China has the highest adoption rate in the world for technology-enabled payment systems, according to a report released on Wednesday. The report, from the market research firm Nielsen, is based on a survey of 13,000 respondents in 26 countries.

    The survey showed that 86 percent of Chinese respondents said they paid for online purchases during the past six months via digital payment systems compared with a global average of just 43 percent.

    "Chinese consumers have more payment choices for products and services than ever while digital payments will continue to win over more Chinese consumers due to its convenient nature," said Kiki Fan, managing director of Nielsen China.

    The increasingly popular payment method is part of the rapidly evolving purchasing behavior of Chinese consumers. About 98 percent of the respondents in China, the world's largest e-commerce market, said they had made purchases online.

    The majority of them still make online purchases via computers, but the number of those who use mobile devices to make purchases is growing fast and is significantly higher than the average in other surveyed countries.

    At 71 percent, food-related businesses topped the list of purchases made via smart phones while event ticket purchases stood at 51 percent.

    The rising use of digital payments has attracted numerous players to the Chinese market.

    Apple Inc launched its contactless payment system Apple Pay in the Chinese mainland last month. It allows users of the iPhone 6 or more advanced versions, certain iPads and Apple Watches to pay by their devices in bricks-and-mortar stores.

    Apple's rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is expected to bring its own mobile payment service to China in mid-March—Sam-sung Pay.

    China's Internet giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd have already taken about 90 percent of the mobile payment market, but industry observers said the competition is just about to start.

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    Italy is one country where beauty is prized more than any other virtue(美德). That is, except in the small town of Piobbico, the self-declared World Capital of Ugly People. The road sign at the edge of the town even warns visitors that they are entering the ugly zone. People who consider themselves ugly have been gathering in Piobbico since the 1960s. That's when Ugly Club president Telesforo Lacobelli established a dating agency for women who believed they were too ugly to attract husbands. Lacobelli believes that he is ugly himself because he has a short nose in a country where long or large noses have always been considered beautiful.

    People from around the world travel to Piobbico to tell their sad stories of ugliness. During the annual Festival of the Ugly, which occurs on the first Sunday of every September, hundreds of people gather in Piobbico's town square to elect the president of the Ugly Club. Lacobelli wins the election every year. The Ugly Club has over 20, 000 members. They carry ID cards that grade their ugliness from bearable to extreme. A prize is awarded to Ugly Club members who qualify as extremely ugly.

    The Ugly Club president insists that ugliness is a virtue. Since beautiful people get a lot of attention for their beauty alone, they have to work hard to prove their other virtues. Ugly people, on the other hand, are genuine and do not have to prove anything to anybody, according to Lacobelli.

    Lacobelli is a spokesperson for ugly people everywhere. He believes that the uglier one is, the better life can be. Though the club enjoys making fun of beauty, especially beauty contests, Lacobelli has a serious side as well. He believes that too many people suffer from financial and emotional pressures because they don't meet society's standards of beauty. The fact that beautiful people are more successful in the workforce is a problem that Lacobelli has attempted to bring forward to the Italian public and government.

    One of the main decisions you must make when traveling is deciding where to stay. A place to stay can often make or break a holiday. Whether you are looking for a classy hotel or a night under the stars, we can guide you through your different options.

    Bed and Breakfast

    An English invention, bed and breakfasts, offers exactly what they suggest, a bed for the night and breakfast in the morning. “B&Bs”，are usually someone's private home, often found in the countryside.

    Hostels

    For those traveling on a tight budget, hostels are the best accommodation option. Informal places usually with a lovely relaxed atmosphere, they offer dormitory beds for rent. Bathrooms are usually down the hall.

    Remember to check reviews by previous guests online before you book your hostel.

    Couch Surfing

    An unusual but interesting option, couch(沙发) surfing is a growing trend among young internationals. The idea is that you become a member of the online couch-surfing community (www. couchsurfing. com) and then when you travel, look up other members in that country and ask to stay on their couch. Most hosts will suggest sightseeing trips and take you out in the evening, making it a great way to see things that aren't in your guidebook. And remember, it may be free but don't forget to offer to buy your host a drink or dinner.

    Camping

    Sleeping under the stars! For budget travelers staying at camping grounds is the cheapest way to travel. The drawback is having to carry a tent with you. Camping grounds can be found across Europe, America and Australia. However, if you intend on camping in busy cities check first where the nearest place for camping is. More often than not, they are on the edge of cities, which can mean lengthy bus rides into town when you want to eat or see the sights.

    The Boy Made It!

    One Sunday, Nicholas, a teenager, went skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. In the early afternoon, when he was planning to go home, a fierce snowstorm swept into the area. Unable to see far, he accidentally turned off the path. Before he knew it, Nicholas was lost, all alone! He didn't have food, water, a phone, or other supplies. He was getting colder by the minute.

    Nicholas had no idea where he was. He tried not to panic. He thought about all of the survival shows he had watched on TV. It was time to put the tips he had learned to use.

    He decided to stop skiing. There was a better chance of someone finding him if he stayed put. The first thing he did was to find shelter from the freezing wind and snow. If he didn't, his body temperature would get very low, which could quickly kill him.

    Using his skis, Nicholas built a snow cave. He gathered a huge mass of snow and dug out a hole in the middle. Then he piled branches on top of himself, like a blanket, to stay as warm as he could.

    By that evening, Nicholas was really hungry. He ate snow and drank water from a nearby stream so that his body wouldn't lose too much water. Not knowing how much longer he could last, Nicholas did the only thing he could he huddled (蜷缩) in his cave and slept.

    The next day, Nicholas went out to look for help, but he couldn't find anyone. He followed his tracks and returned to the snow cave, because without shelter, he could die that night. On Tuesday, Nicholas went out again to find help. He had walked for about a mile when a volunteer searcher found him. After two days stuck in the snow, Nicholas was saved.

    Nicholas might not have survived this snowstorm had it not been for TV. He had often watched Grylls' survival show Man vs. Wild. That's where he learned the tips that saved his life. In each episode (一期节目) of Man vs. Wild, Grylls is abandoned in a wild area and has to find his way out.

    When Gxrylls heard about Nicholas' amazing deeds, he was super impressed that Nicholas had made it since he knew better than anyone how hard Nicholas had to work to stay alive.

    Have you ever taken a test that you thought you could have passed easily, only to make some silly mistakes that really hurt your grade? More than a few students have done that. And some seem to do it over and over again.

    There are several problem areas that can cause students to goof up or do poorly in a test that they could have passed.

    Some students can become overconfident in their knowledge of the subject matter. They think they know the material better than they actually do. It is easy for students to misjudge their own knowledge, and when they realize that they don't know the material, it is too late.

    What happens more often, though, is that some students feel they are smart enough to be able to guess their way through a test. So they don't bother studying the material. They are overconfident in their ability to figure things out.

    In either case, overconfidence can result in lower grades in tests. Does this apply to you?

    Another thing that can happen is that students underestimate (低估) the difficulty of the test. They expect an easy test, but the teacher throws in a real tough test that they haven't prepared for. Sometimes the teacher may cover material in the test that students weren't expecting. That can happen, especially if you weren't paying attention in class.

    Finally, there are students who don't feel that getting a good grade is important to them, so they don't bother to study or even try to do well. Such students may be trying to punish their parents, have a poor image of themselves, or are just plain foolish. Hopefully, you are not one of these students.

China's Tianwen 1 Mars probe (探测器) conducted its fourth orbital correction on Friday evening, as the spacecraft makes ready for its arrival in orbit around Feb. 10, according to the China National Space Administration.

The name comes from the long poem Tianwen, meaning Heavenly Questions or Questions to Heaven, written by Qu Yuan, one of the greatest poets of ancient China. In Tianwen, this name conveys the Chinese nation's steady effort in pursuing truth and culture of exploring nature and the universe. CNSA also unveiled (发布) the logo of China's planetary exploration missions, featuring the letter C, signifying China, international cooperation and capacity of entering space.

Tianwen I has flown for 197 days and more than 465 million kilometers on its journey to the planet. It is now around 184 million km from Earth and I. I million km from Mars. Depending on the two planets' orbits, Mars is between 55 and 400 million km from Earth. Mars probe Tianwen I is seen in its first selfies in space on Oct. 1, 2020. The administration also published a black-and-white picture of Mars taken by Tianwen I, the first snapshot (抓拍的照片) from the Chinese craft.

Tianwen I, the country's first independent Mars mission, was launched by a Long March 5 heavy-lift carrier rocket on July 23 from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, kicking off the nation's planetary exploration program.

A successful landing would make China only the second nation to place a spacecraft on the Martian planet. China would also be the first to successfully orbit, land and deploy (部署) a vehicle in the same mission. According to experts, searching for signs of life on Mars will be the first and foremost scientific goal. China is open and inclusive in the development of its space technology not least because it believes that the exploration of outer space should help build a community with a shared future for mankind.