I once had a friend who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the news that he might only live up to six months was a great shock to him, his family, and his friends. However, in spite of the serious illness, he was initially determined to look into all available treatments that might cure or extend his life. I think that when you find yourself in such situations, you tend to look up every possible way for hope of saving your life.

    As months went on and his health grew worse, I noticed an unexpected change in attitude that came over him. He had also been a happy person with a cheerful personality, but rather than give in to discouragement and self－pity, he took comfort in God and humanity. His talks focused on others rather than himself, and he spoke of the afterlife as something he was prepared for, believing that his concerned ancestors, including his mother and father, were there waiting for him.

    During the last few months, weeks, and days of his life, he was kindly cared for by family, friends, his loving wife, who looked after both his physical and emotional needs, and workers from a local hospice (安养院) came to the home to regulate his medication and provide any other needed support. He didn't complain about his fate, and he willingly allowed others to serve him.

    Indeed, one might think why God allows death and suffering in our world, but for me, such experiences taught me to value family more and kindness for others. You often can't learn these important attributes in the lap of luxury, and perhaps, such an experience is the greatest and final gift the illness can give those left behind.

    I could feel the judging eyes of my family burning a hole into the back of my head as I picked up my phone. All of a sudden, the chattering in the living room died and all I could hear was the sound of the turkey sizzling (发出嘶嘶声) in the oven.

    “Look at her! She's been on her phone all day long! It's all your fault! Children will never respect elders if they are not taught how to behave! ” my grandmother shouted.

    I was very shocked and angry! I opened my mouth to say something, but words failed me and I just sat down quietly on the chair like a mouse in its trap. I thought “Here we go again.” I truly love my family and I would do anything for them. I also know that they would do anything for me as well. However, there are moments that make me feel that they are just stuck with me. They all agree on one thing: technology is wrecking me.

    If I am going to be treated like a child or completely ignored, I will most likely not enjoy your company, and I feel that this applies to (适用于) the majority of the people. So I sometimes simply shut myself in my room and listened to the voices coming from the living room, thinking: They all grew up in a world so different that it amazes me how they have actually gotten this far. They did not have phones or any type of advanced technology, which is both good and bad. Bad because they had almost no type of fast communication, and good because they were forced to interact (互动) with one another, which is something today's society is lacking in. However, maybe if they made an effort to be aware of how things work nowadays, they would not be so against everything.

    It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers (生产商) follow certain uniform standards for various features (特征) of clothes. What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clothes button. Men's clothes tend to button from the right, and women's from the left. Considering most of the world's population—men and women—are right-handed, the men's standard would appear to make more sense for women. So why do women's clothes button from the left?

    History really seems to matter here. Buttons first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th century, when rich women were dressed by servants. For the mostly right-handed servants, having women's shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men's shirts button from the right made sense, too. Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt.

    Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning from the left is still the standard f0r them. Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change. At a time when all Women's shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women's shirts that buttoned from the right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch. Besides, some women might have found it socially awkward to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the right, since anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men's shirts.

    Home from the Navy, I started school at Greenville College in my hometown of Illinois. I'd been out of high school for four years, but my high school headmaster, Mr. Gardner, invited me to a Valentine's Day dance party at school. The thought of seeing my former teachers was exciting. So I agreed.

    When Friday came, I cleaned up, dressed up and drove to the high school gym. I chatted with my teachers and approached Mr. Gardner to thank him before leaving. Just then, the band started playing and a young girl stood up to sing. One look at and I was crazy—I had never seen such a beautiful girl!

    I asked Mr. Gardner who she was, and he answered, “That's Marilyn Riley, Cut Riley's daughter.” I was shocked to say the least. They lived just around the corner from me. I walked across the gym floor to introduce myself, “Hi, I'm Jack Joseph.”

    “I know who you are,” was her not-too-friendly response.

    “Would you like to dance?” I asked. “No! I'm working,” she shot back.

    “Can I call you next week for a movie date?” I asked. “No,” was her response.

    For the next month I phoned, trying to set up a date. She always had the same answer: No. then one rainy afternoon in March as I was driving home after basketball practice, I saw Marilyn, walking with no umbrella, no raincoat, no hat. I pulled alongside her and asked if she needed a ride, half expecting her to say no. instead, she stepped over the roadside and sat down on the seat next to me. It was only a few blocks to her house, but after pulling into her driveway we talked for 45minutes. It was magic from then on.

    Generally speaking, waiting rooms are always filled with a lot of impatient people. However, a project carried out by The Observer suggests that people regard these spaces as a place of refuge (避难), a window in their tightly scheduled lives.

    Ella Doroudy, Margate Station

    We were at the beach for the day, and now are on our way home. We don't have to wait very long, because we checked the timetable so we got here in time for the train. I just chat with my mates, really, and listen to music until the train comes. Waiting with other people is easier because you can kill time when you're talking about stuff.

    Caroline Lacey, Streatham Dental Center

    I don't really get nervous about seeing the dentist, but since these two fillings (补牙的材料) came out I've been in sharp pain. It's very bright and airy here, so it's quite calming. Usually I kill time by reading magazines. I've been coming to the dentist as and when I need to, but now it's got to be regular.

    Katie Hawkins, Model Casting

    I was a bit late today, which I'm quite pleased about because some of these girls have been waiting ages. I can't help but look at everyone else a bit — I look at the other girls and think: "I wonder if they'll like her better than they like me." While I'm waiting, I'm thinking: "Oh come on. I do have a life!"

    Paul Thomas, Royal London Hospital

    I feel pretty indifferent (满不在乎的)  while I'm waiting here, to be honest. It's something I've got very used to since my motorbike accident seven years ago. I've had about 32 operations so far. It's no good rushing in thinking you're going to escape in five minutes, so I just sit back and people-watch, really.

    Self-driving cars have been backed by the hope that they will save lives by getting involved in fewer crashes with fewer injuries and deaths than human-driven cars. But so far, most comparisons between human drivers and automated vehicles have been unfair.

    Crash statistics for human-driven cars are gathered from all sorts of driving situations, and on all types of roads. However, most of the data on self-driving cars' safety have been recorded often in good weather and on highways, where the most important tasks are staying in the car's own lane and not getting too close to the vehicle ahead. Automated cars are good at those tasks, but so are humans.

    It is true that self-driving cars don't get tired, angry, frustrated or drunk. But neither can they yet react to uncertain situations with the same skill or anticipation of an attentive human driver. Nor do they possess the foresight to avoid potential perils. They largely drive from moment to moment, rather than think ahead to possible events literally down the road.

    To a self-driving car, a bus full of people might appear quite similar to an uninhabited corn field. Indeed, deciding what action to take in an emergency is difficult for humans, but drivers have sacrificed themselves for the greater good of others. An automated system's limited understanding of the world means it will almost never evaluate (评估) a situation the same way a human would. And machines can't be programmed in advance to handle every imaginable set of events.

    Some people may argue that the promise of simply reducing the number of injuries and deaths is enough to support driverless cars. But experience from aviation (航空) shows that as new automated systems are introduced, there is often an increase in the rate of disasters.

    Therefore comparisons between humans and automated vehicles have to be performed carefully. To fairly evaluate driverless cars on how well they fulfill their promise of improved safety, it's important to ensure the data being presented actually provide a true comparison. After all, choosing to replace humans with automation has more effects than simply a one-for-one exchange.