Those who are used to looking through thousands of books in big bookstores may find Japan's Morioka Shoten a little strange. That's because this tiny bookstore that is located in Ginza, Tokyo sells only a single book at a time.

    Opened in May 2015, Morioka Shoten is the brainchild of Yoshiyuki Morioka. The experienced bookseller began his career as a bookstore clerk in Tokyo's Kanda district before branching out to open his own store. It was here while organizing book readings that he realized that customers usually came into the store with one title in mind. Morioka began to wonder if a store could exist by selling many copies of just one single book. In November 2014, he partnered with his two friends, to establish a unique bookstore with the idea of “A Single Room, A Single Book.”

    Like its offering, the bookstore is simple. The selections that are picked by Morioka change weekly and vary widely to attract customers with different interests. Recent choices include The True Deceiver, an award-winning Swedish novel by Tove Jansson, Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, and a collection of artist Karl Blossfeldt's photography of plants. Morioka has also chosen books written by famous Japanese authors Mimei Ogawa and Akito Akagi.

    To highlight his only offering, Morioka often uses clever methods. For example，when selling a book about flowers, he decorated his shop with the ones that had been mentioned in the book. He also encourages authors to hold talks and discussions so they can connect with customers. Morioka says his goal is for the customers to experience being inside a book, not just a bookstore!

    Risky as the idea might seem, things appear to be going well. Morioka says he has sold over 2,100 books since he opened it. Things can get better considering that (考虑到) his bookstore is becoming increasingly popular not just among the locals but also visitors from other countries.

    Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.

What to Expect

    The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.

Accommodation Zones

    Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and 4 of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential(居住的). Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less crowded area. It is very convenient to travel in London by Underground.

Meal Plans Available

◇ Continental Breakfast

◇ Breakfast and Dinner

◇ Breakfast,  Packed Lunch and Dinner

    It's important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal, bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by dessert, fruit and coffee.

Friends

    If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host's permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.

Self-Catering (自助的)Accommodation in Private Homes

    Accommodation on a room only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long stay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practice English at home quite as much.

    "Acting is the least mysterious of all crafts," Marion Brando once said. But for scientists, working out what is going on in an actor's head has always been something of a puzzle.

    Now, researchers have said actors show different patterns of brain activity depending on whether they are in character or not.

    Dr Steven Brown, from McMaster University in Canada, said, "It looks like when you are acting, you are suppressing (压制) yourself; almost like the character is possessing you."

    Brown and colleagues report how 15 actors, mainly theatre students, were trained to take on a Shakespeare role — either Romeo or Juliet — in a theatre workshop. They were then invited into the laboratory, where their brains were scanned in a series of experiments.

    Once inside the MRI scanner, the actors were asked to answer a number of questions, such as: would they go to the party? And would they tell their parents that they had fallen in love?

    Each actor was asked to respond to different questions, based on two different premises (前提). In one, they were asked for their own perspective, while in the other, they were asked to respond as though they were either Romeo or Juliet.

    The results revealed that the brain activity differed depending on the situation being tested. The team found that when the actors were in character, they use some third-person knowledge or inferences about their character.

    The team said they also found additional reduction in activity in two regions of the prefrontal cortex (前额皮质) linked to the sense of self, compared with when the actors were responding as themselves.

    However, Philip Davis, a professor at the University of Liverpool, was unimpressed by the research, saying acting is about far more than "pretending" to be someone — it involves embodying (体现) the text and language.

    Every man dreams of having agood car. With luxury cars, like Bentley, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce, going intothe world of SUVs, if you have deep pockets, you will be spoilt for choice.

    ◆Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

    Using a new aerodynamic system allows it toset a car lap record of 6: 44 97 at Nurburgring, one of the longest and most challengingcircuits in the world. Plus, carbon fiber can be seen everywhere, which makes thecar strong and lightweight. There're only 900 being built and you'llneed to coughup $517, 770 to buy one.

    ◆Aston Martin DBX

    The DBX is Aston Martin's maiden SUVproduct. It features a choice of two gas engines—a 4.0-liter V8 from Mercedes anda 5.2-liter V12 from its own. The price is predicted to be around $250, 000.

    ◆Audi E-tron

    Being an eco-friendly motoring, it is an all-electricSUV that makes up for its rather ordinary appearance with design, luxury and technology.At the front and back are electric motors which insure progress is rapid. In additionto plenty of storage space, the Audi E-tron provides side cameras instead of sidemirrors and air suspension that adapts to the terrain (地形). Hand over $74, 800 and it's yours.

    ◆Tesla Roadster

    Tesla Roadster will turn most heads, Zero to60 in 1.9 seconds means it will leave most cars for dust. The top speed is 250 mph,which is also unheard of for most cars—let alone an all-electric one. Having advancedautonomous driving systems and a huge touchscreen for surfing the Internet, it won'tmake you regret for paying $200, 000.

    A night at the movies is always a good idea. But when you leave the theater and realize you just dropped $45 on a ticket and some snacks, you'll wish you had been patient enough to wait until the movie came out on Netflix. The average movie ticket price in the United States in 2000 was $5.39; now, a ticket is over $9.

    The main reason that movie tickets have gotten so expensive is because of inflation(通货膨胀). It was actually more expensive to go to the movies in the 70s than it is now. A ticket in 1978 cost $2.34. If you plug that into an inflation calculator, the same ticket would cost you $9.46 today. According to the National Association of Theater Owners, the average cost for a ticket today is $9.11.

    Another reason you need to dip into your life savings to see a movie on the big screen is that theaters are competing with streaming services that produce their own films, such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. And let's be honest, sitting at home on your couch or in your bed is more comfortable than sitting in a cold theater.

    Because of streaming technology, movie theaters have to do something to bring in customers. Attractions­including alcohol, reclining seats(躺椅), surround sound, and 3-D movies are all examples of that. And those upgrades come at a price, leading to more expensive tickets.

    "There's all that extra cost, and it's really important for theater owners and companies to make that experience as enjoyable as possible," Patrick Corcoran, vice president of the National Association of Theatre Owners told Marketplace. "Because you're offering a superb experience­audience expectations are for the latest and greatest technology. Audiences are willing to pay more for a particular experience."

Teenage summer camps

    We helped on a nature reserve(保护区)for a week. We did different things every day, including cutting the reeds(芦苇),by the lake. Every day, we took turns to cook, in teams of five. When it was our teams turn, we made a simple dinner of pasta and salad for everyone. Judging by the fact that there was none left, we didn't do too badly!

-Adam

    We stayed with families who had kids our own age, and because they were on a mid-term break they came with us on all the trips. So except when we were actually in a language class, we were spending time with our new friends. It was a great way to practice the language we had been working on in the classroom.

-Oliver

    Every morning we had the same breakfast, and then cleaned up the camp. When it was all completely tidy, we could head off for the day. The first time we went into the city, we were put into teams and given lists of things to spot, like statues, squares and other landmarks. With some help from the locals, my team found almost all of the things on our list and came second. We went to different museums and galleries in and around the city every day. It was a great chance to learn about another country and its history.

-Sarah

    We stayed in a youth center in the suburbs, and went into the center of town by bus every day. It was a good way to see a bit of the city, and it didn't take long to get to the theater where we had our classes. I loved the atmosphere in the old building, and we could walk around during our breaks and watch rehearsals(排练). We learned a great deal and I'm looking forward to putting it all into practice at my school drama club next term!

-Malika