Dear Sir,

    I am writing to express my concern about the plans to build a motorway near our village.

    Haldersham is one of the loveliest villages in England. It is peaceful and quiet, and it is situated in a very attractive valley. There are also several beautiful countryside walks in the surroundings, with a view of many rare trees and plants.

    Most of the people who live in Haldersham have moved here from other places, often from London and other big cities. They have bought houses here to live in a place far away from the noise and the stress of the big city. They paid a lot of money for their houses, but they knew they would get a high quality of life for it.

    If the planned motorway is built, life in Haldersham will change greatly. There will be a lot of noise around us, and nobody will want to go on the walks. House prices will certainly go down, because nobody will want to buy houses in a place close to a motorway. Haldersham will become an ugly place.

    I don't think any of the people living in this beautiful village want that, and we all believe exposure to noise pollution can have a direct influence on our health. So, let's all tell the politicians who support the motorway plans what we think about them!

Yours faithfully,

Hilary Riley

    The kids in a village in Ethiopia wear dirty, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They have no school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can make words.

    The key to their success: 20 tablet computers(平板电脑) dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a U.S. group called One Laptop Per Child.

The goal is to find out whether kids using today's new technology can teach themselves to read in places where there are no schools or teachers. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they're already amazed. “What I think has already happened is that the kids have already learned more than they would have in one year of kindergarten,” said Matt Keller, who runs the Ethiopia program.

    The fastest learner—and the first to turn on one of the tablets—is 8-year-old Kelbesa Negusse. The device's camera was disabled to save memory, yet within weeks Kelbesa had figured out its workings and made the camera work. He called himself a lion, a marker of accomplishment in Ethiopia.

With his tablet, Kelbasa rearranged the letters HSROE into one of the many English animal names he knows. Then he spelled words on his own. “Seven months ago he didn't know any English. That's unbelievable,” said Keller.

    The project aims to get kids to a stage called “deep reading,” where they can read to learn. It won't be in Amharic, Ethiopia's first language, but in English, which is widely seen as the ticket to higher paying jobs.

    CREATIVE KIDS

    FILM MAKING

    Become a director, scriptwriter(编剧), editor(编辑) and more ... all in a week?

    Six half days of film making + six half days of fun activities.

    What's it all about?

Imagine yourself as the new Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott? Love the cinema, but think you could do better? Or do you dream of being the next Keira Knightley or Johnny Depp? If so, then this is your holiday! You and your group will choose the type of film to make — adventure, fantasy, thriller or comedy. Then you'll create your own film to show at the end of the week. What's more, you'll also take your film home on DVD too!

    Can I do other activities as well?

Yes — every day there's also half a day of activities from our great activity programme, and different entertainment every evening. So you can pack in lots of other new experiences too!

What do I learn?

    You'll learn the basics of film and sound recording, performing, and script-writing; and how to use sound effects, visual effects and music.

    You'll also learn about the work of a director, before editing your own film.

    Do I need any experience?

    No, our fantastic trained instructors and film industry experts will guide you through the whole process, and give you tips from the professionals.

    Do I need any specialist equipment?

    No, we'll provide all the equipment, from top spec digital video cameras and editing equipment, to costumes and make-up. Just bring your imagination!

    Only ￡695 per child!

    It's 8 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2028, and you are headed for a business appointment 300 miles away. You step into your circle, two­passenger air­cushion car, press a series of buttons and the national traffic computer notes your destination, figures out the current traffic situation and signals your car to slide out of the garage. Hands free, you sit back and begin to read the morning paper — which is flashed on a flat TV screen over the car's dashboard. Tapping a button changes the page.

    The car speeds up to 150 mph in the city's countryside, and then hits 250 mph in less built­up areas, driving over the smooth plastic road. You fly past a string of cities, many of them covered by the new domes (圆屋顶) that keep them evenly climatized all year round. Traffic is heavy, typically, but there's no need to worry. The traffic computer, which sends and receives signals to and from all cars on the road between cities, keeps vehicles at least 50 yds apart. There hasn't been an accident since the system began.

    Suddenly your TV phone buzzes. A business partner wants a sketch of a new kind of impeller your firm is putting out for sports boats. You reach for your case and draw the diagram with a pencil­thin infrared flashlight (红外线闪光灯) on what looks like a TV screen lining the back of the case. The diagram is sent to a similar screen in your partner's office, 200 miles away. He presses a button and a fixed copy of the sketch rolls out of the machine. He wishes you good luck at the coming meeting and signs off.

    Ninety minutes after leaving your home, you slide beneath the dome of your destination city. Your car slows down and heads for an outer­core office building where you'll meet your colleagues. After you get out, the vehicle parks itself in a garage to await your return. Private cars aren't allowed inside most city cores. Moving sidewalks and electrams (电车) carry the public from one location to another.

    At a daycare center in Texas, children were playing outside. One of the children was Jessica Mc Clure. She was 18 months old. Her mother, who worked at the daycare center, was watching the children. Suddenly Jessica fell and disappeared. Jessica's mother screamed and ran to her.

    A well was in the yard of the center. The well was only eight inches across and a rock always covered it. But children had moved the rock. When Jessica fell, she fell right into the well.

    Jessica's mother reached inside the well, but she couldn't feel Jessica. She dialed 911 for help. Men from the fire department arrived. They discovered that Jessica was about 20 feet down in the well. For the next hour the men talked and planned Jessica's rescue.

    "We can't go down into the well," they said."It's too narrow. So, we're going to drill a hole next to the well. Then we'll drill a tunnel across to Jessica. When we reach her, we'll bring her through the tunnel and up through our hole."

    The men began to drill the hole at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 14, 1987. The men had a difficult job; they were drilling through solid rock. During her days in the well, Jessica sometimes asked for her mother. Sometimes she slept, sometimes she cried and sometimes she sang.

    All over the world, people waited for news of Jessica. Everyone worried about her.

At 8 p.m. on Friday, October 16, men reached Jessica and brought her up from the well. She was soon sent to hospital. Jessica was dirty, hungry, thirsty and tired. Her feet and forehead were badly injured. But Jessica was alive.

    After Jessica's rescue, one of the rescuers made a metal cover for the well, saying," To Jessica, with love from all of us."

    Assistant Professor of Chemistry

    The University of Chicago: Physical Sciences Division: Department of Chemistry

    Location

    Chicago, Illinois

    Description

    The Department of Chemistry at The University of Chicago invites applications for the position of Assistant Professor of Chemistry in all areas of chemistry.

    Applicants must apply online at apply.interfolio.com/66199 and upload a cover letter, a curriculum vitae with a list of publications, a brief outline of research plans and a one－page teaching statement. In your cover letter, please specify(注明) one sub－discipline that best represents your research interests (inorganic, materials, organic, physical, theoretical or chemical biology). In addition, three reference letters are required.

    Qualifications

    At the time of hire the successful candidate must have completed all requirements for a PhD in Chemistry or a related field. Joint appointments with other departments are possible.

    Application Instructions

    Review of applications will begin on October 7, 2020 and will continue until all positions are filled.

    Apply to: apply.interfolio.com/66199

    Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

    The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

    Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 7737021032 or e-mail equalopportunity@uchicago.edu with their request.