Last summer, two nineteenth-century cottages were rescued from remote farm fields in Montana, to be moved to an Art Deco building in San Francisco. The houses were made of wood. These cottages once housed early settlers as they worked the dry Montana soil; now they hold Twitter engineers.

    The cottages could be an example of the industry' s odd love affair with “low technology,” a concept associated with the natural world, and with old-school craftsmanship (手艺) that exists long before the Internet era. Low technology is not virtual (虚拟的) —so, to take advantage of it, Internet companies have had to get creative. The rescued wood cottages, fitted by hand in the late eighteen-hundreds, are an obvious example, but Twitter's designs lie on the extreme end. Other companies are using a broader interpretation (阐释) of low technology that focuses on nature.

    Amazon is building three glass spheres filled with trees, so that employees can “work and socialize in a more natural, park-like setting.” At Google's office, an entire floor is carpeted in glass. Facebook's second Menlo Park campus will have a rooftop park with a walking trail.

    Olle Lundberg, the founder of Lundberg Design, has worked with many tech companies over the years. “We have lost the connection to the maker in our lives, and our tech engineers are the ones who feel impoverished (贫乏的) , because they're surrounded by the digital world,” he says. “They're looking for a way to regain their individual identity, and we've found that introducing real crafts is one way to do that.”

    This craft based theory is rooted in history, William Morris, the English artist and writer, turned back to pre-industrial arts in the eighteen-sixties, just after the Industrial Revolution. The Arts and Crafts movement defined itself against machines. “Without creative human occupation, people became disconnected from life,” Morris said.

    Research has shown that natural environments can restore(恢复) our mental capacities. In Japan, patients are encouraged to “forest-bathe,” taking walks through woods to lower their blood pressure.

    These health benefits apply to the workplace as well. Rachel Kaplvin, a professor of environmental psychology, has spent years researching the restorative effects of natural environment. Her research found that workers with access to nature at the office—even simple views of trees and flowers—felt their jobs were less stressful and more satisfying. If low-tech offices can potentially nourish the brains and improve the mental health of employees then, fine, bring on the cottages.

    British Museum Visitor Regulations

    We warmly welcome you on your visit to the Museum. In the interests of the security of all of our visitors we require you follow these Visitor Regulations.

    Admission

    Admission to the Museum is free, but we may charge for entry to some temporary exhibitions and events.

    Opening hours

    We open the Museum's galleries daily from 10:00 am until 17:30 pm. We keep selected galleries open until 20:30 pm on Fridays.

    The Museum's Great Court is open from 9:00 am until 18:00 pm; except on Fridays when it remains open until 20：30 pm.

    You may be asked by your staff to begin leaving up to ten minutes before closing time.

    The Museum is closed 24 -26 December and l January.

    Food and drink

    You aren't allowed to consume food and drink inside the Museum, except in places such as the restaurant and cafes or the forecourt. Families with children may use the Ford Centre for young visitors in the basement of the Museum's Great Court at weekends and during school holidays.

    Animals

    If you have a disability, you may be accompanied in the Museum by your guide, assistant or companion animal. You aren't allowed to bring animals into the Museum under any other circumstance.

    Film, photography and audio（声音的）recording

    Except the place that are indicated by notices, you' re permitted to use hand- held cameras (including mobile phones) with flash bulbs or flash units, and audio and film recording equipment not requiring a stand. You may use your photographs, film and audio recordings only for your own private and non-commercial purposes.

    There are some strange driving laws in different countries.

    One early morning, I went into the living room to find my mother reading a thick book called Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again. My interest was aroused only by the fact that the word "Poems" appeared in big, hot pink letters.

    "Is it good?" I asked her. "Yeah," she answered. "There's one I really like and you'll like it, too." I leaned forward." 'Patty Poem,'" she read the title. Who is Patty? I wondered. The poem began:

    She never puts her toys away,

    Just leaves them scattered ⁽散乱的)where they lay,...

    The poem was just three short sections. The final one came quickly:

    When she grows and gathers(稳重的)poise,

    I'll miss her harum-scarum(莽撞的) noise,

    And look in vain for scattered(徒劳地)toys.

    And I'll be sad.

    A terrible sorrow washed over me. Whoever Patty was, she was a mean girl. Then, the shock.

    "It's you, honey," My mother said sadly.

    To my mother, the poem conveyed a parent's affection when her child grows up and leaves. To me, the "she" in the poem was horror. It was my mama who would be sad. It was so terrible. I burst out crying.

    "What's wrong?" my mother asked.

    "Oh Mama," I cried. "I don't want to grow up ever!"

She smiled. "Honey, it's okay. You're not growing up anytime soon. And when you do, I'll still love you, okay?"

    I calmed down. But I could not help thinking about that silly poem. After several years, I read the poem again and was confused. It all fit so well together, like a simple puzzle easy to understand, yet it was still beautiful. I was now attracted by the idea of poetry, words that had the power to make or break a person's world.

    I have since fallen in love with other poems, but "Patty Poem" remains my poem. After all, "Patty Poem" gave me my love for poetry.

    I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt's house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.

    I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving and never to come back was hardly in my head then.

    The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism（乐观）, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times.”

    My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers（移民局官员）, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.

    From my experiences I have learned one important rule: Almost all common troubles go away at last! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.

    Tablets are really useful devices, but their big screens always make them as a burden to carry around without a bag. Wouldn't it be great if there were a phone with the powers of a tablet that could be folded up and fit neatly into the hand?

    Now something like a tablet-shaped but foldable phone is about to become available. In February, South Korean electronics company Samsung and China's Huawei both launched foldable phones, the Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X respectively. Mobile phone use has entered the "foldable future", The Verge noted.

    The technology could change our lives in significant ways. These devices, due to their bendable screens, give us the larger screens we want. Meanwhile, they still fit easily into the pocket. As USA Today noted, they're "the combination of a small tablet and smartphone, all in a single device".

    The technology could change other devices, too. For example, we could make TVs that stick to walls like posters, or fold up easily to hide away in drawers. In crowded modem cities, they will help us to maximize available space.

    In a keynote address, Samsung's senior vice president of mobile product marketing, Justin Denison, called the foldable screen "the foundation for the smartphone of tomorrow". "It's a blank canvas (画布) for us to do something beautiful together." he said.

    So is there nothing to stand in the way of the foldable future? According to tech news website Android Authority, the necessary displays were difficult to produce. In 2012, nine out of every 10 OLED (二极管) screens produced were imperfect. Today, that 10 percent rate has been improved to between 50 and 90 percent. However, at present these foldable devices are expensive. For example, the price of Huawei Mate X is 17,500 RMB. That's a price that few people will be able to afford.

    But if the foldable device isn't going to change the world overnight, there is no doubt that it is coming. Patrick Moorhead, an industry analyst told The Verge, "Few are debating if foldable or rollable mobile displays are the future of smartphones; the only question is when and by whom."