Are you a fan of outdoor adventures? Do you enjoy scenic views to relax? Look no further, as the following destinations offer all that and more.
Athabasca Falls
Alberta, Canada
Water from the Canadian Rockies flows down into the waterfalls of Jasper National Park, creating a flow with wild energy. The falls are wheelchairs accessible, with a paved path taking admirers to a number of viewpoints. If visitors leave the path, they can explore both the upper and lower regions of the trail.
Akaka Falls Trail
Hakalau, Hawaii
A short half-mile hike is big on sights and low on hard activity. The well-kept ringlike trail guide visitors around to see a number of waterfalls, including the 442-foot main attraction, and beautiful local flora（植物群） among the famous landscape. Though there are no hills to climb, there are a number of stairways to go.
Nugget Falls
Juneau, Alaska
Located in Tongass National Forest about 12 miles from Juneau, the Mendenhall Glacier has produced Nugget Falls, a fan-like waterfall that leads into a lake. A series of short hikes allows for different views of the waterfall and icy surrounds, which are also known for frequent brown bear sightings.
Yosemite Falls
Yosemite Valley, California
Yosemite National Park is one of the oldest national parks in America and home to the fifth tallest waterfall in the world. Hikers can reach it by taking a 1-mile trail from the lodge or the 7. 2-mile round-trip Yosemite Falls Trail route. Late spring is best, with the highest water flow. In the winter, the temperatures dip below freezing. A park admission fee applies.
You're never too old to achieve your dreams—or even break records. A 104-year-old woman named Dorothy Hoffner is such an example. She has just become the oldest person to skydive （跳伞）, and she had the time of her life doing it. After touching ground following her jump with a US instructor, she proudly said, "Age is just a number."
Hoffner took to the skies of Northern Illinois with the help of Skydive Chicago, making her way to the town of Ottawa for the jump. For all the excitement, this wasn't her first time jumping out of the plane. Hoffner's first skydiving took place a few years ago, when she was100. Although back then the instructor helped push them out together, this time she insisted on leading the jump from 13, 500 feet up in the air.
A video shared by Skydive Chicago shows Hoffner determinedly advancing towards the plane on her red walker （助行架）before being helped on board. Sitting among her fellow skydivers, she is all smiles as she waits for her turn. Once the door opens, the woman confidently jumps out of the plane head first.
Before Hoffner's jump, the record for the oldest person to skydive belonged to 103-year-old Linnea Ingegard Larsson from Sweden, who set it in May 2022. Now, Skydive Chicago is requesting Guinness World Records to certify Hoffner's jump as the new record.
As for Hoffner, she seems happy with having achieved this, describing the jump as an amazing experience. "It was wonderful up there. The whole thing was wonderful, and couldn't have been better," she says. Now that she has completed this achievement, she is now thinking of her next adventure. Since she is turning 105 in December, she is thinking of celebrating by riding a hot air balloon, saying, "I've never been in one of those."
"Beijing's Forbidden City can be at risk of being flooded, but it's not because modern technologies and repairs have deteriorated the drainage （排水）system," Beijing News Radio reported.
The report is in response to a popular online view: The Forbidden City, the royal palace of Ming and Qing dynasties also known as the Palace Museum, has never been flooded throughout its history of more than 600 years.
Earlier, a video showed ankle-deep water near the Forbidden City's Cining Palace, where the royal women used to live. Some netizens have questioned whether modern drainage repair works have made the system much weaker.
Di Yajing, an official in control of affairs relating to the site, told Beijing News Radio that the Forbidden City has a complex（复杂的）drainage system. "Rain coming down from roofs was guided to the basement and then to the drains," she said, adding that rainwater would flow from the central of the palace to both sides, and from north to south, due to differences in heights.
"The drains were cleared once a year in springtime in ancient times and nowadays they are cleared three times a year except in winter," the report said. "Although the number of clearing increased every year, it's not modern technology that worsened the ability of the drainage system," the report said. During the clearing process, workers found lots of modern objects such as plastic bottles and bags, even towels and clothing, and these things resulted in the blocking of the drainage system.
In addition, there are plenty of records that have recorded occasions in which the palace was flooded and some roofs or walls were damaged by floodwaters, according to the report. For example, a rain in 1885 led to floodwaters of about 1 meter deep. Every time people would have to find out the place of blockage, clear it and then the drainage system would work well right away.
Many Silicon Valley parents are becoming more concerned about preventing their children from using screens. Some parents think that even a little screen time can be extremely addictive, so it is better if their children avoid using or seeing these devices completely. However, it is difficult for working adults in the 21st century to give up using a phone at home. So, it's simpler to employ someone to do this.
"Silicon Valley nanny（保姆）", who takes children back to a time without screens every day is widely needed. From Cupertino to San Francisco, it's widely agreed that screen time is harmful to youngsters. Therefore, parents are requesting nannies to keep phones, tablets and computers in a hidden place. Others even offer no-phone agreements.
Research shows that spending too much time on technology can harm young minds. For example, teenagers who use social media frequently are more likely to feel depressed and anxious. Insomnia （失眠）rates have also increased amongst this age group, and an increasing number of children display the signs that they can't focus attention. These seemingly minor（轻微的）problems could become significant challenges for future generations.
"Many parents come back home and focus on their smartphones, ignoring whatever their children are trying to say," said Shannon Zimmerman, who works as a nanny in San Jose for families that forbid screen time. "As a nanny, I also call on more parents to spend more time with their kids."
How to Keep Communication Brief but Effective
Say many things, and people will remember none. Say some things, and people will remember some. Say ONE thing, and people will remember ALL. Want to express clear viewpoints? .
Express more, explain less. . We think the audience doesn't understand something, so we explain it. But in that case, explaining serves to correct a failed expression. When you focus on expressing points instead of explaining ideas, you'll communicate more precisely （精确地）Expressing and delivering are more important about what your audience hears and receives.
. Wherever you see a list of words or concepts （概念）, ask yourself: Do I need all these words or concepts to attract my audience's attention or are some of them not needed? When you remove less important ideas, your audience will gain more.
Limit paragraphs to three sentences. If you're writing your idea in a document or email, try to make paragraphs to three sentences or less. This makes it easier for readers to understand your points because they have less content to process. And because you're writing in short, direct points compared with long pieces of text, you may find yourself writing less overall. .
Hear your own words. No matter how much you review your own writing, hearing it aloud will always identify places to cut. . When you say even one word more than you need to, you make your point one word harder for your audience to receive.
A. Remove unnecessary ideas
B. Know your "Need-to-Know"
C. These four tips shouldn't be missed
D. You can't change the style of your writing
E. Explaining is often an understanding behavior
F. Everyone benefits from applying this writing rule
G. You can read it aloud yourself to find out the words
Of all the men who ever liked fresh air, no one liked it more than Wilson. He often climbed mountains to 1 the fresh air at the top. He drove an open car without a roof. He'd always keep one window 2 in his room.
One 3 , Wilson went to Finland on business. The hotel he stayed in was 4 . It was warm and quiet. But Wilson got 5 when he found all the windows were closed to keep warm. He tried his best to open one, but 6 . The manager had wisely 7 that. No fresh air in the room!
Night came, but Wilson couldn't fall asleep. Having 8 in bed, Wilson became hot with anger. His hands waved madly in the dark air. Suddenly, he 9 something on the floor. It was his heavy boot! Without thinking, he threw it with all the force. A terrible sound 10 the bedroom. Wilsom calmed down immediately. "Now I should go to 11 ," he thought in great 12 and soon fell peacefully asleep.
The next morning, Wilson woke up. He 13 the terrible sound, and opened his eyes to look. The 14 were all in one piece, just as good as the night before. No fresh air was 15 entering the room, since what he broke was his own cup on the table. He felt guilty（内疚的）about his behavior.
Zu Ti of the Jin Dynasty was a man who had with great ambition. When he was young, he had a good friend （name）Liu Kun. They had such a deep friendship they stayed together every day and got up at the same time every morning.
One day, when they were sleeping. Zu Ti heard the rooster crowing （鸡鸣）. He woke up Liu Kun and said, "How about （get）up to play swords （剑）as soon as we heard the rooster crowing from now on?" Liu Kun was still （sleep）. But he agreed with him （joyful）. From then on, they got up and played swords once the rooster began crowing. They kept their word and never gave up no matter cold in winter or hot in summer. Hard work （pay）off. After a long period of hard study and training, they finally became the all-rounder. And they both did excellent jobs to their country.
The idiom "to rise with the rooster" teaches us that with ambition and hard work, （succeed）is possible. When we can discover our shortcomings time, it is not too late to try. But if you are not willing （work）hard, you will not be able to achieve a career after all.
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。
Dear Eric, …… Yours, Li Hua |
After over 10 years of dreaming and planning and 18 months of very serious considering, my husband and I finally bought a farmhouse about a mile from where I grew up. Neither my husband, David, nor myself had any experience with decoration, but we jumped in with much excitement. There was much to be done before the winter came to knock at our door. We rearranged the garden, laid out the lawn （草坪）, and set all the furniture in place. Then there remained only one thing to worry us: We didn't have a fireplace （壁炉）indoors against the extremely winter.
I knew the perfect choice of person for the work is my uncle, Richard Jones. Being a senior construct worker（建筑工人）for almost40 years, he could do the job better than anyone else. On thinking of the idea that my house would be in my uncle's hands, my heart was filled with expectation and comfort. The problem was that he lived far away in Florida, about an 18-hour drive from our home in Cortland. Another problem was the cost of building a fireplace. Buying the farmhouse cost almost all our savings, so could we even afford to pay him?
Much to my relief, the drive turned out to be no problem at all. On receiving my call, my uncle, at the age of 65, loaded his suitcase and his tools into his truck and headed to our place. When I asked how much he would charge, he replied, "We'll figure up a price when the job is finished. Just have coffee and cookies ready when I get there. The more you bake cookies, the lower the price will be."
My uncle wasn't joking. As long as I had served coffee and cookies, he could work pleasantly. The man was obviously born with a sweet tooth. For two weeks, the coffee machine never stopped, and the cookies often disappeared before I could put them into the cookie box.
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。
The construction was slowly coming to an end. …… I found the paycheck （工资）lying quietly next to the coffee machine. |
