How cool can libraries be in an era(时代) of iPods and Kindles? More than you think. Only if you know where to go.

Central Library: Seattle, Washington, United States

    The Central Library in Seattle is modern and fashionable and has tourists from around the world paying visits and taking tours. It was designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and American designer Joshua Prince-Ramus. Tours began in 2006, two years after its opening. The library holds various art exhibitions, book signings and other events, while visitors can stop by the Chocolati cat for a coffee and scan through the gift shop anytime.

Trinity College Library: Dublin, Ireland

    The Trinity College Library in Dublin is the oldest library in Ireland, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I. It is the largest single library in the world, also known as the Long Room, which contains more than 200,000 of the library's oldest books. The Long Room houses one of the oldest harps(竖琴) in Ireland. Dating to the 15^th century, the old harp is the model for the symbol of Ireland.

Geisel Library, University of California: San Diego, United States

    At first glance, it looks like a spaceship. Architect William Pereira, who helped design actual space launch facilities at Cape Canaveral in Houston, Texas, designed the library in 1970. It has been featured in sci-fi films, short stories and novels. The library hosts “Dinner in the Library” which invites readers for cocktails, and also a special speech from distinguished authors.

TU Delft Library: The Netherlands

    The library at the Delft University of Technology was constructed in 1997 and has more than 862,000 books, 16,000 magazine subscriptions and its own museum. The building itself exists beneath the ground, so you can't really see the actual library. What makes it interesting is the roof, which is a grassy hill. The roof covers 5,500 square meters. And it has become one of the most striking and greenest structures in the area.

    The story told to all American children about honesty is about the cherry tree that President George Washington cut when he was a boy. In China, every child knows the story of Lei Feng, the young soldier who helped others and was very honest. The stories of George Washington and Lei Feng help us understand the importance of being honest.

    Every teacher wants his or her students to be honest. If every student can be honest in their childhood, they will be honest when they become adults. The country will then be known as an honest country and it will be respected by everyone.

    Usually, it is the father and the mother who give the first lessons of honesty. George Washington learned honesty from his father.

    A favorite Chinese story is about a young man who went to the market to buy food for his mother. There was a very young girl there who was selling flowers. The young man stole one flower when the girl served her customer.

    When he went home, he began to think what he had done. He went back to the market to find the girl. He told her that he was sorry and that he wanted to pay her for the flower. The little girl refused and said, "You do not need to pay for the flower, elder brother. Since you took it, I thought you had a reason to take it so I did not worry about receiving money for it."The young man was ashamed that he stole the flower. He could never forget about the importance of being honest.

    Hiking England

    DAY 1: ST. BEES TO ENNERDALE BRIDGE

    Our journey sets out early this morning with a Coast to Coast tradition approaching the Irish Sea. Then set off along the rocks of St. Bees Head. Turning inland, we'll pause for a typical pub lunch on our way to Ennerdale Bridge, located at the foot of the Lake District mountains. (15 miles hiking, 8 hours)

    Accommodations: Ennerdale Country House Hotel

    DAY2: ENNERDALE BRIDGE TO HONISTER

    Today we'll walk into impressive Lake District National Park, where glass-like lakes reflect mountains that rise from their shores. Our pleasant walk covers the southern edge of Ennerdale Water, the park's most western lake. After lunch near the Black Sail Hut, climb a 2,000 foot mountain and take in the beautiful views of lakes and pastures (牧场). We finish in Borrowdale, a short transfer (转乘) from our hotel. (13 miles hiking, 9 hours)

    Accommodations: Inn on the Lake

    DAY 3: GRASMERE TO GLENRIDDLNG

    Take a short drive to Grasmere, where the great poet William Wordsworth wrote some of his most well-known works. Visit the poet's home, and walk through the village where he found inspiration. Then climb over Grisedale Hause enjoying views of Helvellyn, England's third-highest mountaintop. Hike down the valley toward Lake Ullswater and spend the night in Glenridding. (9 miles hiking, 5 hours)

    Accommodations: Glenridding Lake Hotel

    DAY 4: LAKE ULLSWATER TO SHAP

    The day begins with a scenic journey on Lake Ullswater to Howtown. From here, we cross a historic Roman road on our way to Bampton. Hike to the 12th-century Shap Abbey. A short transfer takes us to our hotel in the typical English village of Ravenstonedale. (12 miles hiking, 7 hours)

    Accommodations: The Black Swan

How to Prevent Dehydration

    When the weather's warm, you need to make sure you drink enough water. But did you know that you lose your sense of thirst as you get older? This means you5re more likely to become dehydrated, making you more prone to (有倾向) falls, heart disease, urinary-tract infections, kidney stones and confusion. A study from Loughborough University in the UK has shown that drivers who had only a little water an hour made twice as many mistakes as motorists who were properly hydrated. In fact, they made a similar number of errors to what you'd expect from someone over the drink-drive limit.

    So how do you know when you're dehydrated? Warning signs include:

    Feeling tired

    Dry mouth and dry skin

    Dark urine

    Reduced appetite (食欲)

    Reduced concentration

    Headache

    Constipation.

    But you might not notice any symptoms (症状)at all，so to make sure you stay hydrated:

    Keep a glass of water by your side when you're at home, and drink it regularly.

    Form a new drinking habit—for example, when watching TV, always reach for the water glass during an ad break.

    Take a small bottle of water with you when you go out.

    Always drink a large glass of water with a meal.

    Eat fruit and vegetables with high water content.

    Draw up a weekly water card—a bit like a coffee loyalty card—with a target of eight glasses of water a day. Mark it every time you have a glass of water. Award yourself a prize when ifs full at the end of the week.

    Drink water before, during and after you take any exercise.

    Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) needs to prove its worth through rigorous clinical trials, according to the head of one of China's largest herbal remedy companies, as a contentious new law to boost the $40bn sector comes into effect.

    Traditional Chinese Medicine is estimated by analysts to account for a third of sales in China's $117bn pharmaceutical (药学) market, the world's second largest. But most of those sales are of relatively cheap over-the-counter drugs, with many Chinese hospital doctors unwilling to prescribe TCM remedies because of the lack of evidence for their effectiveness.

    China's first law promising equal status for TCM and western medicine in the country's state-dominated healthcare system comes into effect this weekend. Provisions include encouragement for hospitals to set up TCM centres, and a licensing system for practitioners (从业者). "This law is very important for securing the status of TCM," said Wu Yiling, chairman of Yiling Pharmaceutical, a company that makes herbal remedies based on traditional recipes in the northern province of Hebei.

    Listed in Shenzhen, Wu Yiling has a market capitalization of RMB 20.7bn ($3bn). Mr Wu, the son of a herbal practitioner, controls a family fortune of $1.6bn, according to the Hurun Rich List.

    Mr Wu is both a supporter of the nature of Qi—the mystical energy force that provides the basis for much of TCM theory—and the clinical trials vital to western pharmaceutical companies. "TCM needs to develop using modern research methods," he said.

    For instance, researchers from Peking and Cardiff Universities tested the health benefits of Yiling's herbal medicine Yangzheng Xiaoji, publishing papers in the International Journal of Oncology that showed the drug can slow the growth of cancer tumours. "The theory and recipe is TCM, but in practice the evaluation of our medicines is carried out according to western evidence-based methods," Mr Wu said.

    Analysts say such tests can help gain support from doubtful hospital doctors and boost prescriptions. "Doctors need strong evidence that drugs definitely work," said Serena Shao, healthcare analyst at brokerage CLSA. "Some of these companies are currently doing clinical trials, and getting proof that their drugs have the same efficacy (功效) as chemical drugs. That's the way to go." she added.

    The TCM law has been greeted with doubt from China's western-schooled medical establishment, which points to a lack of rigorous training for TCM doctors, and a recent series of shocking events involving herbal injections believed to have been harmful. "Officials will try and encourage TCM, but also will be very cautious about what kinds of TCM they use in hospitals," added Ms Shao.

    Downloading music over the Internet is pretty common among high school and college students. However, when students download and share copyrighted music without permission, they are against the law.

    A survey of young people's music ownership has found that teenagers and college students have an average of more than 800 illegally copied songs each on their digital music players．Half of those surveyed share all the music on their hard drive (硬盘), enabling others to copy hundreds of songs at any one time. Some students were found to have randomly linked their personal blogs to music sites, so as to allow free trial listening of copyrighted songs for blog visitors, or adopted some of the songs as the background music for their blogs. Such practices may be easy and free, but there are consequences.

    Sandra Dowd, a student of Central Michigan University, was fined US $7,500 for downloading 501 files from Lime Wire, a peer-to-peer file sharing program. Sandra claimed that she was unaware that her downloads were illegal until she was contacted by authorities. Similarly, Mike Lewinski paid US $4,000 to settle a lawsuit（起诉）against him for copyright violation (违反). Mike expressed shock and couldn't believe that this was happening to him. "I just wanted to save some money and I always thought the threat was just a scare tactic(战术)." "You know, everyone does it," added Mike.

    The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), the organization that files lawsuits against illegal downloaders, states that suing (控告) students was by no means their first choice. Unfortunately, without the threat of consequences, students are just not changing their behavior. Education alone is not enough to stop the extraordinary growth of the illegal downloading practice.