Well, parents, surprise! Lots of us are using Twitter and Facebook to thumb rides, and not just to school. It's awkward to be refused when you call a friend and ask for a ride. But with Twitter, you just look for other people heading the same way.

    It may sound risky, so many teens stay within their own social circles to find rides, and don't branch out beyond friends when asking on Twitter just like me, but to some young people, especially those taking longer trips, stranger danger is less of a concern.

    “I think the digital connection of young people is really important, because younger generations grew up sharing things on line, sharing files, photos, music, etc, so they've been very used to sharing,” said Juliet Schor, a sociology professor at Boston College.

    The sharing economy got big during the recession (经济衰退), allowing people to access more goods, services using technology and even to share costs. And that technology, for me, is what the car was for my mom, a gateway to more freedom, like what my friend Earl says, “The symbol of freedom isn't the car any more because there's technology out there connecting you to a car.”

    According to the researchers at the University of Michigan, 30 years ago, eight in ten American 18-year-olds had a driver's license compared to six in ten today. So it's not that surprising that on my 16th birthday I wasn't rushing to get a license but an iPhone.

“Driving, for young people, does mean they have to disconnect from their technology, and that's a negative. So if they could sit in the passage side and still be connected, that's going to be a plus.” Schor continued.

    To me, another plus is that ridesharing represents something, something much bigger than trying to save money. I see it as evidence that people still depend on each other. My generation shares their cars and apartments the way neighbors used to share cups of sugar. For the system to work, some of us still need our own cars. But until I get my own version of the silver Super Beetle, you can find me on Twitter.

    If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven't you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?

    According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes(处理) information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles(肌肉).

    The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals(双语使用者) ” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners. Scans(扫描) showed that grey matter density(密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals who learnt a second language at an early age. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference. “Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.

    It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn. Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible(灵活的),” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”

    The findings had the same result in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, wiring, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they stared to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.

    Since 1904, Ravinia Festival has been Chicago's “sound of summer”, a place where you can meet up with your friends, have a wonderful time and hear some of the greatest music in the world. We've got stars on the stage and stars in the sky, and it's all within your reach. But there's more to Ravinia than merely the world's greatest music. For as many people who walk through Ravinia's gate each summer, there are just as many ways to enjoy what we call “The Ravinia Experience”. For some, it all starts with a picnic picked up along the way, greeting your friends at your favorite spot on the lawn.

    Ravinia Dining

    Whether you want to add a bottle of wine and some cheese to your picnic on the lawn or sit down to a meal, Ravinia has a wide variety of choices and we welcome you to explore them all.

    Ravinia gifts

    There are two locations for your shopping convenience! Visit our Main Store in the Dining Pavilion. There you will find different CDs, jewelry, games and more. Or fill your more immediate needs at the shop located behind the Martin Theatre.

    How to Buy Tickets Online

    Tickets for the 2018 season begin to go on sale online on Tuesday April 25. Ravinia Festival's online ticketing makes ordering tickets for your favorite performances easier than ever before. It is available 24 hours a day at www.ravinia.org.

    Click on the date of your choice to select an event, select your seats and add it to your ticket order. Once you have selected all the events you wish to attend, simply enter your payment information and submit your order.

    By Phone

    Phone sales for the 2018 season start on Monday May 22.

    Order tickets by phone by calling 847-266-5100.

    Monday- Friday: 10: 00 am-5: 00 pm

    Saturday/Sunday: Closed

    The Ig Nobel Prizes praise research that makes you laugh and then think. The winners are allowed to make a one-minute speech with time kept by an eight-year-old! Every year, in Harvard's Sanders Theatre, people watch the winners step forward to accept their prizes. These are physically handed out by real Nobel laureates (获得者). Let's have a look at some of them.

    The Empty Bladder (膀胱) Experiment

    Four researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology found that animals above 3 kg empty their bladders in about 21 seconds. What is the purpose of this study? The researchers hope this will help solve urinary (泌尿的) problems in animals.

    The Science of Eggs

    A team of Australian scientists managed to get hard-boiled egg whites to become raw again. While it sounds silly, this research could have a serious influence on cancer (癌症) research.

    The Fascination with Animals

    Charles Foster and Thomas Thwaites from the UK shared the 2016 Ig Nobel Prize in Biology. Thomas chose to live like a goat and wrote about his experience in "GoatMan: How I Took a Holiday from Being Human". Charles, on the other hand, spent some time in the wild, trying out the lives of many animals. He felt it gave him a chance to explore the world around us with more of our senses.

    Colors & Horseflies

    A team from Hungary, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland won the 2016 Ig Nobel Prize in Physics. They studied why horseflies have less interest in white-haired horses. The team used handmade horses covered in glue. They found that dark colors attracted more flies because of how sunlight reflected (反射) off them. To the food searchers, it was a sign of food. This finding could explain the white coats of zebras too.

    There was a man playing the piano in a bar. He was a good piano player and always performed in this bar. People came in just to hear him play. But one night, a customer told him that he didn't want to hear him just play the piano any more. He wanted him to sing a song.

    The man said, "I don't sing."

    But the customer was persistent(执着的). He told the bar manager, "I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want that man to sing！"

    The manager shouted across the room, "If you want to get paid, sing a song. Our customers are asking you to sing！"

    So he did, He sang a song. A piano player who had never sung in public did so for the first time. And everyone was surprised by his song Mona Lisa. He got lots of applause(掌声) that night.

    He had such a talent for singing, but he just had been sitting on his talent for the past years! If without such a chance, he may have lived the rest of his life as a no­name piano player in a no­name bar. However, now he has become one of the best­known singers in America.

    You, too, have skills and abilities. Maybe your "talent" is not as great as the singer above, but it may be better than you think! And with effort, most skills can be improved. So, in your life, you should be brave enough to try doing different things and find out what talents you really have!

    A Hong Kong Disneyland park admission ticket is your passport to a full day of magical adventures. Learn the ways to buy your tickets now.

    Three types of 1-day ticket are available:

    Free admission for Child aged under 3.

    Book Online Now

    Purchase tickets conveniently through our website, then pick up your tickets starting from 1 hour after you have purchased online.

    Purchase Tickets Directly at Hong Kong Disneyland Ticket Express

    You can purchase tickets at the Hong Kong Disneyland Ticket Express, conveniently located at the MTR Hong Kong Station. Open from 9:00 am — 8:00 pm on Mondays to Fridays and from 9:00 am — 5:00 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays.

    Purchase 2 Park Tickets at one of the following locations and receive a FREE limited-edition Disney gift:

    ★ Avenue of Stars Kiosks

    You can purchase tickets at Avenue of Stars Kiosks in Tsim Sha Tsui. Open daily from 9:00 am — 10:30 pm.

    ★ Asia World-Expo Box Office

    You can purchase tickets at Asia World-Expo Box Office. Open Mondays to Fridays from 10:00 am — 6:00 pm.

    Reserve Tickets for Hotel Guest

    As a hotel Guest of Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel or Disney's Hollywood Hotel, Park tickets are reserved for your purchase at front desk. Open daily from 9:00 am — 8:00 pm.

    Buy at Hong Kong Disneyland Main Entrance

    Guests can purchase tickets on the day of their visit at the Main Entrance Ticket Booths or Guest Relations Windows. Open daily from 30 minutes before Park opening until Park closes.