1 . An undersea cable (电缆) that connects the island nation of Tonga to the Internet has broken. As a result, Tongans will be without their main Internet connection for several weeks.

Touga is a country formed of about 169 islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Most of the country's 100, 000 people live on the main island, called Tongatapu. Like most island nations, Tonga gets its Internet through a cable that runs deep under the sea.

On the night of Sunday, January 20, the 514-mile (827-kilometer) cable that connects Tonga to Fiji got broken. No one is sure how it broke, but the most likely reason is that it was damaged by a ship pulling its anchor (锚).

In many places which use underwater cables, there is a backup cable. But because Tonga’s cable is so long and costs so much money, and because not that many people live on Tonga, the country just has one cable.

The broken cable caused Tonga's Internet to stop almost completely. It was also impossible to make calls to other countries at first.

But an Internet company soon brought Internet service back using a satellite (人造卫星) connection. Banks and many government offices also have satellite connections. But this is much slower. For satellite Internet, all signals (信号) must be sent out into space and then come back to the ground somewhere else. Satellite connections only allow a small part of the Internet activity that is possible with an undersea cable.

As a result, Tongans have to think carefully about how the Internet will be used. A person speaking for the company that owns the cable said that about 80% of the Internet use in Tonga was for social media (社交媒体) sites, such as Facebook and YouTube. The country is thinking about blocking these social media sites until the problem is fixed.

A special repair ship is traveling to Tonga from Samoa to fix the cable, which is broken in two places. The repairs should begin on Monday or Tuesday and could take a week or longer. No one knows yet how much it will cost to fix the cable.

2 . In April 2018, a group of Canadian scientists flying in a helicopter (直升飞机) discovered something they didn't expect to see — a huge, unknown cave with an opening the size of a football field.

The cave was discovered in the northern part of Wells Gray Provincial Park, in a wild, faraway area of Canada's Cariboo Mountains. The area is hard to get to and even harder to travel through. It is covered with snow for much of the year.   

The group told Catherine Hickson, a scientist who studies rocks, about the cave. Dr. Hickson got a team of researchers together to study it. In September, they went for a closer look after most of the snow melted (融化). The cave is one of the largest in Canada. Not only is the opening to the cave larger than a football field, the cave is also deep. The team couldn't measure (测量) all the way to the bottom, but they think it may be more than 180 meters deep. The cave is tens of thousands of years old. But the rock in the cave is made of used to be at the bottom of an ocean (海洋). It is hundreds of millions of years old.

A small, but fast river of melting snow leads into the cave on one side, creating a waterfall near the top and a river at the bottom. The water comes out again a long way away. The exit (出口) is about 2.1 kilometers away and about l/2 kilometer lower down.

The cave will have to wait to get an official name. For now, the cave is being called "Sarlacc's Pit "because it looks similar to the home of the Sarlacc, a person in the Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi.

For Dr. Hickson, there's a lesson to be learned from the cave. "It shows you that you don't know everything, "she says." There are things yet to be discovered."

3 . Simon James is an super-trail runner (越野跑步者) who encourages people to reconnect with nature in the name of exercise. He has completed Super Trail in the Alps, the Andes and the Himalayas. A late-night bet with a client (客户) got him tied to running.

“In 2006, a business client challenged me one evening in a bar to a 36-hour walk across 54 miles of the West Highland Way, and I foolishly said ‘yes’,” James said. “He then rang me the next day to tell me we would be running it.”

At the time, James was 20 kilograms overweight and the longest he had run before that was just under 8 miles, but he managed to finish that run and has never looked back.

According to a report, two-thirds of adults in the U. K. are overweight, one-fifth suffering from depression (抑郁). The huge influence caused by modern lifestyle has worsened these issues. We are aware of the importance of exercise in everyday life, and no amount of virtual (虚拟的) meetings can make up for direct social contact. James said, “Only one thing can fix these problems-trail running.”

What is unique about trail running, he explained, is that “it reconnects us to our beautiful nature and connects our physical, mental and spiritual aspects, as well as providing us with an experience which can connect us to other people”.

Inspired, he quit his city life of working 16-hour-plus-days as a banker, and spent more time in trails and mountains.   

James is now in charge of the trail running company Run the Wild. He said every run has been a gift following a physical operation in 2015, even though his doctor told that he could hardly run again. He said, “The outdoors is such a great place for us all to experience.”

4 . TEEN SUMMER BACKPACKING,

HIKING &: COMMUNITY SERVICE

TRIP DETAILS

Trip Start: Geneva, Switzerland

Trip End: Geneva, Switzerland

Age:15-18

Trip Dates:6/28-7/17, 7/22-8/10

Cost: $5495 (airplane ticket not included)

Introduction

It is your time to experience Europe's breathtaking mountains on our 20-day Alps Explorer. Starting in Zermatt, Switzerland, you'll take in the beauty of the Matterhorn. This three-country hike （远足）will take you around the highest mountain in Europe.

Zermatt &. the Matterhorn

Arrive at Geneva's International Airport, we'll transfer（换乘）to the town of Zermatt in Switzerland's Valais area. Well spend our first few days hiking along the Matterhorn. You'll feel the burn of a tiring climb, but you will also feel the cool Alpine air and see good views of the Matterhorn and its neighboring mountains.

Swiss Alps &. the Aletsch Glacier

From Zermatt, we'll transfer to the small, riverside town of Fiesch. One of Switzerland's famous cable cars(缆车)will carry us up to the high land that is home to the Aletsch Glacier. We'll hike to the car-free mountaintop village of Bettmeralp, and then go down back into Fiesch. From there we'll go to Martigny.   

Tour du Mont Blane &. Geneva

In Martigny, we'll set off on the full Tour du Mont Blane. We'll travel ancient footpaths, and climb high mountain passes—on foot! Moving into France, you'll be surprised by the beauty of the town of Chamonix before crossing into Italy and onto the small town of Courmayeur. You can be sure that we'll take time to stop for a real Italian pizza before crossing back into Switzerland. The Tour du Mont Blanc offers a great taste of three different Alpine cultures.

We'll spend our final day in Geneva. After a morning of walking in the Geneva Botanical Gardens, the rest of the day will be yours to experience the city. Finally, we'll meet at the famous Jet d'Eau water fountain(喷泉)to celebrate our unforgettable journey.

9 . Chris Nikic was born to break barriers and make history.

The 21 -year-old has Down syndrome (唐氏综合征) and a _________ that knows no limits. Just a few years ago, he started _________ himself to be more active. _________ by his father Jerry, Chris was determined to turn into an amazing athlete, _________ his way toward his dream goal: finishing an Ironman Triathlon (铁人三项运动)!

On November 7, 2020, he _________ Florida's Visit Panama City Beach Ironman, swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles, and _________ a 26.2-mile run. Beginning at 5:52 am, Chris experienced a _________ race that lasted 16 hours, 46 minutes, and 9 seconds, during which time nothing could stop him — not _________ a cut knee from a bike crash! Less than 14 minutes from the cutoff time, Chris _________ the finish line!

Not only did he achieve his goal, but he also ____________ in history! Guinness World Records ____________recognized Chris as the world's first person with Down syndrome to finish an Ironman Triathlon.

More ____________ than any medal or title, however, is the fact that Chris will ____________ people like him to achieve their dreams.

"To Chris, this ____________ was more than just a finish line and ____________ of victory," Jerry, whose support gave Chris a great sense of uplift, explained. " His story is an ____________ to other kids and families that face ____________ barriers, proving no goal is too ____________ . If Chris can do an Ironman, others can do too."

So what's next for this ____________ ? The 2022 Special Olympics in Orlando, Florida! With his ____________ for success, we have no doubt that we'll see him there!

Liu Wenhui has beautiful memories of visiting hutongs with friends when he was a boy.     1     is not only the playing and laughing under trees that he remembers fondly, but also some of the courtyards,     2     were over 100 years old. He said he was most impressed     3     a family's wooden courtyard. He often wondered about the structure under the big roof and how it     4     (support). Eight years later, he came across a model of an ancient building     5     (make) of wood in a private museum. Later, he decided     6     (devote) himself to making wooden models of ancient buildings that can be taken apart and reassembled (组装). His family and friends did not think he would do the business     7     (successful). But he didn't listen to them, because he felt a special     8     (connect) from his childhood calling him, After some short courses in architecture, Liu started making dougong, a system of nailless wooden bracket (支架) sets. Since then, Liu     9    (launch) nearly 40 products, gaining success with consumers. These toy blocks with Chinese cultural heritage are also     10     way for the public to develop an interest in traditional architecture.