If you don't think technology can improve your trip better, meet Judy. When she recently checked into the Biu Hotel in Zurich, a clerk asked her to pay hundreds of dollars higher than the online offer. It was not a cheap stay, but it became more of one after she fired up the Booking. Com app she'd used to purchase her room on her smartphone. “As soon as I showed him the rate, he honored it,” Judy says.

    Technology may create challenges for travelers-indeed, it may have led to Judy's rate confusion in the first place-but it can also solve them. The solutions go beyond making sure of a hotel rate. The latest version of Booking.com is among the most feature-rich booking programs. Users can select hotels by location, make a secure booking and view the confirmed rate.

    Another pain point for travelers is traffic that eats away precious vacation time. There's a new app for that, called Commute. As the name implies, it's aimed at users who have to make the same trip every day. Just input basic information about your destination and expected leaving time, and the app will start sending you traffic data 15 minutes before you leave.

    Another source of travel-related conflict and confusion is money. That's particularly true when you're dealing with a foreign currency. The latest version of Travel Money Tracker helps travelers prevent currency mix-ups. It instantly converts(兑换) a country's native currency to yours, so you know exactly how much that Espresso(浓咖啡) in Milan costs in dollars. One extra feature is the ability to set up an alert that tells you when you're overspending, which can sometimes be a problem when you're on vacation. The only catch, of course, is that you have to remember to record all your purchases.

    I can't think of a better way of appreciating a new culture than by taking part in one of its festivals. You'll find that some festivals are celebrated by an entire country, while others may be known only to a single city or region, but either way festivals play an important role in a certain culture. Just enjoy them!

    ★ Tomatina — Bunol, Spain

    Every last Wednesday in August, the town of Bunol is filled with tons of tomatoes in the world's biggest food flight. Many people wear goggles during this hour of great fun, as the town becomes a red river.

    ★ Boryeong Mud Festival — Boryeong, South Korea

    For two weeks in July, millions gather in Boryeong to experience the grey pools and slides. What began as a way to help sell the region's mineral-rich mud has turned into a festive party with music and fireworks. The mud is usually only available in cosmetic products (化妆品), but here you can cake yourself in grey as you want.

    ★ Holi — India

    Holi, the Festival of Colors, is a Hindu celebration full of joy and one of India's most important holidays. During the day of the last full moon of the lunar month, usually late February or early March, the air is full of brightly colored powder (粉末). The festival is celebrated differently throughout the country, with bonfires and music, but the cheerful spirit is common among Hindu people around the world.

    ★ International Pillow Fight Day — Worldwide

    Tens of thousands of people took part in the 4th annual International Pillow Fight Day on April 2,2013. From London to Vancouver to many other cities, the festival is held in more than 100 countries. So just bring a soft pillow in early April, and watch feathers fly.

    We were high in the mountains of Xishuangbanna, as far south as you can get in Yunnan, skirting the borders of Myanmar and Laos. The drive was typical, textbook beauty: mountains thick with rubber tree forests, pu'er tea plantations and banana palms and tiny Dai villages. Hidden among the fields of green, I spotted an odd collection of wooden boxes near a tent on the side of the road{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    We had run into the current home of Wei Dajing, a 17-year-old apprentice (学徒) beekeeper who was manning his hives. Wei was fresh to the beekeeping life, and had been on the job for just two months and was here to learn from a master beekeeper. Their tent and hive set-up is always temporary{#blank#}2{#/blank#}This particular spot was stationed at a sunny patch of yellow flowers. Once these flowers die, the rubber trees will be flowering, so we will move toward them,” he told Sam.

    Like thieves in the night, the beekeepers will stealthily pack up their hives in the dark once the bees go to sleep. “They are most active around midday when they are collecting their nectar (花蜜){#blank#}3{#/blank#}Wei explained.

    The hives were humming, and bees were invasively buzzing around Wei as he spoke to us. Pieces of fruit lay drying among the hives, used to feed the bees and give them an extra boost of energy once Wei bottles up their hard-earned honey. Sam, who also has a couple of his own small hives in his backyard, tells us you must always leave a little bit of honey in the hive{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    We waved goodbye to Wei. Back at Sam's house, he gave us a bowlful of local honey{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Lacking the usual sweetness of honey but instead rich with a more savory, spiced flavor, it tasted just like China.

A. It was smooth, thin and runny.

B. Wei skillfully collected honey from the hives.

C. Otherwise the bees get fed up and abandon you.

D. Maybe it is the flowers that give such unique taste to the honey.

E. By 10 pm they are asleep in their hives, which is when we move.

F. I asked our excellent guide and new best friend, Sam, to pull over.

G. Wei and his master move their camp as the flowers bloom and die.

    Last month, the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, held an underwater meeting. The purpose of the ocean floor conference is to highlight the effects of global warming on his island nation.

    The Maldives, located in the Indian Ocean, is the lowest-lying country on Earth. Melting glaciers and polar ice are causing sea levels to rise, putting the Maldives and other low-lying areas at risk of being swallowed by the sea within the next 100 years.

    What can be done? Scientists and leaders from 190 nations will try to figure that out at the United Nations climate change conference next month. The main goal of the meeting is to come up with a new climate agreement for 2012 and beyond. That is when the existing plan, the Kyoto Protocol will expire. The agreement was created in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997. Since then, it has been ratified(正式批准) by 190 nations. The countries promised to limit the amount of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, which they produced each year.

    The debate over who should cut greenhouse emissions has been going on for years. The US has been hesitant to reduce emissions unless fast-growing nations such as China and India also reduce their use of fossil fuels. In recent months, China has taken steps to be greener. But India has been unwilling to change. It argues that it is unfair for rich nations to ask poorer countries to cut down on emissions.

    While world leaders work on a plan in Copenhagen, there are many things you can do to help the planet. You can save fuel by walking or biking instead of riding in a car. You can start a recycling program in your community. You can plant trees. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and give off oxygen.

    There are some differences between American English and British English. Some differences are quite interesting.

    When my friend Lily from London used the word “larder”, I didn't know what it meant. Realizing I didn't follow her, she used another word. I finally knew she wanted to find something to keep some food. The next word came up when we were planning a lunch date. She jotted down the date and time in her diary, while I marked my calendar. If she called me on the phone, she would ring me up. But if the line was busy, she would say the line was engaged.

    Most times, I can know what Lily means. Last week, she regretted sending her boys to watch an early morning tennis game without their fleeces. I thought that she meant without their jackets or something like those. Other times, we have to ask each other. She recently told me a funny tale about a woman who was pissed. I wondered what had made the lady angry. It turns out that pissed means drunk.

    Here is one more example. My British friend Jane was filling out a ticket at the grocery store recently. She asked the young man if he had a rubber. When she noticed he didn't follow her, she quickly asked for an eraser, which, in England, is often called a rubber.

    In order to communicate well with the British, we Americans should learn some words that the British use differently. And I think people who learn English as a second language should also realize that there are differences between American English and British English.

Four Habits to Help You Succeed

    Nobody would like to experience failure. We all want to succeed. For those who have tried and failed, success seems difficult to understand. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Know your values.

    Finding your values is in line with creating motivation. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Pick a handful of things and write them down. Remind yourself of your values every day and reflect on whether you are honoring those values through your work.

    Pick a goal and focus on it.

    Choose one goal to start something large enough that will give you a sense of achievement, while adjusting well to your values. If you want to achieve your goal, focus is the key here. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}If you perform many tasks at a time, you might never finish your projects because they will take far too long.

    Set a time for success.

    Set a date for success. Know when you hope to realize your goal. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}By setting a time limit, you are making the process realistic.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Failure can't be avoided when you take risks. By its very definition, the desire to succeed means you are risking failure. Many people tend to give up far too early. Don't fall into this trap! Use failure. Treat it as a good thing, and go on.

A. Make the right decision.

B. The more focused you are on one goal, the higher chance you have of success.

C. I have made a list of four habits to help you set goals and realize them.

D. Keep it realistic, while not giving yourself too much time.

E. Don't give up because of failure.

F. Sit and reflect on what you value most.

G. Push yourself to be courageous, and take that next step.