【推荐2】Thanks for your interest in visiting the Los Angeles Zoo with your school group! Please read the following information before booking your field trip.

Special discounted admission prices are available with advance reservations ONLY for California school groups, short-termed as CSG, (registered with the California Department of Education). They can enjoy 10% off.

Reservation blackout dates (限制日期) may apply to all groups at certain times of the year (e.g. holidays and spring break). If your group comes on a blackout date or has not made the necessary reservations before arriving at the Zoo, your group will be charged the regular admission fees.

Our docent guides lead educational walking tours for students and their teachers, beginning at first grade. A limited number of docent-guided tours are available. There is no additional fee for a docent-guided tour, but you must book your tour at least two weeks in advance. Do not assume you have a guided tour booked until you have received a confirmation number and packet from the Los Angeles Zoo. On the day of your field trip, your group will need to arrive at least 30 minutes before the confirmed start time of your tour to check in. Make sure to tell Zoo staff upon your arrival that your group has a docent-guided tour. If you are more than 15 minutes late for your tour, it may be canceled.

【推荐1】British people work some of the longest hours in Europe, but are among the least productive. Now some companies are shortening the working week to increase efficiency, health and happiness.

Rich Leigh has introduced a four-day week at his PR company. In fact, his company has Friday off, because his firm has taken a four-day week. It is one of a handful of UK businesses that now operate like this: workers still get paid the same as their five-day salary, but they work a day less. The company found that they achieved just as much—and there were even signs of growth. “The key to the scheme’s success,” Leigh says, “is how happy our employees now are.”

The average British worker takes only a 34 minute lunch break and works 10 hours overtime each week (more often than not this is unpaid). Yet UK productivity falls seriously behind their European neighbors, who tend to work fewer hours.

British working practices have caused loss and damage to the nation’s health and happiness. More than half a million workers in the UK quit jobs with work-related stress or anxiety last year. Moreover, the working conditions are changing. Automation（自动化）and AI will have a significant impact on the labor market, where it’s a struggle to have regular work.

Britain is the only EU member that allows workers to ignore the EU working time limit and work longer hours. Now it is the time for a change. O’Grady, an advocate, argues that where businesses have increased their profits as a result of automation, success should be shared with workers in the form of reduced hours. “It’s time to share the benefits from new technology, not allowing those at the top to enjoy the benefits by themselves.” she says.

【推荐2】Whether you’re eating at a fancy restaurant or dining in someone’s home, proper table manners are likely to help you make a good impression. According to a US expert, Emily Post, “All rules of table manners are made to avoid ugliness.”

While Henry Hitchings of the Los Angeles Times admits that good manners can reduce social conflict, he points out that mostly their purpose is protective — they turn our natural warrior like selves into more elegant ones.

So where did table manners come from? In medieval England, a writer named Petrus Alfonsi took the lead to urge people not to speak with their mouths full. And King David I of Scotland also proposed that any of his people who learned to eat more neatly be given a tax deduction (减除).

Disappointingly, that idea never caught on. It was during the Renaissance that there were real technical developments, and opinions of correct behavior changed for good. “None of these was more significant than the introduction of the table fork,” wrote Hitchings. “Gradually, as forks became popular, they brought the new way of eating, making it possible, for instance, to consume berries without making one’s fingers dirty.”

Forks were introduced to Britain in 1608 and 25 years later, the first table fork reached America. Yet while most of the essentials are the same on both sides of the Atlantic, there are a few clear differences between what’s normal in the US and what holds true in the UK. For example, in the US, when food needs cutting with a knife, people generally cut a bite, then lay aside the knife and switch the fork to their right hand. Then they pick up one bite at a time. By contrast, Britons keep the fork in the left hand and don’t lay the knife down.

Though globalization has developed a new, simpler international standard of table manners, some people still stick with the American cut and switch method. The Los Angeles Times noted, “They are hanging on to a form of behavior that favors manners above efficiency.”

【推荐3】There are various reasons why people travel. Some tourists go to see battlefields or other historic remains. Others are looking for culture, or simply want to have their pictures taken in front of famous places. Most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie on.

Northern Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money for the sun because they have so little of it. People of cities like London, Copenhagen and Amsterdam spend much of their winter in the dark because the days are so short, and much of the rest of the year in the rain. This is the reason why the Mediterrancan has always attracted them.

Every summer many people travel to Mediterranean resorts and beaches for their vacation. They all come for the same reason: sun! The huge crowds mean lots of money for the economics of Mediterranean countries. Italy’s 30,000 hotels are booked without a break every summer. And 13 million people camp on French beaches, parks and roadsides. About 37 million tourists visit there yearly, or one tourist for each person living in Spain.

But there are signs that the area is getting more tourism than it can deal with. The Mediterrancan is already one of the most polluted seas on earth. None of these, however, is ruining anyone’s fun. Obviously, they don’t go there for clean water. They allow traffic jams and seem to like crowded beaches. They don’t even mind the pollution. No matter how dirty the water is, the coastline still looks beautiful. And as long as the sun shines, ifs still better than sitting in the cold rain in Berlin, London, or Olso.

【推荐1】Nikola Tesla Long overshadowed in public memory by his onetime employer, Thomas Edison. Tesla(1856—1943) was a brilliant scientist and engineer who earned more than 700 patents. He is famous for developing alternating current, but his work also led to advances in wireless communications, lasers, X-rays, radar, lighting, robotics, and much more.

Tesla was born to Serbian parents in what is now Croatia, but he emigrated to the U. S. as a young man where he eventually became a naturalized citizen. Besides Edison, who later became his bitter rival, Tesla often worked with inventor George Westinghouse. In 1893, the pair demonstrated their advances in lighting and motors in the “White City” at the Chicago World’s Fair. In 1895, Tesla and Westinghouse developed the world’s first hydroelectric power plant, at Niagara Falls.

At the turn of the century, Tesla set up a laboratory called Wardenclyffe in the small community of Shoreham Long Island, where he conducted some of his most ambitious experiments. The building was financed by J P. Morgan and designed by acclaimed architect Stanford White.

The most prominent feature was Wardenclyffe Tower, also called Tesla Tower. a 187-foot-tall metal lattice tower topped with a big antenna that was intended to beam communications and even energy across the Atlantic. Tesla ran out of money while building the tower and was foreclosed on twice. As with his previous Colorado Springs lab, assets were sold to pay up his debts. In 1917, the U.S. government blew up the tower, fearing that German spies were using it in World War I. The metal was sold for scrap. For decades, the building was used for photo processing.

“The tower is long gone, but the three-quarter-length statue of Tesla unveiled last week is a fitting memorial,” said Alcorn, a retired teacher. “This is the last remaining Tesla laboratory anywhere in the world,” she said. “He inspires those who work hard but don't get recognition, and people are starting to recognize how important his contributions are.”

As a sign of that growing appreciation, Elon Musk’s start-up electric car company Tesla Motors was named after the visionary inventor in 2003.

【推荐2】On my first day, my teacher, Mrs McKinley, stood me up in front of the class and introduced me. I looked around at all the faces and thought about how I would get to be friends with all these kids. I stood there, not listening to what Mrs McKinley was saying, but rather, daydreaming about having new friends and having parties with them.

But during the first week of school, I sat by myself at the cafeteria. I got lost looking for the library. I was late for class. It was hard to adjust. Maybe this was not going to be a good school year.

The second week got a little easier. But at lunch, I will sat by myself. I said to my parents that I didn't want to go back to school. "It's all right," they assured me. "You will have friends and you will have a good school year."

The third week, a miracle happened. All of us were waiting for Mrs McKinley. She hurried in, with another new student! A girl by the name of Holli.

Being a latecomer like me, Holli was seated at the desk next to mine. She barely made eye contact with me. When she finally looked my way, I gave her big smile. She shyly smiled back.

As soon as the bell rang for recess, I showed her around. We found out we had a lot in common. We both moved around a lot. We talked over the entire lunch period without a break. Before we knew it, the bell rang and it was time to go back to class.

By Christmas time, Holli and I were inseparable. We occasionally went to each other's houses after school. All of my hopes for the school year came true!

【推荐3】If you are dreaming of visiting one of those picture-perfect European towns filled with old-world attractiveness and scenic beauty, here is a look at the most beautiful small towns in Europe.

Manarola

Manarola, Italy, is filled with rainbow-colored homes along the Mediterranean (地中海) coast. This attractive fishing town is famous for its unbelievable wine, and the paintings. There are no cars here, no traffic lights, or traffic noise. You can drive to Manarola, but you will have to park just outside the town and then take a shuttle bus or walk in on foot.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, is a fascinating mountain town, once two separate towns, one Roman and the other Teutonic. The 1936 Winter Olympics forced them to become one, though the two sides still have different characters. The town dates back to 15 AD, filled with narrow streets lined with historic three or four-story buildings painted with religious scenes (宗教场景).

Marsaxlokk

The energetic trading port of Marsaxlokk, Malta, was built in 900 BC. Today, this picture-like town is the main supplier (供应地) of fish to the island nation that sits in the Mediterranean Sea. It has no modern buildings to ruin its attractiveness. With such quiet surroundings, including the traditional fishing boats, it is a particularly charming (迷人的) place to visit.

Port Magee

In a country filled with beautiful towns, Port Magee, is a standout, sitting on the southwest coast of Ireland. This seaside fishing town has a row of brightly colored buildings along with a rich and colorful history. At The Bridge Bar, you will find live music many nights of the week along with nice food and a fine glass of beer.