Bars are very important in providing a place where people can meet and make friends. People who enjoy a drink in a local bar are happier and have more friends. They are more likely to be engaged in conversations in small community pubs, and social skills improve after a drink.

    Professor Robin Dunbar of Oxford University said, “Friendship and communities are probably the two most important factors influencing our health and well-being. Making and maintaining friendships is something that has to be done in the real world. The digital world is simply no substitute(n.替代物). Given the increasing tendency for our social life to be on the Internet rather than in real life, having relaxed, accessible places where people can meet old friends and make new ones becomes even more necessary.”

    Tim Page, chief executive of CAMRA, said, “Bars offer a social environment to enjoy a drink with friends in a responsible community setting. The role of community bars in ensuring well-being cannot be overstated. For that reason, we all  need to do what we can to ensure that everyone has a ‘local' near to where they live or work.”

    Bars have long been part of British society and have played a key role in British social life since the 16th century. Bars came to represent the heart and soul of a community, providing both a place of entertainment and an engine for community bonding. In a world before the arrival of the motor car, the bar provided a venue in which people could get friendships and a sense of community.

    But the closing decades of the 20th century witnessed major changes in both the style of bars (for example, themed bars) and their numbers. As of 2015, the number of bars declines sharply, with bars continuing to close at an average rate of 29 a week.

    Because of the financial crisis in the US and UK, college students are beginning to struggle to find ways to pay their tuition fees and accommodations.

    Recently, two major US student loan (贷款) lenders, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase, announced they were leaving the student loan industry altogether. Because banks currently have a lack of credit, they are reluctant to offer students low-interest loans that need a several-year wait for any return of interest.

    In the US, many undergraduates fill up their financial needs with a private loan, although the majority can get government-funded loans. In the 2015-2016 academic year, $ 17 billion in private student loans was used to finance higher education. The lack of private funding has yet to be covered and will hit many US students hard.

    Across the Atlantic, UK students have been less troubled by the crisis. Most undergraduates in the UK cover their university expenses with government-funded loans and grants. Their biggest concern is a sudden increase in student rent.

    Most young professionals now rent houses, since 80 percent of UK mortgage schemes (按揭计划) have disappeared—a direct result of the credit crisis. This has boosted the house rent market.

    In large cities, UK students are paying almost 6.5 percent more in rent than the previous year. Figures from the UK organization Accommodation for Student show students in big cities such as London paying an average weekly rent of $ 203.

    Yet, despite students' suffering, the number of this year's university applications is expected to grow. During economic slumps, people regard further education as a way to survive tough job market.

    Basketball Statistician Help Wanted

    The Athletic Department is looking for students to help assist staff during the Fall 2016, Winter 2016-17 and Spring 2017 semesters. Students in this position will be keeping live statistics during basketball games. Students must meet all of the following requirements:

    Good computer skills

    Available evenings and weekends

    Knowing basketball rules and statistics

    Students interested in working for the Athletic Department should contact the Athletic Coordinator at their respective(各自的) campuses.

    TP/SS Athletic Coordinator, Michael Simone, 240-567-1308

    Rockville Athletic Coordinator, Jorge Zuniga, 240-567-7589

    Springfield Athletic Coordinator, Gary Miller, 240-567-2273

    Germantown Athletic Coordinator, GauriChavan, 240-567-6915

    As the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, mooncakes are turning up all over China, from traditional teashops to Starbucks counters. The holiday is one of China's four most important festivals, and in the weeks before the date arrives, top hotels get into the spirit with lavish(奢华) treats in lovely packaging. Traditionally, the cookie-sized round pastry(馅饼) has a rich thick filling usually made from red-bean or lotus-seed paste and covered by a thin crust. It may also contain yolks from salted duck eggs, integrating a beautiful savory tinge into the sugary taste. Fillings and crusts have become more diverse over time, especially in the hands of skilled pastry chefs. The mooncakes in Chinese culture represent homesickness, and the top crust of each moon-shaped pastry is generally imprinted with the Chinese characters for longevity or harmony.

    This year, the fancy gift boxes that have long driven the mooncake trade are particularly striking and rich with tradition.

    For example, the Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai, built in 1929 and a magnet for Hollywood celebrities in the 1930s, has prepared a selection of mooncake gift boxes with designs inspired by the beauty and elegance of the hotel's famous art deco style. The simplest box of four pieces (red-bean paste, creamy custard, plain cheese, green-bean paste) is 198 yuan($29.64), while more lavish selections of five or six pieces, including mooncakes with egg yolk, run up to 338 yuan for a box.

    Beijing's Nuo Hotel, meanwhile, has created Ming Dynasty (1368－1644) inspired mooncake gift packs based on the design of porcelain vases in the hotel lobby, with the essence of landscape painting using Zhang Dai's poetic passages to show the peaceful harmony of man and nature. The box of six is 158 yuan, and includes mooncakes ranging from cheese mango to charcoal burning fragrant Pu'er tea and white lotus with egg yolk. A box of eight cakes of different flavors is 228 yuan.

    TRAIL SAFE! is a unique safety training program designed specifically for National Park Service (NPS) Trail Volunteers, but is useful to everyone! It's based upon NPS Operational Leadership Training, where the human factor of safety is explored. TRAIL SAFE! captures (捕捉) the core learning objectives of the 16-hour Operational Leadership course while allowing volunteers to learn from their own homes online.

    The TRAIL SAFE! series includes eight video lessons, each ranging in length from 18 to 40 minutes long. Watch them over the course of multiple days, or "binge watch" the entire series in three hours—it's up to you—but please watch them in order from Lesson 1 through Lesson 8. After viewing the lessons, send your training verification (验证) emails to register your participation. When you have viewed and registered for all eight individual lessons, each participant will receive a TRAIL SAFE! pin and a SPE/GAR card in the mail for use in the field. Thank you for helping to make Sleeping Bear Dunes one of the safest work environments for NPS Trail Volunteers like yourself.

    Ready to start?

    Click on this link to access all TRAIL SAFE! videos: https://www.nps.gov/iatr/trail-safe.htm

    If you require Audio Descriptive versions of TRAIL SAFE! the link to those videos is also available on the Ice Age Trail site.

    Record your participation

    In order to receive credits for your participation, please fill in your answers to the following questions and email to: Matthew mohrmannps.gov.

    Which video lesson did you just complete viewing?

    Name of the Trail where you volunteer.

    Your name and full mailing address, so we may send your course completion materials to you.

    Names and addresses of others if you are viewing this lesson in a group setting.

    Optional: Please let us know any comments or suggestions you have about this lesson.

    Upon registering your completion for the entire eight lesson series, you'll receive your TRAIL SAFE! pin and risk assessment card via mail.

    The booking notes of the play “The Age of Innocence”:

    Price:$10

    BOOKING

    There are four easy ways to book seats for performance:

--in person

    The Box Office is open from Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m.—8 p.m.

--by telephone

    Ring 01324976 to reserve your tickets or to pay by credit card(Visa, MasterCard and Amex accepted)

--by post

    Simply complete the booking form and return it to Global Theatre Box Office.

--on line

    Complete the on-line booking form at www.Satan-fiedtheatre.com

    DISCOUNTS:

    Saver: $ 2 off any seat booked any time in advance for performances from Monday to Thursday. Savers are available for children up to 16 years old, over 60s and full-time students.

    Supersaver: half-price seats are available for people with disabilities and one companion. It is advisable to book in advance. There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces available and one wheelchair space will be held until an hour before the show.

    Standby: best available seats are on sale for $ 6 from one hour before the performance for people eligible (suitable) for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other customers.

Group Bookings: there is a ten percent discount for parties of twelve or more.

    School: school parties of ten or more can book $6 standby tickets in advance and will get every tenth ticket free.

    Please note: we are unable to exchange tickets or refund money unless a performance is canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.