On the last day before Christmas, I hurried to the supermarket to buy Christmas gifts. In the supermarket, I noticed a little boy, holding a doll and looking so sad. He turned to the old woman next to him, “Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?” The old lady replied, “You know we don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.” Then she left for something else and the boy still stood there.

    Finally, I went to the boy and asked him who he wanted to give this doll to. “It is the doll that my sister wanted so much for this Christmas. She was so sure that Father Christmas would bring it to her.”

    I told him that maybe Father Christmas will bring it to her. But he replied to me sadly, “No, Father Christmas cannot bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mother so that she can give it to her when she goes there. My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mummy will also go to see God very soon, so I thought that she could bring the doll with her to give it to my sister.”

    Hearing this, I quickly reached into my wallet and took a few notes and said to the boy, “What if we checked again, just in case if you have enough money?”

    “OK,” he said, “I hope that I have enough.”

    I added some of my money to his without his seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll.

    The little boy said, “Thank God for giving me enough money.”

    Then he looked at me and added, “I prayed to God yesterday before I slept to make sure I have enough money to buy this doll. He heard me.”

    I am Henry Jekyll. I was born in the 1 800s. I inherited(继承) a large fortune, a healthy body and an excellent mind. I was naturally hard-working and soon I was very successful in my job. So the outside world saw a serious, hard-working, successful doctor. Behind this quiet character, however, was a wild, fun-loving, irresponsible young man. Both of them were me. They lived together in the same body.

    “Was it possible," I wondered, “to find a drug that could give each side of my character its own separate face and body?"

    After much thought and careful study I believed I had found the answer. I had read many scientific books and spent many hours in my laboratory, searching for the right mixture of chemicals to make my drug. At last I got everything ready.

    Late one night, I mixed everything together and prepared my drug. I watched the smoke rising from the liquid as its color changed from red to purple and at last to green. Then, bravely, I drank every bitter drop.

    I felt a violent sickness in my stomach and a terrible pain in all my bones. The room seemed to turn round and round and I trembled with fear. Then the fear and pain disappeared and a strange, sweet feeling took its place. Wild thoughts danced through my mind- the wild passions of an evil and cruel stranger. But inside myself I felt younger, lighter, more carefree than ever before. "If this is pure evil," I thought, “I like it.”

    I stood there, enjoying these strange new thoughts and passions and suddenly realized that I was shorter. So I decided to go to my bedroom in my new body and take a look at myself in the mirror there. As I came into my room, I saw Edward Hyde for the first time.

    At that time, the good side of my character was stronger than the evil side. Henry Jekyll had his faults, but he was mostly a good, kind man. I believe that is the reason why Edward Hyde was so much smaller than Henry Jekyll. But that was not the only difference between the two men. Henry Jekyll had a kind, open, honest face. But pure evil stared out of Edward Hyde's eyes. I felt no dislike, however. Indeed, I welcomed him. Edward Hyde was me, young and strong and full of life.

    Nations in the UN have agreed that the world needs to completely stop plastic waste from entering the oceans. The UN resolution(决议) has no timetable. But ministers at an environment summit believe it will set the course for much tougher policies and send a clear signal to business.

    Under the resolution, governments would establish an international task force(特遣小组) to advise on fighting what the UN's oceans chief has described as a world crisis. One controversial issue is the wish to include businesses on the global task force. Ministers say the problem will not be solved without business, but green groups point out that some firms in the plastics industry have been against restrictions for decades. Vidar Helgesen, a leading voice in the talks, told BBC News, “Business is listening to markets and seeing how marine litter(海洋垃圾) is a growing popular concern. It's possibly the fastest－growing environmental problem and it's therefore a fast－growing problem for business. We need to bring on board those companies that want to change things, and then look at taxes and regulations to make more companies act.”

    Certainly, there has been resistance from plastics firms to the bans. One UN delegate, who did not want to be named, stated that journalists in some countries were being paid by the plastics industry to write stories about job losses following the plastic bag ban. But they did not mention the jobs being created in alternatives, such as labour－intensive basketwork, which provides work for the rural poor. But some governments are standing firm, and the meeting has witnessed individual nations declaring tougher action against single－use plastic bags.

    The UN's spokesman Sam Barratt told BBC News, “Of course we would have liked to have gone further, but this meeting's made real progress. There's now a sense of urgency and energy behind the issue that we haven't quite seen before. What is obvious, though, is that the UN can't solve this problem on its own. We need to do it in partnership with governments, businesses and even individuals.”

    Technological change is everywhere and affects every aspect of life, mostly for the better. However, social changes brought about by new technology are often mistaken for a change in attitudes.

    An example at hand is the involvement of parents in the lives of their children who are attending college. Surveys (调查) on this topic suggests that parents today continue to be "very" or "somewhat" overly-protective even after their children move into college dormitories. The same surveys also indicate that the rate of parental involvement is greater today than it was a generation ago. This is usually interpreted as a sign that today's parents are trying to manage their children's lives past the point where this behavior is appropriate.

    However, greater parental involvement does not necessarily indicate that parents are failing to let go of their "adult" children.

    In the context (背景) of this discussion, it seems valuable to first find out the cause of change in the case of parents' involvement with their grown children. If parents of earlier generations had wanted to be in touch with their college-age children frequently, would this have been possible? Probably not. On the other hand, does the possibility of frequent communication today mean that the urge to do so wasn't present a generation ago? Many studies show that older parents - today's grandparents - would have called their children more often if the means and cost of doing so had not been a barrier.

    Furthermore, studies show that finances are the most frequent subject of communication between parents and their college children. The fact that college students are financially dependent on their parents is nothing new; nor are requests for more money to be sent from home. This phenomenon is neither good nor bad; it is a fact of college life, today and in the past.

    Thanks to the advanced technology, we live in an age of bettered communication. This has many implications well beyond the role that parents seem to play in the lives of their children who have left for college. But it is useful to bear in mind that all such changes come from the technology and not some imagined desire by parents to keep their children under their wings.

    My topic today is the Internet. It was prompted(引出)by the first letter, which I am unable to answer fully for the reasons given!

    Dear David, I am a middle school student. Now I am preparing for a writing competition. Could you please check the mistakes in my article about using the Internet and give me some advice? Thank you.

    No name

    David writes: I am very sorry to say that I think it would be very unfair for me to help you win a competition — unfair to the other competitors!

    But I will say that your article is very interesting and I wish you good luck. Your article makes some good points that deserve talking about in this column!

    Dear David,

    I'm now learning English by myself. Can you introduce some useful websites where I can make friends with foreigners? Please help me.

    Moonlight

    David writes: Well, dear moonlight, I bet you made a good choice by using the Net in your self-studies. Two very good websites I would suggest to you are: www.britishcouncil.org.cn and www.britishcouncil.org /learnenglish.

    By the way, for those readers interested in the teaching of English, there is an Internet discussion group called ELTCSChi-L (English Language Teaching Contacts Scheme China List).And also, a healthy warning to all my readers: If over-used, the Internet can be a WOMBAT-A Waste of Money, Brains and Time!

Discovering the beauty of the science and maths that shape our everyday lives, an experience in Wonderlab will fuel your imagination and inspire you to see the world around you in new and exciting ways. Come and enjoy yourself!

What to see

Spread across seven different zones, there're loads of opportunities to get hands on with real scientific phenomena. Observe live experiments at our Chemistry Bar, see lightning strike before your eyes, play with forces on giant slides or travel through space under a canopy (苍穹)of stars. You can also take part in explosive science demonstrations led by our talented team of explainers. With 50 mind-blowing wonders of science to enjoy, Wonderlab is an experience unlike any other. Besides, a selection of shows will be performed daily in Wonderlab's beautiful new show space. They are free of charge and last 20 minutes.

Tickets

♦ Day pass:  £ 6 per person.

This ticket gives you day-long access to Wonderlab, perfect whether you're planning a special trip to the Museum or simply passing through London and want to feed your curiosity.

♦ Annual pass:  £ 10 per person.

For less than the price of two visits, give yourself a year packed full of wonder, curiosity and breathtaking experiences.

Opening times

Open seven days a week, 10:00 — 18:00 (last entry 17:15). Wonderlab will be closed on December 24，25 and 26 and will be open as usual from December 27.

During school holidays our opening hours are 10:00 — 19:00 (last entry 18:15). Please note that in peak periods (from midday onwards) we are experiencing long queues due to the gallery's popularity.