【推荐1】Alaska Airlines has the cheapest fares around, but you receive superb service unequal to its price．In case you don’t know, Alaska Airlines does not just go to Alaska, but includes states such as Washington, California, and Hawaii．Our prices are reasonable and we offer great service．

Alaska Airlines is generous. For each bag you check in, it must weigh 50 pounds or less, which is extremely generous for domestic flights. Your baggage is allowed to be up to 62 inches in length. You’re also allowed one carry-on bag in addition to one personal item which can be a purse, a laptop computer, or a briefcase. 

Not only do we give you the cheapest airfare, but we offer you a visa card which you can earn plenty of miles on. Upon approval, you will receive 25,000 Bonus Miles. From then on, for each dollar you charge to this card, you will receive 3 miles and there’s no limit to the amount of miles you can earn. You also receive a $99 round-trip discount code for a Companion Ticket each year for using this card. This is a sweet deal and very generous. Think about all of your purchases you make during the month. Now multiply that by three. You’re talking about a free trip cross country in just a few short months. Wow! 

Alaska Airlines receives great reviews for its performance, punctuality, and professional service. In addition to its great reviews from customers, Alaska Airlines has received lots of awards and recognitions. Network Carriers in North America has rated Alaska Airlines for the highest in customer satisfaction for the past 4 years. We have also received the Executive Travel’s leading edge Award. We were also named on the 2011 Washington Green 50 list. 

Alaska Airlines is quickly gaining the recognition it deserves, We’re adding higher expectations to the flying experience．Try it out．

【推荐2】Due to the government shutdown, many of the national museums are closed. It may affect your social plans. But don’t worry! For every closed museum, we’ve offered up a suitable substitute that is privately run. Here’s where you can go instead.

● Anacostia Community Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture

● Alternatives: Banneker-Douglass Museum or Alexandria Black History Museum

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is one of the hottest draws on the National Mall, with free tickets taken weeks in advance. The Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis takes a focused look at African American history, and exhibitions in the Alexandria Black History Museum honor local activists and explore the influence of slavery in the area. Unlike the African American Museum, neither requires you to plan ahead.

● Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

● Alternative: Glenstone

Wandering through the galleries at Glenstone, you’ll come across some of the biggest names in 20th century art — Jackson Pollock, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Robert Rauschenberg. Glenstone sits on a 230-acre estate (土地) that doubles as an outdoor sculpture garden. Free tickets for Glenstone are often reserved weeks in advance, but 72 free tickets are available every day for anyone who takes a Montgomery County Ride-On Bus from Rockville Metro Station to the museum.

● National Museum of African Art

● Alternative: The African Art Museum of Maryland

Masks, musical instruments and jewelry can be found in Fulton, where the African Art Museum of Maryland houses a collection of traditional and contemporary African artworks and objects. And the best part, for visitors on a budget? Admission is free.

【推荐3】Museums in Baltimore

The Walters Art Museum

The Walters Art Museum contains 36,000 objects from around the world. Walking through the museum’s historic buildings, visitors encounter a stunning panorama (全景) of thousands of years of art, from romantic 17th-century images of French gardens to fascinating Ethiopian icons (雕像), ancient Roman sarcophagi (石棺), and peaceful images of the Buddha.

Tickets: $9.5. Free for children aged 7 and under.

Baltimore Museum of Industry

The Baltimore Museum of Industry celebrates the innovators, entrepreneurs and workers who promoted this port city into the industrial age. From garment making to airplane manufacturing, visitors to the museum will discover how their pioneering spirit built the region’s manufacturing might. Located in an 1860s tuna canning factory on a five-acre water front campus, the BMI offers dynamic exhibitions and hands-on activities for guests of all ages.

Tickets: $15. Half price for children.

Baltimore Museum of Art

The Baltimore Museum of Art is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. It has 90,000 works of art-including the largest holding of works by Henri Matisse in the world. The BMA is now throughout the multi-year project so that visitors can enjoy its outstanding selection of European and American painting and sculpture from the 17th through 20th centuries.

Tickets: $10. Ten percent off if booked on the official website.

American Visionary Art Museum

The American Visionary Art Museum is the nation’s museum for self-taught, creative skills. Three historic buildings house wonders created by farmers, housewives, mechanics, the disabled, as well as the occasional neurosurgeon. From carved roots to embroidered rags, tattoos to toothpicks, the visionary transforms dreams, loss, hopes, and ideals into powerful works of art.

Tickets: $9.5. Free for children aged 6 and under and museum members.

【推荐3】

As college sports continue to be hugely popular and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) brings in large amounts of money, people have restarted the discussion on whether college athletes should get paid.

Supporters of the idea believe that, because college athletes are bringing in audiences, they should receive some sort of compensation (补偿). In fact, the NCAA brings in about $1 billion income a year, but college athletes don’t receive any of that money in the form of a paycheck. Additionally, people who believe college athletes should be paid state that paying college athletes will actually encourage them to remain in college longer and not turn professionals as quickly, either by giving them a way to begin earning money in college or requiring them to sign a contract (合同) saying they’ll stay at the university for a certain number of years while making an agreed-upon salary.

People who argue against the idea of paying college athletes believe the practice could be disastrous for college sports. Paying athletes would turn college sports into a bidding (竞拍)war, where only the richest schools could afford top athletes, and most schools would be shut out from developing a talented team. It could also harm the friendship within many college teams if players become unhappy that certain teammates are making more money than they are.

Those against paying college athletes also believe that the athletes are receiving enough benefits already. The top athletes receive scholarships that are worth tens of thousands per year. They receive free food and textbooks, get travel bonuses and free equipment, and can use their time in college as a way to attract the attention of professional coaches. No other college students receive anywhere near as much from their schools.

While both sides have good points, it’s clear that the negatives of paying college athletes far outweigh the positives. College athletes have been compensated enough. Adding a salary would result in a college athletic system where only a few athletes are paid by some schools who enter bidding wars to sign them up, while most student athletics and college athletic programs suffer or even shut down for lack of money. Continuing to offer the present benefits to student athletes makes it possible for as many people to benefit from and enjoy college sports as possible.