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

Central Library: Seattle, Washington, United States

The Central Library in Seattle is modern and fashionable and hastourists from around the world paying visits and taking tours. It was designedby Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and American designer Joshua Ramus. Tours beganin 2006, two years after its opening. The library holds various artexhibitions, book signings and other events, while visitors can stop by theChocolate cart for a coffee and scan through the gift shop anytime.

Trinity College Library: Dublin, Ireland

The Trinity College Library in Dublin is the oldest library inIreland, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I. It is the largest single libraryin the world, also known as the Long Room, which contains more than 200,000 ofthe library's oldest books. The Long Room houses one of the oldest harps（竖琴）in Ireland.Dating to the 15th century, the old harp is the model for the symbol foreland.

Geisel Library, University of California: San Diego, UnitedStates

At first glance, it looks like a spaceship. Architect WilliamPereira, who helped design actual space launch facilities at Cape Canaveral inHouston, Texas, designed the library in 1970. It has been featured in sci-fifilms, short stories and novels. The library hosts “Dinner in the Library,”which invites readers for cocktails, and also a special speech fromdistinguished authors．

TU Delft Library: The Netherlands

The library at the Delft University of Technology wasconstructed in 1997 and has more than 862,000 books, 16,000 magazinesubscriptions and its own museum．The buildingitself exists beneath the ground, so you can't really see the actual Library.What makes it interesting is the roof, which is a grassy hill. The roof covers5,500 square meters. And it has become one of the most striking and greeneststructures in the area.

    Can eating a chocolate bar every day really prevent age-related memory loss? No. But a new research shows that large amounts of flavones, substances found in cocoa, tea and some kinds of vegetables, may improve age-related memory failure.

    Dr. Scott Small is a professor of neurology (神经病学) at Columbia University in new York City. He is the lead writer of a research paper describing the effects of cocoa flavones on brain activity. His study involved 37 volunteers aged between 50 and 69. Researchers gave them a high-level flavones drink made from cocoa beans or a low-level flavones drink. For a period of three months, some subjects got 900 milligrams of flavones a day. The others got 10 milligrams of flavones each day. Brain imaging and memory tests were given to each study subject before and after the study. Dr. Small says that the subjects who had the high-level flavones drink showed much improvement on memory tests.

    The researchers warn that more work is needed to be done because this study was performed only on a small group. Dr. Joann Manson is the lead researcher of a four-year study involving 18,000 adults. This study will use flavones capsules(胶囊). The study subjects will be divided into two groups and will take two pills per day. The capsules used will all look the same. But one group's capsules will contain flavones, while the other group will take capsules made of an inactive substance, or placebo

    Dr. Manson says it's not necessary for people to start eating more chocolate, because a person would have to eat a huge amount of chocolate to get the same level of flavones given to the rest subjects. He adds many manufacturers have planned to remove the flavones from their chocolate products. Similarly, Dr. Manson says a cocoa-based flavones extract(提取)may be developed in the future But he says that more studies are needed to see how much flavones is good for our health.

Dear Bobby Brune,

    Children learn best when they're having fun. “Jungle Gym Jimmy” is an article for parents and children that teaches playground safety and shows how simply playing can promote good health and fitness. The tips are given through the funny voice of the “tour guide” on the playground, seven—year-old Jimmy. By listening to Jimmy, children learn how to use the equipment safely and how to get the most fun out of a day on the playground.

    As a Kid Talk subscriber for the last seven years. I am very familiar with your publication, and feel this article would be a positive addition to the “I Can Do It” section of the magazine. The article is 2, 114 words, and has been divided into categories in a way that holds children's interest. Being a mother of four children and using our home as a meeting place for most of the neighborhood, I've had the opportunity to test and confirm that the fun and easy “exercises” offered here are not only effective but are lots of fun for kids.

    I've been writing children's stories and articles for several years, and have had many of my stories published in Kids Know Best, a small newspaper that the Cinder Primary School publishes each month. I'm also a founding member of the “Right On Baby” editorial group which publishes a monthly e—zine for parents with newborns, and I'm a contributing editor to “Write Now,” an online site that teaches creative writing.

    Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Claudia Parker

    Do you want to help others in Canada or out of the country? Here are some non-profit organizations in Calgary, Canada, through which you can do something for others.

    Calgary Reads

    Calgary Reads helps struggling readers in Grade One and Two twice a week. Trained adult volunteers carry out one-to-one reading teaching in the children's school during school hours. Volunteers are trained to use a proven effective lesson framework. Time is spent coaching readers while providing a strong role model in each child's life.

    Address: 105, 12th Ave SE | Calgary, AB | T2G 2H8

    Telephone: 1 403 777-8254

    Ukrainian Mission Canada

    This organization helps children in need in Ukraine, a country in eastern Europe. You can donate money or things to help one of the children in need.

    Address: 3806 44 Ave NE | Calgary, Alberta | T1Y5V8

    Telephone: 1 403 451-6991

    Calgary Doula Association

    This organization is formed to provide information about services related to birth and child care for the general public and worried professionals. Monthly meetings provide a networking opportunity and exchange of information for individuals interested in birth and child care, couples who are to be parents, and health care providers.

    Address: 124 Crest haven Place SW I Calgary, ABI T3B 5W4

    Telephone: 1 403 750-2033

    Rainbow Society of Alberta

    Rainbow Society of Alberta helps to fulfill wishes of Alberta children with long-term or life-threatening illnesses. Founded in Winnipeg in 1983, Rainbow Society was the first children's organization of its kind in Canada. Its Alberta chapter(分部) was created in 1986 by a handful of caring volunteers who saw need to bring such a strong support system to children in Alberta.

    Address: PO Box 1153, Station M I Calgary, AB

    Telephone: 1 403 252-3891

    Large gatherings such as weddings and conferences can be socially stressful. Pressure to learn people's names only adds to the stress. A new facial-recognition app could come to the rescue, but privacy experts recommend going on with caution.

    The app, called SocialRecall, connects names with faces via smartphone cameras and facial recognition, potentially avoiding the need for formal introductions. "It breaks down these social barriers we all have when meeting somebody," says Barry Sandrew, who created the app and tested it at an event attended by about 1,000 people.

    After receiving an invitation to download SocialRecall from an event organizer, the user is asked to take two selfies and sign in via social media. At the event, the app is active within a previously defined geographical area. When a user points his or her phone camera at an attendee's face, the app identifies the individual displays the person's name, and links to his or her social media profile. To protect privacy, it recognizes only those who have agreed to participate. And the app's creators say it automatically deletes users' data after an event.

    Ann Cavoukian, a privacy expert who runs the Privacy by Design Center of Excellence praises the app's creators for these protective measures. She cautions, however, that when people choose to share their personal information with the app they should know that there may be unintended consequences down the road with that information being used in another context that might come back to bite you."

    The start-up has also developed a version of the app for individuals who suffer from prosopagnosia, or "face blindness", a condition that prevents people from recognizing individuals they have met. To use this app a person first acquires an image of someone's face, from either the smartphone's camera or a photograph, and then tags it with a name. When the camera spots that same face in real life, the previously entered information is displayed. The collected data are stored only on a user's phone, according to the team behind the app.

    I used to be crazy about the hunting season. The excitement of waiting for a prey(猎物)and the pride of showing off the kill fascinated me. However, everything changed after that cold morning.

    Early on that day of the late fall, I set off alone for the woods, packing a gun, a bottle of hot coffee and three thick sandwiches. After finding the fresh deer's tracks in the snow, I settled down behind a little bush.

I sat there for about an hour. It was then that I saw him. A deer, a big beautiful deer! There was no cover nearer to him than 30 yards. Surely I couldn't miss! I waited for him to realize I was there. I waited for him to be shocked and run away. But he fooled me completely. He came towards me! He was curious, I suppose, or maybe he was stupid—how else can you explain it? Well, that deer walked right up to where I was sitting. Then he stopped and looked at me!

    What happened next is hard to believe, but it's true. And it all seemed quite natural. Just as when a friendly young deer comes near you, I reached up and scratched his head. And he liked to be scratched. In fact, he practically asked for more. Then, I fed him my sandwich! Yes, I know what a deer eats, but that deer ate my sandwich. Well, he finally went his way, down the hill and up the deer trail. Shoot him? Not me. You wouldn't have either, not after that. I just watched him go.

    When I was about half way back, I heard two shots, followed by a dull slam(撞击)a few seconds later. Those two shots usually mean a kill. I had forgotten there were other hunters that day.

    Those hunters would never know they could have scratched his head.