While the U.S. is still debating about getting rid of the penny, Sweden is rapidly moving towards abolishing currency altogether. Though this may sound radical(过激的), it is a natural evolution in this digital society.

    Sweden, which was the first European country to introduce banknotes in 1661, has just been working harder to convince its residents that digital payments are a safer alternative to carrying cash.

    Over the years, the idea has gained popularity with residents, especially the younger generation that is much more comfortable with technology. Today many banks don't even have ATMs and some have stopped handling cash altogether!

    Tickets to ride public buses in most Swedish cities can only be purchased via cell phones. Numerous businesses are also moving towards accepting only digital payments. Even the homeless that sell street paper to make ends meet have to start accepting this mode of payment!

    But despite its growing popularity, some people don't like this radical idea. They include the homeless, elderly people as well as those living in rural areas who are still uncomfortable with mobile phones and computers. But the officials are confident that in the very near future, they will be able to convince everyone to move this safe and more cost-effective payment system.

    Sweden is not the only country trying to abolish paper currency and coins. The movement is rapidly gaining ground in Denmark and Finland as well. In 2014, Israel announced a three-step plan to go cashless and just last week the vendors(小贩)of a popular street in Sydney declared they would stop accepting currency from customers. Whether this phenomenon spreads remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure—With increasingly advanced payment systems being introduced every day, pulling out cash is rapidly becoming “uncool”.

    Elephants in Uganda are starting to come close to villages near national parks. The big animals are a real danger to people.

    So, the Uganda Wildlife Authority has been giving people new tools to keep the elephants away: vuvuzelas. They are plastic instruments some fans use at sports events.

    The instruments make a loud sound elephants do not like. The animals leave, and no one is harmed. A spokesperson for the Uganda Wildlife Authority says vuvuzelas work because they do not threaten the elephants. That is important because an elephant that feels threatened is more likely to attack. So far, no one has reported an elephant attacking in answer to a vuvuzela.

    Officials and villagers have tried other ways to stop elephants from coming near farms and houses. They have built beehives – houses for flying insects that sting. They have hung ropes covered in spicy oil. They have dug long, deep holes. And they have used guns, called A-K47s.

    An official from the Uganda Wildlife Authority explains that people shoot the gun in the air to scare the elephant. But over time, the elephants have stopped being afraid of the sound of the gun. They only look at the shooter and wave their ears.

    Another official for the Uganda Wildlife Authority, Gessa Simblicious, says one elephant-prevention solution will not work everywhere in Uganda. And one day, elephants may accept the vuvuzela noise, just as they do the sound of the A-K47.

    But right now, vuvuzelas are an effective, non-violent and fun way to deal with a serious problem.

    Buy One Give One

    Buy One Give One (BIG1) is a Singapore-based business and non-profit organization with a job to create a world full of giving. We help businesses around the world give back in meaningful ways so that they can create measurable and long-lasting influence. Since 2007, we have worked with more than 1,600 businesses creating more than 88 million giving activities.

    Our business allows consumers, who may feel disconnected from the problems of the developing world, to become involved in social problems while still purchasing (购买)tor themselves. For example, shoe brands like TOMS promise to donate one pair of shoes for every pair purchased. Soapbox gives soap to a needy child with every purchase. Watch company WeWood plants a tree every time you buy a watch. They have helped socially-conscious consumers purchase products and feel good about providing help to others.

    See what some of our members say about being a part of BIG1.

    *Karen Ormerod

    Every product purchased at our store influences the lives of disadvantaged people in the world. I had never imagined I would be operating a business that could change people's lives. We are making a real difference by just doing what normally do. It is a wonderful experience.

    *Ben Baker

    What a good way of giving resources to where they need to be giving people the gifts of giving, and adding value to organizations along the wav. We have already made 160,000 giving activities through BIGI. Giving has become a necessary part of our everyday business. It's truly brilliant.

    BIGI focuses on the influence of giving on people's lives rather than simply the amounts donated. Our programs stress giving habitually in order to create growing influence around the world. When you join the BIGI giving program, you create your own unique giving stories.

    We do hope you can become a member of us!

    Bees in a colony work with each other to gather food, and they try to find the most nectar (花蜜)in the least amount of time possible. A small number of bees work as searchers, but when a good flower patch (花丛) is found, how do they tell other bees where to find it?

    Bees communicate flower location using special dances inside the hive, where bees live. One bee dances while the other bees watch. The dancing bee smells like the flower patch, and also gives the watching bees a taste of the nectar she has gathered. Smell and taste helps other bees find the correct flower patch. Bees use two different kinds of dances to communicate information: the waggle (摇摆) dance and the circle dance.

    Waggle dance

    The waggle dance tells the watching bees two things about a flower patch's location: the distance and the direction away from the hive.

A. Distance

    The dancing bee waggles back and forth as she moves forward in a straight line, then circlesaround to repeat the dance. The length of the middle line, called the waggle run, shows roughly how far it is to the flower patch.

B. Direction

    Bees know which way is up and which way is down inside their hive, and they use this to show direction. How? Bees dance with the waggle run at a specific angle away from straight up. Outside the hive, bees look at the position of the sun, and fly at the same angle away from the sun.

    Circle dance

    The circle dance tells the watching bees only one thing about the flower patch's location: that it is somewhere close to the hive.

    In this dance, the bee walks in a circle, turns around, then walks the same circle in the opposite direction. Sometimes, the bee includes a little waggle as she's turning around. The duration of this waggle is thought to indicate the quality of the flower patch.

    Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive(欺骗)?When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can give you a false picture.

    For example, someone might say,“I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery(彩票).It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!”

    This guy's a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought $200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner. He's really a big loser!

    He didn't say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That's called a half-truth. Half-truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.

    Some politicians often use this trick. Let's say that during Governor Smith's last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she seeks another term. One of her opponents(对手) says,“During Governor Smith's term, the state lost one million jobs!”That's true. However, an honest statement would have been,“During Governor Smith's term ,the state had a net gain of two million jobs.”

    Advertisers will sometimes use half-truths. It's against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say,“Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache.”It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.

    This kind of deception happens too often. It's a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.