When toasters could fly: a museum for domestic appliances

They come from flea markets across Europe and the United States, from Internet auctions or dusty lofts: the vacuum cleaners and hot irons, toasters and pots and pans from the avant-garde of modern design, which French collector Jean-Bernard Hebey has picked up over decades.
Around 375 of these extraordinary domestic appliances from the 1920s to the 1970s are on display at the design museum in the Flanders' metropolis of Ghent, northern Belgium, in an exhibition entitled Domestic Aesthetics open to the public until September 30.

The first item Hebey bought was a lemon squeezer in the United States when he was 16. Now his Paris collection has some 8,000 items and is likely the largest European collection of designer domestic appliances.

"America was colored; Europe was still black and white," says Hebey. This is how his passion for collecting originated in the 1950s.

In fact, objects like the bright-red ice-crusher The Ice Gun from 1940, which strongly resembles a futuristic space patrol pistol, would have been unimaginable in Old Europe at the time.

Some of his toasters look as if they could fly, and his vacuum cleaners resemble rockets on vats that are more likely to do their service in orbit.

"Over the last 50 years modernity has always been associated with space travel or aviation," Hebey said. Domestic design had to "fulfill necessities and dreams at the same time."

passion:It means you love something very much.
loft:It means the top floor of a house.
metropolis:It means the city located at center of a country , or the main city.


I like to collect any interesting , special thing . I collect stamps , pens , toys , books , and beautiful paper , I also want to collect some appliances which be used in the kitchen , but most of them are too expensive . This article gives me an inmagination to future , if those things really can fly , it may be very interesting .

My First Speech Contest

I still clearly remember what happened during my first speech contest.I was very nervous about talking in front of a large crowd.When it was my turn,I tried to stay calm and walked onto the stage with a big smile.Somehow,I tripped and fell.At that mIoment,everyone in the audience started laughing.
I felt so embarrassed that I wanted to run away.However,I told myself that things couldn't get any worse.So I got up,took a deep breath, and went on giving my speech. As soon as I finished it, I felt relieved.
At the end of the contest, I didn't expect to win anything. To my surprise, I was awarded a special prize for courage. When I held the prize and saw the audience cheering, I felt proud of myself.

trip(vi):It is mean someone fall down by something.

This article is also from the Ivy magazine. I know it is not a good article for an university student, it is too easy, but it reminds me that my experience of speech contest. When I was an elementary school student,I went to a English cram school, I had a lot of English contest there. Although I have these experiences, I still feel nervous when I have to speak to the crowd. This habit bothers me a lot. I hope that I can speak to the crowd and not be nervous in the future.

Hawaiian cowboys

Did you ever hear about the cowboys in Hawaii? Even though that sentence sounds like a joke,

in reality, cowboys have been in Hawaii for over 200 years.

In the late 1700s, Captain George Vancouver explored the Sandwich Islands, which would later

be known as Hawaii. During that time, he met the Hawaiian ruler, Pai`ea Kamehameha. As a

gift, Captain Vancouver gave Kamehameha five head of cattle. The cattle were allowed to roam

freely and began to multiply rapidly. Soon, the large population of cattle was causing damage

everywhere. John Parker, a sailor who had settled on the islands, came to the rescue. Though

not a cowboy, Parker was a loyal friend of Kamehameha's and was given permission to start a

beef industry.

The Hawaiian cattle industry grew slowly until Kamehameha's grandson visited California and

invited Mexican cowboys to the islands in 1832. These cowboys taught the Hawaiian herders

important skills and better techniques for raising cattle. Because of them, herders in Hawaii

were transformed into excellent cowboys. They even became known as the most daring

cowboys of all.

Since then, the cowboy scene has been thriving in Hawaii. Cattle ranches, like the Parker Ranch,

still offer locals and tourists a chance to see cowboys in action. Hawaiian cowboys have also won

top awards at prestigious rodeos, events where cowboys compete and show their skills. These

cowboys have proven they're definitely no joke.

roam: means you walk slowly

rapidly: it is an adverb, means quickly

herder: a man whose job is look after cows or other kinds of animal

ranch: a place where live many animals,like cows

This article from Ivy magazine. I choose it because I have a dream,I can like a cowboy ,when I

was a little girl.When I was a little girl , I went to America in the summer,and I played with

horse there.It is a different experience for me,I felt very excited .At that time ,my first thinking

is:"Wow! the horses are horrible ,they are too tall."But when I sit on it's back,my thinking

is:"Yeah!It is great!"Although this article is talking about cows not horses,it still make me

remember that interesting travel.It is a good article to me