3 . Rumination（深思）is a sleep—blocker because it keeps your mind awakened, especially in bed, when it’s dark and quiet.     1     Your brain’s job is to strengthen information and build new synapses（突触）by digging up moments and memories from your day, even the things that upset you.

The best time to deal with worrying is during the day when you have important things to do and don’t have time to get caught up in mental cycles for hours and hours.     2    

Set aside 15 minutes during the mid—to late—afternoon just for yourself. Once the timer starts, give yourself the freedom to worry about one topic at a time. Think of it as a to—do list that you go through one by one, except what you’re checking off are topics you feel the most anxious about.

If you find yourself worrying during the day, tell yourself: “Look, I just need to put off this to the next emotional worry time.”     3     “I have this scheduled for tomorrow.” Do this two to three times a week until your rumination at night slowly starts to fade.

On a piece of paper, create two columns labeled as “Problem” and “Solution”. Come up with a short list of current problems you’re dealing with. Focus in particular on what you’re likely to ruminate about tonight.

    4     Remember, the goal is to make out a plan for how to get started with actionable steps for tomorrow, or within the next few days. You are not solving it completely.

Then fold the paper up and put it next to your bed. Say to yourself, “I have a plan.”     5     It frees your mind from puzzling over them at night.

4 . Given the extremely unpleasant heatwaves of this summer, being green and good to the planet feels more urgent than ever. The actions of our governments and cities, who have the power to make a great dent in the climate crisis, are important.

Now, there are plenty of cities that are still failing to effectively take action in the climate emergency. But others are becoming successful quickly—like, for instance, the winners of two of the European Union’s most famous green cities awards: European Green Capital and European Green Leaf.

Both of the awards recognize not just what the green—stuffed cities have already achieved, but also what they’ve got planned for the future. There’s only one European Green Capital winner per year, while the yearly European Green Leaf recognizes the environmental achievements of two smaller EU cities.

And now the winners of those two awards have finally been announced. European Green Capital in 2024 will be Valencia in southern Spain, which defeated the Sardinian city of Cagliari in the final.

Valencia says proudly Turia park—the largest urban（城市的）park in Europe—has obviously increased its green infrastructure（基础设施）polices in recent years. As well as being Green Capital 2024, Valencia will take home £350,000 to put towards green policies. (2023’s winner is Tallinn, Estonia)

The Green Leaf award, meanwhile, has been won by the Danish city of Elsinore and Velenje, the fifth—largest city in Slovenia. The two winners of the Green Leaf will get £75,000 to fund local green efforts.

For the separate awards, each city had to present their ideas to a judging group. The winners were announced at a ceremony in Grenoble (this year’s European Green Capital) last week.

So even if you don’t care about EU medals. it’s very much worth visiting all these cities to find out all the cool stuff they’re doing to save the world, hit by hit.

6 . Bhutan is one of the world’s most mysterious(神秘的)countries. Visiting it can be challenging, but there’s a new drive to finally cross it off the bucket list in 2022, as its breathtaking Trans Bhutan Trail(小径)will be reopening to travelers for the first time in 60 years.

According to the Bhutan Canada Foundation -the main donor to the restoration project — the 250-mile route connects nine districts, 28 local governments, one national park and 400 historic and cultural sites. Travelers who follow the entire trail route will cross 18 major bridges and climb 10,000 stairs. It will be possible to walk or mountain bike there.

“This is a community-based project in both its building and operation which will restore an ancient cultural treasure and provide a sustainable, net zero carbon experience in the country for travelers,” says Sam Blyth, chair of the Bhutan Canada Foundation. “The Trans Bhutan Trail also reflects the country’s philosophy of Gross National Happiness and will allow the children of Bhutan to walk in the footsteps of their ancestors.”

The trail’s westernmost point is the town of Haa, which is near the border with Tibet, China. The eastern most point is Trashigang, near the border of India’s Arunachal Pradesh state. According to a representative for the Bhutan Canada Foundation, an ambitious walker could cover the whole trail in about a month, but most tourists will likely enjoy shorter parts of the trail on three-, four-, or seven-day trips.

Due to its “high value, low impact” tourism strategy, Bhutan averaged just a few thousand visitors in atypical year before COVID-19 occurred. As part of its aim to avoid over tourism, the country charges a mandatory(强制的)$250 per day fee, which includes land transport, accommodations, food and guide service. The cost makes it somewhat prohibitive for many people to visit. And walkers to the Trans Bhutan Trail will have to apply for a permit. They can do this beginning in April.

Do you know the place Jinli? It’s a street     1     (lie) in Chengdu, Sichuan. The street has a long history and is rich     2    traditional Chinese culture.

The street is about 550 meters long. You can see some ancient-style     3     (building) along the well-known street. Years ago, Jinli     4     (view)   as   the   “National Top Ten City Commercial Pedestrian Street (商业步行街)”. Each year, a large number of travelers come to the street to enjoy    5     (they), especially during the Spring Festival.

There are many restaurants     6    special snacks are offered. In this street, you’ll be attracted by local snacks, which will make your mouth water. One well-known local snack is San Da Pao, which is made of rice, brown sugar, and so on. Some other    7     (equal) attractive local snacks provided in Jinli include boiled dumplings. All of them are delicious and are waiting for you     8     (taste).

In addition to the delicious snacks, there are many other     9     (impress) attractions in Jinli. If you have time, pay     10    visit to this street and have fun.

9 . Traveling is a unique experience and it helps us forget about our problems, frustrations, and fears at home. During our journey, we explore new places, cultures, cuisines, traditions, and ways of living.     1     This is why traveling is such an invaluable life experience.

If you remain in your hometown or country for your whole life, it’s hard to fully understand the world.     2     Being exposed to other cultures allows us to become open-minded and understand that even though we appear to be different, we also have many similarities.

    3     By traveling, we get to experience how people around the world live their lives. We learn where their priorities (最重要的事) lie and how they view family, work, education, the environment, etc. This may question and influence our own ideas and beliefs on how to live life.

Traveling makes meeting new people very easy. We are constantly surrounded by other people, whether we find ourselves in a hotel bar or on an excursion (远足).     4     We also often have similar interests and values, making the conversation flow more easily.

Traveling often involves stepping out of our comfort zone and experiencing new things. These new experiences help us grow on a personal level.     5     By dealing with these situations, you will discover your own strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, etc. This self-awareness is important to your personal growth and discovering who you really are.