Dear Guests

    WELCOME TO PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL APARTMENTS--SYDNEY

    Now we are updating (更新) our information folders in the rooms in order to help you during your stay. Please notice the following:

    Phone number:

    Reception(接待处): Dial 7

     Housekeeping: Dial 4

    Apartment-to-Apartment: dial the apartment number ( except 1st floor apartments: dial the apartment number followed by the ＃key)

    Outside line: dial 0, wait for dial tone, and then the number required.

Please keep your key with you at all times. The main doors to the apartments are locked from about 10:30 pm ~ 07:00 am, and you will need to swipe (刷卡) your key to gain access (通道) to the apartment.

    If in the event of the fire alarm(警报) sounding please stay calm. If evacuation ( 疏散 ) is necessary, please go to the fire exits. DO NOT USE LIFTS. Remember to take your valuables and key with you. When you go down, please gather at the Wishing Tree and the Corner of Sussex and Hay Street and either the Fire Brigade. A staff（职员）member or Hotel security（安全）will issue necessary instructions. For future details on this, please dial 7.

    Please see reception for any advice on tours and Sydney's attention, and please dial 7 if you want any further information.

    We hope your stay with us is an enjoyable one.

    Kind regards,

Paul Williams

Guest Services Manager

    If you enjoy fall activities, the state of Virginia is the place to be. There are many festivals to choose from. Here are four I believe will be great fun.

Henry Street Heritage Festival

    It will last from Saturday September 21^st 2014, 11:00a.m,until 10:00 p.m .The festival is held by the Harrison Museum of African American Culture. This public festival takes place in Elmwood Park in downtown Roanoke. It is a celebration of the culture, history, and arts of African Americans and there is always a lot of entertainment, which includes local and national talent.  Last year entrance was $10.00

    Mountain magic crafts festival

    This festival takes place on Saturday October 5^th, 2014, at 19753 Main Street, in Buchanan, Va. The time is 10:00a.m. until 5:00p.m .This will be a celebration of the region's heritage(遗产), through history, crafts and music. There will be free, live music throughout the day, and plenty of arts and crafts plus delicious food.

    Massanutten fall festival

    The time and location is Saturday October 12^th,2014, 11:00a.m. until 5:00 p.m. at the Massanutten Ski Area. This Fall Festival will feature more than 60 arts and crafts vendors(小贩), food vendors, live music, wine tasting, children's activities, and more. Tickets are $5 in advance, and $10 at gate. Children under age 8 are admitted free. Rides will run between the hours of 11:00am to 3:00 pm. Be in line with your ticket; no later than 2:30 pm.

    Children's Arboretum(植物园) Festival

    The fun takes place, on Saturday October 19^th, 2014 from 1:00 pm until 5:00 pm at the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum. There will be musical instrument shows and performances, singers, crafts, dance exhibitions and lessons. There will also be seed collecting trail activities, trail tours, story time, and snacks. This fall festival is a free event

Dear World:

    My son starts school today. It's going to be strange and new to him for a while. And I wish you would sort of treat him gently.

    You see, up to now, he's been king of the house. He's been boss of the backyard. I have always been around to repair his wounds, and to ease his feelings.

    But now things are going to be different.

    This morning, he's going to walk down the front steps, wave his hand and start on his great adventure that will probably include wars and tragedy and sorrow.

    So, World, I wish you would sort of take him by his young hand and teach him the things he will have to know. Teach him but gently, if you can. Teach him the wonders of books. Give him quiet time to ponder(思考) the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on the green hill. Teach him it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone else tells him they are wrong. Teach him to sell his physical strength and brains to the person who offers the most money, but never to put a price on his heart and soul. Teach him to close his ears to a criminal gang (团伙) ...and to stand and fight if he thinks he's right. Teach him gently, World, but don't coddle him, because only the test of fire makes fine steel.

A Mother

    It's that time of year when people need to lock their cars. It's not because there are a lot of criminals running around stealing cars. Rather, it's because of good-hearted neighbors who want to share their harvest. Especially with this year's large crop, leaving a car unlocked in my neighborhood is an invitation for someone to fill it with zucchini（西葫芦）.

    My sister, Sharon, recently had a good year for tomatoes. She and her family had eaten and canned so many that they had begun to feel their skin turn slightly red. That's when she decided it was time to share her blessings. She started calling everyone she knew. When that failed, she began asking everyone in the neighborhood, eventually finding a neighbor delighted to have the tomatoes. "Feel free to take whatever you want, "Sharon told her. Later that day, Sharon found that her garden had indeed been harvested. She felt happy that she could help someone and that the food didn't go to waste.

    A few days later, Sharon answered the door. There was the neighbor, holding a hot loaf of bread. The neighbor smiled pleasantly, "I wanted to thank you for all of the tomatoes, and I have to admit that I took a few other things and hoped you wouldn't mind. "

    Sharon couldn't think of anything else in her garden that had been worth harvesting and said so. "Oh, but you did, "the neighbor said. "You had some of the prettiest zucchini I've ever seen. "

    Sharon was confused. They hadn't even planted any zucchini. But her neighbor insisted that there really were bright-green zucchini in her garden. Sharon felt curious and decided to go to see where the zucchini had grown. The two of them walked together into the backyard. When the neighbor pointed at the long green vegetables, Sharon smiled. "Well, actually, those are cucumbers（黄瓜）that we never harvested, because they got too big, soft and bitter for eating. "

    The neighbor looked at Sharon, shock written all over her face. She gulped（哽住）a few times, and then, smiling, held out the bread, part of a batch she had shared all over the neighborhood. "I brought you a nice loaf of cucumber bread. I hope you like it. "

    Considering that Sundarbans National Park is situated in thetropics, Septemberto March is the ideal time to come here. April, May and June are too hot while July andAugust often bring heavy season winds that limit travel and don't make for avery pleasant sightseeing experience. You can really enjoy doing lots ofcharming things in the Sundarbans during September to March.

    Take a river tour

    Most tourists who explore the Sundarbans arrive in KhulnaCity first. Fromthere, youcan join a boat tour that travels south along the Ganges River through miles ofpreserved forest all the way to Kotka, where there is a beautiful beach alongthe Bay of Bengal.

    Visit a bird habitat

    This bird habitat is a nesting place for dozens of tropicalbirds found in the Sundarbans. The best way to observe these birds isclimbing up the Sajnekhali Watchtower. If you're lucky, you'll also catch the famed BengalTiger making its rounds through the swampy jungle.

    Visit the Mangrove(红树林)Interpretation Centre

    If you wish to spend some time indoors out of the sweatyheat, goto the Mangrove Interpretation Centre. This place is very educational withmany posters, mapsand exhibits showing the wildlife and varieties of mangrove plants found withinthe park. You'llalso get to see crocodiles in a small pool.

    Take a tour of local villages

    Experience village life that has largely remained unchangedfor centuries. Inthis vast tropical region, there are villages made up of variousethnic groups who rely on fishing, farming and working in the localthrough growing tourist industry for their livelihoods. The Sundarbans is a UNESCO worldheritage site where you can visit villages and talk to locals,who will gladly sharetheir culture with you.

    As the weather gets colder, we start wearing jackets, and most of us stop thinking about the sun. But the sun's rays can be just as harmful when it's cold and cloudy outside. "Any exposed area of your body can still get sunburned," Dr. Apple Bodemer, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Live Science.

    Whether you spend a day on the slopes, skating on a pond or clearing snow out of your driveway, your face is still getting exposed to the sun's radiation in the form of ultraviolet (紫外线) (UV) light, which can go deep into your skin cells causing DNA damage, according to Bodemer.

    The sun's long ultraviolet A (UVA) waves can cause earlier aging, sunspots and wrinkles, while its short ultraviolet B (UVB) rays are known for causing skin reddening and burns.

    Skin damage caused by UV exposure increases over time. More exposure to radiation contributes to more severe damage, even skin cancer. In addition, snow and ice can also make sun damage worse. They reflect up to 80 percent of UV rays reaching the ground. That means you get hit from both the sky and the ground. And skiers and snowboarders increase their risk of getting sunburned even more because UV exposure increases at higher altitudes.

    "Generally, the biggest factor for sun-sensitivity is how pale your skin is," he said. "But, the reality is that even the darkest individual can get sun damage."

    Luckily, the solution for protecting your skin is simple: Wear sunscreen every day. Rigel recommended using sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30, and going higher at high altitudes. As a rule of thumb, SPF 30 will block 97 percent of UVB rays, SPF 50 blocking 98 percent, and SPF 100 blocking 99 percent. Whatever kind of sunscreen you use, it's important to apply SPF about once every 2 hours.

    Rigel also suggested sunscreens with "broad spectrum (光谱)"—to protect against both UVB and UVA rays—as well as sunscreens that are water resistant for up to 80 minutes. That way, you can go about your day without it wearing off too quickly.