Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening.

    One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent (租住). With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one's own.

    Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one's free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of sharing the secret of Nature.

    Some people, however, take no interest in country things：for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight's (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night.

    Many years ago, I made a living by driving a car. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 am. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.

    I walked to the door and knocked.“Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice.

    After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.

    I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly towards the car.

    She kept thanking me for my kindness.“It's nothing,” I told her, “I just try to treat my passengers in the way I would want my mother treated.”

    “Oh, you're such a good man,” she said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”

    “It's not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.

    “Oh, I'm in no hurry,” she said.“I'm on my way to a hospice(临终医院). I don't have any family left. The doctor says I don't have very long time.”

    I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器).

    For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

    Sometimes she'd ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

    At dawn, she suddenly said, “I'm tired. Let's go now.”

    We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

    “How much do I owe you?”she asked.

    “Nothing,” I said.

    “You have to make a living,” she answered.“Oh, there are other passengers, ”I answered.

    Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.”

    One day. One lifetime. You can do it! From the museum of modern art to the museum of ancient articles, visit our picks for the world's best museums.

National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa)

    This museum has a great collection of art spanning the Middle Ages to the present day, including American, Indian, European, Inuit and Canadian works. It offers a unique, near-complete overview of Canadian art — from early Quebec religious work, through Inuit work from the 1950s, to the contemporaries.

Tokugawa Art Museum (Japan)

    The Tokugawa family reigned over Japan from 1600 to 1868. Under them, the country enjoyed the longest period of peace in its history. This time span is also known as the Edo period, during which the arts flowered in Japan. Artists of this period directly influenced Western masters such as Monet, Gauguin and Whistler and have since gone on to become household names. Other exhibits effectively present, through accurately reproduced environments, aspects of Japanese life at the time.

    Museum of Fine Arts (Boston)

    Highlights of this museum's collection include a 4th-century Christian marble bust (半身像) of St. Paul at prayer, and a painting that questions life and our very existence, Gauguin's “Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?” It's a must — go in the US.

The Egyptian Museum (Cairo)

    As well as gathering together some of the finest archaeological finds from all Egypt, this museum also provides a rare opportunity to simply pop in and within minutes be standing face-to-face with one of the greatest works of mankind, Tutankhamun's golden mask. A portrait of unbelievable quality, craftsmanship and beauty, the highly polished gold face — at once a god, a king and a teenager — shines like water: delicate, yet untouchable all at the same time.

    Hiking is a great way to get active and reduce stress while you are exploring the city. Visit our page to find some of the best free walking tours across New York City.

Community Days at Conference House Park

Wednesday, September 19, 2018 12:00p.m.—2:00p.m.

    Enjoy new gardens at the Visitor Center. Explore and help repair the three self-designed gardens: vegetable, native plant, and sculpture. Experience kids crafts，adult art programs, Tai Chi and more in this lovely setting.

    Position: Conference House Park, 298 Satterlee Street, Staten Island

    Event Organizer: Conference House Park

    Phone Number: (718)227-1463

    Contact Email: john.kilcullen@parks .nyc.qov

    Greenbelt on the Go

Tuesday, August 14, 2018 10:00a.m.—11:30a.m.

    Join us for relaxing walks through our parks. Enjoy the pretty views of them, as we point out a few of the distinct features that make each park special. The length of each hike will be determined by the pace of the group. Registration is required. To register, please email naturecenter@sigreenbelt.org before August 14.

    Position: Greenbelt Nature Center in Blood Root Valley, 700 Rockland Avenue at Brielle Avenue Staten Island

    Event Organizer: Staten Island Greenbelt Conservancy, Greenbelt Environmental Education Department

    Phone Number: (718)351-3450

    Contact Email: naturecenter@sigreenbelt.org

    Adult Afternoon Hikes

Wednesday, October 10, 2018 1:30p.m.—3:00p.m.

    Get familiar with the Greenbelt and local parks by hiking with other adults! You're encouraged to bring small meals and drinks for the break time.

    Position: Greenbelt Nature Center in Blood Root Valley, 700 Rockland Avenue at Brielle Avenue Staten Island

    Event Organizer: Staten Island Greenbelt Conservancy, Greenbelt Environmental Education Department

    Phone Number: (718)351-3450

    Contact Email: naturecenter@sigreenbelt.org

    The South Pole at Wards Point

Thursday, November 15, 2018 7:00a.m.—7:00p.m.

    The three miles of nearby natural shoreline are a sandy beach. Shells, rocks, and stones of every shape and size can be found here. Not to be missed are the park's other attractions: acres of woodland, four galleries, and five historic houses!

Position: Conference House Park Visitor Center in Conference House Park, 298 Satterlee Street, Staten Island

    Event Organizer: Conference House Park

Contact Email: john.kilcullen@parks.nyc.qov

    "IF ALIENS are so likely, why have we never seen any？" That is the Fermi Paradox（悖论） named after Enrico Fermi, a physicist who posed it in 1950.

    Fermi's argument ran as follows. The laws of nature supported the appearance of intelligent life on Earth. Those laws are the same throughout the universe. The universe contains zillions of stars and planets. So, even if life is unlikely to arise on any particular astronomical body, the sheer abundance of creation suggests the night sky should be full of alien civilizations. Fermi wondered why aliens had never visited the earth. Today, the paradox is more usually cast in light of the inability of radio﹣telescope searches to detect the equivalent（相等的） of the radio waves that leak from Earth into the universe, and have done for the past century.

    Thinking up answers to this apparent contradiction has become something of a scientific parlour（客厅）game. Perhaps life is really very unlikely. Perhaps the priests are right: human beings were put on Earth by some creator God for His own unknown purposes, and the rest of the universe is merely background scenery. Perhaps there are plenty of aliens, but they have decided that discretion is a safer bet than gathering together. Or perhaps galactic（银河的） society avoids communicating with Earth specifically. One frightening idea is that technological civilizations destroy themselves before they can make their presence known. They might blow themselves up after inventing nuclear weapons （an invention that, on Earth, Fermi had been part of）, or cook themselves to death by over﹣burning fossil fuels.

    In a paper published last month on arXiv, an online repository（文献库） , a group of three astronomers at Pennsylvania State University have analyzed the history of alien hunting and come to a different conclusion. In effect, they reject one of the paradox's main theory. Astronomers have seen no sign of aliens, argue Jason Wright and his colleagues, because they have not been looking hard enough.

    The meaning of the word "volunteer" may be a little different in different countries, but it usually means "one who offers his or her services". There are many different ways in which people can volunteer, such as taking care of sick people, working in homes for homeless children, and picking up garbage from beaches and parks. Volunteers may work within their own countries or in other countries. They are often people with a strong wish to help those who are less fortunate than themselves. Volunteer don't expect any kind of pay.

    At the root of volunteering is the idea that one person may have the ability to offer services that can help other people. Tracy, a good friend of mine, however, recently came back from India with a new idea of what being a volunteer means. She worked for two and a half weeks in one of Mother Teresa's homes in Calcutta. The following is her story.

    "I first heard about Mother Teresa in my high school. We watched a video about her work in India and all over the world. I was so moved by her spirit to help others and her endless love for every human being that after I graduated from high school, I also wanted to try her kind of work. So with two friends, I flew to Caltutta for a few weeks."

    "I was asked to work in a home for sick people. I helped wash clothes and sheets and passed out lunch. I also fed the people who were too weak to feed themselves and tried to cheer them up. I felt it was better to share with them than to think that I have helped them. To be honest, I don't think I was helping very much. It was then that I realized that I had not really come to help, but to learn about and experience another culture that helped improve my own understanding of life and the world."