【推荐1】Jeremy Fox, a retired businessman in a small city in England, recently bought an old farmhouse with a yard and a small field, some five miles out of the town. There he planned to lead a simple life with his wife, Amelia.

It was while clearing out the old barn on the far side of the yard that he made an interesting discovery. In a corner, under some old sacks, he found some large fragments (碎片) of an antique (古董) bowl. Out of curiosity, he took them into the kitchen and, much to the anger of his wife, washed the mud off them. That evening he spread newspapers over the kitchen table and carefully stuck the fragments together. However, two pieces were found missing.

Two days later, having pulled down the barn, Mr. Fox was digging over the ground in preparation for the installation (安装) of a greenhouse, when he discovered the two missing pieces. When he had stuck them in position, the bowl looked so fine that Amelia agreed to its being placed on a table in the living room, in front of the window.

“We might have something a bit special here,” he said to his wife. A few days later, Jeremy took several photographs of the bowl, which he sent off to Sotheby’s in London.

Unexpectedly, Sotheby’s was extremely interested in the bowl and sent an expert to inspect it. It turned out that it was a Chinese Ming fish bowl, dating back to around 1500, and might be expected to get a five-figure sum at an auction.

A week later still more unexpectedly, two police officers called and told the Foxes the bowl was stolen property.

So the bowl never reached the auction room, and Mr. Fox never received the five-figure sum that had been mentioned. However, he framed one of the photographs he had taken and hung it on the wall.

【推荐2】When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation(住所). I suggested that they should stay at local bed and breakfasts, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.

“We didn’t stay at bed and breakfasts,” they said, “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”

I thought this was odd. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays”, because the Spanish word for “holidays” is “vacaciones”. So they did not go to the house where the sign outside said “VACANCIES”, which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to the house where there was a sign saying “NO VACANCIES”, because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full.

We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. When my friends saw the word “DIVERSION” on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. But that was not the case. In Spanish, the word “DIVERSION” means fun. In English, however, it usually means that you have to take the road because the usual roads are closed.

English people have problems too when they are faced with foreign languages. Once in Paris, I happened to see a “librairie”. I thought it was a library and walked into it, asking to borrow some books. However, to my surprise the “librarians” all stared at me in amazement! Later I found out that “librairie” in French means “bookstore”.

【推荐3】Do people travel to the other side of the globe with a one-year-old baby? I wondered if I was crazy.

Before this trip, I had had various adventures — but this trip would he different. The South American adventure would be a unique life experience of mine. I had given up many activities in order to appease a new little person, because Anders’ needs had to come first. At the age of 34, it was a difficult change for me, and I was occasionally annoyed when I realized that my son had stripped (剥夺) so much from me.

Argentina is a long way from my home. It seemed even longer when I was on the plane, sharing a seat with such an active boy, but Anders and I made it without angering any other passengers or getting any dirty looks. And we also took naps on a regular schedule.

I wanted to do some hikes in the Andes in Argentina. I wanted to drive ten hours to the coast to see penguins. However，when I thought about my travel partner, I gave up these ideas. Instead, we just hung out by lakes, picking up stones and throwing them in the water. I took short hikes through the forests of Los Alerces National Park, running with Anders in the backpack, knowing that I had two hours before his tolerance gave out and complaints started.

As I discovered later, traveling with a baby opens new doors that aren’t there for a traveler. Anders helped me to slow and look at the landscape more closely. I got to see the forests through someone else’s eyes. The traveling wasn’t as crazy or as fast-paced as it would have been if I had been alone, but the details were amazing. Now I just have to incorporate (使并入) that into our life back home.

【推荐2】Working on campus is a great opportunity for college students to get some extra pocket money or to start saving up to pay off loans.    1    

Flexibility

Because on-campus jobs are part of the university, bosses are more understanding of academic conflicts.     2     On campus, jobs are much more forgiving if you have to miss a shift to cram for an exam. Some on campus jobs will even allow you to study and do homework on the job.

Convenience

The convenience of an on campus job is unmatched. Having your job right by your dorm is something you don't even realize will be useful.     3     It's a great way to meet other students and to connect with administration members.

Experience

Like any job, an on-campus job is another position to add to your resume.     4     Working your on-campus job probably won't directly related to what you wanted to do after graduation, but you were still get valuable experience about what it means to be employed.

Money

This is an obvious one. By having an on campus job, you can crawl your way out of the poor college student stereotype and treat yourself to something special every once in a while or put your money away in savings. On-campus jobs are great first jobs and can help it teach you about budgeting your income and how to handle it wisely.

Real world values

On-campus jobs are perfect practice for a real world job. An on-campus job will teach you how to take instruction, effectively communicate with your employer, connect with coworkers, address clients and multitask.     5    

【推荐3】Is there clear boundary between science and the liberal arts as a major for college students? The question of whether our government should promote science and technology or the liberal arts in higher education is not an either/ or proposition(命题)，although the current emphasis on preparing young Americans for STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths)-related fields can make it seem that way.

The latest congressional report acknowledges the critical importance of technical training, but also stresses that the study of the humanities and social sciences must remain central elements of American’s educational system at all levels. Both are critical to producing citizens who can participate effectively in our democratic society, become innovative leaders, and benefit from the spiritual enrichment that the reflection on the great ideas of mankind over time provides.

Parents and students who have invested heavily in higher education worry about graduates’ job prospects(前景) as technological advances and changes in domestic and global markets transform professions in ways that reduce wages and cut jobs. Under this circumstances, it’s natural to look for what may appear to be the most “practical” way out of the problem. “Major in a subject designed to get you a job” seems the obvious answer to some, though this ignores the fact that many disciplines in the humanities characterized as “soft” often, in fact, lead to employment and success in the long run. Indeed, according to surveys, employers have expressed a preference for students who have received a broadly-based education that has taught them to write well, think critically, research creatively, and communicate easily.

Moreover, students should be prepared not just for their first job, but for their fourth and fifth jobs, as there is little reason to doubt that people entering the workforce today will be called upon to play many different roles over the course of their careers. The ones who will do the best in this new environment will be those whose educations have prepared them to be flexible. The ability to draw upon every available tool and insight-picked up from science, arts, and technology- to solve the problems of the future, and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, will be helpful to them and the United States.

【推荐1】Hundreds of years ago there was a king of Scotland whose name was Robert Bruce. The king of England was at war with him, and had led a great army into Scotland, Bruce led his people in the defense of their country.

Battle after battle he had fought with England. Six times Bruce had led his brave little army against his enemies. Six times his men had been beaten. At last the army of Scotland was entirely defeated, and the king was forced to hide in the woods and in lonely places among the mountains.

One rainy day, Bruce lay in a cave, tired and felt sick at heart, ready to give up all hope, seemed to him that there was no use for him to try to do anything more.

As he lay thinking, he noticed a spider over his head, getting ready to weave her web. He watched her as she worked slowly and with great care. Six times she tried to throw her in thread from one edge of the cave wall to another. Six times her thread fell short.

“Poor thing!” said Bruce. “You, too, know what it’s like to fail six times in a row.”

But the spider did not lose hope. With still more care, she was ready to try for a seventh time. Robert almost forgot his own trouble as he watched, fascinated. She swung herself out on the slender thread. Would she fail again? No! The thread was carried safely to the cave all, and fastened there.

“Yes!” cried Bruce, “I, too, will try a seventh time!”

So he got up and called his men together. He told them of his plans, and sent them out with hopeful messages to cheer the discouraged people. Soon there was an army of brave men around him. A seventh battle was fought, and this time the King of England was forced to retreat back to his own country.

【推荐3】I wanted a change of pace, a break from routine. The past few years found me working long hours at my marketing job while my husband, Steven, put in equally full days as a physics tutor. We were both burned out from the constant boredom.

Vacation experiences at first glance seem a little difficult for us. How do you find comfort in an ever-changing environment? And I, someone who enjoys more planned fun, had to adapt.

But I was surprised at how easily I was able to adapt to a new mode of operation, a more relaxed version of myself who wasn’t worried where we’d park and sleep each night. The fact that we both became so accustomed to sleeping in the back of a cargo van is another surprise we experienced on this journey. The van was our main transportation and, with a full-size bed in the back, it also provided us with a bit of comfort that made us continue. At first, every sound outside was foreign, and we both took longer to fall-and stay-asleep. But, after a couple of weeks into van life, we let the sounds fade into soft background music.

Over the course of our seven- month trip, one of our big goals was to come away from each park with one spectacular image. That shared goal placed us on the same team: It brought us together, even more than before, gave us more to talk about, and encouraged us to motivate each other along the way.

By this point, you’re probably wondering how we paid for all of this, or maybe you’re assuming we come from wealthy backgrounds. The truth is, we actually managed this entire adventure on a middle-class budget. Steven did part-time remote work about 10 hours per week for his employer from the road. I ended up finding some temporary jobs through the trip. We also continued our photography business, setting up an online shop to sell our landscapes.

We only visited some parks in the 48 states. And the experience would still be worth every penny. It is really a chance to lose and find ourselves in our nation’s park lands.

【推荐1】It happened again last week.One of my relatives asked me, “My dear girl, you work in oncology(肿瘤科）？ Isn't that depressing?” I have heard those questions many times as an oncology nurse and my response is always the same.I tell them no,and that I love it.And then I smile.

I work in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at North Shore University Hospital.Together with my colleagues,we get to know most of our patients very well.We learn about their likes and dislikes.We get to meet their families and they take pictures of us.They tell us about a favorite vacation they once took and they wish us a good time when we are leaving for one.They also tell us to enjoy every moment of the day because we never know when life is going to change.

I am thinking of a recent experience we had with our patient Jim,a middle-aged man who is always expecting good things to happen and hopeful about the future.He was diagnosed with liver cancer a year ago and was facing the real possibility that he did not have a long time to live.But Jim voluntarily made up his mind to try for some very experimental treatments, even though the pain was almost too great to tolerate.

Eventually,Jim's disease went into remission.It is Easter Sunday now and he is home with his family.Jim got a miracle.An important reason why I work in oncology is that sometimes, not usually, not even very often, miracles do happen.And when they do,I am filled with gratitude and pride that as a nurse,I can be a part of that miraculous process.

Now you know why I smile when people ask me if I find oncology nursing to be sad or disappointing.I recall all the miracles I have seen and I remember what my patients have told me and I can't help but smile.

【推荐2】People have grown taller over the last century, with South Korean women shooting up by more than 20cm on average, and Iranian men gaining 16.5cm. A global study looked at the average height of 18-year-olds in 200 countries between 1914 and 2014.

The results show that while Swedes were the tallest people in the world in 1914, Dutch men have risen from 12th place to claim top spot with an average height of 182.5cm. Latvian women, meanwhile, rose from 28th place in 1914 to become the tallest in the world a century later, with an average height of 169.8cm.

James Bentham, a co-author of the research from Imperial College, London, says the global trend is likely to be due to improvements in nutrition and healthcare.“An individual’s genetics has a big influence on their height, but once you average over whole populations, genetics plays a less key role,” he added.

A little extra height brings a number of advantages, says Elio Riboli of Imperial College.“Being taller is associated with longer life expectancy,”he said.“This is largely due to a lower risk of dying of cardiovascular（心血管的）disease among taller people.”

But while height has increased around the world, the trend in many African countries causes concern, says Riboli. While height increased in Uganda and Niger during the early 20th century, the trend has reversed in recent years, with height decreasing among 18-year-olds.

“One reason for these decreases in height is the economic situation in the 1980s,”said Alexander Moradi of the

University of Sussex. The nutritional and health crises that followed the policy of structural adjustment, he says, led to many children and teenagers failing to reach their full potential（潜力）in terms of height.

Bentham believes the global trend of increasing height has important implications “How. tall we are now is strongly influenced by the environment we grew up in,” he said.“If we give children the best possible start in life now, they will be healthier and more productive for decades to come.”

【推荐3】Brian arrived at the San Francisco airport two hours before the flight to Paris. He was wearing three shirts, a jacket, two pairs of socks, a pair of shorts, and two pairs of jeans. He was carrying one small backpack, which was very full, but he didn’t have any other luggage. Brian needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in for his flight. He found Tony near the Air France counter. Tony gave him a round-trip ticket and a small package.

“Give this package to Jean-Paul at the airport in Paris. He will have a sign with your name on it.

I think you can find him easily, “Tony said.” You don’t have any luggage, right?” “Only this backpack,” Brian answered. “You said I could bring one carry-on bag.” “That’s right, one carry-on bag is fine. Have a good trip.”

“Thanks.”

Is Brian a criminal? Not at all. He is an air courier. And he paid only $110 for the round-trip ticket to Paris. Air couriers get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers to foreign countries. Businesses sometimes need to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day. Often, the only way they can do this is to use an air-courier company. It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air courier, but it is quick.

Every year about 80, 000 people worldwide travel as air couriers. The number of tickets for courier travel is growing by about 10 percent a year. However, air-courier travel isn’t for everyone.

But if you have very little money, can be flexible(灵活的) about your travel plans, and don’t mind wearing the same clothes for a week, it can be a great way to take a vacation!