In a class this past December,after I wrote some directions on the board for students about their final examination,one young woman quickly took a picture of the board using her smart phone.When I looked in her direction,she apologized:"Sorry.Was it wrong to take a picture?"

    “I can't read my own handwriting,”the young woman explained."It's best if I take a picture of your writing so I can understand the notes."

    That remark started a class-wide conversation about taking a picture instead of taking notes.For those in the photo-taking camp,motivations extended beyond their inability to comprehend their own handwriting.Some took pictures of notes because they knew their phone was a safe place to store material.They might lose paper,but they wouldn't lose their phones.Some took photos because they wanted to record exactly the manner in which I had noted information on the board.Others told me that during class they liked to listen to the discussion attentively.

    Yet the use of cameras as note takers,though it may be convenient,does raise significant questions for the classroom.Is a picture an effective replacement for the process of note-taking?

    Instructors encourage students to take notes because the act of doing so is more than merely recording necessary information—it helps prepare the way for understanding.Encouraging students to take notes may be an old-fashioned instructional method,but that a method has a long history doesn't mean it's out of date.Writing things down engages a student's brain in listening,visual,and kinesthetic learning—a view supported by a longstanding research.The act of writing down information enables a person to begin committing it to memory,and to process and combine it,establishing the building blocks of learning new concepts.

    Taking a picture does indeed record the information,but it deletes some of the necessary mental engagement that taking notes employs.So can the two be equally effective?

    I'm not sure how to measure the effectiveness of either method.For now,I allow students to take notes however they see fit—handwritten or photographed—because I figure that some notes,no matter the method of note-taking, are better than none.

    Conflict resolution is a peaceful way of trying to solve a conflict with resolution. Both sides in the conflict explain what they feel happened to cause the conflict. The person who listens to both sides is called the mediator（调解人）.

    After both sides state what they think happened to cause the conflict, they discuss ways to solve the conflict. They try to come up with a "resolution" that both sides agree to.

    Communication throughout the entire conflict resolution process is always exchanged in a calm manner without anger. Everyone attempts to use good listening and attending skills while people are talking.

    If voices get too loud or it appears that someone is angry, the mediator's role is to address this and have the people treat each other with respect.

    After various suggestions are shared in how to mediate the conflict, discussion centers on the best   solution. Conflict resolution is used in many environments to help solve disagreements in a peaceful way. This is an example of how conflict resolution works in a school playground setting:

    Someone says that a student pushed them on the soccer field.

    The person accused as the "pusher" claims it was an accident.

    The mediator takes the two people who are upset somewhere in a quieter spot and talk.

    Each person describes what happened, and the mediator makes the matter clear to everyone by repeating what he heard.

    The mediator asks for ideas to solve the problem and the two individuals（个体）offer solutions.

    The individuals discuss the solutions and come to some agreement on the solution.

    Conflict resolution can work in many settings and it can work with several individuals at once. In any event, it is worth trying to get at the heart of the matter by involving the individuals who have a concern. It encourages them to analyze what really happened, to share their feelings about the conflict, and to work together peacefully to solve the problem. Conflict resolution gives those involved a structure（框架）to use with a mediator to help reach an agreement. That is to say, it allows people to see a workable framework.

    The world has lost one of its brightest stars. British physicist Stephen dies on March 14, at the age of 76.

    Hawking is probably the world's most famous scientists after Albert Einstein. He is an expert on black holes. He has devoted his whole life to digging into the beginning (and the end) of the universe. “My goal is simple,” Hawking once said. “It is to completely understand the universe, why it is as it is and why it is there at all.”

    Hawking's achievements are even greater if you think about his disability. When he was 21, Hawking caught a bad illness that slowly stopped him form moving or talking. For a period of time, he had no way to communicate except by blinking（眨眼）. Later he sat on a wheelchair with a computer by his side. To communicate, he moved two fingers to control the computer's mouse. He selected his words from the screen, which were then spoken by a voice synthesizer（音响合成器）.

    “I have had the disease for most of my life,” Hawking once said. “Yet it has not stopped me from being successful at my work.”

    Though Hawking was a disabled man, he made great achievements. He received many awards and prizes for his work during his lifetime. This included winning the Albert Einstein Award, which stands for the highest achievement in theoretical physics.

    Despite the fact that he's no longer with us, his legacy will surely live on. As Sajid Javid, a UK government minister, put it, “A brief history on Earth; an eternity in the stars.”

    Music is magic! Music speaks louder than words and it is a "language" that the whole world can understand. A piece of music can produce a response in the heart and mind. Like feeling an electrical current or receiving a personal radio signal, music has a spiritual effect on a person. Different kinds of music influence people in different ways.

    I have listened to music all my life. When I was twelve years old, the Beatles came to America and my whole world opened up. Maybe young people today cannot understand the influence of the Beatles when they exploded across America. Their influence changed the way we dressed, looked, acted and spoke, even our culture. The Beatles arrived in America from the UK just three months after the assassination(暗杀) of President John Kennedy, which had put America into a great depression. And the freshness and lively spirit of the Beatles was exactly what the country needed to refresh itself.

    Music links the heart of the hearer with that of the composer. This means that it mixes the spirit of the composer with your spirit when you listen to it. And the music can take your spirit out of your body and transport you into another world. Music has a great way of touching people. Music can make you laugh, cry or shout. It's also a great source of inspiration.

    Try this one day and notice what happens: make yourself a cup of tea, sit on your sofa and play one of your favorite songs. Close your eyes, and soon you'll find yourself creating vivid mental images matching the music that you are listening to.

    Many wealthy and well­traveled people want a completely new experience, but they don't necessarily want to give up luxury (奢华的) accommodations and service. The following vacations could be best choices.

    Cruise down the Amazon River

    Aqua Expeditions takes up to 32 passengers at a time on guided journeys of three, four, or seven days down the Amazon River. Those adventurers see forests and waterfalls, visit local fish markets, and take canoe trips. They also take in wildlife such as capuchin monkeys and river dolphins.

    Go Glamping in Montana

The Resort at Paws Up located on a cattle ranch(牧场) is a standout in the type. The ranch rents homes with up to four bedrooms, but it's the luxury tents that offer closer communion with the outdoors. Tents are arranged into camps, each of which has a private chef and butler, the latter of whom helps build campfires and arrange daytime activities. Guests can participate in a cattle drive, go clay shooting, take a hot air balloon trip, or ride horses.

    Climb inside a Volcano in Iceland

    Iceland is famous for its volcanoes and has plenty of luxury hotel options. Thrill­seekers can actually go down into the dormant (休眠的), 700­foot­deep Thrihnukagigur, by using an open elevator. Take a helicopter if you want to skip the 2­mile hike to the volcano, and arrange a private tour to avoid crowds. And visitors traveling there can enjoy the luxury hotel such as the ION Luxury Adventure Hotel and the Hotel Rangá.

    Sports accounts for a growing amount of income made on the sales of commercial time by television companies. Many television companies have used sports to attract views from particular sections of the general public, and then they have sold audiences to advertisers.

    An attraction of sports programs for the major U.S. media company is that events are often held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons — the slowest time periods of the week for general television viewing. Sport events are the most popular weekend programs, especially among male viewers who may not watch much television at other times during the week. This means the television networks are able to sell advertising time at relatively high prices during what normally would be dead time for programming. Media corporations also use sports to attract commercial sponsors that might take their advertising dollars elsewhere if television stations did not report certain sports. The people in the advertising departments of major corporations realize that sports attract male viewers. They also realize that most business travelers are men and that many men make family decisions on the purchases of computers, cars and life insurance.

    Golf and tennis are special cases for television programming. These sports attract few viewers, and the ratings(收视率) are unusually low. However, the audience for these sports is attractive to certain advertisers. It is made up of people from the highest income groups in the United States, including many lawyers and business managers. This is why television reporting of golf and tennis is sponsored by companies selling high-priced cars, business and personal computers, and holiday trips. This is also why the networks continue to carry these programs regardless of low ratings. Advertisers are willing to pay high fees to reach high-income consumers and those managers who make decisions to buy thousands of "company cars" and computers. With such viewers, these programs don't need high ratings to stay on the air.