LakeLander                                                                                                                    2 hours ago

                Today, a man talked very loud on his phone on a train between Malvern and Reading, making many passengers upset. I wonder how he would react if I were to read my newspaper out loud on the train, I have never had the courage to do it, though.

Pak50                                                                                                                        ···     ·57 minutes ago

     Why not give it a try? Perhaps you should take lessons on a musical instrument. The late musician Dennis Brian is said to have

asked a fellow train passenger to turn off his radio. When his request was refused, he took out his French horn(号) and started

                   to practice.

Angie O'Edema ·42 minutes ago

I don't see how musical instruments can help improve manners in public. Don't do to others what you wouldn't like to be done to yourself. Once, a passenger next to me talked out loud on his mobile phone. I left my seat quietly, giving him some privacy to finish his conversation. He realized this and apologised to me. When his phone rang again later, heleft his seat to answer it. You see, a bit of respect and cooperation can do the job better.

Taodas                                                                                                                                    ·29 minutes ago

                  I did read my newspaper out loud on a train, and it turned out well. The guy took it in good part, and we chatted happily all the way to Edinburgh.

Sophie 76                                                                                                                                 ·13minutes ago

                 I have not tried reading my newspaper out loud on a train, but ,several years ago, I read some chapters from Harry Porter to my bored and noisy children. Several passengers seemed to appreciate what I did.

    Prinker: Color Your Way

    Tattoos always look so cool, but actually getting one is quite a commitment. After all, apart from using expensive laser removal therapy, they stay on your skin forever.

    The Prinker is here to change the game. It is a device (设备) that lets you create or print any image or temporary tattoos within a matter of seconds. It is connected to your smartphone and you can select a bunch of preloaded tattoos available in the app.

    This device was exhibited at The International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year. It is manufactured by a Korean startup company called “SketchOn”.

    You can sketch your ideas out on your skin with this portable device that is almost twice the size of a computer mouse. This is a nice way to support your team in the match by printing its logo or design onto your skin. You can also share your tattoo designs with others through the app. It is also a fun and creative toy for kids to play with.

    In order to print the design, all you need to do is select or draw a design on your mobile and then press and rub the base of the device against your skin and you are done. These designs and images are water resistant but can be washed off with soap water. The ink of the Prinker is non-toxic and is made only from certified cosmetic ingredients. Each cartridge (墨盒) contains enough ink for about 1,500 tattoos, or as J₊ R. Smith would call it, “a good start.”

    The Prinker is developed by a small team of five members. The company is planning to launch the device in China and then in the United States. The device is currently commercializing in Korea as a rental device. The agencies and organizations pay $150 for a day to use it in their events or marketing.

    The current version of Prinker is aimed towards business users (think festivals, carnivals, sports events, promotion campaigns). But the company is working on a home version, and hopes to have it available to buy before the end of 2018. SketchOn estimates the personal model will retail at $200. The company is currently seeking to partner with international agencies for distribution opportunities.

    Although Prinker is currently aimed towards novelty and creative purposes, its technologies could eventually be adapted for use by professional tattoo artists or medical professionals who provide tattoos for patients, such as after a breast cancer operation or skin graft.

    Yosemite is a national park in California. It is very beautiful and big. The park includes more than 760,000 acres (英亩) in the California Mountains. Most of the park is wild (荒凉的).

    The part of Yosemite that everyone likes is Yosemite Valley. It is a small valley that is 7 miles long and less than 1 mile wide. It has tall rock walls and streams that flow down in waterfalls. More than two million visitors come to the valley each year.

    It's said that the number of visitors is more than the land can hold. The valley has 4,500 camping places. It has a hotel that can hold 4,000 families. This is still not enough to serve all of the visitors. The valley has grown so big that it has a lot of traffic.

    A worker says the park is trying to keep the beauty of the park and let everyone visit. Some areas have been rounded up (圈起来) to keep people away and planted with seeds to try to keep them beautiful.

    A former worker thinks Yosemite should get more money to take better care of the park. He would also like to teach people what the park service is trying to do.

    Some people are trying to save Yosemite Valley. A plan has been made to remove some buildings. There will be fewer cars allowed inside the park. More buses will help get people around.

    Reports tell us that Americans work more and vacation less than people in other major industrial countries. Still, millions of Americans do try to get away from home for a week or two in the summer months. Some might even have the time and money to spend longer on vacation.

    For example, many retired Americans can be found driving around the United States in big recreational vehicles, known as R. V.'s. These serve as a home away from home. In fact, it might even be their only home as they see the country.

    Some American families get in their cars and drive to historic places like Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. There, they can experience what life was like for early Americans. If that is not exciting enough, also in Williamsburg is a water park and an amusement park with rides.

    Other Americans visit national parks like Yellowstone or Yosemite out in the West. They want to spend time with nature. Or they take their vacation by a lake or the ocean. They might swim or fish. But many just want to sit and enjoy the feeling of doing nothing, except maybe read a book.

    Some families fly to other countries on vacation. Or they go on a cruise ship (大型游轮) and stop in different ports. Cruise ships are like floating cities.

    But not everyone goes someplace special on vacation. This might be the only time for people to work on things like home improvement projects. And while they do that, they might think of all the fun their friends are having.

    A British friend told me he couldn't understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds as a snack so much. “I've met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth; I believe that's from cracking the seeds, ” he said.

    I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware. I realized that whenever I'm watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn't like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so much just to get one small seed.

    When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go door-to-door on Chinese New Year's Eve to check out what every household was making.

    I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. Out in the living room , a large table would already be laid out, complete with fancy tablecloth, ready-made dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds. Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.

    I don't think it's right to criticize one's choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.

    It's not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins your breath. They think it's a delicacy, and it's connected to their culture. I think it's a wonderful tradition.

    There's been a lot of talking about white-and-blue collar workers, and you may have even heard of gold collar workers, but lately a new color of collar is making its way into China's urban vernacular(土话)—green. Green collars say no when work is life and life is work. They choose to get out of the fast lane(车道), and explore new ways of living "green".

    Living green doesn't mean someone is working as an environmentalist, biologist or scientist. Instead it is more of a lifestyle choice. A typical green collar is well educated like a white-collar but physically tough like a blue-collar, likely born in the 70s or 80s of the last century and living in one of China's big cities, with a monthly income well above 5,000 yuan(about US $700).

    The life of a green collar may go something like this: Turn off the mobile phone after work, eat only healthy food rich in vitamins, go on hikes every weekend, and like to help the underprivileged.

    Green collars even have their own club. In Beijing, the Green Collar Club is for people who share a "be happy, healthy and helpful" spirit. The club often holds charity parties and uses the donations for environmental protection and poverty relief(摆脱贫困) projects in China.

    "They are successful in their careers, but do not miss the pleasures in life. They have a lot of money, but do not fall slave to it." said Zuo Shiguang, one of the founding members of the club.