I was blind, but I was ashamed of it if it was known. I refused to use a white stick and hated asking for help. After all, I was a teenage girl, and I couldn't bear people to look at me and think I was not like them. I must have been a terrible danger on the roads. Coming across me wandering through the traffic, motorists probably would have to stop rapidly on their brakes. Apart from that, there were all sorts of disasters that used to occur on the way to and from work.

One evening, I got off the bus about halfway home where I had to change buses, and as usual I ran into something. "I'm awfully sorry," I said and stepped forward only to run into it again. When it happened a third time, I realized I had been apologizing to a lamppost. This was just one of the stupid things that constantly happened to me. So I carried on and found the bus stop, which was a request stop, where the bus wouldn't stop unless passengers wanted to get on or off. No one else was there and I had to guess if the bus had arrived.

    Generally in this situation, because I hated showing I was blind by asking for help, I tried to guess at the sound. Sometimes I would stop a big lorry and stand there feeling stupid as it drew away. In the end, I usually managed to swallow my pride and ask someone at the stop for help.

    But at this particular evening no one joined me at the stop; it seemed that everyone had suddenly decided not to travel by bus. Of course I heard plenty of buses pass, or I thought I did. But because I had given up stopping them for fear of making a fool of myself, I let them all go by. I stood there alone for half an hour without stopping one. Then I gave up. I decided to walk on to the next stop.

    No poem should ever be discussed or “analyzed”，until it has been read aloud by someone，a teacher or a student．Better still，perhaps，is the practice of reading it twice，once at the beginning of the discussion and once at the end，so the sound of the poem is the last thing one hears of it．

    All discussions of poetry are，in fact，preparations for reading it aloud，and the reading of the poem is，finally，the most telling “interpretation” of it，suggesting tone，rhythm，and meaning all at once．Hearing a poet read the work in his or her own voice，on records or on film，is obviously a special reward．But even those aids to teaching can not replace the student and the teacher reading it or，best of all，reciting it．

    I have come to think，in fact，that time spent reading a poem aloud is much more important than “analyzing” it，if there isn't time for both．I think one of our goals as teachers of English is to have students love poetry．Poetry is “a criticism of life” and “a heightening(提升)of life”．It is “an approach to the truth of feeling”，and it “can save your life”．It also deserves a place in the teaching of language and literature more central than it presently occupies．

    I am not saying that every English teacher must teach poetry．Those who don't like it should not be forced to put that dislike on anyone else．But those，who do teach poetry must keep in mind a few things about its essential nature，about its sound as well as its sense，and they must make room in the classroom for hearing poetry as well as thinking about it．

    The meaning of silence varies among cultural groups. Silences may be thoughtful, or they may be empty when a person has nothing to say. A silence in a conversation may also show stubbornness, uneasiness, or worry. Silence may be viewed by some cultural groups as extremely uncomfortable; therefore attempts may be made to fill every gap (间隙) with conversation. Persons in other cultural groups value silence and view it as necessary for understanding a person's needs.

    Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people, just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do. Therefore, when a person from one of these cultures is speaking and suddenly stops, what maybe implied (暗示) is that the person wants the listener to consider what has been said before continuing. In these cultures, silence is a call for reflection.

    Other cultures may use silence in other ways, particularly when dealing with conflicts among people or in relationships of people with different amounts of power. For example, Russian, French, and Spanish persons may use silence to show agreement between parties about the topic under discussion. However, Mexicans may use silence when instructions are given by a person in authority rather than be rude to that person by arguing with him or her. In still another use, persons in Asian cultures may view silence as a sign of respect, particularly to an elder or a person in authority.

    Nurses and other care-givers need to be aware of the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be experiencing. Nurses should recognize their own personal and cultural construction of silence so that a patient's silence is not interrupted too early or allowed to go on unnecessarily. A nurse who understands the healing (治愈) value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures.

    We all have different ways to navigate (导航) when lost—whether asking a stranger for help, consulting an old-school map or simply following our nose. But on a bike, the risks are higher. One wrong turn or that you're in a traffic jam with two lanes between your bike and the nearest pavement may ruin your good mood. Although cyclists, of course, managed to navigate before smart phones, cyclists can make two choices: a few stay calm and embrace getting lost, and the rest turn to a navigation app.

    Google Maps added a directions function for cyclists in 2015 in the US and Canada, and two years later across Europe. And while there are dozens of other apps now offering a similar service, Google Maps has the demerits for many, so the app seems to be falling behind expectations.

    As someone with no sense of direction, I knew it wouldn't be easy when I started cycling earlier this year. I appreciated that the app gave me two warnings before I needed to turn off a road, and automatically recalculated my route if I accidentally went off course. But still, it wasn't a smooth process. Google Maps thought I could cut across a double carriageway with no breaks in its barrier, assumed I knew what it meant when it told me to “head west”, and thought nothing of taking me the wrong way down a busy one-way street.

    Cyclists don't just want safety—they want convenience. Londoner Robson Smith regularly cycles between Clap ham and the City of London and would like to see Google Maps calculate routes where his bike is allowed on public transport and more choice of the type of routes he can take. “Google tends to calculate the most common and comfortable cycle routes. It would be better to have an option which included the fastest route, regardless of comfort,” he says.

    For this reason, Robson says he uses the app Cycle Streets instead. It offers a choice of four different route modes, based on the type the user wants, and saves previous routes. It also tells you how many calories a route burns, how many traffic lights you wilt encounter, and how busy it is.

    Alexander John Jordan was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1914. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Wisconsin. After about one year of college, Alex dropped out.

    Alex then went from job to job. He drove a taxi and worked for Royavac. He also worked for his father's construction company, where Alex got his basic knowledge of construction.

    In the 1940s, Alex discovered Deer Shelter Rock and began having small picnics on the top of the rock. He then started bringing his tent and camping out. One night, his tent got blown away and from that day, Alex decided he wanted to build something more stable. That was the beginning of his dreams. Alex started off by renting the rock and a bit of land around it from a local farmer. He first built a small studio with a fireplace. Then Alex, with his parents' help, bought 240 acres of land, so he could build as he pleased. What took shape on and around Deer Shelter Rock was truly a wonderful achievement. More wonderful still is the fact that he built much of the original house by himself, carrying the materials up the 75-foot-high rock.

    As curiosity grew surrounding his project, more and more people came to visit the House on the Rock. Alex decided to charge people 50 cents to visit, thinking that would drive them away; however, people gladly paid the fee. In 1960, Alex decided to open the House on the Rock to the public. This increased the interest and the crowds grew. All of the money taken in over the years was put directly back into the House. Alex was devoted to the House on the Rock. It was his life and dream.

    Portland, Oregon, just got another reason to call itself "Bike City USA".

UPS has started a trial program to deliver packages there using an electric-powered bicycle. The environmentally friendly Cargo Cruiser is a tricycle with a large brown box on the back. Like any electronic bike, the Cargo Cruiser can be powered by foot, motor, or a combination of both.

    UPS began testing e-Bikes in Hamburg, Germany, in 2012, but this is the first time the technology has been used for package deliveries in the United States.

The e-Bikes support UPS's efforts to reduce its carbon emissions, ease urban noise levels, and improve air quality. The amount of energy to be saved by using e-Bikes hasn't been quantified, but the test vehicle in Portland "will probably displace about two gallons of fuel every day", said Scott Phillippi, UPS's engineering manager.

    Phillippi says that one e-Bike alone won't create a huge difference in UPS's carbon emissions, but he describes it as “a piece of our overall strategy” as far as environmental impacts and efficiencies.

    It also ties into the company's broader strategy to settle a problem that troubles Portland and other cities around the world: traffic jam. According to UPS, traffic jam costs it hundreds of millions of dollars a year in additional operating costs. The time when the average UPS delivery truck is stuck in traffic is about 16 minutes a day, slowing its deliveries and increasing the company's carbon emissions.

    The pilot program is in its early stages and already has hit its first stage: ice storms pulled trees and branches down all over the city, blocking bike lanes and making travel dangerous. How do e-Bikes deal with it?

    If the trial proves successful, you may be able to see UPS delivery people wearing bike shorts in other places around the country, "Other cities have expressed some interest," Phillippi said.