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　　“Happiness isn't just feeling good．It's good for you and for society．Happy people are more successful, have better relationships, are healthier and live longer,”said Ed Diener, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois．

　　Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at University of California Riverside, analyzed studies on identical twins and concluded that happiness is 50 percent genetic, 40 percent intentional and 10 percent circumstantial．

　　“Your circumstances-where you live, your health, your work, your marriage-can be tough to change．But most people are surprised that circumstances don't account for as much of their happiness as they think," she said．

　　Life circumstances don't result in continuous happiness, she says, because we adapt．That new car, promotion or house feels great at first．Then we get used to it．Keeping that good feeling requires something else：control of how you act and think．

　　To gain happiness, you need to understand what happiness is．

　　Martin Seligman, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, says happiness is the pursuit of engaging and meaningful activities．

　　By“engaging”, he means when we get so absorbed in what we are doing that we lose track of time．“Meaningful”would be using what you are best at to serve others or to participate in a cause that's bigger than yourself．

　　“Your purpose doesn't have to be giant,”says psychologist Dan Baker．"If you're 17, your purpose can be getting into the college of your choice．When you're a parent, it can be getting your kids off to school safely and prepared for each day．”

　　From 1981 to 2007, the World Values Survey took polls all over the world and measured what it considers happiness and overall life satisfaction．Of the 52 countries that completed the surveys over the 17-year period, happiness increase in 45．

　　According to the survey analysis．economic growth helped promote happiness for some, while democratization(民主化)and rising social tolerance contributed even more．

　　Democracy provides more choice, which promotes happiness．Support for sex equality and tolerance of people who are different from oneself are also strongly linked．This is not just because tolerant people are happier, but because living in a tolerant society strengthens everyone's freedom．

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　　A recent study, published in last week's Journal of the American Medical Association, offers a picture of how risky it is to get a lift from a teenage driver．Indeed, a 16-year-old driver with three or more passengers is three times as likely to have a fatal accident as a teenager driving alone．By contrast, the risk of death for drivers between 30 and 59 decreases with each additional passenger．

　　The authors also found that the death rates for teenage drivers increased dramatically after 10 p．m．, and especially after midnight．With passengers in the car, the driver was even more likely to die in a late-night accident．

　　Robert Foss, a scientist at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, says the higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with“really stupid behavior”than with just a lack of driving experience．“The basic issue,”he says,“is that adults who are responsible for issuing licenses fail to recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is．”

　　Both he and the author of the study believe that the way to mitigate(使……缓解)the problem is to have states institute so-called graduated licensing systems, in which getting a license is a multistage process．A graduated license requires that a teenager first prove himself capable of driving in the presence of an adult, followed by a period of driving with night or passenger restrictions, before graduating to full driving privileges．

　　Graduated licensing systems have reduced teenage driver crashes, according to recent studies．About half of the states now have some sort of graduated licensing system in place, but only 10 of those states have restrictions on passengers．California is the strictest, with a novice(新手)driver prohibited from carrying any passenger under 20(without the presence of an adult over 25)for the first six months．

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　　However important we may regard school life to be, there is always the fact that children spend more time at home than in the classroom．Therefore, the teacher should realize that parents have a great influence on their children．Parents can become strong allies(助手)of the school or they can get in the way of the school education．

　　Experts have realized the need to deep parents informed of the newer methods used in schools．Many headmasters have conducted workshops explaining such matters as the reading readiness programme, writing and mathematics．

　　Moreover, the classroom teacher, with the permission of the superlisors(管理者), can also play an important part in giving more knowledge to reporting pupils progress, teachers can help partents a lot in educating their children and parents can give much help to teachers．

　　Suppose that a father has been drilling Junior arithmetic lessons night after night．In a friendly talk between the teacher and the father, the teacher can help the parent to make Junior interested in it．He might be persuaded to let Junior join in discussing the family budget , buying the food, using a ruler or measuring cup at home setting the clock, calculating the distance of a trip and engaging in scores of other activities that have a mathematical basis．

　　If the father follows the advice, it is reasonable to say that he will soon realize that his son is making satisfactory progress in mathematics, and at the same time, enjoying the work．

　　Too often, however, teachers' talks with parents are devoted to small accounts of children's misdemeanors(不良行为)．They talk about the laziness and poor work habits of the children．

　　What is needed is a more creative way in which the teacher, as an adviser, plants ideas in parents' minds to make sure that the child spends the many hours out of the classroom learning something useful．

　　In this way the school and the home join forces in educating children．

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　　As you read this, nearly 80,000 Americans are waiting for a new heart, kidney or some other organ that can save their life．Tragically about 6,000 of them will die this year-nearly twice as many people as died in the Sept．11 attacks-because they won't get their transplant in time．86％ of Americans say they support organ donation, but only 20% actually sign up to do it．

　　Part of the problem is the way we handle organ donation．Americans who want to make this sort of gift have to opt in-that is, indicate on a driver's license that when they die, they want their organs to be made available．Many European and Asian countries take the opposite approach．In Singapore, for example, all residents receive a letter when they come of age informing them that their organs may be donated unless they object．In Belgium, which adopted a similar presumed-consent system 12 years ago, less than 2％ of the population has decided to opt out．

　　Further complicating the situation in the U．S．is the fact that whatever decision you make can be overruled by your family．The final say is left to your surviving relatives, who must make up their minds in a few hours after brain death has been declared．There are as many as 50 body parts that can save or transform the life of some others, but for many families lost in grief, the idea of operating on a loved one is more than they can bear．The U．S like all medically advanced societies has struggled to find a way to balance an individual's right over his body with society's need to save others from death．Tommy Thompson, Health Secretary, last spring announced plans to encourage donations．Perhaps it is time that the government considered improving the system．

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　　Books are not Nadia Konyk's thing．Her mother, hoping to attract her, brings them home from the library, but Nadia rarely shows an interest．Instead, like so many other teenagers, Nadia, 15, is addicted to the Internet．She regularly spends at least six hours a day in front of the computer．

　　Nadia checks her e-mail and reads careful through my yearbook com, a social networking site, reading messages or posting updates on her mood．She searches from music videos on youtube.com and logs onto gaiaonline.com, a role-playing site where members exchange identities as cartoon characters．But she spends most of her time on quizilla.com or fanfiction．net, reading and commenting on stories written by other users and based on books, television shows or movies．

　　Her mother, Deborah Konyk, would prefer that Nadia read books for a change．But at this point, Ms．Konyk said,“I'm just pleased that she reads something anyway．”

　　Children like Nadia lie at the heart of a passionate(狂热的)debate about just what it means to read in the digital age．As teenagers' scores on standardized reading tests have declined, some argue that the hours spent surfing the Internet is the enemy of reading-reducing literacy, destroying attention spans and a valuable common culture that exists only through the reading of books．

　　But others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading, one that schools and society should not discount．The Web inspires a teenager like Nadia, who might otherwise spend most of his leisure time watching television, to read and write．

　　Even talented book readers like Zachary Sims, 18, of Old Greenwich, Conn．, carve the ability to quickly find different points of view on a subject and talk with others online．Some children with dyslexia(诵读困难)or other learning difficulties, like Hunter Gaudet, 16, of Somers, Conn．, have found it far more comfortable to search and read online．

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　　“Creativity is the key to a brighter future,”say education and business experts．Here is how schools and parents can encourage this important skill in children．

　　If Dick had listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have a product that we now think of as of great importance：a new type of tape．Dick worked for the Minnesota Mining Company．At work he developed a kind of material strong enough to hold things together．But his boss told him not to think more about the idea．Finally, using his own time, Dick improved the tape, which now is used everywhere by many people．And his former company learned from its mistake．Now it encourages people to spend 15 percent of their work time just thinking about and developing new ideas．

　　Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily a character of high intelligence．The fact that a person is highly intelligent does not mean that he uses it creatively．Creativity is the matter of using the resources one has to produce new ideas that are good for something．

　　Unfortunately, schools have not tried to encourage creativity．With strong attention to test results and the development of reading, writing and mathematical skills, many educators give up creativity for correct answers．The result is that children can give back information but can't recognize ways to use it in new situation．They may know the rules correctly but they are unable to use them to Work out practical problems．

　　It is important to give children choices．From the earlier age, children should be allowed to make decisions and understand their results．Even if it's choosing between two food items for lunch, decision-making helps thinking skills．As children grow older, parents should let their children decide how to use their time or spend their money．This is because the most important character of creative people is a very strong desire to find a way out of trouble．

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　　New York State has passed the USA's first state law banning motorists talking on hand-held cell phones(手机)．The ban will begin November 1st, although drivers caught using hand-held cell phones will be given only warnings during the first month．

　　First-time violators(违法者)will face a ＄100 fine．A second time call for a ＄200 fine and every violation after that will cost＄500．

　　At least a dozen localities(地方)have established bans, starting in 1999; and 40 states have had bans proposed but not passed．At least 23 countries, including the Great Britain, Italy, Israel and Japan, ban drivers from using hand-held cell phones．

　　There are about 115 million cell phones in use in the United States and more than 6 million in New York State．

　　“To think that I'm not going to use cell phone when at the same time I can still use my laptop(膝上电脑)，I still can read a paper, I can still change my trousers while driving 65 mph．I think there's just something wrong,”an official said．

　　Other critics(批评)noted that other things like eating, drinking coffee and applying make up while driving caused at least as much of a concern(关注)．They suggested that the ban include a broader range of things．

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　　According to a recent survey, Canadian parents realize their role as protectors and providers to raise their children both emotionally and physically．That's not very different from the way our parents saw themselves．But with more two-career families and busy schedules, one thing parents today recognize more than ever is the need to set aside special time for their children．These ‘nurturing moments' are changed into memories that they will treasure all their lives．Nurturing moments might be the time between our work and life．Bringing your child to work with you to see what you do during the day．Visiting your child's make-believe world．Discussing his other school day．Exploring the natural world outside your door．

　　These times are not merely a luxury(奢侈)，they're a necessity．It's during these moments that parents pass values and attitudes to their children．Over time, children pick up good habits and positive self-image．

　　Here are a few tips for making the most of your family time together：

　　Regularly sit down as a family to share a meal．Allow each person to describe something interesting about his or her day．

　　Make one night a week family night．Family members take turns choosing a special activity for the evening everyone partakes in the fun．

　　Show your children you care about their interests by having them teach you about their activity or hobby．

　　Nurturing healthy children involves body, mind and spirit．The little things you do to your care are the building blocks for confidence, self-esteem and a healthy outlook．By giving your children these tools, you prepare them for life．

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　　China has input several billion yuan of money to stop the dirty water waste on the upper and middle area of the Pearl River from polluting the lower reaches of the river, especially the Macao Spe-cial Administrative Region．

　　The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the upper and middle reaches of the Pearl River has been rapidly urbanized(城市化)and industrialized in recent years, leading to a rise in the amount of urban rubbish to the damage of the land, rivers and atmosphere．

　　Refuse dumps and special plants in most cities treat rubbish to make it harmless, with 5,800 tons of wastes being burnt, buried or made into fertilizers on a daily basis．

　　He Suping, a woman engineer with the water re-sources department in Guangxi said, it is imperative for the autonomous region to treat sewage wastes to protect the area's Karst terrain(喀斯特地形)and rain water which brings contact between groundwater and surface water, making groundwater more easily polluted．

　　The Xijiang River, a branch of the Pearl River which runs from Guangxi to neighboring Guangdong Province, provides fresh water for a number of river-side cities such as Macao, Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Zhaoqing, so Guangxi must begin to treat rubbish quickly to protect the water sources, said Liu Chen, a senior engineer with the Ministry of Water Resources．

　　The government 2001－2006 plan to spend bil-lions of yuan to turn wastes harmless has been mainly provided by national debt payments and overseas in-vestment．So far wastes treatment projects have re-ceived a total of 400 million yuan(48 million US dol-lars)from national debts and 60 million yuan(7.22 million US dollars)from overseas loans(贷款)．

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　　Beijing has forbidden advertising boards in main tourist areas and around the government area to tidy the city and improve safely．

　　The new regulation, made known on Wednesday, could affect foreign advertising companies．Business from advertising boards is expected to gain a large increase in the-lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing．The Beijing Morning Post newspaper reported no advertisements were allowed within 200 metres of government offices, protected historic and cultural sites, embassies(大使馆)or the offices of international organizations．

　　Also on the list of forbidden areas are Tiananmen Square, the government compound at Zhongnanhai, the city's center Changan Avenue between Fuxingmen and Jianguomen, the Forbidden City and the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse．Company signboards on buildings or roofs are also banned in the areas．

　　It also puts greater controls on pylons(标杆)holding large hoardings around the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park, the Central Business District in eastern Bering－where the World Trade Centre is located－the new Olympic area, any popular tourist places or along the route that visiting VIPs follow from the airport to the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse．

　　Adverts on buildings taller than 24 metres, residential buildings, municipal facilities and public transport will also be forbidden．Museums, galleries, schools, stadiums and traditional buildings with decorated roofs will follow suit．

　　The Government said the ruling was made to improve safety and clear streets．But the ban does not include the downtown shopping and business districts．These are about the only places designated as outdoor advertising areas．

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