Zion National Park in Utah has plenty of trails, but Angels Landing may be the most breathtaking. Picture this. You begin the hike on the wide and well-maintained West Rim Trail. It follows the river and then crosses the bottom of the canyon, surrounded by 270-million-year-old layers of rock. Relaxing, right? Just wait for it. The trail then starts to climb via a series of switchbacks (急转弯) leading up the side of the mountain. Then more switchbacks: 21 tighter turns, called “Walter’s Wiggles,” where elevation levels rapidly increase. Your heartbeat is probably rapidly increasing at this point, too.
On top of Walter’s Wiggles, you can stop for a stunning view (perhaps with a marriage proposal) and a restroom stop while you contemplate (仔细考虑) the final stretch of the hike. If you’re afraid of heights, it’s best to turn back now. The last stretch is the real test of bravery.
The last half mile of the hike is what really ranks it as one of the nation’s most dangerous. Angels Landing itself is a fin-like formation jutting (突出) 1,500 feet out of the canyon, and this is where you make the final 500-foot climb. Guardrails and chains bolted (拴住) into the cliff help you keep from tumbling over the extremely steep ledge. You’re literally living on the edge, and you don’t want to trust the “angels” down there to catch you. Once you reach the top, however, it’ll all be worth it: 360-degree views of the canyon make a great backdrop for kicking back and having a meal before you come back down the way you came.
Angels Landing might be dangerous, but thankfully, not too many people have had fatal falls. According to the park website, seven people have died in the 100 years the park has existed. Still, this is a very vigorous hike. If you’re out of shape, bringing young children along, feel ill or prone to fainting, or are just plain afraid of heights, opt for an easier trail.
Angel’s Landing is a great hike for most of the year, besides the cold winter months when the trails could become dangerously slippery. Summer is the most popular time of year — and therefore the most crowded — but it can also get extremely hot, so opt for an early morning hike while the temperatures are still mild.
Sure, it’s dangerous, but there’s a reason this is one of Zion ‘s most popular hikes. If you’re up for the challenge, Angels Landing will definitely deliver rewards.
This article first appeared on Curiosity.com.
1. What geological feature surrounds the hiker during the initial part of the hike?A.Plenty of trails in the park. | B.Mountain Peaks. |
C.270-million-year-old layers of rock. | D.Grass Meadows. |
A.The challenging hike with switchbacks. |
B.The 360-degree views of the canyon. |
C.The well-maintained West Rim Trail. |
D.The river crossing and rock formations. |
A.If a tourist is afraid of heights, it’s best to turn back onto Angels Landing. |
B.Seven people have died so far due to slippery trails in winter. |
C.Bringing young kids along to climb onto Angels Landing will be appreciated. |
D.Taking a break with the views of the canyon as background is absolutely worth the trip. |
A.Unveiling the Hidden Beauty: Exploring Zion National Park’s Trails |
B.Zion’s Ultimate Thrill: The Adrenaline-Pumping Angels Landing Expedition |
C.Chasing Heights: Angels Landing Adventure in Utah’s Zion National Park |
D.Angels Landing: Conquering Utah’s Breathtaking and Daring Hike in Zion National Park |
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【推荐1】The ability to move around from one place to the other is the biggest virtue one can ever have. We humans, possess an extraordinary virtue of seeing, experiencing and learning from it, and this is precisely what makes our journeys more satisfying and enriching.
People travel for various reasons.
With people, their culture, thoughts and ideas also travel. When they go from one place to the other, they are bound to meet people and share their thoughts and experiences with them. This is where exchange of ideas takes place, and it definitely broadens a person’s outlook
A.Traveling also creates lifelong memories |
B.Some find traveling an extremely boring activity |
C.Humans have been traveling for a variety of reasons |
D.It not only refreshes one’s body, but also mind and soul |
E.It makes him/her think in a different way from a different perspective |
F.Above all, traveling enables us to spend some time with our own selves |
G.Some travel fro work, others for fun, and some for finding mental peace. |
【推荐2】“City Cycling USA: Los Angeles,” a pocket-sized tour guide to seeing Los Angeles on two wheels, is seemingly for visitors; for locals, its series of bike-friendly paths and itineraries (行程) are a road-map to becoming tourists in their own city again.
“City Cycling” explores five neighborhoods in the Westside and Eastside and generally north of the 10 and south of the 101. Itineraries fit the period of a day, beginning with spots for coffee, walking along museums and shops, and finishing off with recommendations of where to buy a well-deserved drink. Published by Thames and Hudson in association with London cycling brand Rapha Racing, the guidebook is among the first U.S. sections — alongside New York, Chicago and San Francisco — in a series launched in 2013 with biking tours of eight European cities.
Greatest hits such as the Bradbury Building and Echo Park Lake are included in the neighborhood tours, with plenty of fashionable places for where to eat — Eggslut, Pine & Crane and Gjusta. The guide is a reminder of how crowdedly packed each enclave (飞地) of L.A. is with unusual destinations, the large number of places to explore within a few square mile radius (半径), easily done once we step out of the car.
Los Angeles’ famously pleasant weather makes it an ideal city for exploring by bike; neighborhoods have different styles. While the car still plays an important role, cycling culture, like CicLAvia, already has full support, and is prepared to grow with the implementation (实施) of Mobility Plan 2035, which aims to make the city more bike friendly. “City Cycling USA: Los Angeles” is a start.
1. Who is City Cycling USA: Los Angeles really intended for?A.Locals on bikes. | B.Visitors on bikes. |
C.Tourist on bikes | D.Bicyclists |
A.Where there is a café. |
B.Where it is convenient for tourists on bikes. |
C.Where drink can be bought easily. |
D.Where there are museums and shops. |
A.Destinations you can reach within a day. |
B.Places where you can eat. |
C.Guides to a enclave of L.A. crowded with unusual destinations. |
D.Places where you can see the Bradbury Building and Echo Park Lake. |
A.Because of its pleasant weather. | B.Because of cycling culture. |
C.Because of Mobility Plan 2035. | D.Because it is bike friendly. |
【推荐3】Mi Teleferico, Bolivia
Crossing the Bolivian capital of La Paz, the Teleferico is both the highest and longest city cable-car system on the planet. Built to relieve the city’s extreme road traffic, the three lines of this "subway in the sky" spirit the city’s 2.3 million citizens. At an altitude of 3,700 metres, you' ll feel the thrill of flying as you’re smoothly carried over entire neighborhoods and business districts—all for a ticket price that' s less than a dollar.
Everest Flights, Nepal
It is no easy work to climb the Everest, a mountain second to none at an altitude of 8 ,848 metres. Most of us know that we'll never move along the Hillary Step and overcome this mountain. Fortunately, a number of local airlines operating out of Kathmandu’s small domestic airport offer a glimpse of this glory for about a hundred dollars. In a few hours, you'll get into the heart of the Himalayas, getting close enough to snap a few fantastic photos from your window seat before circling back. No oxygen tank required !
Rocky Mountaineer, Canada
With select routes that lead through Banff and Jasper national parks as well as Lake Louise, Rocky Mountaineer provides a best opportunity to spot the wildlife of western Canada, including elk, bighorn sheep, and possibly even bears of the black, brown, and grayish variety. Rocky Mountaineer' s multi-day journeys include
breakfasts and lunches prepared by world-class chefs, B.C. wines, and an invitation to sit back, relax, and let the Rockies come to you.
Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, South Africa
Few places in the world have appeal like Table Mountain, the flat-topped monolith( 独石) that serves as the backdrop for most tourists' photos— and memories—of Cape Town. Completed back in 1929, the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway carries nearly one million sightseers to the summit every year,rising roughly 1,000 metres in fewer than five minutes.
1. The Teleferico was built to .A.offer amazing views |
B.draw tourists worldwide |
C.reduce traffic pressure |
D.promote its economy |
A.It requires no skills to climb it. |
B.It ’s the highest mountain worldwide. |
C.It has several local airlines. |
D.It's the best place for taking photos. |
A.Mi Teleferico. |
B.Everest Flights. |
C.Rocky Mountaineer. |
D.Table Mountain. |
A.They cost much money. |
B.They all offer mountain rides. |
C.They have fancy hotels. |
D.They are all within Americas. |
【推荐1】When Rebecca Vance tells parents that their children have "specific language impairment(障碍)", the parents often wonder aloud what they could have done to prevent the disorder.
Vance, a speech pathologist(病理学家), runs a summer camp for 4- and 5-yeat-old children who have difficulty acquiring language skills through interactions with their parents and teachers.
Children with specific language impairment have difficulty with grammar, including proper word order. tenses, subject-verb agreement and use of the correct pronouns for gender distinction.
"When the public think about speech problems, they usually think of stuttering(口吃)or not being able to say their R's." Vance says. "But we're really talking about something different. We're talking about the inability to take an idea and then express it in a grammatical way that uses appropriate vocabulary to express that idea, and that's what children really struggle with."
"The idea is if we can get in early when these problems first become really apparent we may be able to have the biggest impact,” Vance says.
Research shows that children who have delayed language development in the preschool years are at risk for academic difficulties when they start school—and, specifically, problems with reading and writing because "reading and writing are language on paper", Vance says.
What's more, children with poor language abilities are at greater risk for dropping out of school and for not being able to get well-paying jobs in later years. "So, there's a socio- economic consequence to this impairment," Vance says.
The important thing to know, Vance says, is that children "are not having these problems because they can't hear, and they’re not having these problems because they’re not intelligent. They’re bright, they can think, they can problem-solve, but when they have to process and use words, it's just very difficult".
"Our ultimate goal is to have children take what we teach them and make it part of their system and use it every day, all the time," Vance says.
1. Whom is the summer camp open to?A.Parents. | B.Teachers. | C.School students. | D.Preschool children |
A.Unable to get a good job. | B.Unable to write and read. |
C.Unable to talk with others. | D.Unable to understand people. |
A.They have a poor memory. | B.They were born a bit deaf. |
C.They are normal children. | D.They are of low intelligence. |
A.How to pronounce a word. | B.How to interact with others. |
C.How to use their language correctly. | D.How to speak their language fluently. |
【推荐2】What is the most popular way to travel in the whole world,not counting a human being's two legs?You say by car?No.Train?Wrong again.Airplane?I'm sorry,but you're not even close.The most popular way of going from one place to another is by bicycle.And it is a surprise to most Americans.After all,we see thousands of cars each day.We don't see nearly as many bikes.
In the United States most bike riders are either young people or adults bicycling for exercise.About nine million bikes are sold in America each year.Nearly three million are sold to adults.The rest are to children.But in the rest of the world,far more people use the bike as their main way of traveling.They ride bikes to work,to school,and to stores.
Bicycles have been around for a long time-about 300 years.You would not like to ride around on those early bikes,though.They didn't have any pedals(脚蹬).The riders had to push along with their feet.And this bike only went straight ahead.There was no way to turn the front wheel.If the rider wanted to change direction,he or she had to get off and move the bicycle.When pedals were put on the front wheels,riding became easier.The most popular kind of bike in the late 1800s had a very high front wheel and a small back wheel.It was a long fall to the ground!
Another problem was that there were no rubber tires(橡胶轮胎).So bike was called the "Boneshaker" at that time. Then in the 1880s,air-filled rubber tires were put on the bicycle's wheels, which made people feel more comfortable. Since then the bicycle has not changed very much.Of course bikes come in different shapes and colors now,but the main design is still the same.
1. Compared with those in America,bikes in the rest of the world .A.are much cheaper | B.are more popular |
C.are mainly used by children | D.are mainly used to do exercise |
A.They were too large. | B.They were dangerous. |
C.They were hard to control. | D.They were too high for many people. |
A.uncomfortable | B.slow | C.broken | D.old |
A.warn readers about bicycle safety. |
B.introduce the new shapes of bicycles. |
C.encourage readers to bicycle for exercise. |
D.tell readers the history of bicycles. |
【推荐3】One has to look a long time for an American politician of any political stripe who has failed to applaud small businesses. Still, many have little clue as to what makes such businesses succeed or fail.
Federal agencies aimed at helping small business, such as the Small Business Administration and the Minority Business Development Agency, have been around for half a century, yet persistent differences remain between the performance of businesses founded by white, male entrepreneurs and the rest. Blacks are less likely to be self-employed, for example, and when they are, their businesses, on average, have lower sales and profits than do their white-or Asian-owned counterparts. If researchers could explain the causes of these differences, policy-makers could (at least in theory) supply small businesses with more useful help.
Two researchers for the Census Bureau’s Centre for Economic Studies, Ron Jarmin and C.J. Krizan, recently published a working paper attempting to understand demographic (人口统计学的)differences behind small businesses’ success and failure. They concentrated on the years 2002 to 2005, with three databases at their disposal, hoping to create a more nuanced picture of business survival.
Some of their findings were not terribly surprising. A firm’s chances of survival, regardless of the race or sex of its owner, decreased in poorer areas; and the better the education of the founder, the more likely it was to succeed. Businesses owned by Asians, Hispanics, or Pacific Islanders were more likely to be exporters. Older entrepreneurs were more likely to use personal savings to start their businesses while younger owners were more likely to have to close up shops during the study period than were their middle-aged rivals.
However, the data also confirmed that black- and female-owned businesses tended to perform worse than the average. They were also less likely to have been funded by bank loans. Still, the businesses that survived, regardless of the owner’s race, tended to add employees at similar rates. Furthermore, after controlling for factors such as the education and race of the owner, there was no statistically significant difference in firms’ abilities to expand into different locations. Finally, black entrepreneurs were more likely to have a history of self-employment than their white counterparts. Messrs Jarmin and Krizan’s paper is not the first to suggest that black entrepreneurs, less likely to have other business owners in their family or personal networks, tend to “start small” when they venture out on their own.
Most researchers get to end their papers by speculating, usually without much fear of consequence, as to the policy implications of their work. The authors of this paper, not wishing to imply that the Census Bureau might have policy opinions, declined to do so. But the reader can make some guesses. One is that mentorship programmes may be particularly useful for promoting entrepreneurship among blacks. Another is that reaching out to businesses based on the owner’s race might be less useful than supporting businesses in poorer areas. And small businesses of all stripes would be helped by improving that other institution applauded by politicians: America’s education system.
1. Most politicians in the U.S. _________________.A.have had some experience in running a small business |
B.have made great efforts to help small businesses |
C.have paid little attention to small businesses |
D.have spoken highly of small businesses |
A.Federal agencies have failed in giving small businesses much help. |
B.Older entrepreneurs were more keen on saving money. |
C.Small businesses run by white males are generally more profitable. |
D.More federal agencies aimed at helping small businesses will be established. |
A.successful businesses showed little difference in the rate of hiring employees |
B.locations were essential factors for small businesses’ success or failure |
C.most black entrepreneurs tended to set up companies by themselves |
D.female-owned businesses were the least likely to survive for lack of funds |
A.the Census Bureau’s Center is sponsored by the government |
B.mentorship programs have proved unsuccessful |
C.education plays a role in running a small business. |
D.researchers don’t have much say in how a company is run |