2 . In 2010, a huge earthquake hit Haiti, causing the deaths of over a hundred thousand people and millions of dollars’ worth of damage.    1    On this occasion, funds were raised with amazing speed--within a week of the quake, the American Red Cross had raised $22 million. The reason? People were donating via their mobile phones.

    2     Gone are the days when people donated door by door. In today’s world of computers, smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches, charities can now reach more people than ever before.

Social media in particular has had a great impact on charity.    3     This enables charities to raise money extremely quickly, as in Haiti. And the quicker aid can be delivered, the more lives can be saved. Individual fundraising has also benefited. Most people are now so well-connected through sites like Facebook that asking people to contribute to your chosen cause is easier than ever.

New, innovative ways of donating are being thought up all the time. For example, if you want to support a good cause and keep fit at the same time, you can use an app called Charity Miles.    4     For every kilometer you cover, the app’s sponsors will make a donation to a charity of your choice. There’s also Snapdonate, which allows users to donate simply by taking a photo of a charity’s logo with their smartphone. The app recognizes the logo and allows users to immediately make a donation through their phones. This cuts out the need for entering payment details on charity websites, and makes the process of donating small amounts to multiple charities much simpler.

Apps like these are growing in number, and that can only be a good thing.    5    

3 . Whether you prefer history, art, special programming or something altogether different, the Museums in Atlanta will impress and delight you.

As one of the top art museums in the Southeast, High Museum of Art has an extensive collection of 19th and 20th-century American art and a significant amount of European artwork. There is a growing collection of African American art as well as modern and contemporary art. It is distinguished as the only major museum in North America to have a department specifically devoted to folk and self-taught art.

The Delta Flight Museum is an aviation and corporate museum located near the airline’s main hub. It is a nonprofit organization relying on volunteers, donations, special event rentals and Museum Store sales. It is considered an ongoing project and it collects various items year round.

Located along Ponce, the Fernbank Museum of Natural History is an interactive museum that will appeal to people of all ages. Permanent exhibits include dinosaur fossils and massive skeletons. Regularly scheduled educational and social events add to the appeal. The museum is also home to a five-story IMAX theater airing acclaimed nature films.

Founded in 1988 as a “Museum Without Walls,” the 16,316-square-foot museum includes exhibits designed for children under the age of nine and hosts field trips from schools and learning centers. The Imaginators invent fun hands-on activities for children, and create terrific programming, including original and lively 20-minute mini-musicals.

4 . Most of London's national museums are completely free of charge. So without cost to worry about, these are the must-see museums for art lovers on their first trip to London.

National Portrait Gallery

PHONE +44 20 7306 0055

Where else but the National Portrait Gallery can you find oil paintings of the Bronte sisters and William Shakespeare alongside black and white photographs of the Spice Girls and a mixed media portrait of J.K. Rowling? Featuring a collection of famous British people from the Tudor period to the present day, the National Portrait Gallery is a must for those who like British culture.

Science Museum

PHONE +44 33 3241 4000       

Ideal for left-brainers, London's Science Museum celebrates scientific, technological, and mathematical achievements — but that makes it sound so serious. With interactive exhibits, flight simulators, an IMAX theater, and even a milkshake bar, a trip to the Science Museum is far from the boring science lessons from back in the day.

Churchill War Rooms

PHONE +44 20 7416 5000

The Imperial War Museum is a collection of five museums and sites. One of the collection' s most fascination inclusions is the Churchill War Rooms. Walking through the underground labyrinth （迷宫）of war rooms is literally walking in the footsteps of Sir Winston Churchill and his war cabinet during WWII

Natural History Museum

PHONE +44 20 7942 5000

Once the home to African elephant specimens and surprising casts of a Triceratops and Diplodocus, the museum' s main hall now floats the real skeleton of a blue whale high above visitors’ heads. Though no longer in the entry hall, you can still find dinosaurs here, such as the first fossil ever found from a T. rex.

In order to encourage literacy (读写能力) among kids who are more used to playing on their smart devices. LA County     1    (library) are no longer charging library late fees for young readers. To make it even     2    (easy) for the kids, their schools have also signed up for library cards for them.

For those     3     already have a late fee balance, the library offers a unique way to pay it back by reading it away.

Kids can now go to their local library and tell the librarian that they would like     4    (pay) off their balance. In turn, the Librarian will start a timer and for every hour kids spends reading $5     5    (take) off of their debt. At least 100 students every week     6    (read) away their debt and a total of 3, 500 blocked accounts have been cleared. This debt relief can also be used for paying off lost or     7    (damage) books as well.

The program has already had a major effect     8     readership in the county. 15,000 kids have used their new library cards and parents said they allowed their children to check out books due to the     9    (decide).

    10     seems that the smell of old books can still have a place in the younger generation’s hearts — they just need a bit of encouragement.

6 . The Worlds' Best Bookshops

There's nothing like being surrounded by books， wherever you are． Here are the finest oases of literature that travellers can bring you．

Daikanyama T﹣site | Tokyo

It is well worth visiting even if just to admire the building's beautiful， crisscrossed architecture． Once you've had your fill of roaming three floors' worth of bookshelves， there's the bar， the coffee shop， or even the video rental space to give you more reason to stay just that little bit longer． Grab a book， order a beer and dive into its pages． I could have stayed hours here．

City Lights | San Francisco

The three﹣storey establishment publishes and sells titles in poetry， fiction， translation， politics， history and the arts． It hosts events and readings， and runs a non﹣profit of the same name that aims to promote diversity of voices and ideas in literature． It's opposite Vesuvio， a bar frequented by Kerouac and other Beat﹣generation writers and artists．

Shakespeare and Company | Paris

I made a special trip to the Left Bank for this one when I was in Paris． It has two floors packed with English﹣language texts， and I was particularly struck by any spare wall space devoted to notes from visitors ﹣ heartfelt messages to a loved one， dedications to the shop itself， or a quote from a favourite author or philosopher．

Hutatma Chowk | Mumbai

A few years ago I visited India， investigating Rudyard Kipling's connections with the country． I spotted a cheap copy of The Jungle Book on one of the tarp﹣covered book stalls at Hutatma Chowk （Martyrs' Square）． The booksellers here are like amateur librarians， able to lay their hands on almost any title you ask for． To me， those well﹣thumbed （翻旧了的） books spoke volumes about the changes of Mumbai's readers in the 150 years since the city gave us Kipling．

7 . How cool can libraries be in an era 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 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 Chocolate cart 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 15th century, the old harp is the model for the symbol foreland.

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.