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　　The home of the future won't be completely different and we will be living in houses and flats just as we do today．But people will want to shape their homes to match their dreams．No two homes will be the same．People will be able to buy “house kits” containing a basic house structure, with movable walls, doors and windows．They will put together the different parts to create the home they want．

　　Many jobs that we do today will disappear, others will still exist but will change and new jobs will be created．Skilled workers such as builders, gardeners and electricians won't disappear because machines can't replace them．Teachers will still exist because students need human contact．But they will be using modern technology in class more and students will be working more from home．The medical technology revolution and space travel will create new jobs which we can only imagine today．

　　Space holidays will develop in the future, but these holidays won't be for everyone because they won't be cheap．Short space trips will develop first, then space hotels will orbit the earth where it will be possible to have a longer vacation．By the end of the next century, there will be holiday centres on the moon with leisure facilities for families．

　　Paper won't exist in the future．Instead, there will be e-paper which people will be able to use over and over again．This will develop in order to save natural resources．E-newspapers and e-magazines will replace traditional newspapers and magazines and we will download information and news articles from the Internet every day onto our reusable paper．

　　The laws of physics tell us that the earth is going to disappear some time in the future．This isn't going to happen tomorrow but scientists predict that it will happen in five billion years when our sun explodes．We will have to explore the universe and find another home．At some point in the distant future, either we stay on the earth and die with it, or we leave and move to another planet．There won't be any other choice．

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　　As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation．Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on the go from morning till night, it is hard to slow down．But relaxation is important for a healthy mind and body．

　　Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it．In fact, it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be．A certain amount of stress is important to provide motivation and give purpose to life．It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health．

　　The amount of stress a person can bear depends very much on the individual．Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously important for managerial responsibilities．Others lose heart at the first sight of unusual difficulties．When exposed to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically．In fact we make choice between "fight" or "flight" and in more primitive(远古的)days the choice made the difference between life or death．The problems we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stress is, it needs the same response．It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered．Such serious conditions as high blood pressure and heart disease have established links with stress．Since we cannot remove stress from our lives(it would be unwise to do so even if we could), we need to find ways to deal with it．

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　　Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men's hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age．

　　The largest study of the effects of ageing on the heart has found that women's longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age．

　　“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK．

　　“Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat．Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink．“This is part of the ageing process．”

　　What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells．A healthy 70-year-old woman's heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one's．

　　“This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink．They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease．“The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart,” said Goldspink．

　　The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise．Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age．

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　　Like many lovers of books, Mary and her husband, Richard Goldman, seldom walked past a bookstore without stopping to look inside．They often talked of opening their own store one day．

　　When Mary was hospitalized with heart trouble in 1989, they decided it was time to get serious．Richard, who worked for a business company, was eager　to work for himself, and Mary needed to slow down from her demanding(很费力的)job．

　　They started by talking to bookstore owners and researching the industry．“We knew it had to be a specialty store because we couldn't match the big chains dollar for dollar,” says Mary．One figure caught her attention：She'd read somewhere that about 20 percent of books sold were mysteries(推理小说), and many buyers spent more than ＄300 a year on books．She and Richard were themselves mystery readers．

　　On Halloween 1992, they opened the Mystery Lovers Bookshop and Café near their home．With three children in college, the couple could not spend all the family's money to start a shop．To cover the ＄100,000 cost, they drew some of their savings, borrowed from relatives(亲戚)and from a bank．

　　The store merely broke even in its first year, with only ＄120,000 in sales．But Mary was always coming up with new ways to attract customers．The shop had a coffee bar and it offered gifts to mystery lovers and served dinners for book clubs that met in the store．She also invited dozens of writers to discuss their stories．

　　Today Mystery Lovers makes sales of about ＄420,000 a year．After paying taxes, business costs and the six part-time sales clerks, Richard and Mary together earn about ＄34,000．

　　“The job you love may not go hand in hand with a million-dollar income,” says Richard．“This has always been about an enjoyable life for ourselves, not about making a lot of money．”

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　　A friend of mine, in response to a conversation we were having about the injustices of life, asked me the question, “Who said life was going to be fair, or that it was even meant to be fair?” Her question was a good one．It reminded me of something I was taught as a youngster：life isn't fair．It's a disappointment, but it's absolutely true．One of the mistakes many of us make is that we feel sorry for ourselves, or for others, thinking that life should be fair, or that someday it will be．It's not and it won't be．

　　One of the nice things about surrendering(屈从)to the fact that life isn't fair is that it keeps us from feeling sorry for ourselves by encouraging us to do the very best we can with what we have．We know it's not “life's job” to make everything perfect：it's our own challenge．Surrendering to this fact also keeps us from feeling sorry for others because we are reminded that everyone is dealt a different hand; everyone has unique strengths and problems in the process of growing up, facing the reality and making decisions; and everyone has those times that they feel unfairly treated．

　　The fact that life isn't fair doesn't mean we shouldn't do everything in our power to improve our own lives or the world as a whole．To the contrary, it suggests that we should．When we don't recognize or admit that life isn't fair, we tend to feel pity for others and for ourselves．Pity, of course, is a self-defeating emotion that does nothing for anyone, except to make everyone feel worse than they already do．When we do recognize that life isn't fair, however, we feel compassion(热情)for others and for ourselves．And compassion is a heartfelt emotion that delivers loving-kindness to everyone it touches．The next time you find yourself thinking about the injustices of the world, try reminding yourself of this very basic fact．You may be surprised that it can make you out of self-pity and into helpful action．

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　　Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive(欺骗)? When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can give you a false picture．

　　For example, someone might say, I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery．It was great．I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!

　　This guy's a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not．We then discover that he bought ＄ 200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner．He's really a big loser!

　　He didn't say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose．That's called a half-truth．Half truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest．

　　Some politicians often use this trick．Let's say that during Governor Smith's last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs．Then she seeks another term．One of her opponents(对手)says, “During Governor Smith's term, the state lost one million jobs!” That's true．However, an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith's term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs．”

　　Advertisers　will sometimes use half-truths．It's against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth．An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache．” It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company．

　　This kind of deception happens too often．It's a sad fact of life：Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well．

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　　Once there was a young woman who didn't like her job．Everyday when she came home from work, she told her husband how terrible her day had been, how tiring the work and how unreasonable her boss．“Leave that job,” her husband told her．

　　“Oh, I will,” she said．“But not yet．I have too many friends there for me to leave．” And so she remained unhappy at work until the years became decades and her children had children．“Leave that job,” her grandchildren told her．“Oh, I will,” she said．“But not yet．There are only seven more years until I reach thirty years of service and can retire．So I can't just yet．”

　　I know this woman．And her story reminds me of an old dog half asleep on the porch of a general store, moaning and groaning in the sun．“Why is your dog acting that way?” a customer asked the store owner．“Oh,” answered the man．“He's lying on a nail．” “Well, why doesn't he move?” “Because it's not hurting him bad enough．”

　　That's true for people, too．We convince ourselves the pain is not bad enough to leave the workplace we know．But we're wrong．Prolonged work pain is continuing．Some work pain damages our self-esteem, kills our passion or destroys our dreams．

　　Wilbur Wright once commented, “We could hardly wait to get up in the morning．I know that exhilarating feeling of being so passionate about something I was working on that I couldn't wait to get back to work．And people who are winning at working know that kind of passion, too．”

　　They get excited about work．They offer their unique gifts and talents eagerly．And when things don't change as they sometimes will, they refuse to let environment hijack(劫持)their self-esteem, passion or dreams．

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　　Breathe, wave and smile．Along with more than 300 other seniors, I marched into the stadium on the afternoon of May 10．The audience burst into deafening cheers．The huge stadium shook with all the whistling and clapping．

　　It was as if a Hollywood superstar had walked on stage．And indeed, every single senior that day was a star of the moment．Each deserved it．The seniors had been preparing for four years for this once-in-a-lifetime moment－the commencement(毕业典礼)．

　　Seated, I waited anxiously for the opening address．As a foreign exchange student, I was not able to receive a diploma．However, I still had the wonderful feeling of being part of things．Like the other graduates, I was dressed in marron cap and gown(方帽长袍)．

　　Our principal, Mr．Glover, delivered a short, warm greeting．The US national anthem followed and then, hands on chests, a solemn Pledge of Allegiance(对美国的忠孝宣誓)．

　　Students who had excelled academically gave farewell speeches．The tears in some eyes convinced me that many had deep feelings about the occasion．It was as the class motto says, “Life brings us tears, smiles and memories．The tears dry; the smiles fade; but the memories last forever．”

　　Then came the core(核心)of the commencement．Hundreds of names were announced．Each graduate walked across the stage to receive his or her diploma from the principal．From the different cheers each graduate got, we had the funny sense that it was a kind of competition of who could cheer the loudest．

　　To be honest, the presentation of diplomas got boring．A girl sitting next to me even started yawning．But it wasn't boring for those receiving the diploma：they would treasure the moment the principal placed the sacred brown document in their hands for the rest of their lives．

　　A new page in the book of that person's life had turned．They were glimpsing their futures：futures of challenge, hardship, perhaps loneliness too, which would take all of their courage．

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　　Hot words on the Internet don't stay hot for long．“Geili” and “fuyun”, last year's biggest linguistic innovations, are practically prehistoric in Internet terms．What's buzzing now is “hold steady”

　　The term comes from a segment(片段)on the Taiwanese TV show University which features Miss Lin(Xie Yilin)giving a lecture on how to behave like a fashion queen at parties or on the bus．The extremely funny lecture is mainly an over-the-top mockery(嘲笑)of the fashion world, but Miss Lin makes a point：We need to hold steady in pressure-filled or embarrassing situations．

　　Holding steady, Internet slang for “staying poised”, is one of the qualities the public has been looking for lately as pressures on marriage, work and money can easily drive people crazy．The quality was demonstrated by a girl named Su Miaoling this year．The contestant in the TV singing competition Super Girl carried herself with an air of confidence on stage and kept her cool when others got anxious．“I like your poise(淡定)．Very few contestants on this stage can keep calm like you do,” said one of the show's judges, Hu Haiquan, to Su．Internet users dubbed Su “Sister Poise”．

　　Poise is also appreciated in Western culture as an essential quality of a well-mannered person．Each year, the National League of Junior Cotillions of the US releases a list of the Ten Best Mannered People．Kate Middleton made it onto the list in 2011 “for the poise and dignity with which she conducts herself in the public spotlight”．The Duchess of Cambridge was also acclaimed earlier this year for her remarkable poise at the royal wedding．

　　Good news for many, poise is not genetic－it can be acquired with a bit of effort．A personal growth guidance gives tips on how to stay poised．“Take a few deep breaths when you are facing a situation that tests your patience; practice yoga regularly to calm your nerves; use self-affirmation by saying ‘I choose to be calm in any situation'; write down your affirmation daily to imprint the goal,” reads the site．

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　　Are you looking for some new and exciting places to take your kids to? Try some of these places：Visit art museums．They offer a variety of activities to excite your kids' interest．Many offer workshops for making hand-made pieces, traveling exhibits, book signings(签名)by children's favorite writers, and even musical performances and other arts．Head to a natural history museum．This is where kids can discover the past from Dinosaur models to rock collections and pictures of stars in the sky．Also, ask what kind of workshops and educational programs are prepared for kids and any special events that are coming up．Go to a Youth eater．Look for one in your area offering plays for child and family visitors．Pre-show play shops are conducted by area artists and educators where kids can discover the secret about performing arts．Puppet(木偶)making and stage make-up are just a couple of the special offerings you might find．

　　Try hands-on science．Visit one of the many hands-on science museums around the country．These science play-lands are great fun for kids and grown-ups alike．They'll keep your child mentally and physically active the whole day through while pushing buttons, experimenting, and building．When everyone is tired, enjoy a fun family science show, commonly found in these museums．

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