There was the youth who was explaining to his friend exactly how he enjoyed a party with his friends last night. Opposite him was a young woman who was very excited to be going to Lanzarote for her summer holiday. And then there was the man who I took to be a car mechanic;So detailed and technical was his conversation about a second-hand Audi. Everyone had a different, noisy ringtone, and none of the mobile phone conversations I was forced to hear was interesting.

By the end of the journey, I was silently complaining about the modern world, and feeling mad with FGW who, at the very moment when our carriage fell silent, would make an announcement about the buffet car (a carriage where food and drinks are sold) either opening or closing.

FGW seems to be campaigning against peace and quietness, having removed quiet carriage spaces where passengers were requested not to use mobiles so that their trains could carry more passengers. How so? I cannot understand why FGW takes no notice of passengers like me, who have suffered a lot from hearing endless telephone conversations. I have no interest in the smallest details of others’ lives. Making people listen to boring mobile phone conversations should be regarded as a rude act.”

Every train carriage should, in theory, be quiet. Why can’t that be the standard? It is possible to change public custom and practice. It was not so long ago that sidewalks were littered with dog waste; now it’s a general rule that dog owners clean it up after their pets. And once we restore peace and quietness to trains, we can then move on and stop people bringing fast food onto them , too.

It is possible that the UK will have its first police cat in the future. The five-year-old girl, Eliza wrote to the police station recently and asked why they only used police dogs. She thought cats could be as useful as dogs because cats can climb trees to help people.

A police officer, Mr. Barton replied to Eliza. He said they were thinking about it, although they didn’t decide yet what a police cat can should do. He also drew a picture of his own cat Joey on the letter.

Eliza’s mother said she was surprised to receive the reply letter from the police station. “It’s amazing. They took Eliza’s advice seriously. She is smart and she came up with three ideas about what police cats could do. She thought cats could find out danger easily and they could climb up trees to help people. Also, they are good at finding their way home. So they could help people find the places they want to go. ”

In a book called Magnificent Obsession,by Lloyd C. Douglas, a description is given of people helping others but doing it secretly. When difficult problems worried a person, friends nearby would meet to discuss possible solution without the person knowing their actions. When a solution was agreed upon, one or two of the friends would carry out the plan and solve the problem secretly, to the great delight of the worried person. The helpers would stand by privately, content with their success. No reward was given to the problem solvers, not even a sincere “thank you”, because they were never known.

This idea is popular today but in a different way. The phrase “pay it forward” is now used when one person helps another. However, the person helped may not be able to repay the person or group that helped them. So rather than return the favor to their helpers, they are supposed to help someone else in the future, which means they pay it forward. It is a sense of responsibility(责任) which makes us want to give back in equal measure to the one who has helped us. But, in this case, the responsibility turns to helping someone in the future.

Suppose your elderly grandmother pays part of your schooling. She may tell you there is no need to repay her because it is a gift from someone who loves you very much. Nothing would please her more than to have you use her money to get a good education. You may never be able to repay her for such a gift. However, she not only gave you some money, but she provided you with an example that you should also help other people who need it.

People with serious needs are everywhere. Many are children who need better clothes, more books and even better schools. Some are elderly people who can’t afford their medicine or a doctor’s care. Consider how you can “pay it forward” rather than pay money back to your grandmother.

Millions of Chinese have been playing a mobile game called Travel Frog recently. You play as the “mother” of a frog who lives alone and enjoys traveling. You need to prepare food and tools for his trips. The frog will send you postcards while he is away.

The game’s popularity may have something to do with how lonely people are these days, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Many players have said that the lonely frog is just like them. But playing with the frog helps them forget their loneliness for a short time.

Loneliness seems to be a common problem today. According to the Guardian, a British daily, about 40 percent of American adults say they’re lonely. And in the UK, about one in five people in the country are “always or often lonely”, the Telegraph reported.

This might be why the UK government announced the country’s very first “Minister of Loneliness” (孤独大臣) in January. The minister’s job is to find ways to help UK citizens feel less lonely. The minister’s office will provide more money for activities that connect people together.

This loneliness problem may be partly because of social media. When we see pictures of friends having fun or posting pictures on WeChat or Microblog, we may compare their “perfect” lives with our own and feel sad and lonely.

But we should remember that no one is born to be lonely. As UK poet John Donne once wrote, “No man is an island. Every man is a piece of the land, a part of the main.” Here are some tips to get rid of loneliness:

● Sing your favorite songs.

● Connect with a friend.

● Do something creative, such as drawing a picture.

● Imagine some place you’d like to visit, like a fun gathering or a sporting event.

Close your eyes for a minute and imagine what life would be like if you couldn’t see. Imagine having to read this page, not with your eyes but with your fingers. How do you feel, then?

    With medical knowledge and skills today, two-thirds of the world’s 42 million blind people should not have to suffer. Unluckily, rich countries have this knowledge, but developing countries do not.

    ORBIS is an international charitable (慈善的) organization. Its goal is to help fight blindness all over the world. Inside a DC-8 airplane, there is a teaching hospital with television room and classroom. Doctors are taught the latest technology of helping the blind get sight again here. ORBIS is always trying to keep a closer relation among countries.

    ORBIS helps those developing countries by providing sight-saving training. It has taught over 35,000 doctors and nurses. They continue to treat thousands of blind people every year. They have traveled around the earth 3 times, visited 76 countries and treated over 20,000 blind people. They need your help to continue their work and free people from blindness.

    For just $ 38, you can help one person see; for $ 380 10 people can see; $ 1,300 helps train a doctor new skills; and for $ 13,000 you can provide a training program for a group of doctors who can make thousands of blind people see again. Your love can help them open their eyes to the world.

Nowadays, cell phones are part of our lives. Many people have cell phones. They can help us easily find people anywhere at any time. However, using cell phones too often may cause cancer(癌症). It’s reported that people who use a cell phone for 10 years or more may get brain cancer.

   The suggestions below may help you reduce (减少) the risk of cancer:

   When using your cell phone, try to keep it away from your body as much as possible. Don’t put it on the bedside table when you go to sleep.

When you’re on the cell phone, use the speaker (扬声器). In this way, you have just 1/100th of the contact (接触) with radiation you have when you hold it to your ear. An earphone is also a good idea.

Try to keep your conversations short. If you need to talk longer, use an ordinary phone instead.

Change ears when you’re using your cell phone. Before putting it to your ear, wait until the person you are calling picks up the phone.

Your phone gives out radiation when you talk or send messages, but not when you’re listening or getting messages. Listening more and talking less can lower the risk of cancer.

Do not use your cell phone when the signal(信号) is weak or when moving at a high speed, for example in a car or on a train. At high speeds your phone is trying to pick up signals, and this increases the radiation it gives out.

 Crying is the sign of the rawest of human emotions. We cry when we can’t hold inside what we feel any more. We cry when we’re at our best, and when we’re at our worst. By we, I mean all of us. Men included.

  But we never see other men cry. In no western culture has it ever been acceptable for men to shed(流泪）more than a single tear, and even then it’s reserved for grand victories, defeats and deaths. Dutch research suggests that women cry between three and five times more than men. Generally men and women cry over the same things一deaths, break-ups and homesickness, primarily, but researchers believe that men cry more often than women when it comes to positive events.

  I want to admit，Iˈm a bit of a cryer. However,having never really experienced deaths in my life, a few weeks ago I experienced what it means to really, truly, pour my heart out in tears.

 See, my dog一and 24/7 companion一was killed by a car right outside my house. Being a witness to this painful event left me in shock for a good hour, but then the floodgates opened. Over the next 48 hours, I might have cried 20 times. Once or twice Icrouchedon the floor with my head in my hands and tears were the only outlet.

 It is suggested in the book Adult Crying:A Biopsychosocial Approach that there’s a certain pleasure in crying. It helps ease stress when there is no other way to express ourselves.

 In those days after my dogˈs death，I remember thinking，“ I’ve got to stop this crying”. It felt unmanly. It felt like a sign of weakness. Iˈve since realized that tears are for everybody;theyˈre not gender-specific. They show we have sympathy, allow us to get rid of stress and just feel.

When talking about picking a right school, a mother and teacher gave some pieces of advice.

  In the latest issue(期) of Youth magazine, the mother shared the school advice she gave her daughters with young people across the country.

 “I’ve told my daughters many times that I don’t want them to choose a name,”the mother said.“I don’t want them to think, Oh ,I should go to these top schools. We live in a country with hundreds of excellent universities. So the first question is: what’s going to work for me?”

 “When it was time to prepare for picking school, nobody around me believed I could get into Xiamen University. But through hard work I finally made it,”she continued.”So, my second piece of advice is :believe in yourself, no matter what other people might say. Once your goal is set, you only need to try your best to make it come true.”

“The last piece of advice is not to be worried even if your dreams don’t come true. As I’ve said above, there are so many good universities out there. So it’s important for everybody to understand that you can always find a university that gives you a great education.”

Few people like changing their habits, good or bad. Whether it is smoking, drinking or over-eating, they   (1)   “enjoying” them to the end.

On every packet of cigarettes(香烟), people are warned against the   (2)   of smoking: “Warning: Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health”.   (3)  , millions of them start smoking or go on smoking. Why?

Facts show that families and surroundings(环境) play a very important part in   (4)   smokers. All those smokers come from smoking families or have smoking   (5)   or relatives. Films and TV plays also play a part. People   (6)   their “heroes” on TV drinking alcohol(酒) or smoking cigarettes. “Heroes” seem to fear   (7)  , neither killing themselves nor killing others with alcohol and cigarettes. If they are not afraid of the harm of smoking and drinking,   (8)   should common people be afraid?

The simple warning on the cigarette packet does not influence smokers’ habits. Even   (9)   warnings, like showing pictures of smokers who have died of cancer, don’t seem to work.  

Knowing and believing seem to be two   (10)   things. If smoking is really as harmful as doctors say, it is time for smokers to think about it and try to give it up!