While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.

    The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to complete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.

    I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I'm not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold—his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.

    I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.

    But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.

    No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.

    A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.

    Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to Sydney.

    In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog.

    When we talk about stars, especially women stars, it seems that they are always young, pretty and own charming body shapes. But recently a Britain's Got Talent（英国达人）star Susan Boyle has changed our views absolutely.

    Simon Cowell, one of the judges of the talent show spoke of his shock over Ms Boyle's voice. "This lady came up, and I'm thinking, 'This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea'. That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed to Dream from Les Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face through -it was one of my favorite moments," Cowell said.

    The performance was posted on line and before long, the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world.

    Speaking from her home in Scotland, Ms Boyle said that she hasn't thought of changing her appearance. She said that her friend helped her with make-up. "I mean, that's hardly a makeover（改头换面）," she added. Ms Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her vocal talents, "I was kind of slow at school, so getting like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and thus it built my confidence."

Adventure Works World Tours

    How often have you said out loud, “I would love to see the Eiffel Tower someday…” or “My dream in life is to see the pyramids”? Now you can stop talking about it and do it! Our mission is to provide you with the most comprehensive and complete planning and travel services so that you can have the adventure of a lifetime that is exciting, comfortable and worry-free.

    We have several packages to accommodate almost any need, or you can let us create a custom travel package. Following is a small sampling of some of our packages.

Egyptian nights

    Travel with us to the land of the pyramids, where you'll see ancient mysteries displayed before your eyes! Our specialists will share with you their extensive knowledge of Egyptian history and artifacts as you admire ancient wonders like the Sphinx and the pyramids at Giza.

    Packages range from 7 days and nights to 21 days and nights, and all packages include hotel, tours, and meals. Priced from $1,000 per person.

Splendors of Italy

    From the leaning tower at Pisa to the Vatican (梵蒂冈) in Rome, you'll see the greatest sights in Italy. You'll visit Florence, Rome, Pisa, and villages in the Italian countryside. You'll even get a primer (入门书) in the Italian language from a world-celebrated linguist (语言学家). Plus, you'll visit a cooking school for a lesson on how to make real Italian lasagna! Priced from $800 per person.

Russian experience

    Explore the best of Russia, a place of cultural and historical beauty. You'll tour Moscow and St. Petersburg and see for yourself places like Red Square, the Kremlin, Moscow University and more. Learn about the history and the people that make up this remarkable place. Priced from $1,500 per person (does not include airfare).

    Let us create just the right custom package for you! Let us show you the world!

Adventure Works

One Main Street, Seattle, WA 75006

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Reasons to visit St.Louis

Whether you're traveling alone, with a friend or with the whole family, there's a nearly endless selection of activities you'll want to experience—so many that it's hard to decide where to go first.

Missouri Botanical Garden

    You could easily spend an entire day making your way through the 79 acres(英亩)on display here. The gardens also boast(以拥有……而自豪) seasonal exhibits, such as the summer Lantern Festival—taking place through July—that showcases beautiful works of light each year.

4344 Shaw Blvd, 314-577-5100, missouribotanicalgarden. org.

St. Louis Art Museum Free

    There are more than 33,000 works on display here, including the recent addition of 225 donated pieces of feature work by American artists and more than 200 pieces from Asia. The museum is free, and special exhibits are free on Fridays.

    I Fine Arts Drive, 314-721-0072, slam. Org
St. Louis Science Center Free

    With a wealth of displays to keep kids and adults alike entertained and learning all day, the center boasts an impressive 700 hands-on exhibits, including a fossil dig site, water tables in the discovery room, electrical energy demonstrations, and cyber activities.

    5050 Oakland Ave, 314-289-4400, slsc.org

St. Louis Zoo Free (Free for some attractions)

    The zoo includes beautiful naturalistic displays and boasts plenty of activities to keep kids excited, from feeding exhibitions and safaris(游猎), to sea lion shows and conservation talks.

    One Government Drive, 314-781-0900, stlzoo.org.

    Driving a car is not just handling controls and judging speed and distance. It requires you to predict what other road users will do and get ready to react to something unexpected. When alcohol is consumed, it enters your bloodstream and acts as a depressant (抑制药),damaging eyesight, judgment and co­ordination(协调),slowing down reaction time and greatly increasing the risk of accidents. Even below the drink driving limit, driving will be affected.

    Alcohol may take a few minutes to be absorbed into the bloodstream and start action on the brain. Absorption rate is increased when drinking on an empty stomach or when consuming drinks mixed with fruit juice. To get rid of alcohol from the body is a very slow process and it is not possible to speed it up with any measures like taking a shower or having a cup of tea or coffee.

    The present Road Traffic Ordinance states clearly that the limit of alcohol concentration is： 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood； or 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 ml of breath; or 67 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of urine (尿液)．

    Drivers who cause traffic accidents, or who commit a moving traffic offence or are being suspected of drink driving will be tested.

    Any driver found drinking beyond the limit will be charged. The driver declared guilty may be fined a maximum of HK $ 25000 and be sentenced to up to 3 years in prison and punished for 10 driving­offence points; or temporarily banned from driving.

    The same punishment applies to failing to provide specimens (样本)for breath, blood or urine tests without good excuse.

    Drink driving is a criminal offence. Be a responsible driver, think before you drink. For the safety of yourself and other road users, never drive after consuming alcohol.

Grizzly bears,which may grow to about 2.5 m long and weigh over 400 kg,occupy a conflicted corner of the American psyche—we revere(敬畏) them even as they give us frightening dreams.Ask the tourists from around the world that flood into Yellowstone National Park what they most hope to see,and their answer is often the same:a grizzly bear.

"Grizzly bears are re-occupying large areas of their former range,"says bear biologist Chris Servheen.As grizzly bears expand their range into places where they haven't been seen in a century or more,they're increasingly being sighted by humans.

The western half of the U.S.was full of grizzlies when Europeans came,with a rough number of 50,000 or more living alongside Native Americans.By the early 1970s,after centuries of cruel and continuous hunting by settlers,600 to 800 grizzlies remained on a mere 2 percent of their former range in the Northern Rockies.In 1975,grizzlies were listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Today,there are about 2,000 or more grizzly bears in the U.S.Their recovery has been so successful that the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service has twice attempted to de-list grizzlies,which would loosen legal protections and allow them to be hunted.Both efforts were overturned due to lawsuits from conservation groups.For now,grizzlies remain listed.

Obviously,if precautions(预防) aren't taken,grizzlies can become troublesome,sometimes killing farm animals or walking through yards in search of food.If people remove food and attractants from their yards and campsites,grizzlies will typically pass by without trouble.Putting electric fencing around chicken houses and other farm animal quarters is also highly effective at getting grizzlies away."Our hope is to have a clean,attractant-free place where bears can pass through without learning bad habits,"says James Jonkel,longtime biologist who manages bears in and around Missoula.