Trouble with Transporting
Because of the increased ease of air travel, professional musicians today fly all over the world to perform. However, they often have trouble transporting their instruments. Many musicians try to carry their instruments onto a plane with them, but they are frequently told that there is no space. ( 21 ), airline staff members tell them that their instruments must be put in the cargo area of the plane. However, instruments are sometimes damaged there.
Recently, things have begun to change. In December 2014, for example, the U.S. Department of Transportation created a rule that musical instruments should be treated like other carry-on bags. While this is good news for musicians, it may ( 22 ). One instrument may require a lot of space in the storage areas above the seats, so other passengers’ luggage may not fit, making them angry. Moreover, depending on the shape of the instrument, it may not fit at all, meaning the airline staff members must find some other way of storing it safely on board.
For musicians who play large instruments, though, the only way to bring their instruments on the plane is to purchase an extra seat. Cristina Wallace, a cello player, would rather pay for her instrument to travel in the seat next to her than hand it over to the airline. Dutch musician Lavinia Meijer plays an even bigger instrument a full-size harp. When she was invited to play at a concert in Korea, Meijer ended up paying for her harp to fly in business class. Although it is more expensive, many musicians believe it ( 23 ) to know their instruments are safe.
The Return of Whales
New York City is famous for theaters and museums, but these days it is also becoming famous for something else humpback whales. More and more people in the city have looked out at the ocean and ( 24 ). In 2010, fishermen first noticed the whales in the area and the sightings have become more frequent ever since. This is surprising because, while humpbacks are often found near the West Coast, they are not as common near the East Coast.
However, humpback whales were once very common in the area. Then, in the 1650s, when Europeans first moved to the New York area, they began hunting the whales to use their fat for fuel. In the 1840s, other kinds of fuel, such as kerosene, replaced whale fat. Nevertheless, whale meat remained popular, and by the 20th century, there were only about 700 humpbacks in the Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, the water in and around New York began to ( 25 ). Scientists believe that these two things too much hunting and water pollution caused the humpbacks to disappear from the area about 100 years ago.
Much has changed since then, though. For example, in 1972, the U.S. government created a law called the Clean Water Act to reduce pollution in oceans, lakes, and rivers. Gradually, as the water became cleaner, many types of fish and sea life returned, providing a food source for whales. ( 26 ), it seems that whales are finally able to return to the water around New York City.
From: Judy Sebring ＜j.sebring@kidland.com＞
To: Timmy Fletcher ＜timmy23@pmail.com＞
Date: October 6
Subject: Childcare services
___________________________________________________________
Dear Mr. Fletcher,
Thank you for contacting Kidland Childcare. As I promised on the phone yesterday, I am e-mailing you today to give you the information you asked for about our childcare services for your son. As I said, we take care of children aged two to five at our day-care center. The center is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday through Friday.
Parents can choose the three-day, four-day, or five-day plan. You can also choose between half-day and full-day care. The cost for a full day is $50 per day, and a half day is $30. For the half day, there are two sessions the morning session from 6 a.m. to noon and the afternoon session from noon to 6 p.m. Parents who choose the full day must bring their children’s lunch to the center every day.
Our center provides high-quality care to each child. We teach basic skills like reading and counting. We also have many educational toys for each age, and we have many activities for the children every day. You can learn more about these on our website. If you would like to come and visit our center with your son, please let me know, and I can set up a date and time. I hope to see you soon!
Judy Sebring
Kidland Childcare
Generations Helping Each Other
One problem that many modern societies face is a lack of communication between different generations. Today, many young people move around for education and work. As a result, they often leave their parents behind when they move to other cities or even countries, and now, many elderly people no longer live with their children but rather move into retirement homes. This means that the different generations often do not spend time together and do not have chances to hear each other’s point of view.
A few years ago, one retirement home in the Netherlands, called Humanitas, came up with an interesting way to overcome this problem. The idea began when a young man, Onno Selbach, contacted Humanitas to ask if any rooms were available for him to use. Selbach was a student, but he thought the student dormitory where he lived was noisy and dirty. Gea Sijpkes, the head of Humanitas, met Selbach and had an idea. She decided to allow six college students to live in the retirement home for free.
In return for a place to live, the students agreed to volunteer about 30 hours a month for the residents of the retirement home. The students began to do many things with the elderly people. Sometimes, they would chat or play games with them. At other times, they cooked simple meals for them. They would also go shopping for them and teach them useful skills, such as how to use a computer. When residents became ill and could not leave their rooms, the students would take turns sitting with and talking to them.
The program has been a big success, and many retirement homes in other countries are now offering similar plans to students. In this way, students can save money on a place to stay and elderly people can get help in their lives. One important effect of the program has been to help younger and older people understand each other better. Another has been to stop elderly people from feeling lonely. Many studies have shown that loneliness can make health problems worse, so the program helps the elderly people stay healthier as well.
Smart Stickers
Doctors often need to monitor changes in their patients’ bodies over a long period of time. When a patient has heart problems, for example, it is important to record the speed of the heartbeat. Traditionally, doctors have attached electronic devices to patients’ bodies and used these to record information. These devices must be worn daily and are quite heavy, and they need many electric wires. As a result, they can make it difficult for patients to move around freely or to sleep. Now, though, they are increasingly being replaced by a new kind of measuring device called an “electronic sticker.”
One of these devices was developed by John Rogers, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. The device consists of a number of very small electronic parts attached to a thin layer of silicon. This was made into a very thin sticker that could be stuck onto a patient’s skin. The tiny electronic sticker can record information such as a patient’s heart rate, body temperature, muscle movement, and brain activity.
The new electronic stickers are useful for patients who need to sleep a lot, such as newborn babies, because the stickers do not bother them. Furthermore, researchers say that the stickers have many other potential uses. For example, Rogers placed one of the electronic stickers onto a person’s throat. The sticker recorded the movements of the muscles in the throat when the person said certain words. When these words were said again, the sticker recognized the pattern and sent a signal to a computer. In this way, the person was able to use certain words to control the movements of objects in a computer game.
Another possible use for the electronic stickers would be to allow people to communicate secretly with other people. According to Rogers, the U.S. government has shown an interest in developing a secret means of communication for special agents to use. Probably, as time goes by, people will think of other uses. Whether they do or not, the new electronic stickers are definitely a big step forward in connecting the human body directly to computers and other forms of technology.
