COPING WITH TRAFFIC
Many large cities around the world have struggled to keep up with the increase in traffic in recent times. Densely populated areas, growing car ownership, as well as narrow roads brought for much lower volumes of traffic all (24) to this. In 1975, Singapore decided to introduce a congestion charge-a (25) paid by drivers entering the most traffic-heavy zones of the city. London introduced a congestion charge in 2003.
Public opinion was initially opposed to the idea, (26) people soon became more supportive of the scheme. Despite this, its first decade brought mixed success, and the (27) of cars in the city fell by only 10%. However, the scheme proved massively profitable, (28) allowed the city council to invest in other measures aimed at improving traffic conditions in London. These included cycle lanes, pedestrianised areas and better road surfaces.

Many universities around the world are proud to have long histories and strong traditions. However, very few universities can claim to be among the oldest in the world.
Nalanda University, in Bihar, India, was established around 600 BC. It was most likely the world’s first university. In the past, scholars came from Europe, China, and all over India to learn about science, medicine, but the Buddhist religion, and other subjects. The university is in ruins now, but at one time it was an impressive school with temples, classrooms, libraries, and dormitories.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the University of AI-Karaouine in Fres, Morocco, is the oldest surviving university in the world. It was probably founded in 859 and became a famous place to study natural sciences. The first university in Europe is definitely the University of Bologna, in Italy. It was one of the few universities in Europe that were not influenced by religion. Professors were forbidden from teaching outside the university, and so students came from all over Europe to study with its famous teachers.

Los Angeles dancer, Brian Perez, was eating out with his friends one evening when suddenly everyone went quiet. To his horror, he saw that the reason for this was that people were checking their phones. Realising he had to do something to stop this, Brian made a rather daring suggestion. What if they all put their gadgets in a pile in the middle of the table until they had finished the meal? If anyone picked up their phone, that person would have to pay the whole bill. And so, it is said, the game of 'phone stacking' was born.
The necessity for action like this highlights a major problem in today's society; our inability to
disconnect from technology. But while Brian's idea deals with the obsession in a social context, measures also need to be taken at home. Some people drop their smartphones into a box the moment they arrive home, which gives them the chance to interact with the people they live with. The fact that the phone cannot be heard - it is on silent, nor seen the flashing lights are hidden by the box - means that they are no longer tempted to use it.
A less drastic solution is to ban electronic devices at certain times of day when the whole family is likely to be together, for example at meal times. This can be hard for everyone, from teenagers desperate to text friends to parents unable to switch off from work. On a normal day, however, dinner takes less than an hour, and the benefits of exchanging opinions and anecdotes with the rest of the family certainly makes up for the time spent offline.
Taking a break from technology is one thing, but knowing when to turn off a device is another. Time seems to stand still in the virtual world, and before you know it, you find that it is three o'clock in the morning. This is where a digital curfew comes in handy, a set time when all devices must be put away. Evenings without technology are usually nice and peaceful and make a more agreeable end to the day.
And then it's time for bed. One of the best ways of ensuring you can sleep at night is to ban electronic devices altogether from the bedroom. Lying next to a machine bursting with information is far from relaxing, and the sounds it emits during the night can easily wake you up. With technology out of the room, a line has been drawn between daytime and sleep time, which enables us to switch off ourselves and drift off to sleep.