1 . I used to think my life was perfect. My mom had her dream job and a beautiful office and I had my own room with a computer and a garden to look after. But one Sunday, everything changed. A hurricane _______ our neighborhood while we were visiting my grandparents in Raleigh. Our kitchen was ________, and our clean and comfortable home was in ruins.

But something ________ happened. Our neighbors, the Flores family, came to our ________. They helped clear broken pieces and offered us a place to stay. Their ________ was most impressive. We had never ________ spoken to them before, but they ________ their home to us and made us feel like family.

We started a new ________ of having weekend dinner together. We invited other families from the neighborhood to join us, and our ________ were filled with laughter and delicious food. It was a beautiful thing to see our ________ come together in the wake of a disaster.

I ________ knew Rosica, their daughter, before the hurricane. But she quickly became my friend. She had a gift for ________ and our evenings together were filled with adventure and laughter.

Looking back, I realize that the hurricane ________ unexpected benefit. It brought us closer to our neighbors and ________ our lives in ways we never could have imagined. Sometimes, it takes a(n) ________ to bring out the best in people.

3 . After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.

Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.

The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations — major food sources (来源) for the wolf — grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park’s red foxes, and completely drove away the park’s beavers.

As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.

The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red foxes have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.

4 . Scotland is packed with beautiful places to visit and you could honestly spend months and months exploring everything this wonderful country has to offer! Next I’m going to take you through some of the best place to visit in Scotland, based on where we have personally visited so far!

If you asked me where my favourite place to visit in all of Scotland is... I would say, Glen Coe. The whole area of Glen Coe constantly had my face in shock due to the beauty that I was witnessing1 was witnessing (亲眼看见). It’s just a stream of dramatic mountains, lakes, rugged (崎岖的) beauty and more.

Fort William is probably one of the most well-known places to visit in Scotland. It’s a popular tourist destination thanks to being home to the UK’s tallest mountain: Ben Nevis. Fort William is also the starting point for one of the world’s most famous train rides: The Jacobite. Harry Potter fans will recognize it as the Hogwarts Express, and this train ride will take you through the beautiful countryside, crossing some iconic Harry Potter filming locations such as the Dumbledore’s Grave and the Glenfinnan Viaduct!

This island feels totally different from other parts of Scotland and is truly rugged and ready! There are many hot spots to explore including the Old Man of Storr, the Fairy Glen. I even stayed on a private island with its very own lighthouse, which was one of the coolest places I’ve ever visited and one of the most romantic places stay in Scotland.

This is the largest national park in the UK so it’s another popular place to visit in Scotland and it’s no surprise why. It’s absolutely beautiful and there’s so much happening at the Cairngorms National Park! From skiing or meeting local reindeers, you’ll not go bored and you’ll be surrounded by beauty the entire time.

5 . For the first time, scientists have grown plants in the moon soil collected by NASA’s Apollo astronauts. The scientists had no idea if anything would grow in the moon dirt. They wanted to see if it could be used to grow food by the next generation of moon explorers. The results surprised them. Plants actually can grow in lunar (月球的) soil.

The researchers planted thale cress (芥蓝), a small flowering plant, in moon soil returned from the Apollo missions. The good news was that all of the seeds grew. The bad news was that after the first week the lunar soil stressed the plants so much that they grew slowly. Most of the moon plants ended up stunted—meaning small or not fully developed.

The longer the soil was exposed to radiation and solar wind on the moon, the worse the plants seemed to do. The soil collected by the Apollo 11 mission was the least helpful for growth. It was exposed a couple billion years longer to the elements.

Scientists said, “This is a big step forward to know that we can grow plants. The real next step is to go and do it on the surface of the moon.”

Moon dirt is full of glass particles from micrometeorite (微小陨石) impacts. One solution might be to use younger geologic spots on the moon, like lava flows, for digging up soil. The environment also could be changed by adding special nutrient (营养物) mixtures or artificial lighting.

Only 382 kilograms of moon rocks and soil were brought back by the six Apollo erews that landed on the moon. Most of them are still locked away, forcing researchers to experiment with soil made of volcanic ash on Earth.

Early last year NASA finally gave out 12 grams of soil to the University of Florida researchers for the planting experiment. NASA said the timing for such an experiment was finally right with the space agency looking to put astronauts back on the moon in a few years.

7 . When you encounter animals, do you wonder what they’re thinking? Seeing a newborn lamb or a cute puppy might arouse happy emotions in us, but what are they thinking? Does the look on their face and how they behave indicate how they’re feeling — or are they feeling nothing at all?

Humans have a complex range of feelings, but it’s hard to tell what’s going on inside the heads of animals. Some of us own dogs, because they are good companions, are loyal and seem to connect with us. We might even think they love us. Professor Kim Bard, an expert in comparative developmental psychology from the University of Portsmouth, told the BBC: “We have a few studies now that actually show scientifically that some dogs will respond when their owner — but not a stranger — pretends to cry.” The empathetic ability of cats, however, is harder to work out.

Other non-domesticated (非驯养的) animals might have feelings too. Giraffes and whales, for example, are known to experience sadness when someone in their group dies. It’s believed that even tiny creatures like insects might have emotions as well. Research is beginning to show they experience a wide range of feelings. Kim says: “They can be optimistic, pessimistic, or frightened, and respond to pain just like any mammal would.”

Dr Barbara J King, Emerita Professor of Anthropology at the College of William and Mary, told the BBC: “If we understand the profound depths of emotions animals can feel, this should make us question the existence of zoos and slaughterhouses (屠宰场) around the world, and rethink those systems. It does seem all creatures feel emotion, but what is not clear is whether they feel the same way as us.”

9 . Elephant Conservation

Country:Thailand

This is a working vacation at a wildlife centre. Anyone can become a volunteer if he/she agrees to help the elephant keepers with tasks.

Daily tasks

Collect the elephants at 6:30 a.m. Take them to look for food in the forest. Clean the enclosure. Swim with the elephants in the lake in the afternoon. If volunteers want to relax after work, they can watch satellite television.

How this vacation helps

If these elephants hadn’t been rescued, they would still be living on the streets of Bangkok. A rural environment is much better for them than an urban environment where there is lots of pollution.

Gorilla Safari

Countries:Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda

Departures:Aug.—Dec., 2—3 departures per month

Extras:gorilla permit ￡220

If you’re lucky, you’ll see lions, elephants and rhinos on safari. The highlight of the trip is the opportunity to see gorillas in the mountain forests. However, you must be in good health—if a gorilla caught a cold, it would be extremely harmful to its whole family.

How this vacation helps

There are only about 600 mountain gorillas left in the world as human activity has reduced the area where they can live. When you buy a permit, this will pay for the protection of the national park.

Country:Canada

Departures:sixty trips between Oct. 1—Nov. 19

Every October and November, groups of polar bears gather in Hudson Bay. As they are normally lonely creatures, this is unusual. The bears wait for the ocean to freeze so they can hunt seals, so this is the perfect opportunity to see them.

How this vacation helps

If the Arctic ice cap melts due to global warming, polar bears will be in danger. We give a share of our profits to the Polar Bears Alive Charity.

Your comment

These awesome bears get all the liquid they need from their food.