While the U.S. is still debating about getting rid of the penny, Sweden is rapidly moving towards abolishing (to end) currency altogether. Though this may sound radical (过激的), it is a natural evolution in this digital society.

    Sweden, which was the first European country to introduce banknotes in 1661, has just been working harder to convince its residents that digital payments are a safer alternative to carrying cash.

    Over the years, the idea has gained popularity with residents, especially the younger generation that is much more comfortable with technology. Today many banks don't even have ATMs and some have stopped handling cash altogether!

    Tickets to ride public buses in most Swedish cities can only be bought via cell phones. Numerous businesses are also moving towards accepting only digital payments. Even the homeless that sell street paper to make ends meet have to start accepting this mode of payment!

    But despite its growing popularity, some people don't like this radical idea. They include the homeless, elderly people as well as those living in rural areas who are still uncomfortable with mobile phones and computers. But the officials are confident that in the very near future, they will be able to convince everyone to move this safe and more cost-effective payment system.

    Sweden is not the only country trying to abolish paper currency and coins. The movement is rapidly gaining ground in Denmark and Finland as well. In 2014，Israel announced a three-step plan to go cashless and just last week the vendors (小贩) of a popular street in Sydney declared they would stop accepting currency from customers. Whether this phenomenon spreads remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure-With increasingly advanced payment systems being introduced every day, pulling out cash is rapidly becoming “uncool”.

    For hours after their boat sank, Ken Henderson and Coen trod(踏) water in the Gulf of Mexico, talking about life and death while struggling to survive. For more than 30 hours, it worked.

Then Henderson was forced to make a decision. "I'm going to go for help or you're not going to make it," Henderson told Coen, just before cutting the strap(带子) that connected them in the deep, cold waters. "I understand,"Coen responded, giving Henderson a last set of instructions, "Kiss my babies for me."

    Days after the fishing trip ended in tragedy, Henderson told the story for The Associated Press.

    They had been fishing for a few hours when suddenly Coen noticed the boat was filling with water. Henderson got both motors roaring, only to have the saltwater that had leaked in break them straight away…Coen jumped to the right, his sunglasses and cap flying off. The two grabbed extra life jackets and other floating items, including a half full bottle of Diet Coke.

"The water was so cold and it took your breath away," Henderson said. They immediately began to tremble.

    The pair prepared for a long wait. And they talked.

"We discussed things and discussed life. We discussed families. We just tried to keep occupied," Henderson said.

    Eventually Coen started hallucinating(有幻觉). Henderson tried to keep Coen's arms and legs moving. But as morning came, Coen's situation worsened. And so Henderson decided to cut the strap.

    He swam for two hours, tired, frustrated and depressed. Then he saw an oil rig(钻探平台) in the distance. He swam, seeing ice and crystal trees in the water. He reminded himself constantly there were no trees.

    His legs was so weak that he could barely lift them. Henderson slowly pulled himself up the rig's ladder.

    It was over 50 miles from where they had gone in the water.

    All he could think of was Coen. Convinced his friend would survive, he told the coast guard where they had parted.

    Two hours later, a fisherman found a body in a life jacket.

    Later, in the hospital, Henderson saw his friend. He apologized and asked for forgiveness. He promised to realize his wishes and look after his girls.

"I felt like a part of me had died out there," Henderson said.

    Girls who lack confidence in school have a new champion. She is only 10 years old. Alice Tapper, a fifth - grader says, that her goal is to encourage girls of all ages to “be more confident in raising their hands”. Alice cared so much about the issue (问题) that she helped create a Girl Scout badge (徽章).

    The pink badge—Alice chose her favorite color—shows three hands reaching for the sky. It says, “Be brave. Raise your hand.”

    Alice's idea came during a fourth - grade field trip to Jamestown, Virginia. She found that boys raised their hands to answer questions even though they weren't sure of the answers. The girls just listened quietly.

    “Girls are afraid to raise their hands because they get shy. They have to be 90 percent sure, while boys just raise their hands and say, 'I know it,'” Alice said during a recent interview. She added that girls should have confidence, step up, and become leaders by raising their hands for women are equal to men.

    Alice's “Raise Your Hand” badge has become wildly popular, and not just in the United States. “People in Japan and China want to use the badge,” she said. “We sold out the badge quickly, but we're making more.”

    Alice wants to be a teacher when she grows up. But first, she wants to see a revolution in confidence for girls of all ages. She knows that won't happen overnight. “ It takes time,” Alice said, “but I can speed up the process.”

    Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci ... the art world has never lacked talent. And now, a new painter is ready to join the list although this one isn't even human.

    Next month, auction house Christie's Prints and Multiples will make history by offering the first piece of art created by artificial intelligence (AI) for sale. The painting is a portrait of a man called Edmond De Bela- my, and is expected to be sold for up to $10,000.

    The work, which features a man with a mysterious look on his face, was created by software developed by the French art group Obvious. Laugero-Lasserre, an art collector, called the work "grotesque and amazing at the same time". This isn't the first example of Al-produced artwork, as AI has already been used to write poems and compose .songs. However, many people doubt whether it should be called art at all.

According to Russian writer Leo Tolstroy (1828 -1910), art is about creating emotion (情感). It's "a means of …joining people together in the same feelings' he once said.

So, if the emotion behind art is what makes it, the ability to create and use tools is what makes human Icings different from other species. And as a tool itself, the AI technology used to create the portrait is the result of a lot of effort made by several designers. Together, they "fed" the AI a huge collection of paintings from the 14th to the 18th centuries, until it was able to work out how to make similar paintings of its own.

    The introduction of AI art could be the beginning of a new artistic movement. However, not everyone is ready to welcome these high-tech artists just yet.

    "The human mind is what's behind the AI technology. And the human mind is not a cold, hard fact," said Oscar Schwartz, a professor of AI. "Rather, it in something that's created with our opinions and something that changes over

    Love working with children? Looking for an exciting new opportunity? Want to work on a friendly, fun and supportive team? This is what our team member Anna says about working at My Crèche:

    "It's the nicest place I've ever worked. Everyone is so friendly and we have so much fun working together. They give me opportunities to learn new things every day. They care about my personal development. Working at My Crèche has enabled me to build relationships with the children as well as parents within the community which makes me feel so welcomed in the local area."

    Conveniently located in the heart of crouch End, London, N8, My Crèche offers drop-in and pre-booked childcare for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years of age. We also provide after-school and breakfast clubs for children up to 8 years old. Our goal is to enable parents to pursue personal and professional activities when they need to, with total peace of mind knowing their children are being cared for in a safe and fun environment.

    We are looking for an enthusiastic and committed professional with excellent interpersonal skills, who is committed to ensuring the best outcomes and care for children. This is an excellent opportunity for a proactive individual to be a part of a fresh and progressive childcare concept and we welcome newly qualified professionals. We are a small and very supportive team with great training opportunities.

    The successful candidate will:

    Have a certificate Level 3 in Childcare and Education.

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    Sports accounts for a growing amount of income made on the sales of commercial time by television companies. Many television companies have used sports to attract views from particular sections of the general public, and then they have sold audiences to advertisers.

    An attraction of sports programs for the major U.S. media company is that events are often held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons — the slowest time periods of the week for general television viewing. Sport events are the most popular weekend programs, especially among male viewers who may not watch much television at other times during the week. This means the television networks are able to sell advertising time at relatively high prices during what normally would be dead time for programming. Media corporations also use sports to attract commercial sponsors that might take their advertising dollars elsewhere if television stations did not report certain sports. The people in the advertising departments of major corporations realize that sports attract male viewers. They also realize that most business travelers are men and that many men make family decisions on the purchases of computers, cars and life insurance.

    Golf and tennis are special cases for television programming. These sports attract few viewers, and the ratings(收视率) are unusually low. However, the audience for these sports is attractive to certain advertisers. It is made up of people from the highest income groups in the United States, including many lawyers and business managers. This is why television reporting of golf and tennis is sponsored by companies selling high-priced cars, business and personal computers, and holiday trips. This is also why the networks continue to carry these programs regardless of low ratings. Advertisers are willing to pay high fees to reach high-income consumers and those managers who make decisions to buy thousands of "company cars" and computers. With such viewers, these programs don't need high ratings to stay on the air.