Where can you go to listen to important people talk about important subjects? BigThink.com is a new website that allows Internet users to discuss certain topics with world experts. Subjects discussed on BigThink include the environment, music and questions about happiness and personal identity. The website has been called a YouTube for thinkers. Victoria Brown and Peter Hopkins created BiThink.com They said that people needed an international place to communicate with each other and discuss the important issues (话题)of our times. On the BigThink website, when you click on (点击)a subject, you will find a video of a person talking about his or her ideas. For example, you can listen to United States Senator Ted Kennedy talking about education and other things. Besides, you can read the comments(评论) and questions written by other visitors to the website. More than one hundred experts have expressed their ideas on the website. BigThink's creators started the website by first getting famous people to agree to be videoed. They began by interviewing several well-known professors from Harvard University. Then they used the names of these professors to gain the trust of others and get them to take part in the project. The website says BigThink belongs to everyone. Its motto(格言) is: "We are what you think." So, go online and start thinking big.

    A couple from Miami, Bill and Simone Butler, spent sixty-six days in a life-raft in the seas of Central America after their boat sank.

    Twenty-one days after they left Panama in their boat, Simony, they met some whales. “They started to hit the side of the boat” said Bill, “and then suddenly we heard water.” Two minutes later, the boat was sinking. They jumped into the life-raft and watched the boat go under the water.

    For twenty days they had tins of food, biscuits and bottles of water. They also had a fishing-line and a machine to make salt water into drinking water—two things which saved their lives. They caught eight to ten fish a day and ate them raw（生的）. Then the line broke. “So we had no more fish until something very strange happened. Some sharks came to feed, and the fish under the raft were afraid and came to the surface. I caught them with my hands.”

    About twenty ships passed them, but no one saw them. After fifty days at sea their life-raft was beginning to break up. Then suddenly it was all over. A fishing boat saw them and picked them up. They couldn't stand up. So the captain carried them onto his boat and took them to Costa Rica. Their two months at sea was over.

    About aspirin (阿司匹林):

    Aspirin is a commonly used drug which can be taken to relieve discomfort caused by numerous medical problems including headaches, toothache, inflammation(发炎) and infections. It is also suitable to treat colds and flu-like symptoms(症状), and to reduce a high temperature.

    Who can take aspirin? Adults and children over 16 years of age.

    Who should not take aspirin? Women who are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant. Aspirin may harm your unborn baby.

    Women who are breast-feeding. Aspirin can pass into your breast milk and may harm your baby. People who have any problems with the way the liver works or with the way the kidneys work.

    How to take aspirin: Take aspirin after meals, with a full glass of water or milk.

    The recommended dose (剂量) ranges from two to three tablets at a time. Never take more than 4g 12 tablets) in any 24 -hour period. You must not take these tablets with any other medicine which contains any aspirin or painkiller.

    How to store aspirin: Keep all medicines out of the reach and sight of children.

    Store aspirin in a cool, dry place, away from direct heat and light.

    Do not put aspirin in the bathroom because the dampness there can cause it to lose its effectiveness. Throw away aspirin that smells strongly of vinegar.

    Possible side effects: Feeling sick, increased risk of bleeding, stomach pain, indigestion and heartburn are common. If these effects continue, contact your doctor. Ringing in the ears, difficulty breathing, dizziness, and mental confusion are rare. If these occur, stop taking the drug and contact your doctor for further advice.

    Most people know that Marie Curie(居里夫人) was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.

    Born in September, 1887, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies' two daughters. Along with nine other children whose parents were also famous scholars, Irene studied in their own school, and her mother was one of the teachers. She finished her high school education at the College of Sévigné in Paris. Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, Irene went to help her mother, who was using X-ray facilities（设备） to help save the lives of wounded soldiers. Irene continued the work by developing X-ray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgium. Her services were recognized in the form of a Military's Medal by the French government.

    In 1918, Irene became her mother's assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924, Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taught him the techniques required for his work. They soon fell in love and were married in 1926. Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later.

    Like her mother, Irene combined family and career. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935. Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia because of her work with radioactivity（辐射能）. Irene Joliot-Curie died from leukemia on March 17, 1956.

    Mobile technology has created new ways for all types of learning styles to help discover new information. If you want to teach yourself things, here are some apps that will help you.

    Coursera

    Perhaps one of the biggest advancements in the history of e﹣learning, Coursera has teamed up with top school like Duke, Stanford, and John Hopkins to bring you direct access to real college courses in psychology, computer science, business, and technology. Each course features pre﹣recorded videos, projects, and quizzes, just like you'd receive inside the classroom.

    Lumosity

    This app features three﹣day sessions that target many different areas of brain activity：memory, speed, problem solving, and thinking flexibility. Each day you can participate in a timed session to sharpen mental intelligence and keep track of your progress over time.

    Duolingo

    If you've ever wanted to learn a new language but didn't know where to start or couldn't afford expensive apps, you need to check out Duolingo. This app teaches more than a dozen languages by breaking up exercises into mini games. The developer of Duolingo claims that 34 hours of learning in this app equals a full term's worth of school.

    EarthViewer

    Ever wonder what Earth looked like a million years ago？There's no better way to know than to look for yourself. Earth Viewer takes you on a digital journey to see how the landscape（地貌） and face of the planet has developed over the past 4.5 billion years, and view climate changes, sea level adjustments, or the evolution of famous cities.

    Last summer, after finishing my work in China, I took the trip of a lifetime on the Trans-Siberian Railway (西伯利亚铁路). Leaving Beijing early on a Wednesday morning in July, my wife and I travelled through some awesome (令人惊叹的) countryside before we arrived in Moscow the following Monday.

    The first part of the journey took us past the Great Wall and through the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. At the Mongolian Republic border, we had a delay(耽搁)while the wheels were changed because the railway is different.

    On our way to the capital, Ulan Bator, we saw herdsmen (牧人) on horseback looking after their cattle. There was a great thunderstorm as we crossed a vast open plain. Later we had a quick tour of Ulan Bator.

    Next, the train took us into Siberia. After a stop at Irkutsk, a popular holiday resort(度假胜地), where a tour group left the train, we passed the great Lake Baikal. Later, we saw some lovely wooden houses in pretty, sunny countryside. This surprised us, as we had imagined Siberia as being covered with thick snow.

    Over the next few days, we passed through Novosibirsk, Omsk and other cities in the heartlands of the Russian Federation. By now, our body clocks were losing their sense of time. We wanted to sleep and eat at the wrong time!

    At last we reached Moscow. We were so tired that we slept for 16 hours that night. The next day we went sightseeing. We saw the Dremlin and some other magnificent (宏伟的) buildings in the Russian capital. Then, all too soon, it was time for us to return to our home in London.