【推荐1】Parents everywhere are praising one Florida mom after she showed her daughter true love earlier this month in a lesson about being grateful. Haley Hassel was shopping for back-to-school supplies. She wanted to surprise her daughter Presleigh with a pencil case, which she knew her daughter would be happy about. Hassel was surprised, however, when her little girl threw the case in the garbage and stormed into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

“She yelled, ‘That’s stupid. Everyone in my class has that...I don’t want it anymore!’” Hassel explained in a Facebook post. Hassel said she didn’t immediately react because she wanted to deal with the anger properly.

“So by the time there was probably smoke coming out of my ears, I was trying really hard not to completely lose it with this kid whom I have worked so hard to completely take care of on my own,” she wrote. “I thought I had always taught her to be grateful and know how lucky she was, but she needed a small wake up call!”

Hassel grabbed a plastic sandwich bag, wrote Presleigh’s name on it and handed it to her.

“I told her to get the pencil case out of the trash and that we would give it to one whose mommy and daddy don’t have money for any school supplies or someone who may not even have a mommy or daddy.”

She continued, “I explained to her she’s not entitled to (享有) anything special and she is taking for granted how lucky she is. So for now she will be using a bag and will personally be delivering the nice box to a child that could benefit from it.”

【推荐2】I remember this picture being taken, and the shyness I felt when my mother asked me to hold my grandfather’s hand.But I’d never seen it until I helped my parents sort through (整理) some of their things this summer.

We were on a day-trip to Scarborough in 1965 when I was four, and what strikes me is the contrast (对比) between me, small in summer dress, and my grandfather ,tall in his trilby hat (呢帽) that he always wore outdoors.

My dad said that no one would have dreamed of setting out on a day trip in casual (随便的) clothes.My mum pointed out that everyone relied on public transport in those days, and by the time we went home in the evening, it would have turned cold.

My grandfather was nearly 70 when I was born.He’d served in the First World War, losing his elder brother— they both fought in the war.He had a shaky hand and I was always told it was because of shellshock (弹震症).

He was a quiet, kind, gentle man.He and my grandmother lived near Birkenhead.When I visited them, he’d take me to Birkenhead Market.One of our shopping trips, he bought me The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald which I loved because it fueled a childhood interest in fantasy fiction.He also bought me a notebook and a whole packet of pens.He knew I loved to write and draw.

He died when I was 13.We visited him in hospital when he was sick.He showed no interest when my father told him how his favorite football team had played that day.I knew then that he must have been really ill, and he died soon afterwards.I remember Grandfather very affectionally.

【推荐3】Arguing (争辩) with your parents is totally natural for teens. From your hairstyle, your friends, your marks at school to your television habits and your future plans, it might just seem that you argue with your parents about everything. While this is not generally a pleasant state of affairs, it is normal and it will most likely pass.     1    

Argue Fairly

If you are a teen arguing with your parents, remember that your parents love you and only want what is best for you. If you must argue with them, argue fairly by:

•Allowing each person in the argument to speak their mind.

•Refusing to cut in when they are speaking

•    2     Bringing up past hurts or issues will not help anyone move forward.

Argue Respectfully

    3    , try to remember that your parents still deserve (值得) your attention, respect and love.

•    4    

•Sitting still and staying calm.

•Refusing to behave angrily such as kicking,throwing or hitting anything

Argue Only When Needed

    5     and the parents of teens can be especially tired of it, so keeping things on a serious and even steady level will work to everyone’s advantage.

Before arguing with your parents, decide what type of teen you want to be and what compromises you are willing to make in order to achieve your goals.

【推荐1】Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey have been surpassed on the Australian ARIA music charts by an album (专辑) that consists entirely of birdsongs. Songs of Disappearance features the voices of 53 birds, all threatened species, collected over more than 40 years and now turned into a lovely meditative (冥想的) recording.

The album has sold 2,000 copies so far. Songs of Disappearance is the result of a partnership between the Bowerbird Collective and David Stewart, who is responsible for collecting the birdsong recordings. All the money from the album sales goes to BirdLife Australia, in order to support and promote the latest version of The Action Plan for Australian Birds, a comprehensive review of the continent’s birds that has been published each decade since 1992.

Scan Dooley, national public affairs manager at BirdLife, thought the realization that these unique sounds could one day be silenced forever is very poignant (辛酸的). However, he described the album as a great opportunity to highlight the condition of the threatened birds in a much more upbeat way to a different audience than BirdLife can usually reach.

Australian birds suffer from historical and ongoing habitat loss. The Black Summer bushfires in 2019—2020 alone made 26 birds more threatened than they were ten years ago, including 16 on Kangaroo Island alone. And there is a significant population decline of 6 million for 17 bird species in the high altitude rainforests of Far North Queensland, including the lovely Fernwren.

Statistics like these are terribly depressing for the sense of helplessness they indicate. But at least Songs of Disappearance offers some practical solutions. Dooley believes the benefits extend beyond its support of BirdLife’s work. The greater value is bringing to the attention of a wider audience the beauty and wonder of the birds singing as more people are needed not just to take part in local conservation actions, but to demand the government step up and save the birds.