Do you want to make a difference in your community? The Verizon App Challenge can get you started. The first step is to think of a problem in your community. The next step is to create an app that can solve the problem.

    Group of five to seven students in middle school or high school, led by a teacher, can enter the contest. First, teams will compete on a local level. Teams that make it to the next round receive $ 5,000 for their schools. Finalists present their app ideas to judges in a live web conference. Next, the judges pick national winners. The top eight teams receive an additional $ 15,000 for their schools, and each team member receives a Samsung tablet. Plus, the winning teams get the chance to bring their app to life.

    A group of six girls from Los Frenos, Texas won the second annual Verizon App Challenge. They came up with the Hello Navi app concept, short for “hello navigation”. The app was designed to help visually impaired (受损的) students navigate (导航) their school. Do you have an app idea that could help solve a local issue? The deadline to register (登记) is November 24. Find more information and register your team at verizonfoundation.org/appchallenge.

Here are some tips from the Verizon Foundation to get you started:

    Get your team together for a brainstorming meeting. Write out all the ideas that conic to mind. Don't ignore challenges. Accept the idea that you can solve a problem that exists in your community. Ask family, friends and people in your community to share their thoughts about problems that they want to see solved.

    In the early times,the music industry was terrified of taping,thinking that customers would just copy music,or record from the radio.But that never really happened,at least not enough to cause any real hardship to anyone in the music business.

    The same argument arose over technologies like miniDisc and recordable CDs.But the thing that terrified the music industry more than anything else was the arrival of services like Napster,which allowed people to share music over the Internet without costing them anything.The music industry was shocked: it saw people exchanging digital copies that didn't degrade（降级）with each transfer,something that kept tapes from being a huge threat.

    But it wasn't the Internet that killed the music industry.In fact,everything is still looking optimistic for many musicians.Taylor Swift has had a good year,and her latest album is likely to be making her very wealthy indeed.And that won't change in all likelihood,not for Swift,and not for those who come after her.There is always going to be public demand for music.

    However,the technology will simply destroy the record company.The reason is simple.Record companies are a man in the middle that simply doesn't need to exist anymore.The same way we buy our flights directly did get our shopping online and have things delivered from Amazon instead of going to a local shop.We have always been willing to enjoy cost reductions at the expense of the middleman and the record companies are that kind of middleman.

    What does the record industry offer?Well,surprisingly little these days.It used to be the case that record companies would go and find new talents.Of course this still happens,but more likely is that an artist will be discovered by the public through YouTube,or even from friends on Facebook or Twitter.Record companies also used to have an important role in producing the music.But countless artists are making their own way through software or any of the other amazing music development apps,without any help from the record companies.

    One of the simplest and the most effective forms of communication involves nothing more than the movement of facial muscles. What am I talking about? Smiling! Everyone understands what a smile means, and everyone also understands what a frown means. In fact, these two basic facial expressions can be recognized across countries, across the world and across the globe, regardless of the language spoken or the culture lived in.

    Moreover, hugs are so beautiful! When you give someone a hug or someone comes up and gives you a hug, this simple act of a hug can “speak” volumes about how much you care for the other person, how much love you want to share with the other person, how much you have missed the other person. This hug has so much to say, and yet there never has to be any words spoken.

    And, who needs to say the words “yes” or “no” when a movement of the head says the same thing. These basic examples show just how powerful body language can be. Just knowing how to read and use body language effectively, makes it really easy to see why it is not always a bad thing to be lost for words.

    Body language in the world of love is a very common thing and sometimes the only thing. And, most of the time, body language is the very first words “spoken” before any words are. The old saying is “love at first sight”, not “love at first word”. Across a crowded room, their eyes meet and linger, he winks at her, and she raises an eyebrow. The connection is made without any words needed. These displays of body language say it all. In fact, sometimes they can say more than words can.

    The following are the top things to do in Tampa Bay on the weekend.

    In an effort to inform our citizens to clear the street snow, the city adopts a snow removal plan.

    Routes used by City Emergency Services come first. Secondly, connector streets will be cleared which allow citizens the greatest access to public roads. And thirdly, roads within neighborhoods will be cleared.

    Snow removal and ice control will start when:

    Snow accumulates 4 inches or more.

    Weather conditions do not endanger the safety of road crew.

    Snow falls during peak traffic periods of heavy use of main streets.

    Snow and ice removal will be delayed or cancelled when:

    There is severe cold, significant wind and limited visibility.

    The snowfall occurs on the weekend or a holiday and is not considered a threat to public safety. In that case, snow and ice removal may take place on the next normal weekday.

    Snow and ice may be left on roadways if melting is obvious.

    Your cooperation is requested during snow removal and these suggestions may apply:

    Limit travel during storms. Travel is possible once roads have been cleared or salted by the road crew

    Avoid removing snow from your driveway into the road. Pile the snow in your yard.

    Park your vehicles in your driveways and off the road or walks.

    Keep public sidewalks next to your house clear of snow and ice.

    Be responsible for removing this snow which is thrown by the snow plough(犁) from your driveways. Hopefully, you can understand this inconvenience.

    When you were at school, the last thing you probably wanted to do was spend your weekends going to work. There was homework to do, sport to play and fun to have. But our parents probably persuaded us to find a job to earn some money and get some life experience. When I was a teenager I had a paper round: delivering newspapers to people's homes. I then progressed to a Saturday job in a supermarket: stacking shelves and working at the checkout.

    Today in the UK you are allowed to work from the age of 13, and many children do take up part-time jobs. It's one of those things that are seen almost as a rite of passage(成人仪式).It's a taste of independence and sometimes a useful thing to put on your CV(简历).Teenagers agree that it teaches valuable lessons about working with adults and also about managing their money.

    Some research has shown that not taking up a Saturday or holiday job could be deleterious to a person later on. A 2015 study by the UK Commission on Employment and Skills found that not participating in part-time work at school age had been blamed by employer's organizations for young adults being ill-prepared for full-time employment, but despite this, recent statistics have shown that the number of schoolchildren in the UK with a part-time job has fallen by a fifth in the past five years.

    So, does this mean that British teenagers are now afraid of hard work? Probably not. Some experts feel that young people feel going out to work will affect their performance at school, and they are under more pressure now to study hard and get good exam results-and a good job in the long term. However, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told BBC News that "Properly regulated(控制的)part-time work is a good way of helping young people learn skills that they will need in their working lives." In reality, it's all about getting the right balance between doing part-time work and having enough time to study and rest.