New Orleans, Louisiana, was established as part of the French Empire in 1718.

    Its location on the east bank of the Mississippi River gave it control of the American hinerland and it became strategically important to many nations. It was transferred from France to Spain, returned to France, and finally sold by Napoleon to the United States in 1803. The city was the site of a famous battle fought in 1815 between the British, who hoped to control it, and the Americans under General Andrew Jackson.

    The riverbed of the Mississippi is constantly silting（淤积）and the river is now actually higher than the city. Levees hold back the river and giant pumps are used to move water from the city into the river.

    Although New Orleans has been a part of the United States for almost two centuries, its population takes great pride in its French heritage. Louisiana still retains parts of the Code Napoleon which, for many years, was its only law.

    New Orleans is carefree city and it boasts its hot, spicy Creole seafood and its native Dixieland Jazz. The Jackson Square neighborhood maintains its French colonial homes and in other sections are pre-Civil War mansions. Visitors are surprised to find that behind this interesting surface of yesteryear is a busy industrial and port city. Grain and coal come from the Midwest and foreign goods are unloaded here. New Orleans is no longer a sleepy Southern town—but it's still fun to visit.

    I could feel the judging eyes of my family burning a hole into the back of my head as I picked up my phone. All of a sudden, the chattering in the living room died and all I could hear was the sound of the turkey sizzling (发出嘶嘶声) in the oven.

    “Look at her! She's been on her phone all day long! It's all your fault! Children will never respect elders if they are not taught how to behave! ” my grandmother shouted.

    I was very shocked and angry! I opened my mouth to say something, but words failed me and I just sat down quietly on the chair like a mouse in its trap. I thought “Here we go again.” I truly love my family and I would do anything for them. I also know that they would do anything for me as well. However, there are moments that make me feel like they are just stuck with me. They all agree on one thing: technology is wrecking me.

    If I am going to be treated like a child or completely ignored, I will most likely not enjoy your company, and I feel like this applies to (适用于） the majority of the people. So I sometimes simply shut myself in my room and listened to the voices coming from the living room, thinking: They all grew up in a world so different that it amazes me how they have actually gotten this far. They did not have phones or any type of advanced technology, which is both good and bad. Bad because they had almost no type of fast communication, and good because they were forced to interact (互动) with one another, which is something today's society is lacking in. However, maybe if they made an effort to be aware of how things work nowadays, they would not be so against everything.

    Driving could soon be a far more pleasant experience thanks to a personal in-car robot being developed by researchers. The robot, which is called “Affective Intelligent Driving Agent (AIDA)” will be able to tell you the best route home based on traffic reports, remind you to pick up petrol and suggest places you may like to visit. The robot, which sits on the dashboard, is being developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in collaboration with Volkswagen.

    AIDA communicates with the driver through an expressive robot screen and will even appear sympathetic if you're having a bad day. Cynthia Breazeal, director of MIT's Personal Robots Group, said: “We are developing AIDA to read the driver's mood from facial expression and other cues and respond in a proper way.”

    AIDA works by analyzing the driver's mobility patterns, keeping track of common routes and destinations. The creators say the robot should be able to work out home and work locations within a week of driving. Soon afterwards, the system will direct the driver to their preferred supermarket, suggesting a route that avoids traffic-clogged roads. AIDA might recommend a petrol stop en route if the fuel tank is nearly empty. The robot will also incorporate real-time information about traffic jams, the weather report, commercial activity, tourist attractions, and residential areas.

    “In developing AIDA we asked ourselves how we could design a system that would offer the same kind of guidance as an informed and friendly companion.”

    “AIDA can also give you feedback on your driving, helping you achieve more energy efficiency and safer behavior,” Assaf Biderman from SENSEable City Lab added.

    If you ever visit an English village, make sure to look out for morris dancing. Undoubtedly one of the strangest traditions of English culture, morris dancing is a form of folk dancing that dates back to the 15th century. If you ever get the opportunely, you really have to see it.

    Men and women wearing old-fashioned, shabby clothing dance in the streets of towns and villages across the country during the holiday periods. Women wear long, frilly(有褶皱边的) skirts and men wear short trousers with bells attached to them. They dance to traditional folk music which is often played on traditional musical instruments.

    Some groups carry heavy black sticks which they beat against each other while they dance. Other groups wave handkerchiefs in the air while they perform. The dances are usually performed near a pub so that when it's over, the dancers and audience can sing some traditional folk songs over a pint of beer. The celebrations will often continue long into the night, by which point most people are too drunk to think about performing again.

    Morris dancing is a great English tradition but it's facing a big crisis. As the years go by, fewer and fewer young people are joining morris dancing groups. The dancers are getting older and older and eventually, if nothing is done to change this trends, the tradition will die out within the next few decades.

    If you've ever had the fortune to see morris dancing, you may understand why teenagers aren't rushing to sign up. Putting it to the point, it's not exactly the coolest thing for an 18-year-old to be doing. Why dress up in bells and funny costumes when you could be going clubbing? Or playing sport? Or doing anything else?

    However, it would be a great shame to lose such a fun and lively part of England's history and culture. It's important to look after some traditions and customs especially when it's something as harmless and happy as morris dancing. So here's a toast to the next generation of would-be morris dancers! Let's hope they don't leave it too late.

    I look around and can't recognize where I am. It seems familiar but distant. I see my friends gather by a stage where music is playing and I run over. As I begin running towards them, they become further and further away. I keep calling them, but no one hears me. I start hearing a distant alarm-like sound and I am transported away. I woke up in a daze sitting in my bed.

    “Oh, it was only a dream,” I said to myself. I have always had vivid and intense dreams. It feels like I haven't even slept because I have been living out my dreams during my sleep.

    Today, dreaming is being studied even more than ever. Some say that dreams are how your receptors make sense of random thoughts while you sleep. Some say that you can't dream of a face you have never seen before, so everyone you see in your dreams you have at least laid eyes on at one time or another.

    Other people think dreams are ways of expressing stress or internal feelings you may be experiencing. A lot of people say that they have dreams about being chased.

    A common interpretation of the “being chased” dream is that you are feeling threatened. Some dream interpretation websites say you should try to reflect on what or who is chasing you to get a better idea of what is making you feel this way.

    Another dream that is often experienced is flying. This dream has a much more positive interpretation, which is that you are feeling free or have broken out of a bad situation such as a relationship turned sour or a job you hate.

Unfortunately, you may forget half of your dream within five minutes of waking up and within 10 minutes, you usually forget 90 percent of it.

    Dreamologists, people who devote time to the study and interpretation of dreams, suggest if you want to try to remember and study your dreams you should keep a journal beside your bed and write down what you dreamt as soon as you wake up so you can reflect on it later.

    Popular music in America is what every student likes. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class, and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music loudly as they drive on the street.

    Adult drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, and the life of American people. Most of the radio programs are music.

    Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in many places. Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people buy his or her tapes. Some of the money from these tapes goes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her. Now the singer has become a national star.

    There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans. One is called folk music. It tells stories about the common life of Americans. Another is called western or country music. This is started by cowboys who would sing at night to the cows they were watching.