Famousresorts(度假胜地)ontheearth

Maldives

Maldives is famed as the last paradise(乐园) on the earth. It's made up of more than 1,800 coral islands, spreading over a sea area of about 90,000 square kilometres on the Indian Ocean. People in Maldives believe in Islam. They must observe the religious rules strictly. However, tourists don't need to follow these customs inside hotels, but they must do as the locals when they enter the community of the local people.

Jeju Island

Jeju Island, also known as the “Island of the Gods”, is the biggest island of Korea. It is a volcanic island with a pleasant climate. Its yearly average temperature is 16℃, which makes it the most attractive vacation stop in North-east Asia. It has gained a fame as a shopping paradise. Here all the luxury(奢侈品) brands are free of duty. Every summer thousands of tourists come here to look for the gods, enjoy the coolness of the gentle sea breeze and buy cheap luxuries.

Phuket Island

Phuket Island, the biggest island of Thailand, is called a pearl on the Indian Ocean. It is world-famous for its beautiful beaches. Some are quiet and tourist-friendly, and some are as luxurious as personal vacation beaches. Some are famous for sea sports, and some are attractive to lovers of evening entertainments. Therefore, you'll have a good time here whether you're single or accompanied by your friends.

Hayman Island

Hayman Island, a secret vacation island, is one of the coral islands that make up the Great Barrier Reef. Every year thousands of tourists come here to admire the beauty of the tropic sea and the charming scene of the Great Barrier Reef. However, they seldom see any waiters or waitresses around as they work in and travel through a special tunnel(地下通道). This is why it's called the most secret resort.

The Best of Alaska

Nothing evokes(唤起)Alaska like a whale exploding out of the water or an eagle pulling a silver fish from the river.^① Combine these images with high mountains，brilliant icebergs and wonderful meals and you really do have the Best of Alaska!

Join us for an unforgettable 7-day excursion (远足)to the last frontier！Additional highlights include：a scenic flight over Glacier Bay National Park，a rafting trip through the heart of the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve，historic Skagway，a whale-watching cruise and the company of knowledgeable local guides.

HIGHLIGHTS：

JUNEAU：Juneau，the state capital，is rich in culture and scenic beauty.It is here that we start and end our trip.

HAINES：Haines is a small community located along the fiords(峡湾)．The natural beauty and expansive wilderness found here have made Haines a premier center for adventure in Alaska.In 2004，Haines was listed by Outside Magazine and National Geographic Adventure as one of the best places for recreation and living.The activities listed below are located in Haines.

ALASKA INDIAN ARTS：Alaska Indian Arts is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the preservation and continuation of traditional native craft and culture of the Northwest Native Tribes.Alaska Indian Arts is also the headquarters for several of Alaskaˈs outstanding craftsmen and artisans.We spend a few hours learning carving，native beading(串珠饰)and culture from these master artists.

SKAGWAY：Skagway is famous for its role in the Klondike Gold Stampede over 100 years ago.Today，it is a historic yet lively town，which still reflects its gold rush roots and contains colourful shops.In Skagway，we stop by the Klondike Gold Rush National Park Visitorˈs Center and ride the White Pass Yukon Route Railway.

GUSTAVUS：Gustavus is the gateway to the Glacier Bay National Park.Weˈll stay at a comfortable lodge here for two nights.This will be the base for both the whale-watching excursion and a full day cruise in Glacier Bay.

DATES/PRICES：

2011：May 16，June 20，July 18，August 15.

7 days—$3,500，including lodging，all meals，excursions，guides，park fees，sales taxes，and transportation between Juneau，Skagway，Haines，and Gustavus.Not included：alcohol，personal items，airfare to and from Juneau.

CONTACTS：

E-mail：info@alaskamountainguides.com

Call：(800)766-3396

Write：Alaska Mountain Guides & Climbing School

P．O.Box 1081，Haines AK 99827

With kids increasingly attached to their iPads, phones, and laptops how can we get them to read more books? It's easier than you think. In Michigan a barbershop is doing its part to encourage kids to read. Here's how it works: when children get their haircut at the Fuller Cut and read a book aloud to their barber during their haircut they get a $2 discount on the cut. Yes, it really is that simple: read your book aloud and you get a discount.

Griffin, who has been cutting hair at the Fuller Cut for twenty years, started the Read to Your Barber programme. He told the local media that parents love it, while the kids like getting the two dollars back—and that the two dollars often goes directly into the kids' pockets. Griffin says teachers love the initiative (创意)—they say that it does so much for the kids during the school year, for the Fuller Cut serves a diverse community with the books featuring positive images of African-Americans, which could be an astronaut, an athlete, or a writer.

This isn't the first barbershop to do this, though; Griffin said that he first read about a similar literacy (识字) programme in Harlem. Once he got the OK from his boss, the father of three began bringing his own books into the shop and soon people in the area began donating books. Griffin said, “And that's just how it started. It wasn't anything grand. I just wanted to be responsible.”

While the initiative has attracted new costumers to the barbershop, the best part, according to Griffin, is that little kids who don't know how to read watch the older kids—and then pick up a book for themselves. “When a kid thinks it's cool to read, that's a gift,” says Griffin. “If we can get kids to come back to the Fuller Cut as adults in college and they tell us, ‘Because you guys had us read here, it made me want to be a writer or journalist,’that's really the end goal.”

BEIJING, March 14 -- The language spoken by the Li ethnic group in the southernmost Chinese province of Hainan is now threatened with extinction due to the prevalence of putonghua, the standard and official Chinese language, experts have warned.

No more than 500,000 among the 1 million Li people in Hainan can speak authentic Li language or dialect, according to experts with the Hainan Provincial Committee of China Association for Promoting Democracy, which is mainly composed of intellectuals working in the fields of culture, education, publication and science.

Li dialect, a language unique to the island province, is also the most unique language in the Zhuang-Dong branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The latest studies show that it has a close relationship with languages of Malay in Malaysia, Tagalog in the Philippines, and Gaoshan dialect in China's island province Taiwan.

Research into the dialect will be of great help to study the immigration history of Hainan people, and their relationship with other ethnic groups in Southeast Asian nations, experts said.

Experts with the committee suggested linguists fully study the Li language by recording existing folk tales and songs of the ethnic group.

They also advised the local government to set up a special task force and allocate special funds to preserve the endangered Li dialect.

The Li people, together with the Zhuang, Bouyei, Dong and Dai ethnic groups, can trace their origins back to the ancient "Yue" people who inhabited the areas which are now South China's Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Yue people moved to the Hainan Island and became the Li ethnic group. However, the Li people's language is different from that spoken by other descendants of the Yue people, who live in other parts of the country. A written form for the Li language was worked out in 1957.

Though online ordering is popular in the UK today, hands -on experience still attracts many buyers’ attention.

Oxford Street

London is a shoppers’ paradise, and most visitors head for Oxford Street. Halfway along is Selfridges, one of the world’s first department stores where the architecture and window dressing impress you even before you go in. There are at least four other major stores on this street, plus Europe’s largest music shop. In December the atmosphere is especially festive because of the Christmas lights which are always lighted by a politician, a great sportsman，or a super star.

Kensington High Street

A fashionable area for shopping is Kensington High Street. One of its department stores even has a roof garden—good for relaxing between purchases. There’s also an organic food superstore.

Borough Market

You can’t visit London without going to a supermarket. One of the oldest and best for food is probably Borough Market on the south bank of the Thames. Get off the underground at London Bridge and wander among fresh fish stalls, bakeries, and fruit and vegetable sellers. You can also buy specialities to take away, like cheeses, pork pies, mustard and chutney.

More places for bargains

Portobello RoadMarket on a Saturday is your best choice for jewelry or collector’s items. It’s a short walk from the underground station at Notting Hill Gate and you never know what you will find. For clothes, Camden Market is the place. It gets a little crowded at the weekends, though. Convent Garden Market offers great experience for the simple pleasure of looking at jewelry and gifts.

AWL is well known for its dictionaries and English language teaching materials. Some readers have written in to ask us for the latest information on high quality books on English, so here we introduce two texts that aim to improve spoken English fluency. 

Let’s Speak (Beginner)

By Bev Dusuya, Naoko Ozeki and Kevin Bergman

ISBN: 962001359X

Speak Up (Pre Intermediate)

By Kev Kusuya, Nako Zeki

ISBN: 058222805O

“Teach the students about your culture and help them talk about their own.” How often are these worthy goals kept from being achieved by the limitations of your beginner level learners? Students at all levels want to talk about culture. 

Topics include food, shopping, sports, fashion, the roles of men and women health, music and others. 

These are all chosen from surveys of over 15, 000 students about their own interests in cross cultural communication. 

“Let’s Speak” and “Speak Up” share a special but excellent way that allows all students to take part in. 

The series has questions which start thinking and help collect opinions about personal topics. Conversation practice is provided by using models of basic exchanges on the topic. Also, the cultural information presented in the series comes in the form of interesting, relevant facts and ideas from other countries through listening tasks and Culture Quiz exercises. 

“Let’s Speak” is fit for entry level students of all ages. “Speak Up” provides for the needs of higher level beginners, offering the same careful listening and speaking help, but with slightly more open ended discussion. 

For any information about AWL’s books, please get in touch with the following address:

Beijing Addison Wesley Longman Information Center

Room 2306, FLTRY Beijing

19Xi San Huan Beilu, Beijing 100081

Tel: (010) 68917488  (010) 68917788ext 2306

Fax: (010) 68917499

Email: zrh@public. Bat. Net. Cn

Which of the following is not mentioned about the two books in the passage? ______

Feeling down？Why not visit one of these five websites?

Reddit.com

Founded in 2005，Reddit.com is a social news and entertainment website. Registered users put content in the form of a link or texts on the website. Other users then vote these things “up” or “down”．The most recent and well－liked content appears at the top on the front page of the site.

BuzzFeed.com

This site has loads of funny videos，articles，games and quizzes. Things to look out for include 15 Wildest Office Pranks，12 Signs You Might Be Addicted to a TV Show，15 Facts That Prove Cat People Arenˈt Crazy and 51 Animal Pictures You Need to See Before You Die.

CollegeHumor.com

This site was created in 1999 and gets about seven million visitors per month. Two of its videos have been chosen as winners for the Webby Awards：PixarIntro Parody and Web Site Story. Other funny videos to look out for include a debate on the advantages and disadvantages of going to college.

TheOnion.com

First appearing as a satirical (讽刺的) newspaper in 1988，TheOnion.com has hundreds of videos and articles on news and current affairs，and receives an average of 7.5 million visitors a month. Itˈs famous for its spoof (滑稽模仿) items，such as Michelle Obama Seen Outside Walking Family Rhinoceros or Dad Canˈt Believe Lawn Didnˈt Get Him Anything for Fatherˈs Day.

FunnyorDie.com

This site has lots of really funny videos. And as the name suggests，users vote on videos，choosing the options “funny” or “die”．If the video receives too many “die” votes，itˈs sent to the siteˈs “crypt”．But if it gets enough “funny” votes it goes into the Hall of Fame. The site was created in 2006 by comedians Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. The siteˈs first video，TheLandlord，stars Will Ferrell and has had over 70 million views. Videos to watch out for include Just a Tip：Taxi，with some valuable advice on how to catch a taxi，and Over Analyzing Texts，with some tips on how to respond to text messages.

 Low-Cost Gifts for Motherˈs Day

Gift No. I

Offer to be your motherˈs health friend. Promise to be there for any and all doctorˈs visits whether a disease or a regular medical check-up. Most mothers always say "no need," another set of eyes and ears is always a good idea at a doctorˈs visit. The best part? This one is free.

Gift No. 2

Help your mother organize all of her medical records, which include the test results and medical information. Put them all in one place. Be sure to make a list of all of her medicines and what times she takes them. "Having all this information in one place could end up saving your motherˈs life," Dr. Marie Savard said.

Gift No. 3

Enough sleep is connected to general health conditions. "Buy your mother cotton sheets and comfortable pillows to encourage better sleep," Savard said. "We know that good sleep is very important to our health."

Gift No. 4

Some gift companies such as Presents for Purpose allow you to pay it forward this Motherˈs Day by picking gifts in which 10 percent of the price you pay goes to a charity (慈善机构). Gift givers can choose from a wide variety of useful but inexpensive things -many of which are "green" - and then choose a meaningful charity from a list. When your mother gets the gift, she will be told that she has helped the chosen charity.

How to Make a Budget（预算）

Most likely, you aren’t the family breadwinner. But doing a small job or getting a weekly allowance would put some money in your pocket. For kids and grown-ups alike, money is easy to spend. If you aren’t careful, it can be gone in no time.

Being responsible with your money is an important skill to learn－and the sooner you start the better. Whether you are tracking your spending or saving for something special, creating a budget can help you deal with your expenses and plan for the future. All you need are paper and a pencil－and some self-control.

First, take a look at our sample monthly budget. Then, use a separate sheet of paper to plan your own. In the first two columns, list your sources of income and how much you expect to earn form them. In the third and fourth columns, list what you expect to spend your money on and the amount.

The left-hand total should be more than or equal to the right-hand total. If it is, you have an effective budget.

Budgets are not complex, but sticking to them can be tough. When planning your budget, be realistic about your expenses. If you know that you drop $ 18 at a movie, don’t write $ 12 in that space simply because you wish you were spending less.

If you are eyeing a big purchase, such as a $ 150 skateboard, spend less and save more until you have the total amount. No matter how attractive it may be, avoid spending your savings. One day, you will thank yourself?

No. 1 Voodoo Ray’s, Dalston

   There’re three important factors for successful late-night food: it needs to be quick, delicious and fun. You want something tasty and you want it fast. And you don’t want anyone to tell you to stop laughing so loudly. Voodoo Ray’s lives up to this because it serves pizza by the slice, a post-midnight pizza special and a solid drinks list—as well as playing excellent music.

   ●voodoorays.com. Open Mon.～Wed. 5 pm～midnight, Thurs. 5 pm～1 am, Fri.～Sat. noon～3 am, Sun. noon～10 pm

   Brittney Bean, co-founder of Mother Clucker

   No. 2 Bob Bob Ricard, Soho

   People love late-night dining at Bob Bob Ricard. It’s so elegant and pleasant; inside are beautiful booths（隔间）that are perfect for gatherings. The menu has mainly Russian dishes but there are British and French influences too. Customers also like to get a couple of the smaller dishes, especially the oysters and lobster dumplings.

   ●bobbobricard.com. Open daily, 12:30 pm～3 pm and 6 pm～midnight; Fri. and Sat. 5:30 pm～1 am

   Dan Doherty, executive chef at 24-hour restaurant the Duck and Waffle

   No. 3 Beigel Bake, Brick Lane

   It’s open 24 hours a day. It’s comforting to know you can go there any time and get something to eat. It’s usually exactly what you’re looking for at that time. You get a mix of people there. The staff has a good way of dealing with people and it’s got the strength to stand the test of time.

   ●On Twitter. Open daily, 24 hours Lee Tiernan, chef-owner, Black Axe Mangal

   No. 4 Ranoush Juice, Marylebone

   It’s essentially a Middle Eastern / Lebanese shawarma bar, but the shawarma is great and the environment is really great. It’s filled with fruits for the juice and different Lebanese treats on the counter. Customers will always get a shawarma wrap, as it comes with extra garlic and great sauces.

   ●43 Edgware Road, 020-7723 5929. Open daily 9 pm～3 am