Queensland is one of the most amazing states in Australia. It has some of the most beautiful natural scenery on the planet, with the Great Barrier Reef, rainforests and impressive beaches.

The Great Barrier Reef

It is one of the world's largest natural features. It stretches more that 2,300 km along the north eastern coast of Australia from the northern tip of Queensland to just north of Bundaberg. The things that most surprise visitors to the reef are the colors.

Without doubt, the best way to see the Great Barrier Reef is by diving. If you have a little extra money and you are feeling a bit lazy, you can fly over the reef in a plane.

Fraser Island

Another area of natural beauty is Fraser Island. This is the world's largest sand island. It's best visited from Hervey Bay on the mainland, where there are a number of places offering trips around the island. To fully appreciate Fraser Island you should go for three or four days. Attractions include some beautiful fresh-water lakes, particularly Lake Wabby and Lake Mckenzie. You can walk around these on white sands untouched by human footprints. Indian Head also has some beautiful views. Braver travelers can go and watch sharks circling the water hundreds of meters below.

The Whitsunday Islands

    It would be a pity to travel around Queensland without taking a trip around the Whitsunday Islands. They were named by Captain Cook in 1770, after the day on which he arrived. Here are some of the great things you can do there.

●Cruise around them on a relaxing trip.

●Take a sailing course.

●Look at the aboriginal (土著的) paintings in caves on Hook Island.

●Have fun in the water doing lots of water sports.

    So, will you be going to Queensland?

【1】A safari park is a park in which wild animals are kept. They are mainly located in east or central Africa. They often occupy a very wild area, with mountains and rivers. To visit the park and look at the animals, people have to drive around in a car for a few of hours because the park is huge.

【2】In south Africa there is a safari park, which contains all sorts of wild animals like lions, elephants, rhinoceroses(犀牛), zebras, wild pigs, deer and giraffes.

【3】There is a wild road leading through the park, but nobody is permitted to walk on the road. Anyone traveling in the park has to go in a car because wild animals may fiercely attack people. From the car he may see almost every types of African wildlife. Some of these are getting scarce (稀有的) because people kill them for various reasons. For example, rhinoceroses are killed for their horns (角), which are used in traditional Chinese medicines for colds and headaches. Perhaps they will be seen only in museums and books one day.

【4】Travels may buy food for the animals. They can feed them when they tour the park. Of course, they should not feed them in a close distance because the wild animals may attack people. In addition, they should only give proper food to the animals.

【5】A traveler may carry a gun with him in his journey. The gun is given to him by the government. However, it is not used for hunting. In fact, a seal(封条) is fixed to it. The traveler may fire at a wild beast to defend himself in case he is attacked. However, he has to prove to the government that he has been attacked and that he has not fired at a harmless animal.

    Visitors to Britain are sometimes surprised to learn that newspapers there have such a large circulation (发行 ). The “Daily Mirror “ and the “Daily express” both sell about four million copies everyday. British families generally buy a newspaper every morning and two or three on Sundays.

    Besides the national papers, there is, however, another branch of the British press which sells almost as many copies. Local newspapers have a weekly circulation of 13 million. Almost every town and county area has one. Nearly all of them hold their own financially (财政 ) and many of them are very profitable (赚钱的 ) .

    These papers are written almost entirely for readers interested in local events-births, weddings, deaths, council (地方会议 ) meetings and sports. Editors prefer to rely on people who know the district well. A great deal of local news is regularly supplied by clubs and churches in the neighborhood and it does not get out to date as quickly as national news.

    The editors must never forget that the success of any newspaper depends on advertising ( 广告) . He is usually anxious to keep the good will of local businessmen for this reason. But if the newspaper is well written and the news items have been carefully chosen to draw local readers, the business men are grateful for the opportunity (机会 ) to keep their products in the public eyes.

    Have you ever noticed how Americans fill up their entire glass with ice and then pour their beverage(饮品) in, but Europeans take their drinks at room temperature? In the U. S., we've created fridges that give you cold ice at the press of a button, but in Britain they typically serve their tap water warm.

    This tradition—if that's what you want to call it-dates back to the 19th century. During that time, it was already commonplace for most American homes to have an ice box. Ice would be harvested in northern America or Canada and shipped across the Atlantic and sold at a high price in British department stores. Can you imagine heading to Macy's to treat yourself to a block of ice?

    Putting ice in your drink started to become somewhat of a fashion(时尚) trend for the wealthy in Britain. Some would put a few cubes in their champagne and sip on their chilled drinks at high-class parties. But, like with any fashion trend, it eventually faded, mainly because the ice was just too expensive. And even once ice boxes began appearing in homes in Britain as well, Brits never took a liking to ice in their drinks.

    So, next time you travel overseas, don't feel offended(冒犯) when your server gives you an eye roll when you ask for ice water.

    Whenever we see a button, we are eager to press it because we know something will happen. This is true in most cases, for example on a doorbell and on the “on/off” button on the TV. But some buttons are actually fake, like the “close” button on a lift.

    Many people are in the habit of pressing the “close” button because they don't have the patience to wait for the lift doors to shut. But lifts' “close” buttons are a complete scam(骗局), at least in the US-the doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you press.

    It started in the 1990s when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in the US, making sure that all lifts stayed open long enough so that people with disabilities could enter. Only US firefighters and repairmen can use the buttons to speed up the door-closing process if they have a code or special keys.

    But to normal lift riders, the buttons aren't completely useless. According to psychologists, fake buttons can actually make you feel better by offering you a sense of control.

    “Perceived (能够感知的)control is very important. It reduces stress and increases well-being,” Ellen J. Langer, a psychology professor, said, “having a lack of control is associated with depression.”

    Experts have revealed that a lot of buttons that don't do anything exist in our lives for this same purpose. For example, many offices in the US have fake thermostats(温度调节器) because people tend to feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace.

    But psychologists found it interesting that even when people are aware of these little “white lies”, they still continue to push fake buttons because as long as the doors eventually close, it is considered to be worth the effort.

    “That habit is here to stay,” John Kounios, a psychology professor, said“Even though I have real doubts about the traffic light buttons, I always press them. After all, I've got nothing else to do while waiting. So why not press the button in the hope that this one will work?”

    Almost every day we come across situations in which we have to make decisions one way or another. Choice, we are given to believe, is a right. But for a good many people in the world, in rich and poor countries, choice is a luxury, something wonderful but hard to get, not a right. And for those who think they are exercising their right to make choices, the whole system is merely an illusion, a false idea created by companies and advertisers, hoping to sell their products.

    'The endless choice gives birth to anxiety in people's lives. Buying something as basic as a coffee pot is not exactly simple. Easy access to a wide range of everyday goods leads to a sense of powerlessness in many people, ending in the shopper giving up and walking away, or just buying an unsuitable item that is not really wanted. Recent studies in England have shown that many electrical goods bought in almost every family are not really needed. More difficult decision-making is then either avoided or trusted into the hands of the professionals, lifestyle instructors, or advisors.

    It is not just the availability of the goods that is the problem, but the speed with which new types of products come on the market. Advances in design and production help quicken the process. Products also need to have a short lifespan so that the public can be persuaded to replace them within a short time. The typical example is computers, which are almost out-of-date once they are bought. This indeed makes selection a problem. Gone are the days when one could just walk with ease into a shop and buy one thing; no choice, no anxiety.