Technology offers conveniences such as opening the garage door from your car or changing the television station without touching the TV.

    Now one American company is offering its employees a new convenience: a microchip implanted in their hands. Employees who have these chips can do all kinds of things just by waving their hands.Three Square Market is offering to implant microchips in all of their employees for free.Each chip costs $300 and Three Square Market will pay for the chip.Employees can volunteer to have the chips implanted in their hands.About 50 out of 80 employees have chosen to do so.The president of the company,his wife and their children are also getting chips implanted in their hands.

    The chip is about the size of a grain of rice.Implanting the chip only takes about a second and is said to hurt only very briefly.The chips go under the skin between the thumb and forefinger.With a chip in the hand,a person can enter the office building,buy food,sign into computers and more,simply by waving that hand near a scanner.The chips will he also used to identify employees.Employees who want convenience,but do not want to have a microchip implanted under their skin,can wear a wristband（腕带）or a ring with a chip instead.They can perform the same tasks with a wave of their hands as if they had an implanted chip.

    Three Square Market is the first company in the United States to offer to implant chips in its employees.Epicenter,a company in Sweden,has been implanting chips in its employees for a while.

    Three Square Market says the chip cannot track the employees.The company says scanners can read the chips only when they are within a few inches of them.“The chips protect against identity theft,similar to credit cards.”The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the chips back in 2004,so they should be safe for humans,according to the company.

    In the future,people with the chips may be able to do more with them,even outside the office.Todd Westby is Chief Executive Officer of Three Square Market.He says,“Eventually,this technology will become standardized allowing you to use this as your passport,public transit,all purchasing opportunities,etc.”

    Car Hire

    Hiring a self-drive car really adds to the enjoyment of your holiday.There are so many places of interest to visit,and if you enjoy seeing more than just the city center there's no better way to explore than by car.

    Hire Charges:

    What's included

a) Unlimited mileage （英里数）.

b) Expenses on oil,maintenance and repairs,which will be repaid on production of invoices.

C) Full insurance except personal accident (see below).

What's not included

a) Personal accident insurance.

b) Garaging,petrol,parking and traffic fines.

    Conditions of Hire:

    The shortest rental period at these special low prices is three days.For prices for periods of one or two days you only see our representative at the hotel.

    Car hire must be booked six weeks or more before arrival in London to guarantee a car.But if you have been unable to make a booking in advance please see our representative at the hotel who may still be able to help you.

    The car types on the sheet are examples of the types of cars in each price range,but particular car cannot be guaranteed.

    Upon delivery the driver (s) will be asked to sigh the car hire company's Condition of Hire.

    If you decide to hire a car,just fill in the Booking Form and return it to us.A booking fee of £ 12 as part of the car hire cost is required.

    Should you be forced to cancel your car hire booking after payment in full (two weeks before date of hire),a cancellation charge of £ 12 will be made.

Research shows that isolation(隔绝，孤立)is bad for us and associated with certain diseases including depression, high blood pressure and heart disease. Yet teenagers seek isolation by using the device of our times—a screen, screens of all kinds. However, in whatever form, screens are addictive, and addictive from an early age. Research has shown that given the chance, six-month-old babies prefer screens to real human faces.

    Hand in hand with this addiction to screens, we are seeing an explosion of teenage mental health problems. Social media claims to be inclusive, keeping you connected. But it's not. It isolates you from real people. Screens have even been described as being poisonous for teenagers.

    Psychologist Jean Twenge, a professor at San Diego State University, believes today's teenagers are “on the edge” of a major mental health crisis and requestes, “do anything that doesn't involve a screen”. The problem is, she claims, children born between 1995 and 2012 have grown up with a smart phone in their hands, and it has “changed every aspect” of their lives. The number of teenagers who actually see their friends frequently has dropped by more than 40% since 2000. In 2015, only 56% of 17-year-old went on a date, down from 85%. Modern teenagers are slower to learn to drive, or earn money and spend more time at home. They're “on their phone, in their room, alone and often depressed”, she says.

    Some critics, however, say we should encourage our children to spend more time online. Robert Hannigan, former director of GCHQ, said in August that Britain is badly short of engineers and computer scientists, and urged children to develop cyber skill to compete in the digital economy.

    I' m not the first to say that social media is inferior to real human contact, and harms mental health. Studies show teens who spend three hours a day online are 35% more likely to suicide(自杀).

    The suicide rate among girls aged 12 to 14 has more than doubled in a decade.

C

    Teens and younger children are reading a lot less for fun, according to a Common Sense Media report published Monday.

    While the decline over the past decade is steep for teen readers, some data in the report shows that reading remains a big part of many children's lives, and indicates how parents might help encourage more reading.

    According to the report's key findings, "the proportion (比例) who say they 'hardly ever' read for fun has gone from 8 percent of 13-year-olds and 9 percent of 17-year-olds in 1984 to 22 percent and 27 percent respectively today."

    The report data shows that pleasure reading levels for younger children, ages2-8, remain largely the same. But the amount of time spent in reading each session has declined, from closer to an hour or more to closer to a half hour per session.

    When it comes to technology and reading, the report does little to counsel(建议)parenst looking for data about the effect of e-readers and tablets on reading. It does point out that many parents still limit electronic reading, mainly due to concerns about increased screen time.

    The most hopeful data shared in the report shows clear evidence of parents serving as examples and important guides for their kids when it comes to reading. Data shows that kids and teens who do read frequently, compared to infrequent readers, have more books in the home, more books purchased for them, parents who read more often, and parents who set aside time for them to read.

    As the end of school approaches, and school vacation reading lists loom(逼近)ahead, parents might take this chance to step in and make their own summer reading list and plan a family trip to the library or bookstore.

    What is a lifestyle and how is that different from a life? A lifestyle is about brand names and buying identity or fame. Lifestyle gives a false sense of peace and acceptability that comes from others recognizing what you've bought into (as well as bought). If your car, clothes, and home are expensive, you're sophisticated (世故的) and stylish. If you have the right kind of job or go to the right social gatherings, then you receive the insincere approval of others. This means that your self-esteem (自尊) is always at the mercy of others, with no appreciation of you as an individual.

    A life, on the other hand, is very different. A life is what you lead when you know what matters most to you. It is very simple and comes from being connected to what you know is important and being willing to put that first, no matter what others may think. When you create a life vs. a lifestyle, your self-esteem comes from what's inside you, not what others think about you.

    Lifestyle is expensive financially and personally, because it costs a great deal to keep up appearances and do what you think is socially acceptable. A life is not expensive. Rather than using personal or financial resources, a life generates energy and staying power. It's about liberating yourself from the mindless consumption that society expects. It is about making the choices that are in line with your values, instead of using up your bank account or energy for no heart-driven reason.

    How can you make the change? Understand the difference between a life and a lifestyle. Analyze your current lifestyle to see what is costing you in money, time, stress, and energy to maintain it. Let go and make room for what is really important to you, what supports you and brings you joy. Remember who you are from within, not what you own!

    A 27-year-old inventor, Joco Paulo Lammoglia, has come up with a new device ( 设 备 ) named the AIRE mask, which is capable of transforming the wind energy provided by the wearer's breath into electrical energy. This means breathing has become a source of renewable energy. The inspiration for the invention came from his watching children blowing on pinwheels (纸风车).

    The device is worn like a mask equipped with tiny wind turbines (涡轮) and it can work its magic even while people are sleeping, running or hanging around, since energy is created from one's breath. The principle of this AIRE mask is simple. The invention uses the wind flow created by breathing and changes it into energy that can charge mobile phones and iPods. Simply put this mask connected to your mobile phone on your face. The rest takes place naturally through your breath that provides power to run turbines which produce electricity.

    Lammoglia explained how useful he hopes the AIRE will become. He said, "I hope to bring the concept into production and reduce the carbon footprint. It can be used indoors or outdoors, while you're sleeping, walking, running or even reading books." Apart from saving energy and contributing to environmental protection, it also encourages the practice of physical exercise. This is an entirely all time renewable energy source. Its energy is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

    Lammoglia explained why he thought the AIRE was so useful, saying, "Though many of our modern devices offer benefits, they tend to consume a high amount of electrical energy. This may cause problems for the environment, especially if the energy used by these devices is produced by non-renewable sources.

    The AIRE mask will be future's cheaper source of charging mobile phones. It would save energy and allow people to never have to worry about their phone dying unless they stop breathing.