【推荐1】Alibaba Group will extend its digital operating system to 1.5 million small neighborhood stores in China. Under the so-called Plan W, Alibaba is looking to develop a number of smaller shops with a daily revenue of over 10,000 yuan ($1,456) in lower-tier cities, townships and villages.

The latest move falls under Alibaba’s Ling Shou Tong (LST) business unit, which connects the millions of street stands in China and improves marketing, delivery, and inventory management abilities through digital means. The data-backed retail management system has been designed to digitize the business of millions of mom and pop stores and neighborhood convenience stores.

Alibaba will offer a smart point-of-sale system, some 10,000 new product offerings, and a variety of online touchpoints to help users access offline stores virtually. Alibaba intends to help these mom and pop stores double or even triple their revenue, and they can sell more efficiently, and get flexibility to refill stocks based on their changing needs.

Its POS machine performs every function throughout the retail process and provides real-time suggestions. For instance, it would send out alerts on potential stock shortage, and would recommend cost-effective purchase to enhance the store’s profitability. The machine also collects average selling price for a certain product in the nearby areas, thereby giving references to shop-owners to make informed pricing decisions.

Furthermore, an inventory monitoring system is in operation to give real-time advice on product display. This is coupled with a three-layer warehouse system covering 200 cities and townships to ensure the timely delivery of products, based on geographical shopping preferences that are present in Alibaba’s data book.

Despite slow consumption growth at home and abroad, one in every five small shops surveyed by LST reported they have witnessed positive revenue growth. Average daily revenue surpassed 7,000 yuan,   compared with the 3,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan range for average offline stores.

【推荐2】Mail carriers will be delivering some good news and some bad news this week.

The bad news: Stamp prices are expected to rise 2 cents in May to 41 cents, the Postal Regulatory Commission announced yesterday. The good news: With the introduction of a “forever stamp”, it may be the last time Americans have to use annoying 2-or 3-cent stamps to make up postage differences.

Beginning in May, people would be able to purchase the stamps in booklets of 20 at the regular rate of a first-class stamp. As the name implies, “forever stamps” will keep their first-class mailing value forever, even when the postage rate goes up.

The new “forever stamp” is the United States Postal Service’s(USPS)answer to the complaints about frequent rate increases. The May increase will be the fifth in a decade. Postal rates have risen because of inflation(通货膨胀), competition from online bill paying, and the rising costs of employee benefits, including healthcare, says Mark Saunders, a spokesman for USPS.

The USPS expects some financial gain from sales of the “forever stamp” and the savings from not printing as many 2-or 3-cent stamps. “It’s not your grandfather’s stamp,” says Mr Saunders. “It could be your great-grandchildren’s stamp.”

Other countries, including Canada, England, and Finland use similar stamps.

Don Schilling, who has collected stamps for 50 years, he’s interested in the public’s reaction. “This is an entirely new class of stamps,” Mr Schilling says. He adds that he’ll buy the stamps because he will be able to use them for a long period of time, not because they could make him rich—the volume printed will be too large for collectors. “We won’t be able to send our kids to college on these,” he says, laughing.

The USPS board of governors has yet to accept the Postal Regulatory Commission’s decision, but tends to follow its recommendations. No plans have been announced yet for the design of the stamps.

【推荐3】Many adults rely on caffeine to get them through the day. But that’s the last thing kids need, according to the governments of England and South Korea.

England woke up to the news that the government is preparing to ban the sale of energy drinks like Red Bull to children.

The ban only applies to England, but Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can all follow suit if their administrations wish. In March, several major supermarket chains announced they would ban the sale of energy drinks to children under 16. Meanwhile, South Korea announced plans to ban the sale of coffee in schools by September 14.

The first reason for the ban is the high level of caffeine in the energy drinks, which has been linked to health problems for children, including head and stomach aches, as well as sleep problems.

A 250ml can of Red Bull contains about 80mg of caffeine, roughly the same as a similarly sized cup of coffee, but three times the level of Coca-Cola. Monster Energy, which is often sold in larger cans of 500ml, contains 160mg of caffeine.

Energy drinks often also have higher levels of sugar than soft drinks. Sugared energy drinks have 60% more calories and 65% more sugar than normal soft drinks and sugar is one of the largest causes of obesity (肥胖症).

British national official for education, Darren Northcott, described the drinks as “legal highs” that helped to fuel bad behavior in schools.

In addition to limiting kids’ access to caffeine and energy drinks, the South Korean government has also banned TV commercials for fast food, sugary snacks and high-caffeine beverages during times when most children’s programs air.

South Koreans drink an average of 181 cups of coffee a year, by far the most in Asia. That is more than the 151 consumed per person in the UK but less than the average of 266 cups in the US.

【推荐2】A farmer grew some vegetables in his garden. One day his wife was ill and he had no money. He had to sell some cabbages and carrots in the market. The next morning he took two baskets of vegetables to town, but it was raining hard that afternoon and there were few people in the street. When his vegetables were sold out, it was dark. He bought some medicine and hurried to his village.

On his way home he saw a person lying on the ground. He placed his baskets on the ground and was going to help the person to get up. At that time he found it was a dead man and there was much blood on his body. He was so afraid that he ran away quickly, without taking his baskets.

The next afternoon the farmer was sent to the police station. Having shown the baskets, an officer asked, “Are these yours?” “Yes, sir.” The farmer answered timidly. “Have you killed the man?” “No, no, sir.” The farmer said in a hurry. “When did you see the dead man?” “About seven last evening.” “Did you see who killed the man?” “No, sir.” The officer brought out a knife and asked, “Have you seen it yet?” “No, sir.” The officer became angry and told the policemen to beat him up and sent him into prison.

That evening the officer went on trying. Pointing to the knife, he asked again, “Have you seen it yet?” “Yes, sir.” The officer was happy and asked, “When and where?” “I saw it here this afternoon, sir.”

【推荐3】For years I wanted a flower garden, but with five children I was too busy to have one. Money was limited(有限的), and so was time. Often one of the children would want something that cost too much, and I would say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn’t grow on trees, you know.” Finally, when all five had gotten through high school and college, and had started having their own families, I started thinking again about having a garden. However, I knew gardens cost money.

Then, one spring morning on Mother’s Day, as I was working in my kitchen, I heard cars drive by and looked out of the window to see a new tree planted in my yard. I couldn’t believe my eyes: it was a money tree! Dollar bills were stuck all over that tree, and there was a note which read: “I owe you eight hours of digging time. Love, Marvin.”

Marvin, my first son, kept his promise. He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen-foot bed(花坛，花圃) for me. My other children bought me tools, a sunflower stepping stone(踏脚石) and gardening books. We built a garden together.

That was three years ago. My garden is now very pretty, and just what I’d always wanted. When I go out to weed or tend my flowers, I don’t seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels as if they were right there with me. When I think about what my children have done for me, I get tears in my eyes every time.

I’m still not sure whether money grows on trees. But I know love does!

【推荐1】Does your child have an interest in drawing, painting or learning new crafts (手工)? Our selections below will help you find the perfect fit for your child.

Summer Academic Youth Programs

Summer is the perfect time for pre-college students to explore their career (职业) interests. BGSU Pre-College Programs provides opportunities for students to experience the Bowling Green State University campus while expanding their knowledge and building life skills.

Address: Hayes Hall

Bowling Green Ohio 43403

United States

Phone: 4193720424

Fine Arts Specialty at Pali Adventures

The beautiful natural surroundings at Pali inspire campers to create their best works. Our instructors (导师) are talented creators who guide artists of all levels every step of the way. Campers challenge their inner artist and discover new ways to express themselves in a different medium each day.

Address: 30778 Highway 18

Running Springs California 92382

United States

Phone: 9098675743

Pierce Camp Birchmont

Camp Birchmont was founded by the Pierce family in 1951 and three generations of the Pierce family have owned and directed the camp ever since. Set on 300 acres (英亩) in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and against sand bottomed Lake Wentworth, Birchmont’s campus is almost as unique as its culture, program and philosophy.

Address: 693 Governor John Wentworth Hwy

Wolfeboro New Hampshire 03894

United States

Phone: 5166215035

Camp Olympia

It’s the best place for children aged 7-16 to spend their summer. It lies on Lake Livingston in Trinity. Camp Olympia offers more than 40 individualized (个性化) activities, so campers can choose the activities that interest them.

Address: 723 Olympia Dr

Trinity Texas 10326

United States

Phone: 8007356190

【推荐2】Self-driving cars have been backed by the hope that they will save lives by getting involved in fewer crashes with fewer injuries and deaths than human-driven cars. But so far, most comparisons between human drivers and automated vehicles have been unfair. Crash statistics for human-driven cars are gathered from all sorts of driving situations. and all types of roads. However, most of the data on self-driving cars' safety have been recorded often in good weather and on highways, where the most important tasks are staying in the car's own lane and not getting too close to the vehicle-ahead. Automated cars are good at those tasks, but so are humans.

It is true that self-driving cars don't get tired, angry, frustrated or drunk .But neither can they yet react to uncertain situations with the same skill or anticipation of an attentive Unban driver. Nor do they possess the foresight to avoid potential dangers. They largely drive from moment to moment, rather than think ahead to possible events literally down the road.

To a self-driving car, a bus full of people might appear quite similar to an uninhabited field. Indeed, deciding what action to take in an emergency is difficult for humans, but drivers have sacrificed themselves for the greater good of others. An automated system's limited understanding of the world means it will almost never evaluate （评估）a Situation the same way a human would. And machines can't be programmed in advance to handle every imaginable set of events.

Some people may argue that the promise of simply reducing the number of injuries and deaths is enough to support driverless cars. But experience from aviation（航空）shows that as new automated systems are introduced, there is often an increase in the rate of disasters.

Therefore, comparisons between humans and automated vehicles have to be performed carefully. To fairly evaluate driverless cars on how well they fulfill their promise of improved safety, it's important to ensure the data being presented actually provide a true comparison. After all, choosing to replace humans with automation has more effects than simply a one-for-one exchange.

【推荐3】One day John was looking out of the window when he saw a huge blast of light, followed by an extremely loud explosion. He looked up and saw a huge cloud of dust surrounding the moon. When the dust settled, John saw the strangest thing—the moon was almost split in half.

John's mom ran over to see what had happened. Then John and his mom heard a couple of men speaking out loud through the open window. “I told you there were aliens（外星人）out there!” one man exclaimed loudly.

“You have to be out of your mind! Our astronauts would have found that out, if that was true,” the other man replied.

“Wow, an alien invasion!” John cried excitedly.

“Calm down, John. There has to be a more believable story than the alien nonsense,” his mom said.

John and his mom moved away from the window to watch the news, hoping that someone would say something more realistic than the alien story. On the news, some scientists agreed that the split of the moon, was a result of a major moon-quake. On the other hand, the religious people all agreed the moon split was a sign from God that the end of world was near.

Time passed by, and there was no definite answer as to what exactly had happened to the moon. So, the mystery continued while the moon appeared to be shining brighter than ever.

“How do you like my mystery story, Dad?” Adam asked his father.

“Great! But I have one question. Don't you think that your ending leaves the readers hanging?” his father asked.

“Very true. But that's the beauty of it. Mystery stories are even more exciting when the ending stays a mystery, leaving it to the readers' imaginations to pick the ending they like, ” Adam replied.

【推荐1】According to the notice from the government, our school will close and your child can stay at home if it snows in order to avoid the traffic inconvenience and possible danger. But Snow Day is not a homework-free holiday. We will call it Snow Learning Day.

Snow Learning Day is a time for students to continue learning at home when they miss a day of regular school study. Students will have the opportunity for skill improvement through computer or paper worksheets.

We will send home a packet with each student that contains work for Snow Learning. Please sign your name in the following activity boxes when you make sure your child completes for each Snow Learning Day we have. Your child needs to return this sheet and all completed work to Mr. Turner within 5 days after they return to school.

ACTIVITY BOX ON SNOW LEARNING DAY

【推荐2】Recently, a coalition of business and advocacy groups from around Washington gathered to kick off a campaign to enact a carbon pricing program in the capital. Known as the Climate and Community Reinvestment Act of D.C., the plan would place a new tax on all fossil fuels bought or sold, with the hope of ultimately discouraging the use of these polluting energy sources.

The big-picture goal of this campaign is admirable: to address the ever-deepening crisis of humanity-driven climate chaos by dissuading the continued use of coal, oil and gas, the filthy substances rapidly warming our planet. But unfortunately, the approach — one based in a world of financial markets, trading schemes and enticing new public revenue streams — is deeply and inherently flawed. Simply put, carbon pricing is a false solution to climate change and a distraction from real, effective climate solutions we must urgently pursue.

To date, there is scant(不足的) evidence to indicate that carbon taxes lower greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the opposite is true. Recently Food & Water Watch reviewed the British Columbia carbon tax program, often cited by advocates as an example of success. From 2009 (the first full year of the tax) to 2014, emissions from taxed sources grew by 4.3 percent. And in the seven years after the carbon tax took effect, total gasoline sales increased by 7.37 percent.

Supporters of such plans like to focus on a deceivingly simple notion that increasing the price of a consumer good will automatically reduce its use. But this just isn’t the case when it comes to the purchase of necessities. People must heat their homes in winter, and they must commute to work, regardless of the cost.

Those backing the D.C. carbon pricing plan like to note that revenue from the new tax would go toward investment in clean energy sources. But only 20 percent of the generated funds would be allocated in this manner. The rest would be divvied(分摊) up in tax breaks for businesses and rebates(回扣) for consumers, another factor undercutting the notion that increased costs up front would change consumer behavior in the long run.

Meanwhile, fossil fuel giants such as ExxonMobil are increasingly coming out in support of carbon pricing. This should be cause for alarm for anyone concerned with stamping out the use of the dirty energy sources these corporations profit from. Exxon knows that carbon taxes will do little to change the business-as-usual dependence on oil and gas that it relies on to continue operating and enriching shareholders. Furthermore, corporations such as Exxon rightly view carbon pricing schemes as a means of diverting energy and interest from tougher regulations that might actually encroach on(侵犯) their business plans and bottom lines.

Despite what many well-intentioned activists and community leaders want to believe, there is no convenient, market-friendly solution to our dire climate condition. There is only the hard truth that we must tackle the problem at its source: We must stop using fossil fuels, and soon. The latest science indicates that in order to avoid the worst effects of deepening climate chaos, society must transition completely to clean, renewable energy by 2035.

【推荐3】Step into Moving to Mars, an exhibition of Mars mission and colony design at London's Design Museum, and immediately you have good reasons not to move there.

Frightening texts on the walls announce that Mars wasn't made for you; that there is no life and precious little water; that, dressed in a spacesuit, you will never touch, taste or smell the planet you now call “home”. As Lisa Grossman wrote for New Scientist a couple of years ago, “What's different about Mars is that there is nothing to do there except try not to die.”

It is an odd beginning for such a celebratory exhibition, but it provides a valuable, dark background against which the rest of the show can sparkle (闪耀)—a show that is, as its chief manager Justin McGuirk remarks, “not about Mars; this is an exhibition about people”.

Moving along, there is a quick yet clear flash through what the science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson calls “the history of Mars in the human mind”. A Babylonian clay tablet and a Greek vase speak of early ideas about the planet. A poster for the original Total Recall film reminds us of Mars's psychological threat.

The main part of the show is our current plans for the Red Planet. There are real spacesuits and models of 3D­printed Martian settlements and suitable clothing and furniture. Mission architecture and engineering sketches line the walls. Real hammers meant for the International Space Station are wall­mounted (固定在墙上的) beside a low­gravity table that has yet to leave and may indeed never leave Earth.

This, of course, is the great strength of approaching science through design: reality and assumptions can be given equal visual weight, drawing us into an informed conversation about what it is that we actually want from a future on Mars.