Four best tourist attractions named by Lonely Planet for 2022
Nepal When people discuss Nepal, it's impossible not to talk about Mount Everest. But this Himalayan nation has so much more on offer for travelers who aren't climbing the world's highest mountain. In the lonely region of Mustang, which means "rich plain", tourists can explore the high desert and meet locals at homestays along the way, dining on Nepali specialties. |
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Mauritius Mauritius is in the Indian Ocean about 700 miles east of Madagascar. Here are some reasons for visiting this underrated African getaway. It's inhabited by a multiracial, peaceful people, covered in great golf courses, offering various water sports, an old colonial capital, great food, one of the world's best gardens, good nightlife and great sightseeing. |
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Norway Norway always lies on the list of the world's happiest countries. So what's the secret? Mette-Marit, one of the country's royals, has one answer:"We love being outside in nature." If you want to take in that peaceful energy for yourself, head to Bkeskogen, the world's northernmost beech forest. |
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Cook Islands This group of 15 islands in the South Pacific was at the top of many Lonely Planet workers' wish lists for 2022 and beyond. What's on offer? Water-centric activities like snorkeling, diving and fishing, not to mention a look at the native Maori community in Te Vara Nui Village. |
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If you were to throw, say, a banana peel out of your car while driving along the motorway, that would be a completely harmless action, due to the fact that it's part of a fruit--right? Actually, no. A banana peel can take up two years to decompose(分解), and with a third of motorists admitting to littering while driving, that's a whole lot of waste banana peels, or much worse. An orange peel and a cigarette butt has a similar biodegrading (生物降解) term to that of a banana, but tin and aluminum (铝) cans last up to100 years; and plastic bottles last forever, as do glass bottles and plastic bags.
Despite the fact that longer-lasting materials will serve to damage the environment, we can't only measure the severity (严重) of a certain type of rubbish by its lifetime. For example, despite having a fairly short biodegrading span, more than 120 tons of cigarette-related litter is thrown in the UK every day. Similarly, our regular littering here and there has caused the UK's mouse population to increase by 60 million. This suddenly isn't so mysterious when you consider that since the 1960s our annual littering has increased by an astonishing 500 percent.
It's not a cheap habit either: UK taxpayers spent £500 million on keeping the streets clean. So, it's not surprising that if caught fly-tipping, you could face a £20, 000 fine. Regardless of how severe the punishment might seem, however, among the reported cases only 2, 000 were punished out of 825, 000, so we still have some way to go in making sure people obey the rules.
To take back our beautiful cities, we need to do more than simply not leaving rubbish where it ought not to be. We need to care more about the world around us.
Are you pessimistic by nature? Well, it's not good for your brain. A new study has found that repeated negative thinking in later life is linked to cognitive(认知) decline and greater deposits(沉积) of two harmful proteins responsible for Alzheimer's disease(阿尔茨海默病).
Negative thinking behaviors, such as reflection about the past and worry about the future, were measured in more than 350 people over the age of 55 over a two-year period. About a third of the participants also had a brain scan to measure deposits of proteins, which cause Alzheimer's disease. The scans showed that people who spent more time thinking negatively had more harmful proteins, worse memory and greater cognitive decline than people who were not pessimists.
The study also tested for levels of anxiety and depression and found greater cognitive decline in depressed and anxious people, which agrees with previous research. But proteins did not increase in people who were already depressed and anxious, leading researchers to suspect that repeated negative thinking might be the main reason why depression and anxiety lead to Alzheimer's disease.
"This is the first study showing a biological relationship between repeated negative thinking and Alzheimer's disease, and gives physicians a more precise way to assess risk and offer treatment," said neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson. "This study will change the way I care for my patients at risk."
Fiona Carragher, who is chief policy and research officer at the Alzheimer's Society in London, pointed out that this isn't saying that a short-term period of negative thinking will cause Alzheimer's disease. "Most of the people in the study were already identified as being at higher risk of Alzheimer's disease," she added. "so we need more research to see if these results exist within the general population."
Anger is a basic human emotion that is experienced by all people. Usually triggered (触发) by an emotional hurt, anger is usually experienced as an unpleasant feeling that occurs when we think we have been injured, mistreated, opposed in our long-held views.
The experience of anger varies widely: how often anger occurs and how long it lasts are different for each person. People also vary in how easily they get angry, as well as how comfortable they are with feeling angry. Some people are very aware of their anger, while others fail to recognize anger when it occurs. Regardless of how often we actually experience anger, it is a common and unavoidable emotion.
When well managed, anger or annoyance has very few harmful health or interpersonal consequences (结果). At its roots, anger is a signal to you that something in your environment isn't right. It catches your attention and encourages you to take action to correct that wrong thing. How you end up dealing with the anger signal has very important consequences for your overall health, however. When you express anger, your actions trigger others to become angry too. Violence can follow. You may develop a reputation (名声) that no one wants to be around you.
Out of control, anger distances friends, co-workers and family members. It also has a clear relationship with health problems and an early death.
A. Blood pressure rises.
B. Anger can be a positive emotion.
C. Anger can be beneficial or harmful.
D. Some people are always getting angry while others seldom feel angry.
E. These are but two of many reasons why learning to properly manage anger is a good idea.
F. Another way to reduce your anger and deal with it is to breathe slowly and deeply.
G. It also occurs when we are faced with problems that keep us from achieving personal goals.
The Best Thing that ever Happened for Being Nice
A few weeks ago, my family and I were at a restaurant. We had just finished having lunch when I excused myself to go to the 1 .
When I was in one of the stalls (隔间), the lady in the stall next to me was saying something. At first, I didn't realize what she was saying, but 2 , I heard her say, "No tissue! No tissue!" with an accent (口音). She seemed like she was really panicking (恐慌), so I asked her if she ran out of toilet paper. Thankfully, she 3 me and said, "Yes! Yes!"
I passed her some paper. When we got out of the toilet stall, she kept 4 me over and over. I said, "You're welcome, Ma'am," and tried to leave. The lady stopped me 5 the toilet again, saying some things that I couldn't understand. I simply smiled at her and agreed quietly. She then 6 on buying my lunch. I tried to politely 7 , but the lady seemed so happy and determined to8 me to lunch that I finally accepted.
Some people were staring at me and the lady as I walked back to my family and our table, but I didn't care. The lady was 9 like I had just saved her life, and I was feeling like a 10 .
When I got back to our table, my parents were looking at me, puzzled. Their daughter had simply intended to go to the toilet for a minute or two, 11 she came back with her entire meal completely paid for. When they asked me to explain everything, I kept laughing for a while before I could get out a single word.
A few moments later, someone came up to us. It was the lady again. She thanked me again then12 that she had just moved to our 13 and that her English wasn't very good. She also said that she had been in that toilet stall for a long time, and despite her calling out to people. No one gave her toilet paper. She thanked me again.
The best thing that happened to me that day was not only getting a 14 meal, but more importantly, gaining a new understanding of what it means to be truly 15 . The next time you have a chance to help a stranger, remember this story.
Tu Youyou, a famous female chemist and (scientific), was born in Ningbo，Zhejiang Province on 30 December 1930. In 1951, she was (admit) into Beijing University, majoring making medicine and graduated in 1955. She worked at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing after (graduate). In 1969, she became head of the project and performed numerous tests. In 1971, Tu's team succeeded in (discover) and developing artemisinin to cure those patients of malaria in different places of the world, for she won many big awards. To our excitement and delight, she (award) the Nobel Prize for Medicine on October 5th, 2015, becoming the first Chinese woman (win) the Nobel Prize. We are called on to learn from her and devoted (we) to scientific research.
The little boy
A little boy selling magazines for school walked up to a house that people rarely visited. The house was very old and shabby and the owner hardly ever came out. When he did come out, he would not say hello to his neighbors or passers-by but simply just glare at them.
The boy knocked on the door and waited, sweating from fear of the old man. The boy's parents told him to stay away from the house, and a lot of the other neighborhood children were told the same thing from their parents.
Dust found the boy lingering on and hesitating what to do. As he was ready to walk away, the door slowly opened. "What do you want?" the old man said impatiently. The little boy was very afraid but he had a quota(份额) to meet for school with selling the magazines. So he got up the courage and said, "Uh, sir, I am selling these magazines and uh, I was wondering if you would like to buy one from me."
The old man just stared at the boy without a word. The boy could see inside the old man's house and saw that he had dog figurines(小雕像) on the fireplace mantle. "Do you collect dogs?" The little boy asked. "Yes, I have many collections in my house. They are my family here and they are all I have." The boy then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed that he was a very lonely soul.
"Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors. It is perfect for you. I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much." The old man was ready to close the door on the boy and said, "No, boy. I don't need any magazines of any kind, now goodbye."
The little boy was sad that he was not going to make his quota with the sale. He was also sad for the old man being so alone in the house that he owned. The boy went home and then had an idea. He had a little dog figurine that he got some years ago from an aunt. The figurine did not mean nearly as much to him since he had a real live dog and a large family.
Para 1:
The little boy headed back down to the old man's house.
Para 2:
From that day on something changed inside the old man.
