2 . Imagine a world where you move around in front of a personal computer in your own sound space. You listen to your favorite songs, play loud computer games or watch a movie—all without other people hearing the sound. That is the possibility presented by “sound beaming,” a new technology from Noveto Systems, an Israeli company.

On Friday, the company presented a desktop device that sends sound directly to a listener without the need for headphones or a special receiver. Noveto Systems gave The Associated Press (AP) a chance to test its Sound Beamer 1.0 before its debut. The AP’s Louise Dixon writes that listening to the device is like something from a science fiction movie. The sound seems so close it feels like it is inside your ears while also in front, above and behind them.

Noveto expects the device will have many uses. Office workers could listen to music or conference calls without others hearing. People could play a game, a movie or music without waking up others in the same room. Because the device does not use headphones, it is possible to hear other sounds in the room clearly.

The device uses a 3-D technology that finds and follows the ear position of the listener. It sends ultrasonic waves to create sound pockets by the user’s ears. Sound can be heard in stereo or 3-D. The 3-D method creates sound on all sides of the listener The demo version of the device included nature videos of birds on a lake, bees flying and a quiet waterway. By changing a setting, the sound can follow a listener around when they move their head. It also is possible to move out sound beam’s path and hear nothing at all.

While the idea of sound beaming is not new, Noveto was the first to launch the technology. Its chief executive officer Christophe Ramstein said a smaller version of the device will be ready for release to consumers next year.

4 . If you were to throw, say, a banana skin out of your car while driving along the motorway, that would be a completely harmless action, due to the fact that it’s part of a fruit—right? Actually, no. A banana skin can take up to two years to be naturally processed, and a third of drivers confess they litter while driving, that’s a lot of thrown banana skin. An orange skin and a cigarette butt (烟蒂) have similar biodegrading (生物降解) time to that of a banana skin, but tin cans last up to 100 years; and plastic bottles last forever, as do glass bottles.

Despite the fact that longer-lasting materials will serve to damage the environment and its animals for longer, we can’t measure the danger of a certain type of rubbish by its lifetime. For example, despite having a fairly short length of biodegrading time, more than 120 tons of cigarette-related litter is thrown in the UK every day.

It’s not a cheap habit either: to keep our streets clean annually costs UK taxpayers £500 million, and when you include our green spaces, that goes up to £1 billion. So, it’s not surprising that if caught throwing rubbish, you could face a £20,000 fine or even prison time and, if you threw something dangerous, the court could give you five years to serve. Regardless of how serious these punishments might seem, however, among the reported cases only 2,000 were found guilty out of 825,000, so we still have some way to go in making sure people obey the rules.

5 . Perhaps thousands of people have searched for a bronze chest full of gold and jewels hidden in the Rocky Mountains between Santa Fe and the Canadian border hidden by a millionaire adventurer. At least four people died in their search for the treasure.

But it's all over now. Fenn's Treasure has been found. The 89-year-old adventurer named Forrest Fenn, who created the treasure hunt, announced the news via his website. “I don't know the person who found it, but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot,” Fenn wrote. “The treasure was confirmed by a photograph the lucky finder sent me.”

Forrest Fenn, the man who started the hunt, lives in Santa Fe. He was a pilot in the Vietnam War and later accumulated his wealth as a dealer in art and antiques. Fenn was diagnosed(诊断) with cancer in 1988 and had planned to die peacefully in the woods with his treasure. But when his cancer became less serious, he changed his plan, eventually writing the poem that described his dream resting place, which is where he hid                           the treasure. The poem appeared in a memoir called The Thrill of the Chase. Fenn said that the chest wouldn't be found by accident; only a treasure hunter who correctly interpreted the clues(线索) would find it.

Several treasure hunters went missing while attempting to find the chest, including hunter Jeff Murphy and Mike Petersen, both of whom went missing in Yellowstone National Park in 2017. Fenn said that he had never been to the Yellowstone National Park, and that the treasure was not in a dangerous place. "It was in the thick forest of the Rocky Mountains and had not been moved from the spot where I hid it more than 10 years ago," Fenn wrote on his website. It is illegal to remove anything from a national park, which would cause trouble in legally claiming the treasure if it was found there.

6 . The COVID -19 pandemic has changed life as we knew it just a few weeks ago. Millions of people worldwide are now under required or voluntary lockdowns. All public attractions, including museums and aquariums, are closed, and the usually crowded streets of popular tourist destinations are empty. An unexpected silver lining during these challenging times for humans is that many animals are finally getting a chance to leave their normal habitats and move about freely.

The first animals to take advantage of human absence were Annie and Edward, two penguins who live at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. A video released on March 15, 2020, showed the couple eagerly duckwalking around, exploring the aquarium's various exhibits. The video, which instantly became popular, inspired other institutions to share short videos of their four-legged creatures playing as well.

The Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio joined the fun trend on March 16, 2020，with a “Home Safari” live-stream series-the first staring its adorable baby panda，Fiona. “Let us help make your children's hiatus from school fun and educational,” zoo officials announced. “Join us for a Home Safari Online Live each weekday at 3 pm，where we will highlight one of our amazing animals and include an activity you can do from home.

Meanwhile，the San Diego Safari Park has kept their webcams（网络摄像头）rolling，allowing fans to enjoy lovable animals without leaving home. Animals in the wild are also lively as humans stay indoors. The absence of cruise ships is bringing large numbers of dolphins to a port in Cagliari，while groups of wild turkeys are happily walking on the streets of Oakland.

Though the animals indeed appear to be having a good time，the heartwarming videos and images shared on social media, are also bringing much -needed cheer to millions of humans worldwide. Stay strong and healthy! We are all in this together!

7 . I did an experiment last week. No, nothing involving test tubes or beakers (烧杯). Instead, I experimented with not watching the news right before I went to bed.

This is a long-time habit of mine so it’s probably not surprising that the first couple of nights I got a little twitchy when news time rolled around and I wasn’t watching. To distract myself, I went to bed a little earlier and read. Wow, what a treat that was! I love to read but I don’t always make the time for it so this felt quite luxurious. On the nights I didn’t read, I spent a little extra time petting my dog, Henry. He loved it. There’s never enough ear scratching for him. The compromise nights were when I had a book in one hand and was petting the dog with the other. Happy all around!

The funny thing about happiness is that it’s a whole lot easier to feel when you’re not being bombarded (轰炸) by images of bad news. It’s not like skipping the late news means that I don’t know what’s going on in the world. I still do read, listen to, and watch news stories. Just not right before I go to bed. That makes it easier to fall asleep and then stay asleep without dreaming about crime, wars, or natural disasters. (Although that dream I had about going to the prom might count as a natural disaster!) It’s definitely a much gentler way to end the day. I like it so much that I’m going to not only continue the no news before bed practice, but I’m also going to experiment with turning off other electronics earlier in the evening, things like the computer and smart phone.

Do you have any experience with turning off your electronics early in the evening? Does setting a particular time, like digital Quiet Hours, work? Please share any tips you have. Something tells me that this could be a little more challenging for me than no news.

8 . Doctors in hospital emergency rooms often see accidental poisonings. A frightened parent arrives with a child who swallowed a cleaning liquid. Or perhaps the harmful substance is a medicine. Or it might be a chemical product meant to kill insects. These are common causes of accidental poisoning.

In cases like this, seek medical help as soon as possible. Save the container of whatever caused the poisoning. And look on the container for information about anything that stops the effects of the poison. Save anything expelled from the mouth of the victim. That way, doctors can examine it.

In the past, some people forced poisoning victims to empty the stomach. They need a liquid syrup of ipecac(催呕剂) to do this. But an organization of children’s doctors no longer advises parents to keep syrup of ipecac. The American Academy of Pediatrics says some poisons can cause additional damage when they come back up the throat.

Millions of people know a way to save a person who is choking on something trapped in the throat. The method is commonly known as the Heimlich Manoeuvre or abdominal thrusts(腹部按压), which you can do by getting directly behind a sitting or standing person. Put your arms around the victim’s waist. Close one hand to form a ball. Place it over the upper part of the stomach below the ribs. Place the other hand on top. Then push forcefully inward and upward. Repeat the abdominal thrusts until the object is expelled from the mouth. For someone who is pregnant or very fat, place your hands a little higher than with normal abdominal thrusts.

Red Cross experts say taking these steps can save many lives. But they also warn that abdominal thrusts are not for people who have almost drowned. They say the use of the method could delay other ways to re-start breathing in the victim. Abdominal thrust should be used only in cases where a near-drowning victim is choking on an object.

To learn more about first aid, ask a hospital or organization like a Red Cross or Red Crescent Society for information. There may be training classes offered in your area. If you know first aid methods, you can be calmer and more helpful in case of emergency.

9 . Among the four skills in learning English, which one of these is the “odd-man-out”? The answer is speaking. The other three you can do alone on your own. But you can’t really speak alone! Speaking to yourself can be “dangerous” because men in white coats may come and take you away!

Where can you find people to speak English? And how can you practice speaking when you are alone?

At school—If you pay to go to a language school, you should use the opportunity to speak. If your teacher asks you to speak in pairs or groups with other students, try to say as much as possible. Don’t worry about your mistakes. Just speak!

Conversation Clubs—Many cities around the world have conversation clubs where people can exchange one language for another. Look in your local newspaper to find a conversation club near you. They are usually free although some may charge a small entrance fee.

Shopping—Even if you don’t want to buy anything, you can ask questions about products that interest you in a shop. “How much does this cost? ” “Can I pay by cheque? ” Often you can start a real conversation—and it costs you nothing!

Café and Bars—There are often American, Britain, Irish and Australian bars in many large cities. If you can find one, you’ll probably meet many people speaking English as a first or second language.

Language is all around you— Everywhere you go, you find language. Shop names, street names, advertisements, notices, and car numbers.... When you walk down the street, practice reading the words and numbers that you see. Say them to yourself. It’s not exactly a conversation, but it will help you to “think” in English. But don’t speak too loud!

Songs and Videos—Repeat the words of an English song singing with the music until it becomes automatic. It’s good practice for your memory and for the mouth muscles that you need for English.

Above all, speak as much as possible! Make as many mistakes as possible! When you know that you have made a mistake, you know that you have made progress!

10 . Saving Money

Where you save your money often depends on what you are saving for. If you are saving to buy a dictionary or to go to a concert, then you probably keep your money somewhere in your room.

If you are saving for a big purchase like a mountain bike or a school trip, where would you save your money?

One place to save money is the bank. Putting your money in a savings account will help your money earn more money. If you put your money in a piggy bank (猪形储蓄罐子), one year later you'll still have the same amount of money you put in. If you put your money in a savings account, one year later, you'll have more money than you put in. Why?

When you keep your money in a bank, your money earns interest. Interest is the amount of money a bank pays you to use your money. The bank uses your money (and the money of other people, too) to loan money to people and businesses.

The bank will send you a statement several times a year. A bank statement tells you how much money there is in your account. It also tells you how much interest you have earned. If you leave your money in the bank, you can watch it grow!

Another way you can save money is to buy a certificate of deposit or CD. If you have some money that you don't need to use for a long time, this is a good way to make your money grow.

You can buy a CD at a bank. You agree not to use the money for a certain period of time. That period might be from six months to five years. You can't touch your money during that time. If you do, you must pay a penalty, or fee.

Since the bank is using your money for that time period, it will pay you interest. You will earn more interest with a CD than in a savings account. Can you guess why? It's because you promise to leave your money in the bank for a certain period of time. Banks pay different rates of interest. So, you may want to compare rates in newspaper ads before buying a CD.