A walk in one of the regional parks and forests is a great way to explore the diverse landscape of greater Wellington.

    From coastal sands to historic paths,farmland to green native forest,the parks and forests offer a variety of countryside and scenery to suit all ages and levels of fitness.

    Most of the walks offer the chance to take a break and enjoy picnicking or swimming.

What to take

    Many of the walks go through areas exposed to winds and changeable weather.Please take with you some water and sun hat especially on walks marked with hiking symbol.Always take some warm clothing and a rain jacket.

All times stated are estimates for the return trip.

    Where indicated, mountain bikes and horses riders may use tracks.

Opening hours

    The parks and forests are open daily from 8 am till dusk.Parks or walks marked with a farm animal symbol may be closed for lambing Aug—Nov.Please check with the ranger or on our website www.gw.govt.nz.

Caring for your pack

●Pack in and pack out.Take your rubbish home and recycle it when possible.

●Keep dogs under control and remove droppings.

●Do not remove, disturb or damage native plants or animals.

●Light no fires.

●Poison may be laid in the parks and forests to control the field mouse.Do not remove notice or disturb baits, lures, trapping lines or the mousetraps.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    Chinese students' extremely neat handwritten compositions have aroused a heated debate among Internet users since photos of the compositions and a teacher's picky remarks were published on Daily Mail Online.

    “Can you believe this essay is handwritten? ” Daily Mail Online asked.

    The website reported on the compositions that looked like they had been machine printed and on the teacher's remarks at Hengshui High School in North China's Hebei Province, one of China's top 100 high schools. The teacher wrote, “not one stroke (笔画) more, not one stroke less” about some compositions that weren't neatly written.

    The story immediately aroused a heated debate among British Internet users and got 652 comments after it was published on Wednesday. Some British readers were amazed by the neat handwriting and attributed (归于)China's growing development to this strict teaching method. A reader named Jim said, “This is another example of why China is rising to the top”, and his comment gained 72 supports. But some readers thought the too-picky method doesn't make sense in helping students learn better English and suppresses（压制） students' creativity.

    Chinese Internet users also expressed different opinions after English newspapers, a user of China's Twitter like Sina Weibo, posted the story along with its comments on Weibo on Thursday. Since then, the post has received 1, 479 comments. Sina Weibo user wenjinzetui said, “Beautiful handwriting proves an ability”, echoing an old Chinese saying that the style is the man. However, another Weibo user, honorificabilitus, said, “It's meaningless to pursue that neat English handwriting, since learning language is for communicating, let alone English students don't write that neatly. ”

    There are also many Weibo users showing worry about this too-strict teaching method, as weibo user li-owl-stop said, “We should reflect the Chinese-style education, and it's hard to imagine what would happen if all the schools in China adopted the teaching method at Hengshui High School. ”

    In the US, many people prefer sports and sports are not just for fun. They're almost a “religion”. Thousands of sports fans buy expensive tickets to watch their favorite teams and athletes play in person. Other fans watch the games at home, sticking to their TV sets, never missing a game. Many a wife becomes a “sports widow”during her husband's favorite season. Americans devotion to sports has created a new class of wealthy people: professional athletes. Sports stars often receive million dollar salaries. Some even make big money by appearing in advertisements for soft drinks, shoes and almost everything.

    Sports are an important part of American culture. Throughout their school life, Americans learn to play many sports. Many students try out for the school teams. Athletic events at universities attract scores of fans and benefit the whole community. Many people also enjoy noncompetitive activities, like hiking, cycling, horseback riding, camping or hunting.

    Many sports were imported from other countries. Europeans brought tennis, golf, bowling and boxing to America. Football and baseball came from other Old World games. Only basketball has a truly American origin. Americans export sports fever as well. Satellites broadcast games to sports fans around the globe. NBA is a good example. The names of American superstars like basketball great Michael Jordan have become household words all over the world.

    The health of millions could be at risk because supplies of medicinal plants are being used up. These plants are used to make traditional medicine, including drugs to fight cancer. “The loss of medicinal plants is a quiet disaster,” says Sara Oldfield, secretary general of the NGO Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

    Most people worldwide rely on herbal (药草制的) medicines which are got mostly from wild plants. But some 15,000 of the 50,000 medicinal species are under threat of dying out, according to report from the international conservation group Plantlife. Shortages have been reported in China, India, Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania and Uganda.

    Over-harvesting does the most harm, though pollution and competition from invasive species (入侵物种) and habitat destruction all contribute. Businessmen generally harvest medicinal plants, not caring about sustainability (可持续性),” the Plantlife report says, “damage is serious partly because they have no idea about it, but it is mainly because such collection is unorganized”. Medicinal trees at risk include the Himalayan yew (紫衫) and the African cherry, which are used to treat some cancers.

    The solution, says the report's author, Alan Hamilton, is to encourage local people to protect these plants. Ten projects studied by Plantlife in India, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Uganda and Kenya showed this method can succeed. In Uganda, the project has kept a sustainable supply of low-cost cancer treatments, and in China a public-run medicinal plant project has been created for the first time.”

    “Improving health, earning an income and keeping cultural traditions are important in encouraging people to protect medicinal plants,” says Hamilton, “You have to pay attention to what people are interested in.”

Ghillean Prance, the former director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London, agrees that medicinal plants are in need of protection. “Not nearly enough is being done,” he told New Scientist. “We are destroying the very plants that are of most use to us.”

    A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to the audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired. “How heavy is this glass of water?”

    Different answers are called out from the audience.

    She replied, “The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

    She continued. “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happen. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt you. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed and be incapable（无能力的）of doing anything.”

    It's important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night.

    Remember to put the glass down!”

    Comments:

    Aye Chan Aung－February 27, 2017 at 11:37am

    Short but valuable! It clearly teaches me how to deal with stresses.

    Nelson Malicdem－February 28, 2017 at 8:23 pm

    Wow! Thank the author and the one who submitted the article. I am experiencing a challenge when I read this. It gives me peace. What exactly is in the article is what I am doing. My burden actually paralyzes me without my knowing it. I put down the glass of water that I am holding. Thank you so much!

    It was a cold winter. The wind blew all night and the snow was blinding. When morning came, my three children and I got up and made our way to the windows. As we looked out of the window, we saw that the henhouse was gone. Our three hens had been blown away by the cold wind.

    I looked at the emptiness outside. Then I saw all three chickens sitting around the edge of a white bucket. I couldn't believe my eyes! How was this violent wind not blowing them into the field beyond？I quickly pulled on long snow pants and heavy winter coat, wrapped a scarf around my neck and stuck my feet into large boots.

    I shouted at the wind as it blew. I was alone, struggling in the snow. They stared out the window into the vast white sea of snow, peering at any sign of movement. Outside I heard the sound of my boots as I walked against the wind.

    As the snow circled around me, I steadily made my way to the soft cluck-cluck-cluck sound my hens always made. When I reached them, I saw that their little feet were holding on to the edge of the bucket, heads bent forward and away from the wind. I gently lifted each hen and put it carefully into the warm inside. Then I began the freezing walk back to the small shed directly behind our house. One by one I laid my chickens on the cold floor, and they began to cluck softly.

    As I shut the shed doors, my eyes went directly to the window where my children were watching. They jumped up and down cheering, and so did I! I wasn't some dragon slayer(屠龙者) from a fairy tale. I was simply a mom, but the look on my children's faces told me that they thought I was a hero mom.