If you are longing for a hike in Alaska and aren't sure where to start, here are our favorites. There's something for all levels of skills and ambitions.
The Kenai River Trail
A half mile down this trail are wonderful views of the Kenai River Canyon. There are really two trailheads(小道的起点); the main "upper" trail starts at mile 0.6 of Skilak Lake Rd, and the other at mile 2.3.
Turnagain Arm Trail
This 11-mile hike begins at Potter Trailhead (Mile 115). Initially used by Alaska Natives, the trail, can also be accessible to points along the way: McHugh Creck(Mile 112), Rainbow(Mile 108) and Windy(Mile 107).
lditarod National Historic Trail
The National Historic Iditarod Trail is a 24-mile hike used by gold miners and sled-dog teams until 1918, when the Alaska Railroad was finished. It's a two-to-three day hike through superb mountain scenery to Girdwood( where it's known as the Crow Pass Trail), and is the region's best backpack adventure.
Put up a tent at Echo Bend(Mile 3), or rent one of two yurts(毡房)($65 per night) close by. For a shorter outing you can turn around at the Perch, then return to the Dew Mound Trail at Echo Bend and then to the Nature Center, making this a scenic 8-mile trip.
Reed Lakes Trail
Two alpine lakes, waterfalls, glaciers and towering granite(花岗岩) walls: the 7-to-9-mile Reed Lakes Trail is one of the most wonderful hikes in the region, and worth the climb. Once you reach upper Reed Lake, continue 1 mile to Bomber Glacier, where the ruin of a B-29 bomber lies in memorial to six men who died in a 1957 crash.
Have you ever thought about what happens to people's property when they die? That's where wills come in. Traditionally, wills were only made by the elderly. Many young people think they don't need wills if they don't have kids or houses yet. But in recent years, this perception has started to change.
A white paper released by the China Will Registration Center in March revealed that more people in their 20s and 30s are now writing wills in China, reported China Daily. The Daily Mail also reported that more young people are writing wills thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the UK, only 18 percent of 18-to 34-уеаr-olds had wills in 2019, compared to 27 percent in 2021. In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Emily James, 22, said the main reason she wrote a will was the pandemic. "In the current climate, you can't really get away from death - it's something my generation has never been faced with so distinctly before. The death count is broadcast every day, and most people know someone who has been affected by the virus, which starts to make you think and want to plan for your future."
Apart from the pandemic, public knowledge of celebrities' health conditions, like the British royal family, has led to more people writing wills. The highest number of wills written on a single day in 2021 was on Feb 18, following the late Prince Philip's admission to hospital, according to data from Farewill, one of the UK's biggest death planning companies.
Farewill's data also show that the legacies young people leave in their wills are reflections of current society. Music and pop culture collections were among the top things included in wills. The most common pop culture collections mentioned were Disney, Star Wars and Harry Potter memorabilia(纪念品).
The pandemic increased people's likelihood of including a gift to a charity in their will. Furry friends are also not forgotten. Farewill's data show nearly one-fifth of the people were making wills to ensure their pets were well looked after, with a total of 37 percent of will writers including plans for their pets.
Whether you consume it in ice cream, coffee, cupcakes, pudding, or protein shakes, the vanilla（香精） you eat in the future might taste just a little bit sweeter thanks to a surprising new ingredient: used plastic.
Admittedly, it doesn't sound very appetizing. To scientists Joanna Sadler and Stephen Wallace at Scotland's University of Edinburgh, however, what's even less delicious is plastic waste, which currently enters the ocean at a rate of 8 million tons per year—enough plastic waste to outweigh all of the ocean's fish by the year 2050. To help stop the plastic pollution on land and at sea, they've designed a novel way to turn it into vanillin, a chemical substance in vanilla extract that gives it its distinct vanilla smell and flavor.
Although it can be found in natural vanilla bean extract, vanillin also can be made synthetically using chemicals coming from petrol. To create it from plastic, instead, researchers genetically modified a strain of E. coli bacteria so that it can make vanillin from a raw material used in the production of plastic bottles.
According to their research paper, around 85% of the world's vanillin is synthesized from chemicals that are obtained from fossil fuels. That's because demand for vanillin—which is used widely not only in food, but also in beauty products, cleaning products, and herbicides—is far greater than supply. In Madagascar, which grows 80% of the world's natural vanilla, pollinating, harvesting, and curing vanilla beans is a long and painstaking process that couldn't possibly yield enough vanillin for modern appetites. And even if it could, the only way to naturally increase vanillin supply would be to plant more vanilla plantations, which would drive deforestation.
Being able to create vanillin with plastic instead of petroleum means increasing vanillin supply while decreasing plastic waste, reducing industrial reliance on fossil fuels, and preserving forests.
"Using microorganisms to turn waste plastics, which are harmful to the environment, into an important product is a beautiful demonstration of green chemistry," said Ellis Crawford, publishing editor at the United Kingdom's Royal Society of Chemistry.
With low temperatures, radiation and high-energy particles, the vacuum of space is nothing but harsh (严酷的). Can you imagine spending six hour walking in space? Chinese astronauts did just that on their latest spacewalk.
On Aug 20, Chinese astronauts Liu Boming and Nie Haisheng went out on the second spacewalk of the Shenzhou XII mission, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The pair set up and adjusted equipment, showed their spacesuits and tested the large robotic arm and other spacewalk-related devices.
Despite the astronauts' skill, spacewalking is a challenging task. Luckily, their bulky (臃肿的) spacesuits protect them. A spacesuit is like a small space station. It has everything astronauts need when they carry out a spacewalk.
China's Feitian spacesuits have six layers. The innermost layer collects astronauts' urine (尿液). There are also four layers that help control the temperature and air pressure inside the suit. Spacesuits are filled with air, so they look like they're puffed up (膨胀). The sixth layer is made of special fibers that cover astronauts from radiation, according to The Paper.
Astronauts are connected to the space station with safety ropes. The suit has headphones and speakers for astronauts to communicate. There is also a mirror on the wrist that astronauts can use to check their suits.
The first Feitian suit was made in 2008. Zhai Zhigang wore it to carry out China's first spacewalk, which lasted about 19 minutes.
The suits Chinese astronauts wear today are the second generation of Feitian. They can support longer walks lasting up to eight hours and can be used more often. The first generation could only be used five times within two years, while the second generation can be used 15 times within three years. Each suit costs around 30 million yuan, and it takes four months to make just one according to Ifeng News.
a. headphones b. speakers c. mirror
d. radar e. compass f. safety ropes
There are many friends that will come into your life-some will gradually lose touch, some will be getting closer, and some you will actively choose not to be friends with. But your old friends seem to stick around, and no matter how near or far they are, they continue to be a part of your life.
From old friends we learn how much we grow. They encourage us to do better and even they force us to do better. We know that if we're happy with who we've become, they may play a role in that process.
The sense of freedom that comes with old friends is new friends failing to bring. You don't need to make a good impression with people who know you well. The youth is often filled with many playful moments and careless choices. There is a vivid recollection of difficult periods that you have been through.
With old friends, you realize true friendships are difficult to create, to cultivate, and to hold onto.
Old friends hold a mirror in front of us and allow us to see how far we've gone, and how far we still have to go to achieve our goals. Old friends remind us that the past is both good and bad, and that the future is something to look forward to. No matter how time goes by, when we're with our old friends, we will feel at home--where we can be stupid and happy with people who love us.
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A. When you're a child, making friends does not require too much effort. B. With old friends there is often great laughter when you share your past. C. They are the people who have similar experience and simple innocence. D. This fact not only exists in our schooldays, but also will continue to the years to come. E. The gratefulness that you have for having a friend long enough to call them an "old friend" feels wonderful. F. Old friends show us all the parts that we still need to change, and some of the parts we may never change. G. They're the people who've usually witnessed everything from our major accomplishments to our small mistakes. |
Last summer, I was suffering from too much stress, I'd just graduated from a challenging doctoral program and was1from the years of research, study and writing. I took a vacation to celebrate, but the academic intensity(紧张) had become a2. Sitting on the beautiful lawn（草地） of the hotel on Mackinac Island, I just felt like I should be studying or working as usual.
3seeing natural beauty would have relaxed me, but I couldn't4. I couldn't help looking at my cell phone repeatedly in case I missed something important." Enough," I murmured. I needed to5, but why couldn't I?
A dragonfly buzzed around me. With each6, this creature's wings changed color — blue one moment, green the next. Dragonflies usually fascinated me with their quick movements that7me of acrobats (杂技演员) in the wind, but I wasn't in the8that day. What I needed then was9, not movement. As if on cue, the dragonfly came to rest on a blade of grass in front of me.
I watched that dragonfly carefully for many minutes. So did the dragonfly. "It's not a matter of relaxing," it seemed to say. "It's a matter of10the now, the here. Life is so short. Be here in the moment and let the11take care of itself." Suddenly, I12this beautiful creature, who only had months to live, was "instructing" me about the13of life and felt much relaxed. The dragonfly seemed14that its message had been delivered. It sprang from the grass and flew away. I didn't see it again. But I would never forget what it taught me: Be here and15yourself.
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday praised China's achievements in poverty eradication (根除) and other areas, (urge) the international community to unite to address are the common challenges.
"I thank China for (it) role in shaping and carrying out the Sustainable Development Goals, is evidenced by its strong (commit) and significant progress to root out poverty in all forms and dimensions, one of the world's leading (challenge)," the UN chief told Xinhua in an email interview.
"China's achievements provide (value) lessons in poverty relief that are being shared with other countries through South-South Cooperation," Guterres said.
He also pointed out," the world (face) with major challenges—rising inequalities, the climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, human rights threat and so on."
The secretary-general called for global unity to "bridge great divides and solve our challenges through cooperating (international)."
Christmas Day was coming. I was just a kid then, and my big sister told me there was no Santa Claus. I fled to my Grandma because she would be straight with me. l knew Grandma always told me the truth. Grandma was home，and I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus!" She shouted. "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years，and it makes me mad, plain mad."
"Now，put on your coat，and let's go."
"Go where, Grandma?" l asked. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store. the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors，Grandma handed me ten dollars." Take this money." she said，"and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.
l was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother，but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded，full of people competing to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there，confused，holding that ten-dollar bill，wondering what to buy and who to buy it for. I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker，who was a kid with bad breath and messy hair. He sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class.
Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. l knew that because he never went out for recess(休息) during the winter. His mother always wrote a note，telling the teacher that he had a cough，but we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough，and he didn't have a coat. I fingered the ten dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on a red one，which looked really warm，and he would like that.
"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly，as I laid my ten dollars down." Yes."
The nice lady smiled at me，put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas.
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。
That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper.
Grandma and I waited breathlessly in the bush for Bobby Decker's front door to open.
