The First Hello

    The man from the telephone department got off the bus, and made his way to the tea stall, wiping the sweat off his head, face, then slipping his handkerchief under his shirt to wipe his neck and back. It was a year ago that the phone line had been installed, six months later men from the public works department had come to put up the phone booth—a neat box-like structure, with a glass window, and wooden ledges, yellow in colour. And days after that, a painter had taken an entire day to colour in broad, black brushstrokes, the words: STD Booth, local and STD allowed.

    No one could tell that the last word had been misspelled. Besides, he had taken the entire day. After he had a cup of tea, he left, waving cheerfully. And now months later, someone else was here again.

    Everyone watched the man as he sat on the bench. No one said a word, and soon the sound of him slurping his tea filled the hot afternoon. A few leaves fell, heavy in the heat, and sometimes a car passed, on its way to the main city farther away.

    When the man had finished, he tried to pay but the tea shop owner who sat behind his steaming kettle and the washed upturned cups, waved him away.

    “You are our guest here.”

    So the man took his handkerchief out again and wiped his face.

    They crowded around him as he shut himself up in the phone booth. When the children pressed their nose against the glass, he shooed them away, as he took out a shiny black soon changed to an excited yell as they saw him dial a number, pressing a finger into the ringed dialer of the phone and letting it go all the way in a half-circle. A while later, they hear him say into the mouthpiece, “Hello.”

    “Hello,”the children around the booth took up the cry, the teashop owner broke into a smile and the men waiting for a bus smiled and said hello to each other. The sadhu(印度的僧人)who sat under the banyan tree nodded wisely. As the sound carried, more hellos were heard. The women winnowing grain giggled as they tried the word tentatively, the shepherds feeding their flocks called out to their sheep, laughing as they used the word.

    “It's a big occasion, ”said the headman, in an awed(敬畏的) voice.

    “It is.” agreed those around him. The telephone man emerged and handed over a small chit of paper to the headman. “This is the telephone number.”

    The headman looked at it respectfully as if it were a mantra(符咒). The others around him read out the numbers slowly, digit-by-digit.

    The telephone man was now too tired to notice the cheering around him. He knew he had to wait long before the bus to take him back arrived. As he sipped his second cup of tea, he remembered something else.

    “Oh, you can't start using the phone now. The minister will come next month and inaugurate it. ”

    No one said a word. No one was surprise. They had waited so long; a month more did not really matter.

    To eat only a vegan（素食的） diet might sound difficult, especially with many popular dishes containing meat or other animal products. Yet in 2017, veganism was described as “the fastest - growing lifestyle movement” in the UK, according to BBC news.

    A study by a UK market research organization, suggests that over 542,000 Brits went vegan during the previous decade, an increase of 360%. And the main force behind this increase was those aged 15-34 years old — 42% of recent vegans fall under that age range.

    So why exactly has veganism become so popular among young Brits?

    One reason could be that many young people want to protect the environment, as less meat consumption is known to be beneficial to the environment. Global meat manufacturing is believed to cause 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions（排放）, even more than that of all the world's cars, trains and planes combined. Another reason is that many of today's young people believe that it's wrong to kill animals to be used as food.

    Jess Murray, 22, a student at University College London, said that he chose to become vegan after realizing that eating animals is a choice that people make, rather than something that we need to do to survive. “Becoming vegan was an ethical (道德的) decision,” he told the Guardian.

    Social media is also believed to have given rise to the increase in veganism. Platforms such as Facebook allow young vegans to connect with each other much easier, while others such as Instagram have led to the creation of “vegan celebrities (名人)”, who share lips on vegan lifestyles.

    Despite the rising of veganism, Laura Wyness, an expert in diet and nutrition, said that meat is very important for people's health. “A strict vegan diet makes it difficult to get some minerals and vitamins that your body needs,” Wyness told BBC news.

    However, the popularity of veganism doesn't seem to be fading. “It feels more like this is something that is sticking.” said an expert of the Vegan Society, a UK charity that promotes veganism.

    Melbourne Coffee Tour

    Taking a tour through Melbourne's coffee laneways（巷道）is amazing. Coffee enthusiasts are guided through Melbourne café culture shelter and secret laneway cafes, while tasting some of the city's best made coffee. This tour will challenge your coffee cupping skills and you will enjoy yourself.

    Location

    Epping North, Melbourne CBD 2000

    Contact detail

    http://melbournecoffeetours.com.au/

    Date & time

    Mon-Wed: 10 am – noon Fri-Sat: 10 am – noon

    The Canoe Table – Stories from the Collection

    This display brings together objects from the Koorie Heritage Trust collection and Victorian Aboriginal（土著的）community members to share the historical, cultural and social significance of these collection items in their loves, their practice and their community. The newly recorded oral histories and the respective artworks are currently accessible（可进入的）and on display as part of the public collection display.

    Location

    Koorie Heritage Trust Inc

    The Yarra Building, Levels 1 and 3, Federation Square, Melbourne CBD 2000

    Contact detail

    http://koorieheritagetrust.com.au/exhibitions/the-canoe-project

    Date & time

    Mon-Sun: 10 am – 4 pm

    Closed on public holidays

    Price: Free

    Han Dynasty: Life Everlasting

    When the power of Roman Empire was rising in the West, the Han Dynasty founded the Eastern civilization in China through a period of cultural and technological development, economic wealth and territorial（领土）expansion. This brand-new exhibition shows this important period of Chinese history through the Han Dynasty's remarkable people, progressive ideas.

    Location

    Chinese Museum, 22 Cohen Place Melbourne CBD 2000

    Contact detail

    http://chinesemuseum.com.au/what's-on/han-dynasty-life-ecerlasting/

    Date & time

    Mon-Sun: 10 am – 4 pm

    Price: Full $12, child $10, family (2 adults + 3 children) $28

A HALF - EMPTY BASKET

    Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man's house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed(服从) and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant took him to the room where the rich man was sitting.

    "I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for," he said.

    "But why have you brought a half-empty basket?" the rich man asked.

    "I met your children outside, and they stole some of the apples."

    Crossing your legs is an extremely common habit. While you may find it comfortable to sit with one knee crossed over the other, it might be causing health problems that you are not aware of.

    A study published in Blood Pressure Monitoring stated that sitting with your legs crossed can increase your blood pressure. The reason is that crossing one leg over the other increases resistance, making it even harder for the blood to circulate and increase your blood pressure. Thus, you shouldn't have your legs crossed for more than 15 minutes, and it's important that you get up and walk around at least once every hour.

    Crossing your legs can also lead to neck and back pain. Ideally, it's best for our bodies to sit with our feet planted flat on the floor. When you sit with your legs crossed your hips are in a twisted position, which can cause pressure on your lower and middle back and neck.

    You also might notice that when you sit with your legs crossed for long periods of time your feet and legs get painful. This is because when one leg sits on top of the other, it causes pressure on the veins and nerves in your legs and feet. While the feeling of discomfort may only last a minute or two, repeatedly crossing your legs until they feel numb can cause permanent nerve damage.

    So next time you sit down, try to get yourself in the habit of sitting with both of your feet on the floor. Not only will it help your posture and stability, but it will also save your health in the long run.

    The annual World Economic Forum (经济论坛) took place in Davos, Switzerland, in Jan. 23-26, 2018. What did Chinese entrepreneurs (企业家) speak in the forum? Are there some quotable quotes for you?

    Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group

    "I think globalization cannot be stopped — no one can stop globalization, no one can stop trade. If trade stops, the world stops. Trade is the way to dissolve (溶解，结束) the war not cause the war," said Ma in Davos, "Google, Facebook, Amazon and Alibaba — we are the luckiest companies of this century. But we have the responsibility to have a good heart, and do something good."

★Richard Liu, founder and chief executive officer of JD

    "Business is not only a way to make money but also a way to contribute yourself, to help people," Liu said in a speech in Davos. "How can we face the fractured (分化的)world? That's the topics of the Davos this year. I think a very important thing in business is cooperation. If we can unite, work together, if we work very closely, I think we can bring more hope to the people and we can build more trust between the people, countries and companies and partners," he said.

    Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip

    "Tourism is a sunrise industry. Since I entered Ctrip, every year there are new comers, which, first of all, shows that tourism is booming." Sun told Sina.com in Davos. "We invested heavily in ABC. A refers to AI, B is big data, and C is cloud computing. As we continue to expand overseas, these three will be very good weapons for us. So we think those mean opportunity," she said.

★Hu Xiaoming, president of Aliyun

    "In 2018, people will see the development in various countries more closely connected with cloud computing. More manufacturing enterprises and financial institutions will start to use „cloud', and cloud computing will increase the efficiency of technology and finance," Hu told Xinhua in Davos.