3 . Sydney has a huge bus system. No buses accept cash, and a ticket needs to be bought ahead of time. The buses often run at busy hours and regularly during the day. The Sydney Explorer bus provides air — conditioned service and stops at 27 tourist attractions. Spartner, the Bondi Explorer, stops at 19 attractions. Tickets allow holders to jump on and off as they please, and they can be used for one or two days. It's an easy way o see the city and the surroundings.

Sydney's train service runs throughout the central city area and the surroundings. Tickets can be bought from machines that operate 24 hours a day or from ticket offices. The monorail(单轨火车) travels through central Sydney. It is the most excellent way to gain a good view of the whole city. The monorail runs every three to five minutes, and it takes 15 minutes to complete its journey. Sydney is built around a harbor, and the Parramatta River has a large ferry(渡船) system. It serves the area around the harbor. These include Taronga Zoo, Darling Harbor, Rose Bay, the North Shore, Cockatoo Island and Sydney Olympic Park. The ferries have operated for more than 135 years and 14 million passengers take the ferries each year.

Water taxis can offer special services that some visitors enjoy, such as transporting passengers to specific locations, offering guided tours of waterways and so on. The tickets sell for 20 Australian dollars for a day or 57 Australian dollar for a week. It is strange, isn't it?

7 . During my third year of university, I spent six months studying in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Many are worried about travelling to Rio but I promise, it is worth a visit. Now I want to share my top recommendations (推荐) for experiencing Rio less as a tourist but more like a native Brazilian.

Pedra Bonita

Rio is full of hiking routes, and some Brazilians love to spend an afternoon hiking. My favorite route of all has to be Pedra Bonita. Pedra Bonita involves a steep climb of about an hour through tall trees, and I admit it is difficult in Rio’s heat, but you are rewarded at the top with a wonderful view of the city, standing high above the green landscape and blue sea below.

Mureta da Urca

One thing you are sure to find in Rio is an amazing sunset, but a lot of the best spots tend to be full of tourists. In my opinion, Mureta da Urca is the most relaxing place to watch the sun set over the silver sea, with the figure of Christ the Redeemer standing tall in the background.

Pedra do Sal

Pedra do Sal is a historical area in the city centre and on Monday nights it is brought to life by the sound of samba. Hundreds of people gather in the street, food and drink stalls are set up and it becomes a giant street party with everyone enjoying the happy sound of live samba!

Picanha

If there were one Brazilian food I could bring back to the UK, it would be picanha. It is the tastiest cut of steak I have ever tasted, served alongside rice and beans.

8 . “It’s a big hammer to crack a nut.” This is how one angry parent described the recent crackdown(强制措施)by London police on parents who drop their kids off at school by car. Yes, you read that correctly—the very mode of transportation that many American schools insist—the only safe way to deliver kids to school is now being criminalized in the United Kingdom.

The decision to fine any vehicles seen dropping off or picking up kids with in a particular zone of east London comes from city councillors’(议员) long-term efforts to make the area safer and less crowded. They say they’ve been trying for years “to encourage sensible driving and parking”, but in vain. Neighborhood residents complain frequently about their driveways being blocked by illegally parked cars for 15 minutes or more，often while they’re trying to get to work, and the streets are long overcrowded.

Now the rules have changed. Some parents are angry. Angie Baillieul is a mother who made the “big hammer” comment and says the crackdown is “way over the top.” The nearest drop-off point for her six- year-old is now a five-minute walk from the school. Others are happy with the decision, severe though it may seem. Councillor Jason Frost said ：

“Traffic has significantly reduced，and more children are now walking to school, which is a great outcome. I would rather have complaints that we are slightly inconveniencing parents than hear that a child had been seriously injured because nothing was done.”

I witness daily the chaos created by these in-town drivers，when I walk my own kids to school. There’s a parking lot overflowing with vehicles and a slow-moving train of cars moving in circles，many filling the air with harmful smokes. Meanwhile, the conversations around child over-weight and the importance of daily physical activity continue to stand out in schools.