Not long ago, I tried convincing my three daughters that the world's secrets are hidden inside silence. The girls looked at me skeptically. Surely silence is nothing?

    Sitting there at the dinner table, I suddenly remembered their curiosity as children, their wondering about what might be hiding behind a door and their amazement as they stared at a light switch and asked me to “open the light”. But now they are 13, 16 and 19 and wonder less and less. If they still wonder at anything, they quickly pull out their smart phones to find the answer. None of them have any interest in discussing with me. To attract their attention, I told them about two friends of mine who had decided to climb Mount Qomolangma.

    Early one morning they left base camp to climb the south-west wall of the mountain. It was going well. Both reached the summit, but then came the storm. They soon realized they would not make it down alive. The first got hold of his pregnant wife by satellite phone. Together they decided on the name of the child that she was carrying. Then he quietly passed away just below the summit. My other friend was not able to contact anyone before he died. No one knows exactly what happened on the mountain in those hours. Thanks to the dry, cool climate 8km above sea level, they have both been freeze-dried. They lie there in silence, looking no different.

    The girls remained quiet, listening. It seemed as though they had got something.

    It is easy to assume that the essence (本质) of technology is technology itself, but that is wrong. The essence is the time we spend with our family and how much freedom we have by technology.

    SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEKEND

    Captain Good Fellow

    Do your children enjoy interesting stories, funny games, and exciting dances? Captain Good Fellow will be ready to teach all these things to children of all ages at the City Theatre on Saturday morning at 10:00, Free.

    Walking Tour of the Town

    Forget your worries on Saturday morning. Take a beautiful walk and learn about local history. Meet at the front entrance of City Hall at 9:30. Wear comfortable shoes!

    Films at the Museum

    Two European films will be shown Saturday afternoon at the Museum Theatre. See Broken Window at 1:30. The workers will be at 3:45. For further information, call 4987898.

    International Picnic

    Are you tired of eating the same food every day? Come to Central Park on Saturday and enjoy food from all over the world. Delicious and not expensive. Noon to 5:00 pm.

    Take Me out to the Ballgame

    It's October, and tonight is your last chance to see the Redbirds this year. Get your tickets at the gate. It might be cold；don't forget sweaters and jackets.

Do You Want to Hear “The Zoo”

     “The Zoo”, a popular rock group from Australia, will give their first US concert tomorrow night at 8:00 at Rose Hall, City College.

    The Terracotta Army Museum is one of the must-visit attractions for all travelers to China. The attraction is located in Xi'an, in west China's Shanxi Province.

    What's special?

    The terracotta Army is the buried army of Qin Shi Huang, an ancient Chinese emperor. These ancient sculptures were built and buried over two thousand years ago near the city of Xi'an. They were discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well looking for underground water. Over a thousand terracotta warriors and horses have been uncovered since then. Each warrior is made of clay (泥土). They are around two meters tall. The sculptures are so detailed that it is possible to guess the age, rank and personality of each one. None of the soldiers are the same.

    The best time to visit

    The Terracotta Army is an indoor attraction, which is not likely to be affected by weather, so it can be visited all year round.

    As the Terracotta Army Museum is one of the must-visit attractions in China, it is crowded most of the time. We advise our customers to avoid the following periods when the museum is particularly crowded:

    National Day holiday(October 1-7), when it is fully packed.

    Labour Day holiday(May 1-3)

    Weather in winter is dry, cold and the least comfortable, and it's also the worst season for air quality, but it's also low season.

    Travel style: private, group or independent?

    A private tour means a lot of flexibility and you will be well taken care of by a private guide and driver. The museum is crowded most of the time, but our guides know how to escape the crowds, and help our customers to enjoy more in the museum. See our 3-Day Terracotta Warriors Private Tour.

Going with a group you won't get lost, but i lacks flexibility and personal service.

    Travelling on your own you may meet a lot of trouble, such as wasting time on finding a taxi or public bus to the attraction, lining up for tickets, reading maps, making sense of Chinese signs, etc.

    It's nearly exam time, so check out some of the best free apps around to help you manage the stress of exams and ensure you are studying effectively over the coming weeks.

    Exam Countdown

    This app can help to remind you how many days, hours, and minutes you have until your exam. This can help to motivate you to hit the books before it's too late.

    Block The Internet

    Are you constantly checking Facebook when you should be writing an essay? Or perhaps are you distracted by a battle in League of Legends? Download this app to get rid of online distractions by temporarily blocking Internet sites on your mobile. Simply add the websites you want to block and the period of time to block them for. Guarantee to get yourself focused on that assignment.

    CBT-i Coach

    The US Department of Veterans (老兵) Affairs developed the app, CBT-i Coach, to assist with insomnia (失眠) and help people who would like to improve their sleeping habits. It provides several key parts: information about sleep and insomnia, strategies for improving sleep, relaxation skills and a helpful sleep diary.

    Yoga

    Yoga has great health benefits both for the mind and body, and will help you to perform at your best while at university. Download a yoga app and have your own personal yoga instructor in your living room. You can choose from short or long workouts and have a qualified instructor teaching you how to do each pose. Choose from a variety of yoga routines and watch the instructional videos. Go on, stretch out those sore muscles.

    Have you ever been afraid to talk back when you were treated unfairly? Have you ever bought something just because the salesman talked you into it? Many people are afraid to speak out for their rights. Dr Robert Albert, author of Stand Up, Speak Out, and Talk Back thinks it's because their self-respect is low.

    But Albert and other scientists are doing something to help people help themselves. They offer "assertiveness training" courses A. T. for short. In the A. T. Course people learn that they have a right to be themselves. They learn to speak out and feel good about doing so. They learn to help themselves without hurting other people.

In one way, learning to speak out is to get rid of fear, a group taking an A. T. Course will help the shy person to lose his fear. But a. T. uses an even stronger motive— he needs to share. The shy person speaks out in the group because he wants to tell how he feels. Whether or not you speak up for yourself depends on your self-respect. If someone you face is more "important" than you, you may feel less of a person. You start to doubt your answers to problems. You can get to feel good about yourself. And once you do you can learn to speak out.

When I was 15 years old, I made my first visit to the United States. It wasn't the first time I had been to a foreign1 . Like most English children I2 French as school and I had often been too France, so I was used to3 a foreign language to people who didn't understand English. But when I went to America I was really looking forward to having a nice holiday without any4 problems.

How wrong I was! The misunderstanding5 at the airport. I was looking for a6 telephone to give my American friend Danny a7 and told her that I had arrived. A friendly old man saw me looking lost and asked if he could8 me."Yes", I said,"I want to give my friend a ring"."Well, that's nice,"he said."Are you getting married? But aren't you a bit 9 ?""Who is talking about marriage?"I became a little10 ,"I just want to give my friend a ring to tell her I have arrived. Can you tell me11 there's a phone box?""Oh!"he said,"there is a phone downstairs."

When at last, we did meet up, I told Danny what12 to me. Danny laughed,"I had so many13 at first. There are lots of words which the Americans14 differently in meaning from us British."She said to me,"But don't worry. You'll soon15 to all the funny things they say. Most of the time British and American people understand each other!"