Having experienced a shocking electrical accident, which caused him to become both blind and deaf, James Franco's world became completely dark and quiet for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing threw him into such sorrow that he tried a few times to put an end to his life. His family, especially his wife, did their best to tend and comfort him and finally he regained the will to live.

    One hot summer afternoon, he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started all at once. He stood under a large tree to avoid getting wet, but he was struck by the lightning. Witnesses thought he was dead but he woke up 20 minutes later, lying face down in muddy water. He was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw: a tree and a muddy road. When Mrs. Franco came running up to him, shouting to their neighbors to call for help, he could see her and hear her voice for the first time in nearly ten years.

    The news of James regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread and many doctors came to examine him. Most of them said that he regained his sight and hearing from the shock he got from the lightning. However, none of them could give a compellent answer as to why this should happen. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since James lost his sight and hearing as a result of a sudden shock, perhaps, the only way for him to regain them was by another sudden shock.

    Greece's finance minister says his country's financial situation is “terribly urgent” and the crisis could come to a head in a couple of weeks. Yanis Varoufakis gave the warning after eurozone finance ministers met in Brussels to discuss the final €7.2bn tranche(援助资金) of Greece's €240bn EU/IMF bailout(紧急援助).

    Ministers said Greece had made “progress” but more work was needed.

The Greek government is struggling to meet its payment obligations（责任）.Earlier, Greece began the transfer of €750m (£544m, $834m) in debt interest to the International Monetary Fund - a day ahead of a payment deadline.

    “The liquidity（资产流动性） issue is a terribly urgent issue. It's common knowledge, let's not beat around the bush,” Mr Varoufakis told reporters in Brussels. “From the perspective of timing, we are talking about the next couple of weeks.”

    Greece has until the end of June to reach a reform deal with its international creditors. Its finances are running so low that it has had to ask public bodies for help. The crisis has raised the prospect that Greece might default（违约） on its debts and leave the euro.

    In a statement, the eurozone finance ministers said they “welcomed the progress that has been achieved so far” in the negotiations,” but added: “We acknowledged that more time and effort are needed to bridge the gaps on the remaining open issues.” Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said there had to be a full deal on the bailout（紧急财务援助） before Greece received any further payments. “There are time constraints(限制；约束) and liquidity constraints and hopefully we will reach an agreement before time runs out and before money runs out.” he said.

    There had been fears that Greece would default on its IMF debt repayment due on Tuesday. However, a Greek finance ministry official was quoted as saying that the order for repayment had been executed（实施） on Monday. Almost €1bn has been handed over to the IMF in interest payments since the start of May.

    It is unclear how the government came up with the funds, but the mayor of Greece's second city Thessaloniki revealed last week that he had handed over cash reserves in response to an appeal for money.

It's long been thought that in order to succeed in life you need to think only of yourself and ignore the needs of others. New research,however,suggests the exact opposite is true and being nice to others actually makes you more likely to be successful. The scientists found that ‘givers' were more likely to share knowledge,and in turn gain more information themselves.

    Researchers divided participants into three groups based on a personality test: givers, takers and matchers. In a social dilemma task, participants were given a made-up donation which was equal to the amount of ￡ 240( $400). They were then asked to decide how much of their money they would give to a shared group pool. They were told that the money in the pool would be doubled and divided equally among all group members. Thus,it would be more beneficial to the group as a whole if everyone contributed their individual donations. However, it would be more beneficial for the individual if everyone else from the group contributed,while the individual kept his or her own money. The researchers used this strategic (策略的) information sharing task to examine how much and which pieces of information participants shared:the less important and already known information or the really important information only known by the individual.

    The results showed that givers are less self-centered and self-loving than takers. Givers shared not only more money with the group, but they also shared important information. Takers on the other hand kept both the money as well as different types of information.

    The findings suggest that it may not be enough to simply provide knowledge management tools in order to make the best of knowledge exchange in a group of people. It may be necessary for leaders and managers to keep in mind the personality styles of their employees. Specifically, they should be aware that takers may keep the important information for themselves.

    We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn't even lift her eyes from the book. Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down. While I watched mouth open is surprise, Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold. She walked quietly to the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop. She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up, Mum nodded and said, "Very dirty floors. "

    "Yes, I'm glad they've finally decided to clean them, "the nurse answered. She looked at Mum strangely and said, "But aren't you working late?"

    Mum just pushed harder, each swipe(拖一下)of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall. I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to writing in the big book.

    After a long time Mum came back. Her eyes were shining. She quickly put the mop back and took my hand. As we turned to go out of the door, Mum bowed politely to the nurse and said, "Thank you."

    Outside, Mum told me, "Dagmar is fine. No fever. "

    "You saw her, Mum?"

    "Of course. I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow. Dad will stop worrying as well. It's a fine hospital. But such floors! A mop is no good. You need a brush."

    No. 1 Snapchat

    With this app, the pictures people share with friends will disappear automatically(自动地) after they are seen. Snapchat has become more and more popular since 2012. Over 700 million photos have been shown daily by May 2014, up from 20 million per day in 2012.

    No. 2 Uber

    The on-demand car service app allows users to order a ride and get picked up within minutes. On-demand service means no need to reserve (预订) and no waiting in taxi queues. And the app can be used in more than 40 countries.

    No. 3 WhatsApp

    WhatsApp became the world's most popular chat app in 2014 with over 600 million monthly users in August. It was also bought by Facebook in October for about $ 22 billion (about 136 billion yuan).

    No. 4 Venmo

    The mobile payment service is used to share bills by friends, who get together to have dinner or do something else. It took Millennials' (生于1984-1995年间的"千禧一代") smart-phones by storm in 2014. It is said that among college students the word "Venmo" is now being used as a verb—"just Venmo me".

    He was once referred to as the Picasso of poetry. Beloved by Chileans of all classes, he is one of the most widely read and respected poets in history. And this year is the 100th birthday of Pablo Neruda (1904-1973).

    Born with the name Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basolto, he was a tall, shy and lonely boy. He loved to read and started to write poetry when he was ten. The American poet Walt Whitman, whose framed picture Neruda later kept on his table, became a major influence on his work.

    However, his father did not like the idea of having a poet for a son and tried to discourage him from writing. To cover up (掩饰) the publication of his first poem, he took the pen name Pablo Neruda.

    In 1924 Neruda gained fame with his most widely read work "Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair". Yet his rich experience as a diplomat and exile (流亡) made him go beyond the theme of love. His work also reflected the political struggle of the left and development of South America. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.

    Neruda loved the sea which he saw as creative, destructive and forever moving. He found inspiration in the power and freedom of the waves and the seabirds on the coast. "I need the sea because it teaches me," he wrote. "I move in the university of the waves." He loved how the sea forever renewed itself, a renewal echoed in his work.