2 . Here are some fantastic parks in San Antonio.

The park was first established in 1899 and has been popular with both locals and visitors ever since. Towering trees and peaceful riverbanks will greet guests along the park’s paths, and the facilities include playgrounds, museums, a miniature train, a Japanese tea garden, and one of the oldest golf courses in the city.

In the park, you’ll find about 10 miles of paved(铺过的)and unpaved trails(路线), with a little something for everyone. From rocky climbs to deep canyons, and enchanting forests to open views, there’s no shortage of natural beauty. The area is nationally famous for birdwatching.

The park is the state’s only one on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site. It covers quite a large area, so it’s best to make it a full-day or at least a half-day trip so you can be sure to cover everything. While the Alamo is a separate attraction, you will get to enjoy the architectural wonders of Mission Concepcion, Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada. They’re all connected by a hike and bike trail, with plenty of stops along the way to picnic, climb trees, and refill water. Admission is free!

Just a 20-to 30-minute drive from the city center, the park puts the best landscapes in the Texas Hill Country on full display, holding 6 miles of hiking trails, both paved and unpaved. Explore dried creek beds, look out over plunging canyons, and enjoy full views of San Antonio down below. You can also find playgrounds for the little ones, picnic tables, and barbecue facilities.

3 . English Class 101

Are you looking for the best online English course to help improve your language skills? I will introduce one to you.

English Class 101 is a website that has been built for people looking to improve their English skills. There are over 1,000 lessons on the website, which include different levels to meet your need.

All English learners can find a level to suit them, as its courses range (涵盖) from complete beginner (Al) to advanced (C2). You have to take a placement test so that you can find the right level and get proper lessons.

The site helps English language learners with thousands of video lessons, words learning tools, lesson notes, and discussions, which provides a practical approach (方法) to learning. The lessons take you by the hand and guide you through real English conversations. The teachers slow down and explain every word and phrase. Just imagine that you’ll finally understand every English word you hear.

You can even get one-on-one support from your very own teacher! Your personal teacher will provide corrections and answers by messenger. They will also make sure you follow your individual plan and assign (布置) homework on a daily basis.

Price: Level 1, $50 per month; Level 2, $80 per month; Level 3, $ 100 per month; Advanced, $200 per month.

4 . Four Unique U.S. National Parks

This national park is the site of the longest known cave system in the world,which is really proper for a park called “Mammoth(猛犸象).” It’s the ideal place for an adventure lover, with about 400 miles of caves and tunnels to explore. One of the most popular sections to visit within the caves is called Frozen Niagara, a special part of the caves that looks like a waterfall frozen in time.

Even though it’s one of the least-visited national parks in the country, it’s definitely one of the best national parks in Florida. There’s no accounting for Dry Tortugas National Park’s amazing beauty. Located about 70 miles from Key West, this park is made up of several islands that feature blue waters and white-sand beaches, colorful marine life, and the historic Fort(堡垒) Jefferson, one of the largest 19th-century forts in U.S. history.

If you’re looking for interesting red and pink rocks, you can’t do better than Bryce Canyon. The national park is known for its fascinating rock formations and hoodoos(石林), as well as its starry skies at night. Some of the best places to visit in the park are the Natural Bridge, Fairyland Canyon, or any of the scenic viewpoints throughout the park.

It’s the hottest and driest national park in the country, but it’s also a place of beautiful desert views and interesting natural phenomena, like the sailing stones on the Racetrack Playa. Depending on where you are in the park the climate can be extreme — it’s home to snowy mountains, dry desert, colorful flower fields, and cool lakes. You might also recognize it as the planet of Tatooine from the original Star Wars movies.

6 . With the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park to its east, Zhongnanhai to its south, Beihai Park, also known as Northern Sea Park, is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved ancient imperial gardenst (皇家花园) in China located in the center of Beijing.

Beihai Park is said to be built according to a traditional Chinese legend. The story is that once upon a time there were three magic mountains called “Penglai”, “Yingzhou” and “Fangzhang”. Gods in those mountains had a kind of medicine which would help humans gain immortality (永生). Consequently, many emperors constantly sought those mountains. I For example, Emperor Qin Shihuang had sent people to look for the magic mountains but they failed. Emperor Wudi, the fifth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty did similar things.

It was believed that different mountain-water combinations in ancient Chinese architecture led to totally different effects. So from then on, almost every emperor during the succeeding dynasties would build a royal garden with one-pool-with-three-hill layout near his palace. Beihai Park was surely built after this traditional style: the water of Beihai with Zhongnanhai is the Taiye Pool; the Jade Flowery Islet, the island of the Circular City and the Xishantai Island represent the three magic mountains.

Actually, Beihai Park was initially built in the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) and was repaired and rebuilt in the following dynasties including Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing. The large-scale rebuilding in the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) generally established the present scale and pattern. In 1925, it was first opened to the public, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world every year.

It is enjoyable to walk around the various scenic areas in Beihai Park. There are many places to visit, including the Bai Ta, Five-Dragon Pavilions, Nine-Dragon Wall, Yong’an Temple and so on. There is also a classy restaurant called Fangshan Restaurant where the Empress Cixi once dined.

Liu Ruying,     1     grandfather is a huge fan of Peking Opera, has been interested in Peking Opera for much of her young life. Her grandfather is a great influence     2     her. At the age of 8, she     3    (begin) to practice the classic art. It wasn’t easy for a little girl     4    (experience) the difficult training, as performances combine martial arts, dancing and acrobatics(杂技).

“Sometimes I was tired,“ she said. ”I had to balance my studies and other     5    (course) I was interested in, such as dance. But the great charm(魅力) of Peking Opera made me always practice it.”

When Liu got the news that her region would have a cultural exchange with other countries, she had the idea of     6    (introduce) Peking Opera to the world in English. With     7     help of her mother, she took part in the activity after several months of practice.

“I     8    (extreme) love traditional Chinese culture,” she said. “Peking Opera has a long history of about 200 years and     9    (consider) a treasure of our nation. We should let     10    (we) make great efforts to carry forward our culture and protect the cultural diversity of the world.”

9 . There are a variety of free magazines that kids can receive in the mail. Kids love getting mail, so these magazines will bring double joy!

If your child loves animals, a free copy may provide him or her with hours of educational entertainment. This magazine is especially wonderful if you have a dog or a cat at home and want your child to learn about pet care.

This is an excellent online resource (资源) where elementary school children can learn about different aspects of science and social studies topics. It gives you access (使用权) to 30 units with 200 topics.

The content there is various. You can gain even more access by creating a free account. There are educational articles on dozens of countries around the world, as well as articles on animals, planets, and more. Aimed at children aged 8 to 14, this magazine is a great choice for learning and fun.

If you have children that are sports fans, look no further than the Sports Illustrated Kids. They can get analysis of recent games, forecasts about next season, and fun games. It’s all free, and your son or daughter will love getting to know the latest sports news.

10 . As of 2020, the world's biggest lithium-ion (锂离子) battery is hooked up to the Southern California power grid and can provide 250 million watts of power, or enough to power about 250,000 homes. But it's actually not the biggest battery in the world: these lakes are.

Wait - how can a pair of lakes be a battery? To answer that question, it helps to define a battery: it's simply something that stores energy and releases it on demand. The lithium-ion batteries that power our phones, laptops, and cars are just one type. They store energy in lithium ions.

How do the two lakes store and release energy? First, one is 300 meters higher than the other. Electricity power pumps that move billions of liters of water from the lower lake to the higher one. This stores the energy by giving the water extra gravitational potential energy. Then, when there's high demand for electricity, valves (阀门) open, releasing the stored energy by letting water flow downhill to power 6 giant turbines that can generate 3 billion watts of power for 10 hours.

Unfortunately, neither of the giant batteries we've talked about so far is big enough to power multiple cities. The two lakes setup requires specific geography, takes up a lot of land, and has high upfront costs to build. The giant lithium-ion battery in California can power about 250,000 homes, yes, but only for an hour. Lithium-ion batteries also require certain heavy metals to make. These resources are limited, and mining them causes environmental damage. Inventors all over the world are rising to the challenge of making batteries that can meet our needs - many of them even weirder than the two lakes.