Retired nurse Sue Collins was just beginning the second length of her local pool when her morning swim suddenly became anything but a pleasure.

    Two months ago Sue, 69, who has never suffered from asthma or any other breathing problem in the past, suddenly found herself hard for breath.

    “I felt as if my throat and oesophagus (食道) were closing up,” says Sue.

    Sue is convinced the problem is related to the indoor swimming baths. “I spend half the year in Turkey and swim every day outside in a pool or the sea there and never have this problem,” she says.

    She may be right, because although a trip to the pool is the perfect exercise for many, the chlorine (氯气) used to keep the water free from germs can lead to problems.

    But in most cases it's not the chlorine that causes problems, but the by-products formed when chlorine interacts with other substances — and this is mostly due to people not showering before they enter the pool.

    “This then poisons the water for them and for others,” says Dr. Hull. “The chlorine interacts with sweat and urine(尿素) on the skin and forms by-products called chloramines that float above the surface as a gaseous solution that can be inhaled in.”

    Chloramines are heavier than air so hang over the water where they are easily breathed in. Some believe they may cause lung disorders. A Swedish study in 2013 examining the health of 146 workers at 46 indoor pools found that 17 per cent had airway trouble at work — but no problems at home.

    As Dr. Hull says: ‘People need to remember that showering isn't just for them. It is for the greater good.'

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。

    In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair weather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities (品质) of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability (可靠).

    Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person's place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener. At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults (过错) in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.

    Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.

    There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor (幽默), too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.

    When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!

    There is a common belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever considered spelling unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, quite different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority(优先) it must be given over general language development and writing ability. The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely in writing without holding him back with spelling.

    If spelling becomes the only point of his teacher's interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to "play safe". He will write only words within his spelling range(范围). That's why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.

    I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: "This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling mistakes." It may have been a sharp criticism(批评) of the pupils technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad thing for the teacher who had omitted to read the composition, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child's deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the mistakes, but if his priority had centered on the child's ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more hope to seek improvement.

Rotnest Hostel Guide

    The Rottnest Island Hostel is a great low budget option for guests visiting The Rottnest Island.

    The hostel has 50 beds (including family rooms and dormitories, a fully equipped kitchen and a lounge with television. Public shower facilities (设施) are available on each floor. Hostel beds are supplied with beddings but guests will need to bring their own towels or hire them by contacting Rottnest Island Reservations at least 48 hours ahead of arrival.

    The hostel family rooms have recently had an upgrade to include a small fridge, wardrobe and shelf storage facility. There is also additional outside seating for those using the public kitchen and BBQ areas.

    Room Cost:

    Family Room: From $80 to $117 depending on season

    Dormitory: From $45 to $53 depending on length of stay

    Buffet Breakfast: 7.00 am- 9.00 am

    Cost: Pre-booked $15 per person ($18.50 walk-in).

    Pre-booked $40 per family of 2 adults & 2 children up to 14yrs ($45 walk-in).

    Buffet Dinner: 5.45 pm- 9.00 pm

    Main Course: Roast Pork or Roast Beef, Curries, Pasta. Vegetarian Stir Fry. Steamed Rice, Salad, Roast Potatoes, Garlic or Cheese Bread

    Dessert: Ice Cream & Fruit Salad

    Drink: Water & Coffee or Tea

    Cost: Pre-booked $25 per person ($30 walk-in).

    Pre-booked $50 per family of 2 adults & 2 children up to 14yrs ($55 walk-in).

    To pre-book your meals, please call RIA Reservations on 9432 911.

    Please Note:

    Public showers are limited to 20 minutes.

    Bookings for the dormitories cannot be made online.

    Alcohol is not permitted within the dorms, hostel and BBQ areas.

China's Tianwen 1 Mars probe (探测器) conducted its fourth orbital correction on Friday evening, as the spacecraft makes ready for its arrival in orbit around Feb. 10, according to the China National Space Administration.

The name comes from the long poem Tianwen, meaning Heavenly Questions or Questions to Heaven, written by Qu Yuan, one of the greatest poets of ancient China. In Tianwen, this name conveys the Chinese nation's steady effort in pursuing truth and culture of exploring nature and the universe. CNSA also unveiled (发布) the logo of China's planetary exploration missions, featuring the letter C, signifying China, international cooperation and capacity of entering space.

Tianwen I has flown for 197 days and more than 465 million kilometers on its journey to the planet. It is now around 184 million km from Earth and I. I million km from Mars. Depending on the two planets' orbits, Mars is between 55 and 400 million km from Earth. Mars probe Tianwen I is seen in its first selfies in space on Oct. 1, 2020. The administration also published a black-and-white picture of Mars taken by Tianwen I, the first snapshot (抓拍的照片) from the Chinese craft.

Tianwen I, the country's first independent Mars mission, was launched by a Long March 5 heavy-lift carrier rocket on July 23 from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, kicking off the nation's planetary exploration program.

A successful landing would make China only the second nation to place a spacecraft on the Martian planet. China would also be the first to successfully orbit, land and deploy (部署) a vehicle in the same mission. According to experts, searching for signs of life on Mars will be the first and foremost scientific goal. China is open and inclusive in the development of its space technology not least because it believes that the exploration of outer space should help build a community with a shared future for mankind.

After a long and hard journey that made international headlines, China's famous herd of wandering elephants appears to finally be heading home.

In August, the 14 Asian elephants of various sizes and ages were guided across the Yuanjiang river in Yunnan and a path was being made for them to return to the nature reserve in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture.

The elephants' return completes a more than 500km odyssey that caught the attention of the country. The highlights of their trip included the birth of a calf in Pu'er in last November; and going viral for taking a nap. If they were just taking a walk in the forest, it wasn't a big deal. But the fact is, they left whatever they stepped on in ruins, causing great damage to local residents.

Local wildlife experts have been unable to pinpoint the reason the herd decided to move. One reason is given that the population of elephants in the nature reserve in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture is so large, which has increased from 190 to over 300 since 40 years ago, that there is not enough food for them. Some say that their move is due to the influence of the magnetic field of the earth and there is another story saying maybe that lead elephant lost its way, thus leading the herd out of the way. But Zhang Li, a professor on conservation biology at Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times in June that large-scale human engineering developments have sped up the ‘islanding'of elephant habitats.

This meant "the traditional safe zones between humans and elephants are gradually disappearing, and the chances of elephants encountering humans naturally increase greatly".