Queensland is one of the most amazing states in Australia. It has some of the most beautiful natural scenery on the planet, with the Great Barrier Reef, rainforests and impressive beaches.

The Great Barrier Reef

It is one of the world's largest natural features. It stretches more that 2,300 km along the north eastern coast of Australia from the northern tip of Queensland to just north of Bundaberg. The things that most surprise visitors to the reef are the colors.

Without doubt, the best way to see the Great Barrier Reef is by diving. If you have a little extra money and you are feeling a bit lazy, you can fly over the reef in a plane.

Fraser Island

Another area of natural beauty is Fraser Island. This is the world's largest sand island. It's best visited from Hervey Bay on the mainland, where there are a number of places offering trips around the island. To fully appreciate Fraser Island you should go for three or four days. Attractions include some beautiful fresh-water lakes, particularly Lake Wabby and Lake Mckenzie. You can walk around these on white sands untouched by human footprints. Indian Head also has some beautiful views. Braver travelers can go and watch sharks circling the water hundreds of meters below.

The Whitsunday Islands

    It would be a pity to travel around Queensland without taking a trip around the Whitsunday Islands. They were named by Captain Cook in 1770, after the day on which he arrived. Here are some of the great things you can do there.

●Cruise around them on a relaxing trip.

●Take a sailing course.

●Look at the aboriginal (土著的) paintings in caves on Hook Island.

●Have fun in the water doing lots of water sports.

    So, will you be going to Queensland?

    Nancy Ballard, 60, went for a routine checkup that turned into something extraordinary. She had just completed her master's in botanical illustration. In fact, she was canting a painting of a plant she'd done when she arrived at her doctor's San Francisco office. “It would be great if we had artwork like that for our chemotherapy(化疗)rooms, ”the nurse said. Ballard asked to see one.

    She was shocked by what she found. The walls were bare, and the paint was chipping(剥落).She could tell where old artwork had hung because of the naked nails. It was a depressing room for a depressing routine—patients had chemo drips for perhaps several hours, often with nothing to look at other than those sad walls. She couldn't imagine how anyone could even think about getting healthy in a room like that. As it happened, Ballard's physician, Stephen Hufford was ill with cancer himself, so finding time to decorate the rooms was low on his to-do list. So Ballard made it her mission to brighten up the place.

    She wrote to 20 local interior designers and asked whether they would donate their time and money to transform just one of Dr. Hufford's rooms each. Six of them wrote back almost immediately. Each of them ultimately chose a theme: The dragonfly room, for example, now features bright artwork and dragonfly wall ornaments. Most rooms got new paint, light fixtures, artwork, and furniture. Each room cost about $5, 000.

    Dr. Hufford was delighted.“ All the patients feel soothed by it.” he noted. He even said that his own tone of voice was different in the rooms and that he was better able to connect with his patients.

    Ballard was so encouraged that she created a nonprofit to raise money and decorate more spaces. Since then, she has worked on 20 projects, including one in Pennsylvania. She once went to Philadelphia for a ribbon cutting, and a woman there was on her third battle with cancer. When she saw what Ballard had done, she said, “I'm gonna beat it this time.I thought I wasn't going to, but now I know I'm gonna beat it.”

    WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL REALITY CINEMA AMSTERDAM

    World's First Virtual Reality Cinema

    Going to the VR CINEMA offers you the opportunity to watch movies like you've never done before. You can see 360 degree movies using a VR headset. In the VR CINEMA, ringing mobile phones and noisy visitors belong to the past. Furthermore, traditional red cinema chairs or the big white screen are nowhere to be found. Instead, a Samsung Galaxy S6 (smart phone) together with the Samsung Gear VR (virtual reality glasses) transports you to a completely new world. Headphones shut out background noise, and above all, offer super sound quality. Turning chairs allow you to freely look around and see what's happening above, below, behind, in front, on the right and on the left side of you. So no sore neck, we promise.

    In the VR CINEMA, you will experience 30 minutes of the coolest virtual reality films. We proudly present four film selections in different themes in order to please every virtual reality lover. Are you brave enough for our scary films? Will you immerse (沉浸于) yourself in VR documentaries from around the globe? Do you prefer to go on an adventurous journey like no other? Or do your kids want to swim with dolphins, interact with magical characters, and experience the moving stories beyond imagination? Supernatural, Documentary, Journey and Fun are waiting for you!

    For kids, young and older ones, there's the cheerful and colourful selection. The only thing you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the VR experience of your choice.

    Location: Oosterdokskade 5, 1011 AD Amsterdam The Netherlands

    Tel: +31(0) 6 27 00 69 16

    E-mail: mail@thevrcinema.com

    Ticket Price: ￡12.5

    Opening hours: Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 14:00-21:00

    Saturday & Sunday: 12:00-22:00

    During this shopping season, salesmen will come up with different strategies to get your business. Many product companies use specific colors to cause positive emotions and compete for a sale. However, sight is not the only sensory (感官的) retail that companies use. Sounds and smells can also influence consumers' purchasing decisions.

    Nobel Prize-winning research shows that our sense of smell has great power to cause an emotional response. A study published earlier this year compared purchasing in a French flower shop when the smell of lavender (薰衣草) was given off and when it wasn't. It found that the smell increased the number of consumers' purchasing items and the amount of their purchases. An earlier study using Nike shoes found that consumers desired the shoes more, and were willing to pay more, when the room had a mixed smell of flowers. Realizing the subconscious impact of smell, many stores apply artificial scents (气味) through their heating and air-conditioning vents (通风口) or place scent machines above their doors. For instance, a coconut scent might make that bikini more appealing as you long for a vacation.

    Ever felt frenzied due to a store's fast-paced music? Or calmed by a piece of light music? A retailer's choice of music can have a big impact on consumers' moods. One study found that when subjected to loud music, consumers will spend less time in a store. But interestingly, the researchers did not find a difference in sales or customers' satisfaction. Another interesting finding from a recent study was that customers actually shop longer when exposed to unfamiliar music. Just as department stores use different scents in certain departments, many use different music in some areas to appeal to varying consumers.

    Well, you could always leave the store and take a break, but the food court probably isn't your best choices as brands like Cinnabon and Panera Bread also use scents as part of their customers' experience. Online retailers (零售商) use a variety of other strategies to get your business, but you can always neglect those and enjoy the familiar scents of home.

    The English language has a lot of words which can be used in many different ways and in many different expressions.

    One such example is the word matter. In fact, matter can mean just about anything. It could be one of the most useful words in the English language.

    Let's get to the heart of the matter—a matter of principle (原则).

    If someone says that you owe (欠) him $50, but you don't, a friend might say, "Well, you could pay him the $50. It's not that much money. Then you won't have to hear him say it anymore." But if you do not owe him the money, do not pay him the money. It's a matter of principle.

    There is another way to use the word matter. But be careful with your choice of words.

    If you ask someone, "What's the matter?" it shows you are worried about the other person. But saying, "What's the matter with you?" has a completely different meaning. And it usually sounds rude (粗鲁的). In fact, when you say, "What's the matter with you?" you are suggesting that the person did something wrong or stupid.

    Another expression that could sound rude is to say, "It doesn't matter to me." Here, it depends on the context, and how you say it.

    Let's say you tell someone that a friend just got a big raise at work. That person answers with, "It doesn't matter to me." Here, it means he or she does not care. And it sounds rude.

    But saying, "Oh, you pick where we eat dinner. It doesn't matter to me." does not sound rude. In this situation, "it doesn't matter" shows you are easy-going (随和的).

    No matter how you look at it and what you say, matter is a very useful word. And it's only a matter of time before you will become an expert on the use of matter.

For some people, walking or running outdoors is a great way to work out. What may not be so pleasant is seeing trash all over the ground. Well, some people are doing something about it. They are plogging!

"Plogging" began in Sweden. The name combines the Swedish word "plocka", which means "to pick up", and the word "jogging", which means "to run slowly". A Swedish man named Erik, started the movement in 2016. On the World Environment Day website, Erik says that he moved to Stockholm from a small community in northern Sweden. Each day he would ride his bike to work. Concerned about the amount of trash and litter he saw each day on his way to work, he took matters into his own hands. 

Plogging, by that term, may have officially begun in Sweden. But many people who exercise outdoors have been doing this for years. Take Jeff Horowitz for example. He is a personal trainer in Washington, D.C. He often picks up trash while running outside. He even has turned it into a game; he will try to pick up the trash without stopping. "I didn't know it was a thing really. This is just my personal ethics____(道德标准), where I go for a run and if I happen to see a piece of garbage lying around and it's within reach—it is a kind of a little test for me to see if I can grab it and throw it in a near trash can without stopping. And that way, I think, it gives me a little exercise and a little focus for my run. And it helps clean up the neighbourhood," he announced. 

Today, plogging is an official activity, one that is becoming increasingly popular. Cities around the world now hold plogging events. "I would just hope people would think twice before dropping garbage on the ground. We have containers on every block. So, it's easy to put your garbage in the trash cans. I just think people should think about it a little bit more. I do hope one day there will not be a need for plogging," said an interviewee.