As a young boy, I sometimes traveled the country roads with my dad. He was a rural mill carrier, and on Saturdays he would ask me to go with him. Driving through the countryside was always an adventure: There were animals to see, people to visit, and chocolate cookies if you knew where to stop, and Dad did.

    In the spring, Dad delivered boxes full of baby chickens, and when 1 was a boy it was such a fun to stick your finger 'through one of the holes of the boxes and let the baby birds peck on your fingers.

    On Dad' s final day of work, it took him well into the evening to complete his rounds because at least one member from each family was waiting at their mailbox to thank him for his friendship and his years of service. "Two hundred and nineteen mailboxes on my route." he used to say, "and a story at every one. " One lady had no mailbox, so Dad took the mail in to her every day because she was nearly blind. Once inside, he read her mail and helped her pay her bills.

Mailboxes were sometimes used for things other than mail. One note left in a mailbox read. "Nat, take these eggs to Marian; she's baking a cake and doesn't have any eggs. " Mailboxes might be buried in the snow, or broken, or lying on the groom:. bat the mail was always delivered On cold days Dad might find one of his customers waiting for him with a cup of hot chocolate. A young wrote letters but had no stamps, so she left a few button on the envelope in the mailbox; Dad paid for the stamps. One businessman used to leave large amounts of cash in his mailbox for Dad to take to the bank. Once, the amount came to 8 32,000.

    A dozen years ago, when I traveled back to my hometown on the sad occasion of Dad's death,  the mailboxes along the way reminded me of some of his stories. I thought I knew them all, but that wasn't the case.

    As I drove home, I noticed two lamp poles, one on each side of the street. When my dad was around, those poles supported wooden boxes about four feet off the ground. One box was painted green and the other was red, and each had a long narrow hole at the top with white lettering: SANTA CLAUS, NORTH POLE. For years children had dropped letters to Santa through those holes.

    I made a turn at the comer and drove past the post office and across the railroad tracks to our house. Mom and I were sitting at the kitchen table when I heard footsteps. There, at the door, stood Frank Townsend, Dad's postmaster and great friend for many years. So we all sat down at the table and began to tell stories.

    At one point Frank looked at me with tears in his eyes. " What are we going to do about the letters this Christmas?" he asked.

    "The letters?"

    'I guess you never knew. "

    "Knew what?"

    " Remember, when you were a kid and you used to put your letters to Santa in those green and red boxes on Main Street? It was your dad who answered all those letters every year. "

    I just sat there with tears in my eyes. It wasn't hard for me to imagine Dad sitting at the old table in our basement reading those letters and answering each one. I have since spoken with several of the people who received Christmas letters during their childhood, and they told me how amazed they were that Santa had known so much about their homes and families.

For me, just knowing that story about my father was the gift of a lifetime.

    Wild mangoes come from the foothills of the Himalayas. They are by far the most important fruit in India, and have been cultivated there for four thousand years. The arrival of the mango tree in other parts of the world was probably due to the Portuguese who carried mangoes via Goa to Africa, from where they eventually reached the New World. Mango trees are now so well established in many tropical countries that it might appear that they have always been there.

    Like many tropical trees, the mango tree is multi-purpose product. Its wood is used in boat building, and its leaves can be fed to cattle. Most of the mango crop is consumed in the areas where it is grown, but in recent years mangoes have gained in popularity across the world as people in mild climate become increasingly eager to enjoy the delight of the fresh fruit.

    The global market for mangoes is very profitable, and mango producers are keen to make use of the fruit's growing popularity. Modern shoppers not only appreciate the fruit's high nutritional value(the mango is a good source of vitamin A and C, protein and fibre), but also expect it to look and taste perfect. Therefore producers now select only the best quality seedlings which have the most chance of developing into good quality fruit.

    Mangoes are high in fiber, thus making them very good for the heart. The high fiber content is also helps easing constipation. They have high pectin(果胶) and vitamin C content that reduces the blood cholesterol levels and serves as an immune booster. This fruit is rich in anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and contain an enzyme(酶) that has stomach soothing properties. These enzymes act as a digestive aid and digestive proteins.

    Although the mango tree has spread from its native Himalayan foothills to the tropics, delivering the fresh fruit to the world's supermarkets presents a challenge, as it does not travel well. Producers transport the fruit by speedy but costly air freight (货运)for minimum delay rather than risk the cheaper but slower road or shipping routes which, can result in damage to the fruit.

    Mangoes are usually in storage for some time after their arrival at their destination. The fruit must be kept cold, or the sweet, juicy flesh will soon become over ripe and the mangoes will be unfit for sale. Fortunately, extremely effective refrigeration is now available and this is the best way of preventing the fruit from going bad before it reaches the supermarket shelves.

You might think people all over the United States have Wi-Fi—wireless Internet service—and mobile phones. But there is no such service in Green Bank, West Virginia, a tiny town four hours from the U.S. capital, Washington D.C. Fewer than 150 people live in Green Bank, which has two churches, an elementary school and a public library. It is also home to the largest radio telescope in the world.

    There is a ban on Wi-Fi in Green Bank, along with anything else that can create electromagnetic(电磁的)waves. Officials say the waves could disturb the signals the telescope receives.

For many Americans, a visit to Green Bank is a little like returning to the 1950s. To get there, you must read road signs—because there is no GPS service in the town. People can connect with the Internet through telephones, but wireless service is not allowed.

    The observatory(天文台)is one of the largest employers in the area. The federal National Science Foundation(NSF) spends about ＄8.2 million a year to operate the observatory, telescope and educational center.

    Jonah Bauserman is a technician. If he supposes there is signal that is not allowed in the zone, he drives to the house where the signal is coming from and checks it. But once a week, when the device is cleaned, some banned devices are allowed near it.

    People in the town respect the work of the scientists. And they say they are happy to live without Wi-Fi and mobile phones. “You know, instead of sitting here on our phones and other devices we're out fishing and hunting and going to each other's houses.” Everyone knows each other and communication is almost always face-to-face.

    The English language is full of phrases about the weather. Some of these phrases are easy to understand, but others are not really about the weather at all. If you say you "hit rough weather", you may not be struck by a real storm, but you do experience difficulties or problems. If you don't know what such phrases mean, they might leave you "in a fog (雾)"!

    In English, you can "shoot the breeze", or have an informal chat. But things can also be a breeze. If you take an exam and find it very easy, you'd tell your friends: "It was a breeze!" The wind can also bring information. You can "get wind of" a piece of news, and if someone "knows which way the wind blows", they have a good idea about how things will work out. But don't "throw caution (警惕) to the wind" — that means taking a great risk!

    Clouds sometimes bring rain, and in English they often represent problems or difficulties. If someone "sees a cloud on the horizon (地平线)", there may be problems ahead. And if someone is "under a cloud", then people think the person might have done something wrong. But clouds are not always bad; in fact, people say that "every cloud has a silver lining". This means that there is a good side to every situation, no matter how bad it may seem. You may even end up "on cloud nine", which means you are very happy! But some people have their "heads in the clouds", not paying attention to reality.

    No one likes to be stuck in the rain or storm, so it's no surprise that phrases about them are generally negative. When someone says "it never rains but it pours", they are complaining (抱怨) that when things go wrong, they go very wrong. People who talk about "weathering a storm" just want to get through a difficult period or situation.

    Through your childhood and, let's be honest, most of your adult life, you may have wondered—how do you get to Sesame Street? After 50 years, the answer has finally been revealed.

    New York City's Official Sesame Street

    In the past, there was guessing about the true location of the street, like Harlem or Alphabet City since both neighborhoods resembled Sesame Street in appearance and population makeup. Recently, in honor of the children's television show's 50th anniversary, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared that West 63rd Street between Central Park West and Broadway will now officially be known as Sesame Street, close to the Sesame Workshop office.

    A Year-long Celebration for the 50^th Anniversary

    Since 1969, the children's television show Sesame Street has been a pioneering force in media and education, dealing with issues like racism, loss, poverty and living with a disability. With a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder, Sesame Street has brought the life-changing benefits of early learning to children across the globe for 50 years. Today, we reach kids in 150 countries and 70 languages and we're celebrating our landmark anniversary with fans and families all year long!

    Events and Activities Throughout 2019

    Fans and families around the world can join their favorite furry friends in celebrating Sesame Street's past, present, and future, with:

    A 50th television season which focuses on the power of possibilities, empowering kids to take safe risks and learn from their mistakes.

    A nationwide road trip where Sesame Street characters and friends host community events in ten cities around the country.

    A research report that will explore an important issue facing kids and families today.

    Celebrity and fan-fueled social media campaigns showcasing favorite Sesame Street memories.

    New corporations across fashion, lifestyle, and themed entertainment for fans of all ages.

    A November star-studded prime-time special, whose contents include new takes on classic scenes and visits from Sesame Street icons.

AI-generated content has recently won big in the literary world. Japanese author Rie Kudan won one of Japan's most famous literary awards, the Akutagawa Prize, with the help of ChatGPT in The Tokyo Tower of Sympathy. 

The book is set in future Japan, where AI has become an important part of people's lives. The story centers around an architect who creates a comfortable prison but struggles with a society that she sees as being overly sympathetic to criminals. 

Kudan admitted at a news conference that "around 5 percent of the book's text was taken directly from generative AI," reported kyodo News. She added that there is a scene in the book where an AI chatbot answers the main character's questions and she used AI-generated text in the responses given by AI in the story. The word-for-word content generated by AI was applauded by committee members as "practically flawless", said CNN. 

This is not the first time that Al-related works have won prizes. In October 2023, The Land of Machine Memorieswas awarded second prize at China's fifth youth popular science and science fiction competition. The fiction was fully created by AI with the prompts (提示) given by Shen Yang, a professor at Tsinghua University. Surprisingly, just one judge among the six of the competition realized that what they were reading was the product of a machine. 

So will literature in the future be all about AI? Debates are still ongoing on the matter. Japanese literary critic Akira Okawada told Tyodo News that "it is difficult for AI to create work that addresses ethical themes in depth". However, Chinese writer Luo Ping holds the positive view. "Improvements in technology will not cause human laziness in creating, but rather will only make them involved in more heated competition. With the help of technology, the starting point of human thinking will only grow higher," Luo told Hongxing News. 

"I think this is only the beginning for AI in creating literature," Fu Changyi, a member of Jiangsu Popular Science Writers Association, told online news Guancha. "We will wait and see how the future goes," he added.