Weddings in the United States vary as much as the people do. There are church weddings with a great deal of fanfare(仪式上的短曲); there are weddings on mountain tops with guests barefooted; there have been weddings on the ocean floor with oxygen tanks for the guests. But many weddings, no matter where or how they are performed, include certain traditional customs.

    Before a couple is married, they become engaged. And then invitations are sent to those who live nearby, their close friends and their relatives who live far away. When everything is ready, then comes the most exciting moment.

    The wedding itself usually lasts between 30 and 40 minutes. The wedding party enters the church while the wedding march is played. The bride carrying a bouquet enters last with her father who will “give her away”. The groom enters the church from a side door. When the wedding party is gathered by the altar, the bride and groom exchange vows(誓言). It is traditional to use the words “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.” Following the vows, the couple exchange rings. Wearing the wedding rings on the fourth finger of the left hand is an old custom.

    After the ceremony, there is often a party, called a “reception” which gives the wedding guests an opportunity to congratulate the new couple.

    The car in which the couple leaves the church is decorated with balloons. The words “Just Married” are painted on the trunk or back window. And then the couple go in their honeymoon.

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    Peter Huszcz once taught in an agricultural (农业的)college. In the 1990s, he moved to Canada. Peter started out washing dishes in a restaurant in downtown Ottawa. When the manager asked him to help out rolling meatballs in the kitchen, he soon 1earned how to do the job very well. But it was boring and Peter suggested that the manager should buy a meatball-making machine. When the manager told him there was no such thing as a meatball maker, Peter was quick to notice that something was missing in the market. Putting his engineering knowledge to good use, he quickly came up with a simple method—the Magic Meatball Maker.

    He was sure there was a market for his machine. but it took him ten years of hard work to find it. He had to take risks, but he believed in his idea, and he managed to persuade other people to believe in him too. A local manufacturer (制造商) offered to produce the first 1,000 units in return for a share in the profits (收益), local shops offered to keep his meatball makers and a friend's daughter helped him out with his first sales.

    But his lucky break came when he managed to persuade a TV shopping channel to help sell the Magic Meatball Maker. The channel broadcast a program about how the invention worked in the studio kitchen. Within minutes, they had sold more than 4,000 units.

    This was just the start. Peter had been right. He had said his meatball maker would bring him great wealth, and it has: more than two million dollars so far and it's till selling to thousands of American housewives all across the USA.

    In its early history, Chicago had floods frequently, especially in the spring, making the streets so muddy that people, horses, and carts got stuck. An old joke that was popular at the time went something like this: A man is stuck up to his waist in a muddy Chicago street. Asked if he needs help, he replies,“No, thanks. I've got a good horse under me.”

    The city planners decided to build an underground drainage(排水) system, but there simply wasn't enough difference between the height of the ground level and the water level. The only two options were to lower the Chicago River or raise the city.

    An engineer named Ellis Chesbrough convinced the city that it had no choice but to build the pipes above ground and then cover them with dirt. This raised the level of the city's streets by as much as 12 feet.

    This of course created a new problem: dirt practically buried the first floors of every building in Chicago. Building owners were faced with a choice: either change the first floors of their buildings into basements, and the second stories into main floors, or hoist the entire bulidings to meet the new street level. Small wood-frame buildings could be lifted fairly easily. But what about large, heavy structures like the Tremont Hotel, which was a six-story brick building?

    That's where George Pullman came in. He had developed some house-moving skills successfully. To lift a big structure like Tremont Hotel, Pullman would place thousands of jackscrews(螺旋千斤顶) beneath the building's foundation. One man was assigned to operate each section of roughly 10 jackscrews. At Pullman's signal each man turned his jackscrew the same amount at the same time, thereby raising the building slowly and evenly. Astonishingly, the Tremont Hotel stayed open during the entire operation, and many of its guests didn't even notice anything was happening.

    Some people like to say that every problem has a solution. But in Chicago's early history, every engineering solution seemed to create a new problem. Now that Chicago's waste water was draining efficiently into the Chicago River, the city's next step was to clean the polluted river.

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    The EP has no exposed heating parts that can cause a fire. The outside of EP only gets warm to the touch so that it will not burn children or pets.

    The EP will not reduce oxygen in the room. With other heaters, you'll notice that you get sleepy when the heat comes on because they are burning up oxygen.

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    Festivals are a great way to experience a destination in a different way. This article will fuel your wanderlust（漫游癖）and guide you to the best festivals.

    St Patrick's Day

    Where: Dublin, Ireland & New York, USA

    When: 17 March

    St Patrick's Day has taken place in New York city on March 17th since 1762. On this day, the whole city turns green. Many Irish make traditional bread on this day. It is one of the most fun days the of the year in New York City every year, when the whole city turns into a big green party.

    SXSW

    Where: Austin, USA

    When: 10-19 March

    Like free things? Yeah me too! Free food, drink and music sound good? Welcome to Austin, Texas. SXSW is a festival for those who work in the music and film industries. There are "free" shows. You di have to pay but not by handing over cash; you have to give some time to queue but it is worth it to see some popular stars.

    King's Day

    Where: Amsterdam, Netherlands

    When: 27 April

    Every year on April 27 Amsterdam turns a very bright color of orange for King's Day, which is the birthday of King Willem-Alexander. It is a crazy fun celebration when the center of the city is car, bus, and bike-free. It is a market day, when anyone can sell pretty much anything. Tips: Take a jacket with you, wear orange, and bring cash.

    Just for Laughs

    Where: Montreal, Canada

    When: 14-30 July

    For comedy lovers there is no other festival in the world better than Montreal's Just for Laughs. The festival concentrates most of its shows in the Latin Quarter. During the day street performers delight the crowds and at night the city comes alive with comedy all over the city.

    Nature has provided us with many kinds of resources. It is like a great magician(魔术师), creating wonders on Earth. One of them is the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest and home to millions of plants and animals. Nicknamed" the lungs of our planet", it produces about one-fifth of Earth's oxygen. However, this wonderful natural wonder is now in danger.

    Thousands of fires have broken out in Brazil, endangering much of the rainforest. These flames have lasted several weeks and are believed to be the "most intense" in almost ten years, according to BBC News.

    The Amazon has seen a large number of fires in 2019. Between January and August, there were over 74,000 fires – the highest number since 2013, the BBC reported.

    Forest fires are common during the dry season, which runs from July to October. They are usually caused by natural events like lightning. However, most of the fires this year are believed to be caused by farmers, who use fire as a traditional part of tropical agriculture(农业) to clean land, reported CNN.

    "It's the best time to burn because the plants are dry. Farmers wait for the dry season and they start burning and clearing the areas so that their cattle can have grass," wrote CNN meteorologist Haley Brink.

    The disaster has raised concern(关注) around the world. The Amazon rainforest is important for preventing climate change, said the BBC, absorbing millions of tons of carbon annually. When trees are cut down or burned, the rainforest's ability to absorb carbon is reduced.

    Brazilian climate expert Carlos Nobre told Reuters he's worried. If more than 20 percent of the ecosystem is destroyed, the Amazon rainforest could reach a "tipping point (临界点)", where the thick jungle will turn into a tropical savannah(大草原).

    Nobre warned that it is not far off, with between 15 and 17 percent of the rainforest having already been destroyed.

    The Brazilian government has sent soldiers to fight the fires. Many people have offered their support and called for recovery efforts. For example, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said he wanted to donate money and US Actor Leonardo DiCaprio's environmental charity, Earth Alliance, created a donation fund to help deal with the disaster.

    The public are also encouraged to donate to charities concerned with rainforest protection. "Every little bit helps in a bad situation like this," commented Gizmodo.