When 12-year-old Taylor Smith wrote a special letter to herself last spring, to be read in 10 years' time, she didn't know it would be opened before even a year had passed— and that it wouldn't be her eyes reading the words.

  “She had told me that she had written a letter to herself, and that she was excited that she was going to open it when she was older,”said Taylor's  mother, Mary Ellen Smith.

    Instead, it was opened by Taylor's parents after she died last spring. They posted the letter to Facebook, hoping it would inspire others.

    It has. “We've gotten letters from lots of parents who have said it has encouraged them to love their kids and love each other,” said Mary Ellen Smith.

    In the letter, Taylor congratulated herself on graduating from high school and asked, “Are you in college?”

    She also wanted to know if she had been on a plane yet and if the show “Doctor Who” was still on the air.

    Taylor also had some words for her future kids. After considering the idea of selling her iPad and getting an iPadmini instead, she told her future self to mention to her kids that “We're older than the tablet.” She included a drawing of an iPad for them to see.

    Taylor died suddenly of pneumonia (肺炎), leaving behind both her parents and an older brother.

  “I just want people to know just what an awesome, awesome person she was,” her father, Tim Smith said.

    Her mother said, “I can't bring her back, but I'm so grateful people have been inspired by her story.”

    Taylor's father read the closing g words of her letter, which said, “It's been years since I wrote this. Stuff has happened, good and bad. That's just how life works, and you have to go with it.”

    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.”

    You may not know a lot of people when you start high school. Maybe your friends from middle school are going to a different high school. Even if you know other freshmen(新生), you still feel nervous that you don't know any upper-classmen. How are you going to make friends among this sea of unknown faces?

    Most high schools hold a freshman orientation(训练) before school actually starts. These are helpful not only because you learn your way around the building and get to meet some of your teachers, but you also get to meet fellow freshmen. That way, when you show up on your first day of school, you may already recognize a few familiar faces.

    When you talk to people at orientation, you'll probably find that a lot of them are feeling just like you are. They're all new to the school and don't know what to expect. Talking about a common concern with your classmates can help you develop friendships.

    The work in high school is something freshmen are probably worried about. The work in high school builds on what you learned in middle school, giving you a more advanced knowledge of many subjects. So you may find you have more work to do or that it's a bit more challenging. If you ever find your work too difficult, teachers can give you extra help.

    High school also has more after-school activities than middle school did, such as clubs, music and theater groups and sports teams. This is a good time to explore your interests and try new things.

    Middle school taught you the basics of academics, time management, and social skills while providing you with a little extra support and guidance. High school gives you the chance to learn how to be more independent and responsible.

    Most of us have been in this situation: You're on your way to your friend's house, then you suddenly ask yourself,"Did I remember to turn the lights off?” For those with "smart homes", however, this wouldn't be a problem.

Over the last few years,smart home technology has become more popular. Thanks to user-friendly products like intelligent lighting and heating controllers, people can control nearly every electrical item in their homes from anywhere in the world.

    While smart homes aren't new, companies like Philips, Amazon and Xiaomi have finally brought automation to everyday people with affordable products like artificial intelligence(AI) speakers and sensors.

    “The obvious message is that you can stop wasting energy,” Tom Kerber, director of research for U. S -based digital company Parks Associates, told The Guardian.

    And the technology also has more meaningful uses. In Norway, for example, one company is using smart tech to make life easier for its elderly customers. Abilia's system allows carers to check up on patients through a tablet on a wall inside their home. The device sends patients reminders about tasks, such as when they need to take medication(冥想). It can even tell carers if there's any unusual activity in the home that could be life-threatening.

    “This kind of system allows people to take care of themselves, which is the most important thing,” Abilia's vice president, Oystein Johnsen, told the BBC. "It also saves the government money. In Norway, it costs 1 million kroner(about 0. 8 million yuan )per year to have someone in a care home. This system costs 15,000 kroner a year.”

    So, for those who have already "gone smart", will it ever be possible to go back to do things in the old-fashioned way? "I think it would be difficult. When we go to a friend's house or on vacation we find ourselves expecting the house to do things for us that we should do, "Poulson, 35, a senior program manager from Seattle.,U. S.,explained.

    Camberwell College Swimming Pools

    Camberwell College of Arts has one 50m (Olympic sized) pool with a depth of 2m throughout, and one 25m pool with a 1m shallow end and a 4m deep end. Both pools may be used by the general public at certain times.

    50m Pool

    The pool is often used for classes, but the general public may use two lanes（泳道）for lane swimming at the following times.

    Monday:        06:30-11:30 and 19:00-21:00

    Tuesday:        06:30-11:30 and 18:00-21:00

    Wednesday:    06:30-13:30 and 17:30-21:30

    Thursday:    06:30-13:30

    Friday:        06:30-13:30

    Weekends:    09:00-17:00

    Children under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

    Please note that during College holidays, these times will be different. Call 04837 393560 for up-to-date information.

    25m Pool

    The 25m pool is available for recreational (non-lane) swimming from 07:00-09:00 and 12:30-13:30 on weekdays, and 10:00-16:00 on Saturdays.

    Children aged 12 and under must be accompanied.

    We regret that the 25m pool will be closed for redecoration between 21st July and 18th August. The men's changing rooms will be closed for the week beginning 19th August, and the women's changing rooms will be closed the following week. Alternative（可选用的）changing rooms will be made available. We're sorry for this.

The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most diverse places in America, a wonderful place filled with people from all backgrounds. Each of them drew something different from their own experience. Their stories are the focus of Status Update, an exhibition of 14 projects offered by Dundon and former WIRED contributor Pete Brook. The show at SOMarts uses personal tales to show the Bay Area's culture. 

The Bay Area is a microcosm (缩影) of the national melting pot, a place where people of color comprise 58 percent of the overall population and are a majority in four of the region's five countries, San Francisco in particular is the type of place where you can' t walk down the street without hearing another language. Yet the change is not all for the better. The gap between rich and poor is widening at a frightening speed, and San Francisco is becoming less diverse as minorities escape from the city for more affordable communities elsewhere in the region. 

Status Update reflects these changes and the challenges they bring. Joseph Rodriguez's Faces of Foreclosure features quiet images of people like Ethel Gist, who lost her home in the East Bay suburb of Brentwood six years ago. Photographer Sam records Oakland resident Shannon and his efforts to provide for his daughter. And Laura Morton documents millennials (千禧一代 )hoping to make their way to the top in Silicon Valley in her series Wild West Tech. 

Status Update starts a conversation about how the Bay Area is changing, and what people can do to build up a more just equitable (公正的) society. "I hope people walk away from this show with a little more respect for our neighbors and communities and the ways we depend on one another." Dundon says. "we're all out here together"