【推荐2】If you think about World Heritage Sites, you probably think of places connected with ancient art and culture, historical buildings and monuments. And of course, many of these are on the World Heritage List (WHL). But the WHL contains a lot of sites that are not so obvious. Let's look at a few of them.

Robben Island in South Africa

This island was used through the centuries as a prison, a hospital and a military base. But it's probably most famous as a maximum­security prison for political prisoners in the twentieth century. Nelson Mandela was one of its most famous residents. The WHL says it represents “the victory of democracy and freedom over oppression and racism”．

Borders of France and Spain

This is an area of great natural beauty and the mountains have many interesting geological formations. But it is also an area of small farms. People there still use a type of agriculture that used to be common in mountainous areas of Europe but has almost completely disappeared in modern times.

The city of Brasilia , Brazil

Brasilia is a capital city that was created from nothing in 1956. The WHL calls it “a landmark in the history of town planning”. The different areas of the city and the buildings themselves were all designed at the same time carefully. Every part of the city shows the ideas of the planner and architect．

Simien National Park , Ethiopia

Simien National Park was one of the first sites to be listed in 1978. It is one of the highest mountain areas in Africa, and the WHL calls it “one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world”. It is also important for its wildlife. The population of some rare animals is getting smaller and smaller.

【推荐3】More than 10 million Chinese cultural relics have been lost overseas, lots of which were stolen and illegally shipped out of China during the times of war before 1949. About 1.67 million pieces are housed no more than 200 museums in 47 countries, which accounts for 10 percent of all lost Chinese cultural relics, and the rest are in the hands of private collectors.

Most of these treasures are owned by museums or private collectors in the United States, Europe, Japan and Southeast Asian countries. There are more than 23, 000 pieces in the British Museum, most of which were stolen or bought for pennies more than 100 years ago.

The major method to recover these national treasures was to buy them back. In some cases, private collectors donated the relics to the government. Also the government can turn to official channels to demand the return of relics.

In 2003, a priceless bronze pig’s head dating from the Qing Dynasty was returned to its home in Beijing after it was removed by the Anglo-French Allied Army over 140 years ago. Macao entrepreneur (企业家) Stanley Ho donated 6 million yuan to buy it back from a US art collector and then donated it to the Poly Art Museum in Beijing.

Although buying-back is the most feasible way to recover the lost treasures, limited funding is always a big headache.

In recent years, the Chinese government has improved efforts to recover the precious cultural relics lost overseas. It has started a national project on the recovery of the treasures and has set up a database (数据库) collecting relevant information. It has signed several international agreements with many countries on this matter, and is also looking for international cooperation to recover the relics by working closely with several international organizations.

【推荐1】The South American nation of Chile has been experiencing bad droughts for the last 13 years. This serious lack of water has led to fewer flowers and, as a result, fewer honeybees. Some chemicals used to kill insects harmful to crops called pesticides (杀虫剂), also hurt bees.

Beekeepers in Chile are worried. Carlos Peralta and his brother Marco are beekeepers. Carlos has seen the number of his honeybees decreasing sharply. He said he had lost about 300 hives (蜂巢) since the start of November 2021. A hive can hold tens of thousands of bees. Losing so many bees left Peralta with a difficult choice. He could keep his remaining 900 hives alive with man-made honey, or he could move the hives to a place where there are more flowers. “If the bees die, we all die… The bee is life,” Carlos said.

So Carlos decided to move his beehives about 1, 000 kilometers to the south, to a place called Puerto Montt. However, his brother Marco chose to stay in Colina with his bees rather than join Carlos in the south. Marco said he feared that pesticides would hurt bees if he moved.

An FAO study in 2018 found that Chile’s introduction of pesticides had increased by 460 percent over the previous 20 years. Beekeepers blame (责备) this increase for their losses. Chile’s honey exports (出口) have decreased over the past four to five years.

Carlos Peralta said, “You enter a fruit garden with your bees and you don’t know if you’ll come out with living bees or dead ones.”

His brother Marco has been feeding his bees with sugar water. However, this food makes it difficult for bees to produce honey. “The bees grow weak with sugar water,” said Mario Flores.

Before the drought, beekeepers would use the sugar food during the winter months. But now they use it almost all year.

【推荐2】Art—no matter whether you choose to create it yourself or simply observe and enjoy it—is a relaxing and inspiring activity for many people. However, the particular benefits of artistic expression go much further.

Studies suggest that art therapy (疗法) can be very valuable in treating issues such as depression and anxiety disorder. It is a great way to express your emotions without words, process complex feelings and find relief.

You don’t necessarily have to see a therapist in order to experience some of the benefits of artistic expression. There are many simple activities you can try from the comfort of your home such as art journaling, drawing, making collections, sculpting with clay, etc. It doesn’t matter what media you choose. The only thing that matters is that you feel comfortable using it. Human beings are naturally creative, and all you need to do to complete an art therapy activity successfully is to be with yourself and your emotions. Once you free your creativity, your inner artist will quickly wake up.

However, working with a licensed therapist also has its advantage because a professional can tailor each activity to your own needs. If the activities are done in a group, they are excellent for building healthy connections with other people, which may be very helpful if you are fighting depression.

Experts agree that art therapy has many benefits, from promoting your self-respect, and providing you a safe outlet to relieve your emotions, to giving you a sense of control over your life and helping you to get to know and understand yourself better. During the process of art creation, you will be taking yourself on a journey of self-discovery that will help you get rid of emotional roadblocks, and learn how to communicate with yourself and others.

【推荐3】A Song of Ice and Fire is a seven﹣part series of fantasy written for adults. George R. R. Martin writes each chapter from the perspective of a specific character, providing a limited point of view for each section. The reader is able to understand the inner workings of the individual, but the reader is barred from a whole understanding of the text. The world he has created has magic, but there is much more than that. While magic exists, it exists on the edge, and the inner unrest of the characters is much more important.

His work also has a level of realness that is astonishing in a work of fantasy. Characters are imperfect, and many make questionable moral choices. In the end, however, Martin shows that both good and bad happen to both the people of high moral standard and the corrupt. He has made it clear that any character can die at any point, which has led to a lot of heartbreak from readers.

In 2011, A Song of Ice and Fire became a television series titled Game of Thrones. Martin has been closely involved with the production. It has currently run for seven seasons, and viewers anxiously await the eighth season to answer their questions from the season seven finale.

His fans are also waiting for The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, the next books in the series, to answer the questions Martin and the television show have not yet addressed. Martin, however, has no plans to rush. He has made it clear that he will continue to write the books while working on the television show and writing other novels.

But how will the story continue? What is going to happen in Westeros, and more importantly： when are we going to find out? Martinis skill as a writer has kept readers and viewers spellbound. Many hope he will finish the next book before the next season of the show begins, but no one knows with Martin. He always keeps his readers guessing.