It's comforting to think if you were somehow swallowed by a whale, you'd simply hang out in his stomach until he eventually spat you out, unharmed and whole. Unfortunately, your chance of ending up in this type of situation is pretty low.

    In 2012 reporter Ben Shattuck read the records at the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library. Despite his extensive research at one of the most comprehensive whaling archives(档案), he failed to find a single report of anyone ever being swallowed alive by a whale. He found plenty of reports of whalers who were bitten or injured by the creatures, and several who died after fighting with a whale, but none related to swallowing.

    With whales' large mouths, it certainly seems possible that a whale could swallow someone whole, so why is it so unlikely? Baleen whales, or whales without teeth, are some of the largest creatures on the planet. Despite their massive size, baleen whales could never get you into their bellies thanks to their relatively small esophagus(食道). These whales are designed to eat small sea creatures, and the opening in their throat is only about as large as a basketball, so you'd never make it that far.

    But what about toothed whales? Sperm whales eat whole seals, so you could easily fit down their throats and into their stomachs. However, once you reached the first of the sperm whale's four stomachs, your journey would probably end quickly. Not only would the whale's stomach acid make quick work of you, but you'd experience a distinct lack of air on the inside. Actually, you're more likely to get eaten or injured as you try to make it past the sperm whale's sharp teeth. Plenty of whalers, have fought with sperm whales and lost their hands or lives due to these mean teeth.

    BKLYN House Hotel

    There are works by Brooklyn artists in this hotel. The 116 rooms are of great value and Manhattan is only 20 minutes away by taxi or subway. The immediate surroundings feel urban—the hotel is by a high-rise public housing project while the nearest commercial street is under elevated（高的）subway tracks—but Bushwick's best bars and cafes/restaurants are near-by.

    Doubles from $99, room only. Tel: 718 3884433

    Archer Hotel

    Visitors eager to stay in the heart of Manhattan should try one of the bargain-priced rooms at this hotel. Some start from as low as $179 a night (if prepaying in full). Rooms are small but tasteful, with nice touches such as exposed brick. Some have close-up views of the Empire State Building.

    Doubles from $199, room only. Tel: 212 7194100

    Pod 39 Hotel

    In an elegant brick building in Manhattan's Murray Hill, this excellent budget（预算）option opened following the success of its sister hotel, The Pod. The rooms are called pods given for their small size and may not suit everyone. But with prices among the most competitive in Manhattan, budgeters will be happy.

    Doubles from $95, room only. Tel: 212 8655700

    CitizenM New York Times Square

    This is the first US location for a Netherlands-based concept hotel chain—CitizenM. The hotel features self check-in at its 230 little but comfortable rooms via touch screen “Mood-Pads”. There's a rooftop bar, a 24-hour grab-and-go cafeteria and an area with public iMac workspaces. Although New Yorkers avoid nearby Times Square, all the lights, cameras and action can make it a fun tourist experience.

    Doubles from $170, room only. Tel: 212 319 7000

    I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”

    Foreign tourists are often confused in Japan because most streets there don't have names; in Japan, people use landmarks（地标）in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

    In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”

    People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it's about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don't know.

    It's true that a person doesn't know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don't know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don't know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

    We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn't even lift her eyes from the book. Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down. Then, Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold. She walked quietly to the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop. She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up, Mum nodded and said, “Very dirty floors.” The nurse answered. She looked at Mum strangely and said, “But aren't you working late?”

    Mum just pushed harder, each swipe of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall. I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to writing in the big book. After a long time Mum came back. Her eyes were shining.

She quickly put the mop back and took my hand. As we turned to go out of the door, Mum bowed politely to the nurse and said, “Thank you.”

    Outside, Mum told me, “Grandma is fine. No fever.”

    “You saw her, Mum?”

    “Of course. I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow. Dad will stop worrying as well. It's a fine hospital. But such floors! A mop is not good. You need a brush.”

    Feifei, an 11-year-old boy from Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, suffered from a sudden acute eye disease which has almost led to blindness. The disease was caused when he overused his eyes during the winter vacation, during which he played computer games for continuous 10 days and nights.

    Many youngsters in China nowadays are increasingly addicted to computer games and other electronic products. This is followed by a series of health problems, with the most typical case being myopia, or nearsightedness.

    According to the latest research report released by the World Health Organization (WHO),the myopia rate among Chinese teenagers ranks first in the world—70 percent of high school and college students. The rate is nearly 40 percent in primary school students, while it is only 10 percent for their peers in the United States.

    There are at least 10 million people in China with severe myopia, and they are likely to get pathological myopia（病理性的近视） in middle age. Pathological myopia can't be treated with glasses or surgery, and it is one of the biggest factors that lead to blindness, Xu Xun, an expert at Shanghai General Hospital, pointed out.

    Experts explain that two major factors lead to the high rate of myopia among Chinese people. One is high academic pressure, and the other one is excessive use of electronic devices over a long period of time. Genetics, on the other hand, are not the main reason, as only 20 percent of Chinese people had myopia in the 1960s.

    "Teenagers are now faced with severe academic pressure, which means they often study without natural light. This increases their risk of becoming nearsighted," Xu said. Experts suggest that youngsters maintain a proper balance between study and rest so as to protect their eyesight, and parents should play an active role in the process.

    Exactly five years ago, on New Year's Eve, I was invited to a children's ball by a man high up in the business world, who had his connections, his circle of acquaintances, and his close friends. So it seemed as though the children's ball was merely an excuse for the parents to come together and discuss matters of interest to themselves, quite innocently and casually.

    I was an outsider, and as I had no special matters to express, I was able to spend the evening independently of the others. There was another gentleman present who had just stumbled upon (偶然遇到)this affair of domestic happiness，just like me. He was the first to attract my attention. His appearance was not that of a man of noble birth. He was tall, rather thin, very serious, and well dressed. Obviously he had no heart for the family celebration. The moment he went off into a corner by himself, the smile disappeared from his face, and his thick dark brows knitted into a frown. He knew no one except the host and showed every sign of being bored to death, though bravely keeping the role of thorough enjoyment to the end. Later I learned that he was a provincial, had come to the capital on some important business, had brought a letter of recommendation to our host, and our host had taken him under his protection, not at all with love. It was merely out of politeness that he had invited him to the children's ball.

    They did not play cards with him .They did not offer cigars. Thus , my gentleman , not knowing what to do with his hands , spent the evening stroking his whiskers(胡须). His whiskers were really fine, but he stroked them so eagerly that one got the feeling that the whiskers had come into the world first and afterwards the man, in order to stroke them.