1 . Paris

The City of Light draws visitors from around the globe who come to see attractions like the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre. Get lost wandering along the attractive stone streets, or relax on the banks of the Seine for hours. If you’re up for a quick day trip, head about 15 miles southwest of the city center to the Palace of Versailles, which offers guided and self-guided tours of the palace. The best time to visit Paris is from June to August and September to October.

London

London is home to a number of historical landmarks and modern-day attractions. If it’s your first time in London, plan to see the top attractions, such as the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and the British Museum, before sitting down to a classic afternoon tea or checking out a local pub. The best time to visit London is March through May when the temperatures are mild and the city’s parks are green.

Dubai

This Middle Eastern city is filled with some of the world’s most notable and unique attractions, including the Dubai Mall, indoor Ski Dubai and Burj Khalifa, the tallest building on the planet. But the city still holds onto its heritage, as seen in the Bastakiya Quarter and the traditional Gold and Spice (香料) markets. The best time to visit Dubai is from November to March.

Tokyo

Tokyo has an electric energy and plenty of attractions to discover. Foodies won’t be let down by the city’s unique fresh sushi and tasty seafood. Photographers will love taking in the sweeping panoramas (全景) from the top of the Tokyo Skytree. Those who love to shop will find plenty of must-have designer products in Ginza. The best time to visit Tokyo is between March and April and September and November.

2 . The first rule of popular science is to reveal the wonder and mystery of the world. For that reason, Sentient (Picador), written by photographer and wildlife film-maker Jackie Higgins, is my pick of the year. According to my interviews with many readers, I select other four newly-published books in 2022.

This book describes how our ancestors hunted and consumed ancient animals such as mammoths, bison, giant camels and many more now-extinct species. The diet of the Clovis peoples of North America was a menu described as “a record of a lost world”. This book explains how our dinners robbed the world of so many large animals. It gives inspiration for how modern humans can be at peace with nature.

In 1999, Mann published a graph showing the rapid post-industrial rise in global temperatures. Two decades later, his book The New Climate War remains convinced that we can prevent climate change. This book sets out a common-sense approach to carbon pricing and a revision of the Green New Deal. Of course, there are still many people who deny that climate change is even happening.

Physicist Kate Greene imagines that she spends four months in a geodesic dome in Hawaii, with five other people, to mimic living in a colony on another planet. The story describes the future of our Earth. Kate makes readers cherish the natural environment. “No sunshine on our skin, and no fresh air in our lungs,” Greene turns the frustrations into a moving story.

The birds were once common across the peninsula. But as development over the last 100 years reduced the habitats on which the bird depends, the species became endangered. Mark Walters travels the state to report on the natural history and the current situation of Florida’s flag ship birds. This book can raise people’s awareness of protecting the birds’ habitats.

3 . Over the past 5,000 years, China has given birth to a large number of cultural heritages, Among these are the beautiful porcelain wares (瓷器) produced in Jingdezhen in East China’s Jiangxi Province. Here we explore their development and importance in today’s society.

Jingdezhen is well-known around the world for Its porcelain, It has produced porcelain since the Five Dynasties (907 ~ 960). Jingdezhen in known as the “porcelain capital” for its different kinds of porcelain wares with rich and cool styles, Of all the products, blue and white porcelain is the most famous, Such unique porcelains with the fine style have been praised as “the Treasure of China”.

Starting in the Song Dynasty (906 ~ 1279), kiln (窑) appeared in every household in every village in Jingdezhen, which was key to the establishment of its porcelain tradition.

During the Yuan Dynasty (1271~ 1368), a new technique for blue and white porcelain was invented. During the Ming (1368~ 1644) and Qing (1644~1911) dynasties, techniques for mining, painting, and firing were advanced, bringing Jingdezhen’s porcelain craftsmanship (工艺) to a historic high. At that time, the establishment of the Zhushan Imperial Kiln and the growing porcelain market overseas accelerated the development of the industry, turning Jingdezhen into a major porcelain production center.

The Republic of China (1912~1949) saw the growth of porcelain industry as well as a rise in shops and traders, which helped increase ties between Jingdezhen and other areas in China and other countries, After the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, the porcelain industry saw its development at high speed.

However, with the economic growth and the use of new technology over the last decades, the traditional porcelain production worsens. Although some traditional techniques have been preserved, a large part of them were lost. In 2006, Jingdezhen porcelain craftsmanship was listed as a national cultural heritage.

The history of hutongs can date back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271 — 1368), when the term “hutong”,     1     (initial) meaning “water wells”, first appeared in its capital, now known as Beijing. The Yuan nobles and high-ranking army officials     2     (award) lands as their estates in the city. They built houses and courtyards, now called “Siheyuan”, which were arranged in     3     orderly way around the wells.

In the Ming Dynasty (1368 —1644), the center of Beijing was the Forbidden City, with the Inner City and Outer City     4     (surround) it. Upper class citizens were permitted to live closer     5     the center. Nobles lived to the east and west of the palace. The hutongs formed by their houses were lined by spacious homes and gardens. Farther from the palace and to its north and south     6     (be) the commoners. Their Siheyuans were far smaller in size and simpler in    7    (decorate), and the hutongs were narrower.

Nowadays, if you visit Beijing, Nanluoguxiang is a must-see. The 786-meter long south-north hutong is lined with bars, hotels and stores. There are also 8 hutongs —    8     (hide) on the east and west sides of the main lane of Nanluoguxiang as well as former residences     9     celebrities once lived.

Hutongs are the home of the Beijing    10     (local), who have a deep affection for them.

10 . The day had started out as usual for Mrs. Ito until the late afternoon, when the news of the destructive tsunami waves came over the radio.

At last, 12:30 a.m. came as the radio warning had said and nothing happened. She could hear passing people say the tsunami waves must have missed the islands and they laughed as they were returning to their homes. Mrs. Ito went into her living room and looked down the street. It was calm.

Then, a sudden flash-like lighting lit the sky over Hilo Bay and a deafening explosion broke the night’s silence. The first large wave of the tsunami had burst Hilo’s electric power plant. Suddenly, all the lights in Hilo went out.

Next thing Mrs. Ito heard was a rumbling sound. Before she knew it, the wave roared into her house. She was knocked to the floor as her house began to spin (旋转) and finally tore apart. Terrible yelling and crying sounds came from her neighbors’ homes. Desperately, Mrs. Ito grasped for anything to stay above water. Suddenly, something heavy fell on her. The floorboards opened up and she became trapped. She used every bit of strength in her body to struggle out of the boards and managed to squeeze free. Then she blacked out.

When she woke up, she found herself being washed back and fourth as the water rose. She couldn’t see anyone else and listened for the sound of ocean waves. There were no waves, so she figured she had to be floating over flooded land. Mrs. Ito carefully tried to stretch her foot to touch bottom but it was too deep. Not knowing how to swim, she hung on tight to her tiny makeshift (临时的) raft.

At sunrise, she spotted two boats on the horizon. She saw in the distance a radio station tower light. She remained at peace and kept her head down. She thought that death was just a matter of time away. She thought the people on the boats hadn’t seen her. Then the boats came closer and closer. Mrs. Ito was seen and saved.