The world's most breathtaking clifftop hotels
Angama Mara, Kenya
Perched 1, 000 feet above the Maasai Mara, Angama Mara is on the edge of the Great Rift Valley. The site served as a location for the 1985 film "Out of Africa." Guests can expect top-quality game viewing, including Africa's Big Five, every month of the year, both on game drives and on walking safaris. Amenities include a photography studio, fitness center, an art gallery, a 40-foot-long swimming pool and a studio.
Angama Mara: Suswa Mara Triangle, Kenya; +254 730 630630
Monastero Santa Rosa Hotel & Spa, Amalfi Coast, Italy
Formerly a monastery dating back to the 17th century, the family-run Monastero Santa Rosa clings to the side of a cliff overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and Gulf of Salerno. With 20 rooms, it has an infinity pool, five tiers of landscaped gardens and a Michelin-starred restaurant. The spa is the best on the Amalfi Coast and features treatments using local herbs and plants.
Monastero Santa Rosa Hote1& Spa: Via Roma, 2, 84010 Conca dei Marini SA, Italy; +39 089 832 1199
Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort, AI Jabal Al Akhdar, Nizwa, Oman
Towering 6, 000 feet above sea level on the curving rim of a canyon, Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar overlooks Oman's mountainous landscape. It's an area that Prince Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, visited in 1986. The resort has 115 rooms, a cliff-edge infinity pool, six restaurants and lounges and a spa. Guests can hike through valleys, mountain bike or visit ancient mountainside villages and nearby historic sites.
Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort: No 110, Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Nizwa 621, Oman; +968 25 218000
It was a cold Saturday night in February. Some 200 New Yorkers carefully made their way to the reservoir (水库) in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the magical snowy owl, who had touched down in the park the week before in what was reported as the first visit there by the species in more than 130 years.
Except for a few excited screams from children, people were quiet—patiently awaiting the owl's arrival at the reservoir's north gatehouse. The snowy owl did not disappoint. She flew down from the darkness and surveyed the water and the people holding phones and cameras before taking off into the night to the applause of her many fans. They simply wanted to see this lovely creature whose improbable appearance seemed to signify hope after the lockdown
New Yorkers who had long taken Central Park for granted felt a renewed love for this rectangle of green in the heart of the big city and, of course, its amazing wildlife. That the park is a beautiful and essential refuge is something that humans have only come to fully appreciate during these recent times of uncertainty.
Central Park was originally planned and constructed during another difficult time in the nation's history—in the years before and during the American Civil War. Unlike many European parks that had originally been built for the aristocracy (贵族), Central Park was designed as a public space. In its chief architect Frederick Law Olmsted's words, the poor and rich alike could "easily go there after their day's work is done" and "stroll for an hour, seeing, hearing, and feeling nothing of the noise of the streets."
As spring turns into summer, we see people sitting on the grass or benches—catching some sun, having family picnics, or tapping away on their laptops and iPads. Just being other people in Central Park gave us a sense of community—the sense that we would somehow persevere.
A new study combining linguistic, genetic and archaeological evidence has traced the origins of the family of languages including modern Japanese, Korean, Turkish and Mongolian and the people who speak them to millet (粟) farmers who inhabited a region in northeastern China about 9, 000 years ago.
The findings detailed on Wednesday document a shared genetic ancestry for the hundreds of millions of people who speak what the researchers call Transeurasian languages across an area stretching more than 8, 000 kilometers.
The findings illustrate how humankind's embrace of agriculture following the Ice Age powered the movements of some of the world's major language families. Millet was an important early crop as hunter-gatherers transitioned to an agricultural lifestyle.
There are 98 Transeurasian languages. This language family's beginnings were traced to millet farmers in the Liao River valley, an area including parts of the Chinese provinces of Liaoning and Jilin and the region of Inner Mongolia. As these farmers moved across northeastern Asia, the descendant languages spread north and west into Siberia and east into Korea and over the sea to Japan over thousands of years.
The research stressed the complex beginnings for modern populations and cultures.
"Accepting that the roots of one's language, culture or people lie beyond the present national boundaries is a kind of surrender of identity, which some people are not yet prepared to make," said comparative linguist Martine Robbeets, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature.
"Powerful nations such as Japan, Korea and China are often pictured as representing one language, one culture and one genetic profile. But a truth is that all languages, cultures and humans, including those in Asia, are mixed," Robbeets added.
The origins of modem Chinese languages arose independently, though in a similar fashion, with millet also involved. While the ancestors of the Transeurasian languages grew millet in the Liao River valley, the originators of the Sino-Tibetan language family farmed millet at roughly the same time in China's Yellow River region, paving the way for a separate language expansion.
A "secretive" new species of frog has been discovered on the forest floor in India's Western Ghat mountain range. Named the starry dwarf frog after the markings on its dark brown back, it is just 2 centimeters long.
The frog, whose closest relatives are a group of species native to India and Sri Linka, is the only member of an ancient lineage (血统) dating back to millions of years ago, according to researchers from India and the US. It is unclear whether the species is descended from African or Asian frogs.
A group of Indian and US researchers first came across the local species hidden in leaf-litter as part of a wider project to look for new frogs, lizards and snakes in the richly biodiverse region and stored it in a jar for later study. Genetic testing and a closer look at its shape, colouring and other features has shown that it doesn't match any existing species.
Kartik Shanker of the Indian Institute of Science, who helped design the study, says while it is common to find new frogs in India, this one needs to be noticed. "This particular species not just is a new species, but also belongs to a new genus (属), and that makes it a little more special, " says Shanker.
The number of known species of frog identified in India has climbed from around 200 to above 400 over the past two decades. While many species new to science are frequently immediately sorted as endangered, it is too early to say whether the starry dwarf frog is threatened. "They are very secretive," says Shanker, adding that the team didn't know the size of its population. The frog is active at night and lives near water.
Habitat loss is a serious risk to frogs in tropical forests around the world, alongside threats such as a deadly fungus (真菌) that has been killing off amphibians (两栖动物) for the past four decades. But the new species was found in a reserved forest, meaning it will enjoy a degree of protection by Indian government agencies.
Holidays and stress seem to go hand in hand. To cope, many people often steal hours from their sleep to pack in all the cooking, shopping, parties and family time. . Try these sleep expert tips to prevent from ruining slumber during the holidays.
Be careful with excess food
. However, eating smaller portions and taking breaks to check in with your body on how full you are can help. This seems cruel especially when a delicious meal is right in front of you, but this tip can help reduce your feelings of sleepiness. Besides, try replacing the sugary and fatty foods on your holiday plate with more unprocessed, fiber-rich foods.
Many people look forward to that holiday nap, and often point to the turkey as the cause. In fact, you'd have to eat about 8 pounds for turkey to have an effect. Instead, it's the rich, processed foods, such as candied sweet potatoes or pecan pie, that are making you feel tired.
Watch for depression
If you suffer from anxiety, depression or seasonal affective disorder (a condition that causes sadness when there's less daylight）, watching your sleep is key. Depression and sleep are linked. Calming strategies can include a relaxing transition before going to sleep in which you could take a bath, meditate or listen to soothing music.
A. Be strategic with naps
B. Watch your alcohol intake
C. Another effective strategy is regular exercise
D. If you do decide to have a nap, be sure not to do it too soon after eating
E. Eating large, heavy meals causes the body to work harder to digest the foods
F. Poor sleep can damage our mood, and depression can lead to unhealthy sleep
G. But even a night or two of short sleep can have short term effects on your health and mood
One March morning, my husband, my children and I went out to McDonalds. It was just our way of 1 play time with our family. We were standing in line, 2to be served when everyone around us began to back away.
As I turned around, I smelled a 3 smell. Standing behind me were two homeless men. As I looked down at the short man4 to me, he was smiling at me. His beautiful blue 5 were full of God's Light. He said "Good day" as he counted the few 6 he had been holding. The second man was fumbling (摆平) with his hands, standing behind his friend and keeping laughing and talking to himself. I realized the second man was 7mentally (精神上) disabled. The young lady at the counter asked the short man what he 8. He said, "Coffee is all, Miss. " That was all he could9. To sit in the 10and warm up, they had to buy something.
Just then, I noticed all eyes in the restaurant11me. I smiled and asked the young lady to give me two more breakfasts. I then walked to the table that the two men had chosen as a 12 spot. I put the 13 on the table and laid my hand on the short man's cold hand. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you."
When I sat down, my husband smiled at me and said, "That is14 God gave you to me, honey—to give me hope." We held hands for a moment and at that time, me knew that we were not church goers but we were believers. That short man's smile 15 me the pure Light of God.
The world witnessed what was described "Chongqing speed" in people's united action in China's Chongqing that put out over 10 forest fires in less than 10 days.
On August 17, a historic heat wave caused forest fires (break) out in the mountain city. Under the leadership of China's emergency management authorities, great efforts from firefighters, police and tens of thousands of volunteers (pay) off and all open fires were completely put out on August 26.
In the following days, numerous stories, pictures and videos regarding this fire rescue (share) on China's social media. A video that showed a herringbone (人字形) of yellow flame of fire and a line of white light coming from the headlamps on the rescuers in the night view wasstriking that it became instant hit.
put out the fire was a "Great Human Wall" that was formed by the organization and support personnel under the mountain, the transport teams (deliver) materials along the way, and the firefighting troops on the mountain top.
Among them, Generation Z, classified as those born in the mid-90s to early 2000s, played a(remarkable) important role in the whole rescue work. These young group rushed to the frontline of the fire scene without any hesitation, demonstrating the hope and strength of China's young generation with their bravery, wisdom and(cooperate).
1）比赛目的；2）参赛要求；3）呼吁参加。
注意：1）词数80左右；2）可以适当增添细节，以使行文连贯。
When Marco was a boy, he tried everything to get his father's love and attention. He worked hard to earn exceptional marks; he tried to be obedient, he chose inspiring friends and always tried to behave well. However, it felt to Marco that his father had little time for him. Except for his demands around chores after school, communication was nonexistent. It seemed to Marco the only time his dad ever spoke to him was to be demanding or critical. Marco sank further into his low self-esteem and was overwhelmed with feeling unappreciated, inadequate and depressed.
One day his father, already tired after a long day, tripped over Marco's bike in the garage. The angry quarrel that followed left Marco feeling grieved. It seemed no matter how hard he tried he could never do anything right. In despair Marco blurted out, "That's it! It's enough!"
For two days, Marco felt so miserable. All he could think of was wanting to leave this enormous pain, those overwhelming feelings of rejection and unworthiness.
Two days later, his aunt called him. To Marco, this seemed like a miracle. Aunt Ginette usually only called once a year, on his birthday. She said she had just seen some young teenagers participate in a public speaking contest called Gala Personnalité sponsored by Club Optimiste—and she thought about him. She thought he should give it a try. She told him she firmly believed he could perform on stage like the other kids, since she had seen him perform for the family at Christmas.
Marco was startled, and not a little taken aback. Him? Onstage? In a public speaking contest? To agree would be contrary to his entire shy, timid personality. But Aunt Ginette was so confident. She seemed really serious. She was sure it was something he could do. She truly believed in him.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2）续写部分分为两段, 每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
Feeling her strong belief, Marco agreed to enter the contest.
Paragraph 2:
Four months later, the big night arrived.
