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　　In 1969 I was a young girl working in Toronto．I was from a small town in Ontario and had just moved to the big city about three months earlier．It was one week before Christmas and I was going home on the last streetcar of the evening．

　　I remember looking at my paycheque(工资单)and asking myself how it was going to endure．At that time in my life I hardly had enough money to exist on．Bread for supper and oatmeal for breakfast was the only way I kept hunger at bay．

　　I got off the streetcar and started walking up the street, when I suddenly noticed a man was running after me．I stopped, turned around, seeing that he was black．I snapped, “What do you want?” The man answered in a soft voice, “I am returning your wallet．You left it on the streetcar seat．”

　　Because of that man’s thoughtfulness, I was allowed the comfort of going home by bus for the summer holidays．Otherwise, I would have stayed alone in my small room with a hog plate．

　　I have never been so ashamed of myself, and that poor, kind man had to walk, who knows how far, home．

　　I recognized immediately that this was wrong of me and it changed my ways forever．

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　　Since the pre-historic times, man has had an urge to satisfy his needs．Whether it is hunger, shelter or search for a mate, he has always controlled the situations to his advantage．Probably this might be the reason why we humans are the most developed of all living species on the earth．As we climbed the steps of development, we somehow left behind common sense and logical thinking －we forgot that we have stopped thinking ahead of time．

　　If you are hungry, what do you do?Get a piece of your favorite meal and stay quiet．Just like your stomach, even your mind is hungry．But it never lets you know, because you keep it busy thinking about your dream lover, favorite star and many such things．So it silently began to care about your needs and never let itself grow．When mind looses its freedom to grow, creativity gets a full stop．This might be the reason why we all sometimes think "What happens next?", "Why can't I think?" "Why am I always given the difficult, problems?" Well, this is the result of using our brain for thinking of not-so-worthy things．

　　Hunger of the mind can be actually satisfied through reading．Now why reading and not watching TV?Because reading has been the most educative tool used by us right from the childhood．Just like that to develop other aspects of our life, we have to turn to reading．You have innumerable number of books in this world which will answer all your "How to?" questions．The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed．Now this seed is unknowingly used by you in your future to develop new ideas．

　　The same seed, if used many times, can help you link and relate a lot of things, of which you would have never thought in your wildest dreams! This is nothing but creativity．If you read more books, your mind will open up like never before．

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　　Contrary to common belief, social media websites such as Facebook do not weaken personal ties, they strengthen them in unique ways for different age groups, according to a new study．

　　The rapid spread of Facebook, which has more than 500 million users worldwide, has prompted concerns about its negative effects, but researchers at the University of Texas have reached a different conclusion．

　　"Our findings suggest that Facebook is not replacing face-to-face interactions between friends, family and colleagues," said S．Craig Watkins, an．associate professor of radio, TV and film who headed the research team．

　　"In fact, we believe there is sufficient evidence that social media afford opportunities for new expressions of friendship, intimacy and community．"

　　The researchers questioned 900 college students and recent graduates about how and with whom they interact on Facebook．

　　More than 60 percent of Facebook users said posting status updates was among the most popular activities, followed by 60 percent who wrote comments on their profile and 49 percent who posted messages and comments to friends．

　　The researchers also found that although about the same number of men and women use Facebook, they do so in different ways．

　　"There is a noteworthy difference in aims in how to use a tool like Facebook．We found that for women the content tends to be more affectionate, and(they)are especially interested in using it for connection," said Watkins．

　　"For men, it's more functional," he added．

　　Watkins pointed out that, for example, women are more likely to post pictures of social gatherings with friends, while men are more likely to post pictures of hobbies, or post a political or pop-culture related link．

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　　Beijing Hikers is organizing a three-hour hike on a rarely-visited part of the Great Wall and will celebrate Christmas afterwards with a Christmas barbecue(烧烤)dinner in a small hotel at the foot of the Great Wall．Meet at 8∶30 am．Dec 25 in front ofStarbucks at Lido Holiday Inn, Jiangtai Lu．Please write to infu@beijinghikers．com or 139-100-25516．Pingyao tour

　　High Club will guide a weekend trip to Pingyao, an ancient-walled town near Taiyuan, capital city of Shanxi Province．The town is among one of the best-preserved(保护的)featuring a number of courtyard buildings of the Ming and Qing dynasties(1368-1911)．Among them is the Qiao family courtyard house, the shooting location of Zhang Yimou's " Raise the Red Lantern('灯笼)"．Leave on Friday(December 23)night by train and back to Beijing on Sunday morning．For sign-up and more information, contact

　　Lucy at lucy@highclub．cn or 8580-5080, 130-11171326．

　　The Chinese Culture Club is running a new year trip to Harbin, to catch a fresh view of its yearly ice and snow lantern festival．

　　As the temperature is expected to fall between minus 20 ℃ to 30 ℃, visitors are warned to prepare well with down jackets, masks, fur gloves and boots．The trip sets out by train at night on December 31 and gets back on the morning January 2．The cost is 2,300 yuan(US ＄284)．Reservation(预订)is required at 8457-2772 or 138-101-33998．

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　　One day, a young man was cleaning out his late grandfather's belongings when he came across a bright red envelope．Written on the front were the words, "To my grandson．" Recognizing his grandfather's handwriting ,the boy opened the envelope．A letter inside read：

　　Dear Ronny,

　　Years ago you came to me for help．You said, "Grandpa, how is it that you've accomplished so much in your life?You're still full of energy, and I'm already tired of struggling．How can I get that same enthusiasm that you've got?"

　　I didn't know what to say to you then．But knowing my days are numbered．I figure that I owe you an answer．So here is what I believe．

　　I think a lot of it has something to do with how a person looks at things．I call it "keeping your eyes wide open．"

　　First, realize that life is filled with surprises, but many are good ones．If you don't keep watching for them, you'll miss half the excitement．Expect to be thrilled once in a while ,and you will be．

　　When you meet up with challenges, welcome them．They'll leave you wiser．stronger, and more capable than you were the day before．when you make a mistake ,be grateful for the things it taught you．Determine to use that lesson to help you reach your goals．

　　And always follow the rules．Even the little ones．When you follow the rules, life works．If you think you ever really get by with breaking the rules, you're only fooling yourself．

　　It's also important to decide exactly what you want．Then keep your mind focused on it, and be prepared to receive it．

　　But be ready to end up in some new places too．As you grow with the years; you'll be given bigger shoes to fill．So be ready for endings as well as challenging beginnings．

　　Sometimes we have to be brave enough to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar．Life isn't just reaching peaks, Part of it is moving from one peak to the next．If you rest too long in between, you might be tempted to quit．Leave the past in the past．Climb the next mountain and enjoy the view．

　　Dump things that weigh you down emotionally and spiritually．When an old resentment, belief, or attitude becomes heavy．lighten your load．Drop those hurtful attitudes that slow you down and drain your energy．

　　Remember that your choices will create your successes and your failures．So consider all the pathways ahead, and decide which ones to follow．Then believe in yourself, get up, and get going．

　　And be sure to take breaks once in a while．They'll give you a renewed commitment to your dreams and a cheerful, healthy perception of the things that matter the most to you．

　　Most important of all．never give up on yourself．The person that ends up a winner is the one who resolves to win．Give life everything you've got, and life will give its best back to you．

Love always,

Grandpa

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Winston Churchill once described Russia as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery(谜)inside a puzzle"．Observers of Russia in the 21st century could surely say the same of the country's president, Vladimir Putin．

　　Born in Leningrad, six months before the death of Stalin, the young Putin experienced a poverty-stricken childhood but received a good education．He developed 'lifelong interests in judo and spy novels, and first applied to the KGB(苏联国家安全委员会)at the age of 17．When they told him to go away and come back with a degree, he completed with an efficiency(效率)that would later serve him well．

　　Putin used his KGB training, plus his own discipline and common sense, in a series of jobs．He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when president Boris Yeltsin resigned in a surprising move．Putin won the 2000 presidential election and in 2004 he was re-elected for a second term lasting until 7 May 2008．

　　Due to term limits, Putin was unable to run for a third presidential term．After the victory of Dmitry Medvedev, in the 2008 presidential elections, he was appointed to be Russia's Prime Minister．Putin is regarded as one bringing political stability and re-establishing the rule of law．During his presidency, Russia's economy(经济)bounced back, seeing GDP increase by 72％, poverty cut more than half, and average monthly salaries increase from ＄80 to ＄640．Analysts have described Putin's economic reforms as impressive．At the same time, his conduct in office has been questioned by political opposition at home, foreign governments, and human rights organizations for leading the Second Chechen War, and for his record on human rights and freedoms．

　　Whether he wants to drive Russia into a new stage, or believes in the values of its Soviet past, he is determined to put his nation back on its feet．To do this, Vladimir Putin may have to show his true colors sooner rather than later．

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　　From a very early age．some children exhibit better self-control．Now a new study has tracked how low-self-control can predict poor health, money troubles and even a criminal record in their adult years．

　　The study began with 1,000 children in New Zealand．Researchers followed them for decades．They observed the level of self-control the youngsters displayed．Parents, teachers, even the kids themselves, scored the youngsters on measures like "acting before thinking" and "persistence in reaching goals．

　　The children of the study arc now adults in their thirties．Terric Moffitt of Duke University found that kids with self-control issues tended to grow up to become adults with a far more troubling set of issues to deal with．

　　"The children, who had the lowest self-control when they were age three to ten, had the most health problems in their thirties," Moffitt said, "and they had the worst financial situation．They were more likely to have a criminal record and to be raising a child as a single parent on a very low income．”

　　Moffitt said it's still unclear why some children have better self-control than others, though other researchers have found that it's mostly a learned behavior, with relatively little genetic influence．But good self-control can run in families because children with good self-control are more likely to grow up to be healthy and prosperous parents．

　　"Whereas some of the low-self-control study members are more likely to be single parents with a very low income and the parent is in poor health and likely to be a heavy substance abuser," said Moffitt．"So that's not a good atmosphere for a child．So it looks as though self-control is something that in one generation can disadvantage the next generation．"

　　But the good news, according to Moffitt, is that self-control can be taught by parents, and through school curricula that have been shown to be effective．

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　　A growing number of health, hunger, and sustainable(可持续的)agriculture groups today announced plans for Food Day-a nationwide campaign to change the way Americans eat and think about food．Food Day will encourage people around the country to sponsor or participate in activities that encourage Americans to “eat real” and support healthy, affordable food grown in a sustainable, humane way．

　　Organizers hope Food Day will inspire Americans to hold thousands of events in schools, college campuses, houses of worship and even in private homes aimed at fixing America’s food system．A Food Day event could be as small as a parent organizing a vegetable identification contest at a kindergarten class-or as massive as a rally(集会)in a city park, with entertainment and healthy food．Health departments, city councils and other policy makers could use Food Day to launch campaigns, hold hearings, or otherwise address communities food problems．

　　The campaign will advocate progress toward five central goals：

　　·Reducing diet-related disease by promoting healthy foods．The American diet is too low in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and too high in fatty meat, soft drinks and salty packaged and restaurant foods-contributing to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year．

　　·Supporting sustainable farms and stopping subsidies to agribusiness．Billions of federal dollars a year would be better spent helping environmentally conscious family farmers than huge agribusiness operations．

　　·Expanding access to food and alleviating hunger．Far too many Americans don’t know where their next meal is coming from, or have access to fresh produce in their neighborhood．

　　·Reforming factory farms to protect animals and the environment．Farming of animals can and should be done without cruelty, and without degrading the quality of life．

　　·Curbing junk-food marketing to kids．Food companies should not be targeting children with foods that promote tooth decay, obesity and other health problems．

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　　One in five US teenagers have some degree of hearing loss, according to researchers who said the problem is growing, "Teenagers really underestimate how much noise they are exposed to．" Dr Josef Shargorodsky said．①

　　The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, compared national survey between the early 1990s and the mid-2000s．In the first survey, about 15％ of teenagers had some degree of hearing loss．② Most of the hearing loss was in one ear only．While it was usually slight, one in 20 adolescents had more problems-up 50％ since the first survey．

　　Hearing loss is very common in the elderly, another researcher of the study Grimes said, but she added that it was concerning to see it come into the younger age groups．In babies and young children, hearing problems are known to delay language development, which in turn influences performance in other areas．Slight hearing loss, for instance, makes it difficult to distinguish between high-frequency consonants like "s" and "f"．

　　The science is less clear for adolescents, but it is easy to imagine how being hard of hearing could influence learning, said Grimes．"We know from a lot of data that noisy classrooms are one of the biggest challenges to learning．" ③

　　The reasons for the rise are still uncertain．When asked about noise exposure-on the job, from firearms of recreational activities, for instance-the teenagers didn't indicate any change．But Shargorodsky said, "We knew from before that it is difficult to ask this age group about noise exposure-they underestimate it"．④ Although it's not clear that these devices are to blame, Grimes said it was still a good idea to turn down the volume．But she pointed out the advice would likely fall on deaf ears．She said the American Academy of Hearing had also contacted Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, about adding a volume limiter on iPods．But they never heard back．

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　　“From the time I was little, I wanted to be a writer,” says author Elaine Jesmer．“Then I wrote a best-selling novel．I hated it, and even worse, I wasn’t comfortable with the process of writing．So I stopped．”

　　Elaine Jesmer later moved into publishing．Then she got cancer．It was advanced, requiring two rounds of chemo, surgery and radiation．"For all intents and purposes, the cancer was gone．And all of a sudden, I wanted to write again．"

　　"I'M HOT! AND I'M BALD!" CHEMOTHERAPY FOR WINNERS was written to help people going through chemo manage the side effects, and to address the fear．

　　Because of her knowledge of the publishing world, she chose to publish the book herself．"It's available on Amazon and Kindle, but I wanted people in treatment to get it free．The goal is to be able to pick up the book when they check in for treatment．Nobody on chemo wants to shop for information．" she explains．

　　"I wanted to create an absorbing, informative book that people could stuff into their purses or briefcases, and refer to if they wanted to know, say, where to go if they need free．transportation to see another doctor in another part of the country．There are a lot of small, but really helpful organizations like that, but they're off the beaten path．"

　　"I also wanted patients being treated with chemo for any reason, to add their voices, with suggestions about how to deal with the side effects and the fear．You always hear the horror stories, but there's very little about people who sail through treatment．New patients can use that kind of information．"

　　In addition to publishing and selling the book, Jesmer publishes a monthly newsletter called Chemotalk and has begun to speak publicly on topics ranging from handling specific side effects to "I'm finished with chemo…now what?"

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