【推荐1】First-timer’s guide to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

There’s electricity in the air during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, different from other times of the year at Walt Disney World. Guests may enter Magic Kingdom as early as 4 p.m., but the event itself only lasts five hours, from 7 p.m. until midnight. Here’s how to make the most of it.

You can’t do everything at the party in five hours, but you can accomplish everything on your wish list if you set priorities and plan ahead.

Several restaurants close when the park closes to daytime guests, like Pinocchio Village Haus and Columbia Harbor House. It is advised to dine early in that 4 to 6 p.m. window before the party. Another option is to skip dinner and simply snack throughout the night. There are lots of event-exclusive (独有的) treats to try. Just know that lines can be long and mobile ordering is unavailable during the party.

TRON Light Cycle, which is the newest attraction, is available only through a virtual queue. The queue opens at 6 p.m. To increase your odds of getting a spot, have everything ready in the free My Disney Experience app by 5:59 p.m. Then, keep clicking the refresh button so you can join the queue the moment it opens.

Party-exclusive souvenirs are extremely popular and can sell out. It always draws a crowd at Main Street, U.S.A.’s Emporium, but two other locations sell party souvenirs without the masses: Star Traders in Tomorrowland and Frontier Trading Post in Frontierland.

【推荐3】Feeding America: by the Numbers

41.2 million Americans are food insecure, which means they don’t know when or how they’ll get their next meal.

13 million American children face hunger—That’s l in 6 kids. 1.5 million old soldiers receive food stamps (食品救济券).

27% of families with incomes above the poverty level are short of food. 18.7% of Mississippians are short of food (Highest rate of all states). 5. 4 million old people now face food insecurity in America. 8. 7% of Hawaiians are food insecure (Lowest rate of all states).

$1 donated (捐赠)to Feeding America will buy 10 meals for people facing hunger in America.

Want to Do Something?

One way to stop the hunger is through neighborhood food banks. They need three things: money, your time and food. If you plan to donate food, here are what food banks need most:

●Apple sauce

●Boxed meals

●Canned beans

●Canned chicken

● Canned chili

●Canned fish

●Cooking oil

●Dried herbs and spices

●Nuts

●Peanut butter

● Whole-grain cereal

Note:Avoid food with glass packaging (包装)because they can be broken in transport. Trusted Media Brands—Readers’ Digest’s parent company—has become an official media partner of Feeding America. See how you can help our efforts at feedingamerica. com.

【推荐1】A pond in Hawaii has turned so pink that it could be from the Barbie movie-but it’s no cause for a dance party. Drought may be reason for the strange color, scientists say, and they’re warning against entering the water or drinking it.

Workers at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge (遇难所) on the island of Maui have been watching the situation of the pink water since October 30, 2023, after getting a phone call from somebody who was walking on the beach.

“I just got a report from somebody who was walking on the beach, and they called me up like ‘There’s something weird going on over here’,” said Bret Wolfe, the refuge manager.

Wolfe was concerned the bright pink could be a sign of an event called an algae bloom (绿藻泛地), but lab tests found such algae was not causing the color. Instead, an organism (微生物) called halobacteria might be the cause.

Halobacteria are a type of organism that lives in bodies of water with high levels of salt. The salinity (盐度) inside the Kealia Pond outlet area is now greater than 70 parts per thousand, which is twice the salinity of seawater. Wolfe said they will need to study the DNA to confirm the organism.

Maui’s drought is likely leading to the situation. Normally Waikapu Stream feeds into Kealia Pond and raises water levels there, but Wolfe said that hasn’t happened in a long time.

When it rains, the stream will flow into Kealia’s main pond and then into the outlet area that’s now pink. This will reduce the salinity and potentially change the water’s color.

The refuge has seen an increase in visitors after photos of the pink pond were posted on social media. Wolfe said he would love to have visitors come to learn about local aims to protect nature.

But officials have announced a special warning for people not to enter the water or eat any fish caught there.

【推荐2】Four Books Worth Reading

The Humane Home by Sarah Lozanova

This book would be useful to anyone building a home and wanting a general overview of how to do it with minimal impact. It contains seven chapters that cover topics like energy efficiency, water conservation, passive solar heat, building materials, air quality, choosing where to live, etc. It contains numerous little projects, from building garden beds to preserving home-grown produce. The book is a quick and easy read, easily finished in an hour or two, and it gives readers a good sense of what they want to explore further.

An Almost Zero Waste Life by Megean Weldon

The book offers suggestions for reducing waste in every area of life. In urging people to choose bamboo toothbrushes and package-free goods, Weldon never mentions a single company. This is smart. Companies come and go and such references could potentially make the book out-of-date, but it could leave the reader still wondering where to start.

The Eco Hero Handbook by Tessa Wardley

The book addresses the issue of eco-anxiety by devoting a one-page answer to a commonly-asked question and, hopefully, enabling the readers to feel like they can take action. The questions range from “Is my water usage affecting the planet and nature?” to “Which foods are responsible for the worst deforestation (砍伐森林)?”

Sustainable Home by Christine Liu

This beautiful book could sit on your coffee table, with its beautiful photographs. Author Christine Liu is a blogger whose own home and DIY projects are featured in the book. She goes through all the steps you can take to avoid waste and adopt more eco-friendly practices. Her advice is helpful to anyone who feels frightened of climate change.

【推荐3】Name an active volcano: Fuji, Vesuvius, Mt. St. Helens, or even Iceland’s infamous Eyjafjallajokull—every single one of them has a decent-size population at the base, and some of them have full-blown big cities. Why do people choose to live near a ticking time bomb?

It all starts with the soil. The molten (熔化的) rock that pours forth during a volcanic eruption is known as magma (岩浆) when it’s underground, and lava once it reaches the surface. Magma takes other things up with it—minerals and nutrients that are then broken down to make the soil extra productive. The result is that on volcanic soil, tomatoes grow bigger, beans grow greener, and flowers grow brighter.

In Mexico, the active Popocatepetl and the inactive Iztaccihuatl are at the center of a centuries-old legend, and the Aztecs certainly weren’t going to abandon the place most closely associated with their cultural heroes. Meanwhile, in Iceland, the cruelty of the volcano Hekla became a point of pride. Some Christians on the island believed it was literally a gateway to Hell, while others told a tale of an evil magician driven off by the volcano’s lava bombs.

That explains why people have been living near volcanoes since the dawn of man. But as technology has advanced, the benefits of volcanoes have only increased. In Iceland and New Zealand, for example, geothermal energy plants have come to play a primary role in keeping the countries’ lights on. That wouldn’t be possible without the volcanoes that created the islands in the first place. Plus, the unmatched sights created by volcanic networks aren’t just pleasant to live near; they’re also a major draw of tourist dollars. That kind of thing can’t be ignored.

Whatever the draw, it’s clear that volcanoes have a lot to offer the people who live in their shadows. Living near a volcano is a lot like betting, but in this case, you’re going to want to get out before things get too hot.

【推荐2】Imperial Bricks

Imperial (皇家的) bricks were made completely for imperial buildings, especially palaces, in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Mainly made in Suzhou, the bricks were transported through the Grand Canal to Beijing. They have a fine quality, and are strong and hard. They have a pure blue-green coulor like a mirror and produce a metal sound when knocked. Given their high cost, they are properly called the golden bricks . The craft (工艺品) has been on the national-level intangible cultural heritage list since 2006.

Peking Duck

Peking duck has been a famous dish from Beijing since the imperial times, characterized by its delicious skin and meat. The cooked duck is cut into pieces and eaten with green onion, cucumber and sweet bean sauce, often with pancake rolled around fillings. It was selected as a national-level intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

Shadow Play

Shadow play (皮影) is an ancient form of storytelling that uses flat cut-out figures or shadow play between a source of light and a screen. Various sight effects can be achieved by moving both the dolls and the light source. It is popular in many places along the Grand Canal, including Hebei and Zhejiang. In 2011, Chinese shadow play was listed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Kunqu Opera

Kunqu opera, one of the oldest existing forms of Chinese opera, came from Kunshan of what is now Suzhou city in Jiangsu province. Using emotional lines from poetry classics and through sweet and beautiful singing, it made progress in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and naturally reached other parts of the country via the Grand Canal.