Modern smart phones are fast becomingthe must-have item. But what's in store for the next generation of smart phones?

    Tired of carrying around that heavy wallet? Soon you won't need to! The next generation of smart phones will have NFC technology, which lets you pay for things with your smart phones. All youdo is enter your credit card information into your phone. Then, when you are ina shop that allows NFC payments, you just wave your phone over a special instrument at the checkout. The purchase is instantly charged to your creditcard.

    Ever seen someone wearing something and wished you knew where to get it? Soon it will be easy with PicCommerce, new technology that uses image-recognition software. Here's how it works. If yousee something you like, simply take a photo of it with your smart phone. Then, your phone will send the image to a special server, which will respond with information about where you can buy it and how much it will cost.

    Sick of your smart phone battery going flat? With so many applications draining (消耗) the battery, the latest phones need tobe charged every day. But next generation smart phones will come with built-inchips that can connect to an antenna (天线) in your home. And as long as your phone is within range of the antenna, you will be able to charge your smart phone wirelessly, even if it is in your pocket.

    Worried about getting your smart phoneswet in the rain? A company called Hz0 has invented Water Block, new technologythat makes your phone completely water proof. And it's so effective that your phone will even work under water.

    Fed up with carrying a heavy phone around? Soon, you will be able to get a Paper Phone! “Flexible phones are the future,” said scientist Roel Vertegaal. So, what are the benefits of flexible phones? Well, it means that instead of carrying your phone in your pocket, you could wear it wrapped around your wrist, for example.

    Of course, there is just the problem: with so much new smart phone technology around, you will soon need to buy a newphone!

Dear young musicians,

    Thank you for agreeing to take part in our Music Day. The whole idea of the day is for music students around the area to meet other players and receive expert teaching from our guests, six professional players. In the evening,you will perform the pieces you have worked on during the day at a concert which your friends and family can attend

    After you have registered（注册) at the reception,go to the main hall. First,there will be a short performance by our professional musicians who are joining us for the day. After this you will go into your classes to practice on your own instruments for the evening concert. There will also be a chance to experiment with a different institiment from the one you normally play,and see if you enjoy playing something more unusual — we have several instruments to choose from!

    The first part of the day will finish at 5 pm,when parents can collect students. For those remaining in the hall until the evening concert at 7 pm,there will be DVDs for you to watch,although you should also bring something to do while you are waiting. A change ot clothes is required for the evening — black trousers or a skirt and white top — so unless you are going home at 5 pm,you will need to have this with you at the start of the day.

    If for whatever reason you cannot attend the evening concert, you must tell us as soon as possible, as we need to know numbers in order to prepare the stage. We look forward to seeing you at the Young People's Music Day.

    Around the world there are some festivals that for some of us may sound bizarre.

    In England they celebrate the rolling cheese race, which occurs every year during the last Monday in May. This festival's characteristic is a contest where an official rolls cheese down a steep hill and festival- goers go chasing after it. The winner is the first one to reach and catch the cheese.

    Another festival celebrated in England is the world championship of grimaces (鬼脸). It is a celebration that dates back to 1297 and is celebrated during the month of September. The task is to perform the best grimace using anything you can to win.

    The worldwide championship of wife lifting is celebrated in Finland. The game is based on Viking traditions where a man should carry away his neighbor's wife. According to the rules, any woman above 17 is considered as a wife, so if you are within this age, take care while visiting this country during the month of July.

    Many of you have watched Pirates of the Caribbean and have known something about pirates. The 19^th of September has been declared worldwide as the day to talk like a pirate. Plenty of people have celebrated it thanks to the publicity (宣传) on the Internet.

    First staged in 1998, the Boryeong Mud Festival is an attraction that pulls more than a million visitors to the South Korean City. As you all know, the town is said to be rich in minerals, so there is no shortage of mud. Mud is trucked onto Daecheon Beach for tourists and locals to enjoy the festival to their best.

    The Monkey Buffet Festival is held in Thailand to develop tourism. It's an unusual feast held for about 600 monkeys. The Monkey Buffet Festival is held in honor of the Hindu gods Ram and Hanuman and involves 3,000 kilograms of vegetables and fruits being laid out for monkeys to stuff themselves.

    Honeybees can do three kinds of jobs.

    It is one of the most unusual insects in the world. Bees are special because they divide up their honeybee work. Each bee has a certain job to do.

    The busiest bee is the worker. Workers build the nest, called a hive. Inside the hive, workers make a honeycomb from wax(蜂蜡). They store honey there for food. Workers are always cleaning and fixing the hive. They even stand at the opening and fan their wings to cool the hive. Worker bees will attack anything—even people—to keep their hive safe, if need.

    Another kind of bee is the drone(雄蜂). Drones are male bees, and their job is to fly with the queen bee and mate with her. After the queen mates, the worker bees drive the drones away. The drones then starve to death.

    The third kind of bee is the queen. Each hive needs only one queen, and her job is laying eggs. She can lay as many as 2, 000 eggs a day.

    After some blood tests, Dr Stubs stood before me, a tall man, but short on personality and sporting a cold expression. You have systemic lupus, he said matter-of-factly. "Lupus," he continued, "is an auto-immune disease and …." I remember certain details but mostly I remember him talking about children. "Children are no harm. But childbirth would jumpstart additional symptoms that could be life threatening. You already have two kids anyway."

    As I got up to leave, shaken and drained, he said his parting words, "I would discourage any further research. There is no cure and nothing can prevent its progression."

    Still, I did research lupus and its symptoms tiredness and joint pain-were both consistent with what I was experiencing. And eventually some major organs could be affected, causing shutdown and possibly death.

    I studied and found out that echinacea had a record in making immune system stronger. I decided that along with the plant I would strengthen my mindset by immersing myself in my family with my one-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.

    After another visit, I decided never to go back to Dr. Stubs. How could one endure repeatedly hear desperately words coming from an emotionless mouth even though they were truth? The years passed. When I would feel tired and achy I pulled support from my children and their laughter.

    Finally, after eight years, I went to Dr. Kirstein who was recommended by a friend. She stood there holding my hand and looking into my eyes warmly.

    "So let's talk a little

    Instantly my defenses were down. Before I knew it, she had me running on and on about my children, my husband, my life and dreams. I told her about all the meaningful activities I was involved in, those things I might have never done without the disease.

    After several follow-up tests, and greater research into my family history, Dr. Kirsteincame to conclusive answer. I did not have systemic lupus. There must be something wrong with the initial tests 8 years before.

    I didn't know whether I should jump for joy or scream because I had been living the last eight years in fear of a fatal disease. But then I realized that I had been living every day, not so much in fear, but happiness Even day was a gift and I knew it.

The Big Ben is located in the tower at the eastern end of the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, Greater London. It was designed by Edmund Beckett and Baron Grimthorpe.

The Big Ben is very famous throughout the world, but nobody really knows why it is called Big Ben. There are two hearsays about this. Some people say that it was named after Benjamin Caunt, a boxer, who was called Big Ben. More people believe it was called after Welshman, Sir Benjamin Hall. He was the commissioner(特派员)of the work at the time of its installation in 1859. A story was told that during a debate in the Commons on what to call the bell, Sir Benjamin was about to give his ideas when a MP who sat behind the front bench shouted, "Let's call it Big Ben!" Then this name came into being.

The bell hasn't gone through a smooth road since the beginning of its design. Because there was great disagreement about the design of the clock. It took fifteen years to build. In 1857, the bell was completed and tested on the ground, but a four-foot crack appeared and the bell had to be cast again. Finally, the clock started ticking on 31 May, 1859, and struck its first chime(报时)on 11, July. Then in September, the bell cracked again. It was silent for four years but was eventually turned a quarter of a revolution(旋转). In this way, the crack was not under the striking hammer. Craftsmen made a square above the crack to stop it growing longer and it can still be seen today.

The Big Ben is famous not only for its 13-ton weight, but also for its accuracy(准确性) which is a result of its precise mechanism(机械装置). Even one extra penny's weight on the balance will cause a gain of two fifths of a second in twenty-four hours. Although there have been several problems, the bell is still striking today. Its chimes can be heard all over the world on the B. B. C.