When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station. When other teens were studying or going out, she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street. But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholarship and gain entry to Harvard University. And her amazing story has inspired a movie, "Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story" shown in late April.

    Liz Murray, a 22.year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination. Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted parents. There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house. Liz was the only member of the family who had a job. Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just l5 years old. The effect of that LOSS became a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died,she decided to do something about it.

    Liz went back to school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless. At night, she lived on the streets. ".What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding, by understanding that there was a whole other way of being. I had only experienced a small part of the society,'' she wrote in her book Breaking Night.

    She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on. She used the benefits that come easily to others, such as a safe living environment, to encourage herself that "next to nothing could hold me down".

    She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University. But Liz decided to leave her top university a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS."I love my parents so much. They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they love me all the time."

    Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is "as simple as making a decision".

    Electrical devices (仪器) could soon use power made by human energy. Scientists say they have developed an experimental device that produces electricity from the physical movement of a person walking. British scientist Max Donelan and other scientists in Canada and the United States developed the device.

    The device connects to a person's knee. As the person walks, the device captures energy each time the person slows down. To do this, the device helps with the slowing down movement of the leg. The movements of the walking person push parts of a small machine that produces electricity. Using the device, an adult walking quickly could produce thirteen watts of electricity in just a minute. Donelan says walking at that speed could produce enough power to operate a laptop computer for six minutes.

    There are several possible uses for the device. Developers say it could help people who work in areas without electricity to operate small computers. The device could also be used in hospitals to operate heart pacemakers (起搏器). It could even be used to assist in the movement of robotic arms and legs.

    The experimental version of the device weighs about one and a half kilograms, but it is too costly for most people to buy. But the researchers hope to make a lighter, less costly version. An improved version should be ready in one year.

    The developers hope the device will one day help developing countries. Nearly twenty-five percent of people around the world live without electric power.

    A similar product was invented in 2005 by Larry Rome of the University of Pennsylvania. He created a bag carried on a person's back that also produces power from walking. The knee device does not produce as much electricity as the bag. But the bag requires the walker to carry a load of twenty to thirty kilograms.

SECONDARY PROGRAMS & RESOURCES

    When international aid is given, steps must be taken to ensure（确保）that the aid reaches the people for whom it is intended. The way to achieve this may not be simple. It is very difficult for a nation to give help directly to people in another nation. The United Nations Organization （UNO） could undertake to direct the distribution of aid. Here however rises the problem of costs. Also tied with this is time. Perhaps the UNO could set up a body of devoted men and women in every country who can speedily distribute aid to victims of floods and earthquakes.

    More than the help that one nation can give to another during a disaster, it would be more effective to give other forms of help during normal times. A common proverb says, "Give me a fish and I eat for a day, teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime." If we follow this wise saying, it would be right to teach people from less developed nations to take care of themselves. For example, a country could share its technology with another. This could be in simple areas like agriculture or in more complex areas like medical and health care or even in building satellites. Even a small country is able to help less developed nations. Sometimes what is taken for granted, like the setting up of a water purification plant or the administration of a school, could be useful for countries which are looking about to solve common problems. It does not cost much to share such simple things. Exchange students could be attached for a number of months or years and learn the required craft while on the site. They can then take their knowledge back to their homelands and if necessary come back from time to time to clear doubts or to update themselves. Such aid will be truly helpful and there is no chance of it being temporary or of it falling into the wrong hands.

    Many countries run extensive courses in all sorts of skills. It will not cost much to include deserving foreigners in these courses. Besides giving effective help to the countries concerned, there is also the build­up of friendships to consider. Giving direct help by giving materials may be effective in the short run and must continue to be given in the event of emergencies. However, in the long run what is really effective would be the sharing of knowledge.

    Shellharbour City Library provides a range of Library Special Needs Services for people who are unable to access our library service in the usual way. As long as you live in Shellharbour City, we'll provide a full range of library services and resources including:

    ● Large printed and ordinary printed books

    ● Talking books on tape and CD

    ● DVDs and music CDs

    ● Magazines

    ● Reference and information requests

You will be asked to complete a "Statement of Need" application form which must be signed by a medical professional.

    Home delivery service

    Let us know what you like to read and we will choose the resources for you. Our staff will deliver the resources to your home for free. We also provide a service where we can choose the resources for you or someone instead of you chooses the things from the library. You can also choose the resources you need personally.

    Talking books and captioned videos

    The library can provide talking books for people who are unable to use printed books because of eye diseases. You don't have to miss out on reading any more when you can borrow talking books from the library. If you have limited hearing which prevents you from enjoying movies, we can provide captioned videos for you at no charge.

    Languages besides English

    We can provide books in a range of languages besides English. If possible, we will request these items from the State Library of NSW, Australia.

    How to join?

    Contact the Library Special Needs Coordinator to register or discuss if you are eligible (合适的) for any of the services we provide­Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9am­5pm on 4297 2522 for more information.

    Robots are increasingly being developed to think and act like humans. But it is difficult for engineers to create humor (幽默) in machines. Computer scientists have hoped to help them understand humor. But they failed again and again. Why is it so difficult?

    Kiki, a computer language expert (专家), studies humor at a university. "Most robots are powered by artificial intelligence (人工智能AI). But AI will never understand jokes like humans do." He said, "The main problem is that AI system doesn't have the sense of humor."

    Other experts agree that context (语境) is very important to understand humor, both for humans and robots. In one project, Tristan Miller, a computer scientist, studied more than 10, 000 puns. Puns are a kind of joke that uses a word with two meanings. For example, you could say, "Balloons (气球) do not like pop music." The word "pop" can be a way of saying popular music, or "pop" can be the sound a balloon makes when it explodes(爆炸). "A robot might not understand the joke because it doesn't know the meaning of the puns." Miller said.

    Although it's difficult, some scientists say there are good reasons to keep trying to teach humor to robots. It can make machines understand humans better and serve humans better. And it can also help them to think more like humans.

    But other scientists don't think it's a good idea to teach humor to robots. They may find humor, but they may use it in a wrong way. Maybe bad Al will start killing people because it thinks it is funny. Besides, it may make some people feel not safe. The comedians(喜剧演员) may lose their jobs when the robots can understand humor.