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　　My parents divorced when I was in grammar school, and between work and forming new relationships, they had little time to care about me．At 16, I felt unloved, shy and lonely, the kind of girl nicknamed“the Brain”, more interested in reading books than joking with other classmates．

　　The few young single teachers were leaving to serve in World War Ⅱ．My physics teacher, Mr Bossing, a middle-aged, married World War Ⅰ veteran(老兵)of my father's age, took on increasing responsibilities．

　　Monitoring the lunch line, he nodded pleasingly when he saw carrots on my tray, telling me that they would make my eyes bright．When he observed me holding my pen at an awkward angle as I wrote my homework, he warned me that if I continued to hold my pen in that way, no man would want to marry me．Overnight, I corrected a habit I held since learning to write．

　　Though without a special ability of physics, I was one of Mr Bossing's better students．When my lab partner, who had copied my third-quarter exam, complained that my grade was higher than hers, I brought both papers up to Mr Bossing for redress．With silent anger, he lowered my grade rather than raising hers．That hurt me．Still, we remained friends．On one occasion, he gave me a small, indestructible(难以破坏的)horseshoe magnet, which I still treasure．

　　Was he the father of daughters? I don't know, but he really knew how to make a young girl feel good about herself．

　　Only now, much later, do I realize what this teacher did for me．

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　　A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to go through testing at

Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months．

　　The system, called Driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20％－40％ that are caused by tiredness．Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30％ of all pilot-error accidents that are related to tiredness．

　　Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband(手表带)．The device, worn by drivers or pilots, gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey．After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing(挤压)the steering wheel(方向盘)．A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver's response．

　　Tiredness is directly related to a driver's response time．Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy．

　　In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest．If the driver's response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible．

　　The device has been delivered to the department's laboratories for testing．If these tests, scheduled for six months' time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year．

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　　It is well known that the Japanese people's love of fish is almost as strong as a bee's interest in honey．As fish populations were decreasing, fishing companies were forced to fish further and further away from the shore．Then they had a big challenge －how to keep the fish fresh for longer．So they decided to keep the fish stored in freezers on the boats．But the public did not like frozen fish．So again the fishing companies had a new bigger challenge．What they decided to do was to have fish tanks on their boats．After catching fishes, they would put them in the tanks and keep them living there until they got back to shore．But in this protected environment, lacking predators(掠食者), the fish stopped moving around．The Japanese public felt these dull fish did not taste fresh, which had an unpleasant effect upon sales．Once again the fishing companies had an even bigger challenge…

　　Stop for a minute! Before we go any further, I would like to ask“What are your challenges? How do you handle an unexpected challenge?”May I think it this way that you should try to attack your challenges? Conquer them with a Swiss Army knife．Take the most proper and simple tool that you can adopt to deal with your situation．

　　Now back to our story．How did the Japanese finally figure out the fresh fish problem? Sharks! You might think the same．Sharks were caught and put into the tanks with other fishes．Don't sharks EAT fish? Well, they do eat a few fish, but they did also keep more fish active and alert．The fish stay fresh because they are challenged．

　　Now, try to keep yourself fresh by finding your own shark to offer yourself a challenge in your own business and career．

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　　The global financial crisis is likely to cause increased mental health problems and even suicides(自杀)as people struggle to deal with poverty and unemployment, the World Health Organization warned Thursday．

　　Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are already affected by mental problems such as depression and bipolar disorders(带狂躁的抑郁症)and the current market meltdown(崩溃)could worsen feelings of despair among people who can't stand such illnesses．

　　The United Nations agency said the impact could be especially marked for those living in low and middle income countries where access to treatment is often limited．

　　“We should not be surprised at the turbulence(动荡)and likely consequences of the current financial crisis．Now we are seeing a huge gap in taking care of people in great need,”WHO director general Margaret Chan told at a meeting of mental health experts．

　　“It should not come as a surprise that we continue to see more stresses, suicides and mental disorders,”Chan warned．

　　Benedetto Saraceno, director of WHO's mental health, said mental health disorders affected one in four people at some point in their lives．

　　Mental and neurological disorders are often chronic(慢性)and disabling, he said．Nearly 1 million people commit suicide worldwide every year, a large proportion(比例)of them are young adults．

　　Asked about the financial crisis, Saraceno said,“Poverty can be the consequence of such events, the debts, despair and sense of loss that may reach middle and lower classes．Even the poor can be affected by this crisis．”

　　“There is a clear evidence that suicide is linked to financial disasters．I am not talking about the millionaire's jumping out of the window but about poor people,”he said．The global crisis could be expected to affect the“stability(稳定)of communities and families”, according to Saraceno．

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　　Positive thinkers admit when they feel frustrated or depressed, they don't ignore it．But they don't blame themselves either．Instead, they try to understand the negative thoughts and feelings and counter(反击)them with more positive ones．

　　So how do you stay positive, maintain motivated and sustain healthy behaviors? Here are some tips：

　　Look for a good role model．There is always someone who seems to be doing just what you want to be doing．Maybe they've scheduled exercise into their workday and switched from coffee to green tea．Learn from a successful friend, family member or colleague．Ask them how they keep healthy and follow in their footsteps．

　　Try some positive self-talk and avoid negative-talk．Take a minute to give yourself an ego boost．Repeat some motivational words out loud to yourself．Negative talk such as“I can't do it,”“I'm fat,”is dangerous for your well-being and healthy goals．Try to avoid the negative self-talk before it harms you．Remind yourself that you deserve happiness and can make positive changes．

　　Get support．Tell your friends and family about your healthy habits．It helps to have an encouraging network．

　　Reward yourself．Treat yourself to something for your healthy efforts．Take a nice bath, get a massage, and enjoy a new DVD or CD．

　　Have a plan．Making a plan to exercise or eat healthy lunches with a friend can mean the difference of sticking with your goals or falling off track．If you've planned for an activity, you'll likely stick with it．You may even find that writing down your goals and steps to achieve them can help you stay on track．Take it day by day or week by week．The process of writing down your personal action plan is a good way to keep you honest and watch your progress or failures．

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　　Has anyone been prepared for the possibility that unexpected poor visibility(能见度)will stop the pilot from landing? If your pilot is forced to turn back only for his lack of passing a certain test, you will be certainly shocked．This very thing happened to the passengers on Flight BE1431 on Thursday．Just minutes before landing on Charles de Gaulle Airport(戴高乐机场), Paris, the pilot, a very experienced one, told his passengers,“Unfortunately I'm not qualified to land in Paris for the poor visibility．To do so a level II qualification(资格)is required, which I have not gained．We'll have to fly back．”Then, you may guess how the passengers felt about their flight back to the starting airport．

　　A spokeswoman said the pilot was really experienced with more than 30 years flying a number of different passenger aircraft types．“But he has recently transferred from flying a BQ300 to a BQ400, so he has to regain his qualification for landing in such conditions as the thick fog he experienced this time,”she said．“The pilot, therefore, quite correctly turned the aircraft back, a decision 100 percent accepted by the aviation(航空)officials in the company．”

　　One passenger said she had missed an appointment for an interview in Paris．“I might have had a nice chance to work in Paris,”she told the local newspaper．“The whole thing sounds hard to believe．If I had not been on the plane, I would take it as a funny story!”

　　The British Civil Aviation Authority described the incident as one that was“quite unusual but probably not unheard of”, because there are different classifications(等级)of aircraft with different qualifications for landing in different climatic conditions and when an aircraft is updated, the pilots have to get retrained, even though they have enough skills to do the job successfully．

　　Poor pilot, it's not really his fault…

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　　High school dropouts(辍学者)earn an average of ＄9,000 less per year than graduates．Now a new study dispels(消除)a common belief why they quit．It's much more basic than flunking out(不及格)．

　　Society tends to think of high school dropouts as kids who just can't cut it．They are lazy，and perhaps not too bright．So researchers were surprised when they asked more than 450 kids who quit school about why they left．

　　“The vast majority actually had passing grades and they were confident that they could have graduated from high school,”John Bridgeland, the executive researcher said．About 1 million teens leave school each year．Only about half of African-American and Hispanic(美籍西班牙的)student will receive a diploma(证书)，and actually all dropouts come to regret their decision．So, if failing grades don't explain why these kids quit, what does? Again，John Bridgeland：“The most dependable finding was that they were bored．”“They found classes uninteresting; they weren't inspired or motivated．They didn't see any direct connection between what they were learning in the classroom to their own lives, or to their career aspirations．”

　　The study found that most teens who do drop out wait until they turn sixteen, which happens to be the age at which most states allow students to quit．In the US，only one state, New Mexico, has a law requiring teenagers to stay in high school until they graduate．Only four states：California, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, plus the District of Columbia, require school attendance until age 18, no exceptions．Another researcher says raising the compulsory(义务的)attendance age may be one way to keep more kids in school．

　　“As these dropouts look back, they realize they've made a mistake．And anything that sort of gives these people an extra push to stick it out and see it through to the end, is probably helpful measure．”

　　New Hampshire may be the next state to raise its school attendance age to 18．But critics say that forcing the students unwilling to continue their studies to stay in school misses the point－the need for reform．It's been called for to reinvent high school education to make it more challenging and relevant, and to ensure that kids who do stick it out receive a diploma that actually means something．

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　　There is no doubt that adults, and even highly educated adults, vary greatly in the speed and efficiency of their reading．Some proceed very lowly throughout; others dash along too quickly and then have to regress．Poor readers in particular may lack the ability to vary their manner of reading according to the type of reading matter and to their intentions in reading it．A good reader can move at great speed through the text of a novel or similar light reading matter．He may be able to skim a page, picking up a word or two here and there, and gain a general idea of what the text is about without really reading it．In reading more difficult material, with the intention of taking in the whole of it, he will proceed more slowly, but even then he will vary his pace, concentrating on the key words and passages, perhaps re-reading them several times and pass more quickly over the remainder．A less efficient reader tends to maintain the same speed whatever the material he reads．Consequently, even light reading matter gives him little pleasure because he reads so slowly．But this pace may be too fast for really difficult material which requires special concentration at difficult points．

　　A type of reading which necessitates(需要)careful attention to detail is proofreading, in which the reader, in order to detect misprints in a sample print, has to notice not so much the meaning of what he reads as the exact shape and order of letters and words in the text．This is extremely difficult for most people, since they are accustomed to overlooking such details．In fact, considerable practice is required to practise this task efficiently and it can be done only by reading very slowly, and by paying comparatively little attention to the general meaning of the text．

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　　Face it, and a lot of students have great LSAT scores．The best way for you to stand out in a crowd of applicants to top law schools is to write an exceptional personal statement．

　　This book puts you in the admissions office's seat．It gives you the intimate details－test scores, GPAs(grade point average), demographic information, and personal statements－of 34 law school hopefuls, then shows you why they got into the colleges they applied to, and why some didn't．It's invaluable information that will help students evaluate(评估)their own chances of admission to the most selective law schools in the United States．

　　What makes business school applications so brutal(无情)? For most applicants, it's the number, length, and complexity(复杂性)of the essays they have to write when applying for a course．Most top schools require multiple essays and this book is your best bet for succeeding with them．It contains：

　　1．Forty-four real-life essays critiqued(评论)by admissions officers from schools like Tuck, Chicago, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology．

　　2．Eight case studies of business school applicants saying what worked for them and what did not．

　　3．Translations of essay questions telling you what they are really asking．

　　This book helps students get into the college they want by showing them what essays helped actual students achieve their dreams．

　　The book tells you what colleges want to see using interviews with actual admissions officers．

　　The book has sections on the basics of essay writing－grammar and punctuation(标点符号)－as well as the sections looking at what topics you should write about and how you should communicate your personality in your work．

　　It finishes by looking at the work of a great many successful applicants to America's top colleges, and some unsuccessful students to tell you what to avoid．

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　　I've written 14 movies．My characters smoke in many of them, and they look cool and glamorous doing it．Smoking was an integral(必需的)part of many of my screenplays because I was a heavy smoker．It was part of a bad-boy image I'd cultivated for a long time－smoking, drinking, partying, rock‘n’roll．

　　Smoking, I once believed, was every person's right．The second-hand smoke was non-existent problem invented by professional do-gooders．I put all these views into my plays．

　　Remembering all this, I find it hard to forgive myself．I have been an accomplice(帮凶)to the murders of untold numbers of human beings．I am admitting this only because I have made a deal with God．Spare me, I said, and I will try to stop others from committing the same crimes I did．

　　Eighteen months ago I was diagnosed with throat cancer, the result of a lifetime of smoking．I am alive but disabled．Much of my larynx(喉)is gone．I have some difficulty speaking; others have some difficulty understanding me．

　　I haven't smoked or drunk for 18 months now, though I still take it day by day and pray for help．I believe in prayer and exercise．I have walked five miles a day for a year, without missing even one day．Quitting smoking and drinking has taught me the hardest lesson I've ever learned about my own weakness; it has also given me the greatest affection and empathy(同感)for those still addicted．

　　I don't think smoking is every person's right anymore．I think smoking should be as illegal as heroin．I'm no longer such a bad boy．I go to church on Sunday．I'm desperate to see my four boys grow up．I want to do everything I can to undo the damage I have done with my own big-screen words and images．

　　Screen writers know, too, that some movie stars are more likely to play a part if they can smoke－because they are so addicted to smoking that they have difficulty stopping even during the shooting of a scene．

　　My hands are bloody; so are Hollywood's．My cancer has caused me to attempt to cleanse me．I don't wish my fate upon anyone in Hollywood, but I beg that Hollywood should stop putting it upon millions of others．

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