Is reading better than watching TV? I believe it is. Is reading better than playing video games? I'm not so sure if it is. If learning is important to you, but not necessarily so, and if pleasure is what you want, these activities can be pleasant in their own way. Reading might be better than many activities if you want to educate yourself and improve your chances of succeeding in your work.

    If you're serious about creating the habit of reading, what's important is finding a time you can read every day-often that's early morning or late at night, or both. For others, it might be during their lunch break. You only need to read for 10 to 20 minutes a day to form the habit. Then, you need to find a place that's comfortable. Make sure it has good lighting, the temperature is nice and you're in a good chair. Or you can find some place that you can reiax in without failing asleep, although there's nothing wrong with a sleep.

    Next, be sure to shut off the TV, Internet, cell phone, radio, or other music .Let reading be a quiet time. Mark an “x” on your calendar every day you read, and try to keep your unbroken “x”es going as long as possible. A habit is much easier to form if it's something you enjoy, not something you are made to do. So make the time you spend reading a joy. I've been a lifelong reader, so the pleasure of a good book is one of my favorite things in the world. I love to lose myself in the world of a book.

    Tulou, the special residential architecture of Fujian Province was included on the UNESCO's World Heritage List during the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee in Quebec, Canada.

    In the fourth century, Han Chinese living in the Central Plains area began to migrate south, gradually gathering in Fujian and forming the Hakka communities. As a defence against enemies, the Hakkas chose to live in compact (紧凑的) communities, and the tulou was their preferred houses. Tens of thousands of such earthen structures were constructed in Fujian Province.

    Most tulous are to be found in the valleys, surrounded by high mountains, and some are in the depths of the great mountains. Most are three to four storeys high, and look like circular blockhouses (堡垒). Rooms on the first floor are used as kitchens, rooms on the second floor are used as barns (谷仓), and rooms on the third and fourth floors are for bedrooms and living rooms. For defensive purposes, the rooms on the first floor have no windows.

    Raw materials for the tulou were obtained locally. Their main building material was a mixture of clay, sand, lime and water, and egg whites, brown sugar and rice water were added as adhesive agents (粘合剂). It was then mixed to form the walls. Once they dried, the walls were so hard that driving a nail into them would have been difficult. Fir branches, which are extremely strong and do not rot, were used to strengthen them, and many centuries later they have remained their original look.

    Tulous are located in a region where earthquakes happen frequently, and their circular construction helps them resist the regular shocks.

    The proven design even inspired one famous Peruvian architect, who paid several visits to Yongding, to build a tulou back home. Not long after, an earthquake struck only 10 kilometers away, and while all the houses around the earthen building fell down, his tulou remained.

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

    Sports change with the seasons. People play different games in winter and summer.

    Games and sports often grow out of people's work and everyday activities. The Arabs use horses or camels in much of their everyday life; they use them in their sports, too.

    Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere go in for them. Football, for example, has spread around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers.

    Some sports or games go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese boxing, 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.

    People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game they often become good friends. Sports help to train a person's character. One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace.

    To see the world is one thing; to have someone to share it with is another. Indeed, travel becomes more interesting when you have a travel partner. A travel partner can be a close friend, a family member, a pal you've met online, or a business friend.

    You can have someone to talk to.

    Traveling alone is fun, but wouldn't you feel lonely？Having a travel partner can remove the feeling of loneliness. This is especially true if you can get a travel companion who is very familiar with the place you're traveling to. You don't have to ask any information from the locals, and you can increase the time you spend in the country.

    __________________________

    One of the major headaches in traveling is the costs involved. You can't simply ignore the rising price of hotels or plane tickets. You should also think about your daily needs, such as your food. Of course, you can't simply go back without bringing any souvenirs (纪念品) to your friends and family. All these can ruin your budget. However, when you have a travel friend, you can have someone to share the expenses with.

    You can meet a good friend.

    Having a travel mate is a good way of meeting a new friend or even a lifelong partner. You can never count the number of couples who actually found their way into each other's heart while traveling together in another country.

    You can have someone to watch out for you.

    When you're in a foreign land, you'll never be really safe. You don't know the rules as well as the culture of the people. A travel mate will be perfect to remind you of your duties in the country and to watch your back just in case you get lost.So why don't you find a travel companion now?

    Let's find out how...

    The hemlock(铁杉) trees along the Wappinger Creek, New York, look healthy. However, scientist Gary Lovett says the white balls which provide protection for the bugs are created by a tiny insect. It's hard to believe the tiny bug could kill a tree. However, trees can end up with millions and millions of the pests. When there are that many, it ends up killing the tree.

    The bug from East Asia is slowly killing trees across the USA. The trouble－making bug is just one of many invasive(入侵的) pests that have slipped into the United States. They can hurt other living things in their new home.

    Many invasive pests arrive on wooden pallets piled inside shipping containers. They support and separate goods, and keep them from sliding around. Invasive pests often tunnel into the pallets.  How can we stop pests from riding on pallets? Lovett says new rules are needed. The companies that make pallets don't want more rules. Congress has added an amendment(修正案) in the 2018 Farm Bill to try and prevent this problem. However, Lovett is not hopeful it will make much of a difference. Pallets are checked by inspectors. Many are sprayed with bug－killing pesticide. "I believe in the system，" said Brent McClendon, president of The National Wooden Pallet and Container Association. He also said shipping containers are checked very carefully.

    Still, each year 13 million containers are shipped to the U.S. Each is full of wooden pallets. Lovett says: "Inspectors can't possibly check everything. All it takes are a few bad pallets; we should get rid of wooden pallets." He believes pallets should be made of plastic or eco－composite wood. Eco－composite wood is a mix of wood fiber and plastic. Insects cannot hide into it. One problem is that these choices cost more. They may be worth the extra money, though. Invasive pests cost the U.S. $5 billion a year. Trees don't just die in forests. They also die in cities and our yards. Then, they need to be replaced. That costs money, too.

When you take to the seas on a cruise(游船度假), you usually think you are leaving solid ground behind, but the Celebrity Solstice brings a whole new experience to its passengers. Aboard the 317m-long ship is a half-acre lawn(草坪). The Celebrity Solstice is the first cruise ship ever to house live grass.

Nikolas Asproudas, the ship's environmental officer told New Zealand Neus, It was a crazy idea to start with. For five years now, they have been saying that this lawn is the most walked lawn in the world. It's a symbol of honor, particularly because the lawn on the top deck of the ship has special challenges with growth at sea, including "burns" from the salt water, which must be washed off immediately and clearance checks before the ship can pull in to shore.

The lawn is grown in silica(二氧化硅)sand rather than soil, which not only reduces weight, helping the ship's stability, but also agrees with restrictions and helps control pests that may otherwise stay on the grass.

Asproudas sends the Captain of the ship a weekly report on the status of the lawn. "We know that the Australian and New Zealand, authorities are very strict with the grass, and of course, they have to check before we come if, everything's OK," said the Captain.

The lawn is a source of pride for Asproudas, so. when there are problems with it, he says, "It brings me some sad feelings, but I need to be strong, because I know that it will recover within one week." All of the crew's hard work to maintain the "backyard" is appreciated by its many guests, including some that say the: Celebrity Solstice's lawn is better than theirs at home. Two recent passengers aboard said, "We're having a drought at home so…it was brilliant!"

Though the option of walking barefoot through a grassy field on a moving cruise ship seems terrific, there are many other ships that are trying to outdo one another with even more surprising guest options.