2 . Leave-No-Trace Camping

For those of us who love spending time in the great outdoors, wild spaces are very special. These are places we visit to recharge, or to fill our hearts with natural beauty.    1    If you feel this way, then you’re the perfect person to promote and practice Leave-No-Trace camping.

Its principles are to treat the wilderness the way a decent visitor would and leave everything just as you found it, with no evidence that you passed through.    2    That’s because your visit makes a minimal impact on the environment.

You can carry out these ideals in a number of ways. Begin by packing out all your litter. Whenever you go camping, take an empty trash bag with you and put all garbage into the bag. In addition, try not to damage vegetation.    3    Wherever you go, think about what your heavy shoes or boots are doing to the plants underneath and try to keep damage to a minimum.

It’s also important that you should not take things away from the wilderness. Rocks, plants, flowers and seashells are all part of the natural landscape.    4    Plus, many animals find homes and food in abandoned shells and flower-heads, and these are things they would miss if you collected them.

Leave-No-Trace camping is about being respectful and thoughtful. It’s about honoring the natural world and the creatures that live in it. If you love seeing an untouched mountain stream or a lovely field of wildflowers, then you’ve already taken the first step.    5    

3 . It’s getting close to midnight, and close to my destination—mile marker 133 on Alaska’s Glenn Highway, where I’m on the road to realize a lifelong dream. I’m going to see the northern lights.

I am Scott’s only customer tonight, but whether it’s one person or a bridal party from Japan, the professional photographer and videographer loves to come put here to witness one of nature’s most spectacular shows — and to share it with others. “I can’t tell you how much joy I get from seeing the smile on people’s faces. That’s worth it right there. That’s the reason why I do tours,” he says.

I emerge from the van into minus 6 degrees. A bazillion stars sparkle, and the Milky Way pours overhead. What looks like a gray stream of cloud arches low over the horizon. “That’s it!” says Scott. Really? That’s it? I spent 13 hours in planes and airports, and then drove 2.5 hours to see a gray belt? “Patience,” he says. “It will get better. Wait till 2 am. That’s usually the best time.”

Aurora (极光) tourism is combined with winter activities like ice fishing, snow machine rides, and hot springs. As aurora guides and scientists will tell you, there’s no guarantee of a sighting. But Fairbanks is a statistically good bet because of its northern location and freedom from coastal clouds, which can be a challenge for Anchorage. Travelers are recommended to put aside at least three nights to improve your chances of viewing, with the idea that you’ll be up much of the night each time.

Each time he wakes me and I step outside, it appears more glorious. At first, a fuzz the size of a honeydew floats along the horizon. Another time, a broad green line stretches across the sky, followed by a short tail. “Do you see the red?” Scott asks. He has me look through his camera. It can see more color than the naked eye. Finally, as if playing a visual symphonic tune, a giant line of phosphorous (发磷光的) green seems to swoop down to the treetops and dollop them with a curlicue swirl. I’m smiling inside and out. We can go now.

6 . A short video showing a member of the cleaning staff at the Summer Palace in Beijing explaining Buddhist scenic spots drew a lot of traffic on different social media platforms recently, with netizens     1    (impress) by his mastery of traditional Chinese culture.

In the video, the worker, Zhang Xu, 40, explains the cultural connotations of the sites     2     several tourists, who were doing research.

    3     makes it special is his recitation of a list of dozens of Buddhist sites, which are hard     4    (pronounce). He speaks with     5     ease and confidence that it seems he is doing a tongue twister. People thought he must be a tour guide or expert,     6     he was wearing the uniform of a janitor and holding a broom. After his     7    (explain), Zhang smiled and returned to his work as though nothing had happened. The video     8    (post) by the researchers on social media platforms on Oct 7 and immediately became a trending topic online. Zhang was even given the name of “the most powerful cleaning monk” by netizens, one of the     9    (character) in Louis Cha’s (金庸) novel Tianlong Babu.

Zhang said     10     never occurred to him that he’d become famous online, as he only wanted to help the tourists who seemed puzzled. Zhang joined the cleaning staff at the palace in late 2021 and walks about 40,000 steps inside the palace every day, so he knows a lot about it.