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    A buld-it-yourself solar still（蒸馏器） is one of the best ways to obtain drinking water in areas where the liquid is not readily available. Developed by two doctors in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it's an excellent water collector. Unfortunately, you must carry the necessary equipment with you, since it's all but impossible to find natural substitutes. The only components required, though, are a 5'  5' sheet of clear or slightly milky plastic, six feet of plastic tube, and a container— perhaps just a drinking cup — to catch the water. These pieces can be folded into a neat little pack and fastened on your belt.

    To construct a working still, use a sharp stick or rock to dig a hole four feet across and three feet deep. Try to make the hole in a damp area to increase the water catcher's  productivity. Place your cup in the deepest part of the hole. Then lay the tube in place so that one end rests all the way in the cup and the rest of the line runs up — and out — the side of the hole.

    Next, cover the hole with the plastic sheet, securing the edges of the plastic with dirt and weighting the sheet's center down with a rock. The plastic should now form a cone(圆锥体) with 45-degree-angled sides. The low point of the sheet must be centered directly over, and no more than three inches above, the cup.

    The solar still works by creating a greenhouse under the plastic. Ground water evaporates (蒸发) and collects on the sheet until small drops of water form, run down the material and fall off into the cup. When the container is full, you can suck the refreshment out through the tube, and won't have to break down the still every time you need a drink.

    BRAD GARRETT'S COMEDY CLUB

    Category: Comedy

Best known for his role on the Emmy award-winning sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, Brad Garrett returns to his Vegas roots with his comedy club at the MGM Grand. It is a good place to check out when you need a break from work.

Prices from: $56.40 and up

    Age restriction: Must be 21 years of age or older

    Show Length: 115 minutes

    MAC KING COMEDY MAGIC SHOW

    Category: Comedy, Magic

Mac King Comedy Magic Show is different every afternoon, with lots of audience participation. He is willing to make fun of himself instead of his guests in order to make everyone feel welcome and entertained. The afternoon is kid-friendly from start to finish. Still, whether you're eight or 80, you won't be able to figure out King's secrets.

    Prices from: $40.90 and up

    Age restriction: No age restriction

    Show Length: 90 minutes

    THE MENTALIST, GERRY MCCAMBRIDGE

    Category: Comedy, Magic

Using his skills as a “mentalist”, Gerry McCambridge shocks the crowds as he uses his abilities to predict just what audience members will do next. Anyone who has seen the show has walked away in disbelief, amazed by his unusual power.

    Prices from: $34.99 and up

    Age restriction: Under 13 will not be admitted into the theater

    Show Length: 75 minutes

    ROCK OF AGES

    Category: Plays & Musicals

    The cheerful Rock of Ages brings audiences back to the times of big hair and even bigger bands with 28 popular rock songs from the 80s including “Every Rose Has Its Thom,” “I Wanna Know What Love Is,” “Here I Go Again,” and more.

    Rock of Ages has been nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical. It also received a Drama League nomination for Distinguished Production for a Musical.

    Prices from: $74.00 and up

    Age restriction: Must be 15 years of age or older

    Show Length: 125 minutes

    Taobao is a major online shopping website in China. For those who just love to shop online, now is the best time of the year, because Nov 11, China's Singles' Day, will see some seemingly irrational discounts, in line with the tradition that was started in 2010.

    Last year, Taobao, a major online shopping website, set a record of 1 billion yuan in sales on that day alone, with a whopping 19.1 billion yuan exchanging hands on the website. The number of items sold paralyzed the delivery services due to overloading. On the verge of yet another annual spending spree, it's worth reading up on tricks and tips to make the most of the shopping carnival.

    Be prepared

    Select goods early and rationally

    Put everything you want in the “shopping cart” to make a list of potential purchases. Then go through it carefully, removing anything you selected on impulse.

    Seal a deal in advance

    Talk to service staff as early as possible. They may have already decided on a discount policy for Nov 11 and may even ship the product to you in advance, which is a good way to avoid the heavy online traffic on the special day.

    Manage your budget

    Popular items will be in strong demand, so make sure you're ready to pay with the least number of procedures. It's best to deposit a reasonable amount of money in your Alipay account so that you can pay without going through any lengthy verifications. If you're planning on using a credit card, you can call the bank to apply for more credit, but only spend as much as you can afford to repay.

    Look at the real items

    With many products, such as shoes and clothes, it's better to look at them first to check their quality, size and appearance and ensure you're buying the right one.

    Be smart

    It's all about timing

    According to Alipay, there are several peak hours when online traffic is heavy and there is a higher risk of failed transactions. Try to avoid the following time spans: 12 pm-1:30 am, 10-11 am, 3-5 pm, and 8-10 pm.

    Apps as a helping hand

    Smartphone apps like Huihui Shopping list the best offers on a particular website, while Yitao, a software developed by Alibaba, compares prices of selected items across different websites to bring you the best deal.

    Track and open your package

    Because of the huge demand, delivery mistakes are inevitable, so try to track the package. If the product is perishable, keep the tracking record in case of a dispute. When the package arrives, check the item carefully before signing for it. Now you can go ahead and enjoy all your new stuff!

    ①What is a place where you could find old pictures of camels carrying people to Mecca, Saudi Arabia (沙特阿拉伯麦加),and also books about ancient Aztecs(阿芝 特克人) in Mexico ? It is all found in the World Digital Library (WDL). Its collection is available on the Internet.

    ②The librarian of the United States Congress, James Billington, established the WDL in 2009. And John Van Oudenaren is the director. They want it to include items that are both interesting and important, which encourages them to look for things from each country, each culture and each civilization. There are 170 partners in 79 countries sending material to it, including national or university libraries, museums and other cultural organizations.

    ③The library has 8,000 items, including whole books, ancient writings, music and photographs. Every item is annotated (注解)in the 6 official languages of the United Nations: English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian plus Portuguese (葡萄牙语).

    ④Anyone may search the World Digital Library by subject, time period, kind of document or area of the world, whose website is www.wdl.org. Since 2009, 25 million people have visited the website from 250 places. The greatest number is from Spanish-speaking countries. The users include schools, researchers and anyone interested. A teacher from New York City said happily, “It is really wonderful to have a site where every kid in the class, no matter which country he/she is from or where his/her parents were from could search and find something about that country.”

    ⑤Mussa Maravl is a researcher for the WDL from Sudan, who works with all the materials that are in Arabic. He recently published rare photographs of Mecca from 1885. “These camels are, you know, lying their heads on the ground, which is very unusual for a camel. It means these camels have traveled so long, so far and half of those are very thin, too, meaning they have exhausted all the fat they have stored.”

    ⑥Mussa Maravl believes the library provides tools for understanding, especially among Arabs, Muslims and the United States. He says the WDL is posting many items about important developments in Arabic and Islamic science.

    All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy and happy, and to live longer.

    Many people like to watch others play games. They buy tickets or turn on their TVs to watch the games. Often they get very excited when "their" player or team wins.

    Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere go in for(参加) them. Football, for example, has spread(展开)around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers. What fun it is to jump into a pool or lake, whether in China, Egypt or Italy! And think of people in cold countries. Think how many love to skate or ski (滑雪) in Japan, Norway or Canada.

    Some sports or games go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese wushu, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet. People are inventing new sports or games all the time. Water-skiing is one of the newest in the family of sports.

    People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game together they often become good friends. Sports help to train(培养,训练) a person's character(性格,品格). One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace(胜不骄，败不馁).

I remember that every year in lunar December in my hometown, Xinyang, each family begins to prepare bunches of bacon and sausage hanging from yard to yard {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (embrace) the upcoming New Year. Walking in such a street view and sniffing the smell of pickled bacon (腊肉), I always have a sense of {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (happy).

Xinyang, located on the boundary between the north and the south, is rich in rice, wheat and fertile land due to its unique {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (geography) position and climate. Therefore, it cultivates the characteristics of Xinyang people who have a good appetite {#blank#}4{#/blank#} delicacies. According to relevant records, the history of Xinyang's pickled bacon dates back to the Ming Dynasty, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the locals learned to keep its special taste by preserving it in a special wooden bucket. People in Xinyang love their life so much that even during the toughest times, they still inherited the soul of taste and made delicious pickled bacon. Actually, Xinyang's pickled bacon is made in a {#blank#}6{#/blank#} seemingly simple way by drying the meat in the shade but it brings out the flavor of the food {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (it) and stays with our memory for long.

You'll never become fully conscious of how much you value it until you {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (tear) apart from it. Such is Xinyang's pickled bacon, one of my {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (forget) memories of my hometown despite time {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (tick) by.