The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple's products sounds cool and has become a fad(一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” --and many other brands are following suit. The BBC's iPlayer--which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet--used the title in 2008. A lovely bear--popular in the US and UK--that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version(简装本) of London's Independent newspaper was started last week under the name “i”.

    In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce(电子商务) first came into use.

    Most “I” products are targeted at(针对) young people and considering the major readers of Independent's “I”, it's no surprise that they've selected this fashionable name.

    But it's hard to see what's so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King's College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn't have one clear definition(定义),” he says.

    “However, thanks to Apple, the term is now connected with portability (轻便).” adds Thorne.

    Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.

    Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “I” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade(十年).

    But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was connected with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the fashion disappeared.

    Traveling is a very good activity. When you are fed up with your work and are allowed to take a holiday, you can go to the beautiful spots to enjoy the beauty of nature and the special character of other cities. You can breathe fresh air, visit some places of interest, meet different people and make friends with them. Then you will feel fully relaxed and you will have the energy to undertake the new tasks waiting for you.

    But sometimes, traveling is not an enjoyable thing. For example, when the bus or car you take has a bad accident, you may be trapped in it and waste your time. What's more, the weather can be changeable. If you are climbing a mountain, it may rain suddenly. You may be caught in the rain and may catch a cold. The worst thing is that you may have your money stolen and you may have an injury. All these are terrible things that can happen to a tourist.

    Therefore, before going on a trip, you must prepare yourself carefully. Firstly, you must have clear information about the weather. Secondly, you should choose a good companion so that you can help each other. Thirdly, you must be careful everywhere and try to avoid accidents. If you do these, you can enjoy your travels better and reduce unnecessary trouble.

    Should we allow modern buildings to be built next to older buildings in a historic area of a city? In order to answer this question, we must first examine whether people really want to preserve the historic feel of an area. Not all historical buildings are attractive. However, there may be other reasons—for example, economic (经济的) reasons—why they should be preserved. So, let us assume that historical buildings are both attractive and important to the majority of people. What should we do then if a new building is needed?

    In my view, new architectural styles can exist perfectly well alongside an older style. Indeed, there are many examples in my own home town of Tours where modern designs have been placed very successfully next to old buildings. As long as the building in question is pleasing and does not dominate (影响) its surroundings too much, it often improves the attractiveness of the area.

    It is true that there are examples of new buildings which have spoilt (破坏) the area they are in, but the same can be said of some old buildings too. Yet people still speak against new buildings in historic areas. I think this is simply because people are naturally conservative(保守的)and do not like change.

    Although we have to respect people's feelings as fellow users of the buildings, I believe that it is the duty of the architect and planner to move things forward. If we always reproduced what was there before, we would all still be living in caves. Thus, I would argue against copying previous architectural styles and choose something fresh and different, even though that might be the more risky choice.

    When I was in my fourth year of teaching, I was also (and am still) a high school track and field coach (田径教练). One year, I had a student, John, who entered my class when he was a junior.

    When I was in my fourth year of teaching, I was also (and am still) a high school track and field coach (田径教练). One year, I had a student, John, who entered my class when he was a junior. John changed to our school from Greece, and seemed to be interested in athletics, so I encouraged him to join our track team. I explained to him that even though he had never taken part in it before, I did believe that he could do well in any event, and I would be willing to coach him at whichever ones interested him. He accepted the offer, and began to work hard at every practice.

    About a month later, I had found out from other sources that John was a first-class tennis player, winning various junior awards in his home country. I went to him asking, “John, I really appreciate that you came out for the track team, but why didn't you play tennis instead? It seems that would interest you a lot more, since you're so good at it.” John answered, “Well, I like tennis, but you told me that you believed in me, and that you thought I could do well in track, so I wanted to try it for that reason.”

    From then on, I often remember my student's reply. I told it to a friend and she suggested I write it down to share somewhere with more teachers. No matter how critical (不满的) students can be of themselves, I've found that a simple “I trust that you can do it!” can go a long way!

    One day a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor handed out the question paper, with the text facing down as usual. Once he handed them all out, he asked his students to turn the page and begin. To everyone's surprise, there were no questions but a black dot in the center of the page. The professor seeing the expression on everyone' face, told them the following, "I want you to write what you see there."

    The students were confused and got started on the inexplicable (令人不解的) task.

    At the end of the class the professor took all the answer papers and started reading each one of them aloud in front of all the students. All of them with no exceptions, described the black dot, explained its position in the middle of the sheet, imagined what the black dot stood for and so on.

    After all had been read, the classroom was silent. The professor began to explain, "I am not going to grade on you this time. I just wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the white part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot and the same happens in our lives. We have a white paper to observe and enjoy, but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is filled with love and care, and we always have reasons to celebrate—nature renewing itself every day, our friends around us, the job that provides our livelihood, the miracles we see every day…"

    In fact, we insist on focusing only on the dark spots—the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the complicated relationship with a family member, the disappointment with a friend, etc. Take your eyes away from the black spots in your life. The dark spots are very small compared to everything we have in our lives, so enjoy each moment that life gives you.

    Water is a necessity of life. Rain, especially, helps plants grow and stay green. But too much rain, especially in cities, can lead to flooding. That can cause waste water systems to overflow and send pollutants into rivers and other waterways. To fight the problem, several cities in the United States are starting programs like rooftop gardens.

    A team at the University of the District of Columbia in the nation's capital has created a garden on the top of one school building. The garden holds many kinds of plants to help absorb rainwater and grow food at the same time. Architect David Bell has designed five "green roofs" for the university. He says he is excited about the project because "it meant doing something more than just dealing with storm water management. It took advantage of a resource above the city and these flat roofs that aren't doing anything really became something that was about urban agriculture." Rainwater is collected in large containers and sent through a system that waters the rooftop garden. The roof is filled with green life that appeals to insects.

    In cities, "you don't have that many spaces to choose from and so rooftops are just (unused) space," says Caitlin Arlotta. She is a student in the school's Urban Agriculture program. The project is part of a research program to see which plants do well on rooftops. The researchers are looking at plants including strawberries, tomatoes and sweet potatoes. The university also has other green spaces. "We also have our own farm experiments," Arlotta said. "Within each of those growing systems, we want to be able to tell people which sorts of these crops grow the best."

    Sandy Farber Bandier helps run UDC's Master Gardener program. It seeks to improve cities and make them beautiful by training people to become Master Gardeners. She says she's been surprised by the garden's output. "My biggest surprise was that we produced 4, 250 pounds of produce the first year and was able to spread that to people in need." She also likes being able to show people who live in D. C. and others beyond the nation's capital what and how food can be grown on a rooftop. "This is the future for food. You grow it here, you prepare it in a commercial kitchen, you distribute through farmers markets, food trucks, and then you recycle."