Earlier this month, two rock climbers achieved what many thought impossible: They climbed up the 3,000-foot-high Dawn Wall in Yosemite NationalPark without specialized equipment. Climbing without this equipment iscalled“free-climbing.”Until now, no one had free-climbed to the top of the rockface, which is a part of the mountain EI Capitan.

    El Capitan, which means“the captain”or“the chief”in Spanish, has always presented a challenge to climbers. But the Dawn Wall, on the mountain's southeast face, is a particularly difficult route to the summit (顶峰). It is a rock formation that is both steep and relatively smooth. This makes free-climbing the rock face seem almost impossible.

    About seven years ago, professional climber Tommy Caldwell spotted a possible route up the wall. It took years of planning and preparation, but this month, Caldwell, 36, and his friend Kevin Jorgeson, 30, finally make the climb.

    Free climbers do use ropes and other basic safety equipment to catch them if they fall — and Caldwell and Jorgeson fell often. Before starting their climb, they broke down their route into 32 sections. Each section was based on a rope length called a“pitch.”The rope was secured into the rock faceto catch the climbers if they fell.

    Caldwell and Jorgeson's goal was to climb the DawnWall without returning to the ground. If they fell, they had to start that pitch all over again. The two men started climbing on December 27. They slept in hanging tents, and a team of friends brought them food each day.

    The men had spent years rehearsing (排练) them ovements it would take to get through each pitch. They made it through the fist half of the climb relatively easily. But halfway up, Jorgeson ran into trouble. In one difficult spot, he fell each time he attempted to climb. After10 days of trying, Jorgeson finally made it to the next pitch.

    Getting through that troublesome pitch gave both climbers renewed energy. They finished the rest of the climb five days later, on January 14.

    Family Fun in Canadian Museum of Nature

    Bring the whole family to rediscover our fully reformed museum and new galleries.

    What to See and Do

    Check out What's On for all the events, educational activities and HD movies happening during your visit. On the first floor, you can see birds, dive down into the depths at the helm(舵柄)of a submersible(潜水器)or explore a cave. Don't miss our 3D gallery play areas on the third floor when visiting with kids. By visiting here, your children will learn more about nature. Check out Our Exhibitions which presents our special exhibitions.

    Hours, Admission, Services and More

    Everything you need to plan your visit:

    Opening Hours

    Summer Hours (June1—September 4):

    9am-6pm(Saturday—Wednesday)

    9am-8pm(Thursday and Friday)

    Regular Hours: 9am-5pm(except Monday and Thursday)

    Admission

    Adult: $14

    Senior(65+):$12

    Student (13+):$12

    Child(3-12):$10

    Tiny Tot(0-2):Free

    Parking

    Paid parking is available on the Canadian Museum of Nature grounds.

    Rates

    $3 per half hour

    At most $14 per day(until 4:30 am)

    Evening flat rate(统一价格):

    $5(4:30pm-4:30 am)

    Charges accumulate(evening and next day)of vehicles that are parked overnight.

    Shopping

    Be sure to stop at our Nature Boutique on the second floor for a vast selection of games, books and nature-related souvenirs.

    Explore Nature

    The Canadian Museum of Nature provides a lot of information, images and videos on our websites. The museum participates in several social networks. Follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.

    "Can't hold a candle to" is a popular expression. When there wasn't electricity, someone would have a servant light his way by holding a candle. The expression meant that the person who cannot hold a candle to you is not fit even to be your servant. Now，it means such a person cannot compare or compete.

    Another expression is "hold your tongue. "It means to be still and not talk. "Hold your tongue" is not something you would tell a friend. But a parent or teacher might use the expression to quiet a noisy child.

    "Hold out" is an expression one hears often in sports reports and labor news. It means to refuse to play or work. Professional football and baseball players "hold out" if their team refuses to pay them what they think they are worth.

    The expression "hold up" has several different meanings. One is a robbery. A man with a gun may say, "This is a hold up. Give me your money." Another meaning is to delay. A driver who was held up by heavy traffic might be late for work. Another meaning is for a story to be considered true after an investigation. A story can hold up if it is proved true.

    "Hold on" is another expression, which means wait or stop. As you leave for school, your brother may say, "Hold on，you forgot your book. " It is used to ask a telephone caller to wait and not hang up his telephone.

    Our final expression is "hold the line." That means to keep a problem or situation from getting worse—to hold steady. For example, the president may say he will "hold the line on taxes." He means therewill be no increase in taxes.

    Have you ever lost your car on a parking lot? You don't have a clue where your car is after shopping. Then you start walking around clicking on your car keys so the alarm goes off. It can be annoying, especially on a hot sunny day.

    No, you needn't install (安装) an expensive GPS system to keep track of your car. That's too expensive. You would need to pay a monthly fee to use it.

    But is there a way to track your vehicle without spending a fortune? Yes, now there is! A California-based company has created a tiny device that works with your smartphone, which could be exactly what you're looking for!

    What is it?

    It's called TrackR. It is a state-of-the-art tracking device the size of a coin. It's changing the way we keep track of the important things in our lives.

    How does it work?

    It's easy! Install the free TrackR app on your smartphone, connect the app to your device and you're ready to go! Simply attach TrackR to whatever you want to keep an eye on. The entire process of setting it up only takes 5 minutes or less.

    You can attach it to your keys, briefcase, wallet, your latest tech gadgets and anything else you don't want to lose. Then use the TrackR app to locate your missing item in seconds.

    If you forget where you have parked your car, pull out your smartphone and open the TrackR app. Tap on the “find device” button on the screen and the app will tell you the exact spot of the last known location of the TrackR.

    What else can I do with TrackR?

    The device is small and unnoticeable enough that you can attach it to your pet. Put it on their collar, and the issue of searching for them when they run away to nearby places will be over! You'll never waste a minute searching the whole house for it.

    TrackR even comes with a double-sided glue (胶水) so you can stick it to your laptop or under your bike seat. Track down and punish the thieves who steal your expensive things!

    How much does it cost?

    You're probably thinking that this device is very expensive. False! TrackR only costs $29! That's a small price to pay for peace of mind, isn't it?

    Where can I buy one?

    You can buy it directly from the company's website by clicking here https: //buy. thetrackr. co/gu/special- offers/15/.

    The man who walked into Dave Cutlip's tattoo parlor（纹身店）in Brooklyn Park. Maryland, in January was tough to miss. His face bore a gang（帮派）tattoo. The man sought Cutlip's help in covering up his violent past. He was determined to turn over a new leaf. "I could see the hurt in his eyes," Cutlip, 49, told The Washington Post.

    Cutlip couldn't help the man—the tattoo were too close to the eyes. But it got him thinking. Many young people get tattoos that hey come to regret. A few can mark them for the rest of their days. Then they're" always going to be a victim." said Cutlip." If I can help, that's my ultimate（最终的）goal."

    Inking over a tattoo costs hundreds of dollars, and getting one removed by laser（激光）is even pricier. So Cutlip decided he would help by hiding racist or gang-related tattoos for free. He put the word out via Facebook:" Sometimes people make bad choices and sometimes people change. We believe there is enough hate in this world, and we want to make a difference."

    One man, Casey Schaffer, showed up with the word "white" on one forearm and "power" on the other. He'd served a year in prison on drug charges, he told The Washington Post, and had joined a white group there because they" took care of me. I thought of it as paying them back." But employers would take one look at the tattoos and turn him down. So he had Cutlip obscure（使不分明）one of the words with a heat and roses and tattoo an eagle over the other.

    Cutlip has done nine such jobs, each of which took several hours. He told People that a client（顾客）let him know that he quickly found a job once his tattoo was obscured. Such victories inspired Cutlip to found the Random Acts of Tattoo project with three like-minded（志同道合的）tattoo studios from around the country, and now hundreds of clients are on a wait list. As he told National Public Radio." If we can just erase hate, then we're doing something."

    Young mums shopping in the Copley Mall in downtown Boston-month found themselves being questioned about their use of soap by students from Harvard Business School usually known as HBS. The students were not doing odd jobs to earn beer money. They were preparing to help a firm in Brazil launch an antibacterial cleanser.

    The 900 students arriving in Boston this summer for their two-year course were told that they would be subjects. The new practical addition to HBS's curriculum is known as "FIELD" that stands for Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development. Fieldwork — ie, going out and talking to people — is a big change for HBS.

    Not all the staff and students were overjoyed to be experimented on. But the man responsible, Nitin Nohria, head of HBS, says that "If it works, the FIELD method could become an equal partner to the case method."

    What happens in the second year of the new course is still being worked out. But the first year has three elements. First, team-building exercises. Students take turns to lead a group engaged in a project. They learn to cooperate and to give and take feedback. Second, students will be sent to work for a week with one of more than 140 firms in 11 countries. In the third part of the course, students will be given eight weeks, and seed money of ＄3,000 each, to launch a small company. The most successful, as voted by their fellow students, will get more funding. The experiment does not come cheap, adding 5-10% to the course's cost, which HBS will bear while it figures out what works.