For most city people, the elevator is an unremarkable machine that inspires none of the enthusiasm or interest that Americans afford trains, jets，and even bicycles. Dr. Christopher Wilk is a member of a small group of elevator experts who consider this a misunderstanding. Without the elevator, they point out, there could be no downtown skyscrapers or tall buildings, and city life as we know it would be impossible. In that sense, they argue，the elevator's role in American history has been no less significant than that of cars. In fact, according to Wilk_? the car and the elevator have been locked in a “secret war” for over a century, with cars making it possible for people to spread horizontally (水平地)，and elevators pushing them toward life in close groups of towering vertical (垂直的)columns.

    If we tend to ignore the significance of elevators, it might be because riding in them tends to be such a brief, boring, and even awkward experience^one that can involve unexpectedly meeting people with whom we have nothing in common, and an unpleasant awareness of the fact that we're hanging from a cable in a long passage.

    In a new book, Lifted, German journalist and cultural studies professor Andreas Bernard directed all his attention to this experience, studying the origins of elevator and its relationship to humankind and finding that riding in an elevator has never been a totally comfortable experience. “After 150 years, we are still not used to it”， Bernard said. “We still have not exactly learned to cope with the mixture of closeness and displeasure.” That mixture, according to Bernard, sets the elevator ride apart from just about every other situation we find ourselves in as we go about our lives.

    Today，as the world's urban population explodes，and cities become more crowded, taller, and more crowded, America's total number of elevators—900,000 at last count, according to Elevator World magazine's “2012 Vertical Transportation Industry”一are a force that's becoming more important than ever. And for the people who really, really love them, it seems like high time that we looked seriously at just what kind of force they are.

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    “My wife of 24 years, Marie Roberts, was raised in New York City, worked in the fashion industry, and never got her hands dirty,” said Keith Roberts. “Then, nine years ago, I wanted to move to Florida and reconnect to my country life, but how would I inspire（激发）the same feeling in, well, a city woman? I brought her a two-month-old potbellied pig.”

    At first sight, Marie, then 46, was smitten. So soon she took in another abandoned（遗弃）pig. And thus began Sugarloaf Mountain Farm, her animal shelter in central Florida. With the couple's two children grown up, these animals would now be Marie's babies.

    The Farm now has 300 rescues, from alpacas to donkeys, each with its own story. “A gentleman had a litter of eight pigs, and all but one died,” says Marie. “She weighed one pound and suffered great pain. For three weeks straight, I fed that baby every hour, day and night, seldom sleeping.” Till now, Marie still gets five to ten requests a day to save animals and has to turn most down. “If she can't rescue the animal, she works with that person to find a solution,” Keith says. “She's not only saving animals; above all, she's giving their owners peace of mind.”

    “A woman called from her nursing home,” Marie remembers. “Her pigs would be abandoned if she couldn't find a suitable home. 'I only have a few months, and I need to know that they'll be safe,' she said.” So Marie drove three hours and got them. Soon after, Marie received a note from the woman's daughter. “Dear Marie,” she wrote. “My mom went peacefully, as she went knowing that they are forever loved. Thank you for being Mom's angel.”

    “She is a ball of energy,” Keith adds. “A few times she's gone so far in some situations, like when she locked herself in the chicken coop（鸡舍）. I found her sitting in it with ten chicks nestled in her lap.” That is exactly what you'd expect from a true mother hen.

    A company has just launched what it calls “the world's first free standardized English test” recently. Anyone can take the test for free. The new exam is called the EFSET, which is short for Education First Standardized English Test. The company, Education First, is known by the letters EF.

    It is estimated that there are two billion English language learners worldwide. Many of them are interested in attending an American college or university. To do so, foreign students need to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language—better known as TOEFL. However, many foreigners are not wealthy enough to take the TOEFL. In addition, test-takers often have to travel overnight to reach an official testing site. The World Bank says an average Cambodian worker earns only about $1,000 per year. Approximately the cost of taking the TOEFL is 17.5 percent of the average worker's yearly wage.

    It is not just individuals who find the test pricey. Some governments also find it prohibitive. What's more, not everyone needs official results from the TOEFL or IELTS—the International English Language Testing System. In the future, it's likely that the government may use the EFSET to test millions of employees and students.

    Experts believe that the EFSET meets the highest value in language testing. It uses special computer software that makes the questions easier or harder, depending on one's performance. The EFSET measures all the English learners' levels while the IELTS and TOEFL only measure learners' levels from intermediate to advanced. The EFSET is unique in the sense that it gives free online access to anyone interested in measuring their English level.

    There is a 50-minute and a two-hour version of the test, which its developers are calling the EFSET Plus. Both versions test only reading and listening skills. It's hopeful that speaking and writing skills will be tested in the future. The IELTS and the TOEFL still use humans to rate the speaking and writing sections. It's a huge deal for students who are in areas where they can't get to the TOEFL or the IELTS. However, it is too early to know whether the EFSET results are acceptable for colleges and universities in America.

    Pet Emergency? Call us right away at(403)342-5200!

    If you live in Red Deer or the surrounding area and need a trusted veterinarian(兽医) to care for your pets—look no further. Dr. Pat Higgins is a licensed Alberta veterinarian, treating all types of pets. Your pets' health and happiness are very important to us, and we take every possible measure to give your animals the care they deserve.

    Deer Park Pet Hospital is a full service animal hospital and welcomes both emergency treatment cases as well as pet patients in need of routine medical, surgical, and dental(牙科) care. Dr. Pat Higgins has years of experience treating serious conditions and offering regular pet health care. Beyond first rate pet care, we make our clinic comfortable, kid-friendly, and calm, so your pet can relax in the waiting room and look forward to meeting our Red Deer veterinarian.

    We are happy to offer a number of resources that enable you to learn about how to take better care of your pets. Please feel free to browse our site, particularly the informational articles. The best veterinary care for animals is ongoing nutrition and problem prevention, so becoming knowledgeable about preventative pet care is vital to the ongoing success of your animal's health. If you have any questions, call(403)342-5200 or email us and we'll immediately get back to you. Our Red Deer veterinarian office is very easy to get to—and you can find directions on our Contact Us page! We also welcome you to subscribe to our newsletter, which is created especially for Red Deer pet owners.

    At Deer Park Pet Hospital, we treat your pets like the valued family members.

    Dr. Pat Higgins

    Red Deer Veterinarian│Deer Park Pet Hospital│(403)342-5200

    420 Allan Street#4

    Red Deer, Alberta T4R 2K7

    Homestay in Sydney, Australia

    Linda:

    Our big home is in Sydney, about 300 meters from Sydney University and 450 meters from the train station. The train ride is about 30 minutes to the CBD. Now we only have a small bedroom for a female student.

    The cost is $260 per week, which includes all meals when at home and laundering(洗烫) of clothes.

    E-mail: markalarms @optusnet. com.au

    John:

    I have a lovely single room for homestay (male, non-smokers only). The apartment is located across the road from a bus station. A sports field is only a two-minute walk away.

    The room is for both short and long stays. The cost is $220 per week, including breakfast and lunch on weekdays. There is no washing machine at home. Do your own laundry in the apartment block's facilities.

    E-mail: ainsley gilkes@yahoo.com.au

    Eric:

    I live in the northern suburbs of Sydney--quiet for studying and relaxing, yet close to Sydney University & NCELTR & SIBT. The subway station is nearby.

    All facilities of the house including a living room with a TV can be used. Owners are very open and friendly, and treat students as part of the family.

    The prices include all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and cleaning. The fee is $300 per week. E-mail: mineanny@hotmail.com

Rose:

    Hi, everyone! I have one room for homestay (girl students only) in a house which is very close to Sydney University (SIBT) & WSU in the northern district of Sydney. There is a bus station across the road. Travel time to the centre of the city is 40 minutes by train. We only have one homestay at a time. Therefore, our family can take good care of you. The fee is $230 per week. We are looking forward to having you in our home.

    E-mail: cliqi9239@hotmail com

    I.M. Pei, the Chinese-American, who was regarded as one of the last great modernist architects, has died at the age of 102.

    Although he worked mostly in the United States, Pei will always be remembered for a European project: His redevelopment of the Louvre Museum in Paris in the 1980s. He gave us the glass and metal pyramid in the main courtyard, along with three smaller pyramids and a vast subterranean (地下的) addition to the museum entrance.

    Pei was the first foreign architect to work on the Louvre in its long history, and initially his designs were fiercely opposed. But in the end, the French—and everyone else—were won over. Winning the fifth Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1983, he was thought as giving the 20th century "some of its most beautiful inside spaces and outside forms … His talent and skill in the use of materials approach the level of poetry."

    After studying architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Pei set up his own architectural practice in New York in 1955.

    Designing the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum in 1964 established him as a name. His East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington in 1978 changed people's ideas of a museum. The site was an odd trapezoid (梯形) shape. Pei's solution was to cut it in two. The resulting building was dramatic, light and elegant—one of the first crowd-pleasing cathedrals of modern art.

    Though known as a modernist, and notable for his forms based on arrangements of simple geometric (几何的) shapes, he once urged Chinese architects to look more to their architectural tradition rather than designing in a western style.

    In person, I.M. Pei was good-humored, charming and unusually modest. His working process was evolutionary, but innovation (创新) was never an intended goal.

    "Stylistic originality is not my purpose," he said. "I want to find the originality in the time, the place and the problem."