A. Practice makes perfect.
B. Every minute counts.
C. Failure is the mother of success.
D. A good beginning is half done.
E. It is never too old to learn.

    Members of an international organization are called the Global Greeters. They offer travelers the chance to get to know a city as well as local people do.

    Unlike the professional guides(专业导游), the volunteer greeters act more like neighbours. They take visitors to visit the city–either on foot or public traffic—to discover favourite neighbourhoods, cafes and parks.

    All the programs work a little differently, but the basics(基本项目) are the same. The tours are free and last anywhere for two or four hours. Volunteers can be all ages, and their ages and interests try to match the travelers.

    New York City(USA)

    Big Apple Greeter is the pioneer “welcome visitor” program founded in 1992 by New Yorker Lynn Brooks. More than 300 volunteers now can welcome guests from all over the world in 22 languages. Greeters explain the New York City subway and bus systems and show guests around one or more of their favourite neighbourhoods. Like many greeter organizations, Big Apple accepts online donations to help with its daily costs.

    Houston(USA)

    Houston Greeters will organize activities such as golf, biking or an outing to an Astros game(太空人队的比赛). Another activity is to arrange a tour in need of a particular interest.

    Chicago(USA)

    Chicago Greeters help visitors visit one of the city's many famous neighbourhoods. The group organizes walks through Ukrainian Village on the Near North Side and Andersonville, home to Scandinavian restaurants and shops and Middle Eastern bakeries. Guides will also organize tours around themes such as fashion, film or public art.

    France

    In France, English speaking volunteers for Parisien d'un Jour lead visitors through hidden corners of Paris, often ending with a lively discussion on a café balcony. Guides in Lyon organize walks around themes such as shopping, markets and sports.

Thumbs Down to Texting (屈指发短信)

    Do you have a mobile phone? Do you send text messages to your friends and family?

    Text messaging or “texting” is becoming very popular. But, scientists have discovered that texting can give us problems with our hands. Be careful! Too much texting can cause swelling in our thumbs. Our thumbs were not made for pushing small buttons, over and over. Scientists call this problem RSI. We spoke to a doctor called Harriet Wilson, who treats many sick people with RSI. She says we need to see how much time we are spending in typing text messages. If we are spending more than 10-15 minutes at once, we could have problems in the future.

    As mobile phones develop, they are getting smaller with buttons closer together. Texting with a smaller phone is worse than using a larger phone with bigger buttons. Using a computer keyboard and playing video games can cause the same problem. So more and more people could find themselves with RSI. Among them, most are university students and teenagers, as they do not know the risks of spending so much time using computer, video games and mobile phones. If we don't do something about this, too many young people could grow up in terrible pain.

    Qu Juanru is the official inheritor(官方传承人)of Jiaxing City Tongxiang flower—drum opera. She began to be on the stage when she was a teenager." My mother died when I was 14. I've lived with my father since then. In the old days, women were not allowed to perform opera. However, my father always supported me when I tried to sing." Qu said.

    Qu started performing in the local troupe(剧团)called Aimin Flower—Drum Opera. Later, the troupe was disbanded (解散), and she went back to farming.

    After that, the young girl tried to set up the troupe several times but failed. She really lived a hard life at that time. But she didn't give up.

    In 2001, some developers planned to rebuild Wuzhen. They thought a place which has no culture is of little significance(意义).So they wanted to bring back local customs, including the Tongxiang flower—drum opera. Qu was their only hope.

    Knowing she could sing again, Qu was so excited. Whether it's cold or hot. Qu always gives her everything on stage in Wuzhen. She has six rounds(场)of performing every day and each round lasts 30 minutes. In 2017, she was badly ill, yet it didn't stop her.

    "I can still sing and perform. I'd love to be here." Qu said. In her opinion，opera life is a wonderful dream that can't be missed.