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　　For those who are tired doing the laundry, Samsung has found an answer：a washing machine that can tell you when your laundry is done via a smartphone app(application)．

　　Strange though it may seem-“my wife already does that” was a common response among attendees viewing the device when it was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show(CES)this week-Samsung is just one of many appliance makers racing to install(安装)a large number of internet-connected features in machines in an effort to make them “smart”．

　　Last year, it was a refrigerator that tweeted．This year, it's Wi-Fi-enabled laundry machines and fridges that can tell you when your groceries are going bad．

　　The washers and dryers, available starting in the spring, connect to any smartphone through a downloadable application．The phone can then be used as a remote control, so the machines can be turned on and off while their owners is at work or on the bus．

　　Samsung says it's not just something new-the app connection actually has some practical uses．

　　“If you started to dry clothes in the morning and forgot to take them out, you can go to your phone and restart your dryer for the time when come home, so your clothes are refreshed and ready to go,” said spokesperson Amy Schmidt．

　　The company also says that with electricity rate(电价)varying depending on the time of day, more control over when the machines are used can help save money．

　　Perhaps, but what they will probably really accomplish is what all good technologies do-enable laziness．Rather than getting up to check on whether the laundry is done, users will instead monitor it on their phones while watching TV．

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　　San Francisco has its cable cars．Seattle has its Space Needle．And, Longview has its squirrel bridge．The bridge, which has attracted international attention, is now a local landmark．

　　The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in 1963 by a local builder, Amos Peters, to give squirrels a way to cross the busy road without getting flattened by passing cars．

　　The original bridge was built over Olympia Way on the west edge of the library grounds．Before the bridge was built, squirrels had to avoid traffic to and from the Park Plaza office building where office staff put out a nutty feast for the squirrels．Many times, Peters and others who worked in and near Park Plaza witnessed squirrels being run over．

　　One day Peters found a dead squirrel with a nut still in its mouth, and that day's coffee break discussion turned into squirrel safety．The group of businessmen cooked up the squirrel bridge idea and formed a committee to ask the blessing of the City Council(市政会)．The Council approved, and Councilwoman Bess LaRiviere named the bridge “Nutty Narrows．”

　　After architects designed the bridge, Amos Peters and Bill Hutch started Construction, They built the 60-foot bridge from aluminum and lengths of fire hose(消防水带)．It cost 1,000．

　　It didn't take long before reports of squirrels using the bridge started．Squirrels were even seen guiding their young and teaching them the ropes．The story was picked up by the media, and Nutty Narrows became know in newspapers all over the world．

　　In 1983, after 20 years of use, Peters took down the worn-out bridge．Repairs were made and crosspieces were replaced．The faded sign was repainted and in July 1983, hundreds of animal lovers attended the completion ceremony of the new bridge．

　　Peters died in 1984, and a ten-foot wooden squirrel sculpture was placed near the bridge in memory of its builder and his devotion to the project．

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　　One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual．In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof．James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language．It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations(引文)showing how it was used．

　　This was a huge task．So Murrary had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English．Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor．Dr．Minor was an American Surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England．He gave his address as “Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire,”” 50 miles from Oxford．

　　Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray．Over the next years, he became one of the staff's most valued contributors．

　　But he was also a mystery．In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford．So in 1897， Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself．When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally insane．

　　Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words．Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years．Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds．

　　In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America．Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend．

　　Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed．The 12 volumes defined 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient．

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　　The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place．Now it is an ecological disaster area．Nauru's heartbreaking story could have one good consequence-other countries might learn from its mistakes．

　　For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization．The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798．He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship．He called the island Pleasant Island．

　　However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first．The whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol．These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island．A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900．

　　Nauru's real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate(磷酸盐)on the island．In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which a very important fertilizer for farming．The company began mining the phosphate．

　　A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine．When a company strip-mines, it removes the top layer of soil．Then it takes away the material it wants．Strip mining totally destroys the land．Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon．

　　In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world．Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate．

　　Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars．In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses．Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem-their phosphate was running out．Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing．By 2000, Nauru was financially ruined．Experts say that it would take approximately ＄433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island．This will probably never happen．

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　　Franz Kafka wrote that "a book must be the ax (斧子)for the frozen sea inside us．"I once shared this sentence with a class of seventh graders, and it didn't seem to require any explanation．

　　We'd just finished John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men．When we read the end together out loud in class, my toughest boy, a star basketball player, wept a little, and so did I．"Are you crying?" one girl asked, as she got out of her chair to take a closer look．"I am," I told her, "and the funny thing i_s I've read it many times．"

　　But they understood．When George shoots Lennie, the tragedy is that we realize it was always going to happen．In my 14 years of teaching in a New York City public middle school, I've taught kids with imprisoned parents, abusive parents, irresponsible parents; kids who are parents themselves; kids who are homeless; kids who grew up in violent neighborhoods．They understand, more than I ever will, the novel's terrible logic-the giving way of dreams to fate(命运)．

　　For the last seven years, I have worked as a reading enrichment teacher, reading classic works of literature with small groups of students from grades six to eight．I originally proposed this idea to my headmaster after learning that a former excellent student of mine had transferred out of a selective high school-one that often attracts the literary-minded children of Manhattan's upper classes-into a less competitive setting．The daughter of immigrants, with a father in prison, she perhaps felt uncomfortable with her new classmates．I thought additional "cultural capital" could help students like her develop better in high school, where they would unavoidably meet, perhaps for the first time, students who came from homes lined with bookshelves, whose parents had earned Ph．D．'s．

　　Along with Of Mice and Men, my groups read：Sounder, The Red Pony, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth．The students didn't always read from the expected point of view．About The Red Pony, one student said, "it's about being a man, it's about manliness．" I had never before seen the parallels between Scarface and Macbeth, nor had I heard Lady Macbeth's soliloquies(独白)read as raps(说唱), but both made sense; the interpretations were playful, but serious．Once introduced to Steinbeck's writing, one boy went on to read The Grapes of Wrath and told me repeatedly how amazing it was that "all these people hate each other, and they're all white．" His historical view was broadening, his sense of his own country deepening．Year after year former students visited and told me how prepared they had felt in their first year in college as a result of the classes．

　　Year after year, however, we are increasing the number of practice tests．We are trying to teach students to read increasingly complex texts, not for emotional punch(碰撞)but for text complexity．Yet, we cannot enrich(充实)the minds of our students by testing them on texts that ignore their hearts．We are teaching them that words do no．amaze but confuse．We mav succeed in raising test scores, but we will fail to teach that reading can be transformative and that it belongs to them．

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　　Medical drugs sometimes cause more damage than they cure．One solution to this problem is to put the drugs inside a capsule, protecting them from the body-and the body from them-until they can be released at just the right spot．There are lots of ways to trigger(引发)this release, including changing temperature, acidity, and so on．But triggers can come with their own risks-burns, for example．Now, researchers in California have designed what could be a harmless trigger to date：shining near-infrared light(NIR,近红外线)on the drug in the capsule．

　　The idea of using light to liberate the drug in the capsule isn't new．Researchers around the globe have developed polymers(聚合物)and other materials that begin to break down when they absorb cither ultraviolet(UV,紫外线)or visible light．But tissues also readily absorb UV and visible light, which means the drug release can be triggered only near the skin, where the light can reach the capsule．NIR light largely passes through tissues, so researchers have tried to use it as a trigger．But few compounds(化合物)absorb NIR well and go through chemical changes．

　　That changed last year when Adah Almutairi, a chemist at the University of California, San Diego, reported that she and her colleagues had designed a polymer that breaks down when it absorbs NIR light．Their polymer used a commercially available NIR-absorbing group called o-nitrobenzyl(ONB)．When they catch the light, ONB groups fall off the polymer, leading to its breakdown．But ONB is only a so-so NIR absorber, and it could be poisonous to cells when it separates from the polymer．

　　So Almutairi and her colleagues reported creating a new material for capsules that's even better．This one consists of a long chain of compounds called cresol groups linked in a polymer．Cresol contains reactive(易反应的)components that make it highly unstable in its polymeric form, a feature Almutairi and her colleagues use to their advantage．After polymerizing the cresols, they cap each reactive component with a light-absorbing compound called Bhc．When the Bhcs absorb NIR light, the reactive groups are exposed and break the long polymer into two short chains．Shining additional light continues this breakdown, potentially releasing any drugs in the capsule．What's more, Almutairi says, Bhc is 10 times better at absorbing NIR than is ONB and is not poisonous to cells．

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　　Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan sees an epidemic(流行病)sweeping across Americas farmland．It has little to do with the usual challenges, such as flood, rising fuel prices and crop-eating insects．The country's fanners are getting older, and there are fewer people standing in line to take their place．National agricultural census(普查)figures show that the fastest-growing group of fanners is the part over 65．Merrigan is afraid the average age will be even higher when the 2012 statistics are completed．

　　Merrigan, a former college professor, is making stops at universities across the country in hopes of encouraging more students to think about careers in agriculture．Aside from trying to stop the graying of．America's farmers, her work is made tougher by a recent blog posting that put agriculture at No．1 on a list of "useless" college degrees．Top federal agriculture officials are talking about the posting, and it has the attention of agricultural organizations across the country．

　　“There couldn't be anything that's more incorrect," Merrigan said．"We know that there aren't enough qualified graduates to fill the jobs that are out there in American agriculture．

　　In addition, a growing world population that some experts predict will require 70％ more food production by 2050, she said．

　　“I truly believe we're at a golden age of agriculture．Global demand is at an all-time record high, and global supplies are at all-time record lows," said Matt Rush, director of the Texas Farm Bureau．"Production costs are going to be valuable enough that younger people are going to have the opportunity to be involved in agriculture．"

　　The Department of Agriculture has programs aimed at developing more farmers and at increasing interest in locally grown food．The National Young Farmers' Coalition has also been pushing for state and federal policy changes to make it easier for new farmers．

　　Ryan Best, president of Future Fanners of America, has been living out of a suitcase, traveling the country and visiting with high school students about careers in agriculture．The 21-year-old Best hopes his message-that this is a new time in agriculture-will motivate the next generation to turn around the statistics．Never before have we had the innovations( 创新)in technology which have led to agriculture in this country being the most efficient it has ever been,” he said．“there's really a place for everybody to fit in．”

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　　Brrriiinnng．The alarm clock announces the start of another busy weekday in the morning．You jump out of bed, rush into the shower, into your clothes and out the door with hardly a moment to think．A stressful journey to work gets your blood pressure climbing．Once at the office, you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters．In that sort of mood, who can get down to work, particularly some creative, original problem-solving work?

　　The way most of us spend our mornings is exactly opposite to the conditions that promote flexible, open-minded thinking．Imaginative ideas are most likely to come to us when we're unfocused．If you are one of those energetic morning people, your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed．Sleepy people's lack of focus leads to an increase in creative problem solving．By not giving yourself time to tune into your wandering mind, you're missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer．

　　The trip you take to work doesn't help, either．The stress slows down the speed with which signals travel between neurons(神经细胞), making inspirations less likely to occur．And while we all should read a lot about what's going on in the world, it would not make you feel good for sure, so put that news website or newspaper aside until after the day's work is done．

　　So what would our mornings look like if we wanted to start them with a full capacity for creative problem solving? We'd set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead．We'd stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, stopping thinking about tasks in favor of a few more minutes of relaxation．We'd take some deep breaths on our way to work, instead of complaining about heavy traffic．And once in the office-after we get a cup of coffee-we'd click on links not to the news of the day but to the funniest videos the web has to offer．

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　　How is it that siblings(兄弟姐妹)can turn out so differently? One answer is that in fact each sibling grows up in a different family．The firstborn is, for a while, an only child, and therefore has a completely different experience of the parents than those born later．The next child is, for a while, the youngest, until the situation is changed by a new arrival．The mother and father themselves are changing and growing up too．One sibling might live in a stable and close family in the first few years; another might be raised in a family crisis, with a disappointed mother or an angry father．

　　Sibling competition was identified as an important shaping force as early as in 1918．But more recently, researchers have found many ways in which brothers and sisters are a lasting force in each others'lives．Dr．Annette Henderson says firstborn children pick up vocabulary more quickly than their siblings．The reason for this might be that the later children aren't getting the same one-on-one time with parents．But that doesn't mean that the younger children have problems with language development．Later-borns don't enjoy that much talking time with parents, but instead they harvest lessons from bigger brothers and sisters, learning entire phrases and getting an understanding of social concepts such as the difference between “I” and “me”．

　　A Cambridge University study of 140 children found that siblings created a rich world of play that helped them grow socially．Love-hate relationships were common among the children．Even those siblings who fought the most had just as much positive communication as the other sibling pairs．

　　One way children seek more attention from parents is by making themselves different from their siblings, particularly if they are close in age．Researchers have found that the first two children in a family are typically more different from each other than the second and third．Girls with brothers show their differences to a maximum degree by being more feminine than girls with sisters．A 2003 research paper studied adolescents from 185 families over two years, finding that those who changed to make themselves different from their siblings were successful in increasing the amount of warmth they gained from their parents．

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