Well-known for historic architecture and chocolates, Lviv, Ukraine's official capital of culture, looks, smells, and tastes like the best of Europe. Indeed, its western flavor has earned it the title "Little Paris of Ukraine".

    For centuries Lviv, located 50 kilometers from the Poland-Ukraine border, was an important stopping point on the main trade routes between the east and west. During the Renaissance, the city could afford Italy's finest architects because every merchant passing through was forced to stay and sell their goods for at least two weeks. "It was a very smart move to collect money from them," said Yaroslav Hrytsak, a local historian, adding, "It kept the wealth in the city, and that wealth has been transformed into architectural richness."

    Many historic buildings remain but Lviv's prosperity didn't survive its bloody history. Over the centuries, the city fell under the rule of Poland, Austria, Austria-Hungary, Russia and the Nazi Germany. In addition, both Sweden and Turkey tried unsuccessfully to conquer the city. Then for almost half a century Lviv was ruled by the Soviet Union (苏联). With that, the city was condemned to relative obscurity(无闻). But recently things have started to change. Lviv experienced a sudden 40% increase in tourism in early2010, which was the highest rate in Europe. Just last month, its gates opened even wider, when Lviv became a host city for the Euro 2012 football championships.

    So how has this happened? With the Soviet collapse, some saw new opportunities for reviving Lviv's former wealth and fame.

    Limelight networks is a US-founded company. It's one of many digital tech firms to have opened offices in Lviv over the past few years. "It had good growth and experience in the US, however, the company needs more talent to do the new cool projects and products for our customers. This is why we're here in Ukraine." said CEO of Limelight networks.

    Lviv's unexpected abundance of I.T. talent is in fact a legacy(遗产) of the former Soviet Union. To help the military, many Soviet universities focused on turning out world-class engineers and Lviv's university is still producing them. Now, the city is home to 23 higher education institutions. It's clear that the city of Lviv does not intend to remain a hidden jewel for much longer.

    Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws(爪)on its wings when young .They build their homes about 4.6m above the river ,an important feature(特征)for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.

    In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside .The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young.

    Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip .Using these four claws ,together with the beak(喙),they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.

    During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.

    Renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking died peacefully at his home in the British university city of Cambridge in March 14 at age 76.

    Hawking, whose 1988 book "A Brief History of Time" became an unlikely worldwide bestseller and cemented (奠定) his superstar status, dedicated his life to unlocking the secrets of the Universe. He held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, which is a position that was once held by Sir Isaac Newton.

    Born in 1942 in Oxford, where his parents spent the final months of pregnancy to avoid the bombings of London, Hawking was said to have been a good student although it wasn't until he was in his 20s that his true potential began to really shine through. Having initially wanted to study Mathematics, Stephen Hawking chose, instead, to read natural sciences with emphasis on Physics.

    Having found University life boring, so much so that he joined the University rowing team to relieve the boredom, it was only following an oral examination that he was awarded a first class degree.

    While at Cambridge, Hawking was diagnosed with a motor neurone (神经元）disease. He was initially given two to three years to live. The illness gradually robbed him of mobility, leaving him confined to a wheelchair, almost completely paralysed and unable to speak except through his trademark voice synthesiser (合成器）.

    Stephen Hawking led an incredible and well documented life. He was referred to in many TV programs, films, and even songs, and appeared as himself in a number of programs including Red Dwarf and the Big Bang Theory. His genius and wit won over fans from far beyond the world of astrophysics (天体物理学）, earning comparisons with Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton.

    Anki has introduced Cozmo, a little robot powered by an advanced artificial intelligence. Cozmo promises to be for more interactive（互动的）than any toy robot.

Cozmo, which can lie in your hand, has a “brain”—technically its CPU—that can process data amazingly fast. In addition, Cozmo has a playful personality. He's designed to react to emotions and even ask users to play with him.

    Cozmo is not the first interactive toy to reach the market nor is it the first robot toy. What sets Cozmo apart from the other “smart toys” is that it has greater play value than those toys, which can become repetitious all too quickly.

    “Every interaction with Cozmo is different, so you do not put up with repetitive play patterns and responses typically found with other preprogrammed robots,” explained Anki spokesperson Peter Nguyen. Because it has functionality that is similar to that of video games, Cozmo also can receive regular updates, which could extend its playability. Still, Anki has designed this toy to be just that: a toy. It's not an advanced computerized robot. Its software is app-based.

    Cozmo lacks the “traditional” human-like robot form factor（要素）of legs, arms, and a head. But Cozmo does have an OLED screen/face with blue eyes, which in fact were designed to help it connect with its user.

    “I'm glad my kids are already raised,” said Roger L. Kay, analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates. “Otherwise, they might become more antisocial if their relationship with Cozmo is more satisfying than those with real people,” said Kay. “Cozmo might encourage kids to learn more about technology or even inspire them to try programming and similar studies,” said Charles King, analyst at Pund-IT.

    Yet this technology does promise to be more than a toy. “It's a pretty cool invention and might have further applications, for example in elder care,” suggested Kay.

    As my dad unwrapped（打开）the new bicycle helmet（头盔）that I got him for his birthday, I realized that a number of people ride their bicycles every day without the protection of a helmet.

      Due to cold winters across the country, riding has become increasingly dangerous as many roads have holes and are torn-up（磨损的）. Not everyone realizes that there are laws requiring the wearing of helmets in many places.

    Where I live, there has been a law in place since October 1, 1992 stating that cyclists of all ages are required to wear helmets. Unfortunately, accidents can happen to the best of riders. My dad has been a cyclist for many years, and he often rides around my county and to Rockland Lake State Park.

    One afternoon, as he was just entering the park, he lost control of his bicycle and flew off and landed on a nearby patch of grass, breaking his helmet into pieces and losing consciousness（知觉）. When he was just awakening, a lovely couple found him and brought him back to our house, where he attempted to recall the events leading up to his fall. Later that day, a CAT scan showed that he had a concussion (脑震荡). That evening, while my dad was showing me the pieces of his broken helmet, we both came to a shocking realization.

    If he had not worn his helmet, he probably would have cracked his skull and perhaps died. Today, when my dad and I go out cycling, the wearing of our helmets is not even a question. Regardless of age, everyone should wear a helmet whenever they get on a bicycle.

    I'm a speaker and give hundreds of speeches every year. I spoke about appreciation (感激) last month and I used this quote by Albert Schweitzer "Sometimes our light goes out but is blown again into flame by meeting with another human being. Each of us should express the deepest thanks to those who have relighted this inner (内心的) light."

    I asked my audiences to shut their eyes and think about someone who, at some time in their lives, has relighted their inner light. Then I left the room in silence for several minutes. It was always a meaningful experience as they remembered the joy they felt from another person.

    One day, a gentleman came up to talk with me and thanked me for creating a new awareness (意识) in him. He said he thought of his eighth-grade history teacher because she was everyone's favorite teacher and had really made a difference in all of their lives. Several days later, the gentleman found his history teacher and he wrote to her. The following week he received this letter:

    Dear John,

    You will never know how much your letter meant to me. I am 83 years old, and I am living all alone in one room. My friends are all gone. My family's gone. I taught 50 years and yours is the first "thank you" letter I have ever gotten from a student. Sometimes I wonder what I did with my life. I will read and reread your letter until the day I die.

    The gentleman was sad, "She is always the one we talk about when we have a get-together. She is everyone's favorite teacher—we love her! But no one had ever told her until she received my letter…"