What should we do when we are in a bad situation? Some may choose to give up. But is that what we should do? The following news report may get you encouraged.

    With a population of 156 million, Bangladesh has one of the largest populations in the world. What makes the situation worse is that most of the country is situated on the low-lying Ganges delta(三角洲). As a result, it often suffers flooding, especially during the rainy season from July to October. In this period, the rivers rise as much as 12 feet. In such situations, people can only get to certain places by boat.

    The problems are particularly serious in the Chalanbeel region, a poor area where people survive by farming on the rich delta soil when it is not underwater. But many parents there don't want to send their children to school and there are not enough teachers. As a result, many kids living there do not attend school on a regular basis. The problem becomes worse during the rainy season when land schools cannot be reached. Many students never return to school after the forced breaks.

    How to help students attend school regularly? 22-year-old Bangladeshi architect Mohammed Rezwan decided to take action. In 2002, the young man used $500 he had received in scholarships to start Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha. The non-profit organization's mission was to set up floating schools. It took Rezwan four years to raise enough funds to open his first boat school. But as the world began to know about the organization's worthy cause, money started to pour in. Until now, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha has built 22 floating schools, some with playgrounds on the upper deck. Now a lot more children in the Chalanbeel region go to school regularly.

    We should keep in mind that there is always a solution to every problem.

    A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months.

    The system, called Driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20%—40% that are caused by tiredness. Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue.

    Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband (腕带). The device, worn by drivers or pilots gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey. After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel (方向盘). A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver's response.

    Tiredness is directly related to a driver's response time. Usually, a watchful driver would use about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy.

    In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest. If the driver's response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible.

    The device has been delivered to the department's laboratories for testing. If these tests, scheduled for six months' time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year.

    You dash through a crowded railway station, tripping over bags, spilling (泼出) your coffee, only to have the doors slide shut in your face, leaving you breathless on the platform as the train pulls away,

    But at least, if you're in France, someone may be playing the piano for you. But it won't be performed by a paid musician, or even a street entertainer playing for coins. It will just be a random passer - by, jamming for the fun of it on one of the pianos that the national railroad company, S. N. C. F., has fixed in nearly 100 stations across France. They are free for anyone to play, and travelers from all walks of life have taken to doing just that.

    Gares & Connexions, the S. N. C. F. division that manages its stations, rents the instruments from the producer, Yamaha: which maintains them and tunes them every month or two. The first one was set up in the Gare Montparnasse in Paris in 2012.

    The music, mixed with the sounds of shouting passengers, screaming trains and rolling suitcases, gives French stations a special soundscape. The amateur musicians have included Irish soccer fans and even babies. In 2014, Gares & Connexions and Yamaha organized a nationwide contest called Your Turn to Play, asking participants to submit videos of themselves using one of the pianos. It drew nearly 900 entries.

    Isn't the railroad company taking a big chance? Apparently not: “None of the instruments has been vandalized to this day, or even merely damaged,” said Claire Foumon, a spokeswoman for Gares & Connexions. “They are shared and respected by all.”

    So if you miss a train in Paris; Bordeaux or Marseille one day, perhaps someone will be playing a favorite piece that will ease your pain. Or perhaps you'll sit down and play your annoyance away yourself.

    A person's nose is important for breathing and smelling. The nose is also used in many popular expressions. Some people are able to "lead other people by the nose". For example, if a wife "leads her husband by the nose", she makes him do whatever she wants him to do. Some people are said to be "hard-nosed". They will not change their opinions or positions on anything. If someone is "hard-nosed", chances are that he will never "pay through the nose", or pay too much money, for an object or service.

    It is always helpful when people "keep their noses out of other people's business"—they do not interfere. The opposite of this is someone who "noses around all the time". This kind of person is interested in other people's private matters. He is considered "nosey". Someone who "keeps his nose to the grindstone "works very hard. This can help a worker "keep his nose clean" or stay out of trouble.

    One unusual expression is "it is no skin off my nose". This means that a situation does not affect or concern me. We also say that sometimes a person "cuts off his nose to spite his face". That is, he makes a situation worse for himself by doing something foolish because he is angry. More problems can develop if a person "looks down his nose" at someone or something. The person acts like something is unimportant or worthless. This person might also "turn his nose up" at something that he considers not good enough. This person thinks he is better than everyone else. He is "with his nose in the air".

    In school, some students "thumb their noses" at their teacher—they refuse to obey orders or do any work. Maybe these students do not know the correct answers. My mother always told me, if you study hard, the answers should be "right under your nose" or easily seen.

    Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.

Many roads and places in Singapore(新加坡) are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries — in both the West and the East.

Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus — obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.

    Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, "Base Basah" means "wet rice" in Malay(马来语). Now why would anyone want to name a road "Wet Rice Road"? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.

    A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is "Circular Road" for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like "Paya Lebar Crescent". This road is called a crescent (月牙) because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.

    A while back I caught a news report on something called -couch surfing‖ and the network of trusting souls who make this phenomenon possible. They offer to put up travelers free of charge and help them on their ways. At first, it sounded unbelievable. I mean, inviting strangers into one's home for one or two nights? Give me a break.

    However, I was intrigued. I decided to investigate. The only way to truly learn about this phenomenon was to dive in. So I planned a trip to Finland, a country I've always wanted to explore. I would couch surf at every stop there.

    If ever any anxiety existed when stepping into the unknown, it disappeared when my first host met me at the train station. Ari looked like my idea of a typical Finn: tall and blue-eyed. Finns were also supposed to be famously reserved (寡言少语的). Ari was anything but. He was a live wire, giving me an enthusiastic welcome and hiking with me to his apartment, where he showed me the sleeper sofa, served me tea, and engaged me in warm conversations. He also handed me a key to come and go as I pleased.

    If this was what couch surfing was all about－trust and friendship－then I had gotten off to a good start. As I boarded my next train to continue my journey, I began to think about this couch-surfing idea. What urged these people to open their homes to strangers? I concluded that there was a desire to lend a hand to like-minded folks who might enrich their own lives.

    Seven cities in 14 days. Seven hosts. Seven new friends. If couch surfing taught me anything, it's this: Most people are good and generous. Where will couch surfing take me next? Who knows? But I can't wait to find out.