He's an old cobbler(修鞋匠) with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street; he'll fix them for you right away.”

    But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman(手艺人). “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can't do it well.”

    “The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait” — without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap(鞋带), you might as well just throw away the pair.

    My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, “Come back in a week.”

    I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.

    “See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work.”

    When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange, dusty felt hat, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.

    These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption(消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.

    Sydney Cultural Festival – What's on today!

    European Art Show

    Location: Art Gallery of New South Wales. Today is the final day of the exhibition featuring 18th and 19th century paintings by some of the greatest European artists, such as Van Gough and Monet. Posters of these great works are available for purchase at the Visitors' Centre.

    Time: 8.30am –7pm

    Cost: $12 adults; $7 children and students

    Nature Walks

    Location: Sydney's Royal Botanic Garden. Come and celebrate our natural environment in one of the world's only nature parks inside a major city. Join our hourly guided tours, starting at the Eastern Gate, and enjoy breathtaking forests, stunning city escapes and the magnificent Sydney Harbour.

    Time: 9am – 4pm Cost: Free

    Sydney Symphony Orchestra Concert

    Location: Sydney Opera House. Australia's most famous orchestra is best known for its performances of classical French and German music. But in tonight's concert, the world-famous Chinese pianist Lang Lang is the special guest artist and will perform a series of classic Chinese compositions including Yellow River.

    Time: 8.30pm –11.30pm

    Cost: $175 adults; $90 students and children

    Moonlight Cinema

    Location: Centennial Park. Sit on the grass and enjoy the latest movies or classics from the past under the stars at Australia's best and largest outdoor cinema. Tonight features the wonderful Australian film Red Dog. Besides the movie, there will be a display of classic Australian film posters.

    Time: 8pm – 10.30pm

    Cost: $19 adults; $14 children and students

    When it comes to medical care, many patients and doctors believe “more is better.” But what they do not realize is that overtreatment—too many scans, too many blood tests, too many procedures—may bring harm. Sometimes a test leads you down a path to more and more testing, some of which may be attacking, or to treatment for things that should be left out.

    Terrence Power, for example, complained that after his wife learned she had Wegener's disease, an uncommon disorder of the immune system(免疫系统), they found it difficult to refuse testing recommended by her doctor. The doctor insisted on office visits every three weeks, even when she was feeling well. He frequently ordered blood tests and X-rays, and repeatedly referred her to experts for even minor complaints. Even when tests came back negative, more were ordered, and she was hospitalized as prevention when she developed a cold. She had as many as 25 doctor visits during one six-month period. The couple was spending about $30,000 a year for her care.

    After several years of physical suffering and near financial ruin from the medical costs, the couple began questioning the treatment after discussing with other patients in online support groups. “It's a really hard thing to determine when doctors have crossed the line,” Mr. Power said. “You think she's getting the best care in the world, but after a while you start to wonder: What is the purpose?” Mr. Power then spoke with his own primary care doctor, who advised him to find a new expert to oversee Mrs. Power's care. Under the new doctor's care, the regular testing stopped and Mrs. Power's condition was stable. Now she sees the doctor only four or five times a year.

    Opened in September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland is the second Disney Park in Asia. It experienced a difficult time upon its opening. The Park, as well as two themed hotels, was built on Lantau Island.

    The Park opened to strong competition in the form of Ocean Park. Hong Kong Disneyland is one of only two parks in Hong Kong, which has become one of the world's leading cities in recent years. It kept Chinese cultural traditions in mind when they built the Park to avoid a cultural backlash (抵制). Designers added to the custom of Feng Shui.

    Disney and Hong Kong announced the Park in 1999, and construction (建设) began in 2003. The Park had one of the shortest construction periods in Disney history. Disney actually announced that the opening of the Park would be brought forward, from 2006 to September 2005.

    The Park attracted 5.2 million visitors in its first year, below the expected 5.6 million. There was a lack of attractions, with Fantasyland opening with just one dark ride. Summer Passes were announced to increase the number of tourists. Autopia, Stitch Encounter and it's a Small World opened between 2006 and 2008 to offer more attractions at the Park.

    The number of tourists dropped in 2007 to just over 4 million, so Disney planned a big expansion (扩大) project to attract more tourists and bring the Park back to its normal level. In July 2009, the Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed a three-land expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland, and in 2010, Toy Story Land opened.

    These new attractions have certainly paid off, with the Park earning record profit (盈利) in 2013. In that year, over 7 million guests entered the Park.

    With enough room for a second Park and the promise of more attractions to come, it seems that there is indeed a great beautiful tomorrow for Hong Kong Disneyland.

    As Artificial Intelligence(AI) becomes increasingly sophisticated(复杂的), there are growing concerns that robots could become a threat. This danger can be avoided, according to computer science Professor Stuart Russell, if we figure out how to turn human values into a programmable code.

    Russell argues that as robots take on more complicated tasks, it's necessary to translate our morals into AI language.

    For example, if a robot does chores around the house, you wouldn't want it to put the pet cat in the oven to make dinner for the hungry children. "You would want that robot preloaded with a good set of values," said Russell.

    Some robots are already programmed with basic human values. For example, mobile robots have been programmed to keep a comfortable distance from humans. Obviously there are cultural differences, but if you were talking to another person and they came up close in your personal space, you wouldn't think that's the kind of thing a properly brought-up person would do.

    It will be possible to create more sophisticated moral machines, if only we can find a way to set out human values as clear rules.

    Robots could also learn values from drawing patterns from large sets of data on human behaviour. They are dangerous only if programmers are careless.

    The biggest concern with robots going against human values is that human beings fail to so sufficient testing and they've produced a system that will break some kind of taboos(禁忌).

    One simple check would be to program a robot to check the correct course of action with a human when presented with an unusual situation.

    If the robot is unsure whether an animal is suitable for the microwave, it has the opportunity to stop, send out beeps(嘟嘟声), and ask for directions from a human. If we humans aren't quite sure about a decision, we go and ask somebody else.

    The most difficult step in programming values will be deciding exactly what we believe in moral, and how to create a set of ethical rules. But if we come up with an answer, robots could be good for humanity.

Plants, and the insects which rely on them, are the living foundations of our planet. But these foundations are under stress because we have a tendency to replace fields and forests with decorative trees and shrubs imported from around the world. Adding to the problem, our obsession (痴迷) with perfection leads us to use a lot of pesticides (杀虫剂).

These actions are part of the reason global biodiversity is crashing. There are over three billion fewer wild birds in North America than there were in 1970. Recent research shows that insect numbers, even in nature reserves, have fallen, and 40 percent of all insect species may be extinct within a few decades. This is discouraging news; however, there are actions we can take to help bring at least some species back.

The first step is to redefine our concept of "garden" to include more than just plants. We need to intentionally share our space, and not just with the birds, bees and butterflies that visit our flowers, but also with the little insects that may eat a part (very rarely all) of our plants. Therefore, we must limit pesticide use. It's crucial to support nature's recovery, and it's much better for everyone: no doctor has ever recommended long-term exposure to pesticides.

Many drought-tolerant plants brought in from across the planet are being passed off as ecofriendly. However, mostly they're not. Yes, you're saving water, but these foreign plants can become disasters when they escape our yards. Helping the environment can be about more than saving water. Even in drier areas, like the American West, the selection of attractive native plants to choose from is vast. If dry is your style, there are native wildflowers, flowering bushes and trees that allow you to save water and nature.

Xeriscapes (节水型园艺) leave many gardeners thirsting for green, and there's an important alternative that has been largely ignored. For those disenchanted with dry landscaping, using underappreciated and water-loving native plants to make your garden a real-life oasis (绿洲) could be lifesaving to wildlife. In nature, this unsung group of native plants is limited to riparian zones, the narrow belts of green along water bodies, but if consumers demand them, nurseries will increasingly carry these riparian species, and the presence of such plants in the garden will provide for many animals including not just butterflies and their relatives but also colorful birds.

The ideal garden would offer a combination of drought-tolerant native plants and a few species that need a little more water, providing options for little guests and the bigger ones that will come to eat them. As more creatures stop by to share our yards, we will be making nature, and us all, a little healthier.