Affordable Beach Vacation in Corfu

Corfu, an island off the coast of Greece, offers visitors sunkissed shores with clear water and lots of beaches.

Finding the Perfect Beach

Our first pick is Sidari Beach. It’s a blue flag beach perfect for couples looking for a more private feel, as it’s far from bigger tourist destinations. Issos Beach makes for the perfect place for watching the sunset. Dassia Bay has a bit more water sports. Paleokastritsa is an amazing West Coast village with six beaches on offer, including Rovinia Beach.

Getting around Corfu

Corfu offers bike rentals and bus service as a cheaper alternative (替代) to taxis. The best time to visit Corfu is during the “shoulder season” in April/May. The weather isn’t as warm as the high seasons but it remains perfect. It is not crowded in this period, but you still need to book ahead of schedule as Corfu stays popular throughout the year.

Eating Out For Less

There are a lot of well-priced restaurants but street food is also a big winner. Some popular choices are Souvlakia and Pita Gyros. There are also many cheeses special to Greece, including Tirokafteri and Ladotyri. Corfu also has many unbelievable desserts (甜食). Stazei Meli is a tourist favourite to give them a try.

As the oldest of three children, I never had any hand-me-downs to wear like other poor kids. Instead, Mom got my wardrobe (全部衣物) from neighborhood mothers. Imagine the fun other kids had when they saw me wearing their used clothing.

Perhaps my biggest challenge came from Charlie. As far as I was concerned, Charlie’s main fun was to make fun of me. During those years, I slowly learned to hate. I hated Charlie, but I also hated myself for not being able to change my situation.

But situations do change. That opportunity came after high school when I joined the Navy. The Navy made me a social equal for the first time in my life, and the GI Bill gave me a college education. Hard work and a few lucky career choices finally lifted me into the middle class.

One beautiful summer afternoon, my friend and I celebrated Friday in Jackson’s Steak House. For the first time in almost twenty years, I saw Charlie. Not only did I see him, but he spoke to me. I could tell he didn’t recognize me, but I surely recognized my childhood tormentor (折磨者). His words were short, but I’ll never forget them. He said, “Sir, what kind of dressing would you like with your salad?”

The tables had turned. Charlie was calling me “Sir”. While hundreds of improper ideas raced through my mind, I could only give a two-word reply: “Blue cheese.” As much as I wanted to taste the sweet taste of revenge (复仇), I refused to do it. I wouldn’t put another person through what I had gone through as a child. It was time to put childish things behind me and make use of the new opportunity that life had given me. I left him a good tip and I didn’t say one word about recognizing him.

When my kids, ages 11 and 8, race through the back door after school, often the first thing out of their mouths is: “Mom! Can we play Prodigy?” After a quick thinking of how much screen time they’ve already had for the week and how much peace and quiet I need to finish my work, I accept. After all, Prodigy is a role-playing video game that encourages kids to practice math facts. It’s educational. Right?

Though video games are increasingly making their way into classrooms, scientists say the facts are lacking (缺乏) on whether they can actually improve learning.

Some of the first evidence (证据) that gaming may train the brain came from first-person shooter games. It was first found by C. Shawn Green, an undergraduate studying at the University of Rochester in New York. He gave his friends a test of visual (视觉的) attention, and their scores were amazing. He and his research adviser, Daphne Bavelier, thought there must have been a problem in the test. But when Bavelier took the test, her scores were normal. The difference was that Green’s friends had all been devoting more than 10 hours per week to Team Fortress Classic, a first-person shooter game.

In other studies, researchers found that gamers who trained on Tetris were better at moving two-dimensional (空间的) shapes than those who played a control game. Students who played two hours of All You Can E. T. improved their focus-shifting skills compared with students who played a word search game. Not surprisingly, the skills that games can improve are the ones that players end up practicing over and over during the course of play.

The next step is to figure out how these findings may translate to the classroom. Although this research is still developing, I’m sure about my own kids’ ever-increasing requests for screen time—especially when they beg to play games designed to help them master math.

Goolsbee, now a professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, said the rising number of Americans out of work forever paints a troubling picture about the recovery (恢复).

“If we are on path to only be two-thirds recovered,” Goolsbee wrote, “and then have millions of businesses closed down and the jobs there lost fast, there will be years for us to try to get back onto the path we were on before.”

And those everlasting job losses will influence the economy. People out of work may cutback spending or even stop it. They are at risk of falling behind on car payments, credit card bills and bank loan (贷款). Those risks are magnified by the fact that the government has so far failed to provide additional economic recovery policies (政策) — even though the US economy is in great need of them.

“Good insurance (保险) policies for people out of work have helped them pay the loan much more easily,” Principal’s Shah wrote, “but with everlasting job losses clearly rising and still no sign of an additional economic recovery package, the trouble will become more widespread and obvious.”

The hope is that those recognized as jobless at present will in the end get a job somewhere else. Even though some restaurants, shops and small businesses have shut down, new companies are opening each day here and there. But there is a time limit at play because the time of continuously out of job influences the chances of getting another job. “The longer you’re out of the job market,” said PNC’s Faucher, “the more difficult it becomes to find a new one.” Many Americans who had a job loss or had a too long vacation without any payment are eagerly looking forward to another job.

Ways to Keep Your Eyes Healthy

About 12 million Americans over 40 have some form of vision impairment (视力障碍).     16     So make sure they have the support they need. Learn how to care for your eye health and keep potential problems in control. So what can you do to keep yours eyes healthy?

●     17     Eye problems aren’t always obvious, so seeing an eye-doctor for a full eye exam is a good idea. This type of exam can check for eye diseases while they’re still in early period and earlier to treat.

● Protect your eyes. Slip on UV-blocking sunglasses when you’re outside, even if it’s cloudy out. And wear safety glasses or goggles when doing home repairs or playing sports.

● Give your eyes a break.     18     We don’t know how blue light influences vision over time, but in the short term, all those screens can cause eye stress and dry eyes. Take regular screen breaks, and talk to your eye doctor if your dry eye lasts for a long period of time.

● Choose a healthy diet. Increase eye health with fruits and vegetables high in vitamins A, C, and E, like sweet potatoes, oranges, pines, and more. Cold-water fish containing omega-3 fatty acids can help protect eyes.     19    

● Take care of your contact (隐形眼镜). Follow your doctor’s instructions for contact care and only use contact solution to store and clean them.     20     Turn to Health Grades to connect with the right eye-doctor to check and treat any eye disease.

One Saturday morning, Jeremy woke up in a quiet house. Usually Mom was _______ making breakfast and cleaning the kitchen, but not today. Jeremy walked to her _______ and knocked at the door.

“Don’t come in, Jeremy,” said Mom. “I have a terrible cold. I don’t want you to get _______. You can have cereal (麦片) for breakfast and watch cartoons. I’m going to _______ in bed.”

Jeremy _______ some cereal into a bowl and ate the pieces dry. Mom must feel very bad if she was lying in bed all day. “How could I _______ her?” Jeremy thought.

Saturday was the day that mom washed clothes. He ran to his room to get his dirty clothes. Jeremy opened the door to the washer and put all of his clothes _______. He had _______ Mom do laundry (洗衣服) lots of times, so he knew where to find the soap and how to pour it into the _______. Finally, he closed the door and pressed the big ________ that said “START.”

Jeremy ________ the round, glass window. ________ was pouring in, and the machine was starting to work, making his clothing tumble (翻滚) around.

Jeremy watched cartoons ________ he heard the washing machine beep (发出嘟声). That meant the ________ was done. Jeremy opened the door to take out the wet clothes. Everything seemed clean, and Jeremy felt ________.

Lang Ping and Mchael Jordan are famous masters shaking up the sports world.

Lang Ping led     36     women’s volleyball team of China to medals at world     37     (championship) and the Olympics. When they were preparing for the 2015 World Cup, her determination     38     (test). One of the best players got injured, and the team captain left because of heart problems.     39     (lose) two important players didn’t get Lang Ping to lose heart. She believed that her young players could win if they worked together     40     a team. And she really made it. Two weeks later, they were world champions!

Michael Jordan,     41     (know) as “Air Jordan”, changed basketball with his graceful moves and jumps. It was not his skills     42     his mental strength that made him unique. Jordan says that the secret to his     43     (succeed) is learning form his failures. He learnt much from losing games and practised much     44     (hard). In life, Jordan has learnt to give back to society. The Boys and Girls Club which he started in Chicago     45     (help) young people since 1996.