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　　Here is some information about several famous local bakeries(面包烤房)in Indiana, the US．They serve as a social gathering place for locals．

Maple Lane Bakery

　　At 8260 S．State Rd．Claypool, IN．(574)566-2917, it offers a variety of cooked pies, cookies, and bread．With 20 years' experience Maple Lane Bakery has specialized in the making of pies．The menu includes peach pie ＄7.19, berry pie ＄7.70, apple pie ＄7.19 and banana pie ＄6.99．Feel free to place an order at least 24 hours in advance．

Betty's Cakes ＆ Candy Shop

　　At 816 E．Winona Avenue Warsaw, IN．(574)269-1231, it specializes in cakes and offers cookies and candies．The chocolate cookies are sold at ＄8.99 a dozen．Betty's Cakes ＆ Candy Shop, started half a century ago, specializes in wedding cakes and birthday cakes．Buying a cake from Betty's will not disappoint you as they are always excellent．

Crepes' Quality Bakery

　　At 217 S．Cavin Street Ligonier, IN．(260)894-3024, this third generation bakery is located downtown Ligonier．It offers cookies and cupcakes, and specializes in rolls and bread．If you plan to buy cookies for the office or work area, you had better get there early as the building workers arrive just before 5：00 am waiting for the doors to open．

Olympia Candy Kitchen

　　At 136 N．Main Street Goshen, IN．(574)533-5040, it has been welcoming visitors for almost a century in its unchanged location in downtown Goshen, Indiana．Its tradition began in 1912 when Greek Nicholas began making his own chocolates．Today this family-owned operation offers all kinds candies and boxed candies．

　　If you need an order, you should call ahead of time to see if they can meet your request．

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　　It’s “laughably absurd(荒谬)” on one blog and a “magical revolution” on another．Bloggers are talking about the same thing, the same divisive device．They’re referring to the much-hyped Apple iPad that hit store shelves last week．

　　The new e-tablet product starts from ＄499, and has split the tech world so sharply that experienced New York Times tech writer David Pogue says he’s never seen such a polarizing product．Opinions come to a simple statement：If you are a tech-head you will hate it, if you are everyone else you will love it．

　　Tech-heads hate the iPad because of its various functions–you can e-mail, browse the Web, read books–and yet it has no specialty．There are other products on the market that do all its functions faster, cheaper and more efficiently．Get an Amazon Kindle to read an e-book, a Blackberry to scan e-mails or any old laptop to access the Internet．

　　The iPad lacks many basic features．Tech-heads dislike the product not because of what it offers, but because of what it doesn’t offer．It doesn’t have Flash(that program required to run most online video), and it doesn’t have a camera．It can’t access many of the world’s mobile applications, and it has a very restricted app store．Based on purely technological grounds, the iPad is said to lack more than it gives．

　　But if you are not part of the technologically well-versed, and you love the iPod and iPhone, “this product is for you,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO．

　　The iPad will take online activities truly mobile．It will allow you to read the news in bed, play multiplayer scrabble on any surface, check a recipe in a busy kitchen or view a large-scale Google map．

　　Perhaps most important to the masses, it is a traditional computer without all the trouble．There are no cords, and it’s totally mobile．You press a button and it comes on in seconds．To add a program, you just download it from the Internet．There is no file directory, so you won’t be confused with file locations．

　　But no matter how you feel about the iPad, as a tech-head or an everyman, there’s no arguing with its appeal．Love it or hate it, the iPad sold over 600,000 units on its opening weekend, surpassing the iPhone’s record sales in 2007．

　　It’s uncertain how long it will take to hit the tech markets here in China, but when it does, expect the iPad craziness to continue．Apple predicts it will sell over 7.1 million units in the first year．Maybe not magical, and definitely not absurd, but if the iPad follows in the footsteps of the iPhone and iPod, you could be reading this newspaper on it in the near future．

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　　Everybody likes a winner, and there are always people ready to cheer for a good loser．But who ever heard a song for the man who comes in second?

　　So this is in praise of the almost winner, the nearly champion, the next to the biggest, the second best．This is the song of Mister Two．

　　You hear unfavorable names for Mister Two．“Also-ran”, they call him, and “runner-up”, names that make you think of a fellow who couldn’t quite make it．

　　Don’t let that fool you．

　　Ask the winner of any race how good a man Mister Two is．He will tell you it’s Mister Two who made him run so fast, Mister Two pressing hard at his heels(脚后跟)and threatening always to overtake and pass him．

　　Ask the salesman who won the contest and what kept him plugging(推广，宣传)after hours, looking for extra order(订单)．Ask the directors of the big company why they keep changing their product, seeking the new equipment, the added advantage．What drives them? What keeps them hopping? It’s the salesman with nearly as many orders．It is the company with the product almost as good．It’s Mister Two．

　　In this country, we’re proud of the quality of our champions．Our big men come very big．Our fast men run very fast．Our wise men are the wisest and our greatest men are the greatest that a country could hope to be blessed with．And why is that? Couldn’t it be because great Mister Two’s growing naturally in a land where the race is always open and everybody can run?

　　So this is for you, Mister Two．This is your song．This is for all the days you tried for first, and came in second．It’s for the nights when you wonder if you ought to go on trying, since nobody seems to notice…

　　We notice, Mister Two．We know the score．Winner or not, you're a natural champion．There couldn't be a race without you, Mister Two．

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　　Animals seem to have the sense to eat when they are hungry and they do not eat more than their bodies need．It has been proved that rats will, when given a choice over a period of time, prefer water with vitamins to water without vitamins even though there is no difference in taste or smell between the two water bottles．When a fragrant(香的)flavor was added to the vitamin-enriched water, the rats did seem to prefer it and kept drinking it, even after the vitamins were switched to the clear water．In time, however, they broke the habit and went back to where the necessary vitamins were．

　　In a classic experiment, babies of 6 to 12 months old were placed in a cafeteria(自助)feeding arrangement, with a wide selection(选择)of bay food before them．They were given whatever food they pointed to or appeared interested in．We are told that at first they showed some unusual eating patterns, but that over a period of time they managed to select well-balanced diet．

　　So, in selecting food, rats and babies do seem to know and act on what's best for them．Actually, there is a kind of “body wisdom”, which humans soon lose．Most of us do not eat as wisely as we could．Many of our food preferences are culturally determined and influenced by long-established habits．Some people eat fox, dog and blackbirds, while we eat cows and pigs．So what people eat and how much they eat seems to be greatly influenced by what is going on around them．

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　　Phone producers show us every year some really superb concept phones and even if 99％ of those phones never see the production line, they give us a small glimpse(一瞥)of what the phones will look like in the near future．We’ve made a list of what we think are the coolest concept phones presented in 2010．This is not a top, so the order is random(随机的)．Oh, and one more thing, remember, these are concept phones, which means they are not in production and are not for sale, so please don’t ask us where you can get them and what the prices are．

　　The LG Flutter has a face like the iPhone．The only difference is that the LG Flutter looks more like a fan or a killer’s tool which we see in sci-fi movies．

　　In spite of this, this design does seem fit for the future of mobile phones but looks a bit difficult to use．

　　The phone has an amazing design．You can fold it in many ways according to your needs．You can wear it as a bracelet(手镯), roll it, bend it, and wear it as a clip on your clothes．

　　Nokia 888 Concept is mostly targeted at teenagers that are very active and take part in a lot of different activities．

　　It is a product to throw on the face of the shameless weather officials．Whenever they predict sunny day be sure it would rain．So we have thought of gifting them this：“Window Phone” that makes accurate predictions and even changes its display(显示)according to the climate condition outdoors．

　　The Nokia Morph is created by Finnish company Nokia．The concept was the product of a joint study by the Nokia Research Center and the University of Cambridge’s Nanoscience Center．

　　The phone could be bent into numerous shapes, so it can be worn around the wrist(手腕)or held up to the face．The transparent(透明)phone would allow it to be see-through yet functional．It has a self-cleaning surface that can absorb solar energy to recharge the phone battery(电池)．

　　On looks it is just another ordinary phone type, but made in recycled material, which allow the device to be upgraded to meet the latest advancements in technology．We guess the green aspects on the high-end tech will be a selling point for this phone．

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　　One summer my friend and I decided to go to Italy for a holiday and we decided to travel there without going through a travel agency．You know, you would be flooded in crowds of tourists and lose lots of opportunities to get familiar with the country more closely．We started to think over our trip and managed to come up with a free tour of Italy．

　　The trip was not very long but it was still very impressive．We look forward to going there again! Of course, we spent lots of time arranging the trip, but it was well worth it! Of course I was afraid that something would go wrong and I was especially anxious about my visa, but everything went quite smoothly in the end．

　　The most difficult part was getting a visa without an invitation．In the Italian consulate(领事馆), one must hand in some official paper proving that one has a hotel booked for oneself in order to get the visa．Then we had to solve the ticket problem．Airlines often sell cheap tickets and we bought ours far in advance．The next step was to book a hotel．We finally booked a hotel about thirty km away from the heart of Rome and it was the perfect choice for our trip．

　　Every day we took a train that carried us to the heart of Rome．Our big house, which was surrounded by the forest, was a rare girl for the fresh air and absolute silence, beautiful views, hospitable(好客的)hosts, comfortable living conditions delighted us to no end．Besides this, we were very lucky that our mistress was Russian．She gave us a lot of advice that was of great use．She told us what transport to choose and where the best places to go．

　　Don’t be afraid to arrange your trip by yourself．It’s not difficult! The only thing I'll say right now is that we really enjoyed traveling by ourselves．We walked with a map and a guide-book to wherever we wanted and we even met some of our fellow countrymen on the way just two or three times．So, if you're also planning a "single" trip, don't forget to take a Russian-Italian phrasebook as people in Italy prefer to speak in their native tongue．

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　　Today, innovations(创新)to make our lives more eco-friendly can be found everywhere．There are energy-efficient automobiles, eco-friendly light bulbs, and clothes made by fashion designers using sustainable(可持续的)environmental practices．Industries around the world have also begun to take a serious look at how their operations affect the local and global environment．

　　The university of Colorado has been named one of the top green colleges and universities in the United States．This university was one of the first to start a student-led recycling program in the 1970s and today supplies students with reusable shopping bags to use both on and off campus．The entire University of Colorado also uses low flow water fixtures(设备)and has reduced water usage by 40 percent since 2002．

　　When it comes to going green, Warren Wilson College has been recognized in many places．The Sierra Club and The Princeton Review have named the college as one of America’s greenest colleges and universities, while the school has also received the Outstanding College Recycling Award from the Carolina Recycling Association, as well as awards from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education(AASHE)．For a small college, Warren Wilson has made enormous efforts to be an eco-friendly campus since its beginning, and today owns a campus farm, a seeding program, and an extensive recycling program．Warren Wilson was also the first College to have an LEED platinum certified(白金认证的)residence hall, and its building services department is also 100 percent GreenSeal certified．According to College Stats, Warren Wilson College is one of the first institutions in the United States to be almost completely self-sufficient(自给自足的)while also engaging students to incorporate sustainability into all academic programs．

　　Going green efforts at Oberlin College have not gone unnoticed．Oberlin College spends 22 percent of its food budget on buying food from local farmers, with most of the food raised or harvested with organic and sustainable practices．Oberlin has also stopped selling bottled water on campus and offers discounts to students who use their own storage containers when purchasing beverages and food items．Among Oberlin’s other eco-friendly accomplishments is a green graduation ceremony, which includes programs printed on 100 percent recycled paper．

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　　Please help! I live in Germany with my wife and three kids．My parents live in the UK．I want my kids to have as much contact with their grandparents as possible．The kids all use e-mail, Skype and SMS but my parents won’t．I’ve bought them a laptop, paid for broadband, given them both mobile phones and a digital camera, but they won’t use them．My parents say they hate computers and new technology．What can I do with these “technophobes”?

　　Actually, the original technophobes were the Luddites, a group of cloth workers in 19^th century Britain during the Industrial Revolution．The Luddite cloth workers, who traditionally made cloth by hand, were worried that machines were going to take away their jobs and way of life．These machines could make cloth much faster and cheaper than humans．In 1811 and 1812 the Luddites destroyed the machines that they hated so much, but the British government supported the factory owners．Many Luddites were arrested．Charlotte Bronte’s novel Shirley will tell your parents all about it．

　　Laura makes some interesting points, I think．Technophobes has been a common theme in science fiction．Frankenstein, one of the first science fiction, is a warning of what could happen if humans began to experiment with human life．

　　One thing you could try is to find hardware that is designed for older people to use．An example is the mobiles made by the US company, Jitterbug．Instead of icons and menus the Jitterbug phones ask users simple “yes/no” questions and have larger keypads．The company realized that there are potentially 100 million older users in the US alone．

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　　American author Mark Twain once noted that “life would be surely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18．” Twain’s words were only one of many complaints about aging．The ancient Greek poet Homer called old age “hateful”, and William Shakespeare termed it “terrible winter”．

　　Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the known world before he died around 323 B．C．, may have been looking for a river that healed the ravages of age．During the 12^th century A．D．, a king called Prester John ruled a land that had a river of gold and a fountain of youth．

　　But the name linked most closely to the search for a fountain of youth is 16^th-century Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon．He thought it would be found in Florida．In St．Augustine, the oldest city in the U．S．, there’s a tourist attraction．It is said to be the fountain of youth that Ponce de Leon discovered soon after he arrived in what is now Florida in 1513．However, elderly visitors who drink the spring’s water don’t turn into teenagers．

　　But the tale of the search for a fountain of youth is so appealing(有吸引力的)that it survives anyway, says Ryan K．Smith, a professor of history．“People are more attracted by the story of looking and not finding than they are by the idea that the fountain might be out there somewhere．”

　　Still, a few grains of truth have helped to support the story．Kathleen Deagan, a professor of archaeology, says a graveyard and the remains of a Spanish mission dating back to St．Augustine’s founding in 1565 have been discovered near the so-called fountain of youth．Michelle Reyna, a spokesperson for the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St．Augustine, says the fountain has been a tourist attraction since at least 1901 and may have been attracting visitors since 1860．

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　　The rumors had been spreading for months but it still came as a shock when the hospital would be closing．It had served this poor neighborhood for nearly 100 years but it would close because of the health care crisis．

　　The day after the announcement co-workers found out that pretzels(椒盐饼干)had been eliminated．Soft pretzels are the lifeblood of this city．So losing access to soft pretzels is no small matter．

　　A week later, I decided to cheer up my co-workers by picking up some soft pretzels at a local store．I arrived just as it opened so I was the only customer．But I only had ＄6 in my wallet．I was working inside a large office at the hospital and knew I'd need more than the half dozen pretzels my six dollars would buy．A man's voice interrupted my thoughts “Can I help you?”

　　I said, “I only have ＄6．I’m not sure how many pretzels I need．You see, I work at a hospital and it’s closing and they stopped selling pretzels．” The man’s smile disappeared．“What hospital?” “Oh, Northeastern Hospital．”

　　The guy looked deeply shocked．“I used to sell medical supplies and that was one of my hospitals．” Then he turned around and grabbed a box of 25 pretzels and slid them across the counter．

　　I was surprised by his generosity and started to reach for my wallet, “Oh I can pay．Please let me…” The guy smiled, “Just tell them Joe Sullivan said to do something nice for someone else．”

　　And so that day everyone in medical records was treated to a soft pretzel．Word spread fast as people came asking, “Is it really true?” It was as if I’d carried in a box of gold．It mattered to them that a stranger cared．