In the last few years the popularity of eBooks has exploded．The advantages are clear：You can carry as many books with you as you want．You can simply download every book you like and instantly start reading instead of having to wait for the book to arrive by mail．

    However，one thing hadn't changed．If you wanted to rent a book you were still forced to use hardcopy books．Until now that is, Amazon．com recently announced the start of a new program where you can rent eBooks．

Where to rent eBooks？

    As mentioned before，Amazon．com is the first and currently the only retailer (零售商) that has a program in place for renting eBooks． Luckily，Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world and their eBook assortment (分类) is massive．They are also the producer of the Kindle，the most popular Reader，which means you can be sure that the eBooks you rent will work．

You can currently only rent Textbooks．But this is likely to change as soon as word gets out that you can save money by renting eBooks.

Why rent eBooks at Amazon?

* Save money：Save up to 80% of the normal price of the eBook．

* Decide how long you rent：From 30 days to 360 days，you decide how long you want it．You can extend the time by as little as a day．Or simply buy the eBook if you want to keep it after all．

*Use any device：If you rent an eBook from Amazon，you can read it on your PC，Mac，iPad，iPhone，Android device，Windows Phone 7．Blackberry．or Kindle．

* Keep your notes：Do you like to keep annotations (注释) and highlights in your eBooks？Don't worry．You can always revisit your notes and highlights through Amazon．com．

How to rent eBooks？

    Simply search for the eBook you want to rent on Amazon．com and select the "Rent eBooks" option. After that，a new page will open where you can select how long you'd like to rent the eBook．You can read eBooks for a period of 30 to 360 days．

    You decide how long you need the eBook．If you later find out you need it for longer, you can simply extend the time．Or buy it for the normal price whenever you want.

    Once you've chosen the time you want to rent the eBook，you simply go to checkout．Or you can use the "Rent now" button．

    Since his students began using Quizlet, English teacher Tristan Thorne has noticed an improvement in their ability to learn and use new words. Quizlet is a learning App, a computer program you use on your mobile phone. It can help users build and test their knowledge of English words. Quizlet has word sets for millions of subjects. And, it is quickly becoming a useful mobile tool for language learners.

    Thorne teachers at Columbia University in New York City. Thanks to learning Apps, Jeff Strack, another English teacher, has also notice improvement in his students' ability to remember information. He teaches at Hostos Community College, also in New York. He and Thorne are part of a growing number of language educators adding mobile Apps to their classes.

    Strack and Thorne seem to agree that the days when teachers would not permit the use of mobile phones are gone. When they use Apps, language learners communicate more differently than in a traditional classroom. Users act on or respond to something, instead of just listening to new information.

    Thorne believes that Apps can help learners become more active in learning. For example, each week, his students are required to add vocabulary words into Quizlet for others to use. He says some Apps also make it easy for students to know their language strengths and weaknesses.

    The biggest improvement Strack has seen in his students is that they are much more active in whole-class or small-group discussions. “Apps let all students take part in the activity, whether it's a game, quiz or practice activity.” he says.

    Many existing learning Apps are designed for students of all ages and levels. Some are designed for group activities. some support independent learning. Still some are good for homework. Thorne says he especially likes Quizlet and three other Apps: QR Codes, Socrative and Evernote.

Boston City View Bike Tour

    Boston City View Bike Tour offers an environmentally friendly and exciting bicycle tour of Boston—from historic places to strange neighborhood streets. The Boston City View Bicycle Tour is the classic tour for those looking to get a great introduction to Boston.

    Boston City View Bike Tour highlights（最精彩的部分）:

    Tour includes comfortable bikes, helmet and water

    Friendly tour guides

    One guide for every 6 riders for safety and the quality of the experience

    Comfortable pace

    All levels and ages are welcome

    Child seats are offered if asked

    This tour covers all of Boston's best sites:

    Historic Fenway Park

    The Christian Science Center

    The Freedom Trail

    The beautiful brownstones in Back Bay and the South End

    The Rose Kennedy Greenway—Boston's newest public park

    The Charles River Esplanade

    The North End—Boston's oldest Italian neighborhood

    Copley square, where you'll see the Boston Public Library & Trinity Church

    Please note:

    You don't need to be Lance Armstrong to enjoy the Boston City View Bike Tour—all levels of riders are welcome. About 70% of riding is done on city streets, mixed with cars. The remaining 30% of the tour covers the bike path on the quiet streets.

    The tour is 2.5-3.5 hours long and covers 10-12 miles. It is a great way to entertain guests and get a little exercise.

    Make your book today and get your e-tickets for the Boston City View Bike Tour online.

    This tour is seasonal and runs daily from April 1st through Nov. 30th.

    Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive(欺骗)?When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can give you a false(假的) picture.

    For example, someone might say, ''I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery(彩票). It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!"

    This guy's a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought $200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner. He's really a big loser!

    He didn't say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That's called a half-truth. Half truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.

    Some politicians often use this trick. Let's say that during Governor Smith's last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she seeks another term. One of her opponents says, “During Governor Smith's term， the state lost one million jobs!” That's true. However, an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith's term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs.”

    Advertisers will sometimes use half-truths. It's against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache.”' It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.

    This kind of deception happens too often. It's a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.

    Let's look at the movies we can't wait to watch in 2019:

    Dumbo (March 29)

    Dumbo is a 1941 American film produced by Walt Disney Productions. The main character is an elephant who is nicknamed "Dumbo". Dumbo is always laughed at for his big ears, and he is rejected by the other elephants. With no parent to care for him, he is alone. But in fact, he is capable of flying by using his ears as wings. A live-action adaptation of the film directed by Tim Burton is scheduled to be released on March 29, 2019.

    Shazam! (April 5)

    Shazam! is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Directed by David F. Sandberg, the film is set to star Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a teenage boy who can transform via the magic word "Shazam" into an adult superhero, played by Zachary Levi. It will be the first film version of the character since the 1941 series Adventures of Captain Marvel (the character's original name).

    Aladdin (May 24)

    Aladdin is a fictional character and the role of the film Aladdin (1992) based on Aladdin, a folk tale of Middle Eastern origin. He is voiced by Scott Weinger, while his singing voice is provided by Brad Kane. Aladdin never received a formal education, and has only learned by living on the streets of Agrabah. He has to steal food in the local market in order to survive. Mena Massoud is set to play a live-action version of the character in a live action adaptation of the 1992 film.

    Godzilla, King of the Monsters (May 31)

    Godzilla, King of the Monsters is a 1956 Japanese-American science fiction film, co-directed by Terry O. Morse and Ishiro Honda. It is a heavily re-edited American adaptation. For this new version of Godzilla, some of the original Japanese dialogue was translated into English, and some of the political, social and anti-nuclear themes were removed completely.

Comparing college entrance exams, there are different needs for admission. The national college entrance examination, or gaokao, is known as the most competitive test for Chinese students. Do students in other countries also need to take a standardized test to get into university?

South Korea holds the College Scholastic Ability Test（CSAT） in November each year. The CSAT plays an important role in the country's education. On test day, bus and subway frequency increases to make sure that students can get to the test sites in time.

Japan is trying to reform its standardized national college entrance exam. In January 2022, Common Test for University Admissions took the place of the National Center Test for University Admissions, which had been adopted since 1990. The new exam aims to put emphasis on the ability of students to discover and solve problems by themselves.

The American College Test（ACT） and Scholastic Assessment Test（SAT） are the two main college entrance exams taken by students in the US. While SAT tests a student's ability to learn, the ACT tests a student's educational development. Both tests normally take place seven times throughout the year. Students can retake the exams for a better score.

In the UK, there's no standardized test for college admission. Instead, each college has their own admission criteria. These criteria often onlyinclude submission of transcripts（成绩单） and participation in an interview. Yet, there are subject-specific exams used by some colleges.