To the people who came to Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn, he had no name. To them, he was “the ice cream man”. He was just two hands and a smile handing back ice cream from the van（面包车）window. To me, he was my older brother, Andrew.

    Once, he worked on Wall Street. But later he spent his days selling ice cream to an endless line of kids, moms and dads in swimming suits, perhaps daydreaming of a beach faraway.

    All day long, while he sold bags of potato chips, cans of soda, and all types of ice cream, he would do this sort of robotic motion—turn to the right, stoop down, hand the item out of the window and collect the money.

    His drinking days were over now. They neared their end one night after he took a severe beating when someone followed him home and robbed him when he was drunk. It left him memories of pain and misery. He was determined he would never take another drink again.

    One day years later, I went to look for him. I slipped into the high driver's seat and sat quietly watching him work. Occasionally, he would ask me to hand him a diet root beer or a bag of chips for sale, all the time bending over as he worked the long line.

    As I watched him sell ice cream from a van window, he taught me something about living this life that we all pass through too quickly. It was a lesson about trying to live it with grace and dignity and style, no matter what.

    He died in March 1999. He had served in the Army for two years in Europe in the 1950s. They gave him a soldier's funeral with a folded flag.

    A good book is indeed the best friend of a person.The same goes for high—profile CEOs of world recognized companies as well.Let's have a look at the favorite books of some of the world-famous CEOs.

    Apple CEO—Tim Cook,Competing against Time by George Stalk Jr.and Thomas M.Hout

    This book is based on 10 years of valuable research done by the authors.It talks about how new concepts of managing time in new product development,production and sales provide companies with the advantages to succeed in this highly competitive world.

    Microsoft CEO(Former)—Bill Gates,The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger

    A few themes explored in the novel are rebellion（叛逆）,anxiety and confusion.It admits that young people are a little confused,but can be smart about things and see things that adults don't really see.Gates said,"I didn't actually read The Catcher in the Rye until I was 13,and ever since then I've said that's my favorite book."

    Oracle CEO—Larry Ellison,Napoleon by Vincent Cronin

    This book is considered by far the best biography ever written on Napoleon Bonaparte.Ellison said,"It's interesting to read about him for a couple of reasons: to see what an ordinary man can do with his life and to see how history can distort（歪曲）the truth entirely."

    OWE CEO—Oprah Winfrey,To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

    This book talks about how a little girl observes the people around her.Winfrey said,"I read it in eighth or ninth grade,and I was trying to persuade other kids to read the book.So it makes sense to me that now I have a book club, because I have been doing that probably since I read this book."

    The computers changed our lives in the 1980s, the Internet changed our lives in the 1990s, and the robots will change our lives in the new century.

    Do you think there will be robots in people's homes? It's not a dream that every home will have a robot.

    Now, robots are not only able to help people do the housework, they can also help the doctors do the difficult operations, play chess with people, play the piano and so on.

    A new cooking robot is used in Beijing. It can cook all the dishes on the menu, you only need to wait two to four minutes. In the future, the robot will be a nurse, a security guard, or a partner in your life.

    Experts believe robots will be used everywhere from the industrial robots to service robots. In the future, robots will become part of the family, and provide close service for people. We all look forward to the new robot age.

    Scientists have found an unexpected use for virtual reality headsets (耳机). The devices (装置), widely used by computer gamers, show pictures that can be used to test the navigational (导航的) skills of people, who were thought to be at risk of dementia (痴呆). Those who do worse in the tests will be the ones more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease later in life, scientists now believe.

    The discovery that the loss of navigational skills was associated with Alzheimer's was made several years ago by Dennis Chan and his colleagues based at several centers in the UK. These studies used computers to test navigational tasks. But now scientists plan to take their tests to a new level with the use of the virtual reality headsets in which wearers are placed in man-made environments through which they must navigate.

    Around 300 people, aged between 40 and 60, will be arranged to participate in the study. Some will have a gene that puts them at risk of the condition or will come from a family with a history of Alzheimer's. Not all will certainly be affected by the disease, however. Chan's project aims to find out who will. Wearing the headsets, participants will be asked to navigate their way through a series of different environments and then remember the details.

    Researchers recently pointed out the significance of a tiny area of the brain known as the entorhinal cortex (an important memory center in the brain). It acts as a center in a widespread brain network that controls navigation. This now appears to be the first part of the brain that seems to be easily harmed by Alzheimer's.

    The goal of the work is to help people as they develop the disease. "So far, drug trials for Alzheimer's have been applied when people have already got dementia, by which time considerable damage to the brain has already occurred," Chan told the Obsenver. "If we can develop drugs and use them earlier, for example, before the disease has spread beyong the entorhinal cortex, then this would have the potential to prevent the dementia."

    A few days ago I was sitting in a Thai restaurant enjoying a meal when I got a phone call from a friend I hadn't spoken to for a long time. Full of enthusiasm and excitement I talked slightly louder than usual and in Spanish, my mother tongue.

    A few minutes into the call the lady sitting beside me got up, seemingly upset, and asked the restaurant staff to relocate her to a table as far away as possible from "this man who won't get off his phone"

    I sank in my seat out of embarrassment. I ended the call soon afterwards and felt the urge to go over and apologize. Before getting up I looked around to see where she was and I found she was, indeed, at the table furthest away from me. I noticed that the lady was alone and staring out of the window, looking a bit sad.

    Right then I quit my plan for a conventional apologetic gesture and decided to conduct an experiment. Seeing those funny smile cards in my wallet, I took one out. When signing my check I asked the waiter to secretly charge the lady's meal to my credit card instead of her bill.

    I left the restaurant, letting the waiter know I would be back in a few hours to pick up my credit card. I returned later as promised, excited to learn the result.

    To my pleasant surprise, things turned out the best possible way. A group of restaurant staff approached me with joy, telling me that the lady had dined there many times, but they had never seen her smile and laugh like she did upon receiving the smile card and the $0 check.

What do you do with your old clothes? You might throw them away, or if you want to be more environmentally friendly, you could sell or donate them. No matter what you choose, it's always been your responsibility to deal with them. However, a new California law could shift this responsibility to clothing producers.

This pioneering law, called the Responsible Textile Recovery Act, is targeted to set requirements for producers of clothing, towels and bedding. It requires them to develop and fund a statewide program for reusing, repairing and recycling their products. The law could help address the long-standing pollution caused by the textile (纺织) and fashion industries, noted The Guardian.

Since 1960, the amount of textile waste in the US has grown nearly tenfold, reaching over 17 million tons in 2018, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. A shocking 85 percent of textiles end up in landfills where they send out harmful gases and chemicals into the environment. As a major polluter, the fashion industry accounts for about 10 percent of global carbon emissions (排放), more than international flights and shipping combined, according to the United Nations. The rise of "fast fashion", which produces cheap, low-quality clothing meant to be worn only a few times, has significantly worsened this environmental crisis.

The serious pollution drove Democratic state senator Josh Newman, who drafted (起草) the Responsible Textile Recovery Act, into action. He communicated with all sectors of the textile industry to prevent opposition.

Some worry the law could make shopping more expensive and impact small and medium-sized brands. However, Newman said people shouldn't notice any price increases, estimating it would cost producers less than 10 cents (0.7 yuan) per item.

The program is expected to begin as early as 2028 in the hope of making the industry more sustainable (可持续的). It could also open new opportunities for green production and consumption while creating more than 1,000 green jobs.