Pakistan should be everyone's tourist destination for 2018, but what if you already live there? Then perhaps you should consider visiting these five must-visit places for this year.

    Lake Saiful Muluk

    At an altitude of 3, 224m, surrounded by snowy mountains, the lake rewards those that make the three-hour uphill walk from Naran. You will find the pathway just above the free market, but the best choice is to get a jeep and share the costs with some other tourists; expect to pay about 700 rupees, worth it to view this natural beauty.

    Deosai National Park

    As another high point in Pakistan, it has an average altitude of 4,114m－the Deosai Plains are one of the highest plateaus (高原) in the world. If you make it to the park, you expect to find rich plants and wild animals. The breathtaking scenery on show at the plains is enough to make 2018 a memorable year.

    Naltar Valley

    Accessible via a 2.5-hour drive from Gilgit, well worth visiting. Covered with pine trees and other plants, it has a dreamlike feel about it. Various colors all year around make you fall in love.

    Shangrila Resort

    Right in the north of Pakistan in the central valley of Gilgit Baltistan. Locals call this a paradise (乐园), and that's what it feels like. No visit is complete without checking out the restaurant which is built in the structure of an aircraft.

    Rama Meadow (牧场)

    Doesn't feel like Pakistan at all, more like somewhere in Minnesota. Watch the sheep and cows feeding while clear water flows in streams from high in the mountains. Against Chongra's ice-covered peak, this little meadow is a piece of art.

    At 17, Mark Merwitzer might be Florida's youngest lobbyist (游说者). The Miami high school junior appeals to authorities to keep drivers from texting behind the wheel.

    Over the past year, the teen has met with county officials and state legislators (立法者)to argue that the police should be able to pull drivers over just for using their phones. Efforts in past years have struggled to advance, but recently, the bill got full support from the Senate Transportation Committee (参议院交通委员会).

    Like many US people, Merwitzer has seen countless drivers texting behind the wheel. But last spring, while he was riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle, he saw drivers using smartphones in almost every car. A few drivers even appeared to lose control of their cars as they sped along. It dawned on (突然想到) Merwitzer that no one was doing anything to fix the problem.

    We need to teach drivers how to properly and safely use technology behind the wheel which is not using it at all,” said Merwitzer.

    For the 17-year-old teenager, advocating a new state law has been a crazy experience.

    In order to carry out his plan，he put his focus on drumming up (争取)local support by starting an online petition (请愿)and speaking to village councils,

    Merwitzer said the first time he spoke at a council meeting “was a complete stutter fest (口吃表演)，” but he quickly adapted to it.

    “It really creates some standards that help everybody realize the importance of keeping their eyes on the road,” said Miami-Dade Commissioner (专员)Levine Cava.

The commissioner has been so impressed with Merwitzer's understanding of the political process. “He really learned very quickly how to be an effective citizen lobbyist,” she said.

    So far, opposition to the bill has come mainly from police departments. Some are worried about the possibility of lawsuits (诉讼)if officers are accused of racially profiling (按种族形象定性) drivers when accusing them of texting and driving，Merwitzer said. The bill also has critics in the House, where lawmakers have yet to make plans for a hearing.

    Merwitzer said he would one day like to be a state legislator, but in the meantime he has a few short-term goals, like finishing school and going to college. Once the legislative session (期间) is over, Merwitzer plans to turn his attention to another local problem: public transportation. “I'd like to focus on that，” Merwitzer said. “It seems like it's a giant mess,”

    When a child says their first word, it's an event to remember. But when a girl with nonverbal autism (自闭症) does it, it's a reason to ugly cry in a parking lot. And that's exactly what happened to Briana Blankenship from Athens, Alabama. Doctors said her daughter, Taylor, might never speak. But just days ago, the 5-year-old girl challenged it and proved them wrong.

    “I had basically accepted that I would never hear her voice,” Briana said.

“We communicate with limited sign language and gestures,” Briana said, “We also have an iPad that is locked so that the only program she can access is a communication program called LAMP. LAMP is what she uses to complete work in school and because of this, she is excellent at spelling especially for a 5-year-old.” Taylor is also in the “inclusion” Kindergarten class where she receives occupational therapy (治疗) to help with her fine motor skills. “Her dad and I also pay for her to go to gymnastics every week and it has helped her stop her tiptoe walking”.

    However, when Briana was taking her daughter to a gymnastics class, the impossible happened. “We were on our way there- running late- so I had to go through the closest drive-thru to grab her something that she would actually eat We rarely eat fast food so she recognized that she was about to get her favorite food, French fries, and started getting excited and giggling (咯咯笑) in the back seat. That's when I heard her say it. I whipped my head around and asked “Did you just say Momma?” and she looked at me and said it again.

    I broke down into tears. “I parked my car after getting our food and immediately called my husband and then my mother. I didn't have time to call anyone else before class started so I quickly posted the video to my Facebook page.” Instantly, people flooded Briana's inbox. “We have had so many messages from people that we are giving them light for their loved ones, or that we are making them feel less alone in the daily battles of parenting a nonverbal child.

    The summer I turned 16, my father gave me his car — a gift wasted on me at that age. The important thing was that Hannah and I could drive around.

    Hannah was my best friend, a year younger but much taller, almost five foot ten. "Hannah's a knockout, "my mother always said. And that summer she signed with a modeling agency. She was already doing runway work.

    A month after my birthday, Hannah and I went to the movies. On the way home, we stopped at the McDonald's drive-through, putting the fries on the seat between us to share. "Let's ride around a while, "I said. It was a clear night, full moon slung(悬挂)low over the desert. Taking a turning too fast, I plowed (撞)through a neighbor's wall and drove into a full-grown tree.

    We were taken in separate ambulances. I'd cracked(使裂开)my cheek bone; Hannah's forehead had split wide open. End of her modeling career. What would I say to her?

    When her mother, Sharon, came into my hospital room, I started to cry. She sat beside me and took my hand. "I rear-ended(追尾) my best friend when I was your age, "she said. "I totaled her car and mine."

    "I'm so sorry," I said.

    "You're both alive," she said." The rest is window dressing. I forgive you. Hannah will too."

    Sharon's forgiveness allowed Hannah and me to stay friends throughout high school and college, to be at each other's weddings … The scars are so faded no one else would notice, but in the sunlight I can still see it just below her hairline — for me, a mark of grace(优雅).

Three Japanese tourists taking a holiday in Australia got stuck when their GPS told them they could drive from the mainland to an island, failing to mention the 15 kilometres of water and mud in between.

As they drove their hired car from Moreton Bay to nearby North Stradbroke Island, they started to notice the firm surface they were driving on giving way to the well­known bay mud. However, being confident that their GPS would direct them to a road soon, they decided to drive on, managing to travel around 500 metres before their car was up to its tires in mud. To make matters worse, the tide (潮汐) started to come in and soon forced them to seek help and abandon the vehicle. Just four hours later the car was trapped in two metres of water—to the great amusement of onlookers on the shore and passengers on passing boats and ferries.

Yuzu Noda, 21, said she was listening to the GPS and "it told us we could drive down there. It kept saying it would navigate (导航) US to a road. But we got stuck… there's lots of mud". She and her travel companions Tomonari Saeki, 22, and Keita Osada, 21, instead had to give up their plans for a day trip to the island and headed back to the Gold Coast of a lift from the RACQ tow truck (吊车) driver who was called to the trapped car. No such luck for the hired car, though—after assessing the situation, no attempt was made to recover it. The students from Tokyo, who are due to return home tomorrow, said the experience would not put them off returning to Australia for another visit. Mr Tomonari said, "It has rained every day on our six day holiday. Hopefully next time we come back it will be sunny. "

The car was covered by insurance, but the tourists will have to pay up to about $1,500 in extra charges.

Two women going on a journey to green their city is the best way to describe the founders of Utility, Portland's low-waste and reuse company. It started in January 2019 and opened its first retail shop in April. Its founders, Rebecca Rottman and Nadine Appenbrink, are deeply committed to sustainability and supporters of zero waste.

They started Utility as a second job for both and as a personal journey, looking for clean products that didn't come in plastic. Their goal is to reduce the amount of single-use plastics by allowing people to bring their own reusable containers when they buy environmental friendly home and personal care items.

Every week the women teamed up with local stores to sell their goods and to refill products for returning customers. Now they are operating only online for pickup or local delivery in the Portland area. It is really easy, the company said. Just shop online and choose a container. Then select pickup or delivery. The products include all-natural dish bar soap and a wide variety of plastic-free kitchen tools.

While not completely zero waste, Utility is striving to get extremely close. Appenbrink said, "We are all on a journey. And we want to be as approachable as possible. Utility is to raise awareness about this lifestyle." They are focused on careful growth because Utility will never ship products because of the carbon footprint involved in shipping.

There are zero waste stores in other communities, like Clean Kilo in Birmingham UK, but they are real brick and mortar (实体的) buildings. Utility's concept is so simple that it can be followed almost anywhere. Zero waste markets are the way to the circular economy that is needed to stop plastic waste, reduce our carbon footprint and have a sustainable future.