【推荐1】COSTA RICA LANGUAGE & SERVICE

TRIP DETAILS

Trip Start: San Jose, Costa Rica

Trip End: San Jose, Costa Rica

Trip Length: 9 days

Age Range: 14-16

Trip Dates: 6/27-7/05, 7/09-7/17, 7/21-7/29, 8/02-8/10

Tuition: $2,895 (airfare not included)

TRIP OVERVIEW

Pura vida means “pure (纯净的) life” in Costa Rica — and pura vida is what you'll experience as you explore the wonders here.

Spanish Classes in Turrialba

We’ll jump right into our adventure with morning Spanish classes in the beautiful town of Turrialba, surrounded by high mountains and forest. With the guidance of our Spanish teachers, we will learn useful vocabulary and use new tools to communicate with locals and learn about Costa Rican culture.

Service with Local Organizations and Exploration of Turrialba

Our afternoons in the Turrialba area will be spent putting our new skills to the test as we spend time volunteering at a local children’s home, a senior home, and a center for local women. Our time volunteering will be very interactive (交互式的). We’ll play games, converse, and help the people of each place with tasks (helping with homework for the young kids or cleaning for the seniors). On an afternoon off, we’ll head to a local swimming hole and hit the Turrialba market to collect local eats and maybe some souvenirs!

Manuel Antonio National Park

For our final days together we'll head to the Pacific coast to explore Manuel Antonio National Park and its wealth of wildlife and natural beauty. We’ll take a guided tour of the Park, and watch three species of monkeys in the area. We’ll spend a morning flying through the trees on Central America’s longest zip line (飞索), and swim in warm, clear Pacific waters! A dinner in San Jose and a final evening of pura vida with new friends will round up our Costa Rican adventure!

1. What do we know about the trip?

A．It offers different dates to choose from.	B．It begins and ends at different places.
C．It will last about half a month.	D．It has no age limit.

2. What task may you perform while volunteering?

A．Teaching kids Spanish.	B．Talking to local women.
C．Cleaning for old people.	D．Helping to sell souvenirs.

3. What can you do in Manuel Antonio National Park?

A．Sharpen Spanish in open-air classrooms.	B．Hit the lively Turrialba market.
C．Watch animals while eating.	D．Travel through the tree tops.

【推荐2】The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has fossils from all over the world, and yet many come from the areas surrounding the museum itself. Here, we make a list of fossil hotspots.

Calvert Cliffs State Park—Lusby, Maryland

One location where you can have access to the cliffs is at Calvert Cliffs State Park in Lusby, Maryland. Just a 1.8-mile walk from the parking lot, you can make a thorough search of the open beach with a small tool for remnants(遗迹) of prehistoric sea life.

Stratford Hall—Stratford, Virginia

About 17 million years earlier, during the Miocene era, the Stratford Hall’s 150-foot-high cliffs were actually part of the seafloor. Due to irresponsible fossil hunting practices, however, visitors must buy tickets (＄8 for adults and＄5 for kids) to enter the 100-yard-long collecting area. The Stratford Hall still offers guided tours that are typically about four hours long.

Purse State Park—Nanjemoy, Maryland

Just over an hour’s drive south of Washington, D. C, Purse State Park is located on a stretch of the banks of the Potomac River called Wades Bay. Most of the fossils you’ll find at this site are from the late Paleocene—specifically the Aquia Formation rock layer, which is 55 to 59 million years old. Look at the small stones carefully, in which the teeth of a wide variety of sharks and bony fish species can be found.

Dinosaur Park—Laurel, Maryland

Dinosaur Park usually serves as an outdoor laboratory, where the public can work alongside paleontologists(古生物学家). Hundreds of fossils discovered by visitors have been collected and catalogued(记载) to date, increasing our knowledge about ancient ecosystem that once existed there.

1. How much should a family of two adults and a kid pay to visit the 100-yard-long collecting area?

A．＄13.

B．＄18.

C．＄21.

D．＄24.

2. Where can visitors find many shark teeth?

A．At Calvert Cliffs State Park.	B．At Purse State Park.
C．At Stratford Hall.	D．At Dinosaur Park.

3. The fossils discovered at Dinosaur Park___________.

A．make people figure out their history clearly

B．help people learn about the ancient ecosystem

C．let people better know the present and the future

D．draw people’s attention to the outdoor laboratory

【推荐3】Being the world’s most trusted volunteer abroad organization, IVHQ （International Volunteer Headquarters）offers volunteer programs in more than 50 destinations. Here are a few of them.

Marine Conservation Program

Volunteers of this program work in Queensland, Australia. You will join conservation efforts like collecting sea rubbish.

Requirements: Volunteers need to be 18 years or over. Able to swim. Speak fluent English. Present a police check. Have travel insurance. Complete our free pre-departure training.

Fees: 1 week $1,010, 2 weeks $2,020, 3 weeks $2,980

Shriners Hospitals for Children Program

Volunteers in Shriners Hospitals for Children in Honolulu, Hawaii need to pick up patients, deliver supplies and tutor patients.

Requirements: Volunteers must be at least 16 years old. Available to volunteer two hours per week for at least five months. Agree to a police check and a drug test. We offer free training upon your arrival.

Fees: No fees are needed.

Youth Support Program

Volunteers are placed in community centers of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA to provide tutoring and positive activities for the youth. You can also help organizations by beautifying spaces, re-organizing classrooms and preparing materials.

Requirements: Volunteers need to be 18 years or over. Have travel insurance and provide a police check. The training fee is included in the program fee.

Fees: 1 week $520, 2 weeks $825, 3 weeks $1,125

Pre-School English Program

Volunteers working in Cusco, Peru will teach English in pre-schools with younger children of 4 to 5 years old.

Requirements: 18 years and over. No previous teaching experience is required, but a basic understanding of Spanish is. Emergency contact, police check and resume （简历）are required. Training will be conducted online for free.

Fees: 1 week, $320,2 weeks $550, 3 weeks $735

1. Which program suits a 17-year-old volunteer?

A．Marine Conservation Program.	B．Shriners Hospitals for Children Program
C．Youth Support Program.	D．Pre-School English Program.

2. What should the volunteers do in Youth Support Program?

A．Collect sea rubbish.	B．Pick up and tutor patients.
C．Re-organize classrooms.	D．Teach the English language.

3. What is required for the programs in Australia and Peru?

A．Police check.	B．Travel insurance.
C．Drug test.	D．Emergency contact.

【推荐2】New Zealand’s government recently announced it will help pay for poorer families to replace their old cars with cleaner hybrid(混合动力的)or electric vehicles. The government said it plans to spend $357 million on the test program.

The move is part of a wider plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases are believed to cause warming temperatures in the Earth’s atmosphere. New Zealand plans to provide aid for businesses to reduce emissions and have buses that run on environmentally safe fuel by 2035. The government also plans to provide food-waste collection for most homes by 2030.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardem said in a statement, “We’ve all seen the recent reports on sea level rise and its influence right here in New Zealand. We cannot leave the issue of climate change until it’s too late to fix.” The plan is a step toward New Zealand’s stated goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Reaching net-zero emissions means not creating more carbon in the atmosphere than oceans and forests can remove. Ardern said that reducing dependence on traditional fuels would help protect families from extreme price increases. The plan also sets a goal of reducing total car travel by 20 percent over the next 13 years. The programs will be paid for from a $2.8 billion climate emergency response fund.

Officials said that over time, money collected from polluters would pay for the programs rather than taxes from families. Some critics of the plan say it continued to be less restrictive on New Zealand’s huge agriculture industry. Agriculture creates more than half of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions. But the industry is also important to the economy as the nation’s biggest export earner.

David Seymour is the leader of New Zealand’s ACT political party. He said that some of the announced programs are proven to be ineffective and have been tried and failed overseas. Seymour added that people should be able to choose how they reduce emissions through the market-basedd emissions trading plan.

1. Which of the following is NOT New Zealand planning to do?

A．Buy cars for poor families.	B．Offer assistance to business.
C．Use environmentally safe fuels.	D．Spend money on the test program.

2. What does Jacinda Ardem suggest doing about the climate change?

A．Setting aside the problem.	B．Realizing the stated goal.
C．Addressing the issue early.	D．Decreasing dependence on traditional fuels.

3. What can we infer from the text?

A．New Zealand aims to control carbon emissions.

B．The move has a goal of reducing the use of buses.

C．Achieving net-zero emissions means creating no carbon.

D．Agriculture makes less importance in the nation’s economy.

4. What is David Seymour’s attitude towards the program?

A．Negative.

B．Objective.

C．Favorable

D．Unconcerned.

【推荐3】Coolest Hotels in the World

Ariau Amazon Towers

The Ariau Amazon Towers hotel lets you sleep in a tree house. Eight towers make up this hotel that offers over 300 rooms. If you really want to get into the spirit, book the Tarzan suit which is large enough for a big family. You’ll be thirty feet up in the air and can travel between the towers through their wooden walkways.

Prices: starting at ＄300 one night for each person for a regular room and going all the way up to＄3000 for the Tarzan Suite.

For more information, visit the website: http://www.ariautowers.com

The Ice Hotel

Every winter in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden kind of hotel called the Ice Hotel is built.Each year, world﹣famous artists are invited to design and produce works of art from the ice, many of which can be found in the rooms. You’ll have your choice between hot or cold rooms, but you will be well advised to stay at least one night in a cold room for a true experience.

Prices: starting at ＄318 one night for each person for either a cold room or a warm one.

For more information, visit the website: http://www.icehotel.com

Propeller Island

Propeller Island City Lodge is a very special hotel that was designed by a German list. Each room provides you with the probability of living in a work of art. Every single piece of furniture in the thirty rooms of the hotel has been hand﹣made and each room is completely different. You’ll be able to choose a room based on your own personal tastes.

Prices: starting at just ＄91 a night, and an additional person for only 20 extra dollars.

For more information, visit the website: http://www.propeller island.com

For information about other cool hotels in the world, visit the website: http://www.bahamabeachclub.com

1. What is special about the Ariau Amazon Towers hotel?

A．You can choose any of the towers.

B．You can sleep in a tree house.

C．It is designed for big families.

D．Every room has a walkway.

2. For two persos spending a night in one of these hotels, they have to pay at least _________.

A．＄111

B．＄182

C．＄600

D．＄636