I once had a friend who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the news that he might only live up to six months was a great shock to him, his family, and his friends. However, in spite of the serious illness, he was initially determined to look into all available treatments that might cure or extend his life. I think that when you find yourself in such situations, you tend to look up every possible way for hope of saving your life.

    As months went on and his health grew worse, I noticed an unexpected change in attitude that came over him. He had also been a happy person with a cheerful personality, but rather than give in to discouragement and self－pity, he took comfort in God and humanity. His talks focused on others rather than himself, and he spoke of the afterlife as something he was prepared for, believing that his concerned ancestors, including his mother and father, were there waiting for him.

    During the last few months, weeks, and days of his life, he was kindly cared for by family, friends, his loving wife, who looked after both his physical and emotional needs, and workers from a local hospice (安养院) came to the home to regulate his medication and provide any other needed support. He didn't complain about his fate, and he willingly allowed others to serve him.

    Indeed, one might think why God allows death and suffering in our world, but for me, such experiences taught me to value family more and kindness for others. You often can't learn these important attributes in the lap of luxury, and perhaps, such an experience is the greatest and final gift the illness can give those left behind.

    Visitors to Britain are sometimes surprised to learn that newspapers there have such a large circulation (发行 ). The “Daily Mirror “ and the “Daily express” both sell about four million copies everyday. British families generally buy a newspaper every morning and two or three on Sundays.

    Besides the national papers, there is, however, another branch of the British press which sells almost as many copies. Local newspapers have a weekly circulation of 13 million. Almost every town and county area has one. Nearly all of them hold their own financially (财政 ) and many of them are very profitable (赚钱的 ) .

    These papers are written almost entirely for readers interested in local events-births, weddings, deaths, council (地方会议 ) meetings and sports. Editors prefer to rely on people who know the district well. A great deal of local news is regularly supplied by clubs and churches in the neighborhood and it does not get out to date as quickly as national news.

    The editors must never forget that the success of any newspaper depends on advertising ( 广告) . He is usually anxious to keep the good will of local businessmen for this reason. But if the newspaper is well written and the news items have been carefully chosen to draw local readers, the business men are grateful for the opportunity (机会 ) to keep their products in the public eyes.

    If Confucius (孔子) were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He'd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.

While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal. Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their national heroes.

    But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.

    In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy (哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Western philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.

So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.

    Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.

    As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.

    Palema Malhotra and her husband Anil Malhotra have spent the last 25 years buying the waste agricultural land and reforesting it, to return the land to a bio – diverse rainforest for elephants, birds and other creatures.

    The couple owns 300 acres of land in Brahmagiri, India. They have spotted more than 300 kinds of birds as well as many rare and threatened animal species. But, this was not the scene in 1991 when Anil and Pamela came to this part of the country. “When I came here, it was a wasteland. The owner wanted to sell because he couldn't grow coffee or anything else,” says Anil who worked in the real estate（房地产）and restaurant business in the US before moving to India. “For me and Pamela, this was what we were looking for all our life.”

    The couple had a love for nature from their childhood. When the Malhotras came to India, the pollution horrified them. “That was when we decided to do something to reclaim（开垦）the forest in India,” says Anil. “We were not looking for money. Early on, we realized that shortage of fresh water will be a concern for India and the rest of the world. Acquisition, protection and reclamation of forested lands and wildlife habitat, where vital water sources have their origin, is the only way to save ourselves,” explains Anil.

    They sold what they owned in America, bought the first 55 acres and began to grow a forest. Soon they bought the land nearby as well. “Many of the farmers considered their holdings 'wasteland' as very little grew on it and were happy to get money,” says Anil.

    Hunting and poaching（偷猎）was a challenge and often the locals did not understand what this couple was doing, so it required a lot of talking to create awareness. They worked with the forest department to set up camera traps and keep poachers away. “There are times I have fought with poachers,” says Pamela.

    There's a new frontier in 3D printing that's beginning to come into focus: food. Recent development has made possible machines that print, cook, and serve foods on a mass scale. And the industry isn't stopping there.

    Food production

    With a 3D printer, a cook can print complicated chocolate sculptures and beautiful pieces for decoration on a wedding cake. Not everybody can do that — it takes years of experience, but a printer makes it easy. A restaurant in Spain uses a Foodini to "re-create forms and pieces" of food that are "exactly the same," freeing cooks to complete other tasks. In another restaurant, all of the dishes and desserts it serves are 3D-printed, rather than farm to table.

    Sustainability(可持续性)

    The global population is expected to grow to 9.6 billion by 2050, and some analysts estimate that food production will need to be raised by 50 percent to maintain current levels. Sustainability is becoming a necessity. 3D food printing could probably contribute to the solution. Some experts believe printers could use hydrocolloids (水解胶体) from plentiful renewables like algae(藻类) and grass to replace the familiar ingredients(烹饪原料). 3D printing can reduce fuel use and emissions. Grocery stores of the future might stock "food" that lasts years on end, freeing up shelf space and reducing transportation and storage requirements.

    Nutrition

    Future 3D food printers could make processed food healthier. Hod Lipson, a professor at Columbia University, said, "Food printing could allow consumers to print food with customized nutritional content, like vitamins. So instead of eating a piece of yesterday's bread from the supermarket, you'd eat something baked just for you on demand."

    Challenges

    Despite recent advancements in 3D food printing, the industry has many challenges to overcome. Currently, most ingredients must be changed to a paste(糊状物) before a printer can use them, and the printing process is quite time-consuming, because ingredients interact with each other in very complex ways. On top of that, most of the 3D food printers now are restricted to dry ingredients, because meat and milk products may easily go bad. Some experts are skeptical about 3D food printers, believing they are better suited for fast food restaurants than homes and high-end restaurants.

It's normal to long for the taste of potato chips or a cheese-covered pizza. Even though they're full of calories, eating them occasionally won't do much harm. However, according to the new numbers, young people are becoming more gluttonous. The BBC's Good Food Nation Survey showed that on average, 16 to 20-year-olds ate fast food at least twice a day in the UK. So what's behind this fast food binge (狂热)?

WebMD, an online publisher of news and information of human health and well-being, surveyed nearly 600 teenagers and adults in the United States. They found that the most common reason was our busy lifestyle. More than 92.3 percent of respondents said they were too busy to cook. Many find it challenging to balance work and life, and the convenience of fast food meets their needs. Fast food is readily available in corner stores and vending machines (自动售货机). Remember those instant noodle cups from the supermarket? They're ready in minutes, and you can store them at home for a long time.

But many people think this trend does no good. Sarah Toule, head of health information at World Cancer Research Fund, told the BBC: "It's frightening that people, especially younger generations, are eating so much fast food loaded with fat, sugar and salt, but offers little nutritional value."

She added, "Especially high in calories, fast food leads to unhealthy weight gain — which in turn increases the risk of 11 cancers later in life."

So what is the right thing to do? Toule suggested that young people should prepare meals in advance and learn to include the different food groups in their diets.