What would you do if you had a large sum of money? Give away almost all of it to charity? Well, that’s what Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, just said he would do. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan promised to give 99 percent of their money to society. Right now that is about $45 billion(289 billion yuan), and they plan to give away the money to things like science and education.

Many wealthy people have done similar things, for example, Bill Gates. But giving back and helping others isn’t just for big billionaires. People like Zuckerberg and Gates may have more to give, but people with less are doing it too. Especially around the holidays, people want to do their part and give back to people who are less lucky than them. Schools may have food collections where people bring some food and together they can give away some other things to places like homeless centers.

People also host special events like concerts or runs to be creative while raising money. Common people give away whatever they can to US charities like the United Way and the American Red Cross.

Then these charities are able to help poor in different ways like education, health and improving their lives. These things come together to make a big difference.

Do you think animals can predict (预报) the weather or other natural events? Farmers living in the countryside think so. For hundreds of years, they have observed animals. They think animals’ behavior (行为) can be connected to future weather conditions or events. For example, if swans fly into the wind, a hurricane is coming. Or, if cows lie down, a rainstorm is coming. There are many traditional stories connecting animals and natural events. Many people think that these stories are just folklore, traditional stories and beliefs without scientific evidence (证据). Scientists, however, are beginning to take another look at some of these ideas.

Kiyoshi Shimamura is a Japanese earthquake researcher. He noticed an increase in dog bites a short time before earthquakes hit. Then, he did an investigation (调查) of twelve public health centers in Kobe, Japan. These health centers treated people after the 1995 earthquake. He noticed some interesting information about the month before the big earthquake. Treatment for animal bites had increased. In fact, aggressive (冒犯的；侵略的) behavior in dogs, such as biting and barking loudly, jumped (猛增) 60 percent!

People noticed other changes in animal behavior before the earthquake as well. For example, fish began swimming together in large groups, only in the middle of the water and not near the edges. Also, birds flew away from their nests for many days, leaving their eggs unprotected. The animal behavior suggests that animals may be able to predict natural events better than people.