Here are some undiscovered places around the world, which will surely impress you.

Byblos, Lebanon

    This quiet settlement north of Beirut in Lebanon has been around a really long lime. Today, its rich history is well-represented in its ruins, which include ancient temples and tombs and Neolithic houses. Three sites in particular steal the show: the restored Roman amphitheatre (圆形剧场）, the grand 12^th century Crusader castle, and the beautiful]y restored medieval open market.

Carreg Cennen, Carmarthenshire, Wales

    The ruins of Carreg Cennen must be among the most noticeable sites in Wales. Carreg Cennen is defended by two drawbridges and three gate towers, although it hasn't seen much action since it was partly damaged in 1462, during the Wars of the Roses. However, one rare feature of the castle is unchanged. Ifs the stone passage that leads down to a natural cave underneath.

Providence, Rhode Island, US

    Rhode Island is the smallest state in the US. Its capital, Providence, has many of the attractions. Ivy League member Brown University and the famous Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) give the city a strong student influence. Up on College Hill, east of the Providence River, are streets lined with 18^th century wood framed houses.

Sequoia National Park, California, US

    Not content with having the worlds tallest (coast redwoods) and oldest (bristlecone pines), California is also home to the largest tree—the giant sequoia (红杉树). It grows only to its lull size in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Many of these trees are found in the Yosemite National Park, but for more quality time with the trees, it's best to head south to the far less known Sequoia National Park, which gets a quarter of Yosemite's visitor numbers.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations. Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves. That's because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why?

    We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying. It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it's so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most.

    Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.

    A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver it and visit them. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. “My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said.

    The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn't gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.

    Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.”

    Grandchildren speak of attention they don't get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.

    If you are taking vitamin supplements to reduce your risk of heart disease or cancer, a group of health experts want you to know that those vitamins may actually increase your risk of cancer.

    The US Preventive Services Task Force came to this conclusion after reviewing dozens of studies.

    Nearly half of adults in the US take at least one vitamin or mineral supplement on a regular basis. These pills are advertised as a way to promote general health. In some cases, manufacturers promote them as cancer fighters and heart protectors.

    Studies in animals and in laboratory dishes suggest that oxidative(氧化性的) stress contributes to diseases like cancer and heart disease. If so, there is a reason to believe that antioxidants—including beta-carotene, vitamins A, C, and E—could be useful as preventive medicines.

    But when the Task Force examined the medical evidence on vitamins, it found “inadequate(不充分的) evidence” to support the claims that vitamin and mineral supplements benefit healthy adults.

    “Cardiovascular(心血管的) disease and cancer have a significant health impact in America, and we all want to find ways to prevent these diseases,” Dr. Virginia Moyer, who heads the Task Force, said in a statement. But so far, she added, the medical evidence does not show that taking vitamins is helpful in this regard.

    However, the Task Force did find “adequate evidence” that people with a raised risk for lung cancer actually increase their risk further by taking beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A.

    The Task Force recommendations of taking vitamins regularly apply to healthy adults aged 50 and older who don't have “special nutritional needs”. The advice does not apply to children, women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, people with chronic illnesses, or people who have to take supplements because they can't get all their essential nutrients from their diet.

Hong Kong Science Museum

    You might really like the Science Museum if you are interested in science. The Museum wants to teach kids science. It gives them a place to have fun with the equipment there. However, adults can learn some science too.

    The Museum has 6,500 square metres. There are over 500 exhibits, and nearly 70 percent of them are suitable for visitors of all ages. Since its opening in April 1991, the Hong Kong Science Museum has proven itself to be a good place for learning science. Through having better exhibits and fun science programs in an enjoyable environment, the Museum wants to popularize science to the public and the support science education in schools. Visitors at the Science Museum can visit the exhibition in their own way and enjoy the fun of discovery learning.

    If you want to have a visit, you'd better read the information carefully.

Dear Mom,

    I haven't written before for quite a while because I have got no energy. I now get around my room and this floor of the hospital with a walking stick but I can go only a little bit at a time because I'm awfully weak yet. My right leg was taken out of the cast (石膏) several days ago and it's still as stiff as a board and awfully sore from so much carving around the knee joint. But the surgeon says that eventually it will be all right. I've included a picture of me in bed. It looks like my left leg is a stump (残肢), but it really isn't. Just bent so it looks that way...

    This war makes us a bit less fools than we were. There isn't going to be any such thing as "foreigners" for me after the war is won. I've gotten Italian pretty well. I've picked up quite a lot of Polish and my French is improving. You want to be prepared for a lot of visitors after the war now because I've a lot of pals coming to see me in Chicago. I don't know when I'll be back. I can't get in the army and they won't take me with two shaky legs in the draft (征兵) if I go home. So I might as well stay over here and avoid the awkwardness for a while.

    Also Ma, I'm in love again. Now don't start worrying about me getting married for I'm not. I'm not even going to get engaged. So don't write any "God Bless U, My Children": Not for about 10 years. You're a dear old kid, and still my best girl. God bless you and write me often... I love you.

Ernie

According to a new research,the more people in a country who have a particular gene(基因),the happier the nation will be.This DNA is known as the FAAH gene.People with a particular version of it tend to be cheerier souls.There is a link between levels of the FAAH gene and the number of people who say they are very happy.

Sweden—one of the happiest countries in the world—also has lots of happy DNA.Ghana,Nigeria,Mexico and Columbia all come out near the top in the happiness league,and have high rates of the gene.In contrast,the people of Iraq,Jordan and China are among the least likely to rate themselves as very happy and also have the lowest level of the FAAH gene.

However,wealth and health are found to have little effect on happiness.The finding could help explain why some of the world's poorest nations are also the happiest.In addition,the FAAH gene and an optimistic attitude would not always go hand in hand.For example,Russians and Estonians score very low in happiness,despite having the right happy DNA.

Professor Michael Minkov said,"The climate condition is associated with the nation's happiness.We can notice the high occurrence of the FAAH gene in tropical(热带的) areas in the Americas and Africa.And the occurrence of the gene around the Mediterranean Sea is much lower than that in Northern Europe."

The social experts say that genetics is not the only determinant(决定因素) of happiness.The economic and political difficulties in some nations also contribute to the very low happiness scores.Nations that are not blessed with the right DNA aren't necessarily miserable.