In summer, millions of people will head for the beach．And while the ocean can be a great place to swim and play, it may also be useful in another way. Some scientists think that waves could help make electricity．

    “Have you ever been on a surfboard or boat and felt yourself being lifted up by a wave? Or have you jumped in the water and felt the energy as waves crashed over you?” asked Jamie Taylor of the Wave Energy Group at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland．“There is certainly a lot of energy in waves．”

    Scientists are working on using that energy to make electricity．Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean．“The winds start out by making little ripples (波纹) in the water, but if they keep on blowing , those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves, ” Taylor said．“Waves are one of nature's ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey．”

    When waves come towards the shore, people can set up dams or other barricades to block the water and send it through a large wheel called a turbine (涡轮) ．The turbine can then power an electrical generator (发电机) ．

    The United States and a few other countries have started doing research on wave energy , and it is already being used in Scotland．

    The resource is huge．We will never run out of wave power, besides, wave energy does not create the same pollution as other energy sources, such as oil and coal．

    Oceans cover three quarters of the earth's surface．That would make wave power seem perfect for creating energy around the world．There are some drawbacks, however．

    Jamie Taylor said that wave power still cost too much money．He said that its effects on animals in the sea were still unknown．Plus, wave power would get in the way of fishing and boat traffic．

    With more research, however, “many of these problems might be overcome,” Taylor said．“Demand for energy to power our TVs and computers, drive our cars, and heat and cool our homes is growing quickly throughout the world．Finding more energy sources is very important, for traditional sources of energy like oil and gas may run out some day．”

    In the future, when you turn on a light switch, an ocean wave could be providing the electricity!

    With online courses, anyone can gain knowledge in any field of interest for free. You can educate yourself and get a certificate after finishing the course.

Coursera

    It offers high-quality courses from top universities for free to everyone to improve your resume, advance your career, expand your knowledge, and gain your confidence. This online learning website provides courses from Princeton University, Stanford University, University of California, and University of Pennsylvania. Learn more at https://coursera.com

Udemy

    Its goal is to promote education by enabling anyone to learn online. It seeks to hugely change education by inviting millions of experts worldwide to teach and share what they know. Whether you want to learn business, arts, health, music or technology, there is a course for you. Learn more at https://udemy.com

iTunes U

    If you are a student who uses Apple devices, you will be happy to know that you have access to iTunes U, which gives you access to different educational courses from all leading universities for free! Learn more at https://iTunesU.com

Skillfeed

    If you hope to learn a new skill, or improve your Photoshop skills, it offers unlimited access to high-quality video courses from a worldwide community of instructors. You have a month's free trial, after which you will pay a monthly fee to gain unlimited access to all courses. Learn more at https://skillfeed.com

UC Berkeley

    It offers courses in Japanese, legal studies and public health. Since they are recordings of actual lectures, they are short of lecture notes and extra materials. However, each course has audio recordings of lectures through iTunes U or video recordings of lectures through YouTube. Learn more at https://ucberkeley.com

    I was wandering around the Albuquerque International Support airport. My flight had been delayed and I heard an announcement: “If anyone near Gate A-4 understands Arabic（阿拉伯语）, please come to the gate immediately.” Gate A-4 was my own gate. I went there.

    An older woman was crumpled（蜷缩成一团的）on the floor, crying loud. In her traditional Palestinian dress, she reminded me of my grandmother.

    “Talk to her,” urged the flight agent. “We told her the flight was going to be late, and she did this.”

    I bent over to put my arm around the woman and spoke uncertainly. “Shu-dow-a, shu-bid-uck, habibti? Stanischway, min fadlick, shu-bit-se-wee?” She stopped crying. She thought the flight had been called off. She needed to be in El Paso for a medical treatment the next day. I said, “You'll get there, just late. Who is picking you up? Let's call him.”

    We called her son. In English, I told him that I would stay with his mother until we got on the plane. She talked with him. Then we called her other sons just for fun. Then we called my dad and they spoke for a while in Arabic and found out that they had several shared friends. After that, I called some Palestinian poets I knew and let them chat with her.

She was, laughing a lot but then, patting my knee and answering questions. She pulled a bag of homemade cookies filled with dates and nuts and topped with sugar from her bag and offered them to the people at the gate. To my amazement, no one declined. It was like a sacrament（圣餐）. The traveler from Argentina, the mom from California, the lovely woman from Laredo— We were all smiling, covered with the same sugar.

    I looked around the gate and thought. This is the world I want to live in, one with no anxiety. This can still happen anywhere, I thought. Not everything is lost.

    Ninety years ago a man named Howard Carter made a great find. But he didn't discover an unknown people group or a new plant. He found the resting place of a king.

    People had seen signs of King Tutankhamun's tomb (坟墓) but had never found it. Finally, Carter's team discovered a set of steps that led down to some underground rooms. There Carter found the king's body and many of his treasures.

    Carter recorded his first impression in his popular book, The Tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen：

At first I could see nothing, the hot air coming from the room causing the candle light to flicker (闪烁), but later, as my eyes grew used to the light, details of the room within appeared slowly and clearly, strange animals and gold—everywhere the light of gold... I was struck speechless with amazement, and when Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the silence any longer, asked anxiously,  “Can you see anything?” it was all I could do to get out the words, “Yes, wonderful things.”

    The discovery has made King Tutankhamun, Tut for short, one of the best-remembered kings of Egypt. Tut became king when he was only 9 years old and ruled ancient Egypt from 1332 to 1323 B.C. No one is sure why, but he died suddenly before he turned 20. Because he died so young, there wasn't time to prepare a great tomb for him. So he ended up with a smaller tomb. Its small size was actually the reason why it stayed hidden for so long. And, Tut's tomb was not like other Egyptian kings'—it was not as damaged by time or robbers as other tombs. King Tut's tomb remains the best-kept royal (皇室的) tomb ever discovered. The discovery of this little tomb has helped people learn a great deal about ancient Egypt.

    Four Free Mobile Apps to Help You Learn English Faster

    Have you realized that you can put your smartphone to really good use for learning English? Here are 4 free mobile apps that will help you do just that.

Hello English

    It covers all the aspects of language learning, including vocabulary, translation, grammar, spellings, spoken and reading skills. It uses interactive games to teach different English lessons and offers new audiobooks, latest news, and books. However, you should already understand basic English structures and alphabets, for the app can't help you learn English from scratch(从零开始).

    Duolingo

    If you want to learn English from scratch, then this is the app you are looking for. Duolingo uses interactive games to help you learn English. For beginners, the app focuses on helping you learn verbs, phrases and sentences.

    Lingbe

    If you are ready to practice your spoken skills in the real-world, you'll need Lingbe. It's a community-based app where people help each other and share their native languages. It connects you with real people on call who are native English speakers.

    HelloTalk

    HelloTalk is similar to Lingbe as it connects you with native speakers to help improve your language skills. However, it adds a few extra functions that might interest you. You can view the information about users to find a match that interests you. Additionally, you can also send text and audio messages, and even do video calls with other people.

    If you are a beginner, start from Duolingo and then use Hello English to take full command over the language. For fluent spoken English learners, you can try out Lingbe or HelloTalk.

    I was reading these interesting stories behind a group of great logos（商标） in the world. Personally Nike is my favorite one﹣it's so simple. And I liked the stories behind them, which made me forget all other things. McDonald's, Apple, and Mercedes Benz own great logos as well, and they are among my favorites.

    Nike

    In the Greek myth, Nike is the goddess of victory and the source of inspiration for soldiers. This logo represents the wing in the famous statue of the Greek goddess.  Nike's logo was designed by Carolyn Davidson in 1971 for﹩35, and was registered as a trademark in 1995.

    McDonald's

    The logo was designed in 1962 by Jim Schindler to resemble the arch shaped （拱形的） signs on the side of the company's then walk﹣up hamburger stand. Later on, the two golden arches were combined together to form the M. The McDonald's name was added to the logo in 1968.

    Apple

    There are different stories behind Apple's logo. The first logo was a reference to the religious story of Adam and Eve, in which the apple represented the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. One year later, the second logo was designed in 1977 by Steven Jobs and Ronald Wayne, and it described Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. This logo didn't stay long. One year later it was replaced almost immediately by graphic designer Rob Janoff's "rainbow apple",  a rainbow﹣colored silhouette （轮廓） of an apple with a bite taken out of it. And then the rainbow﹣colored apple was replaced by the one﹣colored logo in 1998. It has not been changed so far.

    Mercedes Benz

    The Mercedes Benz logo, which was originally created by Gottlieb Daimler in 1909, consists of a simple description of a three﹣pointed star that represents its rule of the land, the sea and the air. The company was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Mercedes is the name of Maybach's elder daughter, while Benz came as a result of a combination with Benz Cie and DMG in 1926.