Welcome to Orlando! It has a host of attractions and activities. Ready to join the party and plan a visit to O-Town? Just print out our list that suits your style.

    Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure

    The addition of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was among the list of must-visits for theme park enthusiasts. Each of the park's “islands” — Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, and The Lost Continent — has unique appeal in the form of rides and interactive attractions. (407-363-8000)

    Gatorland

    It bills itself as “Orlando's best half-day attraction”, for in a city people are limited by their time and money. Catch Gatorland's animals and handler(驯化) shows in the afternoon. There's a nighttime run as well, including the Gator Night Shine and various activities. Gatorland ranks as a comparative theme-park bargain. (407-855-5496)

    Aquatica

    One of the city's most unique water parks, Aquatica is a fantastical world of twisting, turning rides and sparkling white sand beaches. And if you enjoy a side of terror with your water-park fun, be sure to check out Ihu's Breakaway Falls. This towering slide is an eight-story mind-bender of a plummet(垂直落下) that is not for the weak heart. The less exciting will still find plenty of fun splashing from one giant wave pool to another or drifting down the lazy river through a world of unusual fish. You can also watch the black-and-white Commerson's dolphins underwater. (407-351-3600)

    Warbird Adventures

    Few attractions are more hands-on historic than Warbird Adventures, which offers thrill-seekers the opportunity to fly like the hero aces of World War II in the North American T-6 Texan. Flights range from 15 minutes to an hour. A visit to the nearby Kissimmee Air Museum is a wonderful way to round out the experience. (407-870-7366)

    Imagine you're standing in line to buy a snack at a store. You step up to the counter and the cashier scans your food. Next, you have to pay. But instead of scanning a QR Code(二维码) with your smart phone, you just hold out your hand so the cashier can scan your fingerprint. Or, a camera scans your face, your eyes or even your ear.

    Now, this type of technology might not be far away. As technology companies move away from the traditional password, biometric (生物特征识别的) security, which includes fingerprint, face and voice ID, is becoming increasingly popular.

    In 2013, Apple introduced the iPhone 5s, one of the first smart phones with a fingerprint scanner. Since then, using one's fingerprint to unlock a phone and make mobile payments has become a commonplace, bringing convenience to our lives. And since 2016, Samsung has featured eye-scanning technology in its top smart phones, while Apple's new iphone X can even scan a user's face. But despite its popularity, experts warn that biometrics might not be as secure as we imagine." Biometrics is ideally good in practice, not so much," said John Michener, a biometrics expert.

    When introducing the new iPhone's face ID feature, Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice-president, said. "The chance that a random person in the population could look at your iPhones X and unlock it with their face is about one in a million." But it's already been done. In a video posted on a community website Reddit, two brothers showed how they were each able to unlock the same iPhone X using their own face. And they aren't even twins.

    "We may expect too much from biometrics," Anil Jain, a computer science professor at Michigan State University, told CBS News. "No security systems are perfect."

    Earlier last year, Jain found a way to trick biometric security. Using a printed copy of a thumbprint, she was able to unlock a dead person's smart phone for the police, according to a tech website Splinter. "It's good to see biometrics being used more," Jain told CBS News, "because it adds another factor for security. But using multiple security measures is the best defense."

    When you think of a jungle adventure, what comes to mind? Are they gorgeous birds flying through the air or monkeys jumping through the forest? Do you think of plants? Probably not. After all, plants aren't the most exciting living things in the world. They just sit there and absorb water and nutrients from the soil and the sun. But actually there are also some plants that eat insects and even small animals from time to time. We call these unusual things carnivorous(食肉性) plants. Although most carnivorous plants eat small insects, larger carnivorous plants in some hot and wet areas have been known to capture rats, birds, and frogs.

    One carnivorous plant many people are familiar with is the Venus flytrap. Its unique “jaws” will function when flies and other small insects touch it. Once its jaws close on its victim, it produces a chemical substance that breaks down the insect and absorbs the insect's nutrients.

    There are several other examples of carnivorous plants. For example, some plants can catch insects with their leaves, which are like a tall narrow wineglass, while some trap their victims with sticky tentacles(触手). And some growing in ponds and streams absorb their victims like underwater cleaners. Carnivorous plants tend to grow in areas where the soil is very thin and lacks necessary nutrients. These plants must find other sources for the nutrients they need.

    Trapping and eating insects allows these unique plants to survive. Unfortunately, human and environmental factors continue to threaten the limited environments where you can find wild carnivorous plants.

    Still for many people, the thought of a plant eating an animal seems very strange. In fact, more than one person has turned the idea into a scary story or movie. Carnivorous plants don't pose any danger to humans, though. Unless you're the size of a tiny insect, you don't have to worry about falling prey to a Venus flytrap.

    When Huang Lizhi took her first class in African sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa in February, her professor asked her and her classmates what impresses them most when it comes to Africa.

    Unexpectedly, Huang, 31, found that words like "poverty" and "safari" – negative words that were often associated with the continent in media reports – were the kind of terms her African classmates didn't want to hear. Instead, they preferred to hear the question answered in this way: "Africa is the cradle of humankind" and "Africans are passionate and generous".

    Apparently, there are some misunderstandings between us. It's true that with incidents like the Ebola outbreak in Western Africa and the emergence (出现) of pirates off the coast of Somalia hitting the news, it's easy for us to keep forgetting that Africa has one of the world's oldest civilizations – Egypt, born by the world's longest river, the Nile. The proof is in the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Great Sphinx of Giza, which are both popular among tourists. And the tombs of ancient Egypt have also become endless sources for the literature and film industries.

    When it comes to the natural environment of Africa, our misunderstandings are only bigger. But the truth is that instead of being extremely hot all year and covered by desert, the continent has large areas of savannas (稀树草原) where lions, giraffes and zebras live, the snowcapped Kilimanjaro – the highest mountain in Africa – and even thick forest on the island of Madagascar. These misunderstandings are one of the reasons why the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held on Sept 3 and 4 – to understand each other better.

    Indeed, only by visiting Africa herself did Huang see the convenient living conditions, the amazing natural beauty and the friendly people. In her eyes, her classmates were as hopeful about the future of their own countries as they were about Africa as a whole, and they were quick to demonstrate both their strong will and activity. "At that moment, I knew exactly what they wanted – they wanted their culture to be respected."

    "What kind of rubbish are you?" This question might normally cause anger, but in Shanghai it has brought about complaints over the past week. On July 1st, the city introduced strict trash-sorting regulations that are expected to be used as a model for our country. Residents must divide their waste into four separate kinds and put it into specific public bins. They must do so at scheduled times, when monitors are present to ensure compliance（服从）and to inquire into the nature of one's rubbish.

    Violators face the possibility of fines and worse. They could be hit with fines of up to 200 yuan ($29). For repeat violators, the city can add black marks to their credit records, making it harder for them to obtain bank loans or even buy train tickets.

    Shanghai authorities are responding to an obvious environmental problem. It generates 9 million tonnes of garbage a year, more than London's annual output and rising quickly. But like other cities in China, it lacks a recycling system. Instead, it has relied on trash pickers to sort out the waste, picking out whatever can be reused. This has limits. As people get wealthier, fewer of them want to do such dirty work. The waste, meanwhile, just keeps piling up. China produces 80 billion pairs of disposable(一次性的)chopsticks a year.

    Many residents appear to support the idea of recycling in general but are frustrated by the details. Rubbish must be divided according to whether it is food, recyclable, dry or hazardous(有害的), the differences among which can be confusing, though there are apps to help work it out. Some have complained about the rules surrounding food waste. They must put it straight in the required public bin, forcing them to tear open plastic bags and toss it by hand. Most upset are the short windows for throwing trash, typically a couple of hours, morning and evening. Along with the monitors at the bins, this means that people go at around the same time and can keep an eye on what is being thrown out; no one wants to look bad.

In high school I was very shy, content to hang around with my small group of friends and concentrate on my courses. I was quickly regarded as a "brain". I did so well that by the end of the senior year I had perfect grades and enough credits to give up an entire quarter of coursework.

But in early June of the senior year, the principal called me into his office. He asked me to give a speech at graduation. I gaped(目瞪口呆地凝视) at him, my heart thumping. This was the reward for my hard work? I mumbled something and fled the office, blaming myself for staying away from physics, a subject sure to have ruined my perfect record.

I finally agreed to a compromise. I would share the honour with five other students. And my friend Judy would then give her own, full-length speech.

The graduation day soon arrived. I'd been practising my speech for days, and I had it memorised. The first half hour of the ceremony passed in a blur, and then my moment came. My name was announced. I managed to reach the platform without falling down. I faced my classmates. My voice trembled a little, but mostly it was clear and strong. But within seconds, I was done and headed back to my seat. I accomplished something I'd never dreamed of—I spoke in front of hundreds of people.

Although I didn't realise it at the time, the successful completion of that speech gave me the confidence to participate in class at college, to give verbal reports, and to eventually break free from my shyness. I would never have chosen to give a speech at graduation ever. But I'm glad I did. I no longer hesitate when I'm faced with the prospect of doing something I dread. I know it may very well turn out to be one of my shining moments.