Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.

    Sometimes, however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburger. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered. “We came from Hamburger.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburger ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called “ hamburgers”.Today “hamburgers” are sold in many countries around the world.

    Whether this story is true or not, it is certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting, too. The reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary.

    Shoppers in the UK are spending less money on toilet paper to save money, research has shown.

    Penny saving UK consumers choose cheaper products from discounters such as Aldi and Lidi rather than expensive alternatives.

    This has wiped 6% off the value of the soft tissue paper market in the UK. It has reduced from £1.19 billion in 2011 to £1.12 billion in 2015, according to a new report from market research company Mintel. Furthermore, the future of the market looks far from positive, with sales expected to fall further to £1.11 billion in 2016.

    In the last year alone, despite an increase in the UK population and a rise in the number of households, sales of toilet paper fell by 2%, with the average household reducing their toilet roll spending from £43 in 2014 to £41 in 2015.

Overall, almost three in five people say they try to limit their usage of paper – including facial tissue and kitchen roll    to save money. “Strength, softness and thickness remain the leading signs of toilet paper quality, with just a small part of consumers preferring more expensive alternatives, such as those with flower patterns or perfume,” said analyst Jack Duckett. “These extra features are considered unnecessary by the majority of shoppers, which probably reflects how these types of products are typically more expensive than regular toilet paper, even when on special offer.”

    While consumers are spending less on toilet paper, they remain particular about it when it comes to paper quality. One in 10 buyers rank toilet rolls made from recycled paper among their top considerations, clearly showing how overall the environment is much less of a consideration for shoppers than product quality. In a challenge for makers, 81% of paper product users said they would consider buying recycled toilet tissue if it were comparable in quality to standard paper.

    Tiny as they are, bats have the ability to “see” in the dark by using a special skill called echolocation(回声定位法). They make noises and wait for sound waves, or an echo, to bounce(反弹) back off objects. They can tell the distance of various objects by how quickly the sound waves bounce back off them. If no sound bounces back, they can then fly forward.

    This special ability has been simulated in the human world for a long time, such as in submarines and planes, whose sonar(声呐) systems are somewhat similar to echolocation. But apart from helping vehicles “see” where they are, what if blind people could use echolocation for themselves? It turns out, some already are.

    American Daniel Kish, who is blind, is known as “Batman”. This isn't because he walks around in a cape and a mask, but because he has a bat-like ability to locate where he is through sharp clicks he makes by moving his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Kish is so skilled at echolocating that he can ride a bike and hike on his own.

    Recently, research carried out at the University of Durham in England shed some light on the power of human echolocation.

    Kish worked with a group of scientists who studied the way blind people listen to the echoes that they produce from clicks.

    The team, which conducted experiments with other volunteers, found that people were capable of hearing even very faint echoes, ones far fainter than had been previously thought.

    Speaking to The Independent, Lore Thaler, lead scientist of the group, said, “We found that in some conditions, they were really faint – about 95 percent softer than the actual clicks, but the echolocators were still able to sense this.”

    Andrew Kolarik of the University of Cambridge is another expert in echolocation. Reacting to the Durham study, he told BBC News that echolocation “can be very useful at providing information at face or chest height” and could help people “avoid objects like low hanging branches that might not get detected by the cane or a guide dog”.

    Although Kish's skill is remarkable, there's hope for other blind people who want to use echolocation. According to BBC News, echolocation is a skill blind people can acquire and develop, just like learning a language. As Kolarik said: “Teaching echolocation skills could provide blind people with the means of exploring new places.”

More than great drinks, great rewards

    Enjoy all the benefits and more with your membership to our Loyalty Program!

    Whenever you pay with your membership account, you'll earn a Star.

    Collect more Stars, earn more rewards.

    Three ways to join us

    Buy a Starbucks Card handy to create an account

    Track your Stars online or through the mobile app, and we'll send an email when you've earned a reward.

    You can also join from your phone.

    Download the Starbucks^® App.

    One of the most exciting benefits of being a member is using our mobile app to: pay for purchases; view your Stars and rewards; access iTunes^® Pick of the Week; see current offers.

    Or you can join with specially marked coffee purchased at the grocery store.

    Enter your Starcode (limit 2 per day).

    Look for the Starcode symbol on specially marked Starbucks^® products where you buy groceries.

    Three levels with increasingly greater rewards

    To reach each level in our Loyalty Program, you need to collect more Stars. (Remember, to earn a Star you must pay with a registered Starbucks Card.)

    Welcome level

    To earn your first rewards, just register a Starbucks Card.

    Birthday drink or treat on us; birthday coupon (优惠券) for 15% off a purchase at StarbucksStore.com.

    Green level

    Collect 5 Stars within 12 months and you'll be in the Green level.

    •What is included in the Welcome level plus

    ♦Free in-store refills (续杯) on hot or iced brewed coffee or tea

    Gold level

    Collect 30 Stars within 12 months and you're at the Gold level.

    •What is included in the Green level plus

    ♦A free food or drink item after another 12 Stars earned

    ♦Personalized Gold Card

    Which country can you travel to in 2020 that will allow you to go for longer, enjoy a higher standard, and save more money? The following destinations offer accommodation, transportation, and food for less.

Kyrgyzstan, $25/day

    Kyrgyzstan is the choice for most travelers interested in trying out Central Asia, and most well-suited to travelers of all budgets. Food is cheap, so is getting around using the minibuses. You can find hostels and local home stays for less than $10. Meals cost $4 – $8 per day.

    Romania, $33/day

    If you are planning a European trip that's affordable and a little bit off the beaten path, Romania is perfect for you. Unlike other popular places, many charming towns here remain unknown to most foreigners. You can also take free walking tours in the numerous historical sites. Hostels run $10 – $15 per night, food is hearty and delicious, and the public transportation is reliable and affordable. Meals cost $10 – $15 per day.

    Arizona & Utah, $55/day

    For an American Southwest road trip, you'll spend an average of $110/day when you are solo. If you have just one other person, you'd be able to split the costs almost perfectly in half. If you have two other people along, take it down to one third and so on. The more the merrier.

    South Africa, $40/day

    Any hostels in South Africa are in beautiful settings and each has a unique personality, and affordable too. Food can get expensive. To save money, cook your own food. Grocery stores are plentiful and have reasonable prices. By at least cooking your own breakfast, you can save a lot of money. The best (and possibly cheapest) way to get around the country is to rent a car and share with 3 other people. Meals cost $12 – $15 per day.

A new study says that more than half the world's ocean area is "becoming greener," and the trend is connected to human-caused global warming.

It's not clear what is driving the greening. In some places, it could indicate changes in the amount of plankton or other organic material floating in the water. Plankton are a cornerstone of the ocean food chain, and these kinds of shifts could have ripple effects throughout the entire marine ecosystem.

The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, examines 20 years of satellite data measuring light reflected at the surface of the water all across the globe, subtle changes that aren't necessarily visible to the naked eye. The research finds that 56 percent of the world's oceans are shifting in color — and on the whole, they're growing greener. The trend is especially strong in the lower latitudes, including the subtropics and tropics.

The researchers then used a computer model to find out whether climate change was playing a part. They conducted one set of simulations representing the oceans under a strong climate change scenario, and then compared them with a second set of simulations imagining a world in which climate change didn't exist. The model suggests that rising global temperatures are to blame.

The exact reasons still require some scientific digging. While climate change seems to be the culprit, the study also indicates that rising ocean temperatures in and of themselves aren't driving the greening.

There are plenty of other ways global warming is affecting the world's oceans, by changing the structure and flow of certain currents, for instance. These kinds of changes can affect the growth of phytoplankton and other factors that might be contributing to the greening.

The findings weren't a surprise to the researchers. They're consistent with the way researchers expect the global oceans to change as the world keeps on warming.

"I've been running simulations that have been telling me for years that these changes in ocean color are going to happen," study co-author Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a senior research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said in a statement. "To actually see it happening for real is no unexpected, but frightening."