Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening.
  One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own.
   Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains and buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends, and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering, and doing the other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of nature.
   Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, and dance halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a two-week-visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night.

“Donˈt worry if you have problems!” It is easy to say until you are in the midst of a really big one. The only people who donˈt have troubles are gathered in little neighborhoods. Most communities have at least one. We call them cemeteries（墓地）. If youˈre breathing, you have difficulties. Itˈs the way of life. And believe it or not, most of your problems may actually be good for you! Let me explain. 

Maybe you have heard the Great Barrier Reef(大堡礁), stretching some 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef.

On one tour, a traveler asked the guide an interesting question. "I notice that the lagoon(环礁湖)side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant(充满生气的) and colorful," the traveler observed. Why is this?

The guide gave an interesting answer, "The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves and storms. It has to fight for its survival every day. As it is challenged and tested, it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces."

Then he added, “Thatˈs the way it is with every living organism.”

Thatˈs how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive! Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough-mindedness and resiliency（弹回）. Spiritual testing can produce strength of character and faithfulness. So, you have problems? No problem! Just tell yourself, "There I grow again!" 

Remember: A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner（水手）.

D

The word tolerance is widely used in liberal democracies. It indicates a positive meaning. Politicians urge us to be tolerant towards minorities. Educators teach us to be tolerant towards the other. The press is full of references to the need to display tolerance when faced with individuals or groups espousing a different view or holding a different religious belief. A tolerant society is an objective sought after by anyone who believes in the values of democracy. A tolerant individual is attributed with virtuous qualities.

The question we must ask is whether we have been using the word tolerance fully aware of its meaning and whether we have applied it correctly to reflect what we really wish to convey?

The word tolerance means to bear, or to bear with. If I tolerate something or someone, I basically say that I am ready to bear it or him. I can tolerate a bad smell or a noisy neighbor. The act of toleration forces me to desist from conveying my objection to the existence of a phenomenon, which I find difficult to bear. A bad smell or a noisy neighbor is considered by me to be an objectionable phenomenon. By tolerating either of them, I am not transforming the bad smell or the noisy neighbor into positive phenomena. Let's be honest: I don't have a different taste when it comes to bad smells. I simply dislike it and wish that it disappears. I don't respect the noisy neighbor. I would rather have him stop at once the noise he is making so I can live in peace.

To try to remove the bad smell or take reasonable action in order for the noisy neighbor to stop bothering me would most probably not be considered an intolerant act by most people.

Now, let's try to apply the word tolerance in reference to a person who is law-abiding and holds a legally acceptable different view from my own. I may have a strong view, which is opposed to his. Quite frankly, I may decide to tolerate his view. By so doing, I would be attributing to it a negative characteristic. I would apply the same attitude to his view as to the bad smell or noisy neighbor. Thus, to try to take action in order to make his view disappear would be considered an intolerant act. To tolerate his view the way I would a bad smell or a noisy neighbor, could hardly be considered virtuous.

The subject tolerating is by nature not equal to the object being tolerated. If I tolerate you, I essentially say that I am above you and am prepared, although unwillingly, to bear with your presence or with your practices or opinions. That may be true in the case of an individual who is ready to tolerate the other. However, this attitude by such an individual, though empirically true, is hardly a virtue. Certainly, the fact that an individual, in reality, may merely tolerate the other or his opinion does not justify a government or any official authority promoting tolerance as a virtue. One cannot tolerate an equal being. True equality involves respect, not toleration. To respect the other as a distinctive person is hardly to tolerate him. This is the true meaning of equality: diversity existing in a mutually-respectful socio-legal setting.

 The danger with tolerance is that it can lead to the acceptance of individuals or groups bent on destroying the foundations of democratic systems. We have seen such cases with regard to political parties or destructive religious groups that have been treated in a liberal manner under the guise of tolerance.

 A tolerant attitude involves the grant of a favor, not a right. The question we should ask ourselves is whether we would ever wish a parliament to make laws according to us, as individuals and as part of a collective entity or a permission to pursue certain actions interpreted as a favor rather than a right? Indeed, would we ever wish anyone to listen to our views and accept us the way we are simply because he is kind enough to tolerate us?

Daydreaming was viewed as a waste of time．Or it was considered an unhealthy escape from real life and its duties．Daydreaming has always had a bad reputation，but now scientific research has showed that daydreaming may actually improve your mental health and creativity．It can even help you achieve your desired goals．

Now some people are taking a fresh look at daydreaming．Some think it may be a very healthy thing to do．Researchers are finding daydreaming，they tell us，is a good means of relaxation．But its benefits go beyond this．A number of psychologists have conducted experiments and have reached some surprising conclusions．   

Dr．Joan T．Freyberg has concluded that daydreaming contributes to intellectual growth．It also improves concentration，attention span，and the ability to get along with others，she says．In an experiment with school children, the same researcher found that daydreaming led the children to pay more attention to details．They had more happy feelings．They worked together better．Another researcher reported that daydreaming seemed to produce improved self-control and creative abilities．

But that’s only part of the story．The most remarkable thing about daydreaming may be its usefulness in shaping our future lives as we want them to be．Industrialist Henry J．Kaiser believed that much of his success was due to the positive use of daydreaming．He maintained that “you can imagine your future．”Florence Nightingale dreamed of becoming a nurse．The young Thomas Edison pictured himself as an inventor. For these famous achievers，it appears that their daydreams came true．

Of course daydreaming is no substitute(代替者)for hard work．You have to work hard to develop skills．Daydreaming alone can’t turn you into your heart’s desire．But in，combination with the more usual methods of self-development，it might make a critical difference．And who knows：You might see your own daydreams come true．

Children’s lives have changed greatly over the last 50 years. But do they have a happier childhood than you or I did?

It’s difficult to look back on one’s own childhood without some element of nostalgia(怀旧的). I have four brothers and sisters, and my memories are all about being with them, playing board games on the living room floor, or spending days in the street with the other neighborh ood children, racing up and down on our bikes, or exploring the nearby woods. My parents scarcely appear in these memories, except as providers either of meals or of severe blame after some particularly risky adventure.

These days, in the UK at least, the nature of childhood has changed dramatically. Firstly, families are smaller. It is common for both parents to work outside the home and there is the feeling that there just isn’t time to bring up a large family, or that no one could possibly afford to have more than one child. As a result, today’s boys and girls spend much of their time alone. Another major change is that youngsters today tend to spend a huge amount of their free time at home, inside. This is due to the fact that parents worry far more than they used to about real or imagined dangers, so they wouldn’t dream of letting their children play outside by themselves.

Finally, the kind of toys children have and the way they play is totally different. Computer and video games have replaced the board games and more interesting activities of my childhood. The irony（讽刺）is that so many ways of playing games are called “interactive”. The fact that you can play electronic games on your own further increases the sense of loneliness felt by many young people today.

Do these changes mean that children today have a less relaxing childhood than I had? I personally believe that they do, but perhaps every generation feels exactly the same.

Having a tattoo(纹身) can reduce your chance of getting a job, but it depends on where the tattoo is, what it expresses and if the job involves dealing with customers, new research says.

Dr Andrew R Timming told the British Sociological Association conference on work, employment and society in Warwick today that employers were likely to view tattoos negatively. Dr Timming of the school of Management at the University of St Andrews said he had spoken to 15 managers involved in hiring staff about their reaction to interview candidates with visible tattoos.

"Most respondents agreed that visible tattoos are a stigma," Dr Timming told the conference. One woman manager told him that "they make a person look dirty." Another male manager told him "subconsciously that would stop me from employing them." The managers were concerned about what their organisations' customers might think, said Dr Timming. "Hiring managers realise that, ultimately, it does not matter what they think of tattoos -- what really matters, instead, is how customers might think of employees with visible tattoos.

Dr Timming said: "The one qualification to this argument is there are certain industries in which tattoos may be a desirable characteristic in a job interview. For example, an HR manager at a prison noted that tattoos on guards can be something to talk about and an in that you need to make a connection with the prisoners."

The negative attitude to tattoos did not extend to ones that could be easily covered by clothing. Dr Timming also found that in some of the organisations it was only certain types of tattoos that diminished the chances of getting a job at interview. One male manager told him: "If it's gang culture-related you may have a different view about the tattoo than if it's just because it's a nice drawing of an animal that they've done on their arm."

Kong Zi , also called Confucius (551-479 B.C) , and Socrates (469-399 B. C) lived only a hundred years apart , and during their lifetimes there was no contact between China and Greece, but it is interesting to look at how the world that each of these great philosophers came from shaped their ideas , and how these ideas in turn ,shaped their societies.

Neither philosopher lived in times of peace, though there were more wars in Greece than in China. The Chinese states were very large and feudal, while the Greek city-states were small and urban. The urban environment in which Socrates lived allowed him to be more radical than Confucius. Unlike Confucius, Socrates was not asked by rules how to govern effectively. Thus, Socrates was able to be more idealistic, focusing on issues like freedom, and knowledge for its own sake. Confucius, on the other hand, advised those in government service, and many of his students went out to government service.

Confucius suggested the Golden Rule as a principle for the conduct of life:” Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you.” He assumed that all men were equal at birth, though some had more potential than others, and that it was knowledge that set men apart. Socrates focused on the individual, and thought that the greatest purpose of man was to seek wisdom. He believed that the superior class should rule the inferior(下层的)classes.

For Socrates, the family was of no importance, and the community of little concern. For Confucius, however, the family was the centre of the society, with family relations considered much more important than political relations.

Both men are respected much more today than they were in their lifetimes.

D

      Some of the best research on daily experience is rooted in rates of positive and negative interactions, which has proved that being blindly positive or negative can cause others to be frustrated or annoyed or to simply tune out.

    Over the last two decades, scientists have made remarkable predictions simply by watching people interact with one another and then scoring the conversations based on the rate of positive and negative interactions. Researchers have used the findings to predict everything from the likelihood a couple will divorce to the chances of a work team having high customer satisfaction and productivity levels.

    More recent research helps explain why these brief exchanges matter so much. When you experience negative emotions as a result of criticism or rejection, for example, your body produces higher levels of the stress hormone, which shuts down much of your thinking and activates (激活) conflict and defense mechanisms (机制). You assume situations as being worse than they actually are.

    When you experience a positive interaction, it activates a very different response. Positive exchanges increase your body’s production of oxytocin, a feel-good hormone that increases your ability to communicate with, cooperate with and trust others. But the effects of a positive occurrence are less dramatic and lasting than they are for a negative one.

    We need at least three to five positive interactions to outweigh (超过) every one negative exchange. Bad moments simply outweigh good ones. Whether you’re having a conversation, keep this simple short cut in mind: At least 80 percent of your conversations should be focused on what’s going right.

    Workplaces, for example, often have this backward. During performance reviews, managers routinely spend 80 percent of their time on weaknesses and “areas for improvement”. They spend roughly 20 percent of the time on strengths and positive aspects. Any time you have discussions with a person or group, spend the vast majority of the time talking about what is working, and use the remaining time to address weaknesses.

   Technological change is everywhere and affects every aspect of life，mostly for the better. However，social changes that are brought about by new technology are often mistaken for a change in attitudes.

An example at hand is the involvement of parents in the lives of their children who are attending college. Surveys (调查) on this topic suggest that parents today continue to be “very” or “somewhat” overly­protective even after their children move into college dormitories. The same surveys also indicate that the rate of parental involvement is greater today than it was a generation ago. This is usually interpreted as a sign that today's parents are trying to manage their children's lives past the point where this behavior is appropriate.

However，greater parental involvement does not necessarily indicate that parents are failing to let go of their “adult” children.

In the context (背景) of this discussion, it seems valuable to first find out the cause of change in the case of parents' involvement with their grown children. If parents of earlier generations had wanted to be in touch with their college­age children frequently，would this have been possible？Probably not. On the other hand，does the possibility of frequent communication today mean that the urge to do so wasn't present a generation ago？Many studies show that older parents­today's grandparents—would have called their children more often if the means and cost of doing so had not been a barrier.

Furthermore，studies show that finances are the most frequent subject of communication between parents and their college children. The fact that college students are financially dependent on their parents is nothing new；nor are requests for more money to be sent from home. This phenomenon is neither good nor bad. It is a fact of college life，today and in the past.

Thanks to the advanced technology，we live in an age of bettered communication. This has many implications well beyond the role that parents seem to play in the lives of their children who have left for college. But it is useful to bear in mind that all such changes come from the technology and not some imagined desire by parents to keep their children under their wings.

C

    Flipped classroom(翻转课堂)is a type of learning process that reverses(颠倒)the traditional learning procedure．Students watch online lectures，cooperate in online discussions，or carry out research at home and engage in concepts in the classroom under the guidance of the instructor．Activities，including those that may have traditionally been considered homework，are moved into the classroom．

    As for the question“To Flip or Not To Flip”，two senior school students from the US voice their opinions as follows：

    ——No，it causes confusion．

    In theory．flipped classrooms are great idea．Students teach themselves at home on their own time and return to  the classroom with questions to practice new skills with their classmates．However，I can say from experience that this is never the case．

    When I signed up for my senior year AP chemistry class，I had no idea what to expect．Over the last year，I’ve watched videos late into the night and slaved over worksheets during class time．While watching lecture videos at home—especially for courses like chemistry—I have questions that a pre-recorded video can’t answer．This only leads to confusion and frustration．

    My biggest problem with flipped classrooms is that humanized education is lost．When teachers are instructing you in a classroom，it’s easy to see and feel their passion．Unfortunately，that excitement disappears when you replace them with computer screens．

By Claire Quinlan

    ——YES，it equalizes learning．

    With the help of recent technology，flipped classrooms provide us with a world where education across towns，states and the nation is equal no matter where a student lives，a world where equal learning is more than just a dream．

    We students have the ability to watch several videos a night if we’re motivated．When meeting with something difficult to understand，I can replay the video and watch it again．If that happens in a classroom，I’m lost and struggling for the rest of class．In addition，there are still teachers in the classroom，pieces of homework that help students along and tests that evaluate learning．

    All in all，the benefits of flipped classrooms are huge：shorter school days，lighter workloads，less stress and fewer costs for schools．

By Alex Rothschild