2 . London’s best local theatres

The Bush Theatre in Shepherd’s Bush began life in 1972 above a pub that held only 80 people, but in 2010 it moved to an old public library building. Under the artistic directorship of Madani Younis, the theatre became one of the city’s most influential artistic spaces. Now that Lynette Linton has taken control of it, the theatre continues to host groundbreaking works

7 Uxbridge Rd, Shepherd’s Bush, bushtheatre.co.uk

Set up by artistic director Mehmet Ergen in 2000, the Arcola in Dalston has two theatre spaces and plays host to a number of works. As well as hosting new writing, they hold Grime born, an opera (歌剧) festival that runs for several weeks every summer.

24 Ashwin St, Dalston, arcolatheatre.com

Southwark Playhouse began life in 1993, with a disused workshop being turned into a theatre space. With two performance spaces, they put on a widespread of works, from musicals to new plays. The Playhouse is moving into two new venues (剧场), a flagship site at Elephant and Castle and another in the arches of London Bridge Station.

77—85 Newington Causeway, southwark playhouse.co.uk

It’s worth making the journey to the Rose Theatre. It opened in 2008 and its layout (布局) was based on that of the original Elizabethan Rose Theatre on London’s Bankside. It hosts works from theatre companies as well as producing its own, and can attract the best. The world’s first public performance of Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend took place here in 2017.

24—26 High St, Kingston upon Thames, rosetheatre.org

3 . Gary McKee, 53, from Cleator Moor in Cumbria, raised his arms and was cheered by a crowd of people as he completed his 365th marathon of the year on New Year’s Eve. As of 4 pm on Saturday, he had raised more than £890, 000 for the charities Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice at Home West Cumbria. The father of three has gone through 22 pairs of sports shoes and has run 9, 563 miles in rain, snow and sunshine to raise money.

“The support has been amazing and it always is and the West Cumbrians get behind us, but cancer is scary so it isn’t just a West Cumbrian thing, it’s a national thing,” said Gary. “I just hope that people do get behind us and we do raise that million pounds.” Gary has not only raised money for two fantastic charities, but he has also sprinkled magic on the local community and brought people together supporting him with the challenge.

Chris Young, 29, who ran 90 marathons with Mr McKee, said: “Gary set a good example to me this year when I began running often with him. He has given me both physical and mental confidence that I don’t know if I would have ever discovered in myself in a million years. I know I don’t just speak for myself on that front as he has inspired not just me or the few, but the whole local community and beyond,” said Chris. “This challenge has raised a great amount of money for two fantastic charities, but the influence Gary has provided to the community and people around him is immeasurable.”

4 . Zion is among the most visited parks in the USA and is particularly crowded because many of its most popular sites sit in a narrow six-mile canyon (峡谷). Last year, about 4.3 million people visited it, up to 60 percent from a decade ago. So this year, park managers announced they were considering a first for any national park: requiring reservations (预定) for entry.

The National Park Service was created in 1916 to protect the country’s growing system of parks and monuments. Its aim is to conserve scenery and wildlife while also protecting visitor enjoyment for generations to come. For years, the lack of a reservation system for park entry associated with the spirit of adventure: Anyone could come, pretty much anytime.

But recently, both visitors and nature are suffering. Mr. Burns, who is on a team that is considering a reservation system, said some people showed up for a vacation they had planned for months, spent a day in the traffic jam and turned around. Mr. Burns said he favored a reservation policy. He recalled the days when he would jump in a car and pull up to parks across the West with no plans.

When he first came to the park in the 1980s, he wrote a letter home. “I’m living in a no-man’s-land,” he told his parents. He could hike for hours, even days, without seeing anyone, and he remembered the constantly changing light on the canyons, the brilliant green of the trees, the blue water of the Virgin River. Today, he said, when he wants to find solitude (清静), it is usually joined by the distant rumble of the shuttle bus.

“There is only one Zion National Park,” he said to those struggling to see a need for limiting access. “And it’s sacred (神圣的). Its beauty is sacred.”

Anna had a car accident when she was a teenager. She     1     (lose) her arms because of that. What’s     2     (worse), when she was 20 years old, she lost her parents. Her sister, who is ten years older than her, told Anna she’d take care of her. However, Anna refused to    3     (live) with her. Instead, Anna said she’d take care of     4     (herself). She managed to enter college and studied very hard. Four years later, Anna graduated and was offered work. Once she     5     (write) in her diary, “I am quite lucky.     6     I lost my arms, I still have my legs.”

Anna lost her arms     7     she chose to face it in a positive (积极的) way. Instead of feeling sad every day, she decided not to let it hold her back. She has taught us a good lesson.

When something bad happens to us, we have two     8     (choice). One is to complain, and     9     other is to face it bravely. Just choose     10     (wisely). If you decide to be brave and strong, new hopes will come.

Wandering sounds, irregular rhythms and a carrier of gentle emotions. This is the musical language of guqin, a plucked seven string instrument created in ancient China.

The earliest piece of guqin in China,     1    (unearth) in Hubei province in 2016, dates back to the Zhou Dynasty. The body of a guqin is made of lacquered wood and the strings of twisted silk.    2     its seemingly simple appearance, making a guqin is extremely demanding.     3     outstanding piece can take anywhere from two to several decades to craft. It is a crystallization of art and time.

The guqin was favored by the literati in ancient China. The most renowned guqin     4    (music) was Yu Boya in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.     5     he played his guqin in the mountains, a woodcutter named Zhong Ziqi heard the music and understood exactly     6     Yu wanted to express.

This deep understanding formed a strong bond between them,     7       they became close friends. This is the famous tale behind the guqin masterpiece, Flowing Water, High Mountains. The piece     8    (pass) down through generations and is considered one of the most famous and important     9    (compose) in Chinese guqin music. This graceful dialogue,     10    (flow) from brushed fingertips and travelling for thousands of years, is continuing to this day.