World's Wonderful Libraries

    How cool can libraries be in an era of iPads and Kindles Morethan you think. Only if you know where to go.

                                                                                         Central Library

    The Central Library in Seattle,United States is modern and sophisticated. The building is an impressive work of art, which has tourists from around the world paying visits and taking tours. The library offers free self-guided cell phone tours, along with group tours.

    The library holds various art exhibitions, book signings andother events throughout the year.

    Open: Monday-Thursday 10 a.m-8 p.m, Friday-Saturday 10 a.m-6p.m, Sunday noon-6 p.m

                                                                                      Trinity College Library

    The Trinity College Library in Dublin is the oldest library in Ireland, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I.

    Not only is the exterior impressive, it boasts the largest single chamber library in the world, also known as the Long Room, which contains more than 200,000 of the library's oldest books.

    Various exhibitions and tour are available; admission 9(US 12)

    Open: Monday-Wednesday 9:30 a.m -5 p.m, Tuesday 9:30 a.m -9 p.m,Saturday 9:30 a.m -1 p.m, Sunday closed.

                                                                                    Bibliotheca Alexamdrina

    The Bibliotheca Alexamdrina is the revival(复兴) of theancient Royal Library of Alexandria, which was the largest and most influential library in the Greek world. It was built by Alexander the Great some 2, 300years ago.

    The new library was reborn in 2002 on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea after 10 years of designing, planning and construction.

Along with the standard libraries, there are four museumscovering science, Arabic Calligraphy, the history of printing and the Greekart.

    Open: Saturday-Thursday 9 a.m- 4 p.m.

                                                                                       Stuttgart City Library

    The Stuttgart City Library is controversial. Some say it's innovative, while others say it doesn't match its environment.

     Nevertheless, the library is one of the most interesting buildings in Germany. The design of the cubic facility was influenced by the ancient Pantheon in Rome. It serves as a multi-story meeting space that draws natural sunlight through the roof.

    Open: Monday-Saturday 9 a.m--9 p.m

    Cold weather has a great effect on how our minds and our bodies work. Maybe that is why there are so many expressions that use the word cold. For centuries, the body's blood has been linked closely with the emotions. People who show no human emotions or feelings, for example, are said to be cold –blooded. Cold –blooded people act in merciless ways. They may do cruel things to others, and not by accident. For example, a newspaper says the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer. The killer murdered someone, not in self-defense. He seemed to kill with no emotion.

    Cold can affect other parts of the body, the feet, for example. Heavy socks can warm your feet, if your feet are really cold. But there is an expression—to get cold feet –that has nothing to do with cold or your feet. The expression means being afraid to do something you had decided to do. For example, you agree to be president of an organization. But then you learn that all the other officers have given up the position. All the work of the organization will be your responsibility. You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation.

    Cold can also affect your shoulder. You give someone the cold shoulder when you refuse to speak to them. You treat them in a distant, cold way. The expression probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face-to-face. You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you. Or, to someone who has lied about you to others.

    A cold fish is not a fish. It is a person. But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth. A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.

    Out in the cold is an expression often heard. It means not getting something that everybody else got. A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise. He was left out in the cold. And it is not a pleasant place to be.

When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation. I suggested that they should stay at "bed and breakfast" houses, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.

"We didn't stay at bed and breakfast houses," they said, "because we found that most families were on holiday." I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought "VACANCIES" meant "holidays", because the Spanish word for "holidays" is said "vacaciones". So they did not go to the house where the sign outside said "VACANCIES", which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to the houses where the sign said "NO VACANCIES", because they thought this meant people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels.

We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word "DIVERSION" means "fun". In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word "DIVERSION" on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. Instead, the road ended in a large hole.

English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris when someone offered me some more coffee, I said "Thank you" in French, I meant that I would like some more, however to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that "Thank you" in French means "No, Thank you".

    Ivy Granstrom

    Ivy Granstrom was born with impaired vision(弱视) and got a serious back injury at the age of 60 during a car accident. She participated in cold English Bay swimming events for 76 years and was therefore sometimes known as the Queen of the Polar Bear Swims.

    Gerry Hewson

    Gerry Hewson was a member of Australian Men's National Wheelchair Basketball Team. He won a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Paralympics. He coached for the West Sydney Razorbacks from 2004 to 2006.He was named as a lifetime member in recognition of the efforts he made for the promotion of wheelchair basketball. Discussing the appeal of wheelchair basketball, he commented that,“There is a coating at the edge of the rim(轮辋) that actually lights up like a spark(火花), and it stays for about two to three seconds. That is quite exciting and great fun.”

    April Holmes

    April Holmes lost her left leg below the knee because of a train accident in 2001. Remembering it she said, “I had a life-changing accident in January, 2001. And fortunately I have been able to get back to doing what I love, and that's track and field.” Through hard work, she made records in the 100, 200, and 400 meter events. To live her life to its full potential, she has set up a non-profit(非营利的) organization, the April Holmes Foundation, to help people with learning or physical disabilities while being a role model for them.

    Shauna Maria Whyte

    Shauna Maria Whyte was born in Canada in 1967. She has won many prizes in cross-country skiing competitions since 1975. In 1991, during a horseback riding competition, Shauna broke her back. She did not surrender to this change in her life, and she started using a sit sled(雪橇).

    It has been described as art by some people, but to others it's an ugly part of modern life. What is it? Graffiti (涂鸦), of course. Look around cities in the UK today and you can see graffiti on buildings, walls, doors and even on buses or trains that have stayed in one place for too long. But where modern technology creates a problem, it also finds a way to deal with it. Last week, The Weekend West was shown around the factory of a small but successful company, Hubdean.

    Hubdean's achievement is a series of special paints which are graffiti-resistant. How do they work? It couldn't be simpler. Take any graffiti-covered surface. First, a treatment called Agproclear is used. Then, using a very hot pressure jet (压力喷嘴), this treatment is taken away and the graffiti disappears at the same time. Now you have a clean wall. But before this clean wall can be painted on by graffiti lovers, a new product, Agproshield, is used. This paint has a special surface which gives it two important advantages. Firstly, spray paint (喷雾颜料) won't stick to the surface very well, and secondly, the whole surface can be cleaned very easily, just using water. Once the surface is painted, no specialist equipment is needed to keep the area clean and graffiti-free.

    Not surprisingly, Hubdean's products are used by both local governments and private companies all over the UK, and now orders are being received from around the world. This brings the company a problem, however. Can they increase production to satisfy the needs? Of course, they can build a second factory or work with a large international company to make their products. The future is looking good for Hubdean!

    Painkillers (止痛药) are turning out to be a real pain: according to a new study in the British Medical Journal. Taking them for just a week can increase your risk of heart attack by 50%. The research suggested that the risk related to the use of certain drugs was greatest with higher doses (服用量) and during the first month of use. The potential risk may increase by 75% for medicines like ibuprofen (布洛芬) and naproxen, and more than 100% for rofecoxib.

    It all sounds bad but, your risk is very low, — say, one in a million — a 100% increase means you still only have a two in a million chance. Of course, all painkilling medication that works can have side effects — nothing is safe and effective. Paracetamol (扑热息痛) has very few unless taken too much, in which case it can cause serious liver danger, but it isn't very effective. Drugs like opiates are strong painkillers but easy to be addicted and often have other bad effects. Maybe you find that you are in a dilemma now. But don't despair; you can refer to a pain clinic for some professional guidance. For ongoing pain, music and exercise may be the best choices to help you reduce the feeling of it.

    Scientist at Harvard have recently done a quite horrible study on mice. They made the mice experience extremes of hot and cold, applied pressure to their back legs and injected the capsaicin (辣椒素) into their feet. And then they timed how long it took them to respond to the pain. Lack of sleep increased the discomfort, while stimulants (兴奋剂) such as caffeine made them less responsive to pain. This has been widely reported that a good night's sleep and a cup of coffee in the morning may help reduce pain.

    But anyway  don't throw the pills away because the study also shows taking small doses of drugs, such as for short periods of time can be effective and safe as long as your heart is in good condition.