When you sit down, you pick it out. When you are in your car, you reach for it．When you're at work, you take a break to have a moment alone with it. When you get into a lift, you play with it．

    Cigarettes? Cup of coffee? No, it's the third most addictive thing in modern life, the cell phone．And experts say it is becoming more difficult for many people to curb their desire to hug it more tightly than most of their personal relationships．

    With its shiny surface, its smooth and satisfying touch, its air of complexity, the cell phone  connects us to the world even as it disconnects us from people three feet away．In just the past  couple of years, the cell phone has challenged individuals, employers, phone makers and  counselors（顾问）in ways its inventors in the late 1940s never imagined．

    The costs are becoming even more evident, and I don't mean just the monthly bill．Dr．Chris  Knippers, a counselor at the Betty Ford Center in Southern California, reports that the overuse of  cell phones has become a social problem not much different from other harmful addictions: a barrier to one-on-one personal contact, and an escape from reality．

    Sounds extreme, but we've all witnessed the evidence: the person at a restaurant who talks on the phone through an entire meal, ignoring his kids around the table; the woman who talks on the phone in the car, ignoring her husband; the teen who texts messages all the way home from school, avoiding contact with kids all around him．

    Is it just rude, or is it a kind of unhealthiness? And pardon me, but how is this improving the quality of life?

    Jim Williams, an industrial sociologist based in Massachusetts, notes that cell-phone addiction is part of a set of symptoms in a widening gulf of personal separation．He points to a study by Duke University researchers that found one-quarter of Americans say they have no one to discuss their most important personal business with．Despite the growing use of phones, e-mail and instant messaging, in other words, Williams says studies show that we don't have as many friends as our parents. “Just as more information has led to less wisdom, more acquaintances via the Internet and cell phones have produced fewer friends,” he says．

    If the cell phone has truly had these effects, it's because it has become very widespread．Consider that in 1987, there were only 1 million cell phones in use．Today, something like 300 million Americans carry them．They far outnumber wired phones in the United States．

    Buck's first day in the frozen Northland was like a bad dream. Every hour was filled with shock and surprise. Here was neither peace, nor rest, nor a moment's safety—only continual noise and movement. At evey moment life itself was in danger, because these dogs and men were not town dogs and men. They knew only the law of club and tooth.

    He had never seen dogs fight as these wolfish creatures fought, and his first experience taught him an unforgettable lesson. Curly was the victim(牺牲者). She tried to make friends with a Husky, a dog only half as large as she was. There was no warning. The dog jumped on Curly, his teeth closed together, then he jumped away, and Curly's face was torn open from eye to mouth.

    Wolves fight like this, biting and jumping away, but the fight did not finish then. Thirty or forty more dogs ran up and made a circle around the fight, watching silently. Curly tried to attack the dog who had bitten her; he bit her a second time, and jumped away. When she attacked him again, he knocked her backwards, and she fell on the ground. She never stood up again, because this was what the other dogs were waiting for. They moved in, and in a moment she was under a crowd of dogs.

    So sudden was it, and so unexpected, that Buck was taken aback. He saw Spitz run out his tongue in a way he had of laughing; and he saw Francois, swinging an axe, spring into the mess of dogs. Three men with clubs were helping him to scatter them. It did not take long. Two minutes later the last of the dogs was chased away. But Curly lay dead in the snow, her body torn almost to pieces. Curly's death often came back to Buck in his dreams. He understood that once a dog was down on the ground, he was dead. He also remembered Spitz laughing, and from that moment he hated him.

    Before he had recovered from the shock caused by the death of Curly, he received another surprise. Francois put a harness on him. Buck had seen harnesses on horses, and now he was made to work like a horse, pulling Francois on a sledge into the forest and returning with wood for the fire. Though his dignity was deeply hurt by becoming a work animal, he was too wise to rebel(反抗). It was all new and strange, but Buck did his best. Buck learned easily and under the combined teaching of Francois and his two mates, Dave and Spitz, two experienced sled dogs, he made remarkable progress. Before they returned to camp he knew enough to stop at "ho," to go ahead at "mush," to swing wide on the bends, and to stay clear when the heavy came shot downhill.

"Those three are very good dogs," Francois told Perrault. "That Buck pulls very well, and he's learning quickly."

    Perrault had important letters and official papers to take to Dawson City, so that afternoon he bought two more dogs, two brothers called Billee and Joe. Billee was very friendly, but Joe was the opposite. In the evening Perrault bought one more dog, an old dog with one eye. His name was Solleks, which means The Angry One. Like Dave, he made no friends; all he wanted was to be alone.

    That night Buck discovered another problem. Where was he going to sleep? Francois and Perrault were in their tent, but when he went in, they shouted angrily and threw things at him. Outside it was very cold and windy. He lay down in the snow, but he was too cold to sleep.

    He walked around the tents trying to find the other dogs. But, to his surprise, they had disappeared.

    He walked around Perrault's tent, very, very cold, wondering what to do. Suddenly, the snow under his feet fell in, and he felt something move. He jumped back, waiting for the attack, but heard only a friendly bark. There, in a warm hole under the snow, was Billee.

    So that was what you had to do. Buck chose a place, dug himself a hole and in a minute he was warm and asleep. He slept well, although his dreams were bad.

    When I was a very little child, I remember watching TV and seeing other children suffer in other parts of the world. I would talk to myself, "when I grow up, when I can become rich, I'll save kids all over the world."

    At the age of 17, I began my career here in America, and by 18, I started my first charity organization. I went on to team up with other organizations in the following years, and met, helped, and even lost some of the most beautiful souls, from six-year-old Jasmina Anema who passed away in 2010 from leukemia (白血病)—her story inspired thousands to volunteer as donors, to 2012 when my grandmother lost her battle with cancer, which is the very reason and the driving force behind the Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF). We're all human. And we all just want a chance: a chance at life, a chance in education, a chance at a future, really. And at CLF, our mission is to impact as many lives as possible, but it starts with just one.

    People make it seem too hard to do charity work. The truth is, you don't have to be rich to help others. You don't need to be famous. You don't even have to be college-educated. But it starts with your neighbor, the person right next to you, the person sitting next to you in class, the kid down the block in your neighborhood. You just do whatever you can to help in any way that you can. And today, I want to challenge each of you to make a commitment to help one person, one organization, one situation that touches your heart. My grandmother always used to say, "If you've got a dollar, there's plenty to share."

    Finding your feet in a new town can be hard, especially if you're covered in fur and don't speak the language. But for pets new to Marlborough, help is at hand.

    Marlborough SPCA and the Railway Café, in Blenheim, have joined forces to help welcome pets and their people to the area with morning teas. They hope the morning teas will get tails and tongues wagging(狗摇摆尾巴）as well as giving advice on how to make the move easier.

    Railway Café owner Leanne Harris came up with the creative plan as a way to help welcome people to the area. Leanne moved to Marlborough from Auckland two years ago and said she first struggled to find friends and feel part of the community. "Coming from Auckland I thought people would open their doors and that there would be neighbors calling round with cake. I expected people to come to me and, of course, it wasn't like that. I did get lonely." "I hope to save newcomers having to wait as long as I did to feel part of it all. I would like to welcome them to the town."

    Free plates of sandwiches, cakes will be offered, for the people, while there will be special yoghurt and banana treats for the dogs. The morning teas will take place in the covered area at the back of the popular café beside the railway station off Grove Rd.

    Leanne said she was happy to devote both her time and effort to giving back to the community and felt the project was a great fit with the SPCA.

    "Volunteering is such an amazing thing to do and it changed things for me completely, and I met some amazing people with similar interests."

    SPCA Op Shop manager Karina Greenall, originally from the United Kingdom, said she also wanted to help. "I can give advice on how to resettle pets, the best parks to go to, where the best walks are and where the Civil Service are in town." There will be volunteering chances too for people where they can help out and hopefully make friends too.

    The UK has a well­respected higher education system and some of the top universities and research instructions in the world. But to those who are new to it all, sometimes it can be confusing.

    October is usually the busiest month in the college calendar. Universities have something called Freshers' Week for their newcomers. It's a great opportunity to make new friends, join lots of clubs and settle into university life.

    However, having just left the comfort of home and all your friends behind，the prospect(前景) of meeting lots of strangers in big halls can be nerve­wracking (令人焦虑不安的). Where do you start? Who should you make friends with? Which clubs should you join?

    Luckily, there will be thousands of others in the same boat as you worrying about starting their university social life on the right foot. So just take it all in slowly. Don't rush into anything that you'll regret for the next three years.

    Here is some top advice from past students on how to survive Freshers' Week:

    Learn rules. Make sure you know British social etiquette(礼节). Have a few wine glasses and snacks handy for your housemates and friends.

    Be kind. Sometimes cups of tea or even slices of toast can give you a head start in making friends.

    Be sociable. The more active you are，the more likely you'll be to meet new people than if you're someone who never leaves his room.

    Bring a doorstop. Keep your door open when you're in and that sends positive messages to your neighbors that you're friendly.

    So with a bit of clever planning and effort, Freshers' Week can give you a great start to your university life and soon you'll be passing on your experience to next year's new recruits.

    LEGO(乐高) recently announced that they will start producing pieces from sustainable (可持续的) sugar cane. The toys, which will be closely similar to classic ones, will also feature "botanical elements" like leaves, bushes, and trees.

    The pieces will be included in LEGO'S box sets from this year onwards. The move is part of the Danish company's campaign to use sustainable materials in its products by 2030.

    However, Tim Brooks, the firm's vice-president, said, "We want to make a positive influence on the world around us, and are working hard to make great play products for children using sustainable materials. This is a great first step in our goal to make all LEGO pieces using sustainable materials."

    The new line of production has reportedly already started with pieces being produced from polyethylene, which is a soft and durable plastic (耐用的塑料). LEGO says that we needn't worry about the quality of the new products, as they've tested the plant-based plastic to ensure that it meets the high standards for quality and safety that consumers (消费者) expect from the company.

    "LEGO products have always been about providing high quality play experiences and giving every child the chance to shape their own world through inventive play. Children and parents will not notice any difference in the quality or appearance of the new pieces, because plant-based polyethylene has the same qualities as traditional polyethylene," said Tim Brooks.

    "It is important that companies in each industry find ways to help ensure a future where people, nature, and the economy grow healthily," said Alix Grabowski, an officer at WWF. "The LEGO Group's decision to use sustainable plastics represents a great opportunity to reduce dependence on finite (有限的) resources, and their work with the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance will allow them to connect with other companies to continue to think creatively about sustainability."