The expression “a thirst for knowledge" may soon have a new meaning for millions of people who have no way to get clean water. Researchers have developed a book with specially treated pages that can turn dirty water into clean and drinkable water. They say their invention could improve the lives of many in the developing world.

    About 700 million people around the world are at risk of disease or even death because their drinking water is not clean. The water is polluted by harmful bacteria.

    The book contains 25 pages. Each page is about one millimeter thick. The pages contain very small particles (微粒) of silver. The pages can be used as filters（过滤器）to remove harmful microorganisms (微生物) that can pollute drinking water. The filter kills the organisms that pass throughit.

    Pictures on the pages show the dangers of dirty water and how to use the book for those unable to read. The pages aremade of filter paper. They are designed to be torn from the book. Water can bepoured through the paper to be cleaned.

    Ms. Dankovich, the inventor, says eachpage can treat up to 100 liters of water. She recently presented her invention at the meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, Massachusetts. She was asked whether she had considered adding classic literature on the book's pages.

    "The idea of classic texts—that's of interest maybe later. We have discussed a little bit more exciting text. But we really haven't had the time to go through that part," she says.

    Teri Dankovich and another researcher tested the drinkable book in Bangladesh, Ghana and South Africa. The tests proved to be successful.

    Water for Life, a non-government alorganization, has provided financial support for the project.

    I returned home the other night, tired. My husband asked me how my evening was, “Great.” I told him. I had spent 90 minutes in a gym with 10 Ping-Pong tables and all kinds of players, all playing a little ball over the net. By 9 pm, I was excited, tired, satisfied. I had beaten two young men half my age and lost battles against other competitors. To an observer, the night was common. To me, it was a lucky thing that I hadn't expected.

    I had taken up Ping-Pong during college, and in my 30s took more advanced lessons. However, a serious accident hurt my leg, which made me unable to take exercise. Months later, I tried to play Ping-Pong but my leg pained for a week. I put the game out of my mind.

When I was 53, one day my bad leg was working a little bit better. Could Ping-Pong be possible for me, now—in my condition, at my age? I tried to play Ping-Pong again

    Ping-Pong is a sport which requires endurance(耐力). Players need quick foot work and upper body movements to return balls, requiring faster response time than tennis.

    Playing Ping-Pong offers benefits for the brain. A study of 164 women aged 60 and older showed that Ping-Pong improved cognitive(认知)function more than dancing, walking or gymnastics. “The great thing about our sport is that it can be played by anyone,” said Jimmy Butler, a four-time national USA Table Tennis Association winner. “I see 90-year-olds and 10-year-olds.”

    Years passed and my endurance improved. People started to praise my shots. I won a game. Then I won agin. These days, I feel wonderful, I believe this sport is the fountain (源泉)of youth.

    I have never forgotten the firm belief I had in the arrival through the chimney (烟囱) of the little Santa Claus (圣诞老人), the kind, white-bearded old man who at midnight left in my tiny shoe a present I found the next morning.

    Midnight! It's the perfect hour children don't know. What great efforts I made not to go to sleep before the little old man appeared!

    I had both a great desire and great fear of seeing him, but could never stay awake until then, and the next day my first look was for my shoe. He never failed to carefully wrap (包装) every present for me. I would run barefoot to get my treasure. It never was a very expensive present, for we were not rich. It was a cookie, an orange, or very simply a fine red apple. But it felt so precious that I barely dared to eat it. What a great role imagination plays in a child's life!

    I do not at all agree with the idea that the lies about Santa Claus should be stopped. Doubts and truth come all too soon on their own. I very well remember the first year, when I was five or six, I doubted that it was not Santa Claus who put the cookie in my shoe. Since then, it has never tasted as good as the first few years of my life.

    I noted that my son believed in him longer; boys are more naïve (天真的) than little girls. Like me, he made great efforts to stay awake until midnight. Like me, he loved the cookie baked in Heaven's kitchens. And like me, the first year of his doubts was the last year of the visit of the good old man.

    We just love giving cards in Britain. If there's a special occasion coming up, there's no doubt that we'll be there, card in hand, to celebrate it. And this isn't just for birthdays; we also give cards when people are ill or when they have got a new job. And even if you forgot somebody's birthday, there are even "sorry it's late" cards. So you can pretty much find a card for any occasion.

    Before coming to Italy I had never even considered that our love for card giving might not be shared by other countries. In fact, my workmates told me that hardly anyone sends Christmas cards in Italy and that they actually don't really give birthday cards either! Unbelievable! In the UK, if a close friend or family member didn't get me a card I'd feel upset! However, the only place you can buy cards in Italy is in a shop which sells school things. In comparison, we have whole shops that sell them in the UK and we even have different types of card shops.

    Although cards can take up your time, from choosing the perfect one, to thinking up the personal message inside, I think it's a really nice gesture. And especially with Christmas cards, it adds to that festive feeling. When I sit down to write countless cards to friends and family, I get that little bit happier that it will be Christmas soon! Especially when I see my own Christmas cards, proudly sitting on my desk wishing me a very merry Christmas.

    Of course, the problem comes when they're no longer needed, when Christmas is over. It makes me sad just to throw them all away, so I try and hang on to my favorite ones.

    Summer vacation is coming. Most of students want to have a good trip this summer. Here is some information about trips for you

Growing up in a suburban neighborhood in the Northeastern United States, the advent of springtime didn't hold much significance for me. While it did bring a week-long respite from school, the focus was more on the vacation aspect than the season itself.

For the children in my community, spring was largely an overlooked period. The year was divided into two primary seasons: winter, which offered the thrill of ice skating, sledding, and constructing snow forts; and summer, which allowed us to fully enjoy the beach located a short distance from my home. Spring and autumn were merely transitional periods, marking the countdown to the more exciting seasons.

It's true that as I matured, spring began to hold a certain charm for me, as suggested by the poetic line, "In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love," penned by Alfred Lord Tennyson. However, my fascination was more with the romantic notions associated with the season rather than the season itself.

In essence, spring was not a season I paid much heed to... until my journey to China. After spending roughly three months in Beijing, my first Spring Festival made its presence known in an undeniable way. The sporadic fireworks throughout the day and night were a clear indication, but what truly struck me was the apparent absence of the usual hustle and bustle in the city.

The usual throngs of people, streams of vehicles, and the general city noise seemed to have vanished. This mystery was resolved upon my return to work. My colleagues enlightened me that it is customary for Chinese people to travel, if necessary, to reunite with their families during the Spring Festival. Many residents of Beijing are not originally from the capital.

Furthermore, I was introduced to a fascinating aspect of the Spring Festival that continues to astonish me. Regardless of when the holiday commences, there is an almost instantaneous and perceptible improvement in the weather. Spring truly makes its entrance.

The ancient Chinese ability to devise a system that could consistently and accurately herald the change of seasons, year after year, is beyond my comprehension. Yet, they managed to achieve this remarkable feat.