Yours,

Li Hua

3 . Travelling with friends can be an amazing experience where you could make lifelong memories or it could ruin your friendship.     1     Here are some rules you should follow to make sure your next trip with friends goes as smoothly as possible.

    2     Sure, you and your friends probably have some similar interests, but that’s not always the case. In an effort to keep everyone happy, go over travel plans and expectations ahead of time. Have each person categorize activities or sights into “must-see”, “want to see” and “would go if we have time”. Plan accordingly and make sure everyone can see some of their top attractions.

Communicate and respect each other. Everyone has personal preferences when travelling— from getting the bed closest to the bathroom or sitting in the airplane’s window seat. But sometimes things don’t go as you like. In this case, share your requirements directly with your travel companions.     3     Have a conversation when problems arise, for communication is the key.

Don’t disappear. When travelling with a group — or even just one other person — you may want some alone time. That’s completely fine, but make sure your friends know where you are and have a way of contacting you.     4    

Get off your phone. Of course, your friends will understand if you need to take a call from a family member, or in the event of a work emergency, but other than that, try to stay off your phone.     5     After all, the appeal of this type of trip is to spend time with friends. Just enjoy it!

4 . Japan’s biggest airline is betting that the future of travel isn’t traveling at all. For the last month, a married couple has been interacting with a robot—called an Avatar—that’s controlled by their daughter hundreds of miles away. Made by ANA Holdings Inc., it looks like a vacuum cleaner with an iPad attached. But the screen displays the daughter’s face as they chat, and its wheels let her move about the house as though she’s really there.

“Virtual travel” is nothing new, of course. Storytellers, travel writers and artists have been stimulating the senses of armchair tourists for centuries. It’s only in recent decades that frequent, safe travel has become available to the non- wealthy.

Yet even as the world’s middle classes climb out of the armchair and into economy-class seat, there are signs of a post-travel society emerging. Concerns about environmental sustainability cause loss to airlines which release much carbon. And the aging of abundant societies is both restricting physical travel and creating demand for alternative ways to experience the world. For the travel industry, virtual reality offers an attractive response to these trends.

Of course, new technologies encourage far-out claims. ANA doesn’t plan to start selling Avatars until next year. Profits, too, will probably be difficult to make: By one estimate, the global market for this kind of technology will be worth only about $300 million by 2023. By contrast, ANA’s traditional travel business brought in more than $19 billion last year.

But if the business value for virtual vacations is still weak, the market for technologies that bridge physical distances between families and coworkers seems likely to only expand. ANA’s robots may not replace its airplanes any time soon, but they’ll almost certainly be a part of travel’s high-tech future.

5 . We know that St.Patrick’s Day festivities may include a little bit of drinking.But there are plenty of kid-safe St.Patrick’s Day events around metro Phoenix,too.Here are the lucky St.Patrick’s Day celebrations for kids.

3/17:Lucky St.Patrick’s Day Cupcakes

Kids can make their own treats at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix this St.Patrick’s Day.Children can make and decorate their cupcakes with rainbow candies and chocolate.To-go containers will also be provided.

Details:1 pm-3 pm,Friday,March 17.Children’s Museum of Phoenix,215 N.7th Street,Phoenix.$3 for members.$4 for non-members.602-253-0501.

3/17-19:Fountain O’ Green Artisan Market

This community festival will include sculptures,paintings,handcrafted jewelry and apparel(衣服) from selected local and regional artists,live music and dance performance throughout the weekend.There will also be a food court.

On Friday,colorful water will shoot from the town’s fountain at noon.Take the kids to see the annual tradition and picnic in the park.

Details:10 am-5 pm,Friday-Sunday,March 17-19.Avenue of the Fountains and Saguaro Boulevard,Fountain Hills.Free.480-488-2014.

3/17:St.Patrick’s Day Party at AZ Air Time

Kids above 12 years old can collect their free,green necklaces and jump for three hours,climb the rock climbing wall or dive into the giant hole of foam(泡沫).Jump socks will be required.

Details:8 pm-11 pm,Friday,March 17.AZ Air Time,13802 N.Scottsdale Road,Suite 145,Scottsdale.$15,saving $14.480-427-2000/480-427-2001.

The Yellow Crane Tower has     1     very long history.Why was the Yellow Crane Tower built?Due to the ideal location,it was built by Sun Quan as a watchtower for his army. After     2     seemed hundreds of years,its military function was     3     (gradual) forgotten and the tower was enjoyed mainly as a picturesque location.

During the Tang Dynasty,many popular poems were written in praise of the Yellow Crane Tower.It was the Yellow Crane Tower poem    4     made the tower so famous and attractive.During the following centuries,it     5     (destroy)and rebuilt several times.

The Yellow Crane Tower had different architectural features in different     6     (dynasty). However, the tower     7     stands today is based     8     the one designed during the Qing Dynasty.How tall is the Yellow Crane Tower? It stands 51.4 meters high. The     9     (appear) of the Yellow Crane Tower is the same regardless of the direction it is viewed from.

On top of the tower,visitors are treated to a fantastic view of the Yangtze River,its bridge and the     10     (surround) buildings in Wuhan City.

Enjoying the fame of “The First Scenery under Heaven”，Yellow Crane Tower is one of the most famous towers south of the Yangtze River...

9 . A 23-year-old woman has achieved an unbelievable feat that many of us dream of -visiting every country on Earth.

Lexie Alford was born into a family of travel agents, which gave her the opportunity to ________ places such as Cambodia,Dubai and Egypt during her childhood, according to Forbes magazine. She began saving up at age 12 to ________ her goal of visiting all countries. By her 18th birthday, she had travelled to 72 nations. In October,2016 she realized she could see the ________ nations on her list in time to set an official record. Many people ________her travel on social media platform Instagram, so she decided to chase the world record partly to ________ others. “Honestly，in the beginning, I ________ wanted to push the ________ of what I thought I could do with my life and see as much of the world as possible in the ________,” she told Forbes. “It wasn’t until things started getting really________ that I realized I was inspiring people around me, especially the ________．”

I also loved visiting Northern Pakistan, for the natural beauty of the mountains and kindness of the locals were astonishing,” Lexie Alford said. “The most pleasant surprise about travelling to all these misunderstood areas of the world was that the countries that I had the________ expectation for ________ being the most incredible.”

“My ________ for young people is to believe that you can do anything you set your mind to do. If you want to travel, you have to ________ sacrifices to travel around the world. And it’s only a matter of ________ until you can make it a reality.”