Did you know that, in 2016, over 18 million people attended classical concerts in Germany? That's more people than those who went to main league football matches! Earlier this year, Germany continued its celebration of classical music with the opening of a new concert hall in the heart of Hamburg. Germans are incredibly proud of it  and it's the first thing I show to my friends when they come to visit.

    Known as the ‘Elphi' by the locals, the Elbphilharmonie is a beautiful tower of glittering glass sitting atop an old warehouse by the banks of the river Elbe. The plaza(露天广场)is open to the public and from the middle of he city's tallest building, you can gaze across the harbour, miles of rooftops and passing ships below.

    The main concert hall seats over 2000 people and is one of the most advanced music venues in the world. Two smaller concert halls are used for jazz, world and contemporary music. In addition, if you're unbelievably rich, you can buy one of the 45 luxurious apartments lying within the building.

    Construction began in 2007 with a budget of € 241 million and a two-year period. Fast forward ten years, the building eventually opened with a final price tag of over 800 million!

    I consider myself very lucky that the Elbphilharmonie opened during my time living in Hamburg, but unfortunately I haven't yet been able to attend a concert. Everything is sold out for six months! For now, I'm content to visit the plaza to enjoy the impressive views over the  docks and see the innovative architecture up close. Hopefully one day soon. I'll be lucky enough to grab a last-minute concert ticket!

    Because of the financial crisis in the US and UK, college students are beginning to struggle to find ways to pay their tuition fees and accommodations.

    Recently, two major US student loan (贷款) lenders, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase, announced they were leaving the student loan industry altogether. Because banks currently have a lack of credit, they are reluctant to offer students low-interest loans that need a several-year wait for any return of interest.

    In the US, many undergraduates fill up their financial needs with a private loan, although the majority can get government-funded loans. In the 2015-2016 academic year, $ 17 billion in private student loans was used to finance higher education. The lack of private funding has yet to be covered and will hit many US students hard.

    Across the Atlantic, UK students have been less troubled by the crisis. Most undergraduates in the UK cover their university expenses with government-funded loans and grants. Their biggest concern is a sudden increase in student rent.

    Most young professionals now rent houses, since 80 percent of UK mortgage schemes (按揭计划) have disappeared—a direct result of the credit crisis. This has boosted the house rent market.

    In large cities, UK students are paying almost 6.5 percent more in rent than the previous year. Figures from the UK organization Accommodation for Student show students in big cities such as London paying an average weekly rent of $ 203.

    Yet, despite students' suffering, the number of this year's university applications is expected to grow. During economic slumps, people regard further education as a way to survive tough job market.

    It's OK to say you've never heard of grime (伦敦地下音乐) - unless you're from the UK. That's because this music type was invented in the UK in the early 2000s.

    To someone who's not familiar with underground music culture, it's easy to get confused between hip-hop and grime since they are both noisy. And many people didn't bother to tell them apart，until earlier this month when grime stars like Stormzy and J Hus led this year's Mobo – “music of black origin”, an award in the UK. Just like UK electronic music and hip-hop, from which grime drew influence, it mostly reflects the thoughts of young people. But different from hip-hop, grime singers sing in dialects with strong accents, giving a special flavor to their songs.

    Lady Leshurr，known as the “Grime Queen”, said that she once tried to hide her accent, as she didn't want people to judge her. But one day, she realized that she didn't need to change herself just to please others. And there's no doubt that this is the soul of grime music: be yourself.

    Grime has challenged modem music in its production beauty and its expressions. Also different from the hip-hop culture, which usually focuses on being rich, grime singers pay more attention to social phenomena like those who suffer from disasters and the gap between the rich and poor.

    Although still quite a young music type, grime seems to be getting loved by more and more people. In 2016, the English grime artist Skepta won the Mercury Prize with his album Konnichiwa, beating big names like David Bowie and Radiohead.

    However, no matter whether grime is one day accepted widely or not, one thing is for sure: in grime, singers always stay true to themselves.

    It was a dark and stormy night. I was about to go to bed when I heard a tapping sound on my window.

"Who's there?" I shouted. Suddenly there was a flash of lightning; I saw a face at the window. It looked like an alien（外星人）— an alien that I had seen on the television show, "the X files".

    I felt very scared. I ran to my bed and pulled my blanket over my head. I started to shout for my parents but there was no reply. Then I remembered that they were at a fancy dress party.

    I looked out of my blanket but it was too dark to see anything. Then I heard footsteps. They were getting louder and louder. I ran to my drawer to take out my camera and started to take pictures in the direction of the window. Soon the footsteps died off.

The grandfather clock struck. It was 12 midnight. I went back to my bed and tried to sleep. But I could not sleep. I felt too frightened. I sat up, and my mind was full of thoughts. Time passed — finally, I fell asleep.

    I woke up only after eight and decided to find out what it had been. I found some footprints outside my bedroom window. I measured them with a ruler and found them to be exactly the same size as my father's shoes. I then went to town to get the film developed. I didn't realize that I did not use the flash until I saw the black photos.

    When I reached home, I told my father the whole incident and he started to laugh. I started laughing too when he told me that he had dressed up as an alien for the party. Today, I am still amused to think I was so afraid of my own father.

    I drive 360

    Looking for things to do in after you've visited Disney World? Families should head for I-drive360: an 18-acre entertainment complex centred around a 400-foot tall observation wheel-the Coca-Cola Orlando eye that offers breathtaking views of Central Florida. There two on-site museums make I-Drive360 stand out. Skeletons: Museum of Osteology features 500 complete animal skeletons (骨骼) that provide remarkable look into the world of wildlife. Sea Life Orlando is an interactive underwater adventure allowing you to observe sea species up close from inside a thrilling 360-degree ocean tunnel.

    Lake Eola Park

    Located in the heart of downtown Orlando, Lake Eola Park is continuously rated one of the best things to do in Orlando by both visitor and locals alike. Whether you want a leisurely walk or a heart-pumping jog, you can taste the peaceful scenery along the 1.5-kilometre pathway that lines the lake. Feeling romantic?

    Wonder Works

    Wonder Works was actually built to look as though it was dropped upside-down on an otherwise ordinary Orlando city block! No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you—here everything is upside down! Kids of all find the 100-plus hands-on exhibits inside the striking structure just as mind-blowing, from the natural disasters-themed displays to a 36-foot-high indoor ropes course.

    College Park Neighborhood

    Voted ''Orlando's Best Neighborhood,” it's here you'll find the Dubsdread Golf Course (the only public golf course in the city), and some of the best food Orlando has to offer. In the fall, College Park plays host to a popular Jazz Festival, with as many as 10 bands playing on three stages dotted throughout the neighborhood.

Teaching Poetry

    No poem should ever be discussed or "analyzed", until it has been read aloud by someone, teacher or student. Better still, perhaps, is the practice of reading it twice, once at the beginning of the discussion and once at the end, so the sound of the poem is the last thing one hears of it.

    All discussions of poetry are, in fact, preparations for reading it aloud, and the reading of the poem is, finally, the most telling "interpretation" of it, suggesting tone, rhythm, and meaning all at once. Hearing a poet read the work in his or her own voice, on records or on film, is obviously a special reward. But even those aids to teaching can not replace the student and teacher reading it or, best of all, reciting it.

    I have come to think, in fact, that time spent reading a poem aloud is much more important than "analysing" it, if there isn't time for both. I think one of our goals as teachers of English is to have students love poetry. Poetry is "a criticism of life", and "a heightening of lief". It is "an approach to the truth of feeling", and it "can save your life". It also deserves a place in the teaching of language and literature more central than it presently occupies.

    I am not saying that every English teacher must teach poetry. Those who don't like it should not be forced to communicate this to anyone else. But those who do teach poetry must keep in mind a few things about its essential nature, about its sound as well as its sense, and they must make room in the classroom for hearing poetry as well as thinking about it.