Don't you just love ice skating every winter?I am sure that since winter is approaching,your skates are set to come out,just waiting to be used.Impress your friends with your new trick on how to ice-skate backwards with the help of these tips.

Stand Straight

    The first thing that you need to do is,stand straight.If you feel that you are falling backwards,just put your chin up and slightly bend your knees.

Confidence is What You Need

    The most important step while learning how to skate backwards,is having enough confidence in what you are doing.How can you achieve this?By practice.Just practice rolling backwards down a gentle slope everyday or just by pushing off from a wall or something of that sort.But before you do that,make sure that the place where you are practicing is free from any kind of debris（碎片）because otherwise,you could land up in the hospital due to some accident.While going backwards,just get used to the feeling of moving backwards.One of the important ice skating tips and techniques is that if you feel that you are losing your balance,then scissor（做剪式运动）your skates.Keep practicing this till you are confident about it.

Maintain Speed

    Confident now?Great!Now the next step is to maintain your speed.While rolling in a straight line with one skate, with the other try sculling（划桨）,that is,keep pushing yourself backwards with an outwards stroke（滑动）.Make sure that you put most of your weight on the skate which is moving straight and not the one with which you are sculling.Now,try the same thing using the other foot.Again keep doing this till you are confident enough.

Increase Your Speed Now

    Once you are confident that you can scull with either foot,the next thing that you have to do is increase your speed.Try some of your own tricks now.Scull with either foot or with both at the same time. 

Scull and Be Aware

    While you keep one foot straight,keep sculling with the other.You can do that with both feet at the same time. Concentrate on what you are doing but don't get so absorbed,that you don't see where you are going.If you are not watching your back,you might bang（碰撞）against something or someone.

    Americans like to travel on their yearly holiday. Today, more and more travelers in the United States are spending nights at small houses or inns(客栈) instead of hotels. They get a room with breakfast the next morning.

    Rooms for the night in private(私人的) homes with breakfast have been popular with travelers in Europe for many years. In the past five or ten years, these bed and breakfast places have become popular in the United States. Many of these American's bed-and-breakfast inns are old historic buildings. Some bed-and-breakfast inns have only a few rooms, while others are much larger. Some inns do not provide telephones or televisions in the rooms, but others do.

    Staying at a bed-and-breakfast inn is much different from staying at a hotel. Usually the cost is much less. Staying at an inn is almost like visiting someone's home. The owners are glad to tell about the areas and the interesting places to visit. Many vacationers say that they enjoy the chance to meet local families.

    Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival

    Where: Becket, Massachusetts

    When: June 15-Aug. 24

    Each summer, this influential dance center presents a number of classes and performances by more than 50 companies from around the world. Highlights(精彩的部分) this season include the Dance Theater of Harlem's production of Alvin Ailey's “The Lark Ascending”, which opens the festival.

    Many events are free. Ticketed performances start at $22.

    Moab Music Festival

    Where: Moab, Utah

    When: Aug. 29-Sep. 9

    This area is better known for mountain biking than for music. But since 1992, it has hosted a private festival that brings classical, jazz, Latin and other types of music to the land. This year there will be 16 concerts, including three “Grotto Concerts”, where guests take a 45-minute boat ride down the Colorado River to performances.

    Events start at $25.

    Cheyenne Frontier Days

    Where: Cheyenne, Wyoming

    When: July 19-28

    There's something for everyone at this 117-year-old festival, from an “Indian village” and Old West museum to country concerts. But the competition is still the main attraction, with cowboys(牛仔) and cowgirls competing for major money in the world's largest outdoor stage.

    Competition tickets start at $18, and concert tickets at $23.

    The Glimmerglass Festival

    Where: Cooperstown, New York

    When: July 6-Aug. 24

    Each summer, opera lovers from around the country (and the world) travel to upstate New York to watch productions that include stars like Nathan Gunn and Ginger Costa-Jackson. This year's performances include Wagner's “The Flying Dutchman” and Verdi's “King for a Day”, in honor of the 200th birthdays of both composers.

    Tickets start at $26.

    An exciting landing process of Chang'e-4 lunar probe (月球探测器 ) was seen through the monitor at Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, Jan. 3, 2019. It touched down on the far side of the moon at 10:26 a.m. Beijing Time, becoming the first spacecraft soft-landing on the moon's unknown side never visible from Earth.

    China's Chang'e-4 probe has started the exploration on the far side of the moon thanks to the relay satellite that provides a communication link with ground control. The relay satellite, named Queqiao, meaning Magpie Bridge, after a Chinese legend (传说) , was launched on May 21, 2018, and became the first communication satellite operating in the halo orbit, nearly 500,000 km from the earth. It can also provide communication for probes from other countries. The relay satellite will also be used for scientific and technological experiments. The maximum distance between the satellite and the Chang'e-4 probe on the far side of the moon is 79,000 km. The satellite processes data from the probe and sends it to Earth.

    The satellite can stay in its orbit for a long time due to its relatively low fuel consumption, as the earth's and moon's gravity balances its orbital moving. While in orbit, it can "see" both the earth and the far side of the moon.

    The concept of using a relay satellite in the halo orbit was first put forward by U.S. space experts in the 1960s, but was realized by Chinese space engineers.

    Researchers hope to use the cameras on the satellite to record asteroids (小行星 ) hitting the far side of the moon. To control the cost of the Chang'e-4 probe, the relay satellite was designed to be relatively small, weighing about 400 kg.

    Researchers had just 30 months to develop the satellite, putting them under high pressure. To promote public interest in space exploration, the China National Space Administration invited people to write down their wishes for lunar and space exploration, and the relay satellite carries the names of tens of thousands of participants and their messages.

    Here are some best sellers of 2018 at Amazon.

    The car

    Fourteen-year-old Terry's parents never pay him much attention. So when they both disappear after one of their all-too-frequent arguments, Terry isn't exactly eager for them to come home. On his own, he fixes an abandoned car. Though he doesn't know much about driving, he gets behind the wheel and heads west, with the intention of visiting an uncle in Oregon. It's an exciting and sometimes dangerous journey. Along the way, he learns a lot about people, about America——and most importantly, about himself.

    The Running Dream

    Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident.

    As she struggles to cope with her prosthesis(义肢)and many other difficulties, Jessica develops a close relationship with Rosa, a girl who has a cancer and sees right into Jessica's heart.

    With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her teammates, Jessica is able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her.

    Have a New Teenager by Friday

    Do you know this person?

    His bedroom looks like a garbage dump.

    She changes clothes three times before breakfast.

    It seems that he／she never agrees with you.

    Congratulations! You have a teenager in your home. But you needn't feel helpless. In fact, you're just five days away from your teenager asking.“ What can I do to help?” Internationally recognized family expert Dr. Kevin Leman will help you get real results—really fast.

    Boy Robot

    Seventeen-year-old Isaak discovers the truth about his origin: a government—made human. But a deadly military force is trying to kill him. He and the other Robots can only find protection from the Underground—a secret network of Robots and humans working together to ensure a coexistent future. Isaak must decide whether to hold on to his humanity and face possible death or to embrace his true nature in order to survive.

    If you are interested in any of the books, click here for further information:

    https://www.amazon.com/.

A good story. That's what influences our choice to buy a book the most. Right? Some of the biggest-selling novels of all time just so happened to be attached to major publishers. Indeed, any reading lover will be familiar with the countless publishing houses that have brought brilliant works to the market. So in theory, perhaps a publisher does matter. 

Every time you read a book that you enjoy, you likely look at the publisher attached to it. That name is a signal that they will produce other content that fits with that same style. It makes a lot of sense to continue to purchase texts from a company that is telling the kinds of stories that you enjoy the most. Consumer habits are thus based on trust that a publisher will be consistent in the books they deliver and that investing time in them is more reliable than an untested source.

The strength of the author themselves can also play into that. After all, well-liked authors are often signed to a book deal with a select few publishers, strengthening the brand further. 

Of course, a publisher would be nothing without its logo, which is a major call-to-arms for all fans of the brand. The top publishers in the world instantly recognizable imagery, which catch the attention while summing up the name of a brand in an instant. That thus builds our association with a given name. The fun penguin shape of Penguin Random House is so iconic, for example, that it could not be confused with any other publishing business.

There might be a place for those indie (独立经营的) book companies, with occasional stories breaking through and forcing people to take notice. In truth that's far less common than you expect. Expert Cassandra Davis, however, provides a hopeful insight. "Indie bookshops are more likely to stock an indie publisher's books, especially if the author is local to the bookshop." She says. Therefore, supporting local bookshops is a vital way to keep the indie industry alive and change these trends.