The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about a serious problem with one of the main computers.

    He dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper, “Hello?” The boss asked, “Is your daddy at home?” “Yes,” whispered the small voice. “May I talk with him?” The man asked.

    To the surprise of the boss, the small voice whispered, “No.” Wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, “Is your mommy there?” “Yes,” came the answer. “May I talk with her?” Again the small voice whispered, “No.”

    Knowing that it was impossible that a young child would be left home alone, the boss decided he would just leave a message with the person who should be there watching over the child. “Is there anyone there besides you?” The boss asked the child. “Yes,” whispered the child, “a policeman.”

    Wondering what a policeman would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, “May I speak with the policeman?”

    “No, he's busy,” whispered the child. “Busy doing what?” asked the boss. “Talking to daddy and mommy and the fireman,” came the whispered answer.

    Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter(直升机)through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, “What is the noise?” “A helicopter.” answered the whispered voice. “What is going on there?” asked the boss, now alarmed.

    In a serious whispering voice the child answered, “The search team just landed the helicopter.” Alarmed and concerned and more than just a little disappointed, the boss asked, “Why are they there?” Still whispering, the young voice replied along with an unclear giggly(窃笑), “They are looking for me.”

    While CCTV's educational show Animal World is well known, few big screen wildlife documentaries have been made by China's film industry.

    But Born in China, which came out on Aug 2, may be important for Chinese filmmakers who want to get into nature -themed films. The movie, directed by Chinese filmmaker Lu Chuan, was shot in theQinghai-Tibet Plateau and shows the animals' lives during different seasons.

    Born in China not only brings to audiences the lives of animals that are rarely seen in the wild—giant pandas, snow leopards, and golden monkeys, but also shows Chinese traditional culture.

    A symbol of China, the giant panda is both black and white. Its body is thought to show yin and yang, which ancient Chinese ideas were based on. The panda's gentle nature shows how yin and yang lead to peace. It can be seen in the film when a panda mother guides her baby to look for independence and explore the world.

    Unlike the shy pandas, monkeys always have strong personalities. The Monkey King in China's most famous novel Journey to the West has many conflicting traits(特点). It stands for not only impatience but also cleverness and energy. Born in China follows a 2-year-old golden monkey who leaves his family, but then returns and understands the meaning of responsibility.

    Just as the golden monkey, a mother snow leopard also faces difficulty in raising her babies in the wild. The leopards, known for their rapid attacks and quick footwork(脚步), have inspired a form of pictographic(象形拳) in Shaolin martial arts(武术).

    "Born in China is a means to show off Chinese traditional culture," director Lu told the reporter. "Chinese people have learned a lot from wild animals since ancient times. This is why I shot this nature -themed documentary."

    Every morning my father buys a newspaper on his way to work. Every evening my mother looks through magazines at home. And every night, I look at the posters with photos of David Beckham and Yao Ming on my bedroom wall before I go to sleep. Can we imagine life without paper or print?

    Paper was first created about 2,000 years ago, and has been made from silk, cotton, bamboo, and, since the 19th century, from wood. People learned to write words on paper to make a book. But in those days, books could only be produced one at a time by hand. As a result, they were expensive and rare. And because there weren't many books, few people learned to read.

    Then printing was invented in China. When printing was developed greatly at the beginning of the 11th century, books could be produced more quickly and cheaply. As a result, more people learned to read. After that, knowledge and ideas spread quickly.

    Today information can be received online, downloaded from the Internet rather than found in books, and information can be kept on CD-ROMs or machines such as MP3 players.

    Computers are already used in classrooms, and newspapers and magazines can already be read online. So will books be replaced by computers one day? No, I don't think the Yao Ming poster on my bedroom wall will ever be replaced by a computer two metres high!

    Arthur Dubois isn't your typical grandfather. That's because at 72 years old, the Chicago resident is a newly discovered hip-hop artist.

    This week, Dubois walked into Haven Studios, a music program on the South Side of Chicago that supports young ambitious artists. The owner of Haven Studios, Andre "Add-2" Daniels, said Dubois claimed he was "young at heart." So, Daniels decided to listen to Dubois' music. He was completely floored. Daniels quickly took videos showcasing Dubois' talents and posted them to Twitter. His tweet went viral, receiving thousands of reactions within a matter of days. Now, Dubois' talents have even caught the attention of some famous hip-hop producers.

    "It's not what you would expect, right?" Daniels says in one of the videos. Dubois music is playing in the background, giving a steady beat that easily invites listeners to dance.

    Dubois said his style was entirely self-taught. He first started teaching himself to produce hip-hop beats about six years ago, after he retired. "I found something to do," he told NPR's Scott Simon. "I had to learn how to do the computer and music at the same time." Dubois taught himself by using the audio editing software. Now he's learning another new skill-social media. Dubois' newfound social media fame has been a little overwhelming for him. "I was shocked," he said. "I broke down and cried because I didn't know that many people liked me." Daniels has helped Dubois set up accounts on Twitter and Instagram for his fans to follow, "I'd never used Instargram, Twitter and all that other stuff," Dubois said. "Because I didn't believe in that stuff myself. But now I've got to have it." The attention doesn't seem to have gone to Dubois' head though-he doesn't really care about getting famous or making money. "I just want to put it out there and let other people hear my music."

    Nowadays six Amazon Scout delivery robots rolled out in a pilot program in Snohomish County, Wash. The robots carry meals, groceries and packages to homes and offices in this region just north of Seattle. They have appeared on the sidewalks of London, Beijing and other cities and communities worldwide. These machines must overcome pedestrian legs, naughty dogs and broken pavement, which raises some questions.

    These services are gaining attraction as a growing number of city residents expect immediate or scheduled delivery for just about everything. Between 2017 and 2018 online retail sales in the U.S. increased by 16 percent. On the final step of all these deliveries, called the last mile, humans on bicycles, motorized scooters (电动车) or large delivery trucks typically deliver packages. All the vehicles compete for space on busy urban streets. "Deliveries are trending upwards in all crowded city centers, and if city and state leaders don't start thinking about creative solutions like robot deliveries, we can expect even worse traffic jams," says Paul Mackie, director of a transportation policy research center in Arlington.

    A study by this center found 73 percent of delivery vehicles in Arlington were parked outside of authorized areas, often blocking bike lanes and crosswalks. By moving the last step of deliveries from the road to the sidewalk, cities could reduce traffic jams and solve the parking problem entirely, Mackie says.

    Companies such as Amazon are not developing this delivery technology simply to clear up urban traffic. Self-driving vehicles and sidewalk robots could cut down last-mile delivery costs in cities by as much as 40 percent, according to a 2018 report by a consultancy firm. A delivery robot can cost thousands of dollars to manufacture, and most currently require human management and conservation. But in the long run companies that use autonomous delivery vehicles in the next several years could end up saving billions of dollars, the report stated.

    In 1978, I was 18 and was working as a nurse in a small town about 270 km away from Sydney, Australia. I was looking forward to having five days off from duty. Unfortunately, the only one train a day back to my home in Sydney had already left. So I thought I'd hitch a ride (搭便车).

    I waited by the side of the highway for three hours but no one stopped for me. Finally, a man walked over and introduced himself as Gordon. He said that although he couldn't give me a lift, I should come back to his house for lunch. He noticed me standing for hours in the November heat and thought I must be hungry. I was doubtful as a young girl but he assured (使…放心)me I was safe, and he also offered to help me find a lift home afterwards. When we arrived at his house, he made us sandwiches. After lunch, he helped me find a lift home.

    Twenty-five years later, in 2003, while I was driving to a nearby town one day, I saw an elderly man standing in the glaring heat, trying to hitch a ride. I thought it was another chance to repay someone for the favour I'd been given decades earlier. I pulled over and picked him up. I made him comfortable on the back seat and offered him some water.

    After a few moments of small talk, the man said to me, "You haven't changed a bit, even your red hair is still the same." I couldn't remember where I'd met him. He then told me he was the man who had given me lunch and helped me find a lift all those years ago. It was Gordon.