Technology offers conveniences such as opening the garage door from your car or changing the television station without touching the TV.

    Now one American company is offering its employees a new convenience: a microchip implanted in their hands. Employees who have these chips can do all kinds of things just by waving their hands.Three Square Market is offering to implant microchips in all of their employees for free.Each chip costs $300 and Three Square Market will pay for the chip.Employees can volunteer to have the chips implanted in their hands.About 50 out of 80 employees have chosen to do so.The president of the company,his wife and their children are also getting chips implanted in their hands.

    The chip is about the size of a grain of rice.Implanting the chip only takes about a second and is said to hurt only very briefly.The chips go under the skin between the thumb and forefinger.With a chip in the hand,a person can enter the office building,buy food,sign into computers and more,simply by waving that hand near a scanner.The chips will he also used to identify employees.Employees who want convenience,but do not want to have a microchip implanted under their skin,can wear a wristband（腕带）or a ring with a chip instead.They can perform the same tasks with a wave of their hands as if they had an implanted chip.

    Three Square Market is the first company in the United States to offer to implant chips in its employees.Epicenter,a company in Sweden,has been implanting chips in its employees for a while.

    Three Square Market says the chip cannot track the employees.The company says scanners can read the chips only when they are within a few inches of them.“The chips protect against identity theft,similar to credit cards.”The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the chips back in 2004,so they should be safe for humans,according to the company.

    In the future,people with the chips may be able to do more with them,even outside the office.Todd Westby is Chief Executive Officer of Three Square Market.He says,“Eventually,this technology will become standardized allowing you to use this as your passport,public transit,all purchasing opportunities,etc.”

    A new “smart bin” could spell the end of environment - conscious families spending hours sorting tins, cartons, bottles, and cardboard for recycling. The invention, which automatically sorts rubbish into recycling categories, is being trialed in Poland and is set to go on sale in the UK within a few years.

    The bin, designed by start - up company Bin. E, recognizes different types of waste via a system positioned inside the bin which uses sensors, image recognition and artificial intelligence. Once waste is placed inside, the camera and sensors identify its type and place it in one of the smaller bins. Then it compresses (压缩) the waste so it occupies less space.

    News of the launch showed that more than a million households are being forced to accept bin collections every three or four weeks, because councils are trying to force them to recycle more. Data collected by The Telegraph has showed at least 18 areas have moved or will shortly be moving to three - weekly rubbish collections, while a further three have adopted or are trialing four - weekly collections. While reducing general bin collections, councils are increasing the frequency of recycling collections in a bid to change people's behaviour. It is thought that the bin could be stocked by department stores such as John Lewis, which said it is introducing new hi - tech recycling bins to satisfy increasing customer appetite for them. Matt Thomas, a utility (家用设施) seller at John Lewis, said, “We've recently seen a jump in specialist bins sales, with a 25 percent increase in the last few months alone. We have noticed our customers are becoming more and more sustainability focused, choosing dual compartment (双格) recycling bins that make it far easier to recycle different types of waste. In response to this demand, we are really excited to introduce a new voice and sensor activated smart bin this autumn / winter season — designed to use new technology to make recycling more efficient and functional for the everyday home.”

Hidden London: the city's lesser-known delights Dulwich Picture Gallery

    As much an excuse to enjoy the village charm of Dulwich Village as to admire some delicate European masterworks,  this gallery is a southeast London charmer,  which was founded in 1811. Join a free guided tour to the permanent collection (3 pm Saturday and Sunday), catch the latest temporary exhibition and admire the lovely garden (open 1: 30 pm to 3: 30 pm Tuesdays).

Where: Gallery Rd SE21 7AD

Train: West Dulwich

Temple Church

    Featuring in the novel TheDaVinciCode and dating back to the late 12th century,  this is one of London's oldest and holiest medieval (中世纪的) treasures. Built by the Knights Templar,  the church is divided into the Round—which contains the statues of crusading knights,  who tried to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims in the Middle Ages—and the Chancel,  where the priests (牧师) and singers performing in church services sit.

Where: Temple EC4Y 7DE

Underground: Temple or Blackfriars

Chelsea Physic Garden

    Endlessly satisfying the green-fingered, the plain curious or those eager to discover botanical interests in central London, this delightful walled garden was founded by the Apothecaries' Society in the 17th century and is one of the oldest botanical gardens in London.

Where: 66 Royal Hospital Rd SW3 4HS

Underground: Sloane Square

Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art

    Built between 1953 and 1958, the Estorick is Britain's only gallery devoted to Italian art. It draws together a fascinating collection of Futurist masterpieces from Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla, Carlo Carra and others, who emphasized the importance of modern things, especially technology and machines.

Where: 39a Canonbury Sq N1 2AN

Underground: Highbury or Islington

    After spending a long day driving the day before, Steinkamp left his hotel around 5:30 a.m. to a funeral in Green Bay, Wisconsin. About half an hour into his journey, he noticed a small strange sound coming from his front tire. By 7 a.m., he still had 70 miles ahead of him, but the noise was so loud that he knew he had no choice but to stop.

    Steinkamp figured there was little possibility that anyone in Wild Rose, Wisconsin-a tiny town with a population of 725-could help so early in the morning. Still, he look his chance at an auto repair shop. Luckily, Steinkamp spotted Glenn Geib stocking the shelves, and he asked for help.Giving Steinkamp a quick look, Geib asked why he was so dressed up, and Steinkamp explained his dilemma.

    The mechanic checked the car and told Steinkamp what he'd feared: the wheel bearing（轴承）was failing. Fixing it would take a few hours, but there was no chance the car would make it that distance without repairs.

    "I must have looked pretty stressed out at this time because Glenn then reached into his pocket, pulled out the keys to HIS vehicle and said 'Take my truck and get going,'" Steinkamp wrote in a Facebook post.

    The men had met just 10 minutes before and didn't know each other's names, but Geib insisted. Steinkamp made it to the funeral. When he came back to the garage seven hours later with a thankful heart, he stuck around to chat with Geib.

    "The 74-year-old mechanic turned a terrible day into a good one with a great lesson." Steimkamp wrote, "Just be kind and help if you can."

    I was 16 when my father finally decided he would send me to wilderness camp for several months. He had threatened to do it many times before, but my mother had always managed to prevent him from doing so. This ti me he insisted on doing it.

    The latest incident was the last straw. Impulsively (冲动地), I had pushed Mr. Ford, my math teacher, down a flight of steps at school. He broke his arm in two places. Anyway, he had agreed not to accuse me as a favor to my dad, who was in the middle of a tight race for sheriff (执法官) in our town. But my reckless behavior had my dad's closest advisor talking.

    "John, he's your son and he's a kid, but he is dragging you down," I heard Jake Hutch tell my dad through his closed office door the night after I pushed Mr. Ford. "If you can't make your son obey the rules, how can you make the law obeyed in this town?"

    So, off to Pisgah National Forest I went. I imagined hours of untold abuse at the hands of some strong sergeants (军士). I was determined not to be broken. I was who I was,

    Nearly every day for six months, a small group of other troubled teens and I carried our 30-pound backpacks on a difficult journey covering about 10 miles. We hiked in a rough wilderness that seemed untouched by civilization.

    Our sergeants were firm but kind, not frightening as I had imagined. We learned how to make a fire without matches and create a shelter with branches and grass. We learned which plants were safe to eat out in the wild. I felt myself change. I was calm and often reflective. My old, impulsive self was gone.

    One morning, six months later, my dad came to pick me up. I ran to hug him and saw happiness and love in his eyes.

    "So what's it like being sheriff?" I asked on the ride home.

    "I lost the race, Danny," he said.

    "I'm sorry, Dad." I knew my behavior probably had a lot to do with the defeat.

    Dad squeezed my shoulder and brought me close. "As long as I don't ever lose you, I'm okay."

    If you have never been on a cruise (乘船游览), it can seem like its own world—with its own rules and secret language. So here we are going to lay out the very basics of going on a cruise.

    Do I need a passport to go on a cruise?

    You may need a passport, but you should take one anyway. Besides the fact that you are going to need an ID card to board the ship in the first place, a lot of ports require one.

    How much luggage can I take on board?

    For the most part, cruise ships aren't like planes—there isn't a strictly regulated amount of luggage you can take with you, and you are not going to be charged for bringing too much. Keep in mind that cabin storage space can be tight. Everything, including your empty luggage, is going to have to fit inside and you don't want to be tripping over it for your whole vacation.

    Things like guns and knives are banned, but regulations vary from ship to ship about things like irons (generally a no) and hair dryers (generally a yes). Some ships allow you to bring a bottle of wine, but nearly all ban bringing your own hard alcohol.

    What's the process for boarding a cruise ship?

    Boarding a cruise ship is like boarding a plane—there are regulations or when to arrive, how to check-in, and what security you have to go through. Most cruise lines have transportation available from the airport; otherwise they normally own a paid parking lot where you can leave your car.