1 . Best U. S. National Parks for 2023
Today, 63 national parks in the U. S. draw millions of visitors a year to witness jaw-dropping natural wonders. To determine the best national parks, we considered the opinions of both travel experts and recent visitors. Do you have a favorite park? Cast your vote below.
#1 Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park is called the “Crown of the Continent” for its breathtaking beauty. A favorite spot among hikers, it features a variety of trails for all levels, ranging from the easy Trail of the Cedars to the challenging Grinnell Glacier. Besides, the park boasts numerous lakes and two mountain ranges, sheltering a variety of wildlife.
#2 Grand Canyon National Park
Measuring approximately 277 river miles in length, up to 18 miles wide and a mile deep, this canyon is truly a natural wonder. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Grand Canyon always leaves its visitors impressed. But if you’re seeking an escape to Mother Nature, be prepared: The Grand Canyon can be very crowded.
#3 Yellowstone National Park
With dramatic peaks and pure lakes, Yellowstone National Park is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. Multicolored pools, hot springs, stretching meadows, and steaming geysers (间歇泉). While you cross its 3,000-plus square miles of mountains, geysers and waterfalls, be prepared to share the trails with residents like buffalo (水牛).
#4 Yosemite National Park
Enjoying extraordinary landscapes, Yosemite National Park features towering waterfalls, millennia-old sequoia trees (红杉树), striking cliffs and unique rock formations. Most tourist activities take place within the Yosemite Valley. Here you’ll find the park’s most famous landmarks—Half Dome and El Capitan—as well as excellent hiking trails.
1. What can you do in Yellowstone National Park?A.Appreciate waterfalls. | B.Join wildlife preservation. |
C.Camp at mountain peaks. | D.Swim in colorful pools. |
A.Yosemite National Park and Glacier National Park. |
B.Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park. |
C.Yosemite National Park and Yellowstone National Park. |
D.Grand Canyon National Park and Glacier National Park. |
A.In a research paper. | B.On a tourist website. |
C.In an ecology journal. | D.In an instruction book. |
2 . Hot holidays that won’t break the bank in 2024
Summer is on the horizon. If you’re planning your next getaway, consider these attractive destinations.
Spain: Costa del Sol
Whether you’re looking for lively beach parties or peaceful bay, you’ll find your perfect spot in Costa del Sol. Not only is Spain a treasure collection of culture, but it is also a perfect spot for the thrill-seekers. Costa del Sol offers water sports like windsurfing and jet-skiing, as well as hiking trails in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains.
Italy: Amalfi Coast
The Amalfi Coast is blessed with jaw-dropping scenery. Exploring charming towns like Positano, Ravello, and Amalfi, you will find each with its own history and charm. The region is famous for its sweet lemon trees. Try the local Limoncello, a refreshing lemon wine suitable for summer.
Turkey: Bodrum
Bodrum has some of the most attractive blue waters in the Mediterranean. Visiting the Bodrum Castle, you can totally expose yourself to history and have fun in the beautiful markets of Bodrum, where you can buy local food, spices, and handmade crafts. It’s a delight for shopping enthusiasts. Bodrum has a bohemian atmosphere with a lively nightlife. From beachfront clubs to cosy bars, the town comes alive after dark.
Cyprus: Paphos
Filled with mythology (神话), Paphos is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with archaeological wonders like the Paphos Archaeological Park. The town combines the old and the new. Depending on the time of your visit, you might catch one of Paphos’ lively festivals, celebrating everything from music and arts to the yearly Carnival.
Book today with £0 deposit (定金) and you will also get a discount.
1. For a traveler of adventure spirits, the likely destination is ________.A.Costa del Sol | B.Amalfi Coast | C.Bodrum | D.Paphos |
A.Explore modern architecture. | B.Visit World Heritage sites. |
C.Join in the yearly Carnival. | D.Go shopping. |
A.Historic sites. | B.Amazing beaches. |
C.Lemon-made wine. | D.Energetic nights. |
A TV series named “Blossoms Shanghai” has become one of the most talked-about topics in China. Released in both Mandarin and the Shanghai dialect in late December 2023, it
The series,
The ZhiZhen Yuan restaurant in the TV series gets
4 . Special Museums In Christchurch, New Zealand
Yaldhurst Museum
Yaldhurst Museum is a place for car lovers in Christchurch city, which displays classic cars over a span of a century. The small museum has a collection of the widest range of car models from horse model to buggy cars.
Open Time: Wednesday—Sunday 10 a. m. -5 p. m. with the last entry(进入) of 4 p. m.
Entrance fee: $10 for students, $20 for adults.
The Toy Collector
The Toy Collector is a new player in the museums in Christchurch. Born recently in 2016, the Toy Collector is for all toy lovers displaying a huge collection of toys from all ages. The place is not big, so you can trip down your memory in just an hour.
Open Time: Every day from 10 a. m. -4 p. m.
Entrance Fee: $20 for an adult, $5 for children.
The Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities
Come and explore the Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities, where you can see more than three thousand years of human history through an amazing collection of artifacts from Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Near Eastern cultures. Born in 2017, this small one-roomed museum is a new home for old objects.
Open Time: Wed - Sun from 11 a. m. -3 p. m.
Entrance Fee: Free to enter.
Rutherford’s Den
Rutherford’s Den is a historic space for the country’s most famous scientist—Ernest Rutherford, also known as the father of Nuclear Science. Opened in Christchurch Arts Center in 2016, it is a small interactive museum with collections of Rutherford’s works, such as TV, radio and even telephones.
Open time: 10 a. m. -5 p. m., every day except for Christmas Day.
Entrance Fee: $10 for adults,$5 for students and children.
1. When can visitors enter Yaldhurst Museum?A.At 4:30 p. m., Saturday. | B.At 10 a. m., Tuesday. |
C.At 5 p. m., Monday. | D.At 11 a. m., Thursday. |
A.Yaldhurst Museum. | B.The Toy Collector. |
C.The Teece Museum. | D.Rutherford’s Den.. |
A.They are all small in size. | B.They are all free for students. |
C.They are all new museums. | D.They are all heritage space. |
Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park in Gansu is the best representative of China’s colorful Danxia landform. With a wide
The site is characterized by amazing landforms, including
The most representative spots in the park such as the Seven-color Screen and the Colorful Sunset look like a rainbow hanging in the distance. However, scenes are totally different on the edge of the hills. The colors there turn into yellow and grey like shells in the sun. Scenes are even more breathtaking
6 . Standing on a hill at Cliveden Gardens on a sunny winter day, its dark-green lake surrounded by centuries-old trees took my breath away.
“The English landscape is more beautiful because its beauty is understated,” my friend Will said to me later as we walked through an exhibition at Tate Britain. He pointed to a painting of a peaceful countryside. “This is the landscape I grew up with”, he said. Unlike grand waterfalls or wild forests, this scenery doesn’t shout about its beauty.
I wonder if Chinese tourists will explore beyond London.
Experiencing both cultures, I’ve realized that the English and Chinese both express achievements with understatement.
A.Cliveden isn’t a famous holiday place. |
B.Rather, its beauty is reserved for the locals only. |
C.I’ve been impressed by British humor all the time. |
D.They tend to prefer places with a strong reputation. |
E.But the more I looked, the more I saw its quiet elegance. |
F.Over the years, I’ve become familiar with British modesty. |
G.This mix makes me appreciate the unusual beauty of Cliveden. |
7 . Going against the tide of flocking to well-known tourist destinations on vacation, a growing number of holidaymakers in China tend to spend their leisure time at lesser-known attractions. Reverse tourism (逆向旅游) has appeared as a new trend among young holidaymakers in China.
According to data from an online travel agency, the number of rooms booked at hotels in less-traveled cities during the holiday was up 30 percent year-on-year. Bookings for four-star or five-star hotels in less-traveled places all increased ten times at a minimum. Some lesser-known scenic spots posted double-digit (两位数的) growth during the holiday. Baimaiquan Park in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, received 52,100 visits in the seven days, up to 15.78 percent year-over-year.
Besides crowds, some vacationers chose less-traveled places to save on the cost of trips to popular destinations. In addition, lesser-known attractions are not as “commercial” as developed ones and are able to offer more actual experiences and natural encounters.
Essentially speaking, total relaxation is becoming a real expectation for many people when they travel. Changes in demand may be the fundamental reason for the popularity of reverse tourism. COVID-19 is another key factor fueling reverse tourism. As preventive measures continue, traveling has an unpredictable quality. Travelers have thus become more cautious and tend to choose local attractions or places with fewer tourists.
“The rise of reverse tourism is not a bad thing,” said Zhengzhou Daily. It means that vacationers now have more options, which brings more possibilities to the tourism market. More importantly, it noted, the trend is set to force popular destinations to improve themselves instead of resting on their past honor.
Jiang Han, a senior researcher, said that reverse tourism will become one of the future directions for the market. To give a real boost to the tourism market, Jiang suggested that more efforts be made to tap the potential of underestimated, lesser-known destinations. It is necessary to dig deeper into the local customs and highlight the local characteristics to improve the quality of local tourism.
1. What do the statistics in paragraph 2 tell us?A.The popularity of travel agency in China. |
B.The high income of hotels during holidays. |
C.The contributions of tourism to the economy. |
D.The increasing trend of reverse tourism in China. |
A.The impact of COVID-19. |
B.Holidaymakers’ changing needs for travel. |
C.The lower cost of heading to less-traveled places. |
D.The lack of innovative improvements in famous attractions. |
A.It will drop with the recovery of economy. |
B.It benefits both tourists and the tourism market. |
C.It is beneficial to spread local culture to tourists. |
D.It blocks the development of some popular resorts. |
A.Upgrading the supporting facilities in tourist areas. |
B.Improving the management rules of tourist attractions further. |
C.Exploring the potential and features of lesser-known attractions. |
D.Promoting the local characteristics of China through online media. |
北京概况 | 历史悠久,旅游资源丰富。 |
旅游活动安排 | 1. 上午7:00在红星宾馆门口集合,然后乘汽车去天安门和故宫游览观光; 2. 下午2:00乘汽车到长城游览参观。 |
Dear Tom,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
The Forbidden City is also known as the Palace Museum. It lies in the city center of Beijing and
Rectangular (长方形的) in shape, the Forbidden City is
10 . Welcome to Open Days-Tours of America’s best private gardens
Registration is now open for all Open Days through September. Registration for Open Days will open about two months before each event.
We made several big changes to the program last year, all of which will remain in place for our 2022 Open Days season, including:
▪Online pre-registration is required for each garden. In our website, please click and register for each garden you would like to visit. Children under 12 are free and do not need to be pre-registered if accompanied by a pre-registered adult.
▪The number of visitors is limited. Sorry, no walk-ins allowed; no paper tickets or cash payments will be accepted on-site.
▪Registrations won’t be returned. Sorry, we are not able to offer your money back unless we call off the event.
About special activities
Garden Extras Many Open Days hosts provide the guests with guided tours and additional activities such as book-signings, or plant sales, demonstrations (展示) . These Garden Extras are free with Open Days garden admission.
Digging Deeper Special site-specific programs were added in 2015 and quickly became popular. In these Digging Deeper events, small groups of visitors come together for informative yet informal talks and demonstrations with experts from the garden world: garden writers, plant collectors, artists, and more. Advance registration and pre-purchase is required. Space is limited and they fill up quickly!
Garden Masters Series In 2019, we introduced the Garden Masters Series. These events provide a chance for deep learning, inspiration, and a unique experience with like-minded friends and fellow garden enthusiasts. Book early.
1. What will be accepted in 2022 Open Day season?A.On-site payment. |
B.Admission by paper tickets. |
C.Online advance registration. |
D.Application to return registration fee. |
A.Garden Extras. | B.Digging Deeper. |
C.Garden Masters Series. | D.Special site-specific programs. |
A.To comment. | B.To warn. | C.To discuss. | D.To inform. |