Imagine one day, the water taps in your house stop running. You have to buy water from shops. And still there isn't enough for everyone. Your mother has to save the family's shower water to do other things. Would you be able to stand that kind of life?

    Probably not. But that's what kids in Yemen are experiencing. Experts said Yemen is going to be the first country in the world to run out of water. According to a report, the capital, Sanaa, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025.

    Because of the shortage, the government often cuts the water supply. Hannan, 18-year-old from Lahej, told the Times: “In a good week, we'll have a water supply all week. But then the following week there will be water only for a day or two.”

    Hannan said only rich people have enough water to use. They can buy water from the shops or from the water truck. Private companies own the trucks. They travel around the city every day to sell water-at very high prices.

    “A lot of people can't afford it,” she said. The average person in Yemen uses 100 to 200 cubic meters of water per year. That is far below the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters.

    The government is thinking of making use of seawater. But it will cost a lot and it may not happen soon enough to help the people of Yemen.

    Part-Time Store Sales Association

    Are you an energetic salesperson with a gift for offering exceptional customer service? This position needs you to develop relationships with a variety of customers.

    REQUIREMENTS:

    Candidates should be proficient in both English and French;

    High school diploma;

    Working knowledge of store operations;

    Ability to work varied shifts including nights, weekends, and holidays;

    Good verbal and written communication skills;

    Must possess a valid driver's license;

    Candidates must be authorized (批准) to work permanently in the United States;

    Candidates who receive a job offer will be required to meet all health requirements and pass background checks;

    Part-Time Customer Support Center Representative

    We are seeking a customer support representative who will respond to many customer questions about the company's products and services.

    REQUIREMENTS:

    College degree preferred;

    Excellent customer service skills;

    Excellent verbal communication;

    Excellent attendance;

    Dependable;

    This position offers a part-time work schedule; Four consecutive(连续的) hours per day, Monday-Friday between 7 am and 7 pm (plus one Saturday per month , 8am-5pm)

Part-Time Resident Assistant

    We work together to make a real difference in the lives of our residents. If you share our family values, we'd love to meet you.

    REQUIREMENTS:

    Ability to real, write and speak English;

    Ability to communicate effectively with residents, families staff and the general public;

    Must have a desire to work with the elderly;

    Must meet all health requirements and pass background checks.

    Part-Time Kitchen Helper

    As a part-time kitchen helper, you'll be responsible for food preparation, serving meals, setting tables, washing dishes , and completing cleaning duties. If you have a desire to help others, join us as we try to provide a positive physical and social environment for our residents.

REQUIREMENTS:

    Must be able to read, write and follow oral and written directions;

    Obtain Food Handles Permit (as required by state regulations);

    Ability to communicate effectively with residents, families, staff and the general public;

    A desire to work with the elderly;

    Must meet all health requirements and pass background checks.

    Are you sometimes a little tired and sleepy in the early afternoon? Many people feel this way after lunch. They may think that eating lunch is the cause of the sleepiness. Or, in summer, they may think it is the heat. However, the real reason lies inside their bodies. At that time—about eight hours after you wake up—your body temperature goes down. This is what makes you slow down and feel sleepy. Scientists have tested sleep habits in experiments where there was no night or day. The people in these experiments almost always followed a similar sleeping pattern. They slept for one long period and then for one short period about eight hours later.

    In many parts of the world, people take naps（小憩） in the middle of the day. This is especially true in warmer climates, where the heat makes work difficult in the early afternoon. Researchers are now saying that naps are good for everyone in any climate. A daily nap gives one a more rested body and mind and therefore is good for health in general. In countries where naps are traditional, people often suffer less from problems such as heart disease. Many working people, unfortunately, have no time to take naps. Though doctors may advise taking naps, employers do not allow it! If you do have the chance, however, here are a few tips about making the most of your nap. Remember that the best time to take a nap is about eight hours after you get up. A short sleep too late in the day may only make you feel more tired and sleepy afterward. This can also happen if you sleep for too long. If you do not have enough time, try a short nap—even ten minutes of sleep can be helpful.

    Engineers have put a huge garbage collector to gather plastic material in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii, the world's largest spread of garbage, twice the size of the state of Texas.

    The Ocean Cleanup organization created the collector. The group's founder, Boyan Slat, an inventor born in 1994, was just 16 when he was moved to clean up the oceans when he was on a dive and saw more plastic bags than fish

    Last Saturday, a ship pulling the pipe-shaped floating barrier left San Francisco. Attached to it is a screening skirt that hangs three meters down in the water. The screen is designed to collect the plastic as it moves through the water. Sea animals can safely swim under the barrier.

    The cleanup system also comes with lights powered by the sun, cameras, and other special devices, so the system can communicate its position at all times. That way a support ship can find it every few months to remove the plastic that has been collected.

    Shipping containers will hold all the plastic gathered, including bottles and fishing equipment and are expected to be back on land within a year. Then the plastic will be recycled. The free-floating barriers are made to survive extreme weather conditions and damage from continual use. They will stay in the water for twenty years, thus collecting 90% of the garbage in the area.

    The Ocean Cleanup has received $ 35 million in donations to pay for the project, hoping to put 60 free-floating barriers in the Pacific Ocean by 2020. "It's important to turn off the taps on plastic entering the ocean, but I also think people can do more than one thing at a time to deal with this problem," Slat said.

Growing up on a tobacco farm, Emma Avery was used to hard times. When she was seven, her family's farmhouse burned to the ground. Her father made a temporary shelter, where eight people had to sleep in two beds. As soon as Emma and her four brothers and two sisters were big enough, they were out in the fields.

Emma would find her comfort in school, even as a C student, thanks to one teacher. When she moved on to middle school, Emma was alarmingly far behind her classmates. She kept her head down, trying not to be noticed, struggling to catch up, and feeling like an outsider.

Then one day, when Emma was 16, a teacher named Mr. Potts changed everything. Looking his students in the eye, Mr. Potts said, "Being a C student does not mean you do not have a valuable contribution to make. Some of you have to work in the fields in the evening and do not have time to study. But if you do your best, you have a gift to give."

The teacher's words made Emma believe she could do well, and she worked harder. In the end she won a scholarship to St. Paul's College, graduated with a degree in elementary education in 1967, and got a job in the public-school system. Then, at George Washington University, she received a master's in education in 1970, and afterwards in the same year she married Ron Smothers.

Over the next six years, Emma taught in public schools in Miami. In 1976, after saving $10,000, she opened her first restaurant in Los Angeles. Eventually Emma stopped teaching, and her business expanded to six restaurants.

In gratitude for what she has been able to achieve, Emma donates a lot. She has no idea how much money she's given away. She says, "Those I want to help are the C students who just need help, direction and confidence."

Online classes began to be popularized just a few decades ago. They are advertised as a way for adults to finish their education and students to learn the material at their own pace—it is far more suitable for people with busy schedules.

But after being enrolled in an online course last fall semester, I came to realize online classes were merely a means to fulfil course requirements.

First of all, students lack the desire to learn, and they simply complete their assignments to receive credit for a passing grade rather than genuinely engage with the course material.

As online courses tend to have more than 100 students, most of the assignments are short and simple. They are not designed for students to interact with the material in depth but designed to be graded casily to accommodate such a large number of students.

Perhaps the biggest disadvantage of taking an online class is the absence of face-to-face interaction between the teacher and their students. Live sessions are infrequent and are often scheduled during the middle of the day when students have to attend other classes or work. The office hours of the professor may also be during inconvenient times for many students as well. Most interaction with the professor has to be through email which is often impersonal. It is nearly impossible for students to build a relationship with their professor.

There is also little interaction amongst students. It can be harder for students to create study groups and form relationships with their peers.

Online classes also require either a computer or laptop and a reliable internet connection. Not all students have access to these types of resources, whether it is for financial or other reasons, and some students can be put at a disadvantage.

Offering online classes certainly helps students who would otherwise not be able to attend classroom sessions. However, they fail to provide a genuine education with an emphasis on convenience rather than critical thinking. We need restructured online classes in which students can have a learning experience that will actually provide quality education.