Every time we get behind the wheel of a car, we put our lives and the lives of others at risk. Self-driving cars are designed to reduce those risks by letting technology control our vehicles.

    Accident rates for self-driving cars have been much lower than the rate, for human-driven cars. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    As humans, we can make moral choices in avoiding accidents. To avoid hitting a child, for example, human drivers might sharply turn a car away from the child even if others may be injured. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Researchers studied this issue. They have developed the Moral Machine website to help explore the choices self-driving cars should make.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} You are shown two possible traffic situations and you choose between them. An accident will take place. You choose how many living beings would be hurt or killed.

    In one situation there may be a female doctor, a child, two dogs and a homeless person who would be killed. In the other situation, you might have two babies and a cat who would be killed. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The Moral Machine website has many situations and many possible outcomes. When you click on the situation of your choice, it will be highlighted. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} At the end of the situation, you are shown the results, based on the choices you made. The results show which character you were most likely to save and which character you were most likely to have die.

    I Am A Pencil

    Children's book author Sam Swope took a job teaching writing to third-graders in the New York City. His students were immigrants （移民） or the children of immigrants from 21 countries，speaking 11 languages and having many different beliefs. But there were a few things they had in common：family troubles，money struggles and poetry.

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    What It Takes To Help Me Out

    An editor for US News & World Report，David L. Marcus takes us inside a boarding （寄宿）school for troubled teens. He shows the great stresses that are put on these teens and make them lose their confidence. This should cause us to think hard about troubled teens.

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    The Most Scenic Drives in America

    Published again and again and translated into several languages beginning in 1997，this travel book includes over 200 brand-new photographs of the wonderful places along 120 selected routes.

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    Our Brother's Keeper

    Author Jedwin Smith tells what happened when he met several of his brother's old friends. They make a journey to Vietnam，to visit the place where Jeff，his brother，died. Surprisingly，their Vietnamese guide was the former commander （海军中校）carrying out the attack that killed Jeff. A powerful story of brotherhood，bravery and understanding carried out.

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    In China we can see more African students in universities, which is a signal of a deeper China-Africa relationship, and the same trend is happening in Africa as well. Most Chinese students choose to study in universities in South Sudan, Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia and South Africa.

    There are three types of Chinese students in Africa. One type is language students who major in local African languages such as Swahili in China and go to African countries to study the language. Another type is non-language students who major in law, economy, culture, education or agriculture and go to African universities for six months to a year to learn more about the culture or for research. The above two types of students are all funded by Chinese government.

    A third type has been growing in recent years. More Chinese choose to develop their career and build a life in African countries, and some of their children tend to receive higher education in African countries. Some Chinese who work in Africa also further their study in their free time. Many Chinese choose to join the MBA program, since they work in a Chinese state-owned enterprise, and an MBA degree could help advance their career.

    In addition, as China and Africa's relations and cooperation are heating up and more Chinese companies and investors come to Africa under The Belt and Road Initiative(一带一路), more talents that understand Africa are needed. Besides, the new generations have more internationalized, curious attitudes, and are more willing to see and experience Africa themselves without any stereotypes(刻板印象), rather than just reading about it in a textbook.

    The Japanese have always been at the forefront at deploying (利用) robots to perform jobs that are traditionally done by humans. Over the past year, humanoid robots have been seen helping customers at the Mitsubishi Bank and even filling in for human science communicators at museums. Therefore, it is not surprising to hear that the country has the world's first hotel that is staffed almost entirely by the Androids!

    The aptly (巧妙地) named Henn-na ("strange" in Japanese) Hotel which opened its doors on July 17 is located at Nagasaki's Huis Ten Bosch theme park. It is the idea of Hideo Sawada, a Japanese businessman who is fascinated by the possibility of replacing humans with robots. His aim is to have this futuristic hotel be run mainly by the intelligent humanoids.

    Guests checking-in are welcomed by a family friendly English-speaking robot wearing a bow tie and bell-hop (侍者) hat. Though experienced at his job, he does request guests not to ask him "a difficult question" since he is after all, "just a robot!" Those seeking a more "regular" experience, can approach the human-like Japanese-speaking robot.

    When ready, visitors can request the robot "porters" to help carry belongings to their room. Those that need to stow away valuables can hand them to a helpful robot who will place them inside an individual safe box in exchange for a small fee. A one-foot-high concierge (管理人) is available to provide information about the hotel's amenities (便利设施), nearby attractions, and even order a taxi if needed.

    So how much does it cost to live in this crazy cool hotel? It depends on when you decide to go. During the low season, guests can get away with paying as little $60 a night for a basic room. However, during the peak season when rates, are determined by an online auction, the price can get as high as $153.

    Almost every day we come across situations in which we have to make decisions one way or another. Choice, we are given to believe, is a right. But for a good many people in the world, in rich and poor countries, choice is a luxury, something wonderful but hard to get, not a right. And for those who think they are exercising their right to make choices, the whole system is merely an illusion, a false idea created by companies and advertisers, hoping to sell their products.

    'The endless choice gives birth to anxiety in people's lives. Buying something as basic as a coffee pot is not exactly simple. Easy access to a wide range of everyday goods leads to a sense of powerlessness in many people, ending in the shopper giving up and walking away, or just buying an unsuitable item that is not really wanted. Recent studies in England have shown that many electrical goods bought in almost every family are not really needed. More difficult decision-making is then either avoided or trusted into the hands of the professionals, lifestyle instructors, or advisors.

    It is not just the availability of the goods that is the problem, but the speed with which new types of products come on the market. Advances in design and production help quicken the process. Products also need to have a short lifespan so that the public can be persuaded to replace them within a short time. The typical example is computers, which are almost out-of-date once they are bought. This indeed makes selection a problem. Gone are the days when one could just walk with ease into a shop and buy one thing; no choice, no anxiety.

Half a Day

    I walked alongside my father, holding his right hand. All my clothes were new: the black shoes, the green school uniform, and the red cap. They did not make me happy, however, as this was the day I was to be thrown into school for the first time.

    "Why school?" I asked my father. "What have I done?"

    "I'm not punishing you," he said, laughing. "School's not a punishment. It's a place that makes useful men out of boys. Don't you want to be useful like your brothers?"

    I was not convinced. I did not believe there was really any good to be had in tearing me away from my home and throwing me into the huge, high-walled building.

    When we arrived at the gate we could see the courtyard, vast and full of boys and girls. "Go in by you," said my father, "and join them. Put a smile on your face and be a good example to others."

    I hesitated and squeezed his hand firmly, but he gently pushed me from him. "Be a man", he said. "Today you truly begin life. You will find me waiting for you when it's time to leave."

    I took a few steps. Then the faces of the boys and girls came into view. I did not know a single one of them, and none of them knew me. I felt I was a stranger who had lost his way. But then some boys began to glance at me in curiosity, and one of them came over and asked, "Who brought you?"

    "My father," I whispered.

    "My father's dead," he said simply.

    I did not know what to say. The gate was now closed. Some of the children burst into tears. The bell rang. A lady came along and said, "This is your new home. There are mothers and fathers here, too. Everything that is enjoyable and beneficial is here. So dry your tears and face life joyfully."

    Well, it seemed that my misgivings had had no basis. From the first moments I made many friends. I had never imagined school would have this rich variety of experiences.