Every day, a homeowner in Pennsylvania is reminded of a mistake he made 13 years ago. At around 8 in the evening, his peaceful house comes alive with the noise of an alarm clock he dropped into the wall over ten years ago. It's been stuck in the wall ever since.

    13 years ago, Jerry Lynn wanted to make a hole through his living room wall, so he could pass the television cable (电缆)through it. He didn't want to destroy any pipes in the wall, so he came up with a good idea to make sure that he was drilling(钻孔) in an empty place. He took his alarm clock, tied it to a string(线) and set it to go off in 10 minutes. Then he lowered it into the wall, and waited for it to ring. His goal was to drill a hole in a safe place near the place where the ringing was coming from, making sure that there was nothing to pass through there. It all went smoothly until the alarm clock fell into the wall.

The man didn't get back the alarm clock, but thought it would probably run out of battery(电池)in several months, so he wasn't too worried about it. But 13 years later, the alarm clock still rings every day.

    As you can imagine, Jerry and his wife have gotten used to the ringing living room wall, but it can still surprise  guests. So Jerry decides to pull down that wall, just to stop that boring thing, though after putting up with it for 13 years, he think it will be a pity. He says, “I've never herd of a clock battery lasting that long and my friends think it may be interesting to see how long it will keep ringing for.”

    In a foreign country, a man visited a local restaurant. He didn't speak their language. He ordered something indecipherable off the menu. When the waiter brought him a plate of delicious looking fried noodles, he smiled and made an OK sign at the waiter with his thumb and forefinger linked in a circle. Looking angry, the waiter then picked up the dish and thrown it to his lap. What he did wrong, he wondered. Well, nothing is quite as it seems when it comes to using hand gesture in another country.

    Gestures have been used to replace words in many countries, and they are often specific to a given culture. Gesture may mean something complimentary in one culture, but is highly offensive in another.

    The gesture “thumb-up” is commonly misinterpreted. In English, it is popularly known as 'thumbs up', despite the fact that the action is commonly performed with only one hand. English-speaking Caucasians use it to signal 'OK', which is the same meaning as O.K. ring gesture. The two can in fact be used almost interchangeably.

    Avoid using this gesture in Southern Sardina or Northern Greece unless you want to invite a fight. While American, British and Australian would use the thumb up to signal hitch-hiking to the drivers, this message will not encourage a Greek driver or motorist to stop to give them a ride.

    There are no right or wrong signals, only cultural differences. Lack of cultural understanding will lead to disharmony among people from different cultures. When we know what to look for, such encounters with other cultures are actually very interesting, fascinating and fun. It is certainty a great topic to discuss over a cup of coffee and cakes.

    What will man be like in the future—in 5000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.

    Let us take an obvious example, Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on averse, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modem world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain's capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring about a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger. Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over a very long period of time it is likely that man's eyes will grow stronger.

    On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they an; a great deal in modem life.

    But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald (光秃的).

    Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. But in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.

    In films, dads change from cruel men to loving souls. Here is a list of good and bad movies dads.

    Atticus Finch in To kill a Mockingbird(知更鸟)

    GOOD DAD : A man whose wife has died with a young family and a busy job as a lawyer, Gregory Peck's character in the 1962 film is one of the great heroes of American cinema Firm but fair he teaches his children respect and human decency(正派). Harper Lee's novel gets a respectable transposition(转变)to film, thanks to Gregory Peck's perfect performance.

    Jack Torrance in The Shining

    BAD DAD: When Jack Torrance, his wife, Wendy, and son, Danny, escaped from the cold winter to the Overlook Hotel we know that Jack has hardly been a model father. But when Jack becomes extremely angry and tries to murder his family with an axe, Danny used his intelligence to defeat him and left him to freeze to death.

    George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life

    GOOD DAD: James Stewart's character is a father-of-four who is saved from the edge of suicide (自杀)and realizes his positive effect on others' lives. Much of the film is unpleasant, with George shouting at his children as he faces financial problems. But finally the lovable father realizes the worth of his own life, the value of friendship and the importance of being a loving dad.

    Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back(帝国大厦)

    BAD DAD: When the unfriendly cyborg(半机器人)told Luke Skywalker that he was his father ,the son's reaction says it all: “No! No!” It's hardly a joyful welcome to the family. For most of his son's life, Darth Vader has been an absent dad—and he has just cut off Luke's hand. You can understand why Father's Day cards might not be available.

    In beautiful rural Montana lies the town of Livingston. Around half the students in the Livingston School District qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, according to local educator Rachael Jones, known as "Farmer Jones". She is the director of the Livingston Farm to School program, which uses the district's two greenhouses and four gardens to grow food that supplements school meals while offering kids hands-on lessons. Jones said, "In many places around the country, if you can't pay for your school meal, you don't eat. Well, here, we don't turn anyone away."

    The town's school district and community members started the program eight years ago. It's part of the National Farm to School Network, which aims to increase access to local food and nutrition education across the country. Jones, who attended public school in Livingston as a kid, has headed up the local program since 2014. Farm to School enriches curriculums in all of the schools through garden lessons, cafeteria and kitchen lessons, and classroom lessons.

    Research has shown that healthy school meals can enhance academic performance, including improved test scores. Though the Farm to School program is not aimed solely at lower-income students, Jones said, "Such kids are more likely to eat lunch provided by the school. Eventually she wants to get healthy, affordable meals on the plate of every child in Livingston.

    It is important for kids to understand where their food comes from. That's a life changing experience for them. Jones said," When I grew up a big force in my life was my grandma Ethel. She taught me from a really early age the value of growing my own food. I worked in her gardens with her and somehow, through all of those experiences —eating her tomatoes and canning pickles with her —it really built up my trust and knowledge in food systems. I'm so thankful for her!"

Are You a Morning Person?

    Mornings are not for everyone. Knowing that our own bodies may be wired to prefer a certain time of day is certainly a relief. But many of us still have to wake up and function during those first daylight hours. So what can you do?

    We tapped a variety of experts—from sleep experts to nutritionists to life organizational pros—to share their tricks on how to make morning less stressful and more pleasant (for) even the most after-hours of night owls.

    ①Night waking

    Poor sleep quality can explain why we sometimes wake up from eight hours of snoozing and feel like we only clocked in at four. "It's normal to have one or two awakenings, but more than that leaves us feeling groggy in the morning because of the fragmented sleep," [explains Shelby Harris, director of the behavioral sleep medicine program at Montefiore Medical Center.]

    ②The Science of snoozing

    The snooze button does more harm than good. Nodding off again sends you into a light and fragmented sleep! Multiple snoozes can leave you feeling groggier than just getting out of bed the first time.

    Instead, be honest about the time you intend to get up and then enjoy every last minute of shuteye, so you can wake up alert and ready to go.

    ③Don't ease into your workday

    It can be tempting to plow through the easy things early on-checking e-mail, scanning the headlines—but it's wise to tackle the bigger stuff first. "Getting to work on the most important tasks not only ups the chances that they actually get done, but it also leaves you with a burst of accomplishment to take with you the rest of the day," says Jason Selk, coauthor of Organize Tomorrow Today.

    ④Save social media for later

    Schedule a social media block later in the afternoon to check in when you're likely to need a break anyway, and save the morning for the important stuff.

Vocabulary Focus

    tap(v) [tæp] to get or make use of something

    groggy (adj) ['gragi] weak and unable to think clearly or walk correctly, usually because of tiredness or illness

    shuteye (n) ['ʃʌtai] sleep

    plow through (something) (phr v) to finish reading, eating or dealing with something with difficulty