What's your dream vacation? Watching wildlife in Kenya? Boating down the Amazon? Sunbathing in Malaysia? New chances are opening up all the time to explore the world.So we visit travel agents, compare packages and prices, and pay our money.

    We know what our vacation costs us.But do we know what it might cost someone else?It's true that many poorer countries now depend on tourism for foreign income.Unfortunately,though.tourism often harms the local people more than it helps them

    It might cost their homes and lands.In Myanmar.5.200 people were forced to leave their homes among the pagodas(佛塔）in Bagan so that tourists could visit the pagodas.

    Tourism might also cost the local people their livelihood（生计）and dignity（尊严）.Local workers often find only jobs with slim salaries in the tourist industry.And most of the profits（利润）do not help the local economy. Instead,profits return to the tour operators in wealthier countries,When the Maasai people in Tanzania were driven（驱赶）from their lands,some moved to city slums.Others now make a little money selling souvenirs or posing(摆姿势）for photos.

    Problems like these were observed more than 20 years ago.But now some non-government organizations,tour operators and local governments are working together to begin correcting them.Tourists,too,are putting on the pressure.

    The result is responsible tourism,or ethical tourism.Ethical tourism has people at its heart.New international agreements and codes of conduct（行为准则）can help protect the people's lands homes,economies and cultures.The beginnings are small,though,and the problems are complex.

    But take heart. The good news is that everyone,including us,can play a part to help the local people in the places we visit Tour operators and companies can help by making sure that local people work in good conditions and earn reasonable wages.

    They can make it a point to use only locally owned hotel restaurants and guide services.They can share profits fairly to help the local economy And they can involve the local people in planning and managing tourism.

    What can tourists do? First, we can ask tour companies to provide information about the conditions of local citizens.We can then make our choices and tell them why. And while we're abroad, we can: Buy local foods and products, not imported ones.

    Pay a fair price for goods and services and not bargain for the cheapest price.

    Avoid flaunting wealth.

    Ask before talking photographs of people.They are not just part of the landscape!

    Let's enjoy our vacation and make sure others do,too.

    In its early history, Chicago had floods frequently, especially in the spring, making the streets so muddy that people, horses, and carts got stuck. An old joke that was popular at the time went something like this: A man is stuck up to his waist in a muddy Chicago street. Asked if he needs help, he replies,“No, thanks. I've got a good horse under me.”

    The city planners decided to build an underground drainage(排水) system, but there simply wasn't enough difference between the height of the ground level and the water level. The only two options were to lower the Chicago River or raise the city.

    An engineer named Ellis Chesbrough convinced the city that it had no choice but to build the pipes above ground and then cover them with dirt. This raised the level of the city's streets by as much as 12 feet.

    This of course created a new problem: dirt practically buried the first floors of every building in Chicago. Building owners were faced with a choice: either change the first floors of their buildings into basements, and the second stories into main floors, or hoist the entire bulidings to meet the new street level. Small wood-frame buildings could be lifted fairly easily. But what about large, heavy structures like the Tremont Hotel, which was a six-story brick building?

    That's where George Pullman came in. He had developed some house-moving skills successfully. To lift a big structure like Tremont Hotel, Pullman would place thousands of jackscrews(螺旋千斤顶) beneath the building's foundation. One man was assigned to operate each section of roughly 10 jackscrews. At Pullman's signal each man turned his jackscrew the same amount at the same time, thereby raising the building slowly and evenly. Astonishingly, the Tremont Hotel stayed open during the entire operation, and many of its guests didn't even notice anything was happening.

    Some people like to say that every problem has a solution. But in Chicago's early history, every engineering solution seemed to create a new problem. Now that Chicago's waste water was draining efficiently into the Chicago River, the city's next step was to clean the polluted river.

    When we do something, we all have our own plans. Some people are born planners. I can't claim (宣称) to be one of that kind of people. Most of the time, I try to at least expect what might go wrong. I have taken to making lists and, although I'm not yet achieving perfection, I usually manage to achieve goals. But there are times when even the best plans do not succeed. All that is left then is to smile and to make or do something using whatever is found.

Hanukkah (光明节) came early this year, perhaps too soon after Thanksgiving to allow us to prepare well. During the first night of Hanukkah, the Hanukkah candles were nowhere to be found in the entire Dallas area where we lived. Birthday candles wouldn't work! The tall long thin candle fell in small drops. "What would our ancestors do?" I thought. "What shall I do now? That's where ingenuity comes from. Don't be nervous and worried. Never let missing candles spoil a family celebration." Later what we did find was a bag of tea lights. The long, silver bread tray became the base for our tea lights. The younger ones were wide-eyed and happy as Grandpa lit the first tea light and all recited the blessing. We sat at the dining table, happy to be together and the food was plentiful.

    No matter how imperfect it is, the fact that families gather to share a special event, an event that has held meaning for so many generations of families, is the meaning itself and forms the important part of the observance (仪式). What we need to remember, and to carry with us, is the knowledge that togetherness is much better than all other concerns.

    What a lesson for me! It was August and it was hot. I had to wear a tie to do a survey door by door in this neighbourhood, but I was always refused. I finally caught on and began with “Before you close the door, I am not selling anything and I just need to ask a few questions about yourself and the community”.

    The young woman inside the doorway stopped for a moment, confused by my rude introduction and finally said, “Sure. Come on in. Don't mind the mess. It's hard to keep up with my kids.”

    “I just need to ask a few questions about yourself and your family. Although this may sound personal, I won't need to use your names. This information will be used.” She interrupted me. “Would you like a glass of cold water? You look like you've had a rough day.” “Why yes!” I said gratefully. Just as she returned with the water, a man came walking in the front door. It was her husband. “Joe, this man is here to do a survey.” I stood and politely introduced myself.

    “Joe works for the town,” she said. “What do you do?” I asked. She jumped right in not letting him answer. “Joe collects garbage. You know I'm so proud of him.”

    There was a silence. I didn't know what to say. I shook my head searching for the right words. “That's unbelievable! Most people would not be satisfied with a job like that. It certainly is a difficult one. But your attitude about it is amazing.” I said.

    She walked over to the shelf. As she returned she held a small framed（装裱）paper, walking toward Joe. “I have always been proud of him and always will be. You see I don't think the job makes the man, but the man makes the job!” she said as she handed me the paper.

    It said: If a man is called to be a cleaner, he should clean streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, “Here lived a great cleaner who did his job well.”

    With the development of our society, cell phones have become a common part in our lives. Have you ever run into a careless cell phone user on the street? Maybe they were busy talking, texting or checking updates on WeChat without looking at what was going on around them. As the number of this new "species" of human has kept rising, they have been given a new name—phubbers (低头族).

    Recently a cartoon created by students from China Central Academy of Fine Arts put this group of people under the spotlight. In the short film, phubbers with various social identities bury themselves in their phones. A doctor plays with his cell phone while letting his patient die, a pretty woman takes a selfie (自拍) in front of a car accident site, and a father loses his child without knowing about it while using his mobile phone. A chain of similar events finally leads to the destruction(毁灭) of the world.

    Although the ending of the film sounds unrealistic, the damage phubbing can bring is real. Your health is the first to bear the effect and result of it. "Always bending your head to check your cell phone could damage your neck," Guangming Daily quoted doctors' words. "The neck is like a rope that breaks after long-term stretching." Also, staring at cell phones for a long time will damage your eyesight gradually, according to the report.

    But that's not all. Being a phubber could also damage your social skills and drive you away from your friends and family. When getting together with family or friends, many people prefer to play their cell phones while others are chatting happily with each other and this creates a strange atmosphere, Qilu Evening News reported.

    It can also cost your life. There have been lots of reports on phubbers who fell to their death, suffered accidents, and were robbed of their cell phones in broad daylight.

    Susan couldn't help it. She and her friends began lunch with cheese. Then they ate cheeseburgers and drank milk. Things seemed fine, but then suddenly Susan's stomach started making noise. Her stomach hurt, and, racing to the restroom, she had terrible gas! She was so ashamed. She had been so excited to go to lunch with her friends that she totally forgot to watch how many dairy products (奶制品) she ate! Susan is lactose intolerant (乳糖不耐受的), and eating too many dairy foods can make her feel really sick.

    Lactose intolerance means that the body can't easily digest (消化) a special sugar called lactose. Unfortunately for Susan and millions of other people with this problem, lactose is found in almost all dairy products — cheese, milk and ice cream.

    Our body uses lactase (乳糖酵素) to break lactose into a simpler form of sugar. Once lactose is broken down, it's easy to digest and it provides great energy for the body. But people like Susan don't have enough lactase to break down all the lactose they take in. So, about half an hour to two hours after eating dairy­rich foods, their stomachs begin to hurt and they have gas, making their stomachs get bigger. Sometimes they even get diarrhea (腹泻) when they eat too many dairy foods.

    So how can someone living with this problem still eat out with his or her friends? Here are some tips. If you're going to eat a dairy­rich food like ice cream, eat something that doesn't have any dairy with it, like a salad or a sandwich without cheese. This will help slow digestion, and your body will have time to create more lactase.