As self-driving cars come closer to being common on American roads, much of the rhetoric（说辞）promoting them has to do with safety. About 40,000 people die on U.S. roads every year, and driver errors are linked to more than 90 percent of crashes. But many of the biggest advocates of autonomous（自动的）vehicles aren't car companies looking to improve the safety of their existing products. Huge support for itself-driving technologies is coming from Silicon Valley giants like Google and Apple.

    Those of us who have studied the relationship between technology and society tend to look more carefully at the motivations behind any technologically push. In this case, it's clear that in addition to addressing safety concerns, Silicon Valley firms have a strong incentive（动机）to create a new venue for increasing the use of their digital devices. Every minute people spend on their mobile phones provides data—and often money—to tech companies.

    At present, digital devices and driving are in conflict: There are serious, often fatal, consequences when drivers use smartphones to talk or to text. Regulators and safety advocates look to resolve dial conflict by banning phone use while driving – as has happened in almost every state. But the tech companies are taking a different approach. The obvious answer for Silicon Valley is creating an automobile in which continuous cellphone use no longer poses a threat to anyone.

    In recent years, the amount of time adults spend on their mobile devices has grown rapidly. At the moment, it's around four hours a day for the average adult in the U.S. However, that rapid growth is likely to slow down as people run out of time that's available for them up to use their devices. Unless, of course, there's a new block of time that suddenly opens up. The average American now spends about 48 minutes in a car every day, a sizeable opportunity for increased cellphone use.

    Sop as the public conversation around autonomous cars highlights the safety advantages, don't forget the tech industry's powerful desire for more profits, which goes well beyond simply saving us from ourselves.

    Gesture is the use of such movements to express thought, emotion, etc. A gesture can be many things. Slamming a book shut shows anger and frustration. Opening a door lor someone shows kindness. Gestures go much beyond small actions.

    My friend once told me a story in high school. One day he met a girl who was on the girls' basketball team. He said hello, gave her a hard handshake and wished her good luck as she had a game later. He came to find out he saved that girl's life. She had planned on committing suicide and by shaking her hand and saying good luck, he made her realize someone really cared about her. I'm not saying all actions are going to change someone else's life that much, but it may make their day better.

    Gestures can be negative too. In my senior year of high school, a guy on my football team was late and was walking down the field to practice. Everyone on the team knows our coach hates it when people are late and walk on the field. He was walking in as if he owned the place and had no care of what his teammates were thinking. His body language had never been good. The other players on the team had never liked him because of his body language.

    Gestures can often say more than a person wants. One day I was mad at my parents for some pointless reason. All day I stayed downstairs. When one of them walked by, I would just stare at the TV or my phone and hope they wouldn't try to start a conversation. When they tried to talk to me, I would give one-word answers. Sitting on the couch and watching TV by myself all day was not my intent but that was what my gestures told my parents.

    One simple gesture can change a person's thoughts, day or maybe even save their lives. If everyone made a nice gesture to someone else every day, our school, town, and world would become a better place. One single act of random kindness at a time or a kind gesture can change the world.

We are interested in the preservation of the biodiversity on Earth. What I've been working on is rats. Just looking at rats, you can understand continental drift and climate change. We've actually rediscovered rats that were thought to be extinct. Darwin was the last one to document them on the Galapagos Islands. People have gone there for hundreds of years and not seen one. In 1997, I went there with my mentor(导师) and another graduate student. Everyone thought I was crazy, why look for something that doesn't exist? They wouldn't even give us permits. Our plan was to stop on a beach for a day and then hike up to the top of an extinct volcano where very few people had been: We were on a picturesque, isolated beach. We set out the traps just to see what we might find. The next morning, I checked my traps! I immediately ran back to my mentor. When he looked in the mental trap—I will never forget his face— It looked like he'd seen a ghost.

I certainly understand the argument: "Who cares about an extinct rat?" but you have no idea what role that rat plays in that functioning ecosystem. People can appreciate beauty, so that's why people love pandas and want to keep them around. You never hear, "What good is panda?" Ecologically, these rats are much more important to their ecosystem than those pandas— not that I don't love pandas but we have to look beyond the big and beautiful.

    I teach conservation biology and evolution. In both you have to appeal to people asking "Why is this important to me?" Some scientists refuse to do that. That's my entire approach. I'll ask "How many of you had a family member who was in a tornado, hurricane or flood?" .And almost every hand goes up. Climate change is suddenly very personal, and now they want to hear what you are saying. You are not looking for sympathy for the rats but for a greater understanding of the system.

    A company in San Francisco, California, has found a way to turn used plastic bottles into women's shoes.

    Every day, millions of Americans drink water and other liquids from plastic bottles. More than 60 million of them are thrown away each day. Many of the plastic bottles end up in landfills or are burned with other waste products.

    A San Francisco start-up company called Rothy's, however, turns this plastic waste into environmentally friendly shoes. Roth Martin is the company's co-founder. He explains how they turn plastic into soft material for women's feet. They take the plastic, clean it, and break it down into small pieces. Then they press them through a device that makes soft fibers. Those fibers arc then combined together. This is done by a 3D machine. It is designed to reduce waste while making the shoes. The knitted stuff and the inner part of the shoe arc then attached to the shoe's outer part, called the sole (鞋底).This outer sole is also made from environmentally friendly material: responsibly responsibly sourced no-carbon rubber.

    Rolhy's shoes are sold online. They are flat shoes, with either a rounded or pointed toe. They come in different colors and designs. They cost either $ 125 or $ 145 per pair, depending on the design. After American actress Gwyneth Paltrow discovered them last year, the demand for the shoes grew. Martin says there is no shortage of material to fill that demand. "We're not going to run out of water bottles any time soon. So we have a limitless supply of material, and I think that is a good sign for our future." When the environmentally friendly shoes wear out, customers can return them at no cost to a company that uses the recycled material to make other products.

    For now, the shoes are only available to be shipped in the United States. However, the company says it will add international shipping in the near future.

    Your kids learn a lot from their friends—things you can't teach them, no matter how much you want to.

    Probably the most important thing kids learn is how to have peer relationships. As a parent, you can't do this, because you and your child aren't equals.

    For example, when you're sitting on your family room floor and your very young child asks you to pass him the blocks, you probably hand them right over. If your child is sitting with a peer and asks the same thing, though, he might not get what he wants.

    To succeed, your child will need to learn strategies for getting what he wants. For example, he might simply yank (猛拉) the toy out of his friend's hand. If he does that, he may learn that it's not the best way of getting what he wants because it leads to fighting and time­outs. The successful child will learn that he needs to negotiate a trade, to wait patiently, or to find something else equally fun to play with.

    Friends also provide emotional support, something that is part of the foundation of healthy adulthood. You can't be with your child on the elementary school playground or at the high school dance. Your child's friends will be the ones to stick up for her, to include her in games, and later, to tell her she looks great even if her lousy prom (糟糕的舞会) date wanders off instead of dancing with her.

    Friends also help your children learn. Friends solve problems together, imitate each other, and pass on knowledge.

    Some experts believe that the single biggest predictor of your child's success later in life is her ability to make friends. In fact, they claim it's even more important than IQ and grades.

    This doesn't mean that the kids who are most popular in school do the best later on in life. What matters is not the number of friends a child has but rather the quality of the relationships.

    This is good news for those of us who hate to think that popularity really is the Holy Grail of childhood and adolescence. While it's true that popularity has many advantages, and that many popular kids really are nice people—and not just the best dressed or best looking—it's better to have a few good friends than to have the admiration of the masses.

EVENTS(赛事)

Bicycle tour and race

    A bike tour and race will be held on August 26 and 27(Sat. & Sun. ). At 5:30am, the riders will leave

    Tian'anmen Square and ride the first 35 kilometers as a training leg. Then the next 55 kilometers leg, from Yanjiao to Jixian, will be the first competitive(竞争性的)part of the tour. The riders and their bikes will then be taken from Jixian to Changli.

    The second racing leg of the tour will be from Changli to the seaside of Nandaibe, covering a distance of 20 kilometers. Saturday night includes the stay at Nandaihe and supper. Sunday morning is free for play at the seaside. At noon all the people and their bikes will be taken back to Beijing.

    Cost: 200 yuan

     Telephone: 4675027

    Brazilian footballers

    The Brazilian Football Club will play Beijing Guo'an Team at the Workers Stadium on August 26. The club has four national team players. Also coming is 1994 US World Cup star Romario who has promised to play for at least 45 minutes.

    Ticket prices: 60,100,150 yuan

    Time/Date: 4:30 pm, August 26 (Sat.)

    Telephone: 5012372

    Rock climbing

    The Third National Rock Climbing Competition will be held on August 26-27 at the Huairou Mountain-climbing Training Base. More than 10 teams from Beijing, Wuhan, Dalian, Jilin and other places will take part in it. A Japanese team will give an exhibition climbing. Free for spectators(观众).

    Take a long-distance bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou.

    Time/Dates: 9-12 am, August 26 and 27

    Telephone: 7143177, 7144850, Wang Zhenghua