In the UK, the best racecourses (赛马场) are in all corners of the country, which means that it is accessible for all fans of the sport to see the biggest stars. So, what are the four best racecourses in the UK?

Cheltenham

Nothing comes close to excitement levels when the Cheltenham Festival is approaching. It is the home of National Hunt racing, and every year millions of fans are glued to the horse racing on the track. It is the festival for the die-hard lovers of the sport, as the racing takes front and centre of the attention as the biggest prizes are handed out.

Aintree

The race that draws the viewers to the sport is the Grand National. The race is an essential part of British life, as everyone makes a habit of watching the race annually with friends and family. It is a perfect course for visitors too, as it is situated just a short distance outside of Liverpool. There is extra emphasis on fashion when attending Aintree.

Ascot

For lovers of flat racing (无障碍平地赛马), Ascot meetings are a must. The biggest of the season is Royal Ascot, which is one of the most fashionable race days on the calendar, as all visitors entering certain zones must be wearing a top hat. However, there is no better reason to get dressed up.

Newmarket

Newmarket is a hotbed full of racing fans, and is a must-visit for all lovers of the sport. It is the headquarters of flat racing, as the whole town is devoted to the sport. There are two racecourses, the July Course and the Rowley Mile. The final race day of the season takes place in October. Regardless of when you visit in the season, you will feast your eyes!

Trees don’t look at the calendar to see when spring arrives, but they seem to know when spring is here better than we do. The annual shift from winter to spring is a breathtaking event to watch as leaves become green and a lush(苍翠的) environment reveals itself. Recently a research takes a look at why trees in cities are turning green earlier than expected.

Scientists use satellite imagery to see when plants turn green. By comparing spring green ups in the 85 largest US cities, scientists found that on average trees start to turn green nine days earlier in cities due to the combined effect of artificial lights and urban heat effect.

According to the findings, one of the reasons is the artificial light. City lights brightening the night skies, billboard signs lit up on roadways and car headlights all contribute to shifting the regular day to night cycle that plants and trees rely on. In order to stay alive during cruel winters, trees hit the pause button on their growth. Since temperatures can vary dramatically throughout the winter, the length of daylight is the signal trees look for to safely start growing again and turn green.

On average cities are typically 1.8 to 5.4F warmer than rural areas. This is known as the urban heat island effect. The changes in city environments may affect seasonal changes even more than climate warming and mosquito season, water cycles, and also affect pollinators(授粉媒介).

Despite the worries and concern, it isn’t all bad news. “With a longer growing season, trees would be able to absorb more carbon dioxide,” A researcher said. “Hopefully they’d have a longer period to do the cooling effect that can help relieve the urban heating effect in cities.”