My husband hasn't stopped laughing about a funny thing that happened to me. It's funny now but it wasn't at the time.

    Last Friday, after doing all the family shopping in town, I wanted a rest before catching the train, so I bought a newspaper and some chocolate and went into the station coffee shop — that was a cheap self-service place with long tables to sit at. I put my heavy bag down on the floor, put the newspaper and chocolate on the table to keep a place, and went to get a cup of coffee.

    When I went back with the coffee, there was someone in the next seat. It was one of those wild-looking youngsters, with dark glasses and worn clothes, and hair colored bright red at the front. Not so unusual these days. What did surprise me was that he'd started to eat my chocolate!

    Naturally, I was annoyed. However, to avoid trouble — and really I was rather uneasy about him — I just looked down at the front page of the newspaper, tasted my coffee and took a bit of chocolate. The boy looked at me closely. Then he took a second piece of my chocolate. I could hardly believe it. Still I didn't dare to start an argument. When he took a third piece, I felt more angry than uneasy. I thought, "Well, I shall have the last piece." And I got it.

    The boy gave me a strange look, and then stood up. As he left he shouted out. "This woman's crazy!" Everyone stared. That was embarrassing enough, but it was worse when I finished my coffee and got ready to leave. My face went red — as red as his hair — when I realized I'd made a mistake. It wasn't my chocolate that he'd been taking. There was mine, unopened, just under my newspaper.

Students and Technology in the Classroom

    I love my blackberry—it's my little connection to the larger world that can go anywhere with me.I also love my laptop computer,as it holds all of my writing and thoughts.Despite this love of technology,I know that there are times when I need to move away from these devices（设备）and truly communicate with others.

    On occasion,I teach a course called History Matters for a group of higher education managers.My goals for the class include a full discussion of historical themes and ideas.Because I want students to thoroughly study the material and exchange their ideas with each other in the classroom,I have a rule—no laptop,iPads,phones,etc.When students were told my rule in advance of the class,some of them were not happy.

    Most students assume that my reasons for this rule include unpleasant experiences in the past with students misusing technology.There's a bit of truth to that.Some students assume that I am anti-technology.There's no truth in that at all.I love technology and try to keep up with it so I can relate to my students.

The real reason why I ask students to leave technology at the door is that I think there are very few places in which we can have deep conversions（转变）and truly engage complex ideas.Interruptions by technology often break concentration and allow for too much dependence on outside information for ideas.I want students to dig deep within themselves for inspiration and ideas.I want them to push each other to think differently and make connections between the course,the material and the class discussion.

    I've been teaching my history class in this way for many years and the evaluations reflect student satisfaction with the environment that I create.Students realize that with deep conversation and challenge,they learn at a level that helps them keep the course material beyond the classroom.

    I'm not saying that I won't ever change my mind about technology use in my history class,but until I hear a really good reason for the change,I'm sticking to my plan.A few hours of technology-free dialogue is just too sweet to give up.

    In our daily life, it is necessary to make small talk in some situations. It helps to fill time between people when it is very quiet. You may not feel like talking with someone else or you are very shy at the beginning, but it is sometimes thought to be not polite to say nothing.

    People use small talk almost every day. It usually takes place when you meet someone you don't know at all or someone you're not familiar with. For example, waiters and hairdressers often make small talk with their customers（顾客）. If you happen to be outside when the postman comes to your door, you might make small talk with him, too.

    Most often, small talk happens in places where people are waiting for something. For example, you might talk with another person who is waiting for the bus to arrive. People also make small talk in a doctor's waiting room, or when they are waiting in a line to buy something. At the office, people make small talk in lunch rooms, especially if there is a line-up. Mingling is often required（要求）among people who don't know each other very well at a party. That is to say, they are expected to walk around and talk with others.

    The most common time for small talk to happen is the first time you see or meet someone on a given day. For example, if you see a neighbor in the waiting room of the airport you might say hello and discuss the sports or weather. However, the next time you see each other you might just smile and say nothing. If there is very little noise, it might be the right time to start a pleasant conversation. If someone is reading a book at the bus stop, it is probably not a good idea to start a conversation. Another good time to make small talk is during a break in a meeting when there is nothing important going on. However, it is important to recognize the signal when the other person wants the conversation to stop.

The Big Ben is located in the tower at the eastern end of the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, Greater London. It was designed by Edmund Beckett and Baron Grimthorpe.

The Big Ben is very famous throughout the world, but nobody really knows why it is called Big Ben. There are two hearsays about this. Some people say that it was named after Benjamin Caunt, a boxer, who was called Big Ben. More people believe it was called after Welshman, Sir Benjamin Hall. He was the commissioner(特派员)of the work at the time of its installation in 1859. A story was told that during a debate in the Commons on what to call the bell, Sir Benjamin was about to give his ideas when a MP who sat behind the front bench shouted, "Let's call it Big Ben!" Then this name came into being.

The bell hasn't gone through a smooth road since the beginning of its design. Because there was great disagreement about the design of the clock. It took fifteen years to build. In 1857, the bell was completed and tested on the ground, but a four-foot crack appeared and the bell had to be cast again. Finally, the clock started ticking on 31 May, 1859, and struck its first chime(报时)on 11, July. Then in September, the bell cracked again. It was silent for four years but was eventually turned a quarter of a revolution(旋转). In this way, the crack was not under the striking hammer. Craftsmen made a square above the crack to stop it growing longer and it can still be seen today.

The Big Ben is famous not only for its 13-ton weight, but also for its accuracy(准确性) which is a result of its precise mechanism(机械装置). Even one extra penny's weight on the balance will cause a gain of two fifths of a second in twenty-four hours. Although there have been several problems, the bell is still striking today. Its chimes can be heard all over the world on the B. B. C.

A tiny Alaska village has experienced a boom in tourism in recent years as polar bears spend more time on land than on Arctic sea ice.

More than 2,000 people visited the northern Alaska village of Kaktovik in 2018 to see polar bears in the wild. The far north community lies in an area where increasingly higher temperature has sped up the movement of sea ice, the primary habitat of polar bears. As ice has gradually moved to deep water beyond the continental shelf, more bears are remaining on land to look for food.

Polar bears have always been a common sight on sea ice near Kaktovik, but villagers started noticing a change in the mid-1990s. More bears seemed to stay on land, and researchers began taking note of more female bears making homes in the snow on land instead of on the ice to raise their babies. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologists began hearing reports of the increasing number of polar bears in the area in the early 2000s. As more attention was given to the plight of polar bears about a decade ago, more tourists started heading to Kaktovik.

 "The village had fewer than 50 visitors annually before 2011," said Jennifer Reed, of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "Today we're talking about hundreds and hundreds of visitors, many from around the world each year," Reed said. Most tourists visit in autumn, when bears are forced towards land because sea ice is farthest away from the shore. Bruce Inglangasak, a local hunter who sometimes offers wildlife-viewing tours, said, "I've been offering polar bear tours since 2004." Many tourists stay several days in the village, which has two small hotels. The villagers have benefited a lot from that. In turn, they provide more effective protection for polar bears with financial support from tourism development.

The demographic landscape of the globe is witnessing a notable transformation characterized by an increase in the proportion of individuals who are in their senior years: it is anticipated that by the year 2025, individuals who have reached or surpassed the age of 60 will constitute a significant 20 percent of the total global populace. The advancements in socioeconomic progress have resulted in a scenario where a considerable number of individuals are attaining their later years in a state of better health, financial stability, and educational attainment compared to the generations that preceded them.

This burgeoning cohort of older individuals, endowed with considerable economic clout and unique requirements, is increasingly being recognized as the most rapidly expanding consumer segment across the globe. This presents lucrative opportunities for growth in numerous major industries. The market, which caters to the needs of individuals who are over the age of 50 and is colloquially referred to as the "silver economy," is currently valued at an impressive $15 trillion on a global scale. It is anticipated that this valuation will experience a dramatic surge as the demographic of older individuals continues to expand.

Crucially, the "silver economy" holds the potential to contribute not only to the economic prosperity of a nation but also to its social advancement. This is because when enterprises endeavor to augment their financial gains by devising solutions that address the challenges encountered by the elderly, they can concurrently generate social value by enhancing the living standards of individuals as they progress through their later years.

In the context of China, which boasts the largest elderly population globally with 216.8 million individuals who are 65 years or older, the number is projected to soar to 400 million by the year 2050. Consequently, the "silver economy" in China is expected to experience a threefold increase in value, escalating from $750 billion in 2020 to a staggering $2.1 trillion by the year 2030. It is further projected that this figure could soar to $4.2 trillion, representing a significant 10 percent of China's Gross Domestic Product by 2035.

The recently disseminated document titled "Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy and Improving the Well-being of Older Persons" marks the first instance of a specific policy guideline in China that is dedicated to the advancement of the "silver economy." The trajectory of China's progress over the forthcoming decade is poised to provide invaluable insights for emerging economies, shedding light on the optimal strategies for catering to the needs of an aging demographic while simultaneously capitalizing on the economic development opportunities presented by such a significant demographic shift.