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　　My students often tell me that they don't have“enough time”to do all their schoolwork．

　　My reply is often a brief“You have as much time as the president．”I usually carry on a bit about there being twenty-four hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that“not enough time”is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done．

　　Once in graduate school, I tried to prove to one of my professors by saying that I was working hard．His answer to me was,“That's irrelevant(无关的)．What's important is the quality of your work．”Since then I have had time to think carefully about the“hard worker”dodge(诀窍), and I have come to some conclusions－all relevant to the problem of how much time we have．

　　If you analyze the matter, you can identify two parts of the problem：There is, of course, the matter of“time”, which we can think of as fixed．Then there is the problem of“work”during that time．But, as my professor suggested, it's not how hard one works but the quality of the product that's important．

　　That led me to a new idea：the quality of the work．That concept is perhaps best explained by a sign I once saw on the wall in someone's office：“Don't work harder．Work smarter．”There is a lot of sense in that idea．

　　If you can't get more time, and few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of the work．That means thinking of ways to get more out of the same time than we might otherwise get．That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits．Since“work”for students usually means“homework”, the expression“work habits”should be read as“study habits”．

　　Then, as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing．If you learn to read better and write better, there are big benefits that pay off in all your studies．

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　　A single night of taking the drug Ecstasy(摇头丸)can cause serious brain damage and speed up the start of Parkinson's disease, scientists say．Just two or three Ecstasy tablets can permanently destroy brain cells that affect movement and reasoning, according to American research that links the drug to Parkinson's for the first time．

　　A study by a team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, involving squirrel monkeys and baboons(狒狒)found that both species suffered permanent damage to key cells, which are lost in Parkinson's, after receiving three low doses(剂量)of Ecstasy at three-hour periods．

　　The study is particularly important because baboons are one of the best animal models for the human brain．George Ricaurte, who led the research, said that the widespread abuse of drug might have caused severe damage．“The most troubling result is that young adults using Ecstasy may be increasing their risk of developing Parkinsonism as they get older．”

　　Alan Leshner, a former director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, said,“This study emphasizes the multi-aspect damage that Ecstasy causes to users．We've long known that repeated use damages brain cells．But this study shows that even very occasional use can have long-lasting effects on many different brain systems．It sends an important message to young people：don't experiment with your own brain．”

　　Janet Betts, a mother whose teenage daughter Leah died after a single Ecstasy tablet in 1995, said,“This comes as no surprise．But people can't see the effects at first, and they say it won't happen to them．We'll see the symptoms later, just as we have with smoking．”

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　　You're in a department store and you see a couple of attractive young women looking at a sweater．You listen to their conversation：

　　“I can't believe it－Lorenzo Bertolla!They are almost impossible to find．Isn't it beautiful?And it's a lot cheaper than the one Sara bought in Rome．”

　　They leave and you go over to see this incredible sweater．It's nice and the price is right．You've never heard of Lorenzo Bertolla, but those girls looked really stylish．They must know．So, you buy it．You never realize that those young women are employees of an advertising agency．They are actually paid to go from store to store, talking loudly about Lorenzo Bertolla clothes．

　　Every day we notice what people are wearing, driving and eating．If the person looks cool, the product seems cool, too．This is the secret of undercover marketing．Companies from Ford to Nike are starting to use it．

　　Undercover marketing is important because it reaches people that don't pay attention to traditional advertising．This is particularly true of the MTV generation－consumers between the age of 18 and 34．It's a golden group．They have a lot of money to spend, but they don't trust ads．

　　So advertising agencies hire young actors to“perform”in bars and other places where young adults go．Some people might call this practice misleading, but marketing executive Jonathan Ressler calls it creative．“Look at traditional advertising．Its effectiveness is decreasing．”It is true, because everyone knows an ad is trying to persuade you to buy something．However, you don't know when a conversation you overhear is just a performance．

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　　“He who can have patience can have what he wants,”said Benjamin Franklin．They say patience is a virtue(美德)seldom found in women and never in men．This may or may not be true, but it's fair to say that there is nobody on the earth who couldn't benefit from more patience．

　　Patience is necessary for success．

　　It is said that“all good things come to those who wait”．Many of the great scientists have remarked that their scientific discoveries came only through patient perseverance(坚持)．Edison said,“Genius was 99％ perspiration and only 1％ inspiration．”Patience teaches us to value the effort and not just the success．It is a mistake to think that happiness can only be obtained through achievements．

　　Patience brings peace of mind．

　　When we desire certain outcomes(结果), we'll have no peace of mind．Even if one desire is filled, the nature of desire is that more will appear in its place．There is no end to human desires．Patience means we will work with an attitude of detachment(超然)．

　　Patience can transform suffering into joy．

　　Throughout life we suffer injustice; the best healer is patience．Through being patient and accepting our situation, it's quite possible for our suffering to be transformed．

　　Sri Chinmoy said,“If failure has the strength to turn your life into bitterness itself, then patience has the strength to turn your life into the sweetest joy．”

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　　BEIJING：With the Chinese New Year holidays just a few days away, hotel prices in the country's only tropical(热带的)island province have touched a record high．

　　The average price for a single night at five-star hotels in south China's Hainan Province has reached 10,000 yuan(＄1,400)during the seven-day Spring Festival break, which kicks off Saturday．

　　The cheapest room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Sanya is going to 18,400 yuan, while the most expensive is 34, 500 yuan per night．Prices for a room at the Hilton Sanya Resort range from 11,138 yuan to 16,048 yuan, according to ctrip.com, a leading travel website．

　　The prices almost equal the average annual(一年的)income for Chinese city dwellers(城市居民)in 2009, which stood at 18,858 yuan per person, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show．

　　The skyrocketing room rents have even scared away a few travel agencies．

　　“We aren't paying too much attention to the Hainan market this year since most ordinary people can't afford a room there”said Wen Qian, deputy general manager of GZL International Travel Service．

　　“The few who are willing to take a trip to Hainan are wealthy businessmen, who can take their families for a relaxing vacation and at the same time check out the island's real-estate market,”Wen said．

　　Hotel prices haven't seen such a jump during the Spring Festival holiday since 2002, when the average price for a room on the island reached about 8,000 yuan per night．

　　“This is a special year for Hainan, as the country recently unveiled(透露)plans to turn the place into a top international tourist destination by 2020,”Wen said．

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　　There are certain songs that never seem to grow old for me despite(尽管)my having listened to them for years．Mat Kearney's Girl America is such a song．It appeared on the American artist's major-label debut(首张唱片), Nothing Left to Lose, in 2006．

　　What sets many of Kearney's songs apart are their unique combination of guitar and the spoken words．In Girl America, for example, he tells the story of a young woman who is struggling to make sense of her life．Actually, the girl's story resembles Kearney's own．

　　“I guess I lived it up and did what everyone said you should do in college,”he told the magazine Christianity Today after releasing(发行)his first album(专辑)．“I discovered…the bleakness(暗淡)of that lifestyle．It just wasn't working．I finally started understanding there must be more to life．”

　　This song describes such a turning point in the life of“Girl America”－an expression that simply means“an ordinary American girl”．

　　Download the song for free here：http：//www.google.cn/music/album.Id＝B72e7f490f282c0ae．

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　　You are standing in the kitchen and a voice says,“Add a little more salt to that soup．”Yes, it's always nice to have someone help you when you're cooking．But this voice is not from a man．You are alone!Then where does it come from?Is it from a ghost?No, this isn't a ghost kitchen－it's the kitchen of the future．

　　Scientists are working to improve everything in the kitchen, from fridges to tables, and even the ways we cook．They are making a system．It will help a person cook a meal．You don't need cookbooks．You can hear how to cook food．

　　The fridge of the smart kitchen has a scanner．It looks at the foods in the fridge．It will order more milk from the store when your milk has gone bad or there is no more in the fridge．The gloves will test the temperature of everything they touch and say,“Need to cook longer”or“Hot and ready to eat”．If you leave them on the stove by mistake, they'll say,“Fire!”Even the knives and spoons will speak．For example, if your food is bad, the knives and spoons will tell you not to eat it．

　　The future kitchen may look wonderful, but it's not cheap．The multimedia fridge costs about 8,000 dollars．So even though high-tech kitchens are no longer a dream, not everyone can afford one．

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　　The biggest safety threat facing airlines today may not be a terrorist(恐布分子)with a gun, but the man with the portable computer in business class．In the last 15 years, pilots have reported well over 100 incidents that could have been caused by electromagnetic(电磁)interference(干扰)．The source of this interference remains unconfirmed, but increasingly, experts are pointing the blame at portable electronic device such as portable computers, radio and cassette players and mobile telephones．

　　RTCA, an organization which advises the aviation(航空)industry, has recommended that all airlines ban(禁止)such devices from being used during“critical”stages of flight, particularly take-off and landing．Some experts have gone further, calling for a total ban during all flights．Currently, rules on using these devices are left up to individual airlines．And although some airlines prohibit(禁止)passengers from using such equipment during take-off and landing, most are reluctant to enforce a total ban, given that many passengers want to work during flights．

　　The difficulty is prediction how electromagnetic fields might affect an aircraft's computers．Experts know that portable device emit radiation which affects those wavelengths which aircraft use for navigation and communication．But, because they have not been able to reproduce these effects in a laboratory, they have no way of knowing whether the interference might be dangerous or not．

　　The fact that aircraft may be vulnerable(易受损的)to interference raises the risk that terrorists may use radio systems in order to damage navigation equipment．As worrying though, is the passenger who can't hear the instructions to turn off his radio because the music is too loud．

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　　The Barbie doll first appeared at the toy fair in New York in 1959．Its creator was Ruth Handler, an American businesswoman．She and her husband Elliott along with Harold Matt Matson started the toy company Mattel．She based the design of the new doll on a German doll named Bild Lilli and named her after their daughter Barbara．

　　The first Barbie wore a black and white swimsuit and had her hair in a ponytail(马尾辫)．She looked very grown-up．But any concerns that parents would not want to buy it for little girls were soon proved wrong．

　　Mattel sold 300,000 Barbie dolls in the first year at a price of three dollars．Today, a fifty-year-old Barbie in good condition might cost more than 27,000 dollars．

　　Barbie dolls have represented 50 different nationalities and are sold in 150 countries．Mattel says 90％ of girls in the United States between the ages of three and ten own at least one Barbie doll．It says girls between the ages of three and six own an average of about 12．

　　Barbie also faced her share of critics．A well-known example was when women's education groups objected to a talking Barbie doll that declared, among other things,“Math class is tough!”Mattel agreed to change it．Saudi Arabia has banned Barbie dolls．And a lawmaker in the American state of West Virginia would like to do the same．Last month, he proposed banning sales of Barbie and other dolls that influence girls to put too much importance on physical beauty．

　　Some people say Barbie is an unhealthy role model for young girls．Robin Gerber disagrees．She wrote a book about Barbie．She points out dolls like scientist Barbie and race car driver Barbie．She says people who criticize Barbie should tell girls the story of the businesswoman who created her．She says Ruth Handler wanted the dolls to help girls think about what they wanted to do with their lives．