September is one of the very best months to visit France. Not only will you get to enjoy plenty of sunshine and warm weather, but the tourist season is beginning to wind down—which means cheaper airfares, lower prices at hotels, and fewer crowds. If this is your first trip to France, here is some handy information to help you get started planning your vacation!
Go Wine Tasting
September is the beginning of the grape harvest season in France, meaning there are plenty of wine-related events and festivals around the country. So September is a great time to visit the vineyards (葡萄园) around the country and go wine tasting. The Bordeaux, Loire and Burgundy regions are all lovely and great places to visit vineyards. Besides that, going to the castles of the Loire region between visiting vineyards on such warm and sunny days is also very enjoyable.
Take a Barge Cruise (游艇巡游)
The temperatures are slightly lower, but plenty of sunshine makes for perfect conditions to enjoy a barge cruise on the canals of France. With such comfortable weather and beautiful scenery at this time of year, nothing equals hanging out on the deck of a barge.
Visit the Museums
Many museums in France have extended opening hours during the summer to accommodate the extra tourists and locals, and some museums also have extended opening hours into September. Wandering around the Louvre (卢浮宫) will take you into a wonder world, where you can enjoy world-famous art. Going out of the Louvre, you can walk to the modern and fashionable Champs Elysees to do some shopping.
Besides the above, riding a bike through France's villages is also a welcome activity for young visitors in September, So, don't hesitate and start to plan your September trip to France now.
When we see a person in trouble, the first idea that comes to our mind is to lend a hand. But what if we see an animal in trouble, does the same rule apply?
This question was raised after a group of penguins were saved from all icy gully (峡谷) in Antarctica. It was filmed for the BBC wildlife series Dynasties. The film crew were anxious when they saw that a group of penguins had fallen into a gully and been trapped with their young. They built a slope (斜坡) so that a few of the penguins could save themselves.
The case has taken the international media by storm. Viewers watching this film sighed in relief. " I'm so glad. I understand not taking action directly, but a helping hand isn't bothering, right? " viewer Kathryn Shaw said on her Facebook.
However, others think human interference (干) is unnatural. "You can't have sunshine throughout your life. To have done anything else would only make matters worse" said the show's creator David Attenborough, according to The Times.
In this case, however, Mike Gunton, the executive producer of the series, said that this was a one-off (非经常的) situation "There were no animals going to suffer by interfering. You weren't touching the animals and it was just felt by doing this…They had the chance not to have to keep slipping down the slope. "he told the BBC.
Such cases are familiar to Paul Nicklen, wildlife photographer for National Geographic. He told Metro, "If it's ever a predator (捕食者) situation, no matter how gut-wrenching, you stay out of the way, even when you're watching a male polar bear eat a baby bear. "
"There's no rule book in those situations. You can only respond to the facts that are right there in front of you. "Will Lawson, the show's director, told Daily Mail.
My mother has a dining table which sits right in the middle of her dining room. It was once buried beneath piles of papers—magazines, articles, copies of schedules for vacations she took back in the 1990s, and baby pictures of grand children who are now paying off their college loans.
My brother Ross and I recently flew to New York to visit my mother. "Mom, why don't we go through all that stuff?" Ross said. "No. Don't touch it!" my mother said. The next afternoon, when she couldn't find a bill she needed, Ross suggested it might be put somewhere in the dining room and that we find it together. " Besides, " he said, " all those papers are clearly stressing you out. "However, my mother just said, "Are you boys hungry? "And then she seemed to have lost herself in deep thought.
On our last night there, my mother walked up to us with a small pile of unopened mails, which she had collected at the western edge of the dining table, and said, " Help me go through these. Sure, "I said. When we had succeeded in separating wheat from chaff (谷壳) , I asked, " Would you want to deal with another little pile of papers? "
My mother led the way, walking into the dining room the way an animal manager might be while entering a cage with tigers in it. Ross and 1 came in behind her and suddenly he reached for a pile of the papers on one side of the table. "No! "my mother said sharply. "Let's start at the other end. That's where the older stuff is. " Finally, we threw 95 percent of the stuff into paper shopping bags. Then I asked what she wanted us to do with them, and she surprised us all by saying, "Put them in the incinerator (垃圾焚化炉）. "
When I returned home, inspired by the visit to my mother, I sorted out my own accumulated （积累的） piles of papers, sold or gave away half of my possessions, and moved into a smaller house. It seems that my life has been cheaper and easier since then. And it proves that a small change does make a big difference.
I was given the book Running on Faith written by Jason Lester as a birthday gift last month. After I started reading, I really couldn't keep my eyes off it. It is always inspiring to read a story of someone who has gone through obstacles to reach his goals.
Jason Lester is a disabled extreme athlete. When he was twelve years old, a fast car ran a red light and hit him. Then he was sent into the hospital with twenty broken bones and a seriously injured arm. Jason had always wanted to become a famous baseball player, but at that time that dream was gone.
However, Jason loved sports and he still wanted to be a good athlete. He began running and taking part in duathlons (铁人两项) in high school. Years later in 2004, he decided to start training for the Ironman, and has competed in many extreme races since then. In 2008, Jason became the first disabled athlete to complete the Ultraman (320 miles of biking, swimming and running), and it led him to an ESPY award for Best Male Athlete With a Disability in 2009.
If you are in a bad situation and don't know what to do, now, Running on Faith is a good book for you. If you love running and want to reach some race goals, this book is good for you, too. Anyway, this book is worth reading for everyone who loves reading and wants to turn dreams into reality.
When you were trying to figure out what to buy for the environmentalist on your holiday list, fur probably didn't cross your mind. But some ecologists and fashion (时装) enthusiasts are trying to bring back the market for fur made from nutria (海狸鼠).
Unusual fashion shows in New Orleans and Brooklyn have showcased nutria fur made into clothes in different styles. "It sounds crazy to talk about guilt-free fur—unless you understand that the nutria are destroying vast wetlands every year", says Cree McCree, project director of Righteous Fur.
Scientists in Louisiana were so concerned that they decided to pay hunters $5 a tail. Some of the fur ends up in the fashion shows like the one in Brooklyn last month.
Nutria were brought there from Argentina by fur farmers and let go into the wild. "The ecosystem down there can't handle this non-native species (物种). It's destroying the environment. It's them or us." says Michael Massimi, an expert in this field.
The fur trade kept nutria in check for decades, but when the market for nutria collapsed in the late 1980s, the cat-sized animals multiplied like crazy.
Biologist Edmond Mouton runs the nutria control program for Louisiana. He says it's not easy to convince people that nutria fur is green, but he has no doubt about it. Hunters bring in more than 300, 000 nutria tails a year, so part of Mouton's job these days is trying to promote fur.
Then there's Righteous Fur and its unusual fashion. Model Paige Morgan says, "To give people a guilt-free option that they can wear without someone throwing paint on them—I think that's going to be a massive thing, at least here in New York. " Designer Jennifer Anderson admits it took her a while to come around to the opinion that using nutria fur for her creations is morally acceptable. She's trying to come up with a label to attach to nutria fashions to show it is eco-friendly.
Driven by her passion for providing quality healthcare, a Latvian woman has won over the hearts of the elderly residing in a nursing home she oversees.
It is incredibly rare to find a Caucasian woman working as the director of a nursing home in Shanghai. But the fact that Anastasija Puzankova can even talk in Liantang, a Chinese dialect spoken only by residents in a small town in southwestern Shanghai, makes her one of a kind.
"I had always wondered how the elderly were getting along with others, or if they were well cared for. I realized that I could better serve them and understand their concerns if I spoke their dialect. " says the 35-year-old, who also speaks Russian, English, Latvian, French and Spanish.
Puzankova chose to study Sinology (汉学) out of her curiosity about China at the University of Latvia in 2003. The next year, she traveled to Shanghai as part of an exchange program and then she spent the next 10 years studying law at Fudan University, graduating with a master's degree in 2014.
Despite her qualifications, in 2018, Puzankova joined Haiyang Group, a Shanghai-based company that operates the nursing home, as an executive assistant. During that period, she performed so well in her nursing and management training that she was appointed the director of the home after just one year.
A caregiver, surnamed Cai, says the atmosphere at the home has changed since Puzankova took charge. "She makes life in the nursing home uplifting and purposeful. " says Cai.
"She throws monthly birthday parties for the elderly, creates a festive mood in the home for every traditional festival and frequently organizes handicrafts classes and activities to stimulate the minds of the residents. "
When family visits and group activities were delayed during the novel coronavirus outbreak, Puzankova came up with a similar idea at the home, purchasing vegetable seeds and growing them in the field near the nursing home so that the residents can observe the plants growing from their windows.
"Just watching the plants grow can lift their spirits. We can also serve these organic vegetables to them. " she explains.
Puzankova says, "I simply like communicating with people, understanding their personalities and offering help when they are in need. Making an elderly person happy isn't hard. It just takes a little time, love and thought. "
How to Create a Mood Board
A fun way to put yourself in a good mood is by creating a mood board, sometimes called a vision board. What's that? "It's a mixture of anything that inspires you, makes you happy, or speaks to you, " says Susie Moore, an author and life coach.
To create your own mood board, you'll need a wood board and pushpins. Poster board or cardboard, with glue or tape, works too. You'll also need old magazines, greeting cards, and photographs. Use your instincts(直觉) to choose what works best. "Anything that makes you feel good, use it, " Moore says. Here, I use Moore's tips to create a mood board and offer tips on how you can make your own.
One place to start is with some of your favorite things. Not everything on your mood board has to serve a purpose or be connected to your life. I used photos of my favorite food, watermelons, and my favorite animal, penguins.
You might use your mood board to set goals for things you'd like to accomplish. Every time I see my mood board, I am actually doing short visualizations about my goals, helping attract the things I want in my life.
Maybe it's your classroom, a playground, or a comfortable corner at home. You can put photos of that place on your mood board, or choose photos that remind you of it. I used the image of West Virginia, where I grew up.
A. When you see it, you'll know.
B. I want to read at least 30 books this year.
C. She often guides people to make mood board.
D. Choose some images just because you like them.
E. Go through them, cutting out images for your board.
F. Think about a place that makes you feel safe and happy.
G. Build a collection that puts you in a positive frame of mind.
I had watched our new refrigerator being delivered, and then I did what any child would do with a huge box — turning it into something wonderful. In my case, it was a 1 where I was going to help people.
Over the next few days, I readily 2 everyone I saw. Our dogs and cats, along with Grandma, made up the majority of my 3 .
My box room 4 pretty quickly after that, but the dream stayed. 5 , it went into sleep for a while. After graduating from high school, I couldn't 6 to go to university. So I decided to work and take 7 classes instead.
Though years passed, my 8 didn't stop. As I worked job after job, I always managed to set aside 9 time and money to take college classes at night. Over time, I received my first college 10 . As my regular jobs 11 , so did the amount of effort and funds I could spend on my university classes. Before I knew it, another college degree had been 12 . And so it went, after working for years and 13 every part of education, I acquired my eighth and final degree. I 14 became a doctor as I had wished.
15 is a joyful lifelong process, and I managed to reach my goal over the years by taking one class at a time.
I'm entering my eighth year teaching preschool. I've never got tired of it, because1 year is ever the same. Sometimes our school brings new staff and new students' families who are 2 with the purposeful aesthetic（美学）our school seeks for. So I am eager to show them around my classroom with the of 3 to help them sense our school philosophy ——supporting creativity, learning and 4 for children. Their nodding and smile make me feel it will be another 5 new school year.
All of the walls in my classroom start out very 6 They are plain in color. All I will do is give students the great beauty in the physical environment with my philosophy. First, I arrange all the children's first names in a circle on the wall, 7 traditional number lines or alphabet order, which may make students feel discriminated. I like it when children see their names and have a sense of 8 to our class community. 9 I have a sign on our paper towel holder that is a 10 of how many paper towels we use, because we are showing our 11 to the Earth and will be starting with what we can do for the Earth within our classroom. I also have a small sign about our voice scale, which gives a 12 to distinguish indoor and outdoor voice level, and then I use the language all the time 13 , "Shh — Let's bring our voices down to a Number 2 or 3. "For the 14 part, the walls belong to the children, and the children will 15 the lively color and decorations in the room through their paintings to relieve their tension between lessons. The walls I place value on give an excellent way to show that students' well-being and the talent of art are valued.
Aesthetics of the walls affect their emotional responses. I am proud I can provide such a class community where my students feel happy, motivated and respected.
