This year, 25,310 students who have accepted places in higher education institutions have put off their entry until next year, according to statistics on university entrance provided by the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS).

    That is a record 14.7% increase in the number of students taking a gap year. Tony Higgins from UCAS said that the statistics are good news for everyone in higher education. “Students who take a well-planned year out are more likely to be satisfied with, and complete, their chosen course. Students who take a gap year are often more mature and responsible,” he said.

    But not everyone is happy. Owain James, the president of the National Union of Students (NUS), argued that the increase is evidence of student hardship – young people are being forced into earning money before finishing their education. “New students are now aware that they are likely to leave university up to￡15,000 in debt. It is not surprising that more and more students are taking a gap year to earn money to support their study for the degree. NUS statistics show that over 40% of students are forced to work during term time and the figure increases to 90% during vacating periods,” he said.

    Street art is a very popular form of art that is spreading quickly all over the world. You can find it on building, sidewalks, street sings and trash cans from Tokyo to Paris, and from Moscow to Cape Town. Street art has become a global culture and even art museums and galleries are collecting the works of street artists. Even advertising companies also use street art in their ads due to its popularity.

    Street art started out very secretly because it's illegal to paint on public and private property without permission. People often have different opinions about street art. Some people think it is a crime with others think it's a new form of culture.

    Art experts claim that the movement began in New York in the 1960s. Young adults sprayed words and images on walls and trains. This colorful and energetic style of writing became known as graffiti(涂鸦). Graffiti art showed that young people wanted to rebel against society. They didn't want to accept rules, and they travelled around cities to create paintings that everyone could see. In many cases, they had trouble with the police and the local government.

    Many street corners in Paris show the works of Space Invader. A French artist uses small pieces of glass to make images of space creatures. He has been doing this for some years and the police have arrested him a few times. On his website, you can see many other places where he has created this form of art.

    Street artists do their work for some reasons. Some of them do not like the artists who make so much money in galleries and museums. They choose street art because it is closer to common people. Some artists try to express their political opinion in their works. They often want to protest against big firms and corporations. Others like to do things that are forbidden and hope they don't get caught.

    In today's world, the Internet has a big influence on street art. Artists can show their pictures to people all over the world. Many city residents, however, say that seeing a picture on the Internet is never as good as seeing it alive. The street art movement lives with the energy and life of a big city. There it will continue to change and grow.

    Modern inventions have speeded up people's loves amazingly. Motor-cars cover a hundred miles in little more than an hour, aircraft cross the world inside a day, while computers operate at lightning speed. Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending. Every year motor-cars are produced which go even faster and each new computer boasts of saving precious seconds in handling tasks.

    All this saves time, but at a price. When we lose or gain half a day in speeding across the world in an air plane, our bodies tell us so. We get the uncomfortable feeling known as jetlag; our bodies feel that they have left behind on another time zone. Again, spending too long at computers results in painful wrists and fingers. Mobile phones also have their dangers, according to some scientists, too much use may transmit harmful radiation into our brains, a consequence we do not like to think about.

    However, what do we do with the time we have saved? Certainly not relax, or so it seems. We are so accustomed to constant activity that we find it difficult to sit and do nothing, or even just one thing at a time. Perhaps the days are long gone when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imagination take us into another world.

    There was a time when some people's lives were devoted simply to the cultivation of the land or the care of cattle. No Multi-tasking there; their lives went on at a much gentler pace, and in a familiar pattern. There is much that we might envy about a way of life like this. Yet before we do so, we must think of the hard tasks our ancestors faced, they farmed with bare hands, often lived close to hunger, and had to fashion tools from wood and stone, Modern machinery has freed people from that primitive existence.

    The Great War Exhibition

    When: Sun 10 Jan, 9:00 am- 6:00 pm

    Mon 11 Jan, 9:00 am- 6:00 pm

    Where: Dominion Museum Building, 15 Buckle Street, Wellington

    Restrictions: All Ages

    Ticket Information: Admission Free

    The journey is rich in personal stories which tell of the great experience of the battlefields and the hardships at home during war-time New Zealand. The visitors will experience the desperate horrors and the victories of the human spirit that were part of the Great War.

    Kaipara Coast Plants & Sculpture Gardens

    When: Sun 10 Jan, 9:00 am- 5:00 pm

    Mon 11 Jan, 9:00 am- 5:00 pm

    Where: 1481 Kaipara Coast Highway (SH16), Auckland

    Restrictions: All Ages

    Ticket Information:

    Adults: $10.00

    Children 5-13 (under 5, free):$ 5.00

    Groups 10: $ 8.00

    Over 60 & Students (with ID): $ 9.00

    Come and enjoy a relaxing art and garden experience. Sculptures are for sale and the display changes completely every 12 months with the new exhibition opening in December each year to give you a fresh experience each time you come.

    Dream Works Animation

    When: Sun 10 Jan, 10:00 am- 6:00 pm

    Mon 11 Jan, 10:00 am- 6:00 pm

    Where: Te Papa, 55 Cable St, Wellington

    Restrictions: All Ages

    Ticket Information:

    Adults: $ 15.00

    Children & Students 3-15 (with Student ID): $ 6.00

    Children under 3: $0.00

    The exhibition features over 400 items, including rare concept drawing, models, interviews, and original artworks. Adults and kids can get creative with real animation tools, and soar above the clouds in the Dragon Flight experience from How to Train Your Dragon.

    Balls, Bullets and Boots

    When: Sun 10 Jan, 9:00 am- 4:30 pm

    Mon 11Jan, 9:00 am- 4:30 pm

    Where: National Army Museum, 1 Hassett Dr, SH1, Waiouru

    Restrictions: All Ages

    Ticket Information: Door Sales Only

    The exhibition explores the impact the cruel reality of war had on colonial sportsmen and their loved ones as they were transplanted from the rugby fields of home to fight.

    The biggest challenge faced by travelers, especially those who like to have a backpacking trip is how to ensure a steady supply of clean clothes. Now, thanks to a great invention called Scrubba Wash Pack, that worry may be a thing of the past.

    The portable washing machine was invented by Ash Newland in 2010, while he was planning to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Struck by the limited packing space, he got inspiration from traditional washboards to create a bag that could be used to clean clothes. Then he quitted his career as a lawyer and focused on perfecting the bag's design. By 2012, the bag was ready for the public. It weighed only 180 grams and required very little storage space, making it perfect for anymore wishing to travel light.

    Not surprisingly, the bag which was worth 55 dollars was an instant hit with travelers, university students and even passengers. However, Newland was not satisfied. He still saw a disadvantage with his invention—dirty clothes had to be carried around in a separate bag! The recently introduced Scrubba Wash Pack solves that problem.

    In order to make the pack active, dirty clothes are placed inside the bag along with two or three liters of water. The bag is then shut tightly to ensure all air is squeezed out and the colors are massaged for a few minutes. After a quick wash, they are clean and ready to be dried. According to Newland, the pack can clean anything from jeans to smelly socks! What's even more amazing is that with a capacity to hold 13 liters of water, it can be used to wash more clothes at a time.

    The best part is that the 99-dollar pack that will be available for sale later this year, only weighs 300 grams and is completely foldable, making it easy to store when it's not in use. With the Scrubba Wash Pack, wandering through foreign cities searching for a washing shop, or paying for washing machines may soon be a thing of the past!

Something Fun

    A person is on trial for murder in a court room in Oklahoma. There is strong evidence indicating that he is guilty（有罪的）. However, the body is not found.

    In the defense's (辩护方) closing speech, the lawyer, knowing that his client (委托人) is guilty and that it looks like he'll probably be seriously punished, decided to play a clever trick.

    "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury (陪审团), I have a surprise for you all," the lawyer says as he looks at his watch. "Within one minute, the person assumed dead in this case will walk into this court room," he says and he looks towards the court-room door. The jury, somewhat surprised, looks at the door eagerly. A minute passes. Nothing happens.

    Finally the lawyer says, "Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all waited with expectation. I, therefore, put it to you that there is a reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you pass a judgment of not guilty."

    The jury, clearly confused, back off to discuss.

    A very few minutes later, the jury returned and one of them pronounces a verdict (裁决) of guilty.

    "But how?" asks the lawyer in surprise  "You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door."

    Answers the jury member, "Oh, we did look. But your client didn't."