Reading can be a social activity. Think of the people who belong to book group. They choose books to read and then meet to discuss them. Now the website BookCrossing.com turns the page on the traditional idea of a book group.

    Members go on the site and register the books they own and would like to share. BookCrossing provides an identification number to stick inside the book. Then the person leaves it in a public place, hoping that the book will have an adventure, traveling far and wide with each new reader who finds it.

    Bruce Peterson, the managing director of BookCrossing, says, “The two things that change your life are the people you meet and books you read. BookCrossing combines both.”

    Members leave books on park benches and buses, in train stations and coffee shops. Whoever finds their book will go to the site and record where they found it.

    People who find a book can also leave a journal entry describing what they thought of it. E-mails are then sent to the BookCrossers to keep them updated about where their books have been found. Bruce Peterson says the idea is for people not to be selfish by keeping a book to gather dust on a shelf at home.

    BookCrossing is part of a trend among people who want to get back to the “real” and not the virtual(虚拟). The site now has more than one million members in more than one hundred thirty-five countries.

    In a natural disaster: a hurricane, flood, volcanic eruption, or other catastrophes. Minutes and even seconds of warning can make the difference between life and death. Because of this, scientists are working to use the latest technological advances to predict when and where disasters will happen. They are also studying how best to analyze and communicate this information once it is obtained.

    On September 29,1998, Hurricane Georges made landfall in Biloxi, Mississippi, after damaging Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and several islands of the Caribbean badly with heavy rains and winds up to 160 km per hour. Few people lost their lives along the Gulf Coast of the United States, although hundreds died in the Caribbean. This was a very different result, when a powerful Gulf Coast hurricane made an unexpected direct hit on Galveston, Texas, killing at least 6,000 people. Vastly improved hurricane warnings explain the different circumstances at either end of the 20th century—residents of Galveston had no advance warning that a storm was approaching, while residents of Biloxi had been warned days in advance, allowing for extensive safety precautions (预防).

    At the same time that people in Biloxi were thankful for the advance warning, some residents of New Orleans, Louisiana were less satisfied. A day before Georges made landfall, forecasters were predicting that the hurricane had a good chance of striking New Orleans. Emergency management officials must begin evacuations (疏散) well before a storm strikes. But evacuation costs money. The mayor of New Orleans estimated that his city's preparations for Georges cost more than 50 million. After Georges missed New Orleans, some residents questioned the value of the hurricane forecasts in the face of such high costs.

    The different views on the early warnings for Hurricane Georges show some of the complexities (复杂) related to predicting disasters. Disaster prediction is a process of providing scientific information to the government officials and other decision makers who must respond to those predictions.

    California has become the first U.S. state to approve plans to require newly-built homes to include solar equipment.

    The state's Energy Commission voted 5-0 to approve the new rules, which are to take effect in 2020. The rules will deal with most newly-built residential (住宅的) buildings up to three stories high.

    The move is California's latest step aimed at reaching renewable energy targets and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

    California has set a goal of filling half of its electricity needs with renewable energy by 2030. Officials said they had reached 30 percent by the end of 2017. The state's Governor, Jerry Brown, plans to hold an international climate meeting in September.

    ①The Energy Commission said the cost of adding solar equipment to a single-family home would be about $9,500. But, the group added that homeowners would save at least $19,000 in energy costs over 30 years.

    Robert Raymer is the technical director for the California Building Industry Association. He says the action is a step forward for the wider use of solar power in the U.S. "You can bet every other of the 49 states will be watching closely to see what happens," he told the Associated Press.

    ②Solar companies praised the new requirements, which officials have said will likely raise demand for solar equipment in California by 10-15 percent.

    The Solar Energy Industries Association called it a "historic decision for the state and the U.S." It estimated the action would produce "huge economic and environmental benefits," including bringing tens of billions of dollars into California.

    ③Some legislative and community leaders argued that Californians cannot afford to pay any more for housing in what is already an extremely high-priced market.

    "That's just going to drive the cost up and make California, once again, not affordable to live in," said California Assemblyman Brian Dahle.

    ④Severin Borenstein is an energy economist at the University of California, in Berkeley. He sent an email to the head of California's Energy Commission to urge the state to reconsider its decision.

    He expressed his belief that it is a mistake for California to approve such a policy instead of centering on efforts to develop large solar farms to produce renewable energy. He said these farms would cost much less to operate.

    "Every energy economist I know is shaking their head at this," he told the Wall Street Journal. "In many ways, this is setting the wrong example," he added.

    There's been a lot of talking about white-and-blue collar workers, and you may have even heard of gold collar workers, but lately a new color of collar is making its way into China's urban vernacular(土话)—green. Green collars say no when work is life and life is work. They choose to get out of the fast lane(车道), and explore new ways of living "green".

    Living green doesn't mean someone is working as an environmentalist, biologist or scientist. Instead it is more of a lifestyle choice. A typical green collar is well educated like a white-collar but physically tough like a blue-collar, likely born in the 70s or 80s of the last century and living in one of China's big cities, with a monthly income well above 5,000 yuan(about US $700).

    The life of a green collar may go something like this: Turn off the mobile phone after work, eat only healthy food rich in vitamins, go on hikes every weekend, and like to help the underprivileged.

    Green collars even have their own club. In Beijing, the Green Collar Club is for people who share a "be happy, healthy and helpful" spirit. The club often holds charity parties and uses the donations for environmental protection and poverty relief(摆脱贫困) projects in China.

    "They are successful in their careers, but do not miss the pleasures in life. They have a lot of money, but do not fall slave to it." said Zuo Shiguang, one of the founding members of the club.

    Learning English as the second language for non­native English speakers is not an easy task. It needs to spend a considerable time before you could speak or write the English language. There are only two ways to learn the English language or any other language you prefer.

The first one needs a lot of money because of the requirements needed. If you notice, a person migrated(移民) to another country and stayed there for a couple of years and then going back to his home non­native speaking country, the person became so familiar in speaking English. This is the most effective way of learning to speak and write a language unfamiliar to you.

    The learner learns the language because he/she is forced to do so because there is no other language being used. Not to mention that the learner should adapt to the environment. It is all started from listening. This is the process how language is acquired if you will stay long in a foreign country.

    The second one is the traditional way. You go to school or learning center specialized in teaching English as the second language. Obviously, this is cheaper than the first, but it needs a considerable time before you will learn to familiarize the language. Today, there are different language centers offering their services for people to learn the language in your own country. They brought all the materials needed because, compared to the first one, they're affordable and reasonable.

    Nowadays, learning English as the second language is one of the global trends. Since the English language is used in most of the business transactions, you should be on it too. Otherwise you will not go along with the future trends that will arise.