Are you interested in country music? I like it very much! It will take me away for a while after I am tired. The guitars and songs will take me to mountains and fields.

    Country music usually talks of everyday life and feelings. It's the spirit of America, easy to understand, slow and simple.

    Country music developed in the Southern United States. It was the folk music of American countryside. Many of songs tell about the lives of farmers. They talk about love, crops or death.

    The life of the countryside can be hard, so the words in country music are often sad. At first, people played the music only at family parties. But it became more popular later. In the 1920s, people played country songs on the radio, and they made them into records.

    When people in the countryside moved to towns and cities to look for work, they took their music with them. Country music continued to change and became popular across America.

    John Denver was one of America's most famous country singers in the 1970s.His song Take Me Home, Country Roads is well­known and people still play it today.

    The final results of Best-Ever Teen Fiction vote are in. While it's no surprise to see Harry Potter and The Hunger Games series on top, this year's list also highlights some writers we weren't as familiar with. For example, John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars, appears five times in the top 100.

    Summer, like youth, passes quickly. But the books we read when we're young can stay with us for a lifetime. The following are the top 4 on the list. Enjoy.

    ⒈Harry Potter series

    The Harry Potter books make up the popular series written by J. K. Rowing. The series includes seven books. The books concern a wizard (魔法师) called Harry Potter and his journey through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The stories tell of him over coming dangerous obstacles to defeat the dark wizard Lord Voldemort who killed his parents when Harry was 15 months old.

    ⒉The Hunger Games series

    In the ruins of a future North America, a young girl is picked to leave her poor district and travel to Capitol for a battle to the death in the cruel Hunger Games. But for Katniss Everdeen, the main character in this series by Suzanne Collins, winning the Games only puts her deeper in danger as the strict social order of Panem begins to unravel (瓦解).

    ⒊To Kill a Mockingbird

    Author Harper Lee explores racial tensions in the fictional "tired old town" of Maycomb, Ala. , through the eyes of 6-year-old Scout Finch. As her lawyer father, Atticus, defends a black man accused of a crime, Scout and her friends learn about the unjust treatment of African-Americans – and their mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley.

    ⒋The fault in Our Stars

    Hazel Grace, a teenage girl, has got all sorts of cancer inside her body, and her lungs aren't working very well. She knows she is dying and doesn't live in hope any more. When a man named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at the Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

    The world maps will soon be altered to reflect an eighth continent! Dubbed "Zealandia" the landmass that lies east of Australia covers 4.9 million km. Over 94 percent of it is submerged (淹没的) in the southwest Pacific Ocean, with just the islands of New Zealand and New C aledonia visible above sea level.

    To be clear, the underwater land is not a recent find. Researchers have known about its existence since 1995 when Bruce Luyendyk discovered and proposed an eighth continent that he called Zealandia. At the time, the area was dismissed as a collection of islands and land fragments (碎片), or at the most, classified as a micro continent—a landmass of continental crust that is not geologically connected to the nearest continent, in this case, Australia.

    However, after observing the areas features on an underwater topography map, New Zealand geologist Nick became convinced that Zealandia is a continent. Mortimer says that while Zealandia is much smaller than our seven continents, at over half the size of Australia, it is unfair to classify it as a microcontinent. The geologist argues, “If you could pull the plug on the world's oceans, then Zealandia would probably long ago have been recognized as a continent.”

    Geologist Christopher Scotese argues that too much of the landmass is underwater, asserting it's "almost a continent the way Pluto is almost a planet." Richard Ernst, a geologist, proposes coining a new term minicontinent—for Zealandia. He thinks this is perfect given that it is too large to be called a microcontinent and too small to be classified as a full-sized continent. Given that there is no international panel to decide the fate of Zealandia, its future as a continent is uncertain. Mortimer hopes that if supporters start using the term Zealandia, it may eventually catch on. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but for now, we will have to be satisfied with just seven continents!

Toronto Greeters Program

Thank you for your interest in the Toronto Greeters Program. Toronto Greeters offer free visits to Toronto's lively neighborhoods and districts so you can discover the real Toronto.

Request Volunteer Greeters

We have lined up a large number of energetic, knowledgeable volunteer Torontonians, who are ready, willing and able to show you their favorite parts of Toronto. Tell us when you'll be visiting, when you have two to four hours of free time and what neighborhood you would like to see. We'll match you up with a greeter who shares your area of interest and you'll be all set to go. Please give us at least one-week notice to make the match. It is also important to note that greeter visits cannot be arranged for the first day of arrival in the city - just in case you are unavoidably delayed on your arrival.

Multilingual Greeters

The City of Toronto is one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world and celebrates over 100 different cultures. Residents speak over 180 languages and our city motto is Diversity is Our Strength. Toronto Greeters offer visits in a variety of languages.

Visitor Feedback

"I would like to give you positive feedback on the program that you are managing and the people that keep it going. The stories and explanation that Martin told me about the city were really interesting! I confirm that Toronto (and Canada in general) is a great place to visit, with wonderful people. You have a very nice and welcoming spirit in your community! You have a magic all around the city that makes a foreigner feel at home."

-- Eric Dan, Mexico

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. 

While wandering around a Swedish Christmas market, you'll likely come across booths {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (sell) carved wooden horses, typically in an assortment of bright colors and floral patterns. These {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (tradition) Swedish toys are much more than a classic holiday gift or travel souvenir: the Dala horse has become intertwined (交织) with the very image of Sweden {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

The little wooden horses of Sweden were originally carved by men that worked in the forests during {#blank#}4{#/blank#} winter. When they returned to their villages, they gave the horses to children as playthings. This was in the 17^th century during {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the horses were also sold at market in small towns and villages in the Dalarna region, in central Sweden. The horses were painted in bright colors that were inspired by the furniture in the region. {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (eventual) , even young children learned to carve wooden horses. 

The global attention didn't come until the 20 ^th century in the World's Fair in New York 1939. That was because an enormous painted Dala horse was placed outside the Swedish pavilion, which caused excitement throughout the crowds of {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (visit) . After this, the Dala horses were seen {#blank#}8{#/blank#} a symbol of Sweden and mass production of the horses started. Since then, Dala horses {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (be) popular souvenirs and inspired other products as well. You can now find anything from clothing to tableware and phone cases with a Dala horse {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (decorate) .