1 . Scotland is packed with beautiful places to visit and you could honestly spend months and months exploring everything this wonderful country has to offer! Next I’m going to take you through some of the best places to visit in Scotland, based on where we have personally visited so far!

If you asked me where my favourite place to visit in all of Scotland is... I would say, Glen Coe. The whole area of Glen Coe constantly had my face in shock due to the beauty that I was witnessing. It’s just a stream of dramatic mountains, lakes, rugged beauty and more.

Fort William is probably one of the most well-known places to visit in Scotland. It’s a popular tourist destination thanks to being home to the UK’s tallest mountain: Ben Nevis. Fort William is also the starting point for one of the world’s most famous train rides: The Jacobite. Harry Potter fans will recognize it as the Hogwarts Express, and this train ride will take you through the beautiful countryside, crossing some iconic Harry Potter filming locations such as the Dumbledore’s Grave and the Glenfinnan Viaduct!

This island feels totally different from other parts of Scotland and is truly rugged and ready! There are many hot spots to explore including the Old Man of Storr, the Fairy Glen. I even stayed on a private island with its very own lighthouse, which was one of the coolest places I’ve ever visited and one of the most romantic places stay in Scotland.

This is the largest national park in the UK so it’s another popular place to visit in Scotland and it’s no surprise why. It’s absolutely beautiful and there’s so much happening at the Cairngorms National Park! From skiing or meeting local reindeers, you’ll not go bored and you’ll be surrounded by beauty the entire time.

2 . After university I decided to volunteer for the Special Olympic Games. In fact, I had no experience working with people with intellectual (智力的) ______, and little did I know that would ______ me so deeply.

When I arrived at the event, the director of the Special Olympic Games showed me to meet Vernon, a 24-year-old young man with Down syndrome (唐氏综合症). I introduced myself and ______ how much I enjoyed sports. But Vernon looked down most of the time and didn’t say much. I wondered if he was ______ or didn’t understand what I was saying. ______, I just tried to inspire him.

He started to make his way around the ______ one lap after another. I would cheer him on, yelling “Go. Vernon!” I never thought something remarkable would happen. He ______ toward the finishing line and then ran toward me with a big bear hug. While feeling his ______, I held him in my arms. He looked up at me with ______ eyes, yelling.

“Coach! Coach! You inspire me! I made it.” At that moment, all of my misconceptions about him suddenly ______. It seemed that Vernon was the one who ______ me.

That day, Vernon did not win any ______ in the competitions, but his ______ passion for life won over my heart as he demonstrated life is not about being the smartest, the strongest, or the best-looking. It’s about ______ who they are and not drawing conclusions about what they cannot do because, given the ______, people can surprise you in a good way.

The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize went to the UN World Food Program (WFP) on Friday, 9th October, 2020. The agency was recognized for its efforts to fight hunger, for its contribution     1     improving conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas     2     for acting as a driving force to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict. The efforts of WFP focus on emergency     3    (assist), development aid and special operations, two thirds of which     4     (make) in conflict-affected countries. In those countries, people are three times more likely     5     (suffer) poor nutrition than those living in countries without conflict do.

David Beasley, WFP Executive Director, said the announcement made by the Norwegian Nobel Committee     6     (turn) the global spotlight on the 690 million people exposed (暴露) to severe levels of food insecurity. “Every one of them has the right to live     7     (peaceful) and without hunger.”

Mr. Beasley also noted that the Nobel Peace Prize was not simply WFP’s. He said, “WFP works closely with governments, organizations and individuals     8     love for helping hungry people equals ours. We could not possibly help     9    (someone) without them. And     10     daily work of our members is driven by our core values of integrity and humanity.”

4 . Midway through The Matrix, Cypher feasts on an enormous steak, well aware that his reality is not real, part of a digital program telling his brain that the steak is a construction and that it is “juicy and delicious”. Two decades after the movie made its first appearance, something unexpected arises: The future of reality will not only be virtual but also synthetic (合成的). Cypher’s future meal will be a physical one, synthesized from animal cells.

And the synthesis goes beyond dinner. Starting with components from the natural world, scientists are learning to engineer microorganisms and build biocomputing systems. However, biology has a tendency to evolve in unexpected ways.

Synthesized meat is one case in point. The driving forces behind the meat movement are practical. It has been estimated that cultured (培育的) meat would require 7 to 45 percent less energy and produce 78 to 96 percent less greenhouse gas than conventional animals farmed for consumption. But once we’re able to synthesize meat, theoretically, we’ll have the capability to culture meat from any animal, even those we’d never consider eating today, like dolphins or chimpanzees, which will pose a new regulatory challenge for us.

Using synthetic biology, we can even edit and rewrite life, the technology of which is already in use. In 2021, scientists in some countries announced they had grown monkey embryos injected with human stem cells. Here comes the situation worth considering: such a monkey-human hybrid will demonstrate qualities that are somewhere between humans, on which experimentation isn’t allowed, and animals, which are often raised specifically for research. How will we decide when an animal becomes too human?

Depending on where you stand, the synthetic realities land somewhere between “really exciting” and “critically concerning”. As individuals, we undertake a shared responsibility to make good choices about this coming synthetic technology.

5 . Throughout history, great cities have risen and fallen. Some of them are seemingly lost in time—until artifacts(古物) are discovered that bring them back to life.

Teotihuacán

Located outside of Mexico City, Teotihuacán is thought to have been settled around 400 BC. By 400 AD, it was the most influential, powerful city in its region. Teotihuacán’s real treasure is its massive step pyramids. Much of the city’s history is still a mystery, but some believe that its decline came from changing climate conditions like long-term droughts.

Petra

This ancient city in southern Jordan flourished from the 4th century BC to 106 AD. It was an important place for spice and silk trade routes. It also had a complicatedly-designed water management system. Petra was occupied by Rome in 106 AD, and the trade routes soon shifted(转换). Hundreds of years later, earthquakes damaged the water system and Petra was abandoned.

Pompeii

Endless tales have been told about the tragedy of Pompeii, which occurred on August 24, in the year 79 AD, when the volcano Vesuvius erupted. The entire town was swiftly covered in ash and soil. Everything was frozen in time. The site was unearthed in the 18th century, and the evidence found provided a great detail of insight into daily living in this ancient Italian city.

Ctesiphon

Located about 20 miles outside of Baghdad, Ctesiphon was one of the greatest cities in Western Asia in the 6th century. It was conquered(征服) by Rome, and then by the Byzantine Empire. In 637 AD, it was captured by the Muslims. Many believe that the ancient city was the inspiration for the city of Isbanir mentioned in the Thousand and One Nights folk tales.