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    About three hours after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas as a Category ( 级 别 ) 4 storm, it was downgraded to a Category 3 storm after winds decreased to 125 mph from maximum winds of 130 mph.

    Harvey also made a second landfall on the northeastern shore of Copano Bay around the time it was downgraded.

    The storm is the strongest to hit the state in decades, with serious flooding expected. The last Category 4 storm to hit the U.S. was Charley in 2004 in Florida, while the last Category 4 storm to hit Texas was Carla in 1961.

    Residents staying in the area madly stocked up on(备足) food, water and gas, while others heading out of the storm's path boarded up windows and doors of their homes and businesses.

    Airlines canceled flights, schools were closed while concerts and other planned events in Houston and coastal cities were postponed.

    The hurricane's effects are expected to last for days, with heavy rainfall through next week estimated to be as high as 40 inches in some areas.

    The National Weather Service warned Harvey could bring a potentially destroying storm surges( 风 暴 潮 ), heavy rainfall and wind hazards( 危 害 ) to the Lone Star State's coast. A tornado watch is in effect for areas of southeastern Texas and southwest Louisiana.

    Life-threatening storm surge waters could reach 9 to 13 feet above ground level. Destroying flooding is expected across parts of the area. And rainfall will be heavy, with an estimated 15 to 30 inches of rain falling in many areas and as high as 40 inches in some from today through Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.

    There is an old style out there of young girls talking endlessly on the phone with one another. It's an idea that is far from untrue in many families. I remember being a twelve-year-old and spending some quality time on the phone with my girl-friends, even though we'd seen each other at school. I didn't really have anything to talk about, I guess, but I think I was just happy to have someone else to talk to and that someone wanted to talk to me.

    We call this phenomenon (现象) of girls going on forever over the regular phone “girl talk”. And these days, girl talk has spread far beyond the old phone-teens communicate with each other pretty much nonstop through cell phone, texting，online chat. Is girl talk a good thing? According to experts, it can be-in limited quantities.

    Girl talk has its place. But too much of it, especially the kind during which problems are talked about endlessly can be not such a good thing. Psychologists (心理学家) think that too much of that kind of talking can lead to emotional problems such as depression (沮丧) and anxiety. Girls, much more so than boys, will always think of a problem and get worried, making the problem worse other than solving it. The best way is to try to guide the conversation toward something positive, or to do something about the problem rather than sit around and chat about it endlessly.

    It's common knowledge that sleep problems can be caused by things such as stress, anxiety, or even using a smartphone before bedtime. But recently, a team of researchers discovered that genes could also be a cause of sleepless nights.

    The scientists, from Rockefeller University in New York, US, found that delayed sleep phase disorder（DSPD，睡眠相位后移综合症）, a condition that affects one's sleeping patterns, is passed down via a mutated（突变的）gene. DSPD sufferers wake up later and go to bed later than the average person. To come to their conclusion, the team studied a 46-year-old woman who is only usually able to fall asleep at 2 or 3 in the morning. It was discovered that the woman's body produces the hormone that helps her sleep at night up to 7 hours later than regular sleepers. The scientists found this was caused by a mutation in one of the woman's genes, one that helps regulate the “body clock”.

    Some of the woman's family members were also found to share the same mutation—and the same sleeping problems –leading the scientists to believe that sleep troubles are passed down through the generations.

    However, having this mutation doesn't mean you automatically have sleep problems. The team also found two people who had the mutation but reported no problems with their sleep.

    But while this is an interesting discovery, it offers no help to those who can't fall asleep at night—although there are a few things you could try to help you sleep earlier.

    BBC journalist Michael Mosley produced a TV documentary in May in which he talked about his battle with insomnia（失眠）and the techniques he used. “I avoid social media for at least an hour before bed, I do mindfulness exercises, and if I wake up in the middle of the night, I read a book for an hour or so,” he wrote in an article for the Radio Times.

    The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. One hundred thousand people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives.

    The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King's baker(面包师)in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window in the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery(面包房)into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.

    By eight o'clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul's and the Guildhall among them.

    Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, wrote about the fire. People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat.

    The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.

    After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone. In fact, the streets are still narrow; but he did build more than fifty churches, among them new St Paul's.

    The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.

    Chinese audiences seemed not to have been satisfied

    Chinese audiences seemed not to have been satisfied with the third season of the highly anticipated food documentary A Bite of China.

    Even though the series has maintained high viewership ratings since its comeback last week, much higher than other programs aired at the same time, the ranking on Douban, a social networking website featuring films, literature and events, slipped to 4.2 out of 10, as of Tuesday, compared with 9.3 and 8.4, respectively, for the first two seasons.

    Picky viewers complain that some of the narration is not accurate, while others pinpoint misleading content. At the same time, food blogger questioned whether it is appropriate to give a close-up shot of the poisonous plant Nandina (南天竹) in a food program.

    A Bite of China, which debuted in 2012, became hugely popular nationwide for its quality introduction of some rarely-known and mouth-watering domestic cuisine. In the new show, however, watchers are not satisfied with "irrelevant" food references, such as lipsticks made of Chinese traditional medicine and martial arts films.

    The first episode introduced a hand-made iron frying pan from east China's Shandong province, which prompted thousands of Chinese Internet users to buy one from China's leading e-commerce website Tmall in the next few days. Sales of the pan at "Zhensanhuan" surged 6,000 times compared with a year ago, according to Beijing Youth Daily.

    In response to overwhelming criticism and questions, A Bite of China production crew responded on Weibo that they seek innovation despite the risks following the first two phenomenal seasons.

    "It is unavoidable to make comparisons with the first two, and some audiences may not accept the changes," the crew said. "We explore the culture and civilization behind food, and give food a historic touch. That's why we feature culinary (烹饪的) tools, feast and rituals, as well as a healthy diet to show Chinese wisdom and philosophy, which has not been shown in any food programs before."

    Road trip

    Motorhome delivery offers great family holidays. For just $1 a day, you can hire a fully﹣equipped motorhome, which you deliver to a specific destination within some days and kilometers. You then hire another one to get home or take a bus or train. Your only other expense will be fuel and about﹩20 a day for parking fees. To learn more, visit apollocamper.com.

    Plan ahead

    For a comfortable break, flexibility with times, dates and places helps lower the cost. Find a few hotels you like, ask about their vacant rooms, then wait a few weeks and call again. If they still have rooms, you're at an advantage to ask for a better price. Lots of last﹣minute deals are online. Watif （watif.com.au） has deals on hotels that have dropped their prices so slow. You don't know where you're staying until it's booked, but anywhere with four or five stars has to be fairly good.

    Back to nature

    Wild camping appeals to nature lovers and costs nothing. This is forbidden on beaches and parks in most urban areas, but you can turn up in more distant area as long as nobody owns the land. You'll need to take everything with you and may need to shop on eBuy （ebuy.com.au）.If you're a camping beginner, be aware of safety measures and get your questions answered on the Internet.

    Swap meet

    How about a home swap？For a $250 yearly joining cost, you can stay in someone's home in an international place of your choice while they or someone else stays in yours. Find out more at familylink.com.au.