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　　When I was a child，I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city．We lived on a farm and，in the winter especially，we were quite cut off from the outside world．As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital．However，I soon discovered that city life has its problems too．

　　One big disadvantage is money－it costs so much to go out，not to mention basics like food and housing．Another disadvantage is pollution．I suffer from asthma(哮喘)，and at times the air is so bad that I am afraid to go outside．Then there is the problem of traveling round．Although I have a car，I seldom use it because of the traffic jams．One choice is to go by bicycle，but that can be quite dangerous．

　　Of course there are advantages．First，there is so much to do in the city，whatever your tastes in culture or entertainment(娱乐活动)．Besides，there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position．Finally，if you like shopping，the variety of goods is very surprising－and，what is more，shops are often only a short walk away．

　　Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is，when you are in your teens(十几岁)or twenties．However，as you get older，and especially if you have small children，the peace of the countryside may seem preferable．I certainly hope to move back there soon．

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Dealing out a little hope

　　The young man at the local gas station is quick with a joke and knows his customers by name．He's the kind of guy who will take a day off without pay in order to appear as a witness to a traffic accident．He's my son．

　　One day, less than a week after the place had been broken into overnight, the store was suddenly invaded(闯入)by three people grabbing food off the shelves．He hit the “panic button”(按钮)and then went over the counter and locked the front door．It was obvious they were homeless．

　　Imagine what they must have felt like when, instead of being told they were headed for prison, they were told they didn't have to steal if they were that hungry．“ We have food in the back, expired(过期的)but still safe to eat, that we plan on giving to a homeless shelter…”．

　　They were told to pick up what they had dropped and put it back, then asked to straighten out the mess they'd made of the store．They were doing just that when the police arrived．The officers were told the situation was under control and the police were no longer necessary．

　　This wasn't what they had expected．They were being treated as human beings who had screwed up(搞砸)but could right the wrong they'd done．Shocked, because they knew that the homeless were never welcome to use “public restrooms” in private businesses, they quickly followed orders to take turns and use the restroom to clean up．

　　Soon three cleaner people, standing just a bit taller than before when they came in, walked out with all the food their arms could hold．They were reminded that, if they needed to come back again, they were to ask and not just grab．

　　That day, when it would have been so much easier just to hand the three people over to the police and be done with it, my son gave them something they were in desperate need of－a small amount of self-respect and a little bit of hope．

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　　Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard．

　　“I'll be the first millionaire in Coleford!” Richard used to boast．

　　“And you'll be sorry you knew me,” George would reply “because I'll be the best lawyer in town!”

　　George never did become a lawyer and Richard never made any money．Instead both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street．It was hard to make money from books, which made the competition between them worse．

　　Now with only one bookshop in town, business was better for George．But sometimes he sat in his narrow, old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his former rival．Perhaps missed him?

　　George was very interested in old dictionaries, He'd recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition．When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was delighted．But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in．He was astonished－the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable!Trembling, George started reading．

　　“Bookends have bought ten bookstores from their rivals Dylans．The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in Australia．”

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　　If you're working on a project, the key to success is getting everyone to want to help you．As a director, I point, I suggest, I gently push the actors in the direction I want them to go．

　　In the 1986 new movie, Jackie Gleason's character, Max Basner, getsunemployed from his job as a clothing salesman．The scene, shot(拍)on a boat, shows Max's despair(绝望)about being out of work．I was looking for some gesture that would allow Max to show his feelings．

　　Jackie had far more experience at everything than I did, and at first I was frightened．What could I possibly tell “The Great One” about acting? Out of fear I decided to direct by suggestion, and I sat down with Gleason to talk about the scene．“So Max is sad, right?” I said．

　　Gleason nodded．

　　“And he's probably still carrying his pens with his name on them－the ones he used to hand out to his customers, right?”

　　Gleason nodded．

　　“ So what would you want to do with the pens after you were fired?” He was silent for a moment．“Why don't I throw them all over the boat?” I stood up and turned toward the crew．“Hey, everybody, Jackie has a wonderful idea．Let's shoot it．”

　　After filming the scene, Gleason called me over and said with a smile, “Garry, what kind of wonderful idea am I going to have tomorrow?” You and your team can discover the answers to problems together．When there are no prizes or gold stars for who gets the way to work out a problem first, you'll all benefit when everything turns out right．

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　　A cup of freshly ground(新磨的)coffee is what it takes to get some people full of energy in the morning．

　　But, according to a study, it may be the aroma rather than the coffee itself that does the trick．

　　Researchers believe that the aroma of roasted(烘培)coffee beans can soothe(舒缓)frayed(紧张的)nerves－and that it could be enough to reduce the effects of a poor night's sleep on the brain．

　　They said that chemicals removed from coffee and pumped into the air may one day be used as a way of refreshing tired people．

　　Scientists in Tsukuba, Japan, kept 16 laboratory rats awake for 24 hours, by keeping them in a cage filled with an inch of water, then exposed half of them to the smell of roasted coffee．

　　After taking samples of the rats' brains, they found that the smell of coffee improved the activity of key genes that help cell survival in the body and reduce anxiety, New Scientist magazine reports．

　　Professor Yoshinori Masuo, who led the study in Tsukuba, Japan, said that when people drink coffee to stay up all night, just the smell of the coffee could reduce some of the stress caused by sleeplessness．

　　He added：“Is it better for US to smell coffee bean aroma than to drink coffee, or would any other food-related aroma produce similar effects? Further studies are needed．''

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　　All of my childhood and early, adult life, my mom weighed over 220 pounds(one pound＝0.454 kilograms)．I could feel the pain that my mom experienced with her fatness．

　　I was never uncomfortable about my mother, but I think she was uncomfortable about herself, and that feeling was painful for all of us．And she began to lose weight．

　　After more than twenty years of battling obesity(肥胖), my mother completed a forceful eighteen-month diet that left her ninety pounds lighter than before．A new woman was born! At age twenty-eight, I got a new mom! For the first time, I met the woman my mother truly was, the beautiful little lady under the fatness．It wasn't so much her new body that was the surprise, but rather her new spirit．

　　To celebrate her new size and to devote herself to dancing again, my mother joined a “Mrs．Forty-Plus” competition, where she would have to model, give a speech and provide a dance performance．She told our family that she did not care if she won－she simply had always wanted to perform on stage．

　　She told each one of us, “I'm not doing it to win; I'm doing it to dance!”

　　The competition was exciting! I prayed(祈祷)that my mom would win, but while watching her on stage I was simply overjoyed just by her effort．To me, she had already won．She posed to perfection, her speech brought tears to everyone's eyes, and her performance was wonderful．

　　That night, at age fifty-three, my mother was crowned(为……加冕)“Mrs．Forty-Plus”．She was the first person in our family to ever win such a title．

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　　Who's in control of your life? Who is pulling your string? For the majority of us, it's other people－society, colleagues, friends, family or our religious community．We learned this way of operating when we were very young, of course．We were brainwashed．We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do everything we could to make other people like us．As Oscar Wilde puts it, “Most people are other people．Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry(模仿), their passions a quotation．”

　　So when people tell us how wonderful we are, it makes us feel good．We long for this good feeling like a drug．Therefore, we are so eager for the approval of others that we live unhappy and limited lives, failing to do the things we really want to．Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting their fix(一剂毒品)．We worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval．

　　But, just as with any drug, there is a price to pay．The price of the approval drug is freedom－the freedom to be ourselves．The truth is that we cannot control what other people think．People have their own agenda, and they come with their own baggage and, in the end, they're more interested in themselves than in you．Furthermore, if we try to live by the opinions of others, we will build our life on sinking sand．Everyone has a different way of thinking, and people change their opinions all the time．The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted and probably pleasing no one in the process．

　　So how can we take back control? I think there's only one way－make a conscious decision to stop caring what other people think．We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values-not values imposed(强加)from the outside by others, but innate values which come from within．If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others, we will live a more authentic, effective, purposeful and happy life．

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　　Many animals recognize their food because they see it．So do humans．When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat．You can also use other senses when you choose your food．You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good．You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice．Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food．A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense．

　　Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type．The giant panda eats only one particular type of bamboo．Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice．A kind of white butterfly will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden．However, most animals have a more varied diet．The bear eats fruits and fish．The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits．The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season．

　　Humans have a very varied diet．We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us．In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar．This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health．Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health．Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life．

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