Join us on an inspiring and educational journey with our Giraffe Conservation Program! This program offers a unique opportunity to learn about and contribute to the protection of giraffes, one of Africa’s most iconic yet vulnerable species. Through hands-on activities and expert-led sessions, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of giraffe behavior, their role in the ecosystem, and the challenges they face in the wild.

During the program, you’ll participate in feeding giraffes, observe their natural behavior, and so on, such as tracking their movements and identifying individual giraffes. Our conservation experts will share insights into giraffe biology, their social structures, and the importance of habitat preservation.

·Hands-on feeding and observation of giraffes

·Educational workshop on giraffe conservation

·Participation in giraffe tracking and data collection

·Suitable for all ages

·Free lunch and refreshments included

·Comfortable walking shoes not leather (皮革) shoes, lightweight clothing, a hat, sunscreen, and a reusable water bottle

·All participants must complete a health and safety form before the program. Parents or guardians must complete the form for minors. Click here to access the digital form.

·The program operates in all weather conditions, so please dress appropriately.

·Children under ten must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

·There will be an online interview after successful registration.

·$500 per person, only $300 if you register the program one month in advance.

·A full refund (退款) is available for cancellations made 48 hours prior to the scheduled program.

Ready to make a difference and help protect these gentle giants? Sign up now and be part of a meaningful conservation effort!

Bright and early on the morning of our first full day in Antarctica, L’Austral’s Captain Fabien’s voice woke us up as it came through a loudspeaker. If we looked outside right now, he said, we’d see a beautiful sea of icebergs in the golden sunlight. My sister and I jumped out of bed, staring in amazement as we sailed past giant pieces of ice. In the distance, we spotted a group of humpback whales feeding on smaller fishes. Next door, my parents were also waking up to the sights of a new day in Antarctica. Over breakfast, my sister and I excitedly told them about the whales we saw from our room that morning.

You might not immediately think of “family vacation” when talking about a trip to Antarctica, but tour companies like Adventures by Disney are changing that. The company offers guided group trips to destinations across all seven continents in the world.

Our adventure started when we flew to Buenos Aires and explored the beautiful Argentine capital for a day. After leaving Buenos Aires, we flew to Ushuaia on an Adventures by Disney plane. Then, it was the journey toward the Drake Passage. After a speedy Drake Passage crossing, we reached Antarctica early, adding a half day to our scheduled four days on and around the continent.

To those unfamiliar with Adventures by Disney, the fact that you can experience Antarctica — the most distant, extreme continent — with Disney might be surprising. During the trip, there were thoughtful acts, from stamped postcards to send from an Antarctica post office to a champagne (香槟) party on our final stop of the journey. Adventures by Disney truly thought of everything for us. Antarctica is a life-changing destination packed with experiences that can’t be copied. We experienced seasickness when travelling across the Drake Passage, hiked up ice hills alongside lovely animals, and had a taste of champagne. And honestly, it’s going to be hard for the next family trip we may take to compete.

From Crisis to Community Currency

The financial crisis of 2008 sent shockwaves throughout many countries in the Eurozone, and indeed the world. One of the hardest hit nations was Greece. For many Greeks this meant being thrown onto the breadline or worse still, plunging below the line of poverty. For others, the credit crunch (信贷紧缩) prevented them from using credit cards as their debts mounted. While most people felt hopeless, many decided to take the bull by the horns.

When residents of the small town of Volos found themselves struggling to afford even essential items in euros, what they did was to come up with an alternative currency. They pay for the goods in TEM, TEM being a local alternative currency that people can earn by offering their services or goods to others.

The TEM system, which brings to mind the ancient bartering system, operates on an exchange basis. Members of the TEM community gain credit by doing jobs for other people or selling them their own produce. For example, by selling clothes in TEM at the market, a trader could get language or computer lessons in return. As one stall-holder at the market put it, “We have reached the bottom of our lives and we now have to think in a different way.”

But it’s not only at the local market that TEM is accepted. Even well-established local shops in Volos will accept both TEM and euros. In some cases, payment can be made in part euro and part TEM. Hard-up customers can, therefore, make more affordable purchases and store owners can cover their costs.

So, how does the system operate in practical terms? The system, which has been developed online, requires members to have TEM accounts. These accounts, which are credited when they earn TEM and debited when they make a purchase, are closely regulated by founding members of the TEM community.

But for those who feel that parallel currencies are too complicated a matter, they can turn to another organization called Peliti. 2002 was the year when Peliti was set up as a national network for the exchange of goods and services without money. Peliti differs from the TEM system as it works purely by bartering. So if, for example, you grow cucumbers and you want someone to cut your hair, you can find a hairdresser in your area who will agree to be paid in cucumbers!

These organizations prove that ordinary people can find a way to survive when the going gets tough. When you have nothing to lose, you have everything to gain from alternative ways of life.

A general artificial intelligence (AI) agent developed by a low-profile team backed by Chinese investors and developers has quickly gained attention in the AI community for its ability to handle complex, real-world tasks.

Manus, currently available as a invitation-only web preview, can perform practical tasks such as creating a custom website through a step-by-step process, according to a demonstration vide on its website manus.im.

The website also listed tasks that can be done by the Manus AI agent, which include devising a plan for a tip to an, providing an in-depth analysis of Tesla’s stock, creating an interactive course for middle-school teachers, comparing different insurance policies, and assisting in business-to-business supplier sourcing, among others.

It also claims that Manus can outperform OpenAI’s Deep Research based on the GAIA benchmark, a third-party measure of general AI assistants.

While Manus has provided little information about its corporate structure, its team and underlying models for the agent, the demo video has triggered massive interest. The video, published on X on Wednesday night, had received over 200,000 views by noon Thursday, with many moments asking for an invitation code to try the agent.

The sudden popularity of Manus among the AI community is similar to the buzz that followed the launch of DeepSeek’s R1 reasoning model in January.

A general-purpose AI agent, which can interact with its environment, collect data and use the data to handle tasks to meet predetermined goals, is widely seen as the future of AI applications. Based on its demo, Manus is able to autonomously browse websites, effectively use capabilities and display its workflow in real-time. The product is being described by its developer as “a general AI agent that bridges minds and actions: it doesn’t just think, it delivers results”.

The demo video is hosted by “Peak” Ji Yichao, a 33-year-old Chinese entrepreneur and tech enthusiast who created the mobile browser Mammoth and founded Peak Labs in the US.

According to sources in China’s venture capital industry, the team behind Manus previously developed Monica AI, a popular AI assistant with millions of users that was capable of integrating various large AI models.

Monica is available as a browser extension and as an app across mobile and desktop platforms. The founding team of Monica includes Xiao Hong, a serial entrepreneur and 2015 graduate from Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

How to protect your privacy when you travel

It hasn’t been an easy year for the privacy of travelers, at least so far. Data leaks, surveillance (监视) worries and those troublesome cameras in airplane seatbacks and hotel rooms are enough to make passengers anxious.【小题1】 Fortunately, there are ways to safeguard your privacy on land and in the air. These tips can help you deal with these troubles. 

【小题2】 “It’s not clever to declare on Facebook that you’re travelling to somewhere, reminding a wide range of people that your property is sitting empty,” says Danny McLoughlin. “That puts your security at risk.” Wait until you return to start posting vacation photos. 

Some homeowners renting their residences may install security cameras. Travelers should find out if the hosts are required to disclose the presence of surveillance devices. If the rental comes with cameras, ensure they aren’t in a sensitive area by conducting a careful sweep.【小题3】

Although you can’t control how a hotel or airline handles—or mishandles—your data, you can take reasonable steps to ensure the information it has won’t get you into trouble. 【小题4】 But some of the worst data leaks happen when you’re staying at a hotel. For example, a hotel clerk sometimes asks for your name and then announces your room number after you’ve checked in. You’re better off handing the employee your ID when he or she asks for your name and asking him/her to write your room number on a piece of paper. Why? 【小题5】 Just to be sure, never leave the customer copy behind. You can destroy it later, but keep it under your control.

The last lecture

Randy Pausch was a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and one of the pioneers of virtual technology. The last lecture by him is world-known as one version of fairy tales, with more than 5 million ________ sold in the United States alone.

Randy had been informed by his doctor to be in the ________ stage of cancer, before he was once invited to give a lecture under the same name.

Randy married his dream lover and had three lovely children. ________ , he would be absent from their ________ life forever. So, in his remaining life, he tried to ________ his family. Then again he intended to make some financial arrangements to ensure that their future life, at least in terms of ________ , was as comfortable as possible.

He used his time of ________ to keep his body active every day. Once, twice... with the permission of his body, Randy ________ riding to strengthen his body, hoping to have more time to ________ together the things he should have told his children slowly in the next 20 years into those small stories. When the children grow up and can read, Randy hopes they can be ________ that their father loves them deeply, even though he is ________ .

In this book, in an aspect of engineering, Randy reveals to his kids that nothing is perfect, and they should learn to do their best with limited ________ — you can’t control the cards you’re ________ , but just how you play the hand — probably that is what Randy wanted to ________ to his’ kids.

As his co-author Jeffrey Zaslow put it, the ________ that Randy hoped to personally teach children about how to face life, as well as the rich content of this book, is not only a gift to all students, teachers, and parents, but also those with dreams in the world.