Beijing

Youth choir toper form

    The youth choir of China National Symphony Orchestra will soon perform classics including the Mexican folk song, The Golden Nightingale, and the Blue Danube, adapted from awaltz by Johann Strauss II. Pianists Zhao Lin and Wang Tianyang will join in the show.

7:30 pm, Jan 23.Forbidden City Concert Hall, inside Zhongshan Park, west of Tian'anmen Square, Xicheng district. 010-6559-8285.

Orchestra recitals

    The China National Center for the Performing Arts Orchestra led by conductor Lyu Jia will give two recitals, featuring works including Beethoven's Coriolanus Overture and Mozart's Symphonies No 40 & No 41 Jupiter. Cellist Wang Jian will join in the performances, playing Schumann's Cello Concerto in A minor, Op 129 andSaint-Saens' Cello Concerto No 1 in A minor, Op 33.

7:30 pm, Jan 15;2:30 pm, Jan 16. China National Center for the Performing Arts, No 2 WestChang'an Avenue, Xicheng District. 010-6655-0000.

Ballet from Paris

    Paris Opera Balletwill present two gala performances in the city. Besides highlights of classical ballet, such as Swan Lake and Manon, the program will also include modern pieces from the company's repertoire. The leading etoiles are Ludmila Paglieroand Karl Paquette.

7:15 pm, Jan 15-16.Shanghai Oriental Art Center, 425 Dingxiang Road, Pudong district.021-6854-1234.

Ensemble of swans

    Shanghai Ballet will present two performances of Swan Lake. The production choreographed by British artist Derek Deane has just completed a tour in 26 cities of the Netherlands. The spectacular production features an ensemble of 48 dancers.

7:15 pm, Jan 22-23.Shanghai Grand Theater, 300 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu district. 400-106-8686.

    The key to effective cross-cultural communication is knowledge. First, it is essential that people understand the potential problems of cross-cultural communication, and make a conscious effort to overcome these problems. Second, it is important to assume（假定）that one's efforts will not always be successful, and adjust one's behavior appropriately.

    For example, one should always assume that there is a great possibility that cultural differences are causing communication problems. One should respond slowly and carefully in cross-cultural exchanges, not jumping to the conclusion that you know what is being thought and said.

    William Ury's suggestion for heated conflicts is to stop, listen, and think, or as he puts it "go to the balcony" when the situation gets tense（紧张的）. This helps in cross-cultural communication as well. When things seem to be going badly, stop or slow down and think. What could be going on here? Is it possible that I misinterpreted what they said?

    Active listening can sometimes be used to check this out—by repeating what one thinks he/she heard, one can confirm that he/she understands the communication accurately.

    Often intermediaries（调解人）can be helpful in cross-cultural communication situations. They can translate both the essential meaning and the manner of what is said. For example, they can tone down strong statements that would be considered appropriate in one culture but not in another, before they are given to people from a culture that does not talk together in such a strong way. They can also adjust the timing of what is said and done. Some cultures move quickly to the point; others talk about other things long enough to establish a relationship with the other person. If discussion on the primary topic begins too soon, the group that needs a "warm up" first will feel uncomfortable. An intermediary who understands this can explain the problem, and make appropriate adjustments.

    When traveling in England, here are some things to keep in mind.

    When taking the underground in England, once on the underground train, stand clear of the closing doors. They can give you a pretty hurtful knock if they hit you. When getting on or off the tube train, make sure you mind the gap(缝隙)! This varies from a few inches to a foot at some of the stations.

    The saying that English food is boring and tasteless isn't true, at least not anymore. You'll find a huge variety of international restaurants, especially in London. Make sure you eat some of the old-fashioned traditional foods in pubs, and wash it down with some local beer!

    Come prepared for any sort of weather ——even if the day starts off well, it's likely that the temperature will change. The best thing to do is layer(分层穿套) your clothes so that you can add or reduce as necessary.

    The British are in general very polite people and will expect at least basic politeness from travelers. Pleases and thanks go a long way! At the same time  they like playing jokes on others. Don't be surprised or offended if you're called darling, dear, dearie, flower, love, chick, chuck, me duck, son, ma'am or any other similar pet name by someone you don't know. It's quite normal.

    England is generally quite safe, but you'll need to be more careful in London and the other large cities, especially at night. Choose an underground train that has plenty of people in it and avoid suburban underground stations at night. There are many night buses you can catch, but try not to do this alone. A licensed cab is often the best choice. Try and leave valuable things in your hotel room, as pickpockets(扒手) do operate in some areas. Be careful of bags especially when in some busy areas.

    Nasr Majid started hunting this fall at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (保护区)on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in USA, He's one of the relatively few new hunters who officials hope will help stop a nearly four-decade decline nationally in what has become a hobby for fewer than 5 percent of Americans.

    Natural resources and wildlife, officials in Maryland are encouraging hunting of deer, turkeys and some other wild animals, which is believed to be good for the environment. Without hunting, they say, sika deer will overpopulate the wildlife refuge and they'll overeat the bushes and other plants that provide important habitat for birds. On the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, hunting is also important to prevent the spread of diseases such as Lyme.

    In many families, the hunting tradition has been handed down for generations^ But as longtime sportsmen age and children lose interest, the number of hunters in the United States fell by 2 million, from 2011 to 2018, to about 11 million.

    "Everything is changing. Kids are growing up in front of video games and computers instead of going hunting." said Chris Markin, a hunting specialist for the state natural resources department. "Adults usually focus on working and providing for their families. Those pressures are preventing many other potential hunters from going out, and from raising the next generation of hunters."

    To avoid such a decline, a new approach is needed. Government agencies and nonprofit groups are now launching mentoring (指导) programs to train more hunters, which not only helps preserve an industry and a culture but also means more protection for wildlife and their habitats through deer population control and investment.

    Luckily, there are those still eager to learn, like Majid. He was just looking for an outdoor hobby he could share with his children when he came across the mentors-hip program. Now, he feels capable of hunting on his own, but also has someone he can text with questions that pop up. His new pastime has already paid off for him—on his second hunt with his mentor, in the last minutes of daylight, he bagged his first deer.

I first came across the concept of pay­what­you­can cafés last summer in Boone, N. C. , where I ate at F. A. R. M (Feed All Regardless of Means) Café. You can volunteer to earn your meal, pay the suggested price ($10) or less, or you can overpay—paying it forward for a future customer's meal. My only regret after eating there was not having a chance to give my time. So as soon as Healthy World Café opened in York in April, I signed up for a volunteer shift(轮班).

F. A. R. M and Healthy World are part of a growing trend of community cafés. In 2003, Denise Cerreta opened the first in Salt Lake City. Cerreta now runs the One World Everybody Eats Foundation, helping others copy her pay­what­you­can model.

"I think the community café is truly a hand up, not a handout," Cerreta said. She acknowledged that soup kitchens(施粥所) have a place in society, but people typically don't feel good about going there.

"One of the values of the community café is that we have another approach," she said. "Everyone eats here, no one needs to know whether you volunteered, overpaid or underpaid. "

The successful cafés not only address hunger and food insecurity but also become necessary parts of their neighborhood—whether it's a place to learn skills or hear live music. Some teach cooking to seniors; some offer free used books. Eating or working there is a reminder that we are all in this world together.

My 10 am～1pm shift at World Healthy Café began with the café manager—one of the two paid staff members. Our volunteer crew wasn't the most orderly, but we managed to prepare and serve meals with a lot of laughs in between. At the end of my shift, I ordered my earned meal at the counter, together with other volunteers. After lunch, I walked out the door, with a handful of new friends, music in my head and a satisfied belly and heart.

A rainy day can be a chance to recharge. While you relax on the sofa with a movie, the raindrops falling on your windows might one day provide the power for your TV. This is the idea behind an invention that harvests energy from water. 

The technology is based on the triboelectric (摩擦电的) effect. An engineer at the University of Hawaii, David Ma knew that it was possible to generate electricity by rubbing two things together. So, he thought, "Why don't we use water?"

A drop of water sliding across a surface coated with two different materials would generate enough friction(摩擦) to create an electrical charge. By placing metal wires that the drop of water touched as it moved, it should be possible to harvest electricity, he reasoned. 

It worked. In fact, the researchers lit up 15 LED bulbs with a single moving water drop. 

This is not the first time that scientists have got electricity from water-generated friction. Earlier experiments, though, harvested the charge produced in a surface by a sliding drop of water. There, the surface had acted as an electrode(电极). This is different. The energy of friction is being harvested from the water itself. 

"The technology could someday power phones, sensors or other small electronics," says Christopher Oshman, an engineer at the Colorado School of Mines. "This work is a step towards harvesting the energy of moving objects all around us, including ourselves, to power the electronic devices we use every day," he says. 

"Ma has shown that the technology can work in a lab," Oshman says. Next, the Colorado researcher would like to see it tried on a larger scale, such as on an umbrella.