A man walked into a small Irish pub and ordered three beers. Bartender was surprised, but he served that man three beers. One hour later the man ordered three beers again. The very next day that man ordered three beers again and drank quietly at a table. This repeated several times and shortly after the people of the town were whispering about the man, who was ordering three beers at once.

    A couple of weeks later, the bartender decided to clear this out and inquired: “I do not want to pry, but could you explain, why do you order three beers all the time?” The man replied: “It seems strange, isn't it? You see, my two brothers live abroad at the moment, one – in France and another – in Italy. We have made an agreement, that every time we go to pub each of us will order extra two beers and it will help keeping up the family bond”.

    Soon all the town have heard about the man's answer and liked it a lot. The man became a local celebrity. Residents of the town were telling this story to newcomers or tourists and even invited them to that pub to look at Three Beer Man.

    However, one day the man came to pub and ordered only two beers, not three as usual. The bartender served him with bad feeling. All that evening the man ordered and drank only two beers. The very next day all the town was talking about this news, some people pray for the soul of one of the brothers, others quietly grieve.

    When the man came to pub the next time and ordered two beers again, the bartender asked him: “I would like to offer condolences to you, due to the death of your dear brother”. The man considered this for a moment and then replied: “Oh, you are probably surprised that I order only two beers now? Well, my two brothers are alive and well. It's just because of my decision. I promised myself to give up drinking.”

    The kids in this village wear dirty, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They have no school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can make words.

    The key to their success: 20 tablet computers(平板电脑) dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a U.S. group called One Laptop Per Child.

    The goal is to find out whether kids using today's new technology can teach themselves to read in places where no schools or teachers exist. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they're already amazed. “What I think has already happened is that the kids have already learned more than they would have in one year of kindergarten,” said Matt Keller, who runs the Ethiopia program.

    The fastest learner—and the first to turn on one of the tablets—is 8-year-old Kelbesa Negusse. The device's camera was disabled to save memory, yet within weeks Kelbesa had figured out its workings and made the camera work. He called himself a lion, a marker of accomplishment in Ethiopia.

    With his tablet, Kelbasa rearranged the letters HSROE into one of the many English animal names he knows. Then he spelled words on his own. “Seven months ago he didn't know any English. That's unbelievable,” said Keller.

    The project aims to get kids to a stage called “deep reading,” where they can read to learn. It won't be in Amharic, Ethiopia's first language, but in English, which is widely seen as the ticket to higher paying jobs.

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    In England, people often talk about the weather because they can experience (经历) four seasons in one day. In the morning the weather is warm just like in spring. An hour later black clouds come and then it rains hard. The weather gets a little cold. In the late afternoon the sky will be sunny, the sun will begin to shine, and it will be summer at this time of a day.

    In England, people can also have summer in winter, or have winter in summer. So in winter they can swim sometimes, and in summer sometimes they should take warm clothes.

    When you go to England, you will see that some English people usually take an umbrella (伞)or a raincoat with them in the sunny morning, but you should not laugh at them.

    If you don't take an umbrella or a raincoat, you will regret (后悔) later in the day.

    In recent years, remote-sensing technologies have become ordinary in archaeological fieldwork（实地考察）. Such tools for excavation produce rapid results and cause no damage to archaeological sites. They are highly accurate and usually cost effective. Here are three of the modern archaeologist's most trusted remote-sensing tools.

    As the simplest of the remote-sensing techniques that archaeologists use, aerial（空中的）photography allows experts to see aspects of a site that may be invisible from the ground, such as the way in which something such as a town, garden, or building is arranged and traces of old walls and roads. The technique involves taking photographs with conventional cameras and filming from airplanes, helicopters, hot-air balloons, or other airborne vehicles.

    Geographic Information System (GIS) contains a large amount of field data archaeologists typically collect in and around excavation sites. While in the field, archaeologists use GIS on their computers to make and manage detailed site maps, and they can combine the results of remote-sensing tests with maps of the region created with the aid of Global Positioning System. Resulting maps sort the most archeologically promising areas and display these sites three-dimensionally.

    Ranging in size from small handled models that one places against the ground to larger ones that one across a site, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) devices use low-power radio waves to detect changes underground. Unlike traditional radar, which broadcasts into the air and uses a dish to focus the returned waves, GPR uses a small but sensitive receiver placed directly against the ground. Depending on their needs, archaeologists can adjust radio frequencies upward for shallow sites or downward for deeper areas, though GPR devices produce the greatest definition（清晰度）when reading depths of three feet or less.

    Not sure what gift to get your loved ones? Think technology! You may even find something special for yourself!

    Mini Quadcopter

    Would you like to have a flying toy, but lack space to fly one? Consider a Mini Quadcopter that is small enough to fit inside your hand. This Mini Quadcopter can be controlled to fly in any direction with its remote control. The Mini Quadcopter is available from Hammacher Schlemmer for $39.95.

    Selfie Toaster

    Does your sweetie like taking selfies and eating toast? Well, why not combine the two with the Selfie Toaster? The Selfie Toaster crates an image on the piece of toast so you can smile at yourself every morning. The Selfie Toaster is available from Etsy for $10.95.

    Amazon Echo

    Give the knowledge of the world with the Amazon Echo.

    The advice can answer questions, tell you about weather conditions, tell jokes, play music and more. The Echo also acts as a Bluetooth speaker so you can connect your phone and listen to your favorite songs. The Echo is available from Amazon for $179.

    Indoor Snowfall Light

    Get into the spirit of the holiday season in your home with the Indoor Snowfall Light. The light shows snowflake shapes in your room to give you the feeling of a winter snowfall. You can control the speed of the snowfall, unlike the real whether. The Indoor Snowfall Light is available from Sharper Image for $59.99.

    Sagrada Familia (2, 056, 448 visits/year)

    Opening hours: 09: 00-18: 00 (October-March)    09: 00-20: 00 (April-September).

    Admission: $11, or $10 with the Barcelona Card.

    Disabled access: Yes

    The temple has been under construction since 1882 and they've still got another 30 to 80 years to go before it will be finished. The project's vast scale (规模) and its special design have made it one of Barcelona's top tourist attractions for many years.

    La Pedrera (1, 133, 220 visits/year)

    Opening hours: 09: 00-18: 30 (November-February)    09: 00-20: 00 (March-October)

    Admission: $9. 50. Save 20% with the Barcelona Card.

    Disabled access: No.

    This building used to be called Casa Mila, but nowadays it's more commonly known as La Pedrera. It was made of bricks and had colorful tiles (瓷砖).

    Barcelona FC Museum (1, 032, 763 visits/year)

    Opening hours: 6th April-4th October: (Monday to Saturday) 10:00-20:00; the rest of the year: 10: 00 to 18: 30.

    Admission: $8. 50 for entry to museum and an extra $17 for a guided tour.

    Disabled access: Yes.

    It is now generally considered as the best football museum in the world. You can see so many trophies (奖杯), pictures and statues of great football players. I'm not a football fan but I still enjoyed walking round this museum.

    Miró Museum (518, 869 visits/year)

    Opening hours: Check website for details as they vary depending on the time of the year.

    Admission: $8. Save 20% with the Barcelona Card.

    Disabled access: Yes.

    This museum has a wide range of Miró's works dating back as far as 1914. This artwork collection includes not only his paintings but also a good selection of sculptures.