Since the 1970s many new applications have been found for me. I have become very important in communication, finance and trade. I have also been put into robots and used to make mobile phones as well as help with medical operations. I have even been put into space rockets and sent to explore the Moon and Mars. Anyhow, my goal is to provide humans with a life of high quality. I am now truly filled with happiness that I am a devoted friend and helper of the human race!

【推荐1】George Prochnik would like the world to put a sock in it. He makes his case in a new book, listenning for Meaning in a World of Noise, here he explains himself (using his indoor voice):

“We’ve become so accustomed to noise, there’s about almost a deep prejudice against the idea that silence might be beneficial. If you tell someone to be quiet, you sound like an old man. But it’s never been more important to find continuing quiet. Silence focuses us, improves our health, and is a key to lasting peace and satisfaction.”

“We need to excite people about the sounds you start to hear if you merely quiet things down a little. During a Japanese tea ceremony, the smallest sounds becomes a kind of art—the spoons making a light ringing sound on a bowl, the edges of a kimono(和服)brushing against the floor.”

“Dear people are very attentive(专注的)in almost every aspect of life. If two deaf people are walking together, using sign language, they constantly watch out for each other and protect each other by paying steady attention to the other. They are connected yet also fully aware of their surroundings. Even deaf teenagers! We in the hearing world can learn from them. If we remove the powerful blasts(一阵阵)of noise, we become aware of an extraordinarily rich world around us—of little soft sounds and the sound of footsteps, of bird songs and ice cracking(开裂声). It’s astonishing how beautiful things sound when you can really listen. ”

【推荐1】Black Valley, 63 kilometers from downtown Chongqing, is one of the best preserved natural wonders around the municipality. The national 5A-level scenic spot is a popular summer resort for sightseeing, forest adventures, outdoor camping, hunting and angling.

Located in Heishan town, Wansheng Economic Development Zone, the scenic spot spans over 103 square kilometers, 97 percent of which are covered by primitive forests. With over 110,000 negative oxygen ions in each cubic centimeter of air, it is dubbed as a natural oxygen bar and “the most beautiful healthcare-themed valley.”

Black Valley is also known as “the natural gene bank of Chongqing and Guizhou regions” for the diversity of its rare plants and wildlife, including Cathaya argyrophylla, Davidia involucrata, Trachypithecus francoisi and clouded leopards.

Scenic spot level: AAAAA

Address: Heishan town, Wansheng Economic Development Zone, 63 kilometers from downtown Chongqing Opening hours: 8:30 am - 3:30 pm (peak season from November to February), 9:00 am-3:00 pm (off season from March to October)

Ideal sightseeing season: from May to September

Ticket price: 60 yuan ($8.72) during off season and 100 yuan during peak season, sightseeing bus and cable not included.

Notes:

It is recommended that tourists start from the higher southern area for a downward journey.

The average temperature is 18.1 degrees.

It’s a good idea to experience the local folk culture of the Miao ethnic group, especially when you choose to visit in May when the traditional Caishan Festival of Miao ethnic group is celebrated.

【推荐1】A primary school in Britain has put up signs to warn parents, who are addicted to playing with their phones, to greet their children with a smile rather than stare at their screens. It has become a common sight at the school gate to see children running up to their parents, only to find their parent are absorbed in reading news online, reading e-book, or watching their favorite videos.

Now the headmaster at a primary school in Middlesbrough, has put up the signs at all three entrances to the school. The signs say, “Greet your a woman holding a phone to her ear is crossed out in a red circle. The headmaster said, “We are trying to develop students’ speaking and listening skills and we think it is a simple way to get the message across. It isn’t only an issue among parents, but it also emphasizes that speaking and listening can help student to have discussions.”

The move had different responses. Danielle Parker, a parent, said, “I think the signs are unacceptable because most of the parents pick their children up with phones.” Another parent said, “It’s a good thing. Greeting children with smiles can also develop the relationship between parents and children.” Some parents when questioned were hesitant about the signs. Lindan Bradley, a pupil at the school, said he agreed with the signs, saying, “Why should children see parents playing their mobile phones all the time?”

Last year, research warned that parents’ devotion to cellphones had made some neglected children start primary school unable to hold conversations. Almost a third of children are not ready for the classroom when they start school.

【推荐3】With the young unable to afford to leave home and the old at risk of isolation(孤独), more families are choosing to live together.

The doorway to peace and quiet, for Nick Bright at least, leads straight to his mother-in-law, she lives on the ground floor, while he lives upstairs with his wife and their two daughters.

Four years ago they all moved into a three-storey Victorian house in Bristol — one of a growing number of multigenerational families in the UK living together under the same roof. They share a front door and a washing machine, but Rita Whitehead has her own kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living room on the ground floor.

“We floated the idea to my mum of sharing at a house,” says Kathryn Whitehead. Rita cuts in: “We spoke more with Nick because I think it’s a big thing for Nick to live with his mother-in-law.”

And what does Nick think? “From my standpoint, it all seems to work very well. Would I recommend it? Yes, I think I would.”

It’s hard to tell exactly how many people agree with him, but research indicates that the numbers have been rising for some time. Official reports suggest that the number of households with three generations living together had risen from 325,000 in 2002 to 419,000 in 2013.

Other varieties of multigenerational family are more common. Some people live with their elderly parents; many more adult children are returning to the family home, if they ever left. It is said that about 20% of 25-34-year-olds live with their parents, compared with 16% in 1991.The total number of all multigenerational households in Britain is thought to be about 1.8 million.

Stories like that are more common in parts of the world where multigenerational living is more firmly rooted. In India, particularly outside cities, young women are expected to move in with their husband’s family when they get married.

What is Nick’s attitude towards sharing the house with his mother-in -law?