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　　You know how wonderful you are, and you know that others know how wonderful you are, but what do you do when admiration crosses over the line into jealousy? For most teens there will come a day when you realize that one of your friends is jealous and that this jealousy is hurting your friendship．When this happens, it can seem like there is nothing that you can do, but the good news is that there is．Don't let jealousy spoil your relationships．Deal with it straight and you might be back to normal much sooner than you think．

　　It can be hard to walk up to a friend and ask them what the problem is, but if you want to save your friendship you'll have to do just that．Don't approach them and ask why they are jealous of you, just spend some time alone with them and let them know that you’ve been feeling like there's been something coming between you．If they refuse to respond, then use the opportunity to explain how you have been feeling．Chances are that something you say will strike a nerve and your friend will open up as well．

　　When you figure out what is annoying your friend, ask him what he thinks would make the situation better．If, for example, he says that he feels like he doesn't get to spend any time with you because of your being off with your new friends from the swim team then maybe you could invite him along the next time or block off one day a week for just the two of you．Remember, though, that whatever solution you decide on should be a compromise．Don't limit your own talents or opportunities simply because your friend is unhappy．Try instead to include him in your new life and see how that works out．

　　Even the best of friendships can be tinged(带有…色彩)by jealousy．This destructive emotion is rarely productive and can turn best friends into worst enemies．Before taking extreme action, chat with your jealous friend to see if the two of you can work out a compromise．If you can't, be prepared to know exactly how far you will go to keep your friend and how far you won't．

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　　Most of the great violin prodigies(神童)of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe．I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world's greatest violinists, the reason for this phenomenon．“It is very clear, ” he told me．“They were all Jews and Jews at the time were cruelly treated in that part of the world．They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage．” As a result, every Jewish parent's dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West．

　　Another element in the appearance of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field to nurture(培育)talent．Nowadays, the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East．“In Japan, a most competitive society with stronger discipline than ours, ” says Isaac Stern, “children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music．When Western music came to Japan after World War II, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but became a subject as well．” The Koreans and Chinese, as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese．

　　That's a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard．Next to hard work, biological inheritance(遗传)plays an important role in the making of a prodigy．J．S．Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music．

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　　Sometimes，the simplest ideas are the best．For example，to absorb heat from the sun to heat water, you need large, flat，black surfaces．One way to do that is to build those surfaces specially, on the roofs of buildings．But why go to all that trouble when cities are full of black surfaces already, in the form of asphalt(柏油)roads?

　　Ten years ago, this thought came into the mind of Arian de Bondt, a Dutch engineer．He finally persuaded his boss to follow it up．The result is that their building is now heated in winter and cooled in summer by a system that relies on the surface of the road outside．

　　The heat collector is a system of connected water pipes．Most of them run from one side of the street to the other, just under the asphalt road．Some, however, dive deep into the ground．

　　When the street surface gets hot in summer, water pumped through the pipes picks up this heat and takes it underground through one of the diving pipes．At a depth of 100 metres lies a natural aquifer(蓄水层)into which several heat exchangers(交换器)have been built．The hot water from the street runs through these exchangers, warming the groundwater, before returning to the surface through another pipe．The aquifer is thus used as a heat store．

　　In winter, the working system is changed slightly．Water is pumped through the heat exchangers to pick up the heat stored during summer．This water goes into the building and is used to warm the place up．After performing that task, it is pumped under the asphalt and its remaining heat keeps the road free of snow and ice．

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There is much to enjoy in Irish gardens at any time from April to October, during the gardening year in Ireland．This tour focuses on some public and some lesser known gardens in the South and South West of Ireland．

　　The Ireland Pub Tour

　　Focus on the life and style of Ireland, its pubs, restaurants, spas, music and theater．

　　Northern Ireland Tour

　　Focus on heritage(遗产)and history and genealogy(家谱)with particular reference to Scotch Irish heritage．We are offering this tour with both a scheduled departure and any time for small groups or as a private driver guided tour for one or two couples or friends traveling together．We can provide this tour as a luxury top end tour or it can be at a more budget level using lovely bed, breakfast and accommodation．

　　The Ireland Island Tour

　　We also offer genealogy and history tours to the whole of the island of Ireland, with genealogists who can assist you in locating the places of your ancestors．These tours can be for couples or for groups and are designed with you in mind to follow in the footsteps of those who came before you．You tell us where you need to visit and we provide you with guides, transport, hotels or bed and breakfast and work out the travel details for you．

　　Heritage Tour

　　Tours with a faith or religious theme for church groups．

　　To Book a Tour

　　1．Click here to review the tour conditions of sale and responsibilities

　　2．Click here to fill out the registration form

　　3．Send payment

　　To pay by check, mail to： The Irish Connection P．O．Box 15495 Atlanta, GA 30333

　　To pay by credit card, click below

　　We will send an e－mail to you to confirm receipt of your payment and your place on the tour．Please review the tour conditions and responsibilities and also send your completed registration by mail or by e－mail．

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　　Young athletes from around the globe will soon get their chance at Olympic gold．The International Olympic Committee(IOC)voted unanimously(一致地)on Thursday to host the first－ever Young Olympics．

　　The Summer Youth Olympics are scheduled to make their debut(首次亮相)in August of 2010．The 12－day competition will feature 3, 200 kids between the ages of 14 and 18．The Winter Youth Olympics will be held in 2012 and are expected to attract 1, 000 athletes．Both Games will take place every four years．

　　Citing the rise in childhood obesity as one of the reasons for launching the Games, IOC president Jacques Rogge said he hopes the global competitions will inspire young people to get off the couch and get into shape．

　　Rogge also acknowledged that the IOC is looking to pull in a younger television audience to the Olympics．

　　In recent years, interest in the Games among young people has dropped, with the average age of Olympic viewers on the rise．

　　Rogge admitted that kids today are more interested in such competitions as the X Games, which features such sports as BMX freestyle, surfing and Moto X Racing．

　　The Olympics have tried to keep up with the competition by adding BMX－crossing cycling(自行车越野赛), ski cross and snowboarding to the Olympic program．And the IOC is hoping to strengthen its reputation among teens by including skateboarding in the 2012 London Olympics．

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Short reader-submitted stories－for the woman you should think of today！

－Compiled by Amy Zerello

Great Minds Reminded of Mom

　　After a long, exhausting day, a friend of mine, Allen, headed home．On the road, he passed an elderly woman who was standing by a car with a flat tire．If that were his mother, he thought, he would want someone to help her．With a tired sigh, he turned around and drove back．

　　Just as he reached the stranded woman, a truck pulled up and a burly farmer got out．“Kind of reminds you of your mom, too?” the man asked as the two pitched in(动手做)together to change the tire for the woman．

－Contributed by Katherine L．Houge

Your Biggest Fan

　　While waiting in a bookstore for a guest author to sign her latest book, I leafed through some of the Civil War novels she had written．The woman in line behind me commented, “Those are the best books I've ever read．I couldn't put them down．” Before I could reply, the author, frowning, looked over and said, “Oh, come on, Mom!”

－Contributed by Marilyn Kopp

Head of the Household

　　My husband, Jeff, and I came across several problems while assembling(装配)our new computer system, so we called the help desk．The man on the phone started to talk to Jeff in computer jargon(行业术语), which confused us even more．

　　“Sir,” my husband politely said, “please explain what I should do as if I were a four-year-old．”

　　“Okay,” the computer technician replied．“Sweetie, could you please put your mommy on the phone？”

－Contributed by Lena Worth

　　How does it feel to tickle your mom's funny bone?

　　Now send your own funny story to us！You could earn up to ＄300!

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　　Excused from recycling(回收利用)because you live in a high rise with a rubbish chute(垃圾道)？You won't be for long．Miami's Mark Shantzis has made it simple for those living in tall buildings! To use the chute and recycle too．

　　In Shantzis' Hi-Rise Recycling System, a chute leads to a pie-shaped container with six boxes that can turn around when operated．The system, which fits in the same space as the chute and container now in use, enables glass, plastic, paper, metal, and other rubbish to go into separate boxes．

　　The system is controlled from a board fixed next to the chute door．The board has a button for each class of recycling materials(as well as for unrecyclable)．At the press of a button, a microcomputer locks all other floors' chute doors and sets the recycling container turning until the right box comes under the chute．The computer also counts the loads and gives a signal by phone when the box is full．And a particular piece of equipment breaks up the nonrecyclable．

　　Sorting(分类)recyclables before they are collected saves the use of expensive materials recovery equipment which otherwise has to do the sorting．Such equipment often makes recycled materials very expensive, so expensive that tons of recyclables remain wasted．Shantzis believes his system could help recycled materials become more cost-effective．

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　　As a kid, I was always chubby(圆胖的)．In college I started blowing up．It got out of control when I went to law school．

　　I'd made a decision a thousand times：I'm going to lose weight now．But what motivated me to get serious about it was turning 30．I weighed 414 pounds．I was always tired．Some of my family members have suffered from heart disease, and I was scared．I also wanted to look better．So after my birthday, I walked into the office of a weight-loss doctor．

　　She was very understanding．Her focus was on balanced meals and she wanted me to exercise．

　　Walking was all I could do at first．I started by walking a few blocks and gradually increased the distance, until one weekend, I found myself saying, “Wow, this seems pretty easy．” So I started to run．

　　I was losing nine or ten pounds a month, and I had more energy．I started to think about the New York City Marathon．For years, I watched the runners and thought, “This looks like fun, but I could never do that．” But now I realized that maybe I could．I joined the New York Road Runners．I ran a 10 K, then a half-marathon．I still wasn't confident I could run a full 26 miles．But I told myself I was going to do it, no matter what．

　　By my 33rd birthday, I was down to 180 pounds．I started formally training for the marathon．And on the morning of November 1, I stood on the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island with more than 40,000 other runners, waiting for the event to start．

　　It was unbelievable to have the audience cheering me on, handing me cups of water．And I crossed the finish line．My friends sprayed(喷射)me with beer, as if I'd won the Super Bowl．And at that moment, I knew：If I set my mind to something, nothing is impossible．

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　　Babies who use many gestures(手势)to communicate when they are 14 months old have much larger vocabularies when they start school than those who don't, US researchers said．

　　They said babies with wealthier, better-educated parents will probably sign more．This may help explain why some children from low-income families perform less well in school．

　　“When children enter school, there is a large difference in their vocabularies,” said the University of Chicago's Meredith Rowe, whose study appears in the journal Science．

　　Gestures could help explain the difference, Rowe told the American Association for the Advancement of Science yearly meeting in Chicago．

　　Vocabulary is an important predictor of school success．Earlier research showed that rich, educated parents tend to talk to their children more than poorer, less-educated ones．

　　“What we are doing here is asking：Does this social-economic situation relate to gestures？Can that explain some of the difference we see at school entry(进入)?” Rowe said．

　　The researchers filmed 50 Chicago-area children and parents from different economic backgrounds and counted the number of gestures, such as pointing at a picture．

　　The team found that 14-month-olds from high-income, well-educated families used gestures to express about 24 different meanings during 90 minutes．Children from lower-income families expressed 13 meanings．

　　When the same children entered school at age four and a half, those from higher-income families had better vocabulary scores on standardized tests．

　　“At 14 months, an age when there aren't even social-economic differences in their talk yet, we see there are differences in their gestures,” Rowe said．

　　The videos found that parents from wealthier families gestured more with their children than the other parents．

　　Rowe said the findings suggest that gestures can at least partly explain vocabulary differences between the groups, and may prove useful as the basis for interventions(干预)．

　　“Can we control how much parents and children gesture, and if so, will it increase their vocabulary?” Rowe asked．

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　　Paula and Rory Ward have five kids, three dogs, and a rabbit．When the house is very noisy, Megan, one of the children, is quietly inventing．A year ago, the 10-year-olds had to design an anti-smoking poster for a school project．Rather than a poster, she came up with the idea of creating something that shows the average amount of tar(尼古丁)a smoker collects from just four packs of cigarettes．

　　“I like people to play with things more than read and write, ” she says．So she researched her idea on the Internet, found a company in China that could make it, saved up her pocket money and got her idea made．

　　Paula says her daughter “thinks differently”：Ideas jump into her mind．After she got sunburnt on holiday, Megan invented a small plastic bracelet(手镯)that changes color in the sun, telling you when to put on sunscreen(防晒霜)．Several sunscreen companies have expressed an interest in the idea．She also came up with an idea to make a ball filled with water to stop the dog from feeling thirsty．“But we didn't do anything with it,” says Paula．

　　Then she pulls out a picture of a special fishing rod(钓鱼竿)she has designed．“ There is a camera on the hook(钩), ” she explains, “and the screen is on the handle，and it shows you if you've caught a fish or not．”

　　Megan doesn't want to go to university．She keeps her pink-and-cream bedroom tidy．Paula is amazed and a bit confused by her daughter．“Everything has to be in a certain order,” Paula says．“Her brothers and sisters go with the flow, but with Megan, it's ‘What time will that be happening?' or ‘Where am I being picked up from today?' ”

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