Vertical Gardens

Henrietta did not have a big yard. She only had a small deck (平台) overlooking a tiny piece of grass. It was not enough yard for her dog to play on. She __________ a garden really badly, but did not have space. What could she do?

For a while, she just kept a few plants in pots on the deck. They took up space and there was hardly any space for her table and chairs. So, she made some flower boxes with rope to put plants in. She __________ one on her window and put two more on the bars, which were great for flowers. This helped for a time, but she still longed for more.

She __________ got an idea: if she couldn’t build out, why not build up? She had heard of vertical gardening from a friend. She had wooden fences (栅栏) all around her little piece of grass, so if she could fix some pots to the fence, she could __________ up into that space, and her dog could still play.

She went to the building store and got some supplies. It was __________ to find pots that would fit what she had in mind. So she looked around to find something else for her vertical garden. Then she had an idea with rain gutters (排水槽). Rain gutters could hold water, so why not plants? She decided to __________ them.

Back at home, she fixed the boards to her fence for supporting the gutters. She put caps on the end and extra supports in the middle. Then she filled them with potting soil and planted three long rows of __________.

A few days later, there were new leaves. Weeks later, she was harvesting vegetables to eat. She went all out then, lining all three walls of her fence with more long rain gutter planters. She had made her vertical garden! Best of all, her dog, Skippy, still had __________ to run and play.

Best Gifts for Your Teen Friends

Shopping for your teen friends’ birthday gifts can be difficult. Each year, we pay close attention to the newest gifts hitting the market. Below, we’ve created such a list, choosing some of the hottest items on store shelves right now.

Color-changing Lamp Speaker $36.00 With a simple touch, this speaker lamp changes color, plays music and helps them sleep. They can even bring it with them on camping trips since it runs for up to 120 hours.	Harry Potter Paperback Box Set $80.00 If they’re getting sick of borrowing the local library’s copies, then they need a complete collection of Harry Potter books to call their own. This set comes with all seven books in the series (系列).
The Mind Card Game $20.00 This is a board game that encourages true   teamwork, because the number one rule is “No talking!” If successful, they’ll be amazed at how well they work with their teammates without using any words.	Bluetooth Wireless (无线) Smart Beanie $15.00 Trying to wear headphones and a hat at the same time is usually uncomfortable. This smart beanie can keep their ears warm in winter, while allowing them to listen to their favorite playlists for up to five hours. Also, it’s washable as long as you take out the battery (电池) .

Field Day

“It’s time for Field Day again,” thought Carly as she started the last week of school.

Carly was not looking forward to it. “Why does everybody make a big deal out of it?” Carly asked her mom. “Well, it’s supposed to be a fun day and a day to let yourself go,” said Carly’s mom. “I’m not good at any of those games that are played, and I’m afraid the kids are going to laugh at me. Maybe I can stay home and miss Field Day,” said Carly.

Mary was Carly’s closest friend, and they walked to school every day. “Aren’t you excited about Field Day?” Mary asked Carly. “No, I don’t care about such a silly day. No one ever picks me for their team because I’m not good at those games,” answered Carly.

Mary felt bad and she told her mom how unexcited Carly was and wondered what she could do to cheer her friend up. “See if you can get in a game that you know Carly is good at,” suggested Mary’s mom. Mary thought for a moment and said that she knew Carly loved to play horseshoes, and was really good at that game. She was also good at the water balloon toss (投掷) too.

Field Day finally arrived. Mary came by Carly’s house for their daily walk to school. Carly was very quiet on the way to school. “I hear they are going to have horseshoes this year and also a water balloon game,” Mary said. “Really? I love horseshoes, and I am pretty good at catching those water balloons,” said Carly. Suddenly, Carly felt more excited about going to school and starting Field Day than she had ever been.

The games began, and Carly had the best Field Day ever! Her team won first place in the water balloon toss thanks to her, and she got a ribbon (绶带) for second place in horseshoes. “What a great day!” Carly said to Mary. Carly is now looking forward to Field Day next year!

Imagine that your friend is cutting the cake to share with all the guests at the birthday party. The first three guests are handed large pieces of cake, while you are handed a teeny-tiny one. How would you feel? Is this fair? Most of us have a clear sense of what is fair and what is not, but where does this come from? Scientists try to study fairness in primate species (灵长类物种) to understand how fairness came about.

Fairness often involves equal outcomes (平等的结果)

Do monkeys behave in ways that lead to equal outcomes? To find out, scientists give monkeys choices about how to share food. Scientists ask a monkey to choose between two options—to provide a piece of food just for themselves, or to provide food for another monkey nearby, as well as for themselves (Figure 1). If monkeys are trying to achieve equal outcomes, they would give food to both themselves and another. Do they? Sometimes.

The left monkey has just chosen the board to give food to himself and the neighboring monkey.	The left monkey has just chosen the board that provides food for himself only.

（Figure 1）

Whether monkeys favor equal outcomes seems to depend on the species. The species which live in groups will prefer equal outcomes, but not all the time.

What else might be influencing whether monkeys create equal outcomes? If the two monkeys are friends, one is more likely to share food with the other. It also seems that monkeys would make the equal choice when they cannot see the actual food—some scientists use pictures of food.

But wait, does effort matter?

Scientists have developed a way to test whether monkeys prefer everyone to be paid equally for doing the same work. In this study, monkeys are trained to work for food by exchanging small coins with a scientist. To determine if and how monkeys respond to unfairness, scientists have two monkeys take turns exchanging coins and give them different food—their favorite food or a less-preferred food (Figure2). If the monkey getting the less-preferred food refuses to keep exchanging coins, scientists conclude the monkeys respond to unfairness.

The monkey on the left exchanges the coin for a piece of banana. Next, the neighbor monkey will also exchange a coin, but receive a less-preferred piece of food.

（Figure 2）

The results of the study have suggested differences across monkey species. Generally, monkeys living in groups do not respond to unfairness, while other monkeys do respond to it. However, monkeys do not appear to mind if they get a better food than others.

All in all, monkeys’ sense of fairness does not seem to be as well-developed as our own. By studying their preferences for fairness and responses to unfair situations, we can learn more about how these values developed in humans. And this also helps us to better understand the natural world and how to care for animals as well.

We’ve all experienced failure. Whether we like it or not, failure is part of life. How people respond to it is of great importance both to their decisions and achievements. Some are likely to have such expectations: “If I should reach that goal, how happy would I feel?” In a recent study, we wanted to understand how such expectations may change in the face of failure. Are people able to predict their own happiness?

The old saying “the grass is always greener on the other side” suggests that people spend much of their time searching for things they can’t have. In other words, the harder it is to achieve, the higher the valuation. But is this a good model for how ordinary people process failure? According to the story The Fox and the Grapes, failure often leads us to drop our initial (最初的) plan. In the story, the fox jumps with all his strength, yet he fails to reach the grapes. Finally, he walks away, concluding that the grapes were sour (酸的) anyway.

So, which is it: greener grass or sour grapes? We did an experiment to determine how people react to failure.

In the study, about 1,200   participants   (参加者) received either good or poor feedback (反馈) on the practice trial of a test. Half of them were told that they had performed in the bottom 20 percent, while the other half, in the top 20 percent. They were then asked to predict how they would feel if they earned a high score on the actual test.

The research results showed that those who received poor feedback on the practice trial predicted that they would feel less happiness and less pride, compared to those who received strong feedback. However, when they received a top score on the actual test later, they were just as happy as the other half, and much happier than they had predicted before. This suggests that the initial failure made people undervalue how good it would feel to succeed in the future.

The question though, is why failure makes us downplay our future happiness. According to Professor Jon Elster, people don’t always know what they want, and often change their wishes to match what appears within reach. When the outcome doesn’t fit the one they have of themselves, they protect themselves by devaluing the goal—rather than devaluing themselves. In other words, when personal failure happens, one way of protecting our positive   (积极的) sense of self is to refuse to accept the emotional importance of future achievements.

Detachment (超脱) from personal goals can be useful, if it helps people redirect their attention from the impossible to better and more achievable goals. However, if the sour-grape effect kicks in too early and people become fearful of failure, they could miss out on the chance to try again and realize that what once seemed impossible is now within reach.

When it comes to celebrations, birthday parties can be one of the important of the whole year. The gifts, the singing, the candle-blowing... Basically, they’re all the best things thrown together into one day. But birthdays aren’t always a fun for everyone. For example, homeless children might not get anything at all for their special day. That’s why 17-year-old Daryn Dusansky decided to start The Balloon Project. It celebrates monthly birthdays for children living in homeless shelters (收容所) with the help of some volunteers. Dusansky’s dream: to bring smiles to all kids’ faces on their birthdays.

As teenagers, they met many challenges at the beginning. One of the biggest was to make others believe that The Balloon Project was dependable and there would be a party each month. Each party is not easy as there are many things that have to be managed. Luckily, The Balloon Project volunteers want each party to be better than the last and can be counted on to make that happen.

Getting The Balloon Project off the ground required many leadership qualities (品质) which Dusansky did not know she owned. Working hard, focusing on solutions, and connecting with people are all necessary qualities that have made The Balloon Project a success.

Offering services to those in need and creating a positive influence are important in being an active member of a community. Community service teaches life lessons often not taught in school. At one party, a little boy and his father came up to thank her for holding the boy’s first organized birthday party. Dusansky then thanked them for teaching her something, too. The father, who lived in a shelter with his son, looked at her, puzzled, as if he was not worthy of teaching her anything. Dusansky explained to him that he had taught her to have the courage to ask for help when needed. She will never forget his hug.

Find a cause that interests you. Dusansky loves birthday celebrations and wants disadvantaged children to have the opportunity to celebrate, too. Love is passed on easily—it encourages people to help and volunteer.