Well-known for historic architecture and chocolates, Lviv, Ukraine's official capital of culture, looks, smells, and tastes like the best of Europe. Indeed, its western flavor has earned it the title "Little Paris of Ukraine".

    For centuries Lviv, located 50 kilometers from the Poland-Ukraine border, was an important stopping point on the main trade routes between the east and west. During the Renaissance, the city could afford Italy's finest architects because every merchant passing through was forced to stay and sell their goods for at least two weeks. "It was a very smart move to collect money from them," said Yaroslav Hrytsak, a local historian, adding, "It kept the wealth in the city, and that wealth has been transformed into architectural richness."

    Many historic buildings remain but Lviv's prosperity didn't survive its bloody history. Over the centuries, the city fell under the rule of Poland, Austria, Austria-Hungary, Russia and the Nazi Germany. In addition, both Sweden and Turkey tried unsuccessfully to conquer the city. Then for almost half a century Lviv was ruled by the Soviet Union (苏联). With that, the city was condemned to relative obscurity(无闻). But recently things have started to change. Lviv experienced a sudden 40% increase in tourism in early2010, which was the highest rate in Europe. Just last month, its gates opened even wider, when Lviv became a host city for the Euro 2012 football championships.

    So how has this happened? With the Soviet collapse, some saw new opportunities for reviving Lviv's former wealth and fame.

    Limelight networks is a US-founded company. It's one of many digital tech firms to have opened offices in Lviv over the past few years. "It had good growth and experience in the US, however, the company needs more talent to do the new cool projects and products for our customers. This is why we're here in Ukraine." said CEO of Limelight networks.

    Lviv's unexpected abundance of I.T. talent is in fact a legacy(遗产) of the former Soviet Union. To help the military, many Soviet universities focused on turning out world-class engineers and Lviv's university is still producing them. Now, the city is home to 23 higher education institutions. It's clear that the city of Lviv does not intend to remain a hidden jewel for much longer.

    Your next car might drive itself. After years of trials on city streets, driverless vehicles are now nearing the live phase. Last moth, a driverless bus began carrying passengers through Lyon, France, Most in the automobile industry think self-driving vehicles will be on the road by 2020 or before.

    Driverless cars will at first be huddled with human-driven cars. But the first places where they will become dominant（统治的）are dense urban areas — precisely the spots most damaged by the automobile age. Many advanced cities are already reducing the role of human-driven cargo. Driverless cars will quicken that process and will bring us enormous benefits.

    Driverless cars will reduce accidents by around 90 percent. That's big—the annual death toll on the world's roads is about 1.2 million a year. Pollution and carbon emissions will drop, because urban driverless cars will be electric. The old, otherwise they would stay at home most of the time and the disabled and teenagers will suddenly gain mobility.

    On the other hand, driverless cars will bring catastrophe. The best thing about the automobile age was that it employed tens of millions of people to make, market, insure and drive vehicles. Over the next 20 years, the mostly low-skilled men who now drive trucks, taxis and buses will see their jobs reduced. Carmakers are especially scared. The few cars of the future might be made by tech companies such as Apple, Baidu and Google. Imaging the impact on Germany, where the automotive sector is the largest industry.

    Dramatic change is coming, and driverless cars could arrive by 2020. But governments have barely begun thinking about it. Only 6 percent of the biggest US cities have factored them into their long-term planning.

    A decade ago anyone hardly saw the Smartphone coming. It has bought an epidemic of mass addiction. Let's hope we do a better job of handling the driverless car.

When thinking about quitting(停止) smoking…

    List all the reasons why you want to quit. Every night before going to bed, repeat one of the reasons 10 times.

Decide positively that you want to quit. Try to avoid negative thoughts about how difficult it might be. Develop strong personal reasons as well as your health and responsibility to others. For example, think of all the time you waste taking cigarette breaks, rushing out to buy a pack, hunting a light, etc. Set a date for quitting — perhaps a special day like your birthday, a holiday. If you smoke heavily at work, quit during your vacation. Make the date holy seriously, and don't let anything change it. Begin to condition yourself physically; start a modest (适当的) exercise; drink more water; get plenty of rest.

    Immediately after quitting...

    The first few days after you quit, spend as much free time as possible in places where smoking is prohibited, e.g. libraries, museums, theatres, department stores, etc.

    Drink large quantities of water and fruit juice. Try to avoid wine, coffee, and other drinks which remind you of cigarette smoking.

    Strike up a conversation with someone instead of a match for a cigarette.

    If you miss the feeling of having a cigarette in your hand, play with something else - a pencil, a pen, a ruler. If you miss having something in your mouth, try a fake (仿制的) cigarette.

C

    Are you looking for a different place to visit this summer? Why not take a magical trip to an Earth-size planet beyond our solar system with NASA's Planet Travel Center?

    We live in a universe full of planets outside our solar system. Unluckily, even the nearest of those planets are light-years away, so sending spaceships and humans to these attracting worlds remains a distant dream. But on NASA's Planet Exploration website, you can start a journey on an imagined globe of a new world through 360-degree visualization（可视化）. As you land onto each globe's ground, you'll discover amazing views, like the blood-red sky of TRAPPIST-1d, or stand on a moon of the huge planet Kepler-16b, which appears larger than either of the planet's two suns. The view from each planet's ground is an artist's impression based on the limited information that is reachable; no real photos of these planets exist.

    The newest planet with such 360-degree visualization is Kepler-186f, an Earth-size planet rounding a star much cooler and redder than the Sun. “Kepler-186f is also so distant, and it is till now impossible to recognize their atmospheres—if they exist at all—or characterize their atmospheric qualities,” said Martin Still, scientist for NASA's newest space-based planet-hunting program, wondering people's reaction to their creation. “Though with such challenges unsettled, using the NASA visualization tool, you can see how the existence and disappearing of an atmosphere would change the view of the sky from the planet's ground.” Still added.

    Aaron, head of Planet Travel Center, points out that their present and future schedules of the globe visualization will find the nearest planets to our solar system and characterize their atmospheres, bridging the gap between our imagination and what's really out there. In the near future, all the 360-degree visualizations are viewable on desktop and mobile devices, like smartphones, allowing all readers a wonderful enjoyment from the possibilities of a new world.

    Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you. Well, ni­hao. (Laughter) It is such a pleasure and an honor to be here with all of you at this great university, so thank you so much for having me. I'm here today because I know that our future depends on connections like these among young people like you across the world.

    That's why when my husband and I travel abroad, we don't just visit palaces and parliaments(国会) and meet with heads of countries. We also come to schools like this one to meet with students like you, because we believe that relationships between countries aren't just about relationships between governments or leaders—they're about relationships between people, particularly young people. So we view study abroad programs not just as an educational chance for students, but also as an active part of America's foreign policy.

    Through the wonders of modern technology, our world is more connected than ever before. Ideas can cross oceans with the click of a mouse. Companies can do business and compete with companies across the world. And we can text, email, Skype with people in the world.

    So studying abroad isn't just a fun way to spend a time of learning; it is quickly becoming the key to success in our times. Because getting ahead in today's workplaces isn't just about getting good grades or test scores in school, which are important. It's also about having real experience with the world beyond your borders­experience with languages, cultures and societies very different from your own. Or, as the Chinese saying goes: “It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books.”

    NOT all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive these experiences in nightmares.

    Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce ,or possibly erase(抹去),the effect of painful memories.

    In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.

    The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.

    Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war. They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.

    "Some memories can ruin people's lives. They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions," said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "This could relieve a lot of that suffering."

    But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity (特质). They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.

    "All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out, "said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.