Summer Classes at the Community Center

The Community Center is offering adult summer classes again this year.The schedule(时间表)includes classes in basic computer skills，painting，drawing，and dance.

Registration

There are two ways to register for classes：

Go to our website：www.cc.org/classes/summerschedule. Click on “Class Descriptions”to see a full listing of the classes this summer.Decide which class or classes you are interested in.

Then click on “Register Now” and a registration form will appear.Complete the form and work out the amount of money you should pay for your classes.This will include the cost of your classes plus a $15 registration fee(费用)．Any material fees will be payable to the instructor on the first day of class.In addition，if your address is outside of the city，you will pay an additional fee of $25 per class.

Fill in your credit card(信用卡)information and click “Send Now”．You will receive registration confirmation by e­mail.

If you do not have access to a computer，you can call the Community Center at 872­555­5068 to request a class schedule and registration form.Choose your classes from the schedule，complete the form，and return it by mail with your credit card information.

Withdrawal(退学)Policy

Full refunds（退款），minus(减去)the $25 registration fee，will be given for any withdrawals made up to one week before the class begins.Withdrawals made before the start of the second class will receive a 50 percent refund，minus the registration fee.No refunds will be made after the start of the second class.

Classes offered by the Community Center are for adults only.You must be eighteen years of age or older to participate.Classes for children and teens are offered through the City Department of Recreation.

I was telling a Londoner recently about the North Yorkshire coast. “I really must go one day,” she said, sounding uncertain. “But we’ve already booked for Mexico next year — we’re going whale-watching.”

Sean Baxter, a fisherman, has been encouraging me to search whales out for years. This was another reason why I failed to mention the Yorkshire whale: I had never seen them myself. How could Yorkshire ever compete with famous places such as: Kaikoura, Anacortes and Isle St Marie? Baxter was sure that it could. There was only one way to test it out.

We went in September, accompanied by wildlife guide Richard Baines. No birds escaped his eye. For Baxter, though, the birds had added value. “They will lead us to the whales.”

The waves drew us towards deeper water. I was looking at every shadow in the water, but found nothing. An instant later, a great black minke whale (小须鲸) burst upwards for a breath, and then it went down. The whole sequence (连续动作) lasted only a second.

“That’s a young whale,” shouted Baxter. “He will do that three times — watch out over there.”

We waited and waited, but the creature remained below. My excitement died down gradually and I was sure our moment had gone. Then, half an hour later, the whale came up again. Now, it was racing towards the boat. “He’s going under us,” shouted Baxter. I could see it clearly. I'm sure it was taking a good look at our boat and its crew (船员). Then it went down.

As the hours went by, I became familiar with the ways of different whales. Some swam purposefully, ignoring the boat; others rose higher in the water. The young would rush over, like puppies, keen (热切的) to play. I felt as if I had discovered an intelligent alien from space living at the end of my garden. Now I'm hooked (着迷的); I can't wait to get out there again. Maybe I will get lucky and see more whales.

Christmas is a lovely time of year if you are lucky enough to be well, to have friends and family around you and to feel in control of your life. However, for many people it is a time that they are afraid of. As the nights draw in during the winter, many older people talk about how much more difficult it is to be on their own.

In a recent interview, Jacqueline Wilson expressed her concerns about children also feeling worried. But I was heartened by her suggestion in another interview that she hopes her books will reassure (使……消除疑虑) children going through a difficult time and make them feel as if they’re not alone.

If reading can, as Jacqueline suggests, provide reassurance and a sense of connection, it has never been more important. Reading could transform one in four adults who experience mental health issues in their lifetime, the 850,000 people in the UK living with dementia (痴呆症) and the one in ten older people who feel lonely.

We always know that a book could be a great Christmas present, but can it also change our lives? Our research at The Reading Agency suggests that it can. We have found evidence to show that reading can benefit our well-being and help us make social connections.

People who read regularly are more satisfied with life and more likely to feel that the things they do are worthwhile; reading for pleasure can also increase sympathy, improve relationships, reduce symptoms of depression and improve well-being.

We are developing a new programme, Reading Friends, which will use reading to connect weak older people. In researching the programme, we found that reading with others can help older people build social networks.

Read a book with your children, parents or grandparents over Christmas; make a new year’s resolution to start a reading group with friends, and introduce reading to your community. You could be giving them the gift they most want this year.

Scientists may have evidence that our personality plays into our eating habits. People who are open and extroverted (外向的) eat more fruits and vegetables than others, according to new research.

The new report, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, analyzed the eating habits of more than 1,000 young adults ages 17 to 25. Researchers gave participants a test to measure for the “Big Five” personalities: openness to experience, conscientiousness (尽责性), extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (神经质). Then they asked some participants to keep a food diary for 21 days and others for 13 days, in hopes of encouraging more people to complete the task.

Participants who scored higher than average for openness ate about 4.5 more servings of combined fruits and vegetables per week than those less open ones. They also consumed less unhealthy food, such as potato chips or fries. Extroversion also had a positive effect on fruits and vegetable consumption, though not as strongly as openness did, while conscientiousness was a weak predictor of produce consumption.

Of course, the study only found an association between the characteristic and eating habits, rather than a direct causation. It’s likely that people who are open to new experiences take those same attitudes toward food, study author Tamlin Conner, a professor at the University of Otago, told The Huffington Post. Their personality may make them more eager to try new fruits and vegetables. But it’s also possible that eating healthy foods can cause anyone to feel more like an extrovert: Another of Conner’s studies found that in the short term, eating more fruits and vegetables resulted in more feelings of motivation, which she says are key characteristics of extroversion.

So, you want to eat better? Start eating like an open, extroverted person. “Try to take an attitude of openness, especially toward unusual healthy foods,” Conner said. “Go to the store, and pick something new. Practice behaving like an open person.”