

C. It is a temporary disturbing experience. D. It can be prevented by extreme exercise.

11. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A. Common Myths About Sleep Paralysis

B. Sleep Paralysis: How It Affects Sleep Patterns

C. Ways to Prevent and Cope with Sleep Paralysis

D. Sleep Paralysis: Why We Jerk Awake and Can’t Move