The Come-back Coffeehouse   The sign in the window read "Carl's Coffee Shoppe," spelled the old-fashioned way. Hallie shook her head and wondered how many times she had suggested an alternative. She entered the shop and saw only one person.

    "I could help with the books, Dad", Hallie offered,"There's not much you could do." Her father signed. "How about if you clean the counters instead?" His statement made her feel like a little girl instead of a senior in high school. Hallie sprayed some cleanser and ran a cloth over the worn counter tops . After she had washed a few of the old eggshell-colored cups, she began her homework. At closing time, Hallie's parents sat beside her. "You know the shop has not been profitable lately," Mr. Rhodes began. "We need to decide if it is even worth keeping it open." "We're going to visit Uncle Harold over spring vacation." Mrs. Rhodes continued. "He can look over the books and tell us what our options are. You and AuntTess will run the shop for the week."

    By spring vacation Hallie was ready for an adventure. Hllie's parents gave some instructions, and said good-bye. Hallie stared absently out the window at the passersby: young people on their way to work, and kids on their school vacation. They were not the same people that her grandpa Carl had served. Suddenly Hallie had an idea. She confided in Aunt Tess, who approved. The two eagerly set to work.

At the end of the week, Hallie was coming out from the kitchen when she saw her parents standing in the shop, confused. She smiled asher parents stared at the teens around the counter and the young families seated at the tables.

    "Welcome back!" Hallie swept her arms to present there staurant's cheerful new decoration. Bright, attractive coverings spread over the tables, and modern posters hung on the walls, while, colorful mismatched dishes contributed to the pleasant atmosphere."

    "I brought board games from home," Hallie added excitedly, "and the bookstore down the street donated the posters. When we talked to our friends about what we were doing, they were happy to give us some dishes." Hallie held her breath as she waited for her parents' reaction.

    "Everyone certainly seems to like the changes," noted Mrs. Rhodes.

    "Speaking of changes," Mr. Rhodes said,"I see our name has changed, too."

    "Do you mind? I changed our name to 'Come-Back Coffeehouse'to make the shop sound welcoming, as in 'Please come back again'..."

    A smile spread across her father's face. "The newname is fitting. Thanks to you, this place certainly has made a come back!"

    In its early history, Chicago had floods frequently, especially in the spring, making the streets so muddy that people, horses, and carts got stuck. An old joke that was popular at the time went something like this: A man is stuck up to his waist in a muddy Chicago street. Asked if he needs help, he replies,“No, thanks. I've got a good horse under me.”

    The city planners decided to build an underground drainage(排水) system, but there simply wasn't enough difference between the height of the ground level and the water level. The only two options were to lower the Chicago River or raise the city.

    An engineer named Ellis Chesbrough convinced the city that it had no choice but to build the pipes above ground and then cover them with dirt. This raised the level of the city's streets by as much as 12 feet.

    This of course created a new problem: dirt practically buried the first floors of every building in Chicago. Building owners were faced with a choice: either change the first floors of their buildings into basements, and the second stories into main floors, or hoist the entire bulidings to meet the new street level. Small wood-frame buildings could be lifted fairly easily. But what about large, heavy structures like the Tremont Hotel, which was a six-story brick building?

    That's where George Pullman came in. He had developed some house-moving skills successfully. To lift a big structure like Tremont Hotel, Pullman would place thousands of jackscrews(螺旋千斤顶) beneath the building's foundation. One man was assigned to operate each section of roughly 10 jackscrews. At Pullman's signal each man turned his jackscrew the same amount at the same time, thereby raising the building slowly and evenly. Astonishingly, the Tremont Hotel stayed open during the entire operation, and many of its guests didn't even notice anything was happening.

    Some people like to say that every problem has a solution. But in Chicago's early history, every engineering solution seemed to create a new problem. Now that Chicago's waste water was draining efficiently into the Chicago River, the city's next step was to clean the polluted river.

    When asked how technology might improve the lives of people with vision impairments (视力障碍), Joann Becker presented a misleadingly simple challenge. “Well,” the vision impairments tech specialist recalls saying. “I'd like to be able to find my bus slop through Be My Eyes”.

    Be My Eyes, which went live in 2015, establishes a direct video connection between visually impaired users and sighted volunteers. The assumption is simple: Many people who are blind don't need any actual assistance in completing their daily tasks, but merely need a little help.

    A sighted volunteer might be asked to help identify which of two cans contains tomatoes. In this case, the visually impaired user can cook a meal just fine on his/her own-all he/she needs is a quick confirmation that he/she has the correct can. The model appears to be working; more than 540,000 volunteers and nearly 40,000 people with low vision are registered on the app.

    “An elderly woman can now help a visually impaired technician set up his computer,” says founder Hans Wiberg, who has very low vision. “She doesn't need to know a thing about computers. She only needs to read what is presented on the screen. Then he can do the rest.”

    Early assistive technology centered on dedicated devices (专用设备), because of the niche market (缝隙市场), which sold for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. But the smartphone, multipurpose and near-universal, has completely changed the economy of scale.

    “There are larger market forces driving high-powered computation, high-quality engineering and high-quality battery management in the smartphone market than those in a specialty product,” says Aaron Steinfeld, a research professor at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

    “The reality is, most sighted people don't know somebody who is blind.” Becker says. “They think the solutions that a blind person needs arc far more expansive, it turns out, they need to be. I think these apps are enabling sighted people to see that blind people just need some simple clues to help them do any number of things in their lives.”

    Shakespeare's Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare's World

    Welcome to the world--famous house where William Shakespeare was born in1564 and where he grew up. The property remained in the ownership of Shakespeare's family until 1806. The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world for over 250 years.

    Enter through the Visitors' Centre and see the highly-praised exhibition Shakespeare's World, a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare.

    Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up.

    Discover examples of furniture and needlework from Shakespeare's period.

    Enjoy the traditional English garden, planted with trees and flowers mentioned in the poet's works.

    The Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map, nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes' Walk)

    The House may present difficulties but the Visitors' Centre, its exhibition and the garden are accessible to wheelchair users.

    The Shakespeare Coffee House (opposite the Birthplace).

    Choosing where to live may be one of the biggest decisions you'll make when you move to Sydney, but you'll have plenty of help.

    Temporary arrival accommodation

    Before you move to Sydney, we recommend that you book a temporary place to stay. Once you get here, you can look for longer-term accommodation.

    --sydney.edu.au/accommodation/short-term

    On-campus-residential colleges (fully catered饮食全包的)

    The University has eight residential colleges on the Camperdown/Darlington Campus, including International House, a residential community of global scholars. Colleges provide comfortable, fully furnished single rooms and daily meals, along with sporting, cultural, leadership and social programs. They also include on-site tutorials(辅导课) in addition to campus-based classes.

    --sydney.edu.au/colleges

    On-campus residences (self-catered饮食自理的)

    The University has two self-run residences—Queen Mary Building (QMB) and Abercrombie Student Accommodation—on the Camperdown/Darlington Campus. Both just under a year old, they house up to 1000 students. These residences provide modern single-study rooms with large common living, learning and study spaces, shared kitchens, a theatre, gyms, soundproofed music rooms, art studios, sky lounges and rooftop gardens.

    --sydney.edu.au/campus-life/accommodation/live-on-campus.html

    Off-campus living

    More than 90 percent of our students live off campus. The University is close to many dynamic and multicultural suburbs such as Annandale, Newtown, Chippendale and Glebe. A great place to search is our large online database of properties.

    --sydney.edu.au/campus-life/accommodation/live-off-campus.html

Battered Moons Poetry Competition open now till 30th June 2019

Prizes

— 1st Prize￡700; 2nd Prize E200: 3rd Prize E100.

— Four commendations(奖励) of ￡25 each.

Fees

￡5 for the first poem and ￡4 each for the rest.

Enter the competition

We accept online entries (参赛作品) only.

Guidelines

— Open to any person of the UK aged 20 or over.

— The closing date is 30th June 2019.

— Judges Zoë Brigley Thompson and Cristina Newton will read all the entries and make shortlists (入围名单). Guest judge Zoë Brigley Thompson will choose the seven finalists.

— There is no limit(限制) to the number of entries a single entrant can make.

— Entries cannot be returned, so please keep a copy.

Results

All entrants will receive an email notification of results. Check the Battered Moons website for more information from October 2019.

Poems

—All poems must have a title and must not be more than 40 lines in length (excluding title and line spaces) or 250 words and can be on any subject.

—Entries must be written in English.

—Entries must not have been published, self-published, published on a website or online public space or used by radio or television before 6th October 2019.

Winners

—Winners and poets receiving commendations will be notified in September 2019 and invited to the Poetry Swindon Festival on 6th October 2019, where they will read their winning poems.

—All winners and commended poets will be asked to provide an introduction about themselves to appear with their winning poem on the Battered Moons website, and a photograph for the website.