1 . My father, Paul Andrew Figura, was a die-hard fisherman. In my _______, we went out fishing in all kinds of weather, catching and missing nearly every fish in countless waterways.

Whenever we _______, Mom would ask: “What time will you be back?” “When we can’t see the _______.” Dad would respond. He often _______ it. Sometimes Dad would ask me to _______ some food and water and we’d fish the entire day. I observed firsthand his insistent, rapid-ire casting technique, to which he credited as a _______ factor behind his success. It was one _______ after another after another.

The greatest life lesson that Dad taught me involved dealing with those times when the fish weren’t _______ Days when the weather was awful, when the mosquitoes were biting, when my hands were cold. Times when I just wanted to _______ and go home. Dad’s ________? “Son, you’re not going to catch any fish unless you ________ your line. Keep casting,” he’d say.

I learned early the importance of ________ and willingness to keep trying different fish food if you wanted to catch them. Sooner or later they’d ________. I took that same attitude into my school work. ________, I got many awards at college. I applied it ________ to whatever job I had as an adult and it made me the person that I am today.

2 . Evolution (进化) can perform extraordinary makeovers; today’s airborne songbirds evolved from the wingless, earthbound dinosaurs that wandered millions of years ago. But some organisms seem to be unchanged — in other words, escape natural selection. The coelacanth, a modern-day fish, is nearly identical to its410-million-year-old fossils.

Scientists have long wondered how these species do so. It has been assumed that natural selection keeps some species unchanged by selecting for moderate or average qualities (stabilizing selection) rather than selecting for more extreme qualities that would cause a species to change (directional selection).

But a study published in the National Academy of Sciences USA contradicts this idea, showing that evolution constantly favors different qualities in seemingly unchanging animals to improve short-term survival. In the long term, though, “all that evolution cancels out and leads to no change,” says the study’s lead author, James Stroud.

Stroud and his colleagues studied for lizard (蜥蜴) specios; all relatively unchanged for 20 million years. The researchers caught members of these populations every six months for three years. They measured each lizard’s head size, leg length, mass and height, as well as the size of its sticky toes (脚趾头), noting which individuals survived. Stroud expected to observe stabılızıng selection at work preserving moderate qualities. Instead he saw clearer evidence of directional selection: some lizards with unique characteristics, such as stickier toes, survived better.

“The study offers a good explanation for why we see what we think is stabiliring selection,” says Tadashi Fukami, an ecologist studying evolution at Stanford University. Many new qualities are evolving in the short term, but they don’t provide a crucial advantage over the long term. In other words, species staying unchanged may simply have found the best possible combination of qualities for lasting success in their environment. So what happens when the lizards’ environment changes more dramatically? To help answer this bigger question, Stroud is still making trips to visit the lizards.

4 . Bryan was driving home one evening. It was starting to get dark and cold. Ever since the factory closed, he’d been unemployed. Suddenly, he saw an old lady ________ standing beside a car on the side of the road. So he ________ in front of her and said, “I’m here to help you ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s ________? By the way, my name is Bryan.”

All she had was a ________ tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car and soon he changed it. The lady asked him how much she ________ him. Bryan never thought twice about the ________ and told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give the ________, and Bryan added “... and think of me”. She started her car and drove off.

A few miles down the road, the lady saw a small cafe and went in. She ________ that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but never let the strain and aches change her attitude. Then she remembered Bryan. As the waitress went to get the ________ for her hundred-dollar bill, the lady slipped right out the door. ________, the waitress noticed something written on the napkin under which were four more $100 bills. There were ________ in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote. It ________ : “Somebody once helped me out the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, do not let this chain of love ________ with you.”

That night when she got home from work, she was thinking about the lady. With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard. She knew how ________ her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and ________, “Everything’s gonna be all right; I love you, Bryan.”

9 . England Tours

Rick Steves England tours provide the best value for your trip to Europe. Browse Rick’s best England tours and vacation packages.

Family Europe: London to Florence in 13 Days Tour

$4,485 per person

Family Europe: London to Florence in 13 Days delivers a colorful mix of must-see cities. Along the way, you will encounter some fascinating bits of art, history, and culture — as well as a couple of castles, a boat, plenty of hiking, and even a swimming pool or two. Our stress-free Europe vacation package provides great guides, central hotels, all sightseeing — and memories to last a lifetime. And on this tour, kids aged 8—19 get a $200 discount!

Best of London in 7 Days Tour

$4,495 per person

London has just what you need for a quick escape: direct flights, the best live theater scene on the planet, and an inviting pub on every corner. During your week-long stay in London, your Rick Steves guide will lead to the Tower, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s, and even take you on a train trip to Windsor Castle.

Best of England in 14 Days Tour

$4,395 per person

Our two-week tour of England offers a delightful mix of big-city thrills and village charm. Your Rick Steves guide will welcome you in the elegant Georgian town of Bath. From there you’ll be guided to King Arthur’s Glastonbury, flower-boxed Cotswold villages, and Caernarfon Castle. You’ll also be treated to the spectacular scenery of the Lake District.

Best of South England in 10 Days Tour

$4,595 per person

Starting in Canterbury and ending in Bath, our Best of South England tour brings you to the very roots of British history and culture. Your Rick Steves guide will introduce you to locals who have talents to share and stories to tell. You’ll also learn about and taste the delicious seafood and traditional Cornish pasties.

10 . Whether you are looking for an exciting way to spend weekend nights or a new hobby that would help your teen live healthily, LKA Teen Nights are a perfect solution.

Our Montessori-inspired environment empowers students to focus on what interests them most be it exploring cooking art, learning new skills, or making meaningful connections. In Teen Nights, students are motivated to promote their knowledge about nutrition, eating locally and organically, and the impact of their food choices on their minds, bodies, and the environment.

During the sessions, our professional instructors cover diverse topics about food and nutrition that are essential for teenagers to sustain a healthy lifestyle. The curriculum mainly includes developing a moderate portion and preparing meals for various categories such as athletes, picky eaters, and people with eating disorder.

·We challenge our teens by making creative recipes with limited tools, or missing ingredients.

·Our recipes will involve trying a popular dish from a local restaurant and improving it.

·We will ask our teens to look up the price for the ingredients we are using to calculate the cost of our meals.

At the end of every session, we gather around the community table made from recycled chopsticks, where we enjoy the delicious meal teens worked so hard to create.   

Teen Nights are suitable for all learning styles from traditional schooling to alternative education for exceptional learners.

Our LKA Teen Nights run every Friday & Saturday night from 7:30 pm to 10 pm.

View information on the location-specific page for details on the enrollment.