Bandhavgarh National Park in India is best known for its amazing setting, as well as having the largest number of tigers in India. In addition to tigers, there are also bears, deer, wolves, birds, etc.

Location: In the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh state. The nearest village is Tala, which is the access to the park.

Opening Hours and Safari (游猎) Times

Safaris operate twice a day, starting at dawn until late morning, and mid-afternoon until sunset. The best time to visit the park is early in the morning or after 4 p. m. to spot the animals. The park is closed from July 1 to September 30 because of the monsoon season (季风季节).

Bandhavgarh Zones

Bandhavgarh is divided into three main zones: Tala (the park’s best zone, with the most tigers), Magdhi (the second best zone to see tigers) and Khitauli (scenic and less visited, although tiger sightings do occur there; particularly good for birding).

Entry Fees and Charges for Jeep Safaris

Bandhavgarh has become expensive to visit in recent years. Entry fees have increased since October 2014. When you are going on a safari, separate fees must be paid for park entry and jeep hire. Entry tickets are priced per vehicle (up to six people). From 2015 to 2016, park entry tickets’ costs were as follows:

Tala Zone: 2,400 rupees for Indians, 4,800 rupees for foreigners. (Up to six people)

Other Zones: 1,200 rupees for Indians, 2,400 rupees for foreigners. (Up to six people)

Jeep Hire

Expect to pay about 2,200 rupees to hire a jeep, in addition to the entry cost. This can be done at the park entrance. All hotels can organize jeep hire and tours, but at a higher rate. It’s much less trouble though. Besides, unlike many national parks in India, it’s possible to take private vehicles into Bandhavgarh.

   Forcing waiters and waitresses to survive on tips from customers rather than normal wages is a pointless, rough, and unique American custom that, in the past several years, a handful of progressive restaurant owners have attempted to do away with. Now one of the most famous names in the dining business says he’s about to join their ranks. Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, has announced that he plans to gradually stop tipping at the company’s 13 restaurants.

What, exactly, is wrong with tipping? To start with, leaving a waiter’s pay in the hands of customers causes a feeling of discrimination (歧视). In theory, handing restaurant customers the power to tip is at least supposed to inspire better, more attentive service. This fails in practice because humans turn out to be pretty arbitrary (随心所欲的) about their tipping behavior. Research has shown that the amount diners leave has very little to do with their level of satisfaction. All of this doesn’t encourage waiters and waitresses to do anything but turn over as many tables as possible.

Tipping is also very unfair to kitchen staff. The law allows restaurants to divide tips among front-of-the- house workers like waiters, hosts, and hostesses, but not cooks. This creates a system in which the people serving the food in a restaurant can earn more than the people preparing it.

One of the most appealing parts of Meyer’s move is that, unlike some restaurant owners who have taken an anti-tipping view, he won’t simply add a standard extra charge to diners’ bills. Rather, Union Square Hospitality Group intends to raise menu prices enough to fully cover the cost of a meal. If Meyer manages to move away from tipping at all without hurting his profits, it will almost certainly set the stage for others to follow suit.

   The Song Dynasty (960-1279) is often thought of as the Chinese Renaissance (文艺复兴). For about three and a quarter centuries, under its rule, China enjoyed a period of economic growth with great and amazing artistic achievements.

One of the most important factors in the Song Renaissance was the printing press (印刷机) which made for a rebirth of classical Confucian (儒学的) learning. By the 10th century, printers had produced a large number of copies of the classical Confucian texts. With this increase in the production of books, education spread and became widely available.

Printing also had its greatest influence on the Chinese political system. In the Song Dynasty, government examinations became the most important way to gain political power in China. For almost 1,000 years, China was governed by men who had done very well in examinations. Thousands of students studied for the exams, and thousands of inexpensive books were required. Without printing, such a system would not have been possible.

The Song period was also the golden age of Chinese painting. Emperor Huizong was a talented painter who encouraged the arts. A royal painting school was created and many fine artists were supported. The period is best known for nature subjects and landscape paintings. Guo Xi used perspective in his paintings and The Quiet Valley is one of his best-known works. One of the greatest landscape painters of the period was Fan Kuan. His famous work, Travelling among Mountains and Streams, is one of the most famous Chinese paintings. Completed around the year 1000, it was inspired by the power of nature and the relative insignificance of humans.

   Researchers are placing robotic dogs in the homes of lonely old people to determine whether they can improve the quality of life for humans. Alan Beck, an expert in the human-animal relationship, and Nancy Edwards, a professor of nursing, are leading the animal-assisted study concerning the influence of robotic dogs on old people’s depression, physical activity, and life satisfaction. “No one will argue that an older person is better off being more active, challenged, or stimulated (刺激), ”Edwards points out. “The problem is how we promote that, especially for those without friends or help. A robotic dog could be a solution.”

In the study, the robotic dogs, called AIBO, are placed for six weeks in the houses of some old people who live alone. Before placing AIBO in the home, researchers will collect data for six weeks. These old people will keep a diary to note their feelings and activities before and after AIBO being placed. Then, the researchers will study the data to determine if it has inspired any changes in the life of its owner.

“I talk to it all the time, and it responds (回应) to my voice,” says a seventy-year-old lady. “When I’m watching TV, it’ll stay in my arms until it wants to go down. It has a mind of its own.”

The AIBOs respond to certain orders. The researchers say they have some advantages over live dogs, especially for old people. Often the elderly are disabled and cannot care for an animal by walking it or playing with it. A robotic dog removes exercise and feeding concerns.

“At the beginning, it was believed that no one would relate to the robotic dog because it is metal and not furry,” Beck says. “But it’s amazing how quickly we have given up that belief.”

“Hopefully, down the road, these robotic pets could become a more valuable health helper. They will record their masters’ blood pressure, oxygen levels, or heart rhythms. AIBOs may even one day have games that can help stimulate older people’s minds.”

   At the very beginning of this school year, I got myself into a regretful situation. It was a Wednesday _____ and I went to see a friend to watch the sunrise before school. It was about 4:30 am and we were _____ outside next to my car. To our _____, someone in a neighbouring house was in his _____ and showed his headlights on us, yelling at us to _____. As we got into my car, he had called the policeman. Since I had my _____ for only about six months and not a full year, I was fined for _____ a passenger.

This was the first time that I had ever got _____ For about two months, I was _____ and had no one to ______. I kept everything to myself because I was not ______ talking about everything that had ______. I didn’t even talk to my head teacher and lied to him by saying everything was ______ But my attendance (出席) and ______ became terrible. I was among the top 30% of my class ______ my rank had dropped by about 6 marks. I was under lots of stress and lacked ______ to do well in school. My biology teacher noticed I didn’t try my best and talked with me. She made me ______ the last two months was not me.

Now, my working habits have been much better and I know what I want to do with my ______. I plan to take courses in graphic design (平面设计) in university because I can express my thoughts in a (n) ______ way. I’ll work to my fullest potential (潜力). This is what I ______ and I know that now.

My sister once was a salesgirl in a gold shop. She earned 【小题1】 (approximate) 8,000 yuan every month. She arrived at work at 8 every morning. She put 【小题2】 (beauty) gold necklaces and rings which 【小题3】 (be) always appealing 【小题4】 the girls in the shop window. My sister was 【小题5】 aggressive and hardworking girl and always pleased and enthusiastic to serve her customers. She knew the importance of good service. She hoped 【小题6】 (run) a jewelry shop of her own. Incredibly, 3 years later, my sister realized her dream. She truly owned her gold shop.

She was a caring girl so she was determined to give away some of 【小题7】 (she) money to the poor children in the local area to help them receive education. She was concerned about those children 【小题8】 had dropped out. My sister was never proud of her 【小题9】 (achieve). She had a firm belief that what she did certainly 【小题10】 (make) more people be aware of the importance of helping others.

In recently years, many young people prefer to go shopping on the Internet. People have different opinion about online shopping. Some think online shopping was more convenient and the goods are cheap. However, others believe it is unsafe to buy goods by credit card. And that is impossible to check the quality of the goods. As far as I am concerned, go shopping in a store is a better way. It is a fun to walk around stores and look different goods on sale. We can choose that we need. Beside, we can chat with the shop assistant and know a lot of useful information.

As a popular saying goes, “Time is money.” But does time definitely mean money? In fact this is not the case.