A handsome middle-aged man walked quietly into the café and sat down. Before he ordered, he couldn't help but noticed a group of younger men at the table next to him. It was obvious they were making fun of something about him and it wasn't until he remembered he was wearing a small pink ribbon(丝带) on the lapel of his suit that he became aware of what the joke was all about.

The man pretended not to notice it, but the whisper and laughter began to get to him. He looked one of the rude young men straight into the eye, placed his hand beneath the ribbon and asked, “This?”

    With that the young men all began to laugh out loud. The man he spoke to said, “Hey, sorry, man, but we were just commenting on how pretty your little pink ribbon looks against your blue jacket!”

    The middle-aged man calmly invited the joker to come over to his table, and politely seated him. As uncomfortable as he was, the young guy had to, not really sure why. In a soft voice, the middle-aged man said, “I wear this ribbon to bring awareness about breast cancer. I wear it in my mother's honor.”

    “Oh, sorry. She died of breast cancer?”

    “No, she didn't. She's alive and well. But her breasts nourished me as a baby, and were a soft resting place for my head when I was scared or lonely as a little boy. I'm very grateful for my mother's breasts, and her health.”

    “Umm,” the young replied, “yeah.”

    “And I wear this ribbon to honor my wife,” the man continued.

    “And she's okay, too?” the young guy asked.

    “Oh, yes. She's fine. Her breasts have been a great source of loving pleasure for both of us, and with them she nurtured and nourished our daughter 23 years ago. I'm grateful for my wife's breasts, and her health.”

    “Uh, huh. And I guess you wear it to honor your daughter, also?”

    “No. It's too late to honor my daughter by wearing it now ……”

    Shaken and ashamed, the young guy said, “Oh, I'm so sorry, mister.”

    “So, in my daughter's memory, too, I proudly wear this little ribbon, which allows me the opportunity to enlighten others. And here…” With this, he reached in his pocket and handed the young man a little pink ribbon. The young guy looked at it, slowly raised his head and asked, “……?”

    Standing desks have become common across Silicon Valley, offering health benefits to those willing to work on their feet. However, due to their high price, they have failed to catch on until now. Recently, Ikea has brought out Bekant convertible（可变换的） standing desk that can become a normal desk at the touch of a button. The $500 adjustable desk can transform from a standard desk to a standing one, and Ikea hopes it could make the standing desk mainstream.

    Experts say that changing from a seated to a standing desk can improve productivity. Similar desks have become a common sight at tech firms such as Google, where some employees have even installed treadmill (跑步机) and bicycle desks.

    The desk is not the first “convertible” on the market. As early as 2013, Stir Kinect brought out an adjustable desk. The $3,890 Stir Kinect desk has a motor to raise and lower itself, changing it into a standing desk or a traditional desk. The desk can even be programmed to move up and down slightly, making it appear to take a gentle breath to remind the user to change their positions. To move between sitting and standing positions, owners simply double tap on the screen. The desk can learn the user's preferences over time and suggest the best seating position.

The Stir Kinect desk was created by a team of ex-Apple and Disney engineers. It has a built-in touch screen to control and track movement, and can tell users exactly how many calories they burn by standing during their working day. It also has devices containing power points and USB ports for charging phones, to keep cables hidden.

    “Ikea's height-adjustable desk is great for opening up the lower end of the market, " said JP Labrosse, founder and CEO of Stir.

    A child who suffers bullying (霸凌) usually has low self-respect and their ability to learn and be successful at school is greatly lessened. Therefore, bullying must be stopped.

    The best and most obvious way to stop bullying in schools is for parents to change the way they treat their children at home. Of course, this is much easier said than done and everyone treats their children differently. Bullies, however, come from homes where physical punishment is used and children have been taught that physical violence is the way to handle problems and “get their way”. Bullies usually also come from homes where the parents fight a lot, so they have been modeled on such violence. Parental involvement is often lacking in bullies' lives and there seems to be little warmth.

    Early intervention (干预) is truly the best way to stop bullying, but parents of the victims or therapists (治疗师) cannot alter the bully's home environment. Some things can be done at the school level, however.

    Most school programs that address bullying use a multi-faceted (多方面的) method to the problem. This usually involves the advice of some sort, either by peers, a school adviser, teachers, or the principal.

    Hand out questionnaires to all students and teachers and discuss if bullying is occurring. Define exactly what constitutes (构成) bullying at school. The questionnaire is a wonderful tool that allows the school to see how widespread bullying is and what forms it is taking. It is a good way to start to solve the problem.

    Get the children's parents involved in a bullying program. If parents of the bullies and the victims are not aware of what is going on at school, then the whole bullying program will not be effective. Stopping bullying in school takes teamwork and concentrated effort on everyone's part. Bullying also should be discussed during parent-teacher conferences and PTA meetings. Parental awareness is the key.

    In the classroom setting, all teachers should work with the students on bullying. Oftentimes even the teacher is being bullied in the classroom and a program should be set up to teach about bullying. Children understand modeling behaviors and role-play and acting out bullying situations is a very effective tool. Have students role-play a bullying situation.

    The number of insects in the world has fallen by 45 percent in the past 35 years. Scientists say this could be dangerous for humans. A report on insect numbers has been published in the journal "Science". It says the human population has doubled since 1980 while the number of insects has nearly halved. One of the biggest reasons for this loss of insects is the act of cutting down trees or burning them. Many of the places where insects live are disappearing because of new cities and land being used for farming. Another reason is global warming. Scientists say that in the UK, the number of butterflies, bees and wasps(黄蜂) has fallen by up to 60 percent. Many countries are worried about the disappearance of them.

    Scientists say the decline in insect populations will lead to many problems for humans. One of the biggest dangers is that there will be fewer insects to pollinate flowers. This means that farmers will have problems growing food. The lead author of the report, Professor Rodolfo Dirzo, said falling numbers of insects could also lead to more diseases in humans. He said rats and mice would have less food to eat so they will move to cities and bring diseases with them. Dr. Ben from London University said we needed to stop more insects from dying. He added that scientists must understand what species(物种) are winning and losing in the fight for survival. He said this knowledge would help us to protect the "helpful" insects.

    Two Chinese-themed films -- "Go Back to China" and "Baby" -- will be screened at the 20th annual Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) this week.

    The film "Go Back to China," written and directed by Chinese American filmmaker Emily Ting, tells the story of fashionista, Sasha Li, a spoiled rich girl living in the United States, who burns through her trust fund (信托基金) and is forced to return to China to work for the family toy business. The second Chinese film, "Baby" was directed by Liu Jie and produced by Shan Gao, and will be on its first show at China Onscreen Biennial. In the film, a Chinese girl, Jiang Meng, who is a lowly cleaner working in a children's hospital, swears to save a baby born with the same congenital defects(先天性缺陷) she was born with, whose father has abandoned it as too expensive to treat.

    Running from April 25 to May 2, the Newport Beach Film Festival boasts over 60 narrative films and over 200 shorts in its line-up this year. These films and shorts are carefully selected by many countries which includes China, Chile, Ireland, South Korea, Europe, Japan, South America and Australia. Film fans are invited to attend the Pacific Rim Showcase Party this Wednesday, honoring the best in Chinese, Asian and Australian filmmaking.

    NBFF Executive Director, Gregg Schwenk, said of the festival," This year, the theme is the Power of Ideas. We've always focused on diverse, strong filmmaking, and we're most proud of how we've been embraced, not just by our audience, but by the filmmaking community."

    “Who made your T-shirt?” A Harvard University student raised that question. Piertra Rivoli, a professor of business, wanted to find the answer. A few weeks later, she bought a T-shirt and began to follow its path form Texas cotton, to Chinese factory and to charity bin (慈善捐赠箱). The result is an interesting new book, The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy.

    Following a T-shirt around the world in a way to make her point more interesting, but it also frees Rivoli from the usual arguments over global trade. She goes wherever the T-shirt goes, and there are surprises around every corner. In China, Rivoli shows why a clothing factory, even with its poor conditions, means a step towards a better care for the people who work there. In the colorful used-clothing markets of Tanzania, she realizes that, “it is only in this final stage of life that the T-shirt will meet a real market,” where the price of a shirt changes by the hour and is different by its size and even color. Rivoli's book is full of memorable people and scenes, like the noise, the bad air and the “muddy sweet smell of the cotton,” she says. “Here in the factory, Shanghai smells like shallow water Texas.”

    Rivoli is at her best when making those sorts of unexpected connections. She even finds one between the free traders and those who are against globalization. The chances opened up by trade are vast, she argues, but free markets need the correcting force of politics to keep them in check. True economic progress needs them both.