A world-famous Canadian author, Margaret Atwood, has created the world's first long-distance signing device(装置), the LongPen.

    After many tiring……from city to city, Atwood thought there must be a better way to do them . She hired some technical experts and started her own company in 2004. Together they designed the LongPen. Here's how it works: The author writes a personal message and signature on a computer tablet(手写板) using a special pen. On the receiving end, in another city, a robotic arm fitted with a regular pen signs the book. The author and fan can talk with each other via webcams(网络摄像机) and computer screens。

    Work on the LongPen began in Atwood's basement(地下室). At first, they had no idea it would be as hard as it turned out to be. The device went through several versions, including one that actually had smoke coming out of it. The investing finally completed, teat runs w ere made in Ottawa, and the LongPen was officially launched at the 2006 London Book Fair. From here , Atwood conducted two transatlantic book signings of her latest book for fans in Toronto and New York City.

    The LongPen produces a unique signature each time because it copies the movement of the author in real time. It has several other potential applications. It could increase credit card security and allow people to sign contracts from another province. The video exchange between signer and receiver can be recorded on DVD for proof when legal documents are used.

     “It's really fun”, said the owner of a bookstore, who was present for one of the test runs. “Obviously you can't shake hands with the author but there are chances for a connection that you don't get from a regular book signing..

    The response to the invention has not been all favorable. Atwood has received criticism from authors who think she is trying to end book tours. But she said, “It will be possible to go to places that you never got sent to before because the publishers couldn't  afford it.”

    Now is the best time for Hong Kong shopping lovers, as most shops and markets are having their seasonal sales. With the same amount of money, you can find different kinds of goods in this city. Women, young and old, rarely resist the attraction of this shopping paradise(乐园) at this time of year. Lovers will surely have an exciting Christmas and New year's Eve celebrations at the Time Square or in the western styled bars. Spending your holiday in Hong Kong will be easy too, as several packing tours are available from CZL Travel Service, with four-day tours for less than 15,000 yuan.

    Tour package 1(3,200 yuan): a 4-day-tour including three nights' accommodation(住宿), science helicopter flight, night ferry tour of Victoria Harbor and shuttle bus to the park to view the city at night.

    Tour package 2(1,880yuan): a 4-day-shopping tour including three nights' accommodation, tour to Golden Beach and the Vex work Museum, shuttle bus to the Peak and shopping opportunities.

    Tour package 3 (1,480 yuan): a 4-day-DIY-tour including three nights' accommodation in a four-star hotel and total freedom to do what you want, when you went.

    Toronto is reminding citizens this month what exactly can and can't go into the blue bins an you may be surprised at what can't be recycled. As it turns out the takeout coffee cups you've been throwing into the recycling actually have to go in the garbage.

    The city's “recycle right” web explains that food left after a meal, woven (编织的) cloth, old VHS tapes and other things have been turning up in blue bins, where they don't belong.

    According to the city, about 45,000 tunes of garbage was mistakenly put into recycling bins last year alone.

    Among those things are the takeout coffee and tea cups we get while were on the go. The city says that because those paper cups are lined with plastic or wax they can't be recycled. The black plastic coffee lids (盖子) also can't go in the blue bin, although non-black plastic lids can be recycled.

    Emily Alfred, senior campaigner with the Toronto Environmental Alliance, said, “Millions of cups are used in Toronto every year and people are taking these out and putting them in the wrong bin.”

    When paper coffee cups are thrown in with the recycling. Alfred said, they produce a harmful effect on the system.

    “They can't separate the plastic and paper in a typical paper recycling center,” Alfred said, “so it just causes pollution of the recycling process, and it causes lower-quality paper if it does get recycled.”

    “New regulations passed last month call for changes to be rolled out over the next few years regarding what products companies can sell,” Alfred said. Her organization will be pushing for more producer responsibility laws, which call on companies that design and make products to take on the responsibility of recycling them.

    For now, consumers can consider carrying their own reusable coffee cups while they are on the go, ask for a ceramic mug (陶瓷杯) if they plan to consume their drink in the cafe, and support their local government officials if they have put efforts into changing recycling or producer responsibility laws.

    Alfred said, “I think people can change their habits easily if they understand what to do.”

    A young woman carrying a three-year-old child got on a bus. The conductor hurried to give her a warm welcome and then kindly asked the other passengers to make more room for the woman and her child. On seeing this, people were surprised and began to talk. "You know this conductor used to be very rude. Now suddenly he has changed his bad behavior, "said a middle-aged man.

    "Yes, he should be praised and we must write a letter to the company," said a second passenger. "That's right," another lady said, "I wish a newspaper reporter were here so that more people could learn from this conductor.”

    Just then a gentleman who looked like a teacher turned to the conductor and said, "Excuse me, but can I know your name, please? Your excellent service must be praised..."

    Before he could open his mouth, the three-year-old child sitting on the young woman's lap interrupted, "I know his name. I call him Dad."

    In the home country, a common language gives you the ability to communicate easily with the people around you; and you learn something about your country's history, people's habits, likes and dislikes, customs and traditions. This understanding influences your own behavior, and what you expect of others.

    Living abroad, it doesn't take long to realize that many things don't "work" the same, especially when moving from "the West" to "the East". Besides a different language, each country has its own social system and laws and ways of solving problems. You will find some of them strange and alien. Sometimes you may feel uncomfortable because you realize that things are not the same as you think they are supposed to be. This is what has become known as "Culture Shock".

    Living in an environment with an unfamiliar(不熟悉的)culture can cause stress, anxiety or worse- mental or physical illness in some cases. Culture shock is the shock of experiencing an unknown or new culture. Cross-culture Adjustment is the period of anxiety, great pain and confusion suffered when entering a new culture. It can have effects on a person's emotions and behavior. You should learn to accept and try to be used to different situations. One thing is certain: it is far easier to accept the new order of things than to try to change it.

    Most Asian people can bear foreigners and accept their strange habits and behavior, not only because it might be to their benefit but out of natural politeness and restraint(克制)in front of others. Westerners should not make use of this. They must try to accept and obey local rules and rules of behavior.

    There are many places to go on safari (观赏野生动物) in Africa, but riding a horse through the flooded waters of Botswana's Okavango Delta must rank as one of the world's most exciting wildlife journeys.

    Several safari camps operate as the base for this adventure, providing unique rides twice a day to explore deep into the delta. The camps have excellent horses, professional guides and lots of support workers. They have a reputation for providing a great riding experience.

    The morning ride, when the guides take you to beautiful, shallow lakes full of water lilies, tends to be more active. It is unlike any other riding experience. With rainbows forming in the splashing water around you and the sound of huge drops of water bouncing off your body and face, it is truly exciting. You are very likely to come across large wild animals, too. On horseback it is possible to get quite close to elephants, giraffes and many other animals. The sense of excitement and tension levels rise suddenly though, as does your heart rate, as you move closer to them.

    In the evening, rides are usually at a more relaxed and unhurried pace, with golden light streaming across the grassy delta and the animals coming out to eat and drink. Sedate though they are, rides at this time of day are still very impressive. As the sun's rays pass through the dust kicked up by the horses, the romance of Africa comes to life.

    Back at the camp you can kick off your boots and enjoy excellent food and wine. Looking back on your day, you will find it hard to deny that a horseback safari is as close as you will ever come to answering the call of the wild.