Li Daiyu and her cousin Liu Qian went to Canada to visit their cousins in Halifax on the Atlantic coast. Rather than travel by commercial airline all the way, they decided to fly to Vancouver and then take the train. For both of them, the thought of crossing the whole country by rail was exciting.

Before starting out, they spent a couple of days in Vancouver, seeing the sights. During their first day, as is typical of Vancouver, it rained. Despite the weather, they were able to take a boat ride out into the bay, and later visit an island that had wonderful shops selling crafts and antiques. The next day was clear and mild, and they were pleased to see the beautiful mountains looking out over the city. Later, they took a pleasant hike in a forest just a short distance away.

The next morning, the two girls arose early to take the train to Lake Louise, passing through the Canadian Rockies. Seen from the train window, the mountains and forests of Canada looked massive. When the train arrived at the station, they took a taxi to Lake Louise, where the blue water literally took their breath away with its exceptional beauty. They spent the night, and then took a coach bound north through the Canadian Rockies to Jasper. Looking at the beautiful scenery, they both agreed that it was the most awesome journey they had ever taken. In addition to seeing spectacular mountain peaksand forests, one highlight of their trip was being able to see many different creatures, including deer, mountain goats, and even a grizzly bear and an eagle.

From Jasper, they caught the train towards Toronto. One of the train’s first stops was in Edmonton, the provincial capital of Alberta, the centre of Canada’s huge oil and gas drilling industry. Edmonton is freezing cold in winter, with daily temperatures averaging -10˚C. Since it

From Edmonton, the train headed southeast across the great Canadian Prairie. At school, Daiyu and Liu Qian had learnt that Canada’s population is only slightly over thirty-seven million. However, they did not anticipate seeing such an open country, and were truly amazed. They went through two wheat-growing provinces, where they saw a bunch of farms that covered a very large area.

After another day on the train, eventually they were back in an urban area, the city of Winnipeg. From there, they travelled through the night, and woke up in Ontario—a land of forests and lakes. The train thundered on, through the rolling hills. The bushes and maple trees outside their windows were red, gold, and orange, and there was frost on the ground, confirming that autumn had arrived in Canada. Night came again, and the train turned south towards Toronto. When they woke up the next morning and pulled back the curtains, they could see the wide stretch of Lake Huron—one of the four Great Lakes on Ontario’s southern border. It was not until 9:30 a.m. that they finally reached the capital of Ontario, Toronto. All in all, their trip from Vancouver to Toronto had taken a duration of four days.

2 . CLIMATE CHANGE REQUIRES THE WORLD’S ATTENTION

We have known about climate change for decades. There is little doubt that Earth is getting warmer and warmer (see the graph). A warming ocean and atmosphere along with melting ice and rising sea levels provide evidence of a dramatic change in the global climate.

In 2013, a lot of people were shocked by a news photo of a dead polar bear that was found on Norway’s Arctic island of Svalbard. According to the scientists who found its dead body, all that remained of the polar bear was “skin and bones”. An expert who has studied polar bears for many years said that from the position of its dead body, the bear appeared to have starved and died. Experts claimed that low sea-ice levels caused by climate change meant the bear could not hunt seals as before, so it had to travel greater distances in order to find food. This alarming case showed how the increase in temperature had an impact on Earth’s ecology.

Then what is causing the increase in the global average surface temperature? Climate scientists often mention a key climate process called the “greenhouse effect”, which has two common meanings: the “natural” greenhouse effect and the “man-made” greenhouse effect. The “natural” greenhouse effect refers to the fact that heat from the sun enters the atmosphere and warms Earth’s surface as short-wave radiation. The heat is released back into space at longer wave lengths. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as methane and carbon dioxide, trap some of the heat, keeping Earth’s climate warm and habitable. Without this process, Earth could not sustain life. However, the “man-made” greenhouse effect has now become a big problem. When people produce huge amounts of extra greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels, more heat energy is trapped in the atmosphere and causes Earth’s surface temperature to rise quickly.

There is strong and comprehensive evidence that the rise in temperature has led to an increase in extreme weather and natural disasters worldwide, not only causing serious damage, but also costing human lives. Climate scientists have warned that if we do not take appropriate actions, this warming trend will probably continue and there will be a higher price to pay. In fact, news reports are frequently broadcast about extreme rainstorms and heatwaves causing deaths and economic losses.

Continued greenhouse gas emissions will result in further warming and long-lasting changes to the global climate. This requires the attention of people all over the world. Governments need to consider making policies and taking appropriate actions and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We as individuals can also reduce our “carbon footprint” by restricting the amount of carbon dioxide our lifestyles produce. It is our responsibility to seize every opportunity to educate everyone about global warming, along with its causes and impacts, because this is the most serious issue affecting all of us on this planet. So what will you do to help?

6 . Brooke wanted a toy and some sugar cookies. So the 6-year-old asked Alexa to get them. Alexa wasn’t her mom or babysitter. It was a voice-activated (声控的) home helper powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Alexa comes with the Amazon Echo device (回波装置). And it made Brooke’s wishes come true. After being reported on TV, Alexa devices in many listeners’ homes woke up and tried to order toys!

Alexa isn’t the only AI willing to order up treats for you. Apple Homepod has Siri, Google Home has its Assistant, and the upcoming (即将来临的) Galaxy Home device will have Bixby. People who own these devices use them mainly for listening to music, checking the weather, and setting timers. According to a report from The Information, people don’t often do voice shopping. They do it mainly to order simple things like paper towels. But many experts predict a boom (繁荣) in voice shopping in the near future.

Convenience is the main benefit of voice shopping. You can shout out an order as soon as you think of it, even if you’re cooking or driving. Besides, people who are unable to use a keyboard or mouse can shop without help.

But voice shopping has its disadvantages. Unwanted things aren’t the biggest problem. It’s usually very easy to cancel an order or return items. The surprising thing is that these assistants are always listening. They have to be able to respond when you want them. So they listen for “Alexa” or “OK Google” or another command. When they hear it, they start recording the conversation. Some have worried about what happens to these recordings. Should companies be allowed to use them to learn about people’s shopping habits? What if someone hacks (非法侵入) the device? What if someone hacks smart TVs to turn them into spies that listen all the time?

10 . Miles was born in Alton, a city on the Mississippi River in Illinois on May 26,1926. Miles’s father was a dentist, while his mother was a music teacher. Miles had a good childhood, catching fish and riding horses with his older sister and younger brother. He was known as a naughty boy in school.

He recalls his story, “By the age of 12, music had become the most important thing in my life.” His mother, a violinist herself, dearly wanted her son to play the violin. But brass(铜管乐器) was Miles’s calling, and he remembers arguments between their parents as his dad overruled his mom to fight his son’s corner. He received his first trumpet(喇叭) in 1935 and began weekly music lessons with his father’s friend Mr Elwood, his lifelong teacher.

Talking about his schooldays, Miles said that Mr Buchanan was the biggest influence on his life. He was the person who took Miles all the way into music at that time. He wanted to be a musician that he had dreamed.

When he was 16, Miles met his girlfriend,Irene Birth.Although she was a beautiful young woman in many ways,it was her easy-going character that attracted Miles. At the weekends,Miles and Irene would take the bus over the Mississippi River to St Louis to watch movies and go dancing. Although Miles was too shy to really enjoy dancing, he always felt confident when he danced with Irene.

When he turned 17, she persuaded him to ask for a job in his band. It worked. Joining the band was a breakthrough for Miles, and marked the time when he first began to write and arrange music.