1 . Is there a place that you have a strong desire to visit before you are too old to travel? If so, you’re in my shoes. The following places are where I desire to visit very much and most probably your best choices.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

The region is famous for its amazing natural beauty. Many 5A scenic areas and geological(地质的)parks are located there. The park not only has natural wonders, such as strange looking peaks and a thick forest, but also rich animal and plant resources. Tourists can feel like stepping into a natural botanic(植物)garden and kingdom of animals. After visiting here, one will realize the great natural beauty of our world.

The Rainbow Mountains

These geographical(地理的)wonders look as if they were painted with a giant paintbrush. The bright colors stand obviously among the surrounding green plants. Wild as it is, these mountains are a part of our world in China’s Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park. This wild variety of color does exist in the real world. No Photoshop is necessary for the natural beauty of these mountains.

Bora bora.

This place offers the chance to live like a native Polynesian. The clear open sky and the calm waters offer you the unique opportunity to observe how the native people lead a life nearby the sea. Many holiday centers are built here and offer different tours and experiences.

The Galapagos Islands.

The islands consist of 13 volcanic(火山的)islands and six smaller islands. Although known for Darwin’s visit, they’re more attractive than you might imagine. There are 900 species of animals found on these islands. 200 of these species are specific(特有的)to the Galapagos. Most travelers come to this lovely place for the specific wildlife here.

2 . 2022 Kids News Short Story competition

Kids News is starting its 2022 Kids News Short Story competition and wants to read all your wonderful stories. Kids News editor(编辑）Kamahl Cogdon encouraged all kids to enter and get all their creative stories down on paper.

"Last year we received almost 2,000 entries and the stories were great," Ms Cogdon said." We have some very creative young minds across Australia and we are looking forward to reading more of their fantastic stories this year."

How to enter

◎Entry to the competition is free for children from Kindergarten to Year 9 studying in an Australian school. One entry per person.

◎All entrants(参赛者）must get permission（许可）from their schools and parents before entering this competition.

◎Entrants can choose any topic they want.

◎Entries must be submitted（提交）through the online competition form located at www.kidsnews.com.au.

◎The competition starts at 9 am on Wednesday, May 11,2022,and ends at 5 pm on Sunday, July 3,2022.

Age categories:

Kindergarten to Year 2:entry must be between 250 and 750 words.

Years 3–4:entry must be between 250 and 750 words.

Years 5–6:entry must be between 500 and 1,000 words.

Years 7–9:entry must be between 500 and 1,000 words.

Prizes

Winners will get the following prizes:

First prize(one for each age category)

10 copies of your winning short story published(出版）into a printed book with a personally designed cover.

Apple iPad—valued at $ 529

Harper Collins Book Pack—valued at $ 100

Second prize (one for each age category)

Harper Collins Book Pack–valued at $ 100

Third prize (three for each age category)

Harper Collins Book Pack-valued at $ 30

3 . Do you know the proverb “no pain, no gain”? It gives the impression that we ought to be suffering while we study. It seems that the only way to know if we’ re putting in enough work is how much hardship we bear. We are totally taken up with study, shutting ourselves away for a big exam. Is that necessarily true?

When we haven’t taken the time to come up with another idea, we just shut ourselves in a room with a book. It’s no surprise that we find revision boring and difficult. Just as children learn from playing, we can learn from doing, or at least from study techniques that interest us, rather than make us switch off. Shutting ourselves away can make us learn to hate studying, leading to a situation where, instead of being able to concentrate on our work, we are troubled by how unfair it is that we must study. This can be part of a vicious cycle (恶性循环) that traps us into ineffective revision, or poor progress fueling further annoyance.

Thankfully, working in the company of other people really helps fight against that. We just need to learn how to deal with distractions(使人分心的事). It’s not necessary to avoid all company, just lazy company. They constantly try to keep others in conversation, while studying in the same room with someone who is ironing or working out is perfectly possible. Of course, it’s also a good idea to avoid the company of people involved in activities where you would rather be playing than studying. Working while sitting next to someone playing video games is most likely to end with a new high score of games rather than productive revision.

If being around others means working in a noisy environment, a pair of headphones and some background music can block out noises. They also act as a psychological barrier, so that people think twice before interrupting you. Besides, we should know friends and family can lessen feelings of isolation. And connecting with other people makes us happy, so it’s important not to give that up and to make sure that we take the time to socialize.

5 . The secret to happiness is keeping busy, research has found.

Keeping the mind occupied with tasks — no matter how meaningless — keeps off negative emotions, the study found.

However, the bad news is that humans are seemingly born to be lazy in order to save energy, according to Professor Christoper Hsee, a behavioral scientist at Chicago University.

In a study, 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first, they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either handing in the first survey nearby or at a more distant location they had to walk to. Whichever option they chose, they received a chocolate bar. It turned out that approximately two-thirds (68 students) chose the lazy option. Those who had taken the walk reported feeling happier than those who had stayed put.

Prof. Hsee concluded that keeping busy helped keep people happy. He said the findings, reported in the journal Psychological Science, had policy implications.

“Governments may increase the happiness of idle citizens by having them build bridges that are actually useless,” he proposed.

At the individual level, he advised, “Get up and do something. Anything. Even if there really is no point to what you are doing, you will feel better for it.” He added, “Incidentally, thinking deeply or engaging in self-reflection counts as keeping busy, too.”

“You do not need to be running around. You just need to be engaged, either physically or mentally.”

6 . Hello and welcome to English with Lucy. Today we have another topic:“Four common British expressions.” Now, before we get started, make sure you connect with me on all my social media which is right here. You can subscribe to my YouTube. You can also like me on Facebook. And for my Chinese followers, I have my Weibo account as well.

Four Common British Expressions:

“A piece of cake.”

And this is very similar to “Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy,” which we've discussed in a former video.   And basically, it means very easy.   So I might come out of an easy exam saving, “That exam was a piece of cake. ”

“Break a leg!”

It actually looks really rather cruel, but I promise you it's positive.   And “Break a leg!” means “Good luck!” So before a race, before a job interview, before a test, instead of saying “Good luck!” I might say “Break a leg!”

“It cost an arm and a leg.”

And this basically means something was really expensive.   If I say, “My bag cost an arm and a leg,” I mean it cost a lot of money.

“To call it a day.”

And this means “to end a task”.   So, for example, “I'm feeling a bit tired. I think I'll call it a day. ”That means “I think I'll stop here.   Let's finish.”

Thank you so much for watching this program of “Four Common British Expressions.” I hope you like it, and I hope you've learned something.

7 . What do you usually do to comfort your friends when they are feeling sad or depressed? You probably pat them on the back or shoulder, or maybe you give them a big, warm hug.

We used to think that knowing when and how to comfort others was an ability that only humans have. But scientists have discovered that apes （猩猩）have this ability, too. Two researchers from Emory University in Atlanta, US, went to an Ape Protection Centre in Congo to study bonobos （倭黑猩猩）,which are closely related to humans.

The researchers analyzed the bonobos' reactions after more than 370 cases of stressful situations, such as fights and losing temper, and found that some bonobos rushed to hug those that were screaming after being attacked, just like humans would have done.

However, researchers said that not all bonobos were able to comfort others. In the protection centre, many bonobos are orphans （孤儿）whose mothers were killed by hunters. They were found to be more anxious in times of tension and have greater difficulty controlling their own emotions, malting them worse at reaching out to help friends in need.

"Orphans, who have not had the benefit of a mother helping them handling their emotions, are much worse al comforting others,” Professor Frans de Waal, one of the researchers, told The Telegraph. "Bonobos with moms were able to curb their negative emotional reactions more quickly. Therefore, they pay more attention to others.” This pattern mirrors the way that human children have been found to react. Those who seem more capable of handling their own emotions—for example, the ones who can calm themselves down more quickly after upsetting experiences—are usually better at expressing their concerns for others .

8 . 54-year-old Abdul has a special job. He has been working as a living statue (活体雕像) for over three decades, standing perfectly still for six hours a day and resisting people' s attempts to make him move or smile, anything that proves he is a living person.

Abdul, known as “India's Statue Man”, has been performing his daily routine ever since 1985, soon after getting a job as a security guard. His boss had recently traveled to the UK, where he was So impressed by the statue-like members of the Royal Guard outside Buckingham Palace that he wanted to do something similar back home. So he had his guards receive three months of training, where they would sit perfectly still for around four hours. They weren't allowed to talk or smile, eat, drink, or even shoo away a fly if it sat on their faces. In the end, Abdul proved the best of the group, So he got the strange job.

Abdul isn't the only person in the world acting as a living statue, but what makes him special is the fact that he can do it for as long as six hours without even blinking his eyes. Once, a $ 155 prize was put up for anyone who can make him move a muscle. But try as they might, no one has ever succeeded. Actually, Abdul tries to move about as much as he can in his spare time, and only eats healthy home-cooked food, to keep his body in shape. But he claims yoga has been the biggest help. In the 32 years, Abdul has become a famous person in India and other Asian countries. Many Bollywood stars have come to witness this living statue and try to finally make him move, but none have succeeded.

Abdul earns about 10,000 rupees ($ 156) a month, which is enough to support his family, but definitely not enough to encourage his children to follow in his footsteps. It's just too stressful and taxing on the body. “Despite all the hardship and health problems, I love my job and I am thankful to people for the love and respect they have showered on me” he says, “When the time comes, I want to die playing a statue.”

9 . Hard work really does pay off. Scientists find that perseverance (毅力) leads to better grades and higher achievements in school.

“Being passionate (热诚的) is not enough to ensure academic success,” said researchers, who thought of “courage” as a key to success. This is also regarded as effort in reaching long-term goals, and determination to continue one’s efforts in spite of hardships.

Researchers thought that the finding could help create new training to help children develop the skill and help ensure their future success.

Researchers from the Academy of Finland studied more than 2,000 students from Helsinki. They were followed through their academic career from 12 to 16, from the sixth grade until the ninth grade in local school years. Researchers found that the factor that best predicted courage was related to goals, with previous academic achievements playing no role in developing the skill.

Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro, who led the study, said, “Courage means a young person is really interested in his or her studies and does not give up easily. A key element of courage is high perseverance when facing difficulties and hardships. The important finding is that these factors are the key to success and well-being. Our study shows the power of courage.”

Professor Salmela-Aro also thought it was important to develop new practices and qualities to improve courage in teenagers. She added, “Young people should see everyday school work as part of their life in a broader context and establish achievable goals for themselves. Schools must also serve as a place where it is safe to fail and learn to deal with setbacks. One must not be discouraged by setbacks, but gain(得到) strength and new energy from them!”

10 . As reported in JAMA Surgery, the researchers discovered that e-scooter(电动摩托车) injury rates had increased dramatically in just four years, rising from 6 per 100,000 in the population to 19 per 100,000. Of the estimated 14,651 e-scooter-related injuries in 2018, 4,658, or 32%, involved the head. “While most people recover from head injuries, there is going to be a subset with long-term disability and life changes,” said Dr. Benjamin Breyer.

Dr. Benjamin Breyer of the University of California, Los Angeles, pointed to a 2019 analysis of the data from two hospitals in Southern California, which found just 4.8% of injured e-scooter riders were wearing helmets.

Dr. Joann Elmore, a professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, believed that most e-scooter users are probably unaware of the risks. To make the point, she described a photo taken by a colleague. “There were two riders on an e-scooter,” she said. “No one had shoes on. There were no helmets. And the woman in front had a baby in a baby carrier.”

The new report highlights the need for more research on new technologies, said Dr. Guohua Li, a professor of epidemiology(流行病学).

“Just as there is a global network of experts working on infectious diseases, there needs to be a similar program devoted to the surveillance(监视，监察) and prevention of injuries caused by merging technologies products and lifestyles, such as e-scooters, e-sports, etc.,” Li said in an email.

“The challenge for researchers and policymakers is to keep up with the ever-changing society and protect the public from unnecessary harm caused by new technologies and products without hindering innovation,” he added.