1 . Great! You finally have a long holiday during which you can get to that corner of the world you’ve always wanted to visit. However, to make sure your trip goes as smoothly as you want, you need to make some preparations. Here are the steps you need to take to prepare for your trip.

Choose a destination

You can’t plan a trip when you’re not sure where you want to go.     1     Choose a place you want to visit and plan your vacation around it.

Budget

    2     Research the cost of your destination including transportation, hotels, food and drinks. You can save money by traveling during the off-season. Prepare a little more money than you might need, just in case.

    3    

Depending on your vacation destination, you might need some important documents such as a valid passport and visa. Make sure your passport hasn’t expired and if you don’t have one, apply in time, as visa applications are often a complex process that can take weeks to be approved.

Consider travel insurance

A car accident lawyer in Vancouver would advise you to take out travel insurance because it’s more than just medical protection.     4     You can also buy overseas medical insurance because it can help you prepare for the worst.

Book your flight and accommodation

Booking the flight and accommodation should be one of the first things you should do. Book your flight months in advance because it’s more economical and you can save a lot of money.     5    

2 . Australia is a vast continent rich in extraordinarily beautiful views. Here are some of the most beautiful views in Australia.

Some of the most impressive Australian sunsets can be witnessed from Mindil Beach as the sun dips below the Arafura Sea. Beautiful colors of pink, orange, blue and purple paint the sky each night. From April to October, you can enjoy the festive nightlife of the famous Mindil Beach Sunset Markets which celebrate the wonderful view each night.

It’s a view known as one of the most popular shots of Australia. The famous Sydney Harbor can be best experienced from a bird’s eye view, one you can experience yourself if you have the nerve to climb 143 meters above sea level to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It will be an amazing view that you’ll remember for a lifetime.

The Cape Byron Lighthouse is the most easterly point in the entire country. Each year more than 500, 000 people visit the lighthouse which rises up above Byron Bay offering striking views of the bay, the beach and even an opportunity for whale watching when the season is right.

For many, the typical Australian image is of a beautiful beach with soft sand and blue waters all around. The 7-kilometer area of sand known as Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island is about as beautiful of a beach view as one can get anywhere in the country. The beach is known for its powder white sand. The sand also doesn’t keep heat meaning that walking barefoot on the beach is comfortable even at the hottest points of the day. Whitehaven can only be accessed by boat, making this a picture worthy of any postcard.

3 . China has put in place a new policy that limits online video game playing for young people to three hours a week. The new rules restrict online gaming for those under the age of 18 to one hour on Friday evenings, weekends and public holidays. They were announced by General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), which is responsible for regulating video games. The new rules place the responsibility for carrying out the policy on the gaming industry. The limits don’t include punishments for individual gamers.

China is the world’s largest video gaming market. Chinese media reported that about 63% of Chinese minors (未成年人) often play online games. About 13%of underage mobile game users are believed to play them for more than two hours a day on weekdays. The Chinese government has worried for years about young people becoming addicted to games. Treatment centers have been set up for people thought to have developed “gaming disorders”.

The first government restrictions took effect in 2019. Those rules limited minors to one hour and a half of gaming time a day and three hours on weekends. The policy also limited the amount of money minors could spend on virtual items in gaming each month. The limit ranged from $28 to $57, depending on the age of the gamer.

Current rules require minors to use their real names and national ID numbers when they are signing in to play. Gaming companies created systems to identify minors. However, many young gamers found ways to avoid the requirement, such as signing in under the names of adult family members. Therefore, the GAPP said online gaming companies would have to prove they had effective identification systems in place. Measures will be taken to make sure they follow the new limits. The agency said it would also increase punishment for gaming companies not following the rules.

Some young Chinese gamers criticized the new rules on social media. Some parents, however, told the news agency that they supported the new limits.

“If the world ends one day, these collections will bring hope of a new beginning to life on the earth,”s aid Li Pei, a staff member at the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species(GBOWS), in Yunnan Province.

    1    (found)in 2007, GBOWS is a research and preservation facility for rare and endangered plants and animals.

How does the bank work? Scientists collect endangered and     2    (use)wild species and send them to the seed bank. For future study, collectors have to record     3    (detail)of the plant, including     4     it was found, its size and the number of individual plants in the habitat.

Once the seeds arrive, they’re handled     5    (proper)by scientists. Then, X-rays confirm that the seeds are in good state. Then the seeds     6    (freeze), stored in glass bottles and placed in huge freezers at—20 ℃. Each container has     7     bar code for scanning to enable scientists to view seeds’ information.

GBOWS in Yunnan,     8     works with international partners, holds 2,176 sets of seeds from 45 countries and regions, with each set     9    (contain)thousands of individual seeds.

“As China has rich and unique biological resources, we aim to further enhance(增加)our collections and conduct     10    (deep)research,” Li Pei said.

6 . I hadn’t got exercise lately and felt a bit dizzy. I was a little ______. One of my friends invited me to show up to see a ______ that they said would help me feel better. Little did I know that I was about to see something I would never forget.

They introduced a young ______, Mr Patrick Henry Hughes. He was ______ onto the stage in his wheelchair and began to play the piano. His fingers ______ across the keys as he made beautiful music. He then began to sing as he played, and it was even more beautiful. For some reason, ______, I knew that I was seeing something special. Ten minutes later, someone came on the stage and ______ a video of Patrick Henry Hughes.

Patrick was born with no eyes and a tightening of the joints which left him ______ for life. Before his first birthday, he ______ the piano. On his second birthday, he asked to play it. His father was ______. “We might not play baseball, but we can play music together.”

Today, Patrick is a ______ at university. His father attends classes with him and he has made nearly all “A” s. He is also a trumpet player of a band. He and his father do it together — they ______ all the band practices and the half-time performance in front of thousands of people.

But even more than his ______ musical talent, it was Patrick’s attitude to gratitude that touched me. I will never forget that night, that smile, that music, but most importantly, that ______ attitude to gratitude. Gratitude can change your attitude, ______ your life forever.

7 . Located at the foot of the Wudang Mountains in China’s Hubei Province is the home of 64-year-old Marc Verlant, which possesses a fascinating collection of Chinese artifacts. The artfully arranged decorations such as miniatures (微缩模型) of ancient Chinese towers, traditional wooden carvings and Chinese paintings clearly convey that the house owner is trying to creatively explore and develop a better understanding of Chinese culture.

As a keen enthusiast of martial arts, Chinese architecture and history, this Frenchman is currently savoring his 19th year of living in a rural Chinese-style environment and finds it pleasant to live here. “Wudang is like my second home, and some locals say that I am almost a native of Wudang,” said Verlant.

The Wudang Mountains, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site, are considered “the cradle of Tai Chi” and are home to numerous palaces and temples that show the wisdom and beauty of ancient China’s architecture. In 2004, to treat his body after an accident, Verlant moved here to learn Chinese martial arts, and gradually fell in love with martial arts as well as Wudang’s culture. For him, it all started when his French-language student, who was a local tour guide, aroused his interest in local culture. For years, he volunteered as a foreign-language interpreter and tour guide in the Wudang Mountains, sharing Wudang’s culture with tourists from across the world. During the past two decades, he has witnessed and experienced the rapid development of this mountainous region. “When I first arrived in Wudang, there was neither the high-speed railway nor the shuttle bus, and many foreigners didn’t know how to come here, ” he recalled.

The Frenchman’s enthusiasm inspired those around him. “I learned a lot about Wudang from Marc, and his positive attitude toward life also influenced me to be more outgoing and energetic,”said his wife, who is a native of Shiyan City, where the Wudang Mountains are located.

Body language, sometimes called “non-verbal communication”, is     1     important tool. It includes things like gestures, facial     2    (expression), and even small things like a slight nod of the head. The way you communicate through body language can determine your     3    (succeed) in everything from relationships to your career.

Just like words we use, body language also varies from culture     4     culture. The crucial thing is that body language should be used     5    (appropriate). For instance, Americans wave goodbye with the palm facing the person they are waving to. But it may occur with the palm up to the sky in other cultures. There are also some differences in how we touch someone we     6    (talk) to. In countries like France and Russia, people kiss their friends     7     the cheek when they meet. Elsewhere, people favour shaking hands,     8    (bow) from the waist, or nodding the head when they meet someone else.

It would be impossible     9    (describe) all the ways people use body   language. So paying closer attention to the messages you send through body language can help you succeed. Just remember “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”,     10     can make you appear more confident or direct.