If you are a fruit grower—or would like to become one—take advantage of Apple Day to see what's around. It's called Apple Day but in practice it's more like Apple Month. The day itself is on October 21, but since it has caught on, events now spread out over most of October around Britain.

    Visiting an apple event is a good chance to see, and often taste，a wide variety of apples. To people who are used to the limited choice of apples such as Golden Delicious and Royal Gala in supermarkets, it can be quite an eye opener to see the range of classical apples still in existence, such as Decio which was grown by the Romans. Although it doesn't taste of anything special，it's still worth a try，as is the knobbly(多疙瘩的) Cat's Head which is more of a curiosity than anything else.

    There are also varieties developed to suit specific local conditions. One of the very best varieties for eating quality is Orleans Reinette, but you'll need a warm, sheltered place with perfect soil to grow it, so it's a pipe dream for most apple lovers who fall for it.

    At the events, you can meet expert growers and discuss which ones will best suit your conditions, and because these are family affairs, children are well catered for with apple­themed fun and games.

    Apple Days are being held at all sorts of places with an interest in fruit, including stately gardens and commercial orchards(果园)．If you want to have a real orchard experience, try visiting the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale，near Faversham in Kent.

    The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco，California is one of the world's most beautiful bridges. It is also one of the most visited places in the world. More than 1800 hundred million vehicles have used the bridge since it opened more than 70 years ago.

    The bridge was painted “International Orange” because that color went well with the natural surroundings. The color also is easier to see in the heavy fog that often covers the area. But the Golden Gate Bridge was not named for its orange color. It was named for the body of water that it crosses, the Golden Gate Strait, which is the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean

    Planning for the bridge began in the 1920s when the area around San Francisco was growing. People living in the area needed another way to get to the city besides small ferries. Joseph Strauss was the chief engineer for the project. Work began in 1934.Mr.Strauss demanded the strongest safety protections in the history of bridge building. These included the first use of “hard hats” to protect the workers' heads and special glasses to protect their eyes. A special safety net was suspended under the bridge. This net saved the lives of 19 men during the construction.

    The Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937.It extends 1280 meters across the water. The total length is 2737 meters. It was the largest suspension bridge(吊桥)in the world until 1964.That is when the Verrazano Narrows Bridge opened in New York City. Today, the Golden Gate Bridge is the ninth longest suspension bridge in the world.

    Today's post is almost about signs in English. You will see signs on the road while driving or when walking down a street. Now let's take a closer look at the signs in the picture below, so you can fully understand what they mean in case you come across one of them.

    Starting with the top row, we have a:

    Yield sign—This sign indicates (标示) that you need to slow down ,but you may not have to come to a full stop.

    Crosswalk—This is a sign that indicates people have the right of way to cross the street, so cars have to stop when they see a person waiting next to one of these signs.

    Second row:

    Do not enter—This sign indicates you are not allowed to enter a road at that point.

    Buckle up(系好安全带)!— There are often signs on roads in the United States reminding people that wearing seat belts(安全带) is mandatory (强制的) (seat belt laws differ depending on what state you are in ,but all US states have seat belt laws).

    Third row:

    Be alert (警惕的) for bears—This is another sign that is used to indicate to drivers and pedestrians (行人) that they should be alert for wildlife in the area.

Playground—This is the sign used to alert drivers that there is a playground nearby, so it is a good idea to slow down and watch for children.

    The United States of America is mainly an English-speaking country. The majority of the population speak English as their native language. Besides, education, social activities, etc. are conducted in English. Across but for the most part, Americans speak one common language. This language is sometimes called American English.

    However, not everyone in the USA is a native speaker of English. Most immigrants(移民) are speakers of other languages. There are hundreds of communities around the USA where English is not the most commonly used languages. Chinese, Italian, German, Greek, Spanish and French are all spoken in various communities in the USA. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language after English. It is widely spoken in New York and across the southern part of the country. For speakers of other languages, learning English is important, but teaching people to speak English as a second language was given little attention. Non-English speakers were expected to pick up the language by meeting with others in public. Recently, this has changed.

    Today, most large public schools and community colleges have ESL (English as a Second Language) programs; American English teachers feel that English students should learn the language the way they will use it. Therefore, ESL programs offer different English lessons to different students. Some programs teach students to communicate in English in public. Other programs teach the kind of English people who will need for their jobs. American ESL instructional methods do not lay emphasis on grammar or translation, but on the importance of communication. The goal is to get the English learners to learn by using the language.

    Many independent Chinese women like to earn their own bread, even if their husbands are already bringing home the bacon. But a recent survey suggests that such women find more joy from relationships, rather than successful careers.

    About 73 percent of the 7,000 women surveyed in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou said they would choose to work even if their husbands earned enough for the family. The survey also found that 77 percent define happiness as "enjoying a relationship".

    But striking a balance between career and family can bring challenges to the woman's career advancement.

    "In my company, women usually have an equal or even a higher starting salary than men," said Li Hua, general manager of Beijing Chuangjiashe Book Circulation Company. "However, as they begin to climb up the career ladder, women often meet problems along the way, while men can climb the ladder more easily."

    Both physical and emotional differences can prevent some women from taking tough positions, Li said. But family life is often the main difficulty for Chinese career women.

    Despite these challenges, however, some experts believe it's reasonable for some women to want to be breadwinners.

    "In this way, the roles of a family are decided by the parents' abilities rather than their gender（性别）," said Gu Donghui, a sociology professor at Fudan University.

    Gu says women should have the freedom to decide if they want to stay at home or work to support the family. "Everyone has a different interpretation（解释）of what it means to find self-worth".

    Wang Haibin, an economic expert from Renmin University shares that view: "Traditionally, we tend to regard the family as the cell unit of society. Some members have always been expected to make sacrifices for it. But, it really doesn't matter who earns more. Economic independence and personal choice is essential for both sexes in the family."

    A new study has found that social media could be affecting the sleep of young adults.

    The study is a project of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine. They found that young people who often use social media are more likely to suffer from sleep disorders than those who use social media less. The researchers say doctors should ask young adults about their use of social media when treating sleep issues.

    "This is one of the first pieces of evidence that social media use really can influence your sleep." said Jessica C Levenson. She was the lead author of a report on the study.

    The researchers set out to examine the connection between social media use and sleep among young adults. Levenson noted that these young adults are possibly the first "generation to grow up with social media."

    The researchers wanted to find out how often young people used social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Credit and Tumbler. For the study, they gave questionnaires to nearly 1,800 adults, aged 19 to 32. On average, members of the study group used social media sites one hour a day. They also "visited various social media 30 times per week."

    Thirty percent of the study's participants reported having serious problems with sleeping. Those people who used social media a lot were three times more likely to have a sleep disorder. And those who spent the most time on social media were two times as likely to suffer from sleep disturbances.

    Levenson said the number of times a person visits social media is a better predictor of sleep problems than overall time spent on social media. If this is true, she adds, then practices that stop such behaviors may be the most effective.