Once when I was facing a decision that involved high risk, I went to a friend. He looked at me for a moment, and then wrote a sentence containing the best advice I've ever had: Be bold and brave — and mighty (强大的) forces will come to your aid.

      Those words made me see clearly that when I had fallen short in the past, it was seldom because I had tried and failed. It was usually because I had let fear of failure stop me from trying at all. On the other hand, whenever I had plunged into deep water, forced by courage or circumstance, I had always been able to swim until I got my feet on the ground again.

          Boldness means a decision to bite off more than you can eat. And there is nothing mysterious about the mighty forces. They are potential powers we possess: energy, skill, sound judgment, creative ideas — even physical strength greater than most of us realize.

       Admittedly, those mighty forces are spiritual ones. But they are more important than physical ones. A college classmate of mine, Tim, was an excellent football player, even though he weighed much less than the average player. “In one game I suddenly found myself confronting a huge player, who had nothing but me between him and our goal line,” said Tim. “I was so frightened that I closed my eyes and desperately threw myself at that guy like a bullet（子弹） — and stopped him cold.”

       Boldness — a willingness to extend yourself to the extreme—is not one that can be acquired overnight. But it can be taught to children and developed in adults. Confidence builds up. Surely, there will be setbacks (挫折) and disappointments in life; boldness in itself is no guarantee of success. But the person who tries to do something and fails is a lot better off than the person who tries to do nothing and succeeds.

       So, always try to live a little bit beyond your abilities—and you'll find your abilities are greater than you ever dreamed.

    China is a land of bicycles．At least it was back in 1992 when I traveled the country．Back then everyone seemed to be riding a bicycle．Millions of them，all black．Cars were rare．Yet since my arrival in Beijing last year, I've found the opposite is true．There are millions of cars．However, people still use their bicycles to get around．For many, it's the easiest and cheapest way to travel today．Bicycles also come in different colors—silver, green, red, blue，yellow, whatever you want．

    It's fun people biking．They rush quickly through crossroads, move skillfully through traffic，and ride even on sidewalks．Bicycles allow people the freedom to move about that cars just can't provide．

    Eager to be part of this aspect of Chinese culture，I decided to buy a bicycle．Great weather accompanied my great buy．I immediately jumped up on my bicycle seat and started home．

    My first ride home was orderly．To be safe, I stayed with a“pack”of bikers while cars on the streets came running swiftly out of nowhere at times．I didn't want to get hit．So I took the ride carefully．

    Crossing the streets was the biggest problem. It was a lot like crossing a major highway back in the United States．The streets here were wide，so crossing took time，skill and a little bit of luck．

    I finally made it home．The feeling on the bicycle was amazing. The air hitting my face and going through my hair was wonderful．I was sitting on top of the world as I passed by places and people．Biking made me feel alive．

    IPhone owners are vainer（虚荣）and spend more on clothes and grooming（仪容）than those who have BlackBerrys and Android phones, new research claims.BlackBerry owners earn the most and are more likely to have long-term relationships, while people with Android handsets are most creative and the best cooks.

    The study, carried out by TalkTalk Mobile, surveyed 2,000 owners of the three major smartphone brands to determine whether the choice of handset was an extension(延伸) of their personality. The study rated users in various walks of life using a point scoring system including personalities, daily habits and the type of industries they work in.

    Other results from the study found that people with an iPhone are more image conscious and generally consider themselves more attractive than those with other handsets. They are most likely to describe themselves as adventurous, bright and are most likely to work in media, publishing and education. They also believe their boss rates them highly. Apple owners also tend to have done more travelling and are the most active on social media sites.

    BlackBerry owners were found to be the least punctual(准时的), but despite putting in the least hours at work they are the most active phone user—sending more texts and making more calls in the average day than any other phone user. They are more social and have more friends overall. They also earn nearly two and a half thousand pounds a year more than other smartphone owners, with an average salary of $27,406. BlackBerry users classed themselves so loud and mainly work in the health, finance or property sectors. They were also found to drink more tea and coffee each day than any other phone user.

    Android owners were found to watch more TV than others and drink the most alcohol—consuming more in an average week than iPhone and BlackBerry drinkers. They have the most jobs in engineering, the government and public services and environmental services. They have the best manners and are more shy and relaxed than their counterparts.

    Dan Meader, Director of Mobile at TalkTalk, said,“Many of us have our mobile phones on us almost constantly so they do become an extension of us in many ways. It's interesting to see then how the choice in handset may reflect different aspects of personality and the results do show some unusual difference

    They like using the Internet. They have lots of pocket money to spend．And they spend a higher proportion of it online than the rest of us. Teenagers are just the sort of people an online seller is interested in, and the things they want to buy — games, CDs and clothing — are easily sold on the Web.

    But paying online is a tricky business for consumers who are too young to own credit cards. Most have to use a parent's card. They want a service that allows them to spend money.

    That may come sooner than they think: new ways to take pocket money into cyber (网络的) space are coming out rapidly on both sides of the Atlantic. If successful, these products can stimulate (刺激)online sales.

    In general, teenagers spend huge amounts: $153bn (billion) in the US last year and ￡20bn annually in the UK．Most teenagers have access to the Internet at home or at school — 88 percent in the US, 69 percent in the UK. According to the Jupiter Research, one in eight of those with Internet access has bought something online — mainly CDs and books.

    In most cases, parents pay for these purchases with credit cards, an arrangement that is often unsatisfactory for them and their children. Pressing parents to spend online is less productive than pressing on the high street. They are more likely to ask “Why?” if you ask to spend some money online.

    One way to help teenagers change notes and coins into cyber cash is through prepaid cards such as Internet Cash in the US and Smart cards in the UK. Similar to those for pay-as-you-go mobile telephones, they are sold in amounts such as￡20 or $50 with a concealed (隐藏的) 14-digit number that can be used to load the cash into an online account.

    I ran into quite a few language problems while vacationing ( 度假) with my family last summer. The most embarrassing was when my Mom apologized to the people we were staying with because her “pants were dirty”. They looked at her in amazement, not knowing how to react. You see, Mom had fallen over and gotten mud on her jeans. But in Britain, “pants” means underpants or knickers( 内裤；衬裤), not trousers as it does back home.

    Katie — From America

    I went to stay with a friend on the west coast last summer. Her flat was on the first floor of a high-rise building so I got the lift up. Then I wandered round for ages looking for her flat but couldn't find it. Fed up and tired, I finally had to go out to find a phone box. She explained that her flat was on the first floor, which for me meant the ground floor.

    David — From Britain

    When I asked for the “restroom” in a big department store, people kept directing me to a room with seats where I could sit and “rest”. It took me years to get through to (使...明白)someone that I only wanted the toilet!

    Tom — From America

    Last summer we went on a two-week family touring holiday, so Dad hired a car over the Internet. This was an old vehicle and there turned out (结果是；证明是)to be lots of things wrong with it. When he phoned the hire company and tried to explain that the lock on the boot was broken, they thought he was talking about footwear! He had no idea their word for “boot” was “trunk”. In the end we went to a garage and just solved the problem.

    Mary — From Britain

    Tiny microbes(微生物)are at the heart of a new agricultural technique to manage harmful greenhouse gas. Scientists have discovered how microbes can be used to turn carbon dioxide into soil­enriching limestone(石灰石), with the help of a type of tree that grows in tropical areas, such as West Africa.

    Researchers have found that when the Iroko tree is grown in dry, acidic soil and treated with a combination of natural fungi(霉菌)and other bacteria, not only does the tree grow well, it also produces the mineral limestone in the soil around its root.

    The Iroko tree makes a mineral by combining Ca from the earth with CO₂ from the atmosphere The bacteria then create the conditions under which this mineral turns into limestone. The discovery offers a new way to lock carbon into the soil, keeping it out of the atmosphere. In addition to storing carbon in the trees leaves and in the form of limestone, the mineral in the soil makes it more suitable for agriculture.

    The discovery could lead to reforestation(重新造林) projects in tropical countries, and help reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the developing world. It has already been used in West Africa and is being tested in Bolivia, Haiti and India.

    The findings were made in a three­year project involving researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh, Granada, Lausanne and Delft University of Technology. The project examined several microbiological methods of locking CO₂ as limestone, and the Iroko­bacteria way showed best results. Work was funded by the European Commission under the Future&Emerging Technologies(FET)scheme.

    Dr. Bryne Ngwenya of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences, who led the research, said: "By taking advantage of this natural limestone­producing process, we have a low­tech, safe, readily employed and easily operating way to lock carbon out of the atmosphere, while improving farming conditions in tropical countries."