The life expectancy is the length of time that a person is normally likely to live. As it increases nowadays, the average person lives beyond the age of retirement. As a result, the elderly make up an ever-increasing percentage of society, which makes it more important to make effort to improve the lives of senior citizens.

    First of all, one way would be to make sure that the elderly have enough money on which to live. Obviously, when a person stops working, they still require a source of income to cover their basic needs such as food, accommodation and heating. A clear solution to the problem is for the government to make sure that the state pension(养老金) is enough for these needs.

    Measures should also be taken to overcome the health problems the elderly face. The government should also provide access to the best health care available, which may necessitate paying for residential homes where the elderly can have round-the-clock nursing, or, at least, providing medication free of charge to all people over a certain age.

    If we try to address the problem of social isolation (社交孤立), the lives of old people could be improved. If we organize trips for the elderly to community centers, visits from social workers, their problem of loneliness can be reduced a lot which marks the lives of so many old people living alone and far from their families.

    The last helpful suggestion is to change the attitude of the community towards its older members, who are all too often seen as a burden on society. We need to be taught from an early age to respect the views of old people, and appreciate their broader experience of life. This would help society as a whole, and encourage appreciation of the role that old people can still play today.

    Your next car might drive itself. After years of trials on city streets, driverless vehicles are now nearing the live phase. Last moth, a driverless bus began carrying passengers through Lyon, France, Most in the automobile industry think self-driving vehicles will be on the road by 2020 or before.

    Driverless cars will at first be huddled with human-driven cars. But the first places where they will become dominant（统治的）are dense urban areas — precisely the spots most damaged by the automobile age. Many advanced cities are already reducing the role of human-driven cargo. Driverless cars will quicken that process and will bring us enormous benefits.

    Driverless cars will reduce accidents by around 90 percent. That's big—the annual death toll on the world's roads is about 1.2 million a year. Pollution and carbon emissions will drop, because urban driverless cars will be electric. The old, otherwise they would stay at home most of the time and the disabled and teenagers will suddenly gain mobility.

    On the other hand, driverless cars will bring catastrophe. The best thing about the automobile age was that it employed tens of millions of people to make, market, insure and drive vehicles. Over the next 20 years, the mostly low-skilled men who now drive trucks, taxis and buses will see their jobs reduced. Carmakers are especially scared. The few cars of the future might be made by tech companies such as Apple, Baidu and Google. Imaging the impact on Germany, where the automotive sector is the largest industry.

    Dramatic change is coming, and driverless cars could arrive by 2020. But governments have barely begun thinking about it. Only 6 percent of the biggest US cities have factored them into their long-term planning.

    A decade ago anyone hardly saw the Smartphone coming. It has bought an epidemic of mass addiction. Let's hope we do a better job of handling the driverless car.

    Webber is a labor economist. His latest research offers guidance on how to keep students on target to earn a degree from a college or university. Among his findings: It is important, whenever possible, for college students to complete their degree program in four years. Also, getting a part-time job is probably a good thing to help finance a college education. But too much time spent working on a job makes it less likely the student will graduate.

    One thing, Webber said, is financial aid that helps many students pay for college. Scholarships and other assistance generally stop after four years. So the cost of each additional year in school is likely to come almost entirely from the student and/or parents.

    But there are other reasons why taking more than four years is a problem, as Webber notes. It's because life gets in the way, other things happen. He means the longer you stay in college, the more likely that some unexpected event will affect your studies. It could be a loved one getting sick, a parent losing a job, or the student running out of money for college.

    Only about four in 10 graduated within four years. It is also important that students have enough time to complete their college classes, Webber added. His research suggests part-time work of 15 hours or less will not cause harm to the student's scholastic performance. But his research shows students who work 20 hours or more a week are about 15 percent less likely to graduate on time, or to graduate at all.

    His belief is that students active in college athletic programs would face the same problem. It is common, he said, for student athletes to spend 20 hours or more for training, travel and to compete against athletes or teams from other schools.

    When it comes to thrilling places to travel to, the nation of Thailand has got to be at or near the top of the list. The beaches of Thailand are simply amazing. Here is a look at the four best beaches in all of Thailand.

    Maya Bay

    This small beach attracts some huge crowds, but it is still worth a visit thanks to what is widely regarded as some of the best scenery in the entire country. The Maya Bay Beach is located on a small island and is only accessible via boat or passenger ferry.

    Lamai Beach

    For the traveler looking for an unforgettable beach experience during their visit to Thailand, a trip out to Lamai Beach in Samui is a must. The sandy areas are long and wide with plenty of room for everyone. The water is inviting and easy to access.

    Patong Beach

    Patong Beach is not only one of the most beautiful and popular beach in Thailand, but it is the largest beach on the popular island of Phuket. The soft white sand is a great place to relax. Some of the many great activities that travelers can participate it. during a visit to Patong Beach include jet skiing, kayaking, surfing, diving, snorkeling(浮潜) , swimming, and more.

    Haad Rin

    Haad Rin is one of the most popular party spots in the country, for both locals（当地人） and travelers. All month long, during most parts of the year, there are some exceptional entertainment, eating, and socializing opportunities.

    It is well known that male humpback whales(座头鲸)are skilled singers. Their songs are thought to attract females in high frequency sounds while to compete with other males in low frequency sounds. Research led by the Wildlife Conservation Society has now made a new discovery.

    The study looked at the songs of two humpback whale populations, based on sound recordings collected from 2013 to 2018. One group was based in the South Atlantic, off the coast of Gabon, and the other in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar.  Analysis of the recordings showed that the two groups picked up musical ideas from each other and borrowed phrases and themes into their latest song. This suggested that the males from the two groups came into contact with each other over the five years and shared songs.

    To uncover this musical cooperation, researchers recorded the songs and transcribe them into more than 1,500 individual sounds and patterns, or song units.  They found that the units were composed into larger phrases, which were then repeated to form themes. These themes were sung for hours at a time, or even days. By 2018, both populations have been singing largely the same songs.

    "This similarity in the songs shows that these two populations come into closer contact than other southern populations, explains Dr Melinda Rekdahl, leading author of the study. As well as being an interesting phenomenon, she explains that those songs allow even greater insight into the workings of the humpback whale populations.

    Charity Cycling UK has recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of dooring after discovering that many people don't know what it is and those that do seem to think it's a joke. Dooring happens when a driver or passenger opens the door into another road user - typically a cyclist - without looking for other road users.

    Cycling UK's chief executive Paul Tuohy told Gloucestershire Live, "Some people seem to see car dooring as a bit of a joke, but it's not and can have serious consequences. Cycling UK wants to see great awareness made about the dangers of opening your car door, and people to be encouraged to look before they open."

    The charity says 2,009 of the 3,000 injuries were sustained(遭受) by cyclists, resulting in five deaths but says this might not be the full extent of the dangers.

    Cycling UK says not all car dooring incidents will be attended by police, so the charity has written to transport minister Jesse Norman calling for a public awareness campaign urging all drivers to look before opening vehicle doors. One of the ways that the charity suggests could prevent injuries through dooring is the "Dutch Reach", where people leaving a vehicle reach over and use the non-door side hand to open the door.

    Cycling UK also suggests serious laws and advice on safer road positioning for people who cycle.

    Mr Tuohy said, "In the Netherlands they are known for practising a method, known sometimes as the 'Dutch Reach', which we think could be successfully encouraged in the UK."

    "Cycling UK has written to the Department for Transport asking them to look into this, and stress the dangers of 'car dooring' through a public awareness THINK style campaign."

    If you're really concerned about opening a door into the path of a cyclist coming behind you, consider using what's known as the "Dutch Reach" to open the door. That will naturally turn you in your seat and give you a much better view of what's coming up alongside the car.