Summer is the most popular season to visit Texas since there is so much to see and to do. While visiting the Lone Star State this summer, don't miss visiting some of these attractions and taking part in some of Texas? best summer vacation activities.
Visit SeaWorld
There are sea life shows, adventure camps, thrilling rides and a water park. A great many activities are waiting for you at SeaWorld.
Windsurf at South Padre
With miles of shallow (浅的), calm water in the Lower Laguna Madre and strong winds conning off the Gulf of Mexico, South Padre Island is a windsurfer抯 dream.
Swim at Barton Springs
Barton Springs is in the famous Zilker Park. It was formed when Barton Greek was built. Since its opening, Barton Springs has become one of the most popular swimming pools in the state.
Take part in an outdoor adventure
In the scenic Texas Hill Country, Lake Buchanan Adventures offers different kinds of activities, including boating, hiking, camping and more.
Camp and hike in Big Bend Park
Big Bend offers a great number of outdoor activities in an old way. Backpacking, mountain biking, fishing, boating, hiking, nature watching and camping - you name it. If it can be done outdoors, it can be done in Big Bend.
Enjoy saltwater fishing
Saltwater fishing in Texas is as good as anywhere else in the USA. More and more fishermen have been discovering this in recent years and packing their bags and rods (鱼竿)to make good use of Texas, world-class saltwater fishery.
I was desperately nervous about becoming car-free. But eight months ago our car was hit by a passing vehicle and it was destroyed. No problem, I thought: we'll buy another. But the insurance payout didn't even begin to cover the costs of buying a new car-I worked out that, with the loan （贷款） we' d need plus petrol, insurance, parking permits and tax, we would make a payment as much as £600 a month.
And that's when I had my fancy idea. Why not just give up having a car at all? I live in London. We have a railway station behind our house, a tube station 10 minutes' walk away, and a bus stop at the end of the street. A new car club had just opened in our area, and one of its shiny little red Peugeots was parked nearby. If any family in Britain could live without a car, I reasoned, then surely we were that family.
But my new car-free idea, sadly, wasn't shared by my family. My teenage daughters were horrified. What would their friends think about our family being "too poor to afford a car"? (I wasn't that bothered what they thought, and I suggested the girls should take the same approach. )
My friends, too, were astonished at our plan. What would happen if someone got seriously ill overnight and needed to go to hospital? (an ambulance) How would the children get to and from their many events? (buses and trains) People smiled as though this was another of my mad ideas, before saying they were sure I' d soon realize that a car was a necessity.
Eight months on, I wonder whether we'll ever own a car again. The idea that you "have to" own a car, especially if you live in a city, is all in the mind. I live-and many other citizens do too-in a place that has never been better served by public transport, and yet car ownership has never been higher. We worry about rising car costs, but we' d be better off asking something much more basic：do I really need a car? Certainly the answer is no, and I' m a lot richer because I dared to ask the question.
Laughter is part of the human language around the world. Unlike English or French, we don't have to learn to speak it, and we're born with the ability to laugh. Studies show that the first laughter appears at about 3.5 to 4 months of age, long before we're able to speak.
As the saying goes, "Laughter is the best medicine." Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free and easy to use. Nothing works faster to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. It helps relax your whole body leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes. Laughter also helps you fight against diseases. It can improve the function of blood vessels (血管) and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack.
And the good feeling you get when you laugh remains with you even a few minutes later. It helps you keep a positive, optimistic attitude toward difficult situations, disappointments and losses. Laughter gives you the strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult days, a laugh or even simply a smile can go a long way toward making you feel better.
Shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. And it helps build strong and lasting relationships, and it unites people during difficult times. So it's necessary to create opportunities to laugh with others. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again. When you hear laughter, find it out and ask. "What's funny?" And you can make time for fun activities such as bowling, golfing or karaoke.
In short, the ability to laugh and have fun not only makes life more enjoyable but also helps you solve problems, connect with others, and be more creative. The more laughter there is, the more benefits you'll receive.
Some parents will buy any high-tech toy if they think it will help their child, but researchers said puzzles help children with math-related skills. Psychologist Susan Levine, an expert on mathematics development in young children at the
University of Chicago, found children who play with puzzles between ages 2 and 4 later develop better spatial skills. Puzzle play was found to be a significant predictor of cognition(认知) after controlling for differences in parents' income, education and the amount of parent talk, Levine said.
The researchers analyzed video recordings of 53 child-parent pairs during everyday activities at home and found children who play with puzzles between 26 and 46 months of age have better spatial skills when assessed at 54 months of age.
The children who played with puzzles performed better than those who did not, on tasks that assessed their ability to rotate(旋转)and translate shapes,? Levine said in a statement.
The parents were asked to interact with their children as they normally would, and about half of children in the study played with puzzles at one time. Higher-income parents tended to have children play with puzzles more frequently, and both boys and girls who played with puzzles had better spatial skills. However, boys tended to play with more complex puzzles than girls, and the parents of boys provided more spatial language and were more active during puzzle play than parents of girls.
The findings were published in the journal Developmental Science.
Once you can speak another language, it will open many doors. Here are five excellent reasons why you should learn a foreign language. Improve your brain healthy. These benefits include a longer attention span, memory improvement, better focus and concentration, and increased listening skills.
Increase your job opportunities. Many companies operate in countries around the world. As well as increasing the number of jobs you can get, the ability to speak a different language also sets you apart from other candidates for potential jobs.
Help you make friends and build relationships. Speaking a different language helps meet new people who also speak that language. As well as building relationships with people who speak that language, it also gives the opportunity to learn more about other cultures. You can participate in exciting and engaging conversations about topics which you may have never discussed before.
When you learn a new language, your brain automatically finds a way to learn more efficiently. Whether you want to learn multiple languages or simply gain more skills, mastering a foreign language can kick your brain into gear to adapt to learning new knowledge and information.
Improve your confidence. During the process of learning a new language, you can learn from your mistakes, find out more about yourself, and challenge yourself. Practicing this language is a great way to get over your insecurities and find it easier to talk to others.
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A. Improve your holiday selection. B. Help you become a better learner. C. You don't need to rely on translated films or books any longer. D. Learning a foreign language can do wonders to your courage and determination. E. This can result in lifelong friendships that you otherwise wouldn't be able to make. F. Many studies have shown there are plenty of benefits of learning a foreign language. G. Therefore, hiring employees who can speak at least one foreign language is vital to the company. |
In the summer before the ninth grade, procrastination(拖延) affected my life in a deep way. With only a few days until the start of school, I finished just one of three homework tasks we were1only a few days before the start of school. Instead of enjoying my last few moments of2, I spent that time doing homework, which was a(n）3way to end the vacation. Putting in 100 percent effort, I always started with strong4at the beginning of each school year.5, I struggled to maintain that energy as the weeks passed.
One night, my father and I were having a6about college. He told me, " It doesn抰 matter whether you get into an Ivy League university or just a(n)7college—what matters is how you get there and what you do to8it". This really inspired me, because it made me focus more on the9of my work rather than the quantity.
Thanks to that conversation, I10the way I went through life. I started to11that trying my best is a thousand times better than simply doing something to get it done.
My effort began to12in my first year of high school. I had never13that my grades in some harder classes could be better than those in the easier ones I took last year.
Now I would rather work hard for something and enjoy the14of success, than not try at all or give up halfway. Motivation can easily become a habit if you repeat a(n)15that helps you avoid procrastination.
Helen Keller was an (exceptional) special girl. When Helen was young, she lost her sight and hearing. With these (restrict)to her communication, Helen's behaviour was often (bear). She had tendency to break things she was not understood. Anne was a superb teacher. Her technique was simple and straightforward. She would let Helen play the doll and then spell the letters D-O-L-L on her hand. From "doll" to "water", Helen's knowledge and vocabulary (expand), and this changed her (think) process. As she (grasp) the key to language, she discovered more complex words. Helen finally understood the beautiful (true)of the word "love".
The young boy saw me, or rather, he saw the car and quickly ran up to me, eager to sell his bunches of bananas and bags of peanuts. Though he appeared to be about twelve, he seemed to have already known the bitterness of life. "Bananas 300 naira. Peanuts 200 naira." He said in a low voice. I bargained him down to 200 totals for the fruit and nuts. When he agreed, I handed him a 500 naira bill. He didn't have change, so I told him not to worry. He said thanks and smiled a row of perfect teeth.
When, two weeks later, I saw the boy again, I was more aware of my position in a society where it's not that uncommon to see a little boy who should be in school standing on the corner selling fruit in the burning sun. My parents had raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the responsibility it brought to us.
I pulled over and rolled down my window. He had a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts ready. I waved them away. "What's up?" I asked him.
"I…I don't have money to buy books for school." I reached into my pocket and handed him two fresh 500 naira bills. "Will this help?" I asked. He looked around nervously before taking the money. One thousand naira was a lot of money to someone whose family probably made about 5,000 naira or less each year. "Thank you, sir." he said. "Thank you very much!"
When driving home, I wondered if my little friend actually used the money for schoolbooks. What if he's a cheat? And then I wondered why I did it. Did I do it to make myself feel better? Was I using him? Later, I realized that I didn't know his name or the least bit about him, nor did I think to ask.注意：1）续写词数应为 150 左右:
2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
One afternoon in September, I went to a poor community. … Joe
led me into his home.
