Hong Kong to Macau Transportation
It is really convenient and swift for travelers to travel between Hong Kong and Macau, with a straight-line distance of about 60 kilometers.
Helicopter (直升机) Transport
Helicopter transport is the most swift and convenient means for transportation between Hong Kong and Macau. The length of time for a journey is only 15 minutes.
Service time: The helicopter departs every 30 minutes from 9:00 to 23:00. Passengers should arrive at the waiting room at least 15 minutes before the departure time.
Tel: 2872 7288 (Macau) and 2108 9898 (Hong Kong). Passengers can book a ticket via these telephone numbers.
Approximate ticket fares: The price of a helicopter transport is about 2,700–2,900 yuan per person.
Ship Transport
The length of time for a journey by ship between Hong Kong and Macau is about 50 minutes, which is much longer than that taking a helicopter. However, the ticket fare is much cheaper than taking a helicopter.
Service time and departure interval: The ship departs every 15 minutes from 7:00 to 24:00, and then departs at 0:30, 1:00, 1:30, 2:30, 4:00, 4:45 and 6:00.
Approximate ticket fares: There are different kinds of ticket fares, for day sailing and night sailing and for common seats and luxury seats. The price is from 133 to 268 yuan per seat.
Jetfoil (水翼喷射船) Transport
Passengers also can take a jetfoil: a five-star Premier Jetfoil with luxurious services of high quality coming and going among Macau, Hong Kong and Hong Kong International Airport, and the length of time for each route is about 55 minutes.
Service time and departure interval: The jetfoil departs every 1 hour from 8:00–22:00.
Approximate ticket fares: The common seat for day sailing is 250–320 yuan per person. The luxury seat for day sailing is 450–560 yuan per person.
Every day Zhao Dong goes around the city on a two-wheeled motorcycle running errands (差事) for its citizens for around eight hours. At night, the 26-year-old young man, taking off his helmet (头盔) and blue jacket, dives into small theaters where he is going to use stand-up comic sets inspired by his personal stories as a deliveryman to make people laugh.
In 2019, he found that running errands can bring him a good income. Then he moved from his hometown to Xi'an, and became a deliveryman. He turned all the hardships he has been going through these years into funny jokes, which brings a refreshing life. For him, the skill of humor is not something he was born with, but what he has been diligently (勤奋地) training with his sincerity and eagerness to get a better life.
On a freezing winter night, he stopped for a while in a bar after finishing the errands and heard rounds of cheers and laughs coming from the bar, and he was told that it was an open-mic event for stand-up comedy (脱口秀) . He was crazy with the joyous atmosphere into which he wanted to get himself integrated. The club owner later sent him a guidebook for stand-up comedy and gave him a chance to go on stage. His performance attracted wider attention and he received an invitation from the Shanghai-based comedy company Xiaoguo Culture to join a comic training camp last year. It was his first time to take a plane and get out from Shaanxi province. He soon found that Shanghai offers more opportunities for stand-up comedy performers.
In October, he moved to the city. There, he still chose to be a deliveryman and put on comic performances for four or five times a week. For him, what's special about the comic form is its inclusiveness (包容性). "It welcomes people from all walks of life and varied backgrounds to share stories and express opinions on the same stage," he says.
In Birmingham, one school is offering its students an education that will change their lives. The unique program is called Build UP, which enables students to earn a high school certificate while working as paid apprentices (学徒) in construction work. As part of their training, they remodel old and abandoned houses in their neighborhood!
At any school, the burden on students can be heavy, and for those in low-income areas, it is much heavier. "The kids that I've worked with during my entire career are all from disadvantaged groups with all the challenges that come with poverty," said educator Mark Martin. So he founded Build UP in 2018 to offer students a different kind of education: real-world training.
As far as real-world issues are concerned, for low-income communities, one of the biggest needs is housing. That's why Build UP made construction their main focus, offering a combination of regular and specialized classes. That way, instead of hearing the age-old question "When am I ever going to use this?" in a geometry class, their teachers are able to redirect students to a shop class (工艺课). There, students can connect those math principles to the building of a roof.
The program hopes to draw in students who are likely to quit school by offering wages for their apprenticeships. Students receive $125 every two weeks when they start out as apprentices and can eventually work up to getting $200 every two weeks. Upon graduation, they have the opportunity to get an interest-free loan to purchase the remodeled homes.
So far, they have been doing a pretty amazing job. And now with the help of a loan company, the program has the opportunity to bring their model to communities everywhere! They plan to first add similar programs in nearby neighborhoods. After that, they hope to train others to start similar schools and expand their network of partners — particularly construction companies that can offer jobs to their students.
The Sequoia National Park in California's southern Sierra Nevada mountains is best known for the Giant Forest, a collection of 2,000 trees that includes half of the Earth's largest and longest-living trees. This past weekend, the ancient wonders came dangerously close to being burned by the KNP Complex Fire. But thanks to resourceful firefighters, the precious treasure has been saved.
The fire personnel had taken the standard measures of clearing brush and setting controlled fires long before the fire began heading toward the Giant Forest. But they knew more needed to be done. On September 17, 2021, they took the unusual step of covering the base of some of the oldest trees with protective aluminum "blankets". High on the list was General Sherman, the world's largest tree by volume. The park officials believed the specialized foil (锡纸) would help block some of the heat from the flames and enhance the natural insulation (隔热) provided by the ancient trees' thick bark. They were right!
On Sunday, September 19, 2021, the officials reported that the extra prevention measures, which also included 24-hour timed sprinklers (洒水装置) on General Sherman and the nearby park buildings, had worked. Jack Owen, a spokesman for the KNP Complex Fire Information Office, said, "There are no trees that have been burned yet, as far as in the Giant Forest. Fire crews are pouring everything they can into it as long as it's safe. That area is looking good."
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the rest of the national park. The KNP Complex Fire has burned through 21,777 acres. Meanwhile, the Windy Fire, which started further south on the Sierra slopes on the same night, has burned over 21,598 acres. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and allow firefighters to gain control of the massive fires, which are now beginning to threaten nearby communities.
Back-to-school shopping is an expensive business in a normal year. And with August upon us, stores are putting out back-to-school displays expecting the arrival of children and their parents.
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Shop for the short term
If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it's that careful budget works. Do not buy too much at the moment. Plan to add those purchases as the semester unfolds. You may find that some items get less expensive as the seasons change.
Price matching involves comparing the same items at other stores and asking a retailer (零售商) to match a lower price. The trick may make sense for clothing, electronics and other expensive items. Check a retailer's website for its price matching policy details. Many will also refund the price difference if you spot a cheaper price within a certain time frame after the purchase.
Team up to buy in bulk (大批地)
. So by teaming up with other parents, you can purchase things like hand sanitizer (洗手液) and supplies for homework and note-taking in bulk. If your child's teacher is unwilling to give out parents' contact information, ask if he/she would send out yours in a group email so other parents can reach you if they're interested in group savings.
Shop on tax-free holidays
Sixteen states have sales tax holidays in August this year. Retailers that offer online ordering for in-store pickup may require you to order and pick up on those particular days to gain the tax-free benefits. Generally, the stores allow you to purchase certain back-to-school items without paying sales tax.
A. It is an easy way to save money
B. Check prices before and after shopping
C. Do price analysis before you go shopping
D. So purchase what you need most to get the school year started
E. Most of them last through a full weekend, and some even longer
F. Here are some ways of how to save money on back-to-school shopping
G. Wherever your child is learning, they'll need supplies that most students need
The first time ever I realized that plastic was a serious matter for our planet was during a road trip in Western Australia, almost 12 years ago.
We 1 at a supermarket along the Coral Bay coast to buy some groceries and the lady at the counter told us they didn't sell any shopping bags in order to prevent plastic in the
2 and to help preserving the endangered turtles living in that area. After a first reaction of surprise, we 3 all our shopping in our arms and left.
This was just one of the many experiences I've lived that made me more 4 about my impact and pushed me to adopt different habits to live and 5 more sustainably.
Our trip to Borneo was another life-changing 6 that has strengthened my resolution to a zero-waste lifestyle. While traveling in some Asian countries, we came to know that 7 drinkable water was always a challenge. So we had to travel with our water bottle, and we 8 to avoid using plastic during our trip.
Besides, we were also 9 impressed by our stay on Libaran Island. A sustainable turtle conservation 10 and the community had made big efforts to 11 the beaches and creatively re-use plastic for ten years. Despite that, the shore is 12 daily with tons of plastic coming from the tides.
Facing this global issue 13, raised in me a feeling of sadness and anger that soon turned into 14: to do as much as possible to reduce plastic in our life. Small changes can 15 a difference!
Twin giant pandas have been born at a breeding (繁殖) center in southwestern China, sign of progress for the endangered species as they struggle for survival due to occupation on their land by agriculture industry.
The male and female baby pandas, born on Tuesday at the Qinling Panda Research Center in Shaanxi Province, are the second pair of twins born to (they) mother, Qin Qin. She was also born at the center and (previous) gave birth to twin females in 2020.
Chinese researchers for years have been working (boost) the population of the animals, reproduce rarely in the wild and rely on a diet of bamboo in the (mountain) of southwestern China.
The efforts have paid off, with some captive-bred pandas being released into the wild. The population of wild pandas (increase) over the past few years, (reach) an estimated 1,800. About 500 others live in zoos and reserves, while the (major) live in the mountainous, heavily forested province of Sichuan.
My dad got a new job. We had to pack up and move away from everything we were familiar with. There were so many changes. We came from the north, and now we were almost as far south as possible. We landed in South Florida, and we were total strangers. We moved over during the summer vacation, so I didn't have to deal with school right away. Summer passed by while we unpacked, arranged furniture, found stores we liked, and adapted to the Sunshine State.
School was coming, and I was afraid of it. I was not an adventurous person. Being shy and quiet, I read a lot and did not make friends easily. My head was filled with fears and worries. Would I make friends? Would I fit in? Would I survive in this strange new world? Anyway, there I was, attending a new school full of people I didn't know.
I had a difficult time adapting to the new school. However, I still loved learning and reading. I even loved homework, and I was good at doing my homework. Loving books and reading helped me to get good grades. Teachers loved that about me. Other kids, though, did not. Although I always answered questions in class, I seldom talked with my classmates. I was unpopular. I felt like a total failure and nobody would like me.
Then one day, a tall boy walked over to me after an English class. He introduced himself and told me he was in the school basketball team. I knew him — he was the star player! "Hey," he said. "You do really well in English class. And you know, my teammates and I spend much time competing and practising. The subjects, especially English, really bother us. Do you think you could help us?" "Yes. Oh, definitely yes. I could, and I would," I replied with surprise. We made the deal with an exchange of smiles.
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。
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Something gradually changed after that. …… Meanwhile, the basketball players taught me how to play basketball. |
