Each year，half a million people die from brain aneurysms(动脉瘤)—when a blood vessel bursts in the brain.An aneurysm is a bulge in a blood vessel that can burst.If that happens in the brain，it can be deadly.For survivors，physical disabilities are often severe.They may include memory problems，loss of balance，trouble speaking and even blindness.But new technologies are increasing survival rates and reducing disabilities.

    Beaumont Bacon is a survivor who makes light of her experience because she is a comedian.She uses humor to make others laugh.Now she's working on a new show.Michael Alexander is her doctor.He operated on Beaumont Bacon after her attack.“She had bleeding in the frontal area of her brain，so right above the eyes.The part that was in the brain was about maybe the size of an egg.So，that's a fairly large bleed.”

    Ms.Bacon had a better chance at survival than most people because of Dr.Alexander.He directs the Neurovascular Center in Los Angeles.The center offers new technologies that include placing a catheter(导管) into an aneurysm，then threading wires to promote blood clots(血栓)．This technique reduces the chances of another burst blood vessel.“You don't have to open up the skull or open up the brain to do surgery.It's all done from inside the blood vessels.So it reduces the amount of blood loss，and the recovery is much faster.”

    For Beaumont Bacon's recovery，the hospital worked to prevent problems commonly found in patients with a burst aneurysm.The problems include brain swelling that can shut down blood vessels.She spent a month in a coma(昏迷)—unable to communicate with doctors，friends and loved ones.But with a year of treatment，she recovered.Now，she is making people laugh.

    I lived in a big city. It's noisy arid dirty and I got very tired. At the weekends I like to leave the city and get some fresh air and a good rest. A few weekends ago I decided to see my parents. I was really looking forward to it.

    My parents live a long way away. I went to see them with James, a friend, and we drove down on Friday night. In the middle of the trip it began to rain. The roads became very wet and it was difficult to drive. We arrived home just after midnight, feeling tired. The next morning it was still raining. James took his car to the local garage which was very good.

In the afternoon the weather became better. We wanted to go for a drive. My parents lent us their car. That was no good. Their car didn't work! We rang the garage. "Oh, no." they said, "your car won't be ready until tomorrow." So it wasn't possible to go for a drive. We decided to play a word game. When we didn't agree about a word we looked for a dictionary. It wasn't there. Suddenly my mother remembered. "I lent it to your sister. She took it with her when she left." The word game wasn't any good without a dictionary.

    On Sunday my mother dropped a suitcase on her foot and wig had to hire a taxi to take her to hospital. When James and I drove back we got stuck in a traffic jam (交通阻塞). Next time I want to have a rest. I'll stay in the city!

    Founded in 2010, Wall Street Daily is an independent, honest publisher of news and opinions regarding global financial markets. Its writing staff consists of gifted journalists and investment(投资) professionals. They provide original, practical ideas based on superior insights into value and where and how to find it. They learn facts others don't, they see things differently, and they do a better job to earn money. The following experts are most outstanding of them.

    Popular music in America is what every student likes. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class, and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music loudly as they drive on the street.

    Adult(成年人) drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, and the life of American people. Most of the radio programmers（节目）are music.

    Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in many places. Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people buy his or her tapes. Some of the money from these tapes goes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her. Now the singer has become a national star.

    There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans. One is called folk music. It tells stories about the common life of Americans. Another is called western or country music. This is started by cowboys（牛仔）who would sing at night to the cows they were watching. Today, any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl is called western or country music.

    What makes a gift special? Is it the price you see on the gift receipt? Or is it the look on the recipient's face when they receive it that determines the true value? What gift is worth the most?

    This Christmas I was debating what to give my father. My dad is a hard person to buy for because he never wants anything. I pulled out my phone to read a text message from my mom saying that we were leaving for Christmas shopping for him when I came across a message on my phone that I had locked. The message was from my father. My eyes fell on a photo of a flower taken in Wyoming, and underneath a poem by William Blake. The flower, a lone dandelion standing against the bright blue sky, inspired me. My dad had been reciting those words to me since I was a kid. That may even be the reason why I love writing. I decided that those words would be my gift to my father.

    I called back. I told my mom to go without me and that I already created my gift. I sent the photo of the cream-colored flower to my computer and typed the poem on top of it. As I was arranging the details another poem came to mind. The poem was written by Edgar Allan Poe; my dad recited it as much as he did the other. I typed that out as well and searched online for a background to the words of it. The poem was focused around dreaming, and after searching I found the perfect picture. The image was painted with blues and greens and purples, twisting together to create the theme and wonder of a dream. As I watched both poems passing through the printer, the white paper coloring with words that shaped my childhood, I felt that this was a gift that my father would truly appreciate.

    Christmas soon arrived. The minute I saw the look on my dad's face as he unwrapped those swirling black letters carefully placed in a cheap frame, I knew I had given the perfect gift.

    Born and raised in a digital age, today's young people are generally tech savvy (技术娴熟的). But when it comes to basic life skills, they're less capable than the older generation.

    According to a recent study, 69 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds in the UK have no idea how to bleed a radiator(暖气片换水). About 35 percent of them don't know how to sew on a button, while about 11 percent don't understand how to change a light bulb or iron clothes.

    It appears young people are losing the skills older generations took for granted. In fact, the problem is shared by young people in the United States. According to a report by Forbes in 2014, most millennial (千禧一代) drivers don't know how to check their tire pressure. Cooking is another basic life skill that has been dropped, as millennials are much more likely to order food deliveries than previous generations.

    Technology may be to blame for this generational gap. Skills at using phones and computers are the ones valued these days, and the practical skills are now seen as functions that can be easily outsourced (外包). Indeed, improvements in technology have made young people unfamiliar with many basic life skills. For example, with GPS always at hand, young people have had no need to learn how to read physical maps.

    However, this change has raised concerns among many people. “If you have your master's degree and you can't live within your means or go home from your job and feed yourself a nutritious (有营养的) meal, you're not a complete graduate,” Chris Moore, a professor from Brigham Young University, US, told Huff Post.

    That's why there's an increasing call for the return of “home ec” in the US, short for home economics, which teaches basic life skills like cooking and how to do laundry. It was very popular in the early 20th century, but was later taken out of schools and universities because of budget(预算) cuts. But recently, home ec was reintroduced in a small number of schools and universities.

    “The educational system would work better if every academic class had a practical course that applied the theory to do something regular people do in real life,” Robert Frost, instructor and flight controller at NASA, wrote on Quora, according to Huff post.