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On a tram smoothly pulling into the heart of Luxembourg City, Marck gives a smile and takes a look at the fabric of the seat next to him. For him, the city's trams are more than just transport. More even than the focus of his job. They are about transforming his country and, perhaps, changing the world.

Marck is the director general of Luxtrain, Luxembourg's modern trams. It first started running services two years ago. Next year, Luxembourg will become the world's only country to get rid of fares on all its forms of public transport. Luxembourg's traffic problems come from its army of workers. The population of the capital city almost doubles during the working day, when more than 110, 000 people travel in and out.

After three decades when its roads have become so crowded, Luxembourg is going to do something remarkable. Free fares, and a plan to persuade people to switch from cars to trams or trains. Marck, along with many others, is excited to see what happens next." The fact that this is free means that everyone can use it —young or old, rich or poor, " he said." Everyone can say to themselves it's better to leave the car at home. We must continue to improve and extend the network. It must always be comfortable, well-connected, efficient."

"Lydie Polfer, the city's mayor, says she hopes to reach the point where more than a third of people come into the city using public transport—at the moment, it's less than one in five. She said, "It's not practical to ban cars because some people, like the elderly, need them. But everyone has to be aware that he or she can do something to improve the situation. There is an expression in German—you are not in the traffic jam—you are the traffic jam, and that is true. I think that making it free will be the biggest arguments for people to use public transport."

The best literary festivals 2023 across the UK to book now

Kite Festival

9-11 June

New last year, this literary festival held in the grounds of spectacular stately home Kirtlington Park in Oxfordshire is the first of its kind, combining music and breakthrough ideas to create a unique programme featuring live performances and interactive discussions. Over the Kite Festival weekend, you'll find award-winning authors sharing their insights on crafting stories and electronic pop legends headlining on the Saturday night.

Primadonna

28-30 July

Held at the Museum of East Anglian Life in Suffolk, Primadonna prides itself on creating a space for works by women and those whose voices might not otherwise be heard. There are insightful workshops covering everything, including sessions on how to get your foot in the door of the publishing world. The family-friendly event also has plenty to keep kids occupied, from craft activities to entertaining talks from big-name writers.

Queen's Park Book Festival

2-3 September

Queen's Park Book Festival is the only one in the capital to be held in a public park, making it a low-key affair that feels more like a garden party than a full-blown festival. Alongside writers' discussions on their latest works, you'll find performance poetry events hosted by hip-hop verse maestro Poetcurious and nightly parties once the sun sets.

Henley Literary Festival30 September-8 October

Henley is home to an impressive literary festival, which takes place over a week in October at various venues throughout the town, including the grand riverside private members' club Phyllis Court and the historic town hall. Alongside main events featuring famous writers, there's also a hugely popular children's festival, where little book worms get the chance to come face-to-face with their favourite authors.

A. To ensure you get enough storage room, try to board the flight early.

B. Bring it with you whenever you leave your seat.

C. Thieves won't spend too long on locked bags as it may draw attention to themselves.

D. Cases like this are known as in-flight, or mid-flight thefts.

AB. Keep your cash or credit cards in different hiding places.

AC. Make sure your bag is easily recognizable so thieves can't just switch it out with a similar looking bag.

Tips to Keep Your Personal Items Safe While Travelling

You might be surprised to hear that even in the limited space of an airplane, thefts still do occur. In a case reported, two men on board a flight were arrested after being suspected of stealing cash from fellow passengers' mid-flight. While airlines don't advertise the fact, they're not as rare as you may think. There are some tips to ensure you don't become the victim of such crimes.

 This is especially important if you have a black, featureless bag. For example, you can sew a symbol on it or write your initials on the bag.

Keep your valuables such as cash, your ID and passport, and jewellery in a small bag that you can place under the seat in front of you. Rest your feet on your bag to make sure no one gets close to the bag.  It takes just a few seconds for experienced thieves to steal your bag, so never give them the opportunity by leaving it unattended.

For example, you can divide your cash into three portions and keep some in your small bag, some in a pair of jeans that's rolled up in your checked baggage, and some in your toiletries bag (化妆包). In this way, even if you lose one stash of money, you will not be left with absolutely no cash.

High school freshmen always have a lot of questions on their minds. "What can I do when I grow up?" is one of them. It's definitely not too early to start thinking about his tough question. The following tips may help equip you for your future career. 

l Think beyond grades

Getting good grades in high school is important, but focusing only on straight A's could go wrong. Spending too much time on your schoolwork will leave you little time to explore opportunities outside of the classroom. Extracurricular（课外的）activities are necessary because they serve as a form of career exploration. They can help you figure out your work preferences, like whether you are a "people person（擅长交际的人）" or prefer to work alone. Nowadays, most well-known colleges care about candidates' experiences as much as their grades. 

l Seek advice from grown-ups

Talk to your parents, teachers and school counselors（顾问）about how they started their careers. Even though you're interested in the careers they are in, it would be useful to learn about the process which got them where they are now. If you find your friend's mother doing a worthwhile job by chance, ask her if job shadowing（体验工作）is possible in her company during vacation. After all, seeing a typical day in the position you have an interest in can be an invaluable experience. 

l Start your search online

If you really have no idea what you can do when you grow up, take online career quizzes to get ideas about what professions naturally match your skills, interests and personality traits（特点）. For the time being, you just need to focus on finding a field or two that interests you, rather than a specific career. Chances are you'll change your mind several times before finding a career that you want to stick to. Starting to explore career options now can at least help you decide what your potential major might be. 

In many countries of the world, people can confidently tell you the meaning of their town or city, but most people who live in Manchester, Oxford or Birmingham would not be able to explain what the name of their city means. The name of every British town and city, however, has a long history.

Two thousand years ago, most people living in Britain were Celts. Even the word "Britain" is Celtic. Then the Romans arrived and built camps which became cities called "castra". This is why there are so many place names in England which end in "-chester" or "-caster"— Manchester, for example.

After the Romans left Britain, it was attacked by tribes called the Anglo-Saxons, who were from the area of Europe that is now Germany and Holland. Without the Roman army, it was impossible to protect the country from these people. The names of their villages often ended in "-ham" or "-ton". Some got their name from the leader of the village, so Birmingham, for example, means "Beormund's village".

The Anglo-Saxons were farmers and the landscape was very important to them, so we have villages called Upton ("village on a hill"— a good place to build a village) and Moreton ("village by lake", where floods could make life tough). Place names that end in "-ford" (a place where you could cross a river) also describe the location of Anglo-Saxon villages.

Twelve hundred years ago the Vikings came to England from Scandinavia. They traded with the Anglo-Saxons but lived in their own villages. These often ended in "-by" or "-thorpe". The name "Kirkby" means "a village with a church" and Scunthorpe was the village of a man called Skuma.

Finally, in 1066, England became Norman — the Normans gave us the place name "grange", which means farm.

And how about London? Experts cannot agree and give a final answer. The Romans called the city Londinium, but they were not the first inhabitants(居民). People once believed that the United Kingdom's capital city got its name from the castle of a King called Lud, but this is very unlikely. Our guess today is that the name comes from a Celtic word meaning a fast-flowing river. However, like a number of British place names, its history is lost in time.