Yellowstone Weather

    Yellowstone National Park is at high altitude. Most of the park is above 7,500 feet (2,275 meters).

    Yellowstone's weather is unpredictable. In summer, it may be warm and sunny with temperatures in the high 70s. At night in any given month, the temperature may drop close to freezing. So it is best to come prepared for cold evenings and mornings, especially if you are camping or hiking. When you leave your campsite, please leave it prepared for possible thundershowers and wind.

    A sunny warm day may become fiercely stormy with wind, rain, sleet and sometimes snow. Without enough clothing, and easy day hike or boat trip can turn into a battle for survival.

    Hey, ladies! It's summer again and it's time for a new you! No more make-up, no more pretending! Yes, that's right! It's time to stop making ourselves beautiful for the camera, and start posting confident pictures without all the make-up and extra tricks we add onto ourselves in the hope of appearing more attractive and beautiful. Because believe it or not, we already are!

    After we wash our face and go to bed, it is not so perfect. You know it the face we should confidently be showing to the world! Who cares if you have pimples（面痕）or your eyes look small, or if you have crow's feet? Guess what? Those are actually what make you such a beautifully grown woman. And any person who doesn't think so is just not as strong as you.

    Nowadays we are so prone to do anything and everything to make us look as young and perfect as possible. Yet the truth is, by doing this, we are actually making our tree skin get worse and badly affected by all the junk we put on. We are making ourselves believe that by changing our appearance we will be more accepted and seem more attractive to other people. And yet, our final goal is to find that without all of the make-up. What kind of twisted（扭曲的）game are we really playing with ourselves?

    So I would like to make a suggestion for all women out there to give yourself a break at least this summer. Take a couple of pictures without all of that make-up on. You don't need it every single day, especially not this hot summer! You'll be surprised that the more confident you are about showing the real side of you, the more attractive you will be to everyone else.

    Yes, the saying, “Beauty comes from within” is an old one, definitely still holds some troth today. So be brave, carefree, and make-up free! Let the world see you for who you really are!

    About this time every year, I get very nostalgic(怀旧的). Walking through my neighborhood on a fall afternoon reminds me of a time not too long ago when sounds of children filled the air, children playing games on a hill, and throwing leaves around in the street below. I was one of those children, carefree and happy. I live on a street that is only one block long. I have lived on the same street for sixteen years. I love my street. One side has six houses on it, and the other has only two houses, with a small hill in the middle and a huge cottonwood tree on one end. When I think of home, I think of my street. Only I see it as it was before. Unfortunately things change. One day, not long ago, I looked around and saw how different everything has become. Life on my street will never be the same because neighbors are quickly grown old, friends are growing up and leaving, and the city is planning to destroy my precious hill and sell the property to contractors.

    It is hard for me to accept that many of my wonderful neighbors are growing old and won't be around much longer. I have fond memories of the couple across the street, who sat together on their porch swing almost every evening, the widow（寡妇）next door who yelled at my brother and me for being too loud, and the crazy old man in a black suit who drove an old car. In contrast to those people, the people I see today are very old neighbors who have seen better days. The man in the black suit says he wants to die, and another neighbor just sold his house and moved into a nursing home. The lady who used to yell at us is too tired to bother any more, and the couple across the street rarely go out to their front porch these days. It is difficult to watch these precious people as they near the end of their lives because at one time I thought they would live forever.

    The "comings and goings" of the younger generation of my street are now mostly "goings" as friends and peers move on. Once upon a time, my life and the lives of my peers revolved around home. The boundary of our world was the gutter at the end of the street. We got pleasure from playing night games or from a breathtaking ride on a tricycle. Things are different now, as my friends become adults and move on. Children who rode tricycles now drive cars. The kids who once played with me now have new interests and values as they go their separate ways. Some have gone away to college like me, a few got married, two went into the army, and one went to prison. Watching all these people grow up and go away makes me long for the good old days.

    Perhaps the biggest change on my street is the fact that the city is going to turn my precious hill into several lots for new homes. For sixteen years, the view out of my kitchen window has been a view of that hill. The hill was a fundamental part of my childhood life; it was the hub of social activity for the children of my street. We spent hours there building forts, sledding, and playing tag. The view out of my kitchen window now is very different; it is one of tractors and dump trucks tearing up the hill. When the hill goes, the neighborhood will not be the same. It is a piece of my childhood. It is a visual reminder of being a kid. Without the hill, my street will be just another pea in the pod.

    There was a time when my street was my world, and I thought my world would never change. But something happened. People grow up, and people grow old. Places changes, and with the change comes the heartache of knowing I can never go back to the times I loved. In a year or so, I will be gone just like many of my neighbors. I will always look back to my years as a child, but the place I remember will not be the silent street whose peace is interrupted by the sounds of construction. It will be the happy, noisy, somewhat strange, but wonderful street I knew as a child.

    Traveling by subway can sometimes be quite an adventure, especially during rush hour. There are the times when you have to avoid cups of coffee that could spill (溅) on you. The smells of some passengers' food are very strong, too. According to the Beijing subway passenger regulations, which went into effect on May 15th, passengers except babies and the sick are no longer allowed to eat or drink on the subway. Violators (违反者) who do not stop after being asked to will be asked to get off. The violation will also be recorded in the violators' credit record.

    Some support the rule. The reason is that the smell of food and drink can annoy other passengers. "The smell of food fills the carriage, causing people discomfort, especially in the hot summer. Besides, eating on the subway produces rubbish. And on subway trains, people often spill their drinks," said Zheng Yiou, 17, a student from Hefei.

    However, others question this rule. "Some citizens live so far from their work places that they have limited time to have breakfast before they go to work. Eating while they travel saves them time and decreases the chance that they will be late for work," He Songlin, a 17­year­old student from Chengdu said, "And some people, like those with low­ blood sugar levels, get sick if they can't eat when they must."

    Other Chinese cities like Nanjing and Chengdu have similar regulations. Some foreign cities also ban eating and drinking on the subway. For example, eating and drinking have long been banned on the subway in Washington DC. Singapore fines people who eat or drink on the subway up to 500 Singapore dollars, which is RMB 2,417 yuan.

    Chen Yanyan, a professor from Beijing University of Technology, believed we should consider the need of some people to eat or drink on the subway. "Commuters (上班族) and travelers are sometimes too busy to eat. Maybe we could learn from Tokyo, where there are many subway stations equipped with services, allowing passengers to eat and drink," she said.

    People speak English in different parts of the world. The same words can be used in different ways, depending on where you live. People can also have completely different ways of saying the same thing.

    The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is asking the public to help it add new words. Editors want to find the regional differences in English around the world. They want to expand its record of the language.

    Last year, the OED, BBC Radio and the Forward Arts Foundation teamed up to find local words in the United Kingdom. It resulted in more than 100 regional words and phrases being added to the dictionary. One was "cuddy wifter", which means a left-handed person.

    Now, the OED is widening its search to English speakers around the world. Eleanor Maier, an editor at OED, said the response has been great. Editors are listing a bunch of suggestions to include in the dictionary.

    These include Hawaii's "hammajang", which means "in a disorderly state". Another is the word for a swimming costume, "dookers" or "duckers". It is used in Scotland.

    The OED also might include the word "frog-drowner", which Americans might use to describe a downpour of rain. Another possibility is "brick". It means "very cold" to people in New Jersey and New York City.

    The dictionary has already found that, depending on location, a picture hanging off center might be described as "agley". It might also be called "catawampous" or "ahoo".

    "The OED aims to cover all types of English," Maier said. That includes scientific words, slang and regional language. Maier also said that it can be difficult for the OED's editors to identify regional words. The terms are more often spoken than written down.

    The appeal is called Words Where You Are. It is looking for more suggestions. "We were surprised and pleased by the number of regional words we were able to include," said Maier.

From a young age, Michael Platt loved two things: the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and cupcakes. He imagined ways he too could fight for justice. He memorized figures about income inequality and childhood hunger. But he also spent afternoons at his home computer, amazed by YouTube bakers who made perfect cupcakes.

When his parents gave him a pair of Toms shoes for Christmas three years ago, Michael saw a way to connect his twin passions. At age 11, he founded a bakery that operates on the Toms one-for-one model: For every cupcake, cake or cookie that Michael sells, he donates another to the homeless and hungry. Twice a month, he heads to locations to pass out goodies. Michael, now 13, said he especially enjoys handing out cupcakes to kids.

"I know I like cupcakes, but also cupcakes are part of a child's childhood so they should get them," said Michael, noting that he always eats one with whippedicing (打发的糖霜) on his birthday.

Michael calls his baking business Michaels Desserts. He left out the apostrophe (撇号) as a reminder that he is baking for others, not himself. "I always wanted to have a purpose for what I do." he said. "It's all about helping people— not just having a purpose for yourself, but thinking about, 'How does this touch other things? "

When he started the bakery, he knew that he wanted his business to do more than make money. That's why the intention of Michaels Desserts is fighting hunger and giving back, which Michael accomplishes through his giveaways. Michael hopes his cupcakes inspire others to work for social equality.

Sometimes, Michael admits, he grows tired of being in the kitchen. Then he remembers the homeless boy he met once while handing out cupcakes. A couple of days afterward, the boy's father messaged Michael on Facebook to say that his son, encouraged by Michael's example, now desired to become a baker.

"That inspired me," Michael said. He smiled and looked down.