I once had a friend who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the news that he might only live up to six months was a great shock to him, his family, and his friends. However, in spite of the serious illness, he was initially determined to look into all available treatments that might cure or extend his life. I think that when you find yourself in such situations, you tend to look up every possible way for hope of saving your life.

    As months went on and his health grew worse, I noticed an unexpected change in attitude that came over him. He had also been a happy person with a cheerful personality, but rather than give in to discouragement and self－pity, he took comfort in God and humanity. His talks focused on others rather than himself, and he spoke of the afterlife as something he was prepared for, believing that his concerned ancestors, including his mother and father, were there waiting for him.

    During the last few months, weeks, and days of his life, he was kindly cared for by family, friends, his loving wife, who looked after both his physical and emotional needs, and workers from a local hospice (安养院) came to the home to regulate his medication and provide any other needed support. He didn't complain about his fate, and he willingly allowed others to serve him.

    Indeed, one might think why God allows death and suffering in our world, but for me, such experiences taught me to value family more and kindness for others. You often can't learn these important attributes in the lap of luxury, and perhaps, such an experience is the greatest and final gift the illness can give those left behind.

    If you make a list of the world's top ten most challenging jobs,chances are that being a teacher will not make the cut.But think about the discouraging task millions of educators face each day as they try to shape a group of often bad-tempered,wild kids into intelligent,well-rounder individuals.That surely has to be the toughest job in the world, especially given that there is no promotion or bonus awaiting them even if they are wildly successful!

    What if there all-important individuals that we often take for granted（想当然）disappear from our lives?That was what Project Ed and Participant Media's Teach campaign asked filmmakers of all ages to imagine in their recently-held competition.Entitled "A World Without Teachers",its purpose was to inspire more young people to become teachers.However,the 62 amazing video submissions also serve as a reminder of how horrible things would be if we didn't have these selfless individuals guiding us through life.What was interesting is that even the youngest participants did not appear to be happy at the idea of not having anybody telling them what to do.

    High-school student Savannah Wakefield reflected if art as we know it today would have been different without teachers.Would Monet have discovered his talent for impressionism?Los Angeles-based Miles Horst,who won the 1000 USD prize for the best adult submission imagines a world where teachers are replaced by a “brain box” in his fun lively entry.

    Youth category winner Marina Barham's video represents a fact we all know but often forget.Teachers don't just teach,they inspire something that no electronic device,no matter how smart,can do!So the next time you think your teacher is being "mean" for trying to channel you in the right direction,imagine a life without him/her.We have a feeling it will not appear as rosy!

Top attractions

    Amsterdam is most famous for its artistic heritage. This tradition is proudly on display in the Rijksmuseum (translates as State Museum). Once you've taken in all that has to offer, artists, history fans, and families shouldn't pass up the chance to visit the Van Gogh Museum-containing around 700 paintings and drawings by Vincent and his contemporaries, including Gauguin, Monet, and Toulouse-Lautrec.

    Amsterdam is also home to the Anne Frank Museum, where Anne hid with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. On a lighter note, taking a canal cruise through its extensive waterways is a rewarding way to see the Dutch capital.

    Art lovers get their kicks at:

     The Van Gogh Museum Rijksmuseum Museum het Rembrandthuis

    Food and drink

    Cheese lovers love Amsterdam. You can find an excuse to eat cheese at any time of the day here. Gouda is Holland's favorite, developing a more intense flavor the longer it's aged. Find a selection at the markets, try a cheeseboard at dinner time, or just order cubes with mustard for dipping to accompany a drink.

    When you're hungry for non-cheese food groups, you'll find Michelin-starred restaurants, vegetarian, and organic restaurants that accompany an array of global cuisine. For old-fashioned and modern Dutch food, try these Amsterdam restaurants: Moeders, Haesje Claes, Loetje, Greetje, and De Silveren Spiegel.

    Don't leave without tasting:

     Patat (hot chips with toppings) Stroopwafel (waffle cookie) Chocomel (chocolate milk)

    Amsterdam Fast Facts

    Approximate flight times:

     NYC/Newark 7 hours, 20 minutes Philadelphia 8 hours Boston 7 hours

     Miami 9 hours, 45 minutes Los Angeles 10 hours, 15 minutes

    Entry requirements: Passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned departure from the Schengen area and have 2 blank pages for entry stamp.

    The health of millions could be at risk because supplies of medicinal plants are being used up. These plants are used to make traditional medicine, including drugs to fight cancer. “The loss of medicinal plants is a quiet disaster,” says Sara Oldfield, secretary general of the NGO Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

    Most people worldwide rely on herbal (药草制的) medicines which are got mostly from wild plants. But some 15,000 of the 50,000 medicinal species are under threat of dying out, according to report from the international conservation group Plantlife. Shortages have been reported in China, India, Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania and Uganda.

    Over-harvesting does the most harm, though pollution and competition from invasive species (入侵物种) and habitat destruction all contribute. Businessmen generally harvest medicinal plants, not caring about sustainability (可持续性),” the Plantlife report says, “damage is serious partly because they have no idea about it. but it is mainly because such collection is unorganized” Medicinal trees at risk include the Himalayan yew (紫衫) and the African cherry, which are used to treat some cancers.

    The solution, says the report's author, Alan Hamilton, is to encourage local people to protect these plants. Ten projects studied by Plantlife in India, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Uganda and Kenya showed this method can succeed. In Uganda, the project has kept a sustainable supply of low-cost cancer treatments, and in China a public-run medicinal plant project has been created for the first time.”

    “Improving health, earning an income and keeping cultural traditions are important in encouraging people to protect medicinal plants,” says Hamilton, “You have to pay attention to what people are interested in.”

    Ghillean Prance, the former director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London, agrees that medicinal plants are in need of protection. “Not nearly enough is being done,” he told New Scientist. “We are destroying the very plants that are of most use to us.”

    Want to see 16 sunrises in one day? Float in zero gravity? Be one of the few to have gazed upon our home planet from space? In just four years' time, and for an astronomical $9.5 million dollars, it's claimed you can.

    What's being billed as the world's first luxury space hotel, Aurora Station, was announced Thursday at the Space 2.0 Summit in San Jose, California. Developed by US-based space technology start-up Orion Span, the fully modular space station will host six people at a time, including two crew members, for 12-day trips of space travel. It plans to welcome its first guests in 2022.

    “Our goal is to make space accessible to all,” Frank Bunger, CEO and founder of Orion Span, said in a statement. “Upon launch, Aurora Station goes into service immediately, bringing travelers into space quickly and at a lower price point than ever seen before.” While a $10 million trip is outside the budget of most people's two-week vacations, Orion Span claims to offer a real astronaut experience.

    During their 12-day adventure, the super-rich travelers will fly at a height of 200 miles above the Earth's surface in Low Earth Orbit, or LEP, where they will see incredible views of the blue planet. The hotel will orbit Earth every 90 minutes, which means guests will see around 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours.

    Activities on board include taking part in research experiments such as growing food while in orbit--which guests can take home for a super-smug souvenir—and soaring over their hometown. Guests can have live video chats with their less-fortunate loved ones back home via high-speed wireless Internet access and, upon return to Earth, will be greeted with a specially arranged hero's welcome. While enjoying the thrills of zero gravity, the travelers will be able to float freely through the hotel, taking in views of the northern and southern Aurora from the station's windows.

    DepositsHYPERLINK “https://www.orionspan.com/aurora-station-reservations”（订金）are already being a HYPERLINK“http://www.orisonspan.com/aurora-station-reservations”cHYPERLINK“http://www.orionspan.com/aurora-station-reservations” cepted for future stays on the space hotel. The $80,000 is fully returnable, should applicants find themselves unable to rise to the full $9.5 million. Travelers will complete a three-month Orion Span Astronaut Certification (OSAC) program before takeoff. Orion Span has a team of space industry veterans who together have more than 140 years of human space experience.

    Getting stuck in a traffic jam is one of the most boring problems for people living in big cities. The fact that you're moving so slowly leads too stress, anger and the wish that your car could just fly over the traffic like an airplane.

    Soon, however, that wish could come true .On May 8, US car-renting company Uber showed off what it described as "the transportation mode of the future: on-demand air transport," reported ABC News.

    According to Nikhill Goel, head of products for Uber Air, the company's air taxi service may launch test flights in the US cities of Dallas and Los Angeles, as well as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, as early as 2020. If everything goes according to plan, passengers will be able to fly to work by 2023.

    When the Olympics comes to Los Angeles in 2028. Uber "expects to have hundreds, if not thousands, of its aircraft in the skies." Goel told Newsweek.

    So what would Uber's flying vehicles be like?

    They are small, electric aircraft that take off and land vertically (垂直地) , and they give off zero emissions (排放) and are quiet enough to operate in cities .

    Just like an airplane, the vehicles will have fixed wings to help them glide. But while a helicopter has just one big fixed rotor (定量). Uber's vehicles will have multiple rotors , which will help increase fuel efficiency (效率) while reducing emissions and noise.

    Because of these fixed wines and multiple rotors. Uber's flying taxis "should be quieter and safer than a helicopter." reported ABC News.

    However, the service still has a long way to go before it's ready to accept passengers. For example, to avoid any potential accidents. Uber is working with NASA to study air traffic control problems associated with low-flying aircraft. But just as Dubai's Mayor Betty Price said in a news release. "This program is revolutionary and future -oriented (面向未来的)."