Minutes after the last movie ended yesterday at the Plaza Theater, employees were busy sweeping up popcorns and gathering coke cups. It was a scene that had been repeated many times in the theater’s 75-year history. This time, however, the cleanup was a little different. As one group of workers carried out the rubbish, another group began removing seats and other theater equipment in preparation for the building’s end.

   The film classic The Last Picture Show was the last movie shown in the old theater. Though the movie is 30 years old, most of the 250 seats were filled with teary-eyed audience wanting to say good-be to the old building. Theater owner Ed Bradford said he chose the movie because it seemed appropriate. The movie is set in a small town where the only movie theater is preparing to close down.

Bradford said that large modern theaters in the city made it impossible for the Plaza to compete. He added that the theater’s location(位置) was also a reason. “This used to be the center of town,” he said. “Now the area is mostly office buildings and warehouses.”

Last week some city officials suggested the city might be interested in turning the old theater into a museum and public meeting place. However, these plans were abandoned because of financial problems. Bradford sold the building and land to a local development firm, which plans to build a shopping complex on the land where the theater is located.

The theater audience said good-by as Bradford locked the doors for the last time. After 75 years the Plaza Theater has shown its last movie. The theater will be missed.

Holly was confused as she opened the gift from her best friend, Susan.

“I…I thought you could use it for something. Susan’s explanation did nothing to help us understand why a twelve-by-eighteen-inch dark blue carpet was being presented as a birthday gift.

The murmured “thanks” was hardly heard as Holly tried hard not to allow her disappointment to show. She laid the piece of carpet on the kitchen counter, and the two girls headed outside to play with the family dogs.

Holly’s disappointment over the incident didn’t become obvious until the following evening when she came downstairs to say good night. Well, I guess we know how much my best friend thinks of me, huh, Mom? Her attempt at a cheerful tone failed completely.

The next morning, I carried a kitchen rubbish bag outside. My heart wrenched as I opened the rubbish can and saw Susan’s carpet lying among the other waste items. Hesitating only a moment, 1 reached in and pulled it out of the can. I brought it into the house and put it away in the hall closet.

Before Holly’s birthday, Susan had been a regular visitor in our home. On several occasions, she rode the bus home with Holly and was one of the few friends ever permitted to stay over on a school night. The girls did their homework together and went to bed at a reasonable hour. Now as I cooked the evening meal, I realized it had been nearly three weeks since wed even heard the mention of Susan’s name. I missed her warm smile and eager-to-please ways.

The noise at the front door told me Holly had arrived home from school. “Susan invited me to come over to her house after school tomorrow.” She announced she put her books down on the kitchen table. Although her voice carried a so-what attitude, I sensed she was pleased by the invitation.

Arrangements were made, and the girls rode home together on the school bus the following day. As I travelled along the winding country road that led to her house, Susan talked nervously about her foster mom(养母) and the seventeen cats she had taken in and cared for with Susan’s help.

Susan guided us through the house. She proudly showed us her room, which was decorated with used furniture. An old picture frame (框架) sitting beside the bed contained pictures of Susan’s parents and siblings from whom, we later learned, she had long since been separated.

I followed Susan’s foster mom into the kitchen. After clearing a small area, she placed a couple of cups on the table. Her hand trembled slightly as she poured us each a cup of steaming black coffee. She began to relax as we drank our coffee and chatted about her cats.

Her eyes shone as she showed her fondness for Susan. But her expression turned blue when she referred briefly to the girl’s past. In a short time, I came to respect this generous-hearted woman.

As daylight began to fade, we offered our thanks for the visit and said good-bye.

Holly sat quietly in the car on the way home. Stealing a glance, I noticed her head and shoulders were thrust forward as if willing the car to move faster. No sooner had we come to a stop in the driveway than she threw open the car door and walked purposefully toward the side gate. Curious, I followed. My throat tightened as I observed my daughter standing next to the rubbish can looking inside. Her shoulders dropped as she replaced the lid of the can and dragged into the house.

“Is this what you were looking for?” I placed the piece of carpet on the table in front of her. “Thanks, Mom.” A tear or two slipped from her eyes and splashed onto the dark blue carpet that, as if by magic, had become the most precious birthday present in the whole world.

Five years ago, when I taught art at a school in Seattle, I used Tinkertoys as a test at the beginning of a term to find out something about my students. I put a small set of Tinkertoys in front of each student, and said: “Make something out of the Tinkertoys. You have 45 minutes today—and 45minutes each day for the rest of the week.”

  A few students hesitated to start. They waited to see what the rest of the class would do. Several others checked the instructions and made something according to one of the model plans provided. Another group built something out of their own imaginations.

  Once I had a boy who worked experimentally with Tinkertoys in his free time. His constructions filled a shelf in the art classroom and a good part of his bedroom at home. I was delighted at the presence of such a student. Here was an exceptionally creative mind at work. His presence meant that I had an unexpected teaching assistant in class whose creativity would infect(感染) other students.

   Encouraging this kind of thinking has a downside. I ran the risk of losing those students who had a different style of thinking. Without fail one would declare, “But I’m just not creative.”

 “Do you dream at night when you’re asleep?”

 “Oh, sure.”

 “So tell me one of your most interesting dreams.” The student would tell something wildly imaginative. Flying in the sky or in a time machine or growing three heads. “That’s pretty creative. Who does that for you?”

 “Nobody. I do it.”

 “Really—at night, when you’re asleep?”

 “Sure.”

 “Try doing it in the daytime, in class, okay?”

Jane Addams（1860﹣1935）

Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank．Addams helped the poor and worked for peace．She encouraged a sense of community（社区）by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need In 1931，Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize．

Rachel Carson（1907﹣1964）

If it weren’t for Rachel Carson，the environmental movement might not exist today．Her popular 1962 book Silent Spring raised awareness of the dangers of pollution and the harmful effects of chemicals on humans and on the world’s  lakes and oceans．

Sandra Day O’Connor（1930﹣present）

When Sandra Day O’Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School，in 1952，she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman．She became an Arizona state senator（参议员） and，in 1981，the first woman to join the  U．S．Supreme Court．O’Connor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court．

Rosa Parks（1913﹣2005）

On December 1，1955，in Montgomery，Alabama，Rasa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger．Her simple act landed Parks in prison．But it also set off the Montgmery bus boycott．It lasted for more than a year，and kicked off the civil﹣rights movement．“The only tired I was，was tired of giving in，”said Parks．

John Blanchard stood up from the bench(长椅), watching the crowd of people walking through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl---he knew her heart, but didn’t know her face---the girl with the rose.

His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf, he found himself curious, not about the words of the book, but about the notes written by someone. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous(之前的) owner’s name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With some efforts he knew that she lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself, and the next day he was sent to the battlefield(战场) of World War II.

       During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed(种子), maybe a romance was starting. Blanchard wanted a photograph, but she refused. She felt what one looked like wouldn’t be a mountain between soul mates(伙伴).

When the day finally came for him to return homeland, they planed their first meeting: 7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. “You’ll recognize(认出) me,” she wrote, “by the red rose I’ll be wearing on my lapel(衣领).” So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he’d never seen.

       Mr. Blanchard himself will tell you what happened next: A young woman was coming toward me. Her blonde hair was like waterfall; her eyes were blue as flowers. In her green suit she was like springtime come alive. I stared at her, forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose.          

       Almost uncontrollably(情不自禁地) I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had gray hair under a worn hat. She was really like a huge rock, her thick-ankled(厚脚踝的) feet were into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split(撕裂) in two---I desired to follow the young girl, but I deeply longed to meet the woman with the rose, because her spirit could truly be close to me.

       And there she stood. I walked to her. My hand held the small worn book with blue cover to help her find me.

      Every year, I tell my sons what Iˈd like for Motherˈs Day: a letter, something written from the heart and offered freely rather than bought from a store and wrapped neatly. I donˈt always get my wish, nor do I always take the time to write to my own mother.

This year, my boys will be in two different states on Motherˈs Day. My mom and dad will be away together, and Iˈll be driving home from a writerˈs workshop in Massachusetts. Thinking of the fact that many friends have already lost their mothers and that a few have lost children, I am deeply grateful that what separates us, for now at least, is only distance. It wonˈt always be so, and there is no way to prepare for that fact other than to appreciate the moment that is. My sons know that they can please me on Sunday with a phone call or an e­mail, and that is enough as I love their words. The very best gift they can possibly give me is their own happiness, the very fact of their busy, full and well­lived lives.

Still, knowing that my years of staying with my sons are over, I do feel doleful. The truth is, I miss being the center of the universe to two little boys. And this holiday can be a bit painful.

I wonder if my own mother ever felt nostalgic (怀旧的，乡愁的) for the passing of my childhood. I wonder if she realizes that she is still at the center of my universe and always has been. I donˈt often pause to think about it, but of course she is the one who has been right there, at my side from the moment I drew my very first breath. How to ever fully appreciate the woman whose presence and love and example have shaped me into the adult I am？How to describe even a small part of the sharing, sacrificing, and support she has given me over the years? 

What’s more exciting than having a fresh hot pizza delivered to your door? How about having it brought to you by a robot? Thanks to Domino’s Robotic Unit or DRU, that just became a reality! On March 8, the three-foot tall robot delivered its first pizza to some lucky residents in Brisbane, Australia.

The fully autonomous DRU is the result of a cooperation between Domino’s Pizza Australia and Sydney based startup Marathon Robotics. The 450-pound machine that travels at a maximum speed of 12.4 miles an hour can cross a distance of up to 12 miles and back, before requiring a battery recharge. LIDAR, a laser-based sensor technology similar to the one used in self-driving cars, enables DRU to detect and avoid obstacles, while traditional sensors, much like those used in vacuum robots ensure its path is safe as it heads to its destination.

The robot can fit up to ten pizzas and even has a separate cold area to accommodate drink orders. Equipped with both Google Maps and GPS guidance, DRU can navigate bike paths and sidewalks and also find the most efficient way to its destination. Since the robot does not have to deal with road traffic, it could potentially make deliveries a lot quicker than humans. To access their food, customers have to enter the unique code provided to them by the company. This not only ensures that they pick up the right pizza, but also prevents the pies from getting stolen on route.

Though Domino’s has thus far built just a single prototype（样机）, they expect additional DRU to be ready for service in their various Queensland locations within the next six months. But don’t expect these super cute robots to replace humans anytime soon. According to Domino’s the DRU still needs extensive testing, which the company believes could take up to two years.

And then there is also the problem of regulations. The public use of autonomous vehicles is still banned in most countries. But Don Meij, the CEO and Managing Director of Domino’s Pizza Australia New Zealand Ltd, is not worried. One day DRU will become an integral part of the Domino’s family." We for one cannot wait!

When others get off the train to finally go home,Leonie Muller slays behind.That’s because she is already home: The train is her apartment,and she says she likes it that way.The German college student gave up her apartment in spring.“It all started with an argument I had with my landlord,”Muller told The Washington Post via e-mail.“I immediately decided I want to live there anymore and then I realized: Actually,I didn’t want to live anywhere anymore.”

Instead,she bought a subscription (会员费) that allows her to board every train in the country for free.Now, Muller washes her hair in the train bathroom and writes her college papers while traveling at a speed of up to 190 mph.She says that she enjoys the freedom since she gave up her apartment.“I really feel at home on trains.It’s like being on vacation all the time,”Muller said.

“I want to inspire people to question their habits and the things they consider to be normal,” Muller told The Post.“There are always more opportunities than one thinks there are.The next adventure is waiting just around the comer-provided that you want to find it.”

Muller frequently travels late at night,although she tries to sleep at the apartments of relatives or friends. Often, she is accommodated by her boyfriend,her mother or grandmother.“Normally,we would have to have a long-distance relationship,but living on a train enables me to see him all the time,” Muller told German TV station SWR regarding her boyfriend.“Most of ray friends really like the idea,although some consider it to be quite adventurous. Others, however,have reacted more negatively.They feel offended by the fact that I question the ordinary way of life and living.”

The only problem? “Possessing a headset that reduces most surrounding noises is important,” she said.

Starting the day on an egg could keep your blood pressure under control, research suggests. Scientists have shown that eggs produce proteins with a function similar to that of powerful blood pressure-lowering drugs.

    The research, from the University of Alberta in Canada, showed that when eggs come in contact with stomach enzymes (酶) they produce a protein that acts in the same way as Ace inhibitors, but more work is needed to show the effects outside a lab and in the human body.

Earlier this month, British researchers declared that, contrary to popular beliefs, it is healthy to go to work on an egg. They concluded that the type of cholesterol (胆固醇) found in eggs has little effect on increasing heart disease risks.

    Researcher Professor Bruce Griffin, from the University of Surrey, said, "The wrong beliefs linking egg eating to high blood cholesterol and heart disease must be corrected. The amount of fat in our diet has an effect on blood cholesterol that is several times greater than the relatively small amounts of cholesterol found in eggs. The UK public do not need to be limiting the number of eggs they eat. They can be encouraged to include them in a healthy diet as they are one of natureˈs most nutritious foods."

    The British Heart Foundation dropped its three-egg-a-week limit in 2005. However, almost half of Britons believe the limit still applies.

When I was in fourth grade, I worked part-time as a paperboy. Mrs. Stanley was one of my customers. She’d watch me coming down her street, and by the time I’d biked up to her doorstep, there would be a cold drink waiting. I’d sit and drink while she talked.

Mrs. Stanly talked mostly about her dead husband, “Mr. Stanley and I went shopping this morning.” The first time she said that, soda went up my nose.

I told my father how Mrs. Stanley talked as if Mr. Stanley were still alive. Dad said she was probably lonely, and that I ought to sit and listen and nod my head and smile, and maybe she’d work it out of her system. So that’s what I did, and it turned out Dad was right. After a while she seemed content to leave her husband over at the cemetery(墓地).

I finally quit sending newspapers and didn’t see Mrs. Stanley for several years. Then we crossed paths at a church fund-raiser(募捐活动). She was spooning mashed potatoes（土豆泥）and looking happy. Four years before, she’d had to offer her paperboy a drink to have someone to talk with. Now she had friends. Her husband was gone, but life went on.