Bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news. Those are the classic rules for the evening broadcasts and the morning papers. But now that information is being spread and monitored(监控) in different ways, researchers are discovering new rules. By tracking people's e-mails and online posts, scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.

    “The 'if it bleeds' rule works for mass media,” says Jonah Berger, a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. “They want your eyeballs and don't care how you're feeling. But when you share a story with your friends, you care a lot more how they react. You don't want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer.”

    Researchers analyzing word-of-mouth communication—e-mails, Web posts and reviews, face-to-face conversations—found that it tended to be more positive than negative, but that didn't necessarily mean people preferred positive news. Was positive news shared more often simply because people experienced more good things than bad things? To test for that possibility, Dr. Berger looked at how people spread a particular set of news stories: thousands of articles on The New York Times' website. He and a Penn colleague analyzed the “most e-mailed” list for six months. One of his first findings was that articles in the science section were much more likely to make the list than non-science articles. He found that science amazed Times' readers and made them want to share this positive feeling with others.

    Readers also tended to share articles that were exciting or funny, or that inspired negative feelings like anger or anxiety, but not articles that left them merely sad. They needed to be aroused(激发) one way or the other, and they preferred good news to bad. The more positive an article, the more likely it was to be shared, as Dr. Berger explains in his new book, “Contagious: Why Things Catch On.”

    I grew up in a troubled home in the 1970s, on the outskirts of downtown Orlando, Florida. Not far away, a three-story house attracted my eyes.

    It was nothing like the one I lived in with my mother, a small dark place with rules about befriending others. “Don't. Never, ever talk to anyone,” my mother said.

    One day, in sixth grade, a black-haired woman was introduced to our class: Mrs. Reese. Reese explained that she was starting Spanish Club. She invited anyone interested in learning Spanish language and culture to stay after school.

    I could not take my eyes off her bracelets(手镯) and shining rings. The bell rang, and to my shock, no one went up to Mrs. Reese. I was under strict orders to go straight home. But that day, I stayed. I asked Mrs. Reese when the club started.

    “We could begin right now if you like,” she said with a smile. I felt beautiful. That day I learned that the house of my dreams was her house. I learned how to answer questions about my age and my favorite food in Spanish. And I learned, “Do you want to come over tomorrow for cooking lessons?”

    I wanted to say “Yes”, but Mom's words held me back.

I begged my mother all summer and into fall, well after Spanish Club had dissolved. I wept at night sometimes, so worried that Mrs. Reese and her family would move away.

    At some point, I managed to wear my mother down and one Saturday afternoon. I rode out to Mrs. Reese's house.

    The details of that afternoon are marked in my mind: We had tea. She painted my toenails red. We made a garlicky picadillo. We spoke in Spanish. In Spanish, my voice was loud and romantic. This is the real me! I remember thinking.

    My mother never permitted me another visit to Mrs. Reese's house. But four decades later, I still remember that day and the life she showed me, proof of a possible future.

    People

    People is America's No.1 magazine about fascinating people. It's a guide to who and what's hot in the arts, business, politics, television, movies, books, music and sports. It is published weekly.

    Publisher: The Time Inc. Magazine Company

    Cover Price: ＄211.47

    Our Price: ＄117.00

    Issues: 53 issues/12 months

    Lucky

    Lucky is the shopping magazine with the best buys, and the fashion tips you'll need before you hit the stores. What makes Lucky really special is that it gets you the information you need before anyone else has it.

Publisher: Conde Nast Publications Inc.

    Cover Price: ＄35.40

    Our Price: ＄15.00

    Issues: 12 issues/12 months

    Parents

    The most trusted magazine for parents who want to raise smart, loving and self-confident children. Each issue has age-specific child-development guidance, advice on your child's health and safety, and the best ways to encourage your child's learning.

    Publisher: Meredith Corporation

    Cover Price: ＄42.00

    Our Price: ＄9.97

    Issues: 12 issues/12 months

    Entertainment

    This magazine covers movies, television, music, Broadway stage productions, books, and popular culture. Unlike celebrity-focused magazines like People, its main concentration is on entertainment media and reviews. It's intended for a more general audience.

    Publisher: The Time Inc. Magazine Company

    Cover Price: ＄199.50

    Our Price: ＄38.95

    Issues: 57 issues/12 months

The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple's products sounds cool and has become a fashion. Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” — and many other brands are following suit. The BBC's iPlayer — which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet —used the title in 2015. A lovely bear — popular in the US and UK — that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version(简装本) of London's Independent newspaper was started last week under the name “i”.

    In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms like e-mail first came into use.

    Most “i” products are aimed at young people and considering the major readers of independent's “i”, it's no surprise that they've selected this fashionable name.

    But it's hard to see what's so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King's College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn't have one clear definition,” he says.

    “However, thanks to Apple, the term is now connected with portability (轻便) .”adds Thorne.

    ※Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.

    Along with “Google” and “Microblog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last ten years.

    But as history shows, people grow tired of fashions. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was connected with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the fashion disappeared.

    Blogs(博客) have become an important part of life. Millions of people have blogs. Perhaps you would like to have one; you would like to improve your blog; perhaps you would like to make your blog as a means of earning money or attracting more people. Whatever your aim is, this course shows you how to become better bloggers. You will learn how to find the right tone for your blog, set it up and keep it, write something that are effective and worth reading, and attract people from all over the world to your blog. While it's simple to start a blog, it takes energy and skill to do it really well, as is true of any kind of writing.

    Among the topics covered: introduction to the blog, the benefits of blogging, focusing on your blog concept, how to set up and keep a page, tips for effective blog writing and drawing visitors to your blog.

    Course offered

    How to blog

    In this four-week course, a blogging expert will guide you through the process of designing, setting up, writing, and improving a blog. Each student will talk with the expert on blog, then set up a "live" blog and introduce it to the rest of the class for suggestions. Students will also have chances to ask the expert questions.

    Online classes

Tuition(学费): $ 125.      Registration(注册): $ 25.

Each class is strictly limited to 25 students aged 18 and up.

    In earliest times, men considered lightning to be one of the great mysteries (神秘的事物)of nature. Some ancient peoples believed that lightning and thunder were the weapons (武器) of the gods.

    In reality, lightning is a flow of electricity formed high above the earth. A single flash of lightning 1.6 kilometres long has enough electricity to light one million light bulbs (灯泡).

    The American scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, was the first to show the connection between electricity and lightning in 1752. In the same year he also built the first lightning rod (避雷针). This device (装置物) protects buildings from being damaged by lightning.

    Modern science has discovered that one stroke (闪击) of lightning has a voltage (电压) of more than 15 million volts (伏特). A flash of lightning between a cloud and the earth may be as long as 13 kilometers, and travel at a speed of 30 million meters per second.

    Scientists judge that there are about 2,000 million flashes of lightning per year. Lightning hits the Empire State Building in New York City 30 to 48 times a year. In the United States alone it kills an average (平均数) of one person every day.

    The safest place to be in case of an electrical storm is in a closed car. Outside, one should go to low ground and not get under tress. Also, one should stay out of water and away from metal fences. Inside a house, people should avoid open doorways and windows and not touch wires or metal things.

    With lightning, it is better to be safe than sorry?