Whistler Travel Guide
Snow-capped peaks and powdered steeps; sparkling lakes and rushing waterfalls; challenging hiking routes and inviting restaurants—Whistler's offerings suit every season.
Things to do
The entire town displays the ski-chic atmosphere, hosting dozens of ski and snowboard competitions and festivals annually. In the warmer months, more outdoor enthusiasts come out to play. Visitors can try hiking or cycling up the mountains. While Whistler is an ideal vacation spot for the active types, other travellers can enjoy the local museums and art galleries filled with informative exhibits. Plus, there are family-friendly activities and attractions like summer concerts, along with plenty of shopping options.
When to visit
The best times to visit Whistler are from June through August and between December and March.
How to get around
The best ways to get around Whistler are on foot or by bike. Or, you can take the shuttle buses from Whistler Village, which transport visitors to Lost Lake Park and the Marketplace. Meanwhile, having a car will allow you the freedom to explore top attractions like Whistler Train Wreck and Alexander Falls without having to spend a lot of cash on a cab.
What you need to know
• Whistler receives feet of snow each year. If you're driving in winter, slow down and make sure to rent or come with a reliable SUV.
• Snowslides are likely to occur on Backcountry routes, so only advanced skiers should take to this off-the-map area.
• Whistler's wilderness is home to many black and grizzly bears. Keep your distance and do not feed them.
I used to believe that only words could catch the essence of the human soul. The literary works contained such distinct stories that they shaped the way we saw the world. Words were what composed the questions we sought to uncover and the answers to those questions themselves. Words were everything.
That belief changed.
In an ordinary math class, my teacher posed a simple question: What's 0.99 rounded to the nearest whole number? Easy. When rounded to the nearest whole number, 0.99 =1. Somehow, I thought even though 0.99 is only 0.01 away from 1, there's still a 0.01 difference. That means even if two things are only a little different, they are still different, so doesn't that make them completely different?
My teacher answered my question by presenting another equation(等式): 1=0., which could also be expressed as 1=0.999999... repeating itself without ever ending.
There was something mysterious but fascinating about the equation. The left side was unchangeable, objective: it contained a number that ended. On the right was something endless, a number repeating itself limitless times. Yet, somehow, these two opposed things were connected by an equal sign.
Lying in bed, I thought about how much the equation paralleled our existence. The left side of the equation represents that sometimes life itself is so unchangeable and so clear. The concrete, whole number of the day when you were born and the day when you would die. But then there is that gap in between life and death. The right side means a time and space full of limitless possibilities, and endless opportunities into the open future.
So that's what life is. Objective but imaginative. Unchangeable but limitless. Life is an equation with two sides that balances itself out. Still, we can't ever truly seem to put the perfect words to it. So possibly numbers can express ideas as equally well as words can. For now, let's leave it at that: 1=0.999999... and live a life like it.
"Why does Grandpa have ear hair?" Just a few years ago my child was so curious to know "why" and "how" that we had to cut off her questions five minutes before bedtime. Now a soon-to-be fourth grader, she says that she dislikes school because "it's not fun to learn." I am shocked. As a scientist and parent, I have done everything I can to promote a love of learning in my children. Where did I go wrong?
My child's experience is not unique. Developmental psychologist Susan Engel notes that curiosity—defined as"spontaneous(自发的) investigation and eagerness for new information"—drops dramatically in children by the fourth grade.
In Wonder: Childhood and the Lifelong Love of Science, Yale psychologist Frank C. Keil details the development of wonder—a spontaneous passion to explore, discover, and understand. He takes us on a journey from its early development, when wonder drives common sense and scientific reasoning, through the drop-off in wonder that often occurs, to the trap of life in a society that devalues wonder.
As Keil notes, children are particularly rich in wonder while they are rapidly developing causal mechanisms(因果机制) in the preschool and early elementary school years. They are sensitive to the others' knowledge and goals, and they expertly use their desire for questioning. Children's questions, particularly those about "why" and "how", support the development of causal mechanisms which can be used to help their day-to-day reasoning.
Unfortunately, as Keil notes, "adults greatly underestimate young children's causal mechanisms." In the book,Wonder, Keil shows that we can support children's ongoing wonder by playing games with them as partners, encouraging question-asking, and focusing on their abilities to reason and conclude.
A decline in wonder is not unavoidable. Keil reminds us that we can accept wonder as a desirable positive quality that exists in everyone. I value wonder deeply, and Wonder has given me hope by proposing a future for my children that will remain wonder-full.
Each year, the world loses about 10 million hectares of forest—an area about the size of Iceland—because of cutting down trees. At that rate, some scientists predict the world's forests could disappear in 100 to 200 years. To handle it, now researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) have pioneered a technique to generate wood-like plant materials in a lab. This makes it possible to "grow" a wooden product without cutting down trees.
In the lab, the researchers first take cells from the leaves of a young plant. These cells are cultured in liquid medium for two days, then moved to another medium which contains nutrients and two different hormones(激素). By adjusting the hormone levels, the researchers can tune the physical and mechanical qualities of the cells. Next, the researchers use a 3-D printer to shape the cell-based material, and let the shaped material grow in the dark for three months. Finally, the researchers dehydrate(使脱水) the material, and then evaluate its qualities.
They found that lower hormone levels lead to plant materials with more rounded, open cells of lower density(密度), while higher hormone levels contribute to the growth of plant materials with smaller but denser cell structures. Lower or higher density of cell structures makes the plant materials softer or more rigid, helping the materials grow with different wood-like characteristics. What's more, it's to be noted that the research process is about 100 times faster than the time it takes for a tree to grow to maturity!
Research of this kind is ground-breaking. "This work demonstrates the great power of a technology," says lead researcher, Jeffrey Berenstain. "The real opportunity here is to be at its best with what you use and how you use it. This technology can be tuned to meet the requirements you give about shapes, sizes, rigidity, and forms. It enables us to ‘grow' any wooden product in a way that traditional agricultural methods can't achieve."
Art comes in two main categories: realistic and abstract. Realistic art aims to show real-life scenes, people, and objects exactly as they appear. It involves paying close attention to details, making things look like photographs. It's more about expressing feelings, emotions, and ideas.
Realistic art is easy to understand. Viewers can easily recognize what is portrayed. Take theMonaLisa, for example—it's a realistic painting of a lady with a mysterious smile., helping us to learn about the past.
Unlike realistic art, abstract art is more about being creative. . They use shapes, colours and patterns to express feelings and ideas. Abstract art means different things to different people. Some people enjoy trying to figure out what the artwork conveys.
. Realistic art needs precision in drawing or sculpting to make things look real. Abstract art requires imagination to use shapes and colours in new ways. Many artists are skilled in both. They create realistic pieces to demonstrate their technical skills and abstract ones to display their creativity.
As for personal preference, some people prefer the clear stories of realistic art while others are attracted to the mystery of abstract art, interpreting meanings in the shapes and forms. Together, the two kinds of art make the art world diverse and engaging. .
A. Both types of art take skills to make
B. Photographs preserve faces of folks from long ago
C. Grasping abstract art demands more artistic training
D. Both ways of creating art have their own value and beauty
E. In contrast, abstract art focuses less on realistic appearances
F. Artworks like this tell stories about history and everyday life
G. Artists have the freedom to go beyond real-life representations
Last year, I started the journey of being a remote product designer. The thought of a 1 schedule, a comfortable home office, and the escape from the crowded public transport was incredibly 2 . The first few weeks were fill with a long-lost feeling of 3 .
However, the4 of working from home gradually set in. I had started my day with the best intentions, promising myself quick breaks and regular5 . But deadlines, endless e-mails, and virtual meetings6 me to my computer throughout the day, leaving me little time to7 . Gone were the short walks to a colleague's desk and the quick lunchtime walks around the office complex. Finally, my world was8 to the walls of my home, my steps9 in mere metres rather than kilometres.
One day, I tried10 one of my favourite dresses and it wasn't passing through my waist at all. Glancing at myself in the mirror, I saw a11 person carrying extra weight, rather than someone enjoying freedom. The12 of work and personal life had left me feeling like I was a never-ending motion machine.
This incident marked the 13 of a journey of self-discovery. I made up my mind that I needed a(n) 14 , not just for my waistline but for my overall well-being. It was a promise to prioritize my physical and mental health, and a commitment that I could 15 control over my life and my body.
Despite being 75 years old, Chai Tixia's expertise inJianzi is truly impressive. With quick kicks, he effortlessly sends theJianzi into the air and gracefully guides it to land(gentle) on his head.
Jianzi, game that dates back to the Han Dynasty, is surprisingly simple: players must keep the Jianzi in the air, (use) any part of their body except their hands and arms. However, to master this game (require) a lot of practice.
While enjoyed throughout China,Jianzi(describe) by Chai as an important aspect ofhutong culture. The narrow alleyways, situated within Beijing' s inner city, provide the setting for the game's(popular). Each morning, Chai and his fellowhutong residents gather for their shared passion forJianzi.
Chai's spirited matches with his neighbours have a big audience(draw) to the artistry and excitement of the game. The onlookers who watch them playing with great athleticism are amazed at Chai and his fellow players can achieve.
Having practised Jianzi for over 30 years, Chai cherishes the physical and social (benefit) the game brings. Engaging in lively matches with his neighbours energizes his body, enhances his flexibility, promotes unity within the community. Through Jianzi, Chai harvests not only health but a sense of belonging and friendship.
In our weekly staff meeting, our editor Ashley was not pleased with the quality of our reporting."Our readership is way down. We need better stories for this Thursday's school newspaper. Does anybody have any ideas?" she said.
I handed her my article about our basketball team beating Deerfield High School the previous night by one point. "Sports stories are fun," she said, "but not good enough for the front page. We need something to really get people's attention."
After our meeting, we left the newsroom together and heard someone screaming, "Perry is missing!" Perry was a big red parrot and had been our school mascot(吉祥物) for ten years. He played an important role in students' lives, both in and out of class. He had also been a constant presence at school events, inspiring a sense of unity among students.
Everyone gathered around Perry's empty cage, heartbroken. Suddenly, a student from the crowd came over and showed me a photo. "You're a reporter for the school paper, right? I happened to take this yesterday," he said. In the photo was a Deerfield High School basketball player with something large hidden under his shirt around the size of a parrot.
"He must have stolen Perry to get back at us for winning the game!" Ashley cried. We hurried back to the newsroom, agreeing to run the photo on the front page with the headline "Deerfield Stole Perry". "This is just the story we need. Everyone will read it," Ashley said confidently.
After she left, I took a closer look at the photo. The clock in the background read 4:15 p.m., but our game against Deerfield hadn't started until 4:30 p.m. Why would the boy have taken Perry before we even played? An uneasy feeling came over me that we might have falsely accused someone.
I went to Perry's usual caretaker to ask if he knew Perry was missing. "He's not missing. He's retired. He's ready for some quieter days," he said. Learning the truth, I immediately told Ashley and suggested writing a story to say goodbye to Perry.
Paragraph 1:
To my surprise, Ashley insisted on reporting the "Deerfield Stole Perry" story.
Paragraph 2:
On Thursday, the paper came out with the headline "Bye Bye, Perry" on the front page.