1 . Paris is one of the most-visited destinations in the world. A relaxing trip to Paris takes a little bit of planning. Here are some tips for you to make your trip smooth.

Have a passport for international travel. A passport costs $110 and takes 6-8weeks to arrive after you apply.

The cheapest month to fly is March, especially if you can leave on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. You’ll save even more money by booking around 90 days in advance. In the summer months, tickets will be more expensive no matter when you book.

●Visit the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is the most recognizable symbol of Paris. To avoid the crowds, go to the Eiffel Tower early in the morning. It costs €25 to go to the top, or €10 to climb to the first 2 levels on foot.

● See the Notre Dame Cathedral

At present, the Notre Dame Cathedral is closed to tourists due to the fire that destroyed parts of the cathedral. However, you can still visit the outside of the cathedral.

● Go to the Louvre to see world-famous art

The Louvre hosts the Mona Lisa along with 35, 000 other pieces of art. If you’re pressed for time, visit the highlights. The Louvre costs €15 at the museum or €17 in advance (to skip most of the line).

● Take a day trip to Versailles

If you have a day to spare, head to the palace of Versailles, around 14 miles southwest of the city. Take a tour to see King Louis XVI’s palace and gardens. It costs €20 to visit the palace and grounds.

2 . How Running Helped Me Turn My Life Around

I’ve never been an athlete. Besides being good at all academic performances at school, my main goal was to ________ PE lessons at all costs. In my twenties, I went for an occasional yoga class, but that was really the ________ of all my athletic

That was until the end of 2016, when I was unexpectedly fired. The possibility of getting a new job soon was not in my ________ and dark thoughts of not being good enough started to ________. I was feeling depressed but pushed myself to go and ________ for the TCS Marathon runners as the course was going through our neighborhood.

However, while being there, I got extraordinary ________ from all the runners, smiling and applauding constantly. Not a runner myself, I thought maybe I could give running a ________, just to try to use my neglected gym membership and see where it ________ me. And so I tried. I went to the gym the next morning and got on a treadmill. I was breathless by minute five, but I slowed down, walked for a bit and then restarted. I came back the next day, hoping to ________ a few minutes longer. Two weeks later, I could successfully run for 30 minutes.

While I saw my body look more toned (协调的), I also noticed my negative thoughts didn’t occur that ________. And it sparked a thought—what if I could set a running goal and sign up for my first race? I did and races sort of became a new hobby.

In the meantime, I secured a few freelance (自由职业的) projects. They offered me a good ________, and most importantly, the time to work out for the big race. I got my full-time job ________ at my dream company just several weeks before the half-marathon. Although I got an injury before the race, I still went for it and finished within my ________ time.

I still have a long running ________ ahead of me—I’d love to work on my speed, my technique and I dream of running a marathon outside of the US. Running gives me ________ that I can do anything I set my mind to.

3 . Global animal populations are declining, and we’ve got limited time to try to fix it. That’s the outcome of a new report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which analyzed years of data on wildlife populations across the world and found a downward trend in the Earth’s biodiversity.

According to the Living Planet Index, animal populations across the world decreased by 69% between 1970 and 2018. Not all animal populations decreased, though, and some parts of the world saw more dramatic changes than others. But experts say the loss of biodiversity is a worrying sign of what’s to come for the natural world. “The message is clear and the lights are flashing red,” said WWF International Director General Marco Lambertini.

According to the report’s authors, biodiversity loss mainly results from land-use changes driven by human activities, such as infrastructure (基础设施) development, energy production and deforestation. But the report suggests that climate change — which is already causing wide-ranging effects on plant and animal species globally — could become the leading cause of biodiversity loss if rising temperatures can’t be limited to 1.5℃.

Lambertini said the crisis of biodiversity loss and climate change is already responsible for plenty of problems for humans, including less access to food and water and a rise in the spread of diseases. He said world leaders should take major steps to deal with environmental damage. They are locked in old-world thinking, with no sign of the brave action needed to achieve a nature-positive future.

WWF chief scientist Rebecca Shaw told a radio station that humans have the opportunity to change how they do things to benefit nature. “We don’t have to continue the patterns of development we have now. And we have an opportunity to change the way we produce, what we cat and how we consume food and what we waste when we consume our food,” Shaw said. “Little things that we can do every day can change the direction of animal population declines.”

Delicate strokes, carved onto wood, with ultimate precision. This is woodblock (木印版画) printing,     1     ancient printing technique that has promoted human civilization.

Certain people are believed to bring Buddhism (佛教) into China during the Tang Dynasty, when there was a strong need     2     (produce) a large number of Buddhist scriptures (经文), and     3     (copy) by hand could not meet the rising demand. Ancient Chinese craftsmen thus came up with a novel way to create printed works     4     (massive). Then came the original version of woodblock printing.

Traditional woodblock printing can be divided into four major steps: writing, engraving, printing, and binding. With each step then sub-divided into several procedures,     5     takes roughly 30 steps to produce a woodblock print. Characters and images     6     (carve) to produce raised areas or lines, which calls     7     skilled hands.

The Buddhist scripture Diamond Sutra, the “earliest dated printed book”, can only be seen in the British Library,     8     a lot of Chinese treasures are stored. It is just one example of ancient works of art that not only tells the wisdom of our ancestors, but also is a witness of Chinese craftsmen’s continuous    9     (commit) to beauty through centuries.

The invention of writing gave life to great thoughts,     10     it was the invention of printing that made knowledge a shareable fruit for all humankind.

7 . Losing your ability to think and remember is pretty frightening. We know the risk of dementia (痴呆症) increases with age. But if you have memory slips, you probably needn’t worry. There are pretty clear differences between signs of dementia and age-­related memory loss.

After age 50, it’s quite common to have trouble remembering the names of people, places and things quickly, says Dr. Kirk Daffner of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

The brain ages just like the rest of the body. Certain parts become smaller, especially areas in the brain that are important to learning, memory and planning. Changes in brain cells can affect communication between different regions of the brain. And blood flow can be reduced as blood vessels narrow.

Forgetting the name of an actor in a favorite movie, for example, is nothing to worry about. But if you forget the plot of the movie or don’t remember even seeing it, that’s far more concerning, Daffner says.

When you forget entire experiences, he says, that’s “a red flag that something more serious may be involved”. Forgetting how to operate a familiar object like a microwave oven, or forgetting how to drive to the house of a friend you’ve visited many times before can also be signs of something going wrong.

But even then, Daffner says, people shouldn’t panic. There are many things that can cause confusion and memory loss, including health problems like temporary stoppage of breathing during sleep, high blood pressure, or depression, as well as medications (药物) like antidepressants.

You don’t have to figure this out on your own. Daffner suggests going to your doctor to check on medications, health problems and other issues that could be affecting memory. And the best defense against memory loss is to try to prevent it by building up your brain’s cognitive (认知的) reserve, Daffner says.

“Read books, go to movies, take on new hobbies or activities that force one to think in novel ways.” he says. In other words, keep your brain busy and working. And also get physically active, because exercise is a widely known to boost the brain.

I’m sorry to hear that since your admission to high school,

Best wishes!

Yours,

Li Hua

10 . Recently, I have been struggling to connect with my dad because our conversations have seemed unimportant to him. In a half-hearted attempt to find something that could ________ him, I pulled out my phone and showed him a few ________ of Jay, my new pet rabbit.

“Did mom tell you I got a bunny?” It was an unusual question. To my surprise, my dad’s ________ were lifted. “A black bunny!” he called out, getting closer to ________ the photos. He wanted to know more. I hurried to find more photos, holding on to this ________ opportunity.

I shouldn’t be ________ that it was a bunny that broke through the ________ between my dad and I. Growing up, we never talked much. ________, our time together centered around animals, like catching crayfish at the river and caring for turtles and crabs. ________ animals has always been our thing.

A few months later, I came up with more photos and videos of Jay on my laptop so my dad could see them more ________. I had been ________ that his initial interest in Jay was a one-off event, but he ________ again when I showed him the new stuff.

Our love for animals is the ________ that connects us. There was no ________ to start having deep conversations if that had never been our style, just finding ________ together in a photo of a bunny was enough.