2 . For visitors who are on a short weekend visit to the island Bali, here is a tip of how to get the most out of their 48 hours visit.

Friday

3 pm—There is nothing like a good meal. La Lucciola at Seminyak is the place to be, with its good food, great service and a beautiful view of the sea.

5 pm—About an hour away from La Lucciola is Uluwatu. This southern tip of the island is famous for its famous temple that stands on the edge, high above the sea. The fire dance, is performed here daily at sunset.

8 pm—To finish off the evening, head to Jimbaran Bay where restaurants offer candles, local dances and a moving band of boys singing songs on request. Kick off your shoes, feel the sand, and enjoy the fresh seafood.

Saturday

9:30 am—Start the day with another experience of Balinese culture by heading for a dance performance.

12 pm—Kintamani, a favourite with tourists for the panoramic (全景的) view of active volcano Mt. Batur and neighbouring crater lake. It’s a good idea to reach Kintamani early as it tends to get cloudy after 3 pm. Have lunch at a local restaurant with a view of Mt. Batur and the lake. Tourists can catch the sunrise at the Mt. Batur peak.

2:30 pm—Head back to Ubud, the seat of Bali’s fine arts, dance and music, and spend the rest of your afternoon strolling through its streets.

Sunday

6 am—It’s time for a reduce in the sea—and don’t forget the camera.

10:30 am—It’s another half-day trip to two of the most famous temples in Bali. Drive down to the Taman Ayun temple at Mengwi.

12 pm—Next up is the Tanah Lot temple, perhaps the most famous of them all. Built on a rock that gets cut off from the mainland during high tide, the temple is best seen in the afternoon when it is silhouetted (显出轮廓) against the sun or at sunset.

Ireland’s beautiful countryside     1     (have) a great influence on its people and traditions up till now. The country has a long history of producing great writers and poets. Its beautiful countryside excites and inspires all,     2     (offer) something for each of the senses. The peaceful landscape of the “Emerald Isle” and its many green counties is     3     true feast for the eyes, with its rolling green hills     4     (dot) with sheep and cattle. And down by the sea, the roar of the ocean waves and cries of the seabirds make up the music of the coast. On a quiet morning in the mountains, feel the sun on your skin, and     5     (breath) in the sweet scent of fresh flowers while birds greet the new day     6     their morning song. With all this     7     (beautiful), it is not surprising that Ireland has developed strong traditions     8     include music, dancing, and dining. To have a chance of experiencing this, stop by a village pub and relax with a glass of wine or a local beer. Better yet, enjoy a delicious traditional Irish Beef Stew. If you’re     9     (luck), you might be able to enjoy some traditional music and dancing, too. And if you introduce yourself to a friendly face, you are more than likely     10     (experience) local culture and customs first-hand.

Visitors to Britain may experience local culture in a traditional pub. But for a stranger     1     (visit) the country, these friendly pubs can be traps of potential bad manners for the uneducated.

Recently a team of researchers     2     (release) some of the hidden customs of British pubs. Most pubs have no waiters and as a result, you yourself have to go to the bar to buy drinks. A group of Italian youths wait 45 minutes before they realize they would have to fetch their own. This may sound inconvenient,     3     there is a hidden purpose.

Pub culture is designed to promote communication in a society known for its quietness. Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting     4     (serve). The bar counter is     5     (possible) the only site in the British Isles     6     friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely appropriate and a really quite normal     7     (behave).

“If you haven’t been to     8     pub, you haven’t been to Britain. “This tip can be found in a booklet The Tourists’ Guide to Pub Etiquette (礼节). The trouble is     9     if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat. Nothing annoys the regular customers and bar staffs more than a crowd of strangers blocking all access     10     the bar while they argue about what to order.

7 . Futurologists are making a lot of predictions about our future life and they are predicting how we will travel, work and live in the next 30 years. By 2048, some futurologists foresee that some “talking” buildings will appear in our life.

By the middle of the century, it’s believed that buildings will be able to “talk” to people through various sensors when the heating needs to be turned on. As a result, there will be no switches. Instead, a lot of networks will appear, which can be compared to a human nervous system. In the next 30 years, buildings will be made from concrete plastics and shape-changing materials. All of them can heal themselves at that time. As architects are racing to develop the world’s tallest buildings, there will be a need for new kinds of elevators, through which vehicles could even travel into the buildings. German engineers have already started working on such technology called Multi.

By mid-century, scientists believe that buildings will be miles tall. Some of them may be very large and they can function as small cities. By comparison, at present, the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai, measures 828 metres high. As the future building can rise through the clouds, their windows will be replaced by virtual screens. In this way, people can choose any view as they like.

At height extremes, a London Spaceport is also likely to come into being by 2048 as the space industry develops very quickly. There is a huge cost advantage going to space from as high a base as possible, so a spaceport is very likely to be over 10km and even as much as 30km, using carbon - based materials.

Nice to have received your letter.

Yours,

Xiao Min