The management and staff are happy to welcome you and will do all they can to make your stay an enjoyable one.

MEAL TIMES

    Our overnight charge includes a continental-type breakfast.

Breakfast: 7:30-9:30 a. m

Lunch: 12:00-2:00 p. m

Afternoon tea: 4:00-5:30 p. m

Dinner: 7:00-9:15 p. m

    Meals can be served in rooms at a small extra charge. We regret that meals cannot be served outside these times.

    Light refreshments including tea, coffee, biscuits and sandwiches, can be served in rooms between 10:00 a. m. and 11:00 p. m. except during the meal times listed above. Cold drinks are available in the room refrigerator.

ROOM CLEANING

    Please hang the appropriate sign on your door handle if you do not wish to be disturbed. It will be easier for the maids if you can leave the room temporarily at any time between 9:30 a. m. and 4:00 p.m.

VALUABLES

    We are not responsible for the loss of money, jewellery, or other valuables unless they are kept in the safe and signed for by the manager.

DEPARTURES

    Please inform receptionists of your intended leaving before 9:30 a. m. of the day concerned and leave the room by noon to allow for its preparation for incoming guests. If circumstances (情况) require, luggage can be left in the charge of the hall porter.

A SPECIAL REQUEST

    We would respectfully suggest that in consideration of the comfort of other guests, the volume of radios and televisions should be turned down after 11:00 p. m.

    There are more bicycles than residents in the Netherlands,and in cities

like Amsterdam and The Hague up to 70% of all journeys are made by bike.

    The BBC's reporter,Anna Holligan,examines what made everyone get back in the saddle（车座）.

    Before World WarⅡ,journeys in the Netherlands were mainly made by bike, but in the 1950s and 1960s,as car ownership increased quickly,this changed.As in many countries in Europe, roads became increasingly crowded.

    The jump in car number caused a huge rise in the number of deaths on the roads.In 1971 more than 3,000 people were killed by motor vehicles,and 450 of them were children.In response a social movement demanding safer cycling conditions for children was formed.Called Stop de Kindermoord,it took its name from the headline of an article written by journalist Vic Langenhoff whose own child had been killed in a road accident.

    The Dutch love of the motor vehicle was also shaken by the Middle East oil crisis of 1973,when oil-producing countries topped export to the US and Western Europe.

    These twin pressures helped to persuade the Dutch government to invest in improving cycling infrastructure（基础设施）and the Dutch urban planners started to change from the road-building policies designed mainly for cars.

    To make cycling safer and more inviting,the Dutch have built a vast network of cycle paths.These are clearly marked,have smooth surfaces,separate signs and lights for those on two wheels,and are wide enough to allow cycling side by side and overtaking.

    Even before they can walk,Dutch children live in a world of cycling.As babies they travel in special seats on bikes.As the children grow up they ride their own bikes.And,as the Dutch are not allowed to drive until 18,cycling offers teenagers an alternative form of freedom.

    The state also plays a part in teaching,with cycling lessons a compulsory（必修的）part in Dutch schools.All schools have places to park bikes and at some schools 90% of pupils cycle to class.

    Japan is very serious about robotics (机器人技术). If robots are going to fit in, they probably need to learn the Japanese custom of serving tea. Fortunately, researchers at the University of Tokyo are just exploring that. In a show this week, a humanoid(人形机器人)with camera eyes made by Kawada Industries Inc. poured tea from a bottle into a cup. Then another robot on wheels delivered the cup of tea in an experimental room that has sensors embedded in the floor and sofa as well as cameras on the ceiling, to simulate(模仿)life with robot technology.

    "A human being may be faster, but you'd have to say ‘Thank you'," said Professor Tomomasa Sato from the University of Tokyo. "That's the best part about a robot. You don't have to feel bad about asking it to do things."

    Sato believes Japan, a rapidly aging society where more than a fifth of the population is 65 or older, will lead the world in designing robots to care for the elderly, sick and bedridden(长期卧床的).

    Already, monitoring technologies, such as sensors that automatically turn on lights when people enter a room, are becoming widespread in Japan.

    The walking, child-size Asimo from Honda Motor Co. greets people at show-rooms. NEC Corp. has developed a smaller robot-on-wheels companion called Papero. A seal robot available since 2004 can entertain the elderly and others in need of fuzzy companionship.

    Sato says his experimental room is raising awareness about privacy questions that may arise when electronic devices(设备)monitor a person's movements down to the smallest detail.

    On the bright side, the tea-pouring humanoid has been programmed to do the dishes.

    When it comes to bringing up children, everybody agrees that it is not an easy task. Every parent watches eagerly the child's acquisition (学会) of each new skill — the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting (吸引人的) to hurry the child beyond his natural learning speed, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to learn something too early. A young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning chances, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself.

    Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be especially strict in money matters. Others are strict with the time of coming home at night or being on time for meals. In general, the controls show the needs of the parents and values (价值观) of society as much as the children's own happiness.

    When it comes to the development of moral standards (道德标准) in the growing child, consistency (前后一致性) is very important in parental teaching. To say "No" to a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality (道德). Also, parents should realize that "example is better than precept". If they are not sincere and do not practice what they preach (说教), their children may grow confused and emotionally insecure when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent cheated.

    A sudden realization of a big difference between their parents' principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment.

    War can be deadly for wildlife, too. A new study reports that war is the biggest threat to Africa's elephants, rhinoceroses, and other animals. Researchers examined how years of conflict in Africa have affected populations of large animals. More than 70 percent of Africa's protected wildlife areas have been within a war zone at some point in the last 70 years. The more frequent the fighting, the greater the drop in animal populations, said Josh Daskin, an ecologist at Yale University. He was the lead author of the study, which was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

    It takes very little conflict, as much as one conflict in about 20 years, for the average wildlife population to be declining, Daskin said. "Areas with frequent fighting — but not necessarily the bloodiest fighting—lose 35 percent of their large animal populations during each year of war," he said.

Some animals get killed by weapons of war. Yet, many also die because of changes in social and economic conditions in an area as a result of war, said Rob Pringle. He is an ecologist at Princeton University and the study's co-author. "People in and around war zones are poor and hungrier. So they may begin to illegally hunt animals for valuable tusks or hunt protected animals to eat," Pringle said. "And during wartime, animal conservation programs do not have as much money or power to protect wildlife."

    The new study examined the entire African continent over 65 years. The researchers looked at 10 different factors that could change population numbers. They included war, drought, animal size, protected areas and human population density. The number of wars had the biggest effect on wildlife population. The intensity of the wars — measured in the number of human deaths — had the least effect on animals.

Earthquakes are common natural disasters. No matter where you are, knowing how to protect yourself and your family during an earthquake is necessary.

Some experts believe that when you feel the ground is shaking, drop down, take cover under a desk and hold on. Most earthquake injuries are the result of being hit by something falling on you. You should stay indoors until the shaking stops. If you are outdoors, don't stay near buildings, trees or power lines. Many people think that in case of an earthquake, they should "get under something" like a doorway or desk, in order to avoid being hurt by falling objects. Rescue experts now say this is the wrong thing to do. For example, in the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, they found hundreds of children in schools, crushed by their desks. However, they could have survived by lying in the aisle (通道，走道) next to their desks.

So find a nice piece of furniture, a chair, a sofa, and lie down, or curl up next to it. A falling roof may compact (压实) the furniture, but will still leave a space for you to survive next to it. This also holds true if you are in a hotel room, especially at night. Get off the bed, and lie down next to it.

In San Francisco's 1989 earthquake, the upper freeway fell on the lower one. People who drove along were crushed in their cars. But they had time to get out and lie down next to their cars. Yes, their cars were crushed, but there was space from top to bottom next to the vehicles for people to survive and wait a rescue.

Doorways and stairways are very unsafe. Stay away from those.

What can we do to keep ourselves safe? Staying calm is the first and most important rule when facing accidents.