【推荐1】The following places will give you an unexpected travelling experience.

Svalbard

If you’re a fan of winter activities, but in need of some sun, then perhaps a May trip to Svalbard is in order. Svalbard is located about 620 miles south of the North Pole. In late spring, the sun never dips below the horizon, and it means you can take in all the Vitamin D you desire for. Popular activities in the area include hiking and wildlife spotting.

Namibia

During spring, Namibia is considered as the perfect destination with reduced travel costs and cooler evenings. National Geographic Travel says that the watering holes start to dry up again in late May, which attracts giraffes and black rhinos from their hiding spots. If you’re more of an adventurous explorer, head to the Namib Desert for a spot of sand boarding on the dunes (沙丘).

Japan

If you want to catch the wonderful cherry blossom season in Japan, National Geographic Travel says you should head there between January and May. Recommended activities include taking a dip in the hot springs in Kawazu and boating down the Kitakami River to Tenshochi Park where 10,000 cherry trees turn into charming pale pink avenues.

Upper Amazon, Peru

For travelers looking for a sense of adventure, National Geographic Travel proposes a trip to the upper Amazon in Peru. It notes that by May, the water levels will have increased, allowing for improved navigation and cooler temperatures.

【推荐1】In an effort to change the “throw away culture” and promote re-use and repair, the city of Berlin has taken the unique step of opening its own secondhand department store. It resells perfectly good items that would otherwise be thrown away.

A pun(双关语)on the German words for “department store” and “conserving(节约)house”, B - Wa(h) renhaus sells all kinds of products, including clothing, furniture, cell phones and other electronics. Far from simply selling old junk “as is”, the electronic(电子的)goods have been fixed by professional technicians and come with a one-year warranty (保证).

The store was built right in the middle of the famous Karstadt department store. With the success of its first six-month experimental run on the third floor of that store, the city plans to open four more similar operations in other parts of Berlin. By 2030, it hopes to have at least one location in each of Berlin’s 12 districts.

Now the city estimates(估计)that 8% of waste electronic goods and 6% of huge items thrown away can actually be re-used. The goal is to expand the market for these items beyond the usual bargain hunters and eco-conscious consumers.

“Three years ago, we started collecting all kinds of used goods that are well-kept and functioning but aren’t being used any more, ” city spokesperson Dorothee Winden told Bloomberg City Lab. “The goal is to give these things a new life with somebody who can use them.”

The store also includes an education center to encourage more sustainable (可持续的) lifestyles — and also gave an award to a project that recycled school uniforms, so that parents don’t have to buy new ones every year.

The green store has also connected the Berlin City Homeless Mission with online clothing retailers (零售商)who provide clothing which has been returned to them and cannot be re-sold.

【推荐2】Roughly 8. 5 billion plastic straws are used in the United Kingdom each year, but as a new ban takes effect next April, that number will decrease to zero. One startup (初创企业) is hoping to capture the chance to make a kind of straws as an alternative by using an unlikely material: pasta (意大利面食).

“It has all the function of a plastic straw that everyone has been using,” says Maxim Gelmann, founder of Stroodles, the startup. The straws, made by an Italian company that also produces regular pasta, are the same shape and size as a standard plastic straw.

Unlike a paper straw, they don’t taste like wet paper; they don’t change the flavor of the drink. They last at least an hour, and longer in colder drinks. If you’re nursing a drink for hours and the pasta eventually softens, you can choose to eat it. The raw straw is also eatable, and Gelmann says that some people snack on them.

A handful of other pasta-straw startups also exist, though Stroodles is hoping to feature itself with a smoother, more plastic-like material and its branding.

It’s more expensive to make than a plastic straw, but at large volumes, it can compete with the cost of paper straws. Because of the coming ban, “No one really compares us with plastic anymore,” Gelmann says. “They compare us with paper straw prices, which makes my argument much easier and my expectation brighter.”

Other alternatives, like bamboo or stainless steel, are more expensive and a less elegant solution; some bars say that customers don’t trust the idea that stainless steel straws can be fully sanitized (消毒). Another option—a plastic-like eatable straw made from seaweed—may be more of a competitor.

【推荐3】As part of a health initiative, Berkeley is getting ready to become the first city in the US to require large grocery stores to stop allowing the sales of junk food and candy in checkout aisles(过道). The new rule is expected to go into effect in March 2021.

The “Healthy Checkout Ordinance(法规)” was approved by Berkeley’s City Council. It requires stores over 2,500 square-feet in size to sell at least 25 square-feet of healthy items within a three-foot radius(半径) of checkout registers. So now instead of candy and soda and other high calorie items, shoppers can expect to see fresh fruit and whole grain alternatives at checkout counters.

“Placement of unhealthy snacks near a register increases the likelihood that customers will purchase these foods and drinks when willpower is weak at the end of a long shopping trip,” City Council member Kate Harrison said. The new rule will affect at least 25 retailers(零售商)in Berkeley. These include Whole Foods, CVS, Walgreens and Safeway.

“It's not a ban: it's a nudge(推动),” Harrison said. “Stores can still sell candy and soda, just not at your child's eye level in the checkout.” The council said the shift to selling more healthy products at checkouts will still be profitable for stores because data shows customers are looking for more low sugar and low sodium products anyway. They also said retailers in test cases around the country and in California have seen dramatic increases in sales of healthy foods since they changed their checkouts to include more fresh options in displays.

The ordinance will make grocery stores a “more neutral and health-friendly space for consumers,” said Ashley Hickson, senior policy associate at the Center for Science in the Public Interest(CSPI). Junk food makers spend a lot to make sure their products are front and center in stores, Hickson said, but some consumers don't like the practice. In a CSPI survey, 76% of shoppers who bought unhealthy food or drink at checkout regretted the purchase, she added.

【推荐1】Afternoon tea, the most typical of English customs, is, perhaps surprisingly, a relatively new tradition. The custom of drinking tea became popular in England during the 1660s thanks to King Charles II and his wife, and it was not until the mid-19th century that the concept of “afternoon tea” first appeared.

Afternoon tea was introduced by Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840. At that time lunch was taken early but the evening meal was served fashionably late at eight o'clock, leaving a long period of time between the two meals. The Duchess would become hungry in the afternoon, so she asked that tea and cake be brought to her room around four o'clock. This became a habit of hers and later she began inviting friends to join her.

This palace tea party was such a success that it soon spread to London and other places in UK as a fashionable social event. During the 1880’s, upper-class women would dress up for their afternoon tea, also known as “low tea” because tea was taken while sitting in low, comfortable chairs or sofas.

While Low Tea was largely a game for the upper class, “high tea” was a necessary meal for working class families. During the second half of the Victorian Period, working families would return home late tired and exhausted. As the most important meal of the day, the table would be set with meats, bread, butter, cheese and of course, a pot of good, strong tea to lift their spirits. Because it was eaten at a high, dining table, it was called “high” tea.

To experience the best of the afternoon tea tradition, treat yourself with a trip to one of London’s finest hotels. There are also a wide selection of old-fashioned tearooms offering afternoon tea experience.

We provide very British afternoon tea experience trips during your stay in London. Just tell your tour guide when you want to taste the culture and we will arrange everything for you with a very reasonable charge. It’ll be a once in a lifetime experience. Don’t miss it.