Chinese e-commerce websites fail to pay more attention to older consumers, says a news report.

    There's been a thought that younger consumers have been the driving force of online buying. That may not be the case. According to a statement from Alipay, the average expenditure (支出) of Alipayusers born before the 1960s was 31,000 yuan in 2012, much higher than 14,000 yuan of those born after the 1980s. It shows that online shopping has become akey part of people's daily consumption, for both young and old.

    Besides shopping, people pay bills such as water bill, electricity bill, and credit card repayment online. The middle-aged and senior consumers are also participating in that consumption revolution.

    Liu Chen, 56, said that his online expenditure in 2014 was over 50,000 yuan, about half of the total annual expenditure. He always pays his telephone bill online. Clothes, electrical appliances and kids' snacks are themain items he purchases online.

    Liu's shopping strategy is to find something good online first, then go to shops to check it out, and finally buy it online because it is cheaper. As quality concerns him, Liu only buys items that come with aguarantee.

    Stories such as those from Liu are representative of millions of middle-aged and older Chinese, which show the great potential of the aged inthe Chinese consumption market. Yet, the market seems not to be valued as it should be.

    Some Chinese e-commerce websites such as jd. com, dangdang. comand amazon. cn don't have a category for goods for the elderly on their mainpages. Alibaba's platform does have one, but the goods in it are not as abundant as other categories. Moreover, Taobao's category is not really designed for elders, but their children.

    Despite the seeming lack of commitment to older consumers, the Chinese market for the elderly is clearly huge, and e-commerce websites should takegreat efforts to develop it.

    The Leaning Tower of Pisa was straight like a pole when the construction began in 1173. It started to shift direction soon after construction because of poor foundation in addition to the loose layer of subsoil(底土). At the beginning, it leaned to the southeast before the shaky foundation started to shift leaning towards the southwest. After the period of structural strengthening at the beginning of the 21^st century, now the Leaning Tower of Pisa leans at an angle of 3.97 degrees.

    In 1178, the shift in direction was observed for the first time when the construction had progressed further to the third floor. The tower was heavy for the three-meter foundation that was built on a weak area of land.

    For compensating(补偿) the leaning position, the builders started to construct the upper floors with one side higher than the other one. This caused the tower to lean in the other direction. This unusual structure led to the tower being actually curved. In spite of these efforts, the tower kept on leaning.

    The government of Italy started to plan prevention of the complete collapse of the tower in 1964. However, a request was put forward by the authorities to keep the leaning position because of the tourism industry of the region.

    After nearly two decades of careful planning by engineers, historians and mathematicians, the stabilization efforts for the Leaning Tower of Pisa started in 1990. The tower was closed for the general public and the people living nearby moved away. For reducing the total weight of the tower, its seven bells which represented the seven musical notes were removed. The tower was reopened for the general public on December 15, 2001.

    In May 2008, after removing another 70 metric tons of earth, the engineers announced that the tower had been finally stabilized and it would remain stable for at least 200 years.

    One fine afternoon I was walking along Fifth Avenue when I remembered that it was necessary to buy a pair of socks. I turned into the first sock shop that caught my eye, and a boy clerk who could not have been more than 17 years old came forward.

    “What can I do for you, sir?”

    “I wish to buy a pair of socks.”

    His eyes glowed. “Did you know that you had come into the best place in the world to buy socks?” I had not been aware of that.

    “Come with me,” said the boy happily. He began to haul (用力拖) down from the shelves box after box.

    “Hold on, boy, I am going to buy only one pair!”

    “I know that,” said he, “but I want you to see how beautiful these are. Aren't they wonderful?” There was on his face an expression of joy, as if he were showing to me the mysteries of his religion.

    “My friend,” said I, “if this is not just the enthusiasm (热情) that comes from novelty (新鲜), if you can keep up this day after day, in ten years you will own every sock in the United States.”

    In many shops the customer has to wait for someone to serve him. And when finally some clerk does notice you, you are made to feel as if you were disturbing him. He displays no interest either in you or in the goods he is paid to sell.

    Yet possibly that very clerk who is now so cold began his career with enthusiasm. As time goes by, the enthusiasm is gradually gone; his only pleasures were found outside of working hours. He became a mechanical (机械的), not inspired, salesman.

    I have observed such change in the lives of so many people in so many occupations that I have come to the conclusion that the fastest road to failure is to do things mechanically.

    ◆The Big Cake Show comes to the WestPoint Arena in Exeter, England, March 21-22. Hopefully, cakes of all sizes will be on sale and on show. An impressive list of famous people sharing their great knowledge and skill includes Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood and Gregg Wallace. Tickets, from ￡12, are available online (bigcakeshow.com).

    ◆From January 17 to March 8, RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey, England has some special guests to brighten the winter: beautiful butterflies. The Glasshouse introduces a group of butterflies from other countries feeding on fruit and the juice-rich plants of the Exotic Zone. Tickets for adults are ￡13.20, for children are ￡6.60. For a family with 2 adults and 2 children, they should pay ￡32.75 in total. For groups of more than 10 adults, each should pay ￡10.80 (rhs. org.uk/wisley).

    ◆The week-long London Wine Week starts from May 18. Buy a ￡5 wristband to qualify for a pocket-sized guidebook and discounted wine around the capital. Partnering with London' s best bars and restaurants, we will be organizing events such as master classes and meet-the -maker time, plus offering discounts to wristband wearers (londonwineweek.com).

    ◆The World Shakespeare Festival begins in April, with everything from foreign productions of Shakespearean plays at Shakespeare's Globe to Shakespearean plays at the Royal Opera House. Plays will run until the end of the year in London, Birmingham, Newcastle and Gateshead. And there' s a programme of events such as director talks and family workshops. Prices start from ￡60 (worldshakespearefestival.org. uk).

    Should you work out in the gym in the morning instead of in the evening? It all depends. Of course, there are advantages of working out(运动) in the morning.

    You will increase your energy for the rest of the day. “Morning workouts result in better energy levels throughout the day and give you more mental sharpness,” says Dr. Cedrie Byrant, Chief Science Officer of the American Council on Exercise.

    Here is another advantage. In 2017, health researchers found that exercising in the morning helps you sleep better at night. According to the study, in all cases, those who exercised at 7:00am experienced about a 10 percent drop in blood pressure that carried through the rest of the day. They also had about a 25 percent drop in blood pressure at night, slept longer and had more beneficial sleep cycles than when they exercised at other times of the day.

    However, there are disadvantages, too.

    If you are not an early riser, getting out of the bed in the morning can be very difficult. Byran says that if you're not used to exercising in the morning and force yourself to get up, you may not put as much effort into the exercise as you would later in the day. Also, if you aren't careful, you can damage your sleep schedule, which can lead to insufficient sleep.

    Besides, hitting the gym before work can cause a challenge in terms of scheduling. If you work a 9-to-5 job, getting ready for work and going to work can cut your morning workout short, Byrant notes.

    To sum up, it has both advantages and disadvantages. If it suits you better to work out in the morning, you can do so.

    Everyone likes living in a clean and comforting environment. If the environment are bad, it will affect our body, and make us not feel well. Sometimes we may be terribly ill. At that time we don't want to work, and we have to stay in bed and rest at home. So the environment is very important to us.

    It's germs that makes us ill. There are germs everywhere, They are very small and you can't find them with your own eyes, but you can see them with a microscope They are very small and there may be hundreds of them on a very small thing, Germs can always be found in dirty water. When we look at dirty water under the microscope, we shall see them in it. Germs can also be found in air and dust. If you cut your finger, some of the dust from the floor may go into it, and you will have much pain in it. Sometimes the germs will go into all of your body, and you will have pain everywhere.

    To keep us healthy, we should try our best to make our environment become cleaner and tidier. This needs us to act together.