For most people, Christmas is a time to relax in the company of family and friends. But for Santa Claus, and the thousands of fake Santas who impersonate（模仿） him every year, the Christmas season is time to get to work.

    Although Santa Claus waits until Christmas Eve to take his famous sleigh (雪橇) ride, Santa impersonators can be found at shopping malls around America throughout the six weeks leading up to December 25. "When you see Santa talking with kids at your local mall, that's when you know Christmas really is on the way," says Mary Lewine of New York City.

    With the excitement of Christmas, people often forget about the real people behind the red robes （长袍) and white beards, but being a mall Santa. is a tough job. "There is more to it than just sitting in a chair. There is more to it than just a red suit," said Timothy Connaghan, who has worked as a Santa for.38 years. "Children can really put the wear and tear on you.”

    A recent survey showed some of the challenges that mall Santas face every year. About 90 percent of Santas claimed that children pulled their beards to see if they were real, and 60 percent said that up to ten kids cough or sneeze on them every day. Even more disturbing, one-third of the Santas admit to having children wet themselves while sitting on their laps.

    So why would anyone take this job? For Ben Brauch, a retired high school teacher who has worked as a Santa for the last six years, the answer is simple-the children. "I see maybe 12,000 kids in a six-week period.

    It's hard work, but it's worth it because you get to play with kids." In fact, Brauch loves his job so much that he keeps his white beard long all year.

The First Hello

    The man from the telephone department got off the bus, and made his way to the tea stall, wiping the sweat off his head, face, then slipping his handkerchief under his shirt to wipe his neck and back. It was a year ago that the phone line had been installed, six months later men from the public works department had come to put up the phone booth—a neat box-like structure, with a glass window, and wooden ledges, yellow in colour. And days after that, a painter had taken an entire day to colour in broad, black brushstrokes, the words: STD Booth, local and STD allowed.

    No one could tell that the last word had been misspelled. Besides, he had taken the entire day. After he had a cup of tea, he left, waving cheerfully. And now months later, someone else was here again.

    Everyone watched the man as he sat on the bench. No one said a word, and soon the sound of him slurping his tea filled the hot afternoon. A few leaves fell, heavy in the heat, and sometimes a car passed, on its way to the main city farther away.

    When the man had finished, he tried to pay but the tea shop owner who sat behind his steaming kettle and the washed upturned cups, waved him away.

    “You are our guest here.”

    So the man took his handkerchief out again and wiped his face.

    They crowded around him as he shut himself up in the phone booth. When the children pressed their nose against the glass, he shooed them away, as he took out a shiny black soon changed to an excited yell as they saw him dial a number, pressing a finger into the ringed dialer of the phone and letting it go all the way in a half-circle. A while later, they hear him say into the mouthpiece, “Hello.”

    “Hello,”the children around the booth took up the cry, the teashop owner broke into a smile and the men waiting for a bus smiled and said hello to each other. The sadhu(印度的僧人)who sat under the banyan tree nodded wisely. As the sound carried, more hellos were heard. The women winnowing grain giggled as they tried the word tentatively, the shepherds feeding their flocks called out to their sheep, laughing as they used the word.

    “It's a big occasion, ”said the headman, in an awed(敬畏的) voice.

    “It is.” agreed those around him. The telephone man emerged and handed over a small chit of paper to the headman. “This is the telephone number.”

    The headman looked at it respectfully as if it were a mantra(符咒). The others around him read out the numbers slowly, digit-by-digit.

    The telephone man was now too tired to notice the cheering around him. He knew he had to wait long before the bus to take him back arrived. As he sipped his second cup of tea, he remembered something else.

    “Oh, you can't start using the phone now. The minister will come next month and inaugurate it. ”

    No one said a word. No one was surprise. They had waited so long; a month more did not really matter.

    As self — driving cars come closer to being common on American roads, much of the rhetoric (说辞) promoting them has to do with safety. About 40,000 people die on U. S. roads every year, and driver errors are linked to more than 90 percent of crashes. But many of the biggest advocates of autonomous vehicles aren't car companies looking to improve the safety of their existing products. Huge backing for self - driving technologies is coming from Silicon Valley giants like Google and Apple.

    Those of us who have studied the relationship between technology and society tend to look more carefully at the motivations behind any technological push. In this case, it's clear that in addition to addressing safety concerns, Silicon Valley firms have a strong incentive (动机) to create a new venue for increasing the use of their digital devices. Every minute people spend on their mobile phones provides data - and often money - to tech companies.

    At present, digital devices and driving are in conflict: There are serious, often fatal, consequences when drivers use smartphones to talk or to text. Regulators and safety advocates look to resolve dial conflict by banning phone use while driving - as has happened in virtually every state. But the tech companies are taking a different approach. The obvious answer for Silicon Valley is creating an antomobile in which continuous cellphone use no longer poses a threat to anyone.

    In recent years, the amount of time adults spend on their mobile devices has grown rapidly. At the moment, it's around four hours a day for the average adult in the U. S. However, that rapid growth is likely to slow down as people run out of time that ' s available for them to use their devices. Unless, of course, there's a new block of time that suddenly opens up. The average American now spends about 48 minutes in a car every day, a sizable opportunity for increased cellphone use.

    So as the public conversation around autonomous cars highlights the safety advantages, don't forget the tech industry ' s powerful desire for more profits, which goes well beyond simply saving us from ourselves.

When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation. I suggested that they should stay at "bed and breakfast" houses, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.

"We didn't stay at bed and breakfast houses," they said, "because we found that most families were on holiday." I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought "VACANCIES" meant "holidays", because the Spanish word for "holidays" is said "vacaciones". So they did not go to the house where the sign outside said "VACANCIES", which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to the houses where the sign said "NO VACANCIES", because they thought this meant people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels.

We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word "DIVERSION" means "fun". In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word "DIVERSION" on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. Instead, the road ended in a large hole.

English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris when someone offered me some more coffee, I said "Thank you" in French, I meant that I would like some more, however to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that "Thank you" in French means "No, Thank you".

    Which country can you travel to in 2020 that will allow you to go for longer, enjoy a higher standard, and save more money? The following destinations offer accommodation, transportation, and food for less.

Kyrgyzstan, $25/day

    Kyrgyzstan is the choice for most travelers interested in trying out Central Asia, and most well-suited to travelers of all budgets. Food is cheap, so is getting around using the minibuses. You can find hostels and local home stays for less than $10. Meals cost $4 – $8 per day.

    Romania, $33/day

    If you are planning a European trip that's affordable and a little bit off the beaten path, Romania is perfect for you. Unlike other popular places, many charming towns here remain unknown to most foreigners. You can also take free walking tours in the numerous historical sites. Hostels run $10 – $15 per night, food is hearty and delicious, and the public transportation is reliable and affordable. Meals cost $10 – $15 per day.

    Arizona & Utah, $55/day

    For an American Southwest road trip, you'll spend an average of $110/day when you are solo. If you have just one other person, you'd be able to split the costs almost perfectly in half. If you have two other people along, take it down to one third and so on. The more the merrier.

    South Africa, $40/day

    Any hostels in South Africa are in beautiful settings and each has a unique personality, and affordable too. Food can get expensive. To save money, cook your own food. Grocery stores are plentiful and have reasonable prices. By at least cooking your own breakfast, you can save a lot of money. The best (and possibly cheapest) way to get around the country is to rent a car and share with 3 other people. Meals cost $12 – $15 per day.