Here are some amazing national forests in the United States that are perfect places to step outside and enjoy nature.
White Mountain National Forest
It has an area of 148, 000 acres. This forest is known especially for its vast water resources, including 12, 000 acres of wetlands, 67 lakes, and so on. The forest houses almost the whole Mount Washington, the highest peak (山峰) in the northeastern United States, and is home to almost 200 kinds of birds.
Superior National Forest
Established (设立) in 1909, it is famous for its forest ecosystem and its clean lakes (more than 695 square miles of the forest are surface water) . With over 3 million acres in total, there are some pretty important animals who call this forest home, including black bears and gray wolves.
White River National Forest
White River National Forest in northwest Colorado is the most visited national forest in the country. Established in 1891, the biggest threats (威胁) to this forest are wildfires and insects. In the 1940s, a widespread outbreak of beetles killed 99% of the trees in an area of over 1, 000 square miles.
Inyo National Forest
Inyo National Forest is known as a best place for camping, hiking, fishing and skiing with 2 million acres near the borders of California and Nevada. Another impressive feature of this forest is its Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, home to the oldest living trees in the world, some of which are almost 5, 000 years old.
On Aug 7, Xu Shixiao and her partner, Sun Mengya, won gold in the first women's canoe (划艇) double 500 m event at the Tokyo Games. It was also the first Olympic gold medal for China in the event.
Yet Xu's journey to the Olympics was bumpy-she faced lots of difficulties.
In 2013, the news that women's canoeing was still not an Olympic event dealt her a heavy blow.
At that time, Xu's coach suggested her either changing to another sport or retiring (退役) .
It was impossible for her to change the sport at age 21. Xu gave up her career and found her first job as a saleswoman. The next year, she was promoted (晋升) as a human resources manager.
When Xu went to work as usual in a company in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, five years ago, she was surprised to get a call from her former coach, asking about her willingness to return to canoeing and compete in the Tokyo Olympic Games. Xu quickly made her decision.
"I quit my job, told my family about it and went back to training three days later. There was not much time left for me to prepare for the Olympics, "Xu recalls." I never thought that one day I could go back to the sport. Now that I have started again, I will do my best."
To catch the opportunity to go back to canoeing on the international level, Xu started her training —"as cruel as hell". She began her daily exercises early morning and ended at 10: 30 p. m. Every day, she would set several detailed goals for her training. "Only when I reached all my daily goals, I would go ashore," Xu says.
The more than two months of grueling (艰辛的) training finally paid off. Xu won two gold medals at the 13th National Games in two women's canoe events, which meant she would be part of the national team to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
Children should do housework. That's a controversial (有争议的) idea, though not everyone will admit it. A few parents will say that their children are too busy for housework. Many more of us assign (分派) housework, or say we believe in them, but the housework just doesn't get done.
That's a problem. For starters, housework is good for kids. Being a part of the routine work of running a household helps children develop an awareness of the needs of others, while at the same time being helpful to their emotional well-being.
One small study. done over a period of 25 years, found that the best predictor (预测) for young adults' success in their mid-20s was whether they participated in household tasks at age 3 or 4. Those early shared responsibilities extended to a sense of responsibility in other areas of their lives.
But for all that their help matters, few kids are doing much around the house at all. In a survey of 1, 000 American adults, 75 percent said they believed regular housework made kids "more responsible". Yet while 82 percent reported having had regular housework growing up, only 56 percent of those with children said they required them to do housework.
Sports and homework are not get-out-of-housework-free cards. The goal, after all, is to raise adults who can balance (平衡) a caring role in their families and communities with whatever lifetime achievement goals they choose. Housework teaches that balance.
What should you do when getting children to do housework? Accept no excuses. Don't worry if you must repeat yourself again and again. If you're spending more time getting the child to do this job than it would take to do it yourself, then you're doing it right. Can a payment help? Maybe. But if you're trying to teach kids to share the responsibility of a home, paying them for routine housework is not the right message.
Over the last two days, much of Spain has been coated with dust (灰尘) , and the skies have turned bright orange. A huge cloud of dust from the Sahara Desert is causing the strange weather. The dust cloud is expected to spread to other parts of Europe.
Across much of Spain on Tuesday morning, a thin layer (层) of red dust coated everything outside. From streets to sidewalks to balconies, everything was covered with a layer of dust. As the sun rose, the dust in the air turned the skies in some cities a strange orange. The cause of the dust and unusual sky colour wasn't a forest fire, but dust from the Sahara Desert.
Every year, a large cloud of dust rises from the Sahara Desert. It's called the Saharan AirLayer. Usually, it crosses the Atlantic Ocean as part of a natural cycle that helps develop farmland and beaches in Central and South America.
But sometimes, depending on the weather, the layer of dust gets forced to the north. Large sandstorms in northern Africa lift sand and dust into the air, where it gets blown towards Spain. Though the particles (微粒) in the air come from sand, they're much more like dust than sand at a beach.
These kinds of storms aren't unknown in Spain. In fact, it has a special name. It's called a "calima". This calima is so large that it can be seen from space. A NASA scientist who studies weather in the atmosphere says it's like a river of dust in the air. That river of dust has met with a river of wet air driven by strong winds.
Spain's weather service described the dust storm as being "very intense (强烈) ". At one point on Tuesday, the air quality in Madrid was the worst in the world. Government health experts warned people not to go outside without a mask, and to keep their windows and doors closed at home.
Eco-Friendly Changes You Can Make to Your Home
As part of the move to save the environment and money, many people have made lots of changes to their homes over the past few years, and the trend (趋势) is set to continue in the years ahead. .
Switch out your light bulbs (灯泡)
You might not think that this could make a big difference. . With LED light bulbs being up to% more efficient than standard light bulbs, it could save about. $7.75 per month to light your home if you made the switch to LED.
Turn to solar energy (太阳能)
Rising energy costs are forcing people to look for new methods of powering their homes.
. It's also a clean, renewable energy source, meaning not only is it cheaper for you, but environmentally-friendly to power your home.
?
Wind power is more stable than solar, and it can be used to produce power. Like solar options (选择; 选项) , using wind means that it won't matter as you'll have a continuous power source of your own.
Seal (密封) gaps around doors and windows
One very low-cost option to help your home be more efficient is to stop the air from leaving your home. If you have gaps around doors and windows, the air from your air conditioning system will be heading literally straight outside.
A. Is wind power an option i
B. The sun is one resource that isn't going away
C. Is it a challenge to take advantage of wind power
D. So make the most of your air conditioning system
E. We've listed a few options to make your home more eco-friendly
F. This will increase your energy bill as your system will work harder
G. However, lighting accounts for around 9%of a typical home's energy use
It is strange how a small moment can change a person's life. My son walked into the kitchen this morning and opened his 1 to me. I opened my arms too and gave him a big hug just like I do every morning. And this time a 2 memory (回忆) came back to me.
My Italian grandma had been a big hugger when I was a boy, but my mum and dad didn't hug me much as I got 3 . By the time I was a teenager then, except for my grandma, I didn't hug anyone.
When I was sixteen, I 4 on a trip with a group of boys to tour a college. And on our way there, we also 5 an old temple (寺庙) . As we entered we were 6 there by the largest monk I had ever seen. He was over six and a half feet tall with 7 arms. And as he welcomed us, he gave each one of us a huge hug. When my own 8 came, I felt scared but 9 in and hugged him back. I felt 10 in my heart as he shared his loving-
kindness. I felt peace and pleasure in my 11 a as well. It was amazing. Later that day I began to 12 why I had ever stopped giving and 13 hugs when they brought so much 14 . When my own children were born then I 15 to never stop hugging them and telling them I loved them, no matter how big they grew or how old they got.
Nowadays, football is one of the most popular sports in world. Its history (go) back over two thousand years to ancient China, and it was known as cuju then. Modern football started in Great Britain, the new game rules were made.
Football is simple and very cheap (play) , which is perhaps the basis of the popularity. People needn't expensive equipment the football doesn't cost much money.
Another factor behind (it) global () popularity is the creativity on the field. It is attractive millions of people. People can see children playing with a ball everywhere. People also can feel the (excite) of a game even without recognising the skill of professional players.
What's more, it has become one of the (good) ways for people to communicate. It doesn't require (word) , but everyone can understand it. It breaks down walls and brings people together on and off the field.
注意：1. 写作词数应为80左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The First Day at School My first day at Hongxing Senior High School was such an impressive memory to me. |
During my school years, I had only close friend. We spent years together, and we were inseparable, in or out of school. But the Greg moved away, and I never thought it would take more than 40 years to bring us together again.
As children, Greg and I dove into everything with passion. At that time, we were pure (纯真的) and kind, full of curiosity and expectation for life. We raced our bikes and illustrated (给书加插图) our own comic books. We even became attracted to the same girl from around the corner, a sixth -grader named Joanne who barely (几乎不) knew we existed.
The last times a Greg was sometime in 1966. It was so short a meeting that I couldn't recall saying goodbye before he moved. Since then, we lost touch.
But then, a few summers ago, I saw a familiar woman. "Excuse me. Would your name happen to be Joanne?"
"Uh, yes. . . " She didn't recognise me until I explained who I was. We hadn't exchanged more than a few dozen words in our entire lifetime. "Have you stayed in touch with Greg?" she asked. I was surprised she even knew of our friendship.
"No. I haven't," I admitted. "I wish I had."
Back at the office I checked my messages. I received one email, and then read it from start to finish. The email was from Greg.
Greg had tracked me down through social media. He was now married, had two children and had become a musician and entrepreneur (企业家) . We exchanged several emails before connecting by phone. A month later, my wife and I drove to meet Greg and his family in person.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Standing in front of his house, I began to get nervous. Seeing the photo, Greg handed me a small, old card. |
