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    How often do you check your phone? According to a study led by Nottingham Trent University in Britain, the average person looks at their phones 86 times a day. Updating their status on social media platforms also made people reach for their electronic companion frequently.

    Even the participants thought that was a lot: this figure is twice as often as they thought they did. Our phones might be shaping our behavior more than we realize. Do you actually look at your surroundings more than at your phone? Is it rude to check your phone when someone is talking to you?

    Sherry Turkle interviewed hundreds of college students about this. She's a professor of social studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They talked about something they called "the rule of three".

    The rule has to do with being considerate to others despite the allure (诱惑力) of the little flat box. Turkle explains: "If you go to dinner with friends, you don't want to look down at your phone until you see that three people are looking up in the conversation. So there's a new rule where you don't look down unless three people are looking up in order to keep a little conversation alive."

    Actually, if you are clever enough you might use your phone as a tool to connect with people next to you. Sharing a bit of your life with them can bring you closer together. And you can also invite everyone to take a selfie (自拍照) with you.

    But the best thing to deal with mobile phone addiction is to go cold turkey and leave the machine behind occasionally or just switch it off and keep it firmly in your pocket for a while.

Walk For Charity

Dear Friend,

    Please join us for our annual Walk For Charity.Starting in Weldown,you and your friends can choose a delightful 10,20 or 30 kilometers' route.

    The money raised will provide support to help people all over the world.Start collecting your sponsors now and then simply come along on the day.Please read the instructions below carefully,especially if you require transport to and from Weldown.

    See you on Sunday 15 April.

    V Jessop: Walk coordinator

    PS.Well done to last year's walkers for helping to raise a grand total of ￡21,000.The money has already been used to build a children's playground.

    START TIME:

    30 km: 8-10 am      20 km: 8-10:30 am      10 km: 8-11:30 am

    The organizers reserve the right to refuse late-comers.

    CLOTHING should be suitable for the weather.If rain is forecast,bring some protection and be prepared for all possibilities.It is better to wear shoes that have been worn in,rather than ones that are new.

    ROUTE MAPS will be available from the registration point.The route will be sign-posted and arranged.Where the route runs along the road,walkers should keep to one side in single file,facing oncoming traffic at all times.If you need help along the route,please inform one of the staff.

    Free car parking is available in car parks and on streets in Weldown.

    BUSES:

    For the 10 and 20 kilometers' routes,a bus will be waiting at Fenton to take walkers back to Weldown.The bus will leave every half hour starting at midday.The service is free and there is no need to book.

    Sagrada Familia

    Opening hours: 09:00—18:00(October—March); 09:00—20:00(April—September)

    Admission: $11, or $10 with the Barcelona Card.

    The temple has been under construction since 1882 and they've still got another 30 to 80 years to go before it is finished. The project's vast scale and its special design have made it one of Barcelona's top tourist attractions for many years.

    La Pedrera

    Opening hours: November—February: 09:00—18:30; March—October: 09:00—20:00

    Admission: $9.Save 20% with the Barcelona Card.

    This building used to be called Casa Mila but nowadays it's more commonly known as La Pedrera.It is a unique modernist building in Barcelona and was made of bricks.It was built between 1906 and 1912 and in 1984 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site with other Gaudi buildings in Barcelona.

    Barcelona FC Museum

    Opening hours: April 6th—October 4th:(Monday to Saturday) 10:00—20:00; the rest of the year: 10:00—18:30

    Admission: $8.50 for entry to the museum and $17 for a guided tour.

    When you buy your ticket you have two options.You can buy a ticket for the museum to see the football stadium or you can buy a dual (双的) ticket for $15 where you get to see the museum and the scenes at the club.

    Miro Museum

    Opening hours: Check the website for details as they vary depending on the time of the year.

    Admission: $8.Save 20% with the Barcelona Card.

    This museum has a wide range of Miro's works dating back as far as 1914.This artwork collection not only includes his paintings but also a good selection of sculptures.

    Most heroes are not super. They don't appear in comic books, on television, or in movies. They just do what they believe needs to be done to make their world a better place. Bike Batman is one of them.

    Bike Batman is a 30-year-old married engineer who lives in Seattle, Washington. He's a cyclist who also buys and sells bikes as a hobby.

    About three years ago, he was looking for a bike for his wife. He found one on Craigslist, a website where people list things they want to sell. As he often does, he also looked at Bike Index, a popular website that allows users to register their bikes and post reports when they're taken. The bike, which he was considering purchasing, clearly matched one reported stolen on Bike Index. Then he called the person who claimed to be the bike's owner and arranged to meet him— supposedly to complete the sale. When the two men met, Bike Batman told the thief, "You've got two options. You can wait until a police officer gets here, or you can just get out of here." You can imagine what the thief did.

    After that first success, Bike Batman developed a safer routine. When he sees questionable bike ads on Craigslist, he cross-references the image with bikes reported on Bike Index. Once he has confirmed it with the owner, he arranges a meet-up with the thief and will call the Seattle police department so that officers can participate in the action. In more than half of the 22 cases in which he has got back and returned bikes, the thieves have been arrested. In one case, Bike Batman even helped a family recover a wide range of prized possessions that suspects had stolen during a home burglary.

    His nickname came from a discussion with a police officer who suggested he be called "Robin Hood". Since he wasn't exactly stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, "Batman" seemed a better fit. The idea of a superhero punishing criminals feels pretty silly to him, but the main reason he continues his work is to keep up Seattle's reputation as a friendly city.

    Maybe it's because it was our first purchase as homeowners. The salesman must have spotted just how green we were, so he began persuading. And soon he led us to a classic leather chair. All these years later, I remember he used words like rich and handsome, the thing every living room needed.

    We believed him. So we bought that chair — just less than $100, a great deal in the 1970s for a young couple!

    How we loved that chair! It always occupied a place of honor in our various living rooms, moving with us from our first tiny house to our beloved new house.

    Somehow, conversations were better on that chair, and life was more fun around it. Three daughters spilled their secrets on it. Old friends seemed to be attracted by it on those wonderful occasions. Crazy as it sounds, that leather chair seemed to have — well, powers. All for good.

    At first, we didn't really care that the leather was showing signs of wear or that it had lost its sheen (光泽). But in our most recent move, when the chair was moved in our new living room, it suddenly looked terribly lonely sitting close to newly painted walls and a couple of shiny new tables.

    My husband and I tried but still we couldn't ignore the rough spots. Our chair had a skin disease. Even our adult kids raised eyebrows, urging us to at least remove the chair to some dark comer of the room. Neither of us could imagine such a retirement for it.

    So we had an inspired idea. We'd call in an upholsterer (修理工) to give our old chair a whole new life. Our friend Joe studied the chair and then took out a simple leather conditioner. He explained that although it wouldn't work miracles, it would definitely get our weary chair looking younger again. It certainly doesn't look new, but its seat and back are shining, and some of its deeper wrinkles have lightened.

    Best of all, it's back in the living room, looking like a wise old friend to the furniture around it. And, yes, there it will stay.

    Because some things, like some people, just deserve a happy old age.

Earthquakes are common natural disasters. No matter where you are, knowing how to protect yourself and your family during an earthquake is necessary.

Some experts believe that when you feel the ground is shaking, drop down, take cover under a desk and hold on. Most earthquake injuries are the result of being hit by something falling on you. You should stay indoors until the shaking stops. If you are outdoors, don't stay near buildings, trees or power lines. Many people think that in case of an earthquake, they should "get under something" like a doorway or desk, in order to avoid being hurt by falling objects. Rescue experts now say this is the wrong thing to do. For example, in the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, they found hundreds of children in schools, crushed by their desks. However, they could have survived by lying in the aisle (通道，走道) next to their desks.

So find a nice piece of furniture, a chair, a sofa, and lie down, or curl up next to it. A falling roof may compact (压实) the furniture, but will still leave a space for you to survive next to it. This also holds true if you are in a hotel room, especially at night. Get off the bed, and lie down next to it.

In San Francisco's 1989 earthquake, the upper freeway fell on the lower one. People who drove along were crushed in their cars. But they had time to get out and lie down next to their cars. Yes, their cars were crushed, but there was space from top to bottom next to the vehicles for people to survive and wait a rescue.

Doorways and stairways are very unsafe. Stay away from those.

What can we do to keep ourselves safe? Staying calm is the first and most important rule when facing accidents.