Our room was on the second floor but you could still hear the roar of the ocean and see the stars at night. I used to take long walks along the water. The food in town was wonderful and the people were very friendly. The area was very quiet and peaceful, and fairly deserted.

    The last evening of our vacation, however, we all heard strange footsteps following closely behind us as we were walking up to our room in the holiday centre. We turned around and noticed a fairly young man moving very rapidly across the beach and getting closer to us. He was tall and wore a baseball cap. We didn't have any cell phones on us. I never saw Dad as worried as he was then and knew that something was terribly wrong. The sense of fear started to overwhelm Mom and me. We had had such a good time in town. Now, the night was rapidly turning into a dangerous situation.

    We could hear the man's footsteps getting closer. Dad's face was almost pale. The so-called intruder (侵入者) had moved nearer and nearer when all of a sudden, the nearby vending (自动贩卖) machine started going crazy and spitting out cans of soda! The noise actually scared the intruder and he ran out of sight. My parents were shaking, but we all turned around to see who had put money into the vending machine downstairs, and actually saved us, but no one was around at all.Not a soul.

    It's one vacation I will never forget.

    Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea. People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.

    Tea remained scarce and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.

    At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea. Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added. She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was such a great lady that her friends thought they must copy everything she did, they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.

    At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening. No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess（公爵夫人）found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o'clock stopped her getting “a sinking feeling” as she called it. She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so, tea-time was born .

    You may have never heard of Lanthanum, Cerium or Neodymium, but these elements (元素) and others known as “rare earth” play a major role in modern technology. They can actually be found in many places on the earth, but not in quantities that can be mined. Only a few countries — China, America, India, Australia, Brazil and Malaysia have any that can be mined enough to be traded.

Even though some of these elements such as Cerium are as abundant as Copper, they are not found in concentrated amounts on the earth's surface. They are often mixed together with other metals, which makes extraction (提取) of these elements an expensive and an environmentally messy process. It was due to this reason that the term “rare earth” was invented.

    Rare earth metals are used widely in our life. Rechargeable car batteries, computers, iPhones, DVD players, computer monitors, televisions, lighting, lasers, glass polishing, and superconductors all use quantities of rare earth metals. Also, with the advancement in “green” technology like solar panels, these shiny materials are becoming more important than ever. An average electric car uses 10 pounds of Lanthanum for its rechargeable battery!

    America has large deposits (存储量) of rare earths and has one of the first mines. It was openedin Southern California in 1940. The element “Europium” was the first metal to be separated in quantity for use in color televisions. However, in the 1980's and 1990's, as China started producing these elements in Inner Mongolia, the mines in America and elsewhere could not keep pace. The mine in Mountain Pass, California also failed environmental regulations and shut down in 2002.

    Now, recognizing the importance of having more than one supplier of this important resource, other rare earth owning countries like India and Australia are either dusting off their rare earth mines or speeding up their production. It is believed that the debate over rare earths will become louder in the coming months and years.

    It may surprise bookworms, but apparently masterpieces such as Jane Eyre are lacking in something — sound effects. An electronic-book firm is adding background noises and music to the works of Charlotte Bronte, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and William Shakespeare in the hope of attracting younger readers. In one example, a description of rain lashing against a window in a Sherlock Holmes story will be“enhanced”with matching noises.

    The first multimedia e-books — with sounds to accompany novels — will be available this Friday in the UK. The Booktrack releases are available to iPad users, with other tablet computer versions to follow. The concept is already in use in the U.S., where the classics come with added sound effects. Readers for example can hear the china cups chinking in Mr. Darcy's garden as they read Pride And Prejudice.

    A story by Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie will be released later in the year with a specially crafted orchestral score. Rushdie's story In The South will be released with a soundtrack provided by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

    The Power Of Six by Pittacus Lore, a novel for young adults, is one of the first to be tested with a soundtrack which builds in suspense in keeping with the plot. It works by timing the speed of each reader and the software measures the “turning” of a page and moves the music or sounds along accordingly. It has been created by Booktrack which synchronizes (使同步) music to each novel. It is funded by Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal.

    Mr. Thiel said, “It's always exciting to witness the creation of a new form of media. The technology promises to captivate readers in a different way.”

    However, they have been greeted with horror by traditionalists, who say the technology takes away the pleasure of having one's imagination stimulated by a story. They also raise the prospect (预期) of having to ask an overly eager reader to turn their book down. David Nicholls, whose bestseller One Day was recently turned into a film starring Anne Hathaway, said, “This sounds like the opposite of reading. It would be a distraction.”

    A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C. Standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice say, "Can you help me?" When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended. In a natural reflex, I reached into my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her. I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar. But the blind woman smiled and said, "I don't want your money. I just need help finding the post office."

    In a moment, I realized what I had done. I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be. I hated what I saw in myself. This incident re- awakened my belief in humility (谦恭), even though I'd lost it for a moment.

    The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant. I left Honduras and arrived in the U.S. at the age of 15. I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister, and a strong, serious-minded mother. Through the years, I have been a dishwasher, mechanic and pizza delivery driver among many other humble jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer.

    In my own life, I have experienced many open acts of prejudice (偏见). I remember a time, at age 17 — I worked as a waiter, and I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me. I have also witnessed the same treatment of my family and friends, so I know what it's like, and I should have known better.

    But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going. That blind woman on the streets of Washington, D.C., cured me of my blindness. She reminded me of my belief in humility and to always keep my eyes and heart open. By the way, I helped that lady to the post office. And in writing this essay, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson.

    When most people think of the word, “brand”, they think of the Nike Swoosh, Ford “blue oval,” McDonalds Golden Arches, or the “State Farm is There” jingle. They know what they will get with a well branded product or service as promised. Think of Volvo, for instance, and your first thoughts are probably something like “well built, comfortable, Swedish” and, most of all, “safety”.

    So a brand is a lot more than a logo, icon, or slogan. Catchy as it may sound, it isn't the “brand” in the true sense—and it certainly isn't what makes the brand valuable. A company's brand is a promise. It's a description of the company's character. To some extent, it's a mission; it's how the company creates and delivers value. Also, it's the feeling the company conveys to its stakeholders. Successful brands meet various challenges and consistently deliver on their promises, which is how they create brand value. To illustrate it, here are some brand promises from three highly successful, world-wide brands: The NFL: “To be the premier sports and entertainment brand that brings people together, connecting them socially and emotionally like no other.” Coca-Cola: “To inspire moments of optimism and uplift.” Virgin Atlantic: “To be genuine, fun, contemporary, and different in everything we do at a reasonable price.”

    Interesting. In none of the above cases does the brand promise describe what these companies do or provide. The NFL's brand promise says nothing about football. Coca-Cola doesn't talk about providing the best soft drinks in the world. And Virgin Atlantic's promise goes a lot farther than seating passengers in its aircrafts.

    Of course, a promise is nowhere near enough. The promise along with look, personality, time, money, and hard work combined can eventually help to build and maintain great brands and acquire a special patina(光泽) of what I call “me” appeal, showing my personal appetite. Apple has that patina. All of this can lead to sub-brands, like iPhone and iPad which acquire the glory of the parent brand.

    Sometimes a brand is memorable because of little things. TD Bank has a special place in their branches for you to deposit all those coins you collect in jars. It is called the Penny Arcade that turns depositing your coins into a fun game in which you can even win prizes. Years ago, Dime Savings Bank in New York had a small dime(十分硬币) carrier. It was given to kids and then they'd fill up its 50 slots (投币口) with a dime in each one and bring it to exchange for a $5 bill.