1 . Pack the car and explore what New York State has to offer. Here are four family-friendly destinations where you and the kids can play, learn and have endless amounts of fun.

Sullivan Catskills

This year-round water park features 1l attractions, including an activity pool, a rope bridge challenge and slides. The room is kept at 84 degrees, which prevents any outside Cats- kill cold. It opens from Thursday to Sunday.

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

It's a nonprofit organization located at the historic 1969 Woodstock Music Festival site. Guests are welcome to explore the preserved site that held the famous festival. The center also has a museum that features artifacts from Woodstock.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site

The site has been additionally fitted with digital storytelling equipment intended to engage people of all ages, and while original artworks are on display, there are also things to touch and explore.

Vidbel Mountain Homestead

This fifth-generation nonprofit farm cares for several animals, many of which are res- cues. The farm works to teach children to care for the resident horses, goats, pigs and dogs. This season, the farm is open to anyone who would like to see the animals, with a special focus on child and adult visitors with special needs or dealing with illness. No admission fee.

6 . A mother looked down at her son who was dying of leukemia (白血病). Like any _________ she also wanted him to grow up and _________ all his dreams. She took her son’s hand and asked, “Bopsy, did you ever _________ what you wanted to be once you grew up?”

“Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.” Mom smiled and said, “Let’s see _________ we can make your dream come true.”

Later that day, she went to her local _________ department where she met Fireman Bob. She _________ her son’s final wish and asked if it might be _________ to give her six-year old son a ride around the block on a fire engine.

Fireman Bob said, “Look, we can do _________ than that. If you have your _________ ready at seven o'clock on Wednesday morning, we’ll make him a fireman for the whole __________. He can come down to our __________, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls. And if you give us his __________ we’ll get a(n) __________ fire uniform for him—not a toy one.”

Three days later, fireman Bob picked up Bopsy, __________ him in his fire uniform and escorted (护送) him from his hospital bed to the waiting __________. Bopsy sat in the truck and helped __________ it back to the fire station. There were three fire __________ that day and Bopsy went out on all of them. He __________ in different fire engines and he was also videotaped (录像) for the local news program.

All the love and attention to him so __________ touched Bopsy that he __________ three months longer than any doctor thought.

Valentine’s Day in China

It is really difficult to know the exact time     1     western Valentine’s Day was introduced into China. However, western Valentine’s Day is     2     (wide) celebrated in urban areas where there are a lot of commercial (商业的) events, especially in big cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Valentine’s Day is not so popular in small cities,     3     (town) and the countryside.

So far, Chinese people     4     (accept) the tradition westerners on celebrating Valentine’s Day, such as     5     (exchange) gifts, having a romantic dinner, watching a movie in the evening or even making a marriage registration if Valentine’s Day falls on a workday.

On this day, larger amounts of chocolate will be on sale in supermarkets,     6     compared with the ordinary days, cinemas will be much     7     (busy) and the price of flowers and restaurants and hotels can be a lot higher. Many restaurants will have special menus, especially those in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. If you want to have a smooth     8     (celebrate) on Valentine’s Day, remember     9     (make) reservations (预定) as far in advance as you can.

Chinese people have also made some changes to the western way of celebrating Valentine’s Day. For some couples, the husband may prepare a rich dinner or buy a beautiful dress     10     his wife on this day to show his appreciation.

8 . Lonely? You’re hardly alone. That’s the finding of a new study. And that appears throughout industrial nations across the globe. The study linked rising loneliness to a greater use of smartphones and the internet over the same years.

Jean Twenge, a psychologist, took part in the study. Her team has found that since 2012, US teens have been spending less time together face-to-face.

“Smartphones can help keep us connected with friends,” says Twenge. “But they can also make people feel excluded (隔离).” Girls, especially, may feel this way. One reason may be that they like to post more photos and selfies (自拍) than boys. Studies have shown that if those images don’t get a lot of “likes”, it can affect a teen’s mental health.

And there’s “phubbing” a mixture of “phone” and “snubbing (冷落)”. It’s that moment in which a friend or family member takes out a phone and keeps looking at it, paying no attention to everybody else, including you. Phubbing is one way technology can affect you, even when you’re not the one using it.

The new study pulled its data from a survey. Some 1 million 15- and 16-year-old students from 37 countries took this survey in 2000, 2003, 2012, 2015 and 2018. Its questions mostly dealt with education. But they also included six statements about loneliness, such as “I feel awkward and out of place in my school”. Students could strongly disagree, disagree, agree or strongly agree with each statement.

If technology causes loneliness, should we stop using it? “No, not at all,” argues Twenge. “Everybody of all ages is trying to figure out how we can best use these technologies and stay mentally healthy.” Her advice is to “use your smartphone for what it’s good for. Then put it away.” That includes putting it away overnight—ideally in another room.