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　　Some people will do just about anything to save money．And I am one of them．Take my family's last vacation．It was my six-year-old son's winter break form school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip．The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us ＄400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day．I had meetings in New York，So I had to get back．But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay．I took my nine-month-old and took off for home．

　　The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight．Yes, I encouraged－okay, ordered－them to wait it out at the airport, to "earn" more Delta Dollars．Our total take：＄1,600．Not bad, huh?

　　Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either．But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar．And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up．

　　I've made living looking for the best deals and exposing(揭露)the worst tricks．I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade．I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade：A Consumer Survival Guide．And I really do what I believe in．

　　I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money's worth．I'm also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants．But I wouldn't hesitate to spend on a good haircut．It keeps its shape longer, and it's the first thing people notice．And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture．Quality lasts．

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　　Offer to be your mother's health friend．Promise to be there for any and all doctor's visits whether a disease or a regular medical check-up．Most mothers always say "no need," another set of eyes and ears is always a good idea at a doctor's visit．The best part ? This one is free．

　　Help your mother organize all of her medical records, which include the test results and medical information．Put them all in one place．Be sure to make a list of all of her medicines and what times she takes them．"Having all this information in one place could end up saving your mother's life," Dr．Marie Savard said．

　　Enough sleep is connected to general health conditions．"Buy your mother cotton sheets and comfortable pillows to encourage better sleep," Savard said．"We know that good sleep is very important to our health．"

　　Some gift companies such as Presents for Purpose allow you to pay it forward this Mother's Day by picking gifts in which 10 percent of the price you pay goes to a charity(慈善机构)Gift givers can choose from a wide variety of useful but inexpensive things -many of which are "green"-and then choose a meaningful charity from a list．When your mother gets the gift, she will be told that she has helped the chosen charity．

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　　Given that many people's moods(情绪)are regulated by the chemical action of chocolate, it was probably only a matter of time before somebody made the chocolate shop similar to a drugstore of Chinese medicine．Looking like a setting from the film Charlie& the Chocolate Factory, Singapore's Chocolate Research Facility(CRF)has over 100 varieties of chocolates．its founder is Chris Lee who grew up at his parents' comer store with one hand almost always in the jar of sweets．

　　If the CRF seems to be a smart idea, that's because Lee is not merely a seasoned salesperson but also head of a marketing department that has business relations with big names such as Levi's and Sony．That idea surely results in the imagination at work when it comes to making different flavored(味道)chocolates．

　　The CRF's produce is "green"．made within the country and divided into 10 lines, with the Alcohol Series being the most popular．The Exotic Series一with Sichuan pepper, red bean(豆)．cheese and other flavors一also does well and is fun to taste．And for chocolate snobs，who think that they have a better knowledge of chocolate than others, the Connoisseur Series uses cocoa beans from Togo, Cuba, Venezuela , and Ghana, among others．

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　　In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh．The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War．

　　At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival．Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947,in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years．

　　Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh．

　　Today the “Fringe”, once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts．And years early as 1959,with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big．

　　A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself．In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries．More than 1,25 million tickets were sold．

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　　Doctor are known to be terrible pilots．They don't listen because they already know it all．I was lucky：] became a pilot in 1970, almost ten years before I graduated from medical school．I didn't realize then, but becoming a pilot makes me a better surgeon．I loved flying．As I flew bigger, faster planes, and in worse weather．I learned about crew resource management(机组资源管理), or CRM, a new idea to make flying safer．It means that crew members should listen and speak up for a good result, regardless of positions．

　　I first read about CRM in 1980．Not long after that, an attending doctor and I were flying in bad weather．The controller had us turn too late to get our landing ready．The attending doctor was flying; I was safety pilot He was so busy because of the bad turn, he had forgotten to put the landing gear(起落架)down．He was a better pilot-and my boss-so it felt unusual to speak up．But I had to：Our lives were in danger．I put aside my uneasiness and said, "We need to put the landing gear down now!" That was my first real lesson in the power

　　of CRM, and I've used it in the operating room ever since．

　　CRM requires that the pilot/surgeon encourage others to speak up．It further requires that when opinions are from the opposite, the doctor doesn't overreact, which might prevent fellow doctors from voicing opinions again．So when I'm in the operating room, I ask for ideas and help from others．Sometimes they're not willing to speak up．But I hope that if I continue to encourage them , someday someone will keep me from ”landing gear up”．

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　　A MENTORING(导师制)program is giving life changing opportunities to Banbury youth．

　　Young Inspirations was founded two years ago to provide mentoring sessions for students and unemployed young adults aged 11 to 21．

　　Alex Goldberg, the program's founder, said; "We set up Young Inspirations because we wanted to give young people experiences which will potentially be life changing and broaden their outlook．

　　"We try to create work experience opportunities that will really make a difference to our youth．For example, we've secured internships(实习)with world-famous firms such as Honda．

　　"At a time of funding cutbacks where schools are finding it more and more difficult to offer this kind of mentoring, it is extremely important that these opportunities are available both to help youth with their school work and grades and to give them opportunities which may help shape their futures．" Kieran Hepburn, 14, is one of a group of Banbury youth who has benefited from the program so far．In October the Banbury School pupil was accompanied by Young Inspirations staff to Paris where he was an observer at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's(UNESCO)International Youth Forum(论坛)．

　　The event was held for young people from around the world, to seek their views on how the future of youth and education should look．Kieran joined several hundred observers mostly in their 20s and was the only UK school pupil to attend the event．Kieran thinks the trip was a life changing experience．" Before we left I didn't quite know what to make of it but when we got there we didn't stop, it was amazing, " he said, " We went to three or four hours of debates each day and then did something cultural each afternoon．"

　　The main theme of the forum was how youth can drive change in political and public life．It dealt with issues(问题)such as drug abuse, violence and unemployment．

　　Kieran said： " It has really helped me to improve my confidence and social skills as well as my school grades and I was voted most improved pupil at school in August．"

　　The Young Inspirations mentoring sessions take place each Friday in Banbury．For details visit www．younginspirations．com．

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　　Pride and Prejudice for the Modern Woman

　　Austen's popularity is rooted in her intelligence．But today she would certainly have had a very different life, as would her characters．Here's my own suggestion．．．

　　It is a truth finally and universally acknowledged that a single woman with brains deserves to have equal opportunities to men, however disadvantaged she may feel by sexism．

　　" My dear husband, " said his hopeful wife one day, " have you heard that the local store, standing empty for so long, is taken over by a bright young businesswoman? "

　　Her dull and indifferent(漠不关心的)husband replied that he had not．"But it is, it is, " she replied excitedly．Mr Dull-Husband made no reply．

　　"Don't you want to know her plans? " she cried with some impatience．

　　"Well, clearly you think it matters to your silly little head…so I'd better listen．"

　　"Well, my dear, the rumour(传言)is that she has already set up a string of successful businesses in northern England, though how a woman can know anything about that is beyond me．She will move in herself next month．" "What is her name? " "Bingley．"

　　"Is she married or single? "

　　"What a question! And none of your business．But her coming will be a fine thing for our five boys．" "How so? How can it possibly affect them? "

　　"My dear love; those lazy boys need something to wake them up．There are bound to be jobs going．"

　　" Is that her point in settling here? Surely as a woman she has simply taken a fancy to the place．"

　　" Nonsense, my love, how little you've noticed the world has changed．She's got a first-rate degree and some sort of business qualification, I'm told．She surely needs one of our boys! Perhaps you might give her a call．"

　　" Me? No．Perhaps you can take an interest．You still have your looks, after all．She may even offer you a job．" "Oh, that's not likely．These new chances belong to the younger generation．But now you mention it, I think I'll go along all the same．"

　　And Mrs Bennet went along．That was 10 years ago．She is now managing director of a FTSE-listed company．

　　…It would remain the case, of course, that Mrs Bennet would be one of very few women on the company board, that her salary would be lower than her male colleagues, her bonus of a more "female" dimension and her lifespan(年限)among the city's business leaders shorter than theirs．Still, she'd no doubt have enjoyed Davos-and might even have hobnobbed(攀谈)with influential figures．

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　　This is What a REAL Silver Dollar Looks Like

　　You read the headlines．You know that troubled economic times have put global currency on a rollercoaster(ride．But millions have found a smarter way to build long-term value with high-grade collectable silver．And right now, those people are lining up to secure some of the last 2012 U．S．Mint Silver Eagles, America's Newest Silver Eagle Dollars．Today, you can graduate to the front of that line．Buy now and you can own these brilliant uncirculated Silver Dollars for only ＄38.95!

　　Why are we releasing(发行)this silver dollar for such a remarkable price? Because we want to introduce you to what hundreds of thousands of smart collectors and satisfied customers have known since 1984-New York Mint is the place to find the world's finest high-grade coins．That's why we're offering you this Brilliant Uncirculated 2012 U．S．Silver Eagle for as little as ＄37.45(plus s/h)．

　　Timing is Everything

　　Our advice? Keep this to yourself．Because the more people who know about this offer, the worse it is for you．Demand for Silver Eagles in 2011 broke records．Experts predict that 2012 Silver Eagles may break them all over again．Due to rapid changes in the price of silver, prices may be higher or lower and are subject to(受．．．影响)change without notice．Supplies are limited．Call immediately to add these Silver Eagles to your holdings before it's too late．

　　Your cost 1-4 Coins ＄38.95 each＋s/h

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　　Note： ＄10 s/h(shipping and handling)for each purchase

　　For fastest service, call toll-free 24 hours a day

　　1-888-201-7143

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　　Please mention this code when you call．

　　New York Mint 14101

　　Southcross Drive W．, Dept．ASE177-04

　　Burnsville, Minnesota 55337

　　www．NewYorkMint．com

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　　Your glasses may someday replace your smartphone, and some New Yorkers are ready for the switch．Some in the city can't wait to try them on and use the maps and GPS that the futuristic eyewear is likely to include．

　　" I'd use it if I were hanging out with friends at 3 a．m．and going to the bar and wanted to see what was open, " said Walter Choo, 40, of Fort Greene．

　　The smartphone-like glasses will likely come out this year and cost between ＄250 and ＄600, the Times said, possibly including a variation of augmented(增强的)reality, a technology already available on smartphones and tablets(平板电脑)that overlays information onto the screen about one's surroundings．So, for example, if you were walking down a street, indicators would pop up showing you the nearest coffee shop or directions could be plotted out and come into view right on the sidewalk in front of you．

　　" As far as a mainstream consumer product, this just isn't something anybody needs, " said Sam Biddle, who writes for Gizmodo．com．" We're accustomed to having one thing in our pocket to do all these things, " he added, "and the average consumer isn't gonna be able to afford another device(装置)that's hundreds and hundreds of dollars．"

　　9to5Google publisher Seth Weintraub, who has been reporting on the smartphone-like glasses since late last year, said he is confident that this type of wearable device will eventually be as common as smartphones．

　　"It's just like smartphones 10 years ago, " Weintraub said．"A few people started getting emails on their phones, and people thought that was crazy．Same kind of thing．We see people bending their heads to look at their smartphones, and it's unnatural, " he said．" There's gonna be improvements to that, and this a step there．"

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　　When I was 12, all I wanted was a signet(图章)ring．They were the "in" thing and it seemed every girl except me had one．On my 13th birthday, my Mum gave me a signet ring with my initials(姓名首字母)carved into it．I was in heaven．

　　What made it even more special was that it was about the only thing that wasn't being "replaced"．We'd been burnt out in fires that swept through our area earlier that year and had lost everything-so most of the " new" stuff(东西)we got was really just to replace what we'd lost．But not my ring．My ring was new．

　　Then, only one month later, I lost it．I took it off before bed and it was missing in the morning．I was sad and searched everywhere for it．But it seemed to have disappeared．Eventually, I gave up and stopped looking for it．And two years later, we sold the house and moved away．

　　Years passed, and a couple of moves later, I was visiting my parents' when Mum told me that she had something for me．It wasn't my birthday, nor was it Easter or Christmas or any other gift-giving occasion．Mum noticed my questioning look．" You'll recognize this one, " she said, smiling．

　　Then she handed me a small ring box．I took it from her and opened it to find my beautiful signet ring inside．The family who had bought our house 13 years earlier had recently decided to do some redecorations, which included replacing the carpets．When they pulled the carpet up in my old bedroom, they found the ring．As it had my initials carved into it, they realized who owned the ring．They'd had it professionally cleaned up by a jeweler before sending it to my mother．And it still fits me．

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