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　　What is“Dads Make a Difference”?

　　A service-learning opportunity for teens that deals with fatherhood, parenting, and so on．

　　Older teens, grades 10－12, teach younger teens, grades 6－9, about the importance of fathers in children’s lives, the legal and financial responsibilities of parenting．

　　The goal of the teen teacher training is to better understand the complex problems surrounding legal fatherhood in our society．By discussing what makes healthy families, explaining the meaning of paternity(父亲的身份), and examining the risks people take in their lives, teens will develop the skills needed to make informed decisions in their own relationships and, finally, teach this information to others．

　　What’s in it for me?

　　An opportunity to：

　　Learn life skills like communication, decision making, and problem solving．

　　Get the chance to use knowledge in meaningful and effective ways．

　　Develop leadership, planning, teamwork, time management, and organizational skills to help you in every aspect of your life．

　　Forming lasting relationships with adult mentors(导师)．

　　“‘Dads Make a Difference’ made me realize how permanent and expensive parenthood is．”

　　“Speaking in from of groups and directing people in activities, I feel, is a valuable skill to have that I will use throughout my life．”

　　“I wish I would have gone through this program when I was in Junior High．I know it would have helped me to really think about the future and to make good decisions．”

　　“‘Dads Make a Difference’ has helped me to know the effects of my actions before I take them and I know what risks not to take to protect my future．”

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Interview with God

I dreamed I had an interview with God．“So you would like to interview me?”God asked．“If you have the time,”I said．“My time is eternity(永恒的)．”God smiled,“What questions do you have in mind for me?”“What surprises you most about humankind?”God answered,“That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again．That they lose their health to make money…and then lose their money to restore their health．That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future．That they live as if they will never die, and die as though they had never lived．”God’s hand took mine and we were silent for a while．And then I asked,“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?”“To learn they cannot make anyone love them．All they can do is to let themselves be loved．To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others．To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness．To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them．To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least．To learn that there are people who love them dearly, but simply have not yet learned how to express or show their feelings．To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently．To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves．”“Thank you for your time,”I said humbly．“Is there anything else you would like your children to know?”God smiled and said;“Just know that I am here always．”

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　　There is no place like home－as long as it is far enough away, it seems．

　　Britain has become a nation of nomads(流浪者)，with nearly half of us living more than 100 miles from the town or village where we grew up, research shows．

　　The trend is being fuelled by the Internet, better communications and property wealth．

　　People who move away fit into four separate categories－Sheep, Hens, Cows or Pigs．

　　Sheep are people who change home for economic and emotional peace．Hens are home and environment care-seekers．Cows are career or work shifters, while pigs are people caught up in grand parental support．It is far from the common believed idea of Coronation Streets, where close-knit generations of the same family live within a few streets of each other throughout their lives．Less．Than 20 percent of people now live in the town where they were born．Instead, young adults move away to find work, get married or seek adventure．

　　Many use the Internet to work from a home which need not be within easy traveling distance of their workplace．

　　Also joining the moving crowd are older people who either move to be near grandchildren or retire to new homes．

　　One in ten of those who do make away makes a complete break, and now lives 500 miles or more from where they grew up．

　　Women are likely to leave as men, a sign of independence that would not have excited in the 1950s and 60s．

　　People in the North-East, North-West, Yorkshire and Scotland are the most likely to live in the community where they were born, the study found．

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　　British society is considered to be divided into three main groups of classes－the Upper Class, the Middle Class, and the Lower or Working Class．This is known as the Class system and it is important to know something about it if you want to understand British people and society．Most British people grow up with a deep knowledge and understanding of the class system even if they are not very conscious(意识到)of it．Most people know which class they belong to by the way they speak, their clothes, their interests or even the type of food they eat．

　　Social class is not only about behavior and attitudes．For example, although many upper class people are rich and may own a lot of land, having a lot of money does not make a person upper class．It is also important to come from a particular kind of family, have friends who are considered suitable, have been to a certain type of private school and speak with the right kind of accent．There are people who are poor but who do not think of themselves as working class, because their family background, education, political opinions, etc．are different from those of most working-class people．Many people do not like the class system but it is impossible to pretend that these differences do not exist or that British people do not sometimes form opinions in this way．

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　　You have heard the expression“horse sense”．As you may imagine, it came from the time when the majority(大部分)of people travelled in vehicles(车辆)drawn by horses．A horse does have a lot of common sense, and there are many true stories about horses having saved their drivers from danger of death．

　　Today for the most part, people travel by trains, airplanes, and cars, but very little by the use of horses．Modern vehicles are all propelled by engines and an engine does not have any common sense．In case of danger, many horses could be depended on to help．Not so with the engine the driver must do all the things．

　　In recent years, the speed of travel has increased greatly．With the increased speed comes greatly increased danger．The driver of a powerful engine needs to be careful．A moment of being careless may cost a life．In order to drive safely, a person must be able to see clearly, and he must learn and follow carefully the rules for safety in the road．Greater attention is the price we pay for using a machine instead of a horse．

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　　Besides giving off gases and dusts into the air, humans produce waste that is poured on the environment．Often, this waste produced by major industries and people is harmful to both nature and human life．

　　One of the main causes of the large amount of dangerous waste is that people do not realize how large a problem it is．Because it can be simply removed and sent to a landfill(废渣填埋场), the problem is often believed to end there．In addition, industries have often shown an unwillingness to find ways to deal with dangerous waste because of the re-lated expenses．Many industries and governments build simple landfills to store waste, and often just pour waste chemicals into nearby bodies of water．Often, chemicals used for industrial production cause dangerous forms of waste．The amount of these chemicals has increased greatly in the past, but it is often difficult and expensive to get rid of these chemicals or to store them in a way safe to human life and the environment．

　　Every year, major health problems result from dangerous waste．Sadly, it is often only after someone has died or become seriously ill that governments will take measures to reduce levels of harmful waste．

　　Some governments have realized how serious the dangerous waste problem is and are now trying to settle this problem．They are also trying to limit the amount of waste industries are allowed to produce．

　　Not only governments but ordinary people as well must work together to solve the problem．They can choose not to buy those products which require the production of dangerous waste, and produce less harmful waste themselves．Many scientists think that waste production can be cut．The waste can be reduced by at least one third using existing technologies and methods．

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　　Sometimes you’ll hear people say that you can’t love others until you love yourself．Sometimes you’ll hear people say that you can’t expect someone else to love you until you love yourself．Either way, you’ve got to love yourself first and this can be tricky．Sure we all know that we’re the apple of our parents’ eyes, and that our Grandmas think we’re great talents and our Uncle Roberts think that we will go to the Olympics．but sometimes it’s a lot harder to think such nice thoughts about ourselves．If you find that believing in yourself is a challenge, it is time you build a positive self-image and learn to love yourself．

　　Self-image is your own mind’s picture of yourself．This image includes the way you look, the way you act, the way you talk and the way you think．Interestingly, our self-images are often quite different from the images others hold about us．Unfortunately, most of these images are more negative than they should be．Thus changing the way you think about yourself is the key to changing your self-image and your whole world．

　　The best way to defeat a passive self-image is to step back and decide to stress your successes．That is, make a list if you need to, but write down all of the great things you do every day．Don’t allow doubts to occur in it．

　　It very well might be that you are experiencing a negative self-image because you can’t move past one flaw or weakness that you see about yourself．Well, roll up your sleeves and make a change of it as your primary task．If you think you’re silly because you aren’t good at math, find a tutor．If you think you’re weak because you can’t run a mile, get to the track and practice．If you think you’re dull because you don’t wear the latest trends, buy a few new clothes．But remember, just because you think it doesn’t mean it’s true．

　　The best way to get rid of a negative self-image is to realize that your image is far from objective, and to actively convince yourself of your positive qualities．Changing the way you think and working on those you need to improve will go a long way towards promoting a positive self-image．When you can pat(拍)yourself on the back, you’ll know you’re well on your way．Good luck!

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　　Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends．Is this a good thing?Sometimes, when Mr．Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager．

　　“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great．How do you like it?’”says Ballmer．“There was just a complete gap in taste．”

　　Music was not the only gulf．From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits．

　　Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families．Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago．Now they are comfortable and common．And parent-child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue into adulthood．

　　No wonder greeting cards today carry the message,“To my mother, my best friend．”

　　But family experts warn that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents．

　　“There’s still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,”says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College,“In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents．”

　　Family researcher offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes．They see the 1960s as a turning point．Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic process that encourages everyone to have a say．

　　“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-old, were on the ‘after’ side,”explains Mr．Ballmer．“It’s not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now．”

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　　Feast until you’re full!Come down to Munchies this week to enjoy the special dishes on offer at all of our food outlets．Order from the following：

　　·Succulent chicken rice　　·Spicy satay beef

　　·Delicious noodle dishes　　·Plump park chops

　　·Seafood specialties　　·Crunchy vegetables

　　·Sweet tropical fruit

　　Halal food is available at the stall Malay Food Heaven

　　·Spend ＄20.00 or more and win instant prizes from our lucky draw box．

　　·Collect a free party balloon and whistle for each young diner．

　　·Enjoy a free meal if you are the first customer of the day at any of our stalls．

　　·Win a holiday to Western Australia．A free raffle ticket is given with every receipt．Just fill in your information and place your entry in the box provided．

　　Between 7∶00 pm and 8∶00 pm each evening until the 10th of January, your favorite Channel 3 television actors and singers will entertain you：

　　·May Lee　　·Jackie Chen

　　·Kim Yap　　·Kamal

　　Autograph sessions will follow each performance!And who will be our extra special mystery star?Come down on Saturday at noon to find out．

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　　There was a story many years ago of a school teacher－Mrs．Thompson．She told the children on the first day that she loved them all the same．But that was a lie．There in the front row was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard．He didn’t play well with the other children and he always needed a bath．She did not like him．

　　Then Mrs．Thompson got to know that Teddy was actually a very good boy before the death of his mother．Mrs．Thompson was ashamed of herself．She felt even worse when, like all her other students, Teddy brought her a Christmas present too．It was his mother’s perfume(香水)．

　　Teddy said,“Mrs．Thompson, today you smell just like my Mom used to．”After the children left she cried for at least an hour．On that very day, she stopped teaching reading, writing and math．Instead, she began to teach children．

　　Mrs．Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy．The boy’s mind seemed to come alive．The more she encouraged him, the faster he improved．By the end of the sixth grade, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class．

　　Six years went by before she got a mote from Teddy．He wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life．He went to college．Mrs．Thompson got two more letters from him with the last one signed, Theodore F．Stoddard, M．D．(医学博士)．

　　The story doesn’t end there．On his wedding day, Dr．Stoddard whispered in Mrs．Thompson’s ear,“Thank you, Mrs．Thompson, for believing in me．You made me feel important and showed me that I could make a difference．”

　　Mrs．Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back,“Teddy, you have it all wrong．You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference．I didn’t know how to teach until I met you．”

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