Traveling abroad for leisure is becoming more and more popular for Chinese. The UK is high up in the list of places that the Chinese want to visit. There is a sense of mystery about the UK: it's often the images of England's green parks, countryside and Victorian houses that people point to as an alternative to polluted, overcrowded cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou.

    The capital is viewed as modern and dynamic, while being filled deep with history. When asked what other images are thought of by the UK, the reply is often "the Queen, tea and Oxbridge". So what's stopping them actually coming? Sebastian Wood, the British ambassador in Beijing, has described the UK as a "fortress", and while this is perhaps an exaggeration (夸张), Britain does have a reputation as a country that is harder to access.

    The main problem for Chinese tourists is obvious. Although visa applications are now completed online, visitors are still required to visit one of 12 UK centers across the country for a face-to-face interview and fingerprinting. If you don't live near one of these centers already, you'd have to travel some distance to get there.

    Another problem is also to be mentioned. If travelers from China visit the UK, they also want to cover as much ground as possible. But the UK is not included in the Schengen visa, which allows access to a host of 26 European countries such as France and Germany. So it makes the former seem less worth it.

    There is also the issue of cost:￡47 for a Schengen visa, ￡82 for the UK. On top of this, the UK is viewed as stricter in its handling of visas compared with the rest of Europe, fed by urban legends of rejected applications. In the end, the decision comes down to one question: Is Britain worth a visit?

    I always dreamed of studying abroad, to learn at a world﹣class university while further exploring the grounds on which these nations achieved new milestones of development with each passing day.

    To study abroad after my graduation, I could not stop seeking my dream. To take the first step, I did some brainstorming and explored opportunities on the Internet and finally decided to go for China. There were a number of reasons behind it﹣its advanced education system and thousands of centuries of rich culture inspired me to study there. The primary one was my curiosity how a nation has left many nations behind in a short time at its fast pace of development.

    So just like that, I applied, along with some of my friends, for a master's degree program at Communication University of China. I was the only one who got selected in the said program and in addition, the Chinese Scholarship Council sponsored all of my expenses. This good news was welcomed by my family.

    This is my seventh month in Beijing. In my experience so far, one thing that appeared to be missing was the internship（实习） which I tried to find because I want to work here after completion of my studies. After some struggles I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to work as an intern with the Center for China and Globalization（CCG）. It's very exciting to work on their team as a researcher. Now I can proudly say that my decision to choose China as a study destination was the best decision I have ever made.

    There are many programs for high school students today that help lonely teenagers deal with loneliness. However, loneliness is not only an issue for teens but also an important and rarely acknowledged one in the elderly.

    In Britain, Tracey Crouch was appointed to be the first Minister of Loneliness in order to address the issues caused by loneliness. This is the first time such a position has been created.

    In Britain, there are around 9 million people who say they are lonely frequently. In Germany, a study conducted by Ruhr University Bochum found that 20 percent of people over the age of 85 felt lonely, and 14 percent of those between age 45 and 65 felt socially lonely. In the United States, more than 25 percent of the population lives alone, more than 50 percent are unmarried.

    Loneliness is generally associated with heart disease, overweight, and anxiety. Additionally, the stress from loneliness can cause your cells to change on a molecular(分子)level that reduces its abilities to defend your body against diseases. In fact, doctors believe having feelings of loneliness is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day in regard to its effect on health!

    In Britain, the new Minister of Loneliness will help introduce government policies on the issue and fund a charity—an organization for helping people in need, to devote their efforts towards aiding loneliness. There are charities that link lonely seniors to high school students in order to give them a line of communication whenever they feel lonely!

    The possibilities for the new Minister of Loneliness are endless. For example, she can provide education services to household businesses so that they can identify lonely customers if they see one. Loneliness fits into the category of being a social issue that must be monitored by the entire community in order to help those in need. Therefore, government involvement in medical services and care for seniors and others is vital for happy seniors.

    Are your eyes irritated, dry, watery, blurry, seeing double or sensitive to light, and do your back and neck ache? If so, you are likely one of many people today who suffer from digital eyestrain, also called computer-vision syndrome.

    Eyestrain is often related to the amount of exposure to screens, the distance from eyes to screens and the use of multiple screens simultaneously. However, studies have also shown that the blue light produced by digital devices today reaches further into the eyes than other kinds of light. This light actually assists attention during the day but can result in interrupted sleep patterns at night.

    Scientists have also said that eyestrain is not a necessary evil, even in a modern world that revolves around technology. Changing some simple details about your relative position to screens, such as staying about 60 centimeters away, will help. Also, avoid overhead and other direct sources of light, and use shaded lamps and window blinds while looking at digital devices instead.

    Beyond the way that relates to digital screens, there are also ways to change how you view screens that are helpful in combating eyestrain. To begin with, your computer screen should be high-resolution(高清的), at least 50 centimeters wide diagonally and may require a screen filter to decrease reflections. Also, be aware that "computer glasses", which cut down glare and blue light, are available and those contact lenses can increase the risk of eyestrain.

    Besides, to reduce your risk for computer-vision syndrome and neck, back and shoulder pain, take frequent breaks during your computer workday. Many workers take only two 15-minute breaks from their computer throughout their day. According to a recent study, discomfort and eyestrain are significantly reduced when computer workers take four additional five-minute "mini-breaks" throughout their workday. And these additional breaks don't reduce the workers' productivity.

    Finally, many of us fall into bad habits while using digital screens that only worsen the effects of eyestrain. While viewing digital screens, many people blink one third less often than they usually do. Place a reminder on your computer to "blink" so that your eyes don't dry out. Also, rest your eyes' focusing muscles by using the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, focus on something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

    My elephant adventures began in 1984 when, with our one-year-old daughter, my husband and I crossed the jungle in a jeep, slicking behind a lorry for comfort and company. The elephants standing like watchers on either side of the forest highway had us praying for our safety. One elephant made loud noise and angrily pawed (抓) the ground, warning us off. We raced away before they could attack.

    It was wise to keep elephants at a distance. We heard stories of tourists whose jeeps were overturned, and a couple of photographers were killed because they moved too close. Elephants are misleading animals. They give people an impression of being quiet and kind, so tourists think it's safe to picnic in the jungle (丛林). Yet angry elephants have knocked them down in seconds before they could take off.

    Elephants might make life unpredictable and dangerous. It's difficult for inexperienced environmentalists to even, begin to grasp this reality. I've heard city people say " We humans are encroaching (侵害) on their forests." But what's the solution?

    When a poor farmer borrows heavily to plant a crop, he'll do anything to protect it His life depends on it Elephants ruining an about-to-be-harvested corn field cannot expect to be welcomed like special guests. The battle between beast and farmer is violent.

    Experts are working on solutions to human-elephant conflicts (冲突). Some are sure to fail to like the plans to build electric fences around human settlements. Elephants rapidly figure them out and come in, around and over them.

    There are more questions than answers, for sure. But as my husband said, "More people die in car accidents every single day, in every city on the earth. But they won't take cars off the roads, will they?" So we need to seek practical ways of preventing elephant accidents.

    It is reported that a record-breaking high-speed rail will connect Inner Mongolia in the north to Hainan in the south. According to the Shaanxi Development and Reform Commission, the proposed line will operate at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour(217 mph).

    Beginning in Inner Mongolia's Baotou city and running through southern Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi and Guangdong, its final stop would be in Haikou city on Hainan Island, China's southernmost province.

    Though the exact length of the proposed route has not been released, it will likely become the world's longest high-speed rail line as the journey by road between Baotou and Haikou is approximately 3, 000 kilometers(1, 864 miles) long. Currently, the world's longest high-speed rail line is almost 2, 300 kilometers long (1, 429 miles), running from Beijing to Guangzhou.

    The proposed rail is part of China's aim to create another "Silk Road of the 21st Century" and improve the country's transportation network while driving land development and urbanization(城市化) in some provincial areas.

    Many of the provinces through which the high-speed trains will travel are near major bodies of water, such as the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi province, the Yangtzi River in Hubei and the South China Sea, where the line would end. It will also take passengers to popular tourist attractions including Zhangjiajie, Xi'an, Guilin and minority areas in western Hunan and Hubei.

    "The country is now shifting its focus and investing in the western regions and economically underdeveloped areas, making up for China's long debt to these areas, " Tan yuzhi, professor of the School of Economics and Management at Hubei University for Nationalities, told local media. " The project will significantly narrow regional disparities(差异) and solve minority issues."

    However, Deng Hongbing, director of China University of Geosciences' Center for Regional Economic and Investment Center, said that if the north-to-south railway is to go ahead, there needs to be a sound ecological program in place to ensure the protection of these underdeveloped and ecologically sensitive areas.