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          One early morning, I went into the living room to find my mother reading a thick book called Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again. My interest was aroused only by the fact that the word “Poems”appeared in big, hot pink letters.

      “Is it good?” I asked her.

“Yeah,” she answered. “There's one I really like and you'll like it, too.' I leaned forward.

“‘Patty Poem,'” she read the title. Who is Patty? I wondered. The poem began:

She never puts her toys away,

                Just leaves them scattered(散乱的)where they lay,…      

The poem was just three short sections. The final one came quickly:

          When she grows and gathers poise(稳重),        

           I'll miss her harum-scarum(莽撞的) noise,        

           And look in vain(徒劳地) for scattered toys.       

And I'll be sad.      

    A terrible sorrow was hed over me. Whoever Patty was, she was a mean girl. Then,the shock.

“It'syou, honey,” My mother said sadly.

    To my mother, the poem revealed a parent's affection when her child grows up and leaves. To me, the “she” in the poem was horror. It was my mama who would be sad. It was so terrible I burst out crying.

    “What's wrong?” my mother asked.

    “Oh Mama,” I cried. “I don't want to grow up ever!”

      She smiled. “Honey, it's okay. You're not growing up anytime soon. And when you do, I'll still love you, okay?”

    “ Okay,”I was still weeping. My panic has gone. But I could not help thinking about that silly poem. After what seemed like a safe amount of time, I read the poem again and was confused. It all fit so well together, like a puzzle. The language was simple, so simple I could plainly understand its meaning, yet it was still beautiful. I was now fascinated by the idea of poetry, words that had the power to make or break a person's world.

        I have since fallen in love with other poems, but “Patty Poem” remains my poem. After all, “Patty Poem” gave me my love for poetry not because it was the poem that lifted my spirits, but because it was the one that hurt me the most.

    People who are confident really seem to be naturally outstanding and just seem to do everything with more styles than others. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It is a habit that everyone can develop in life. Try these simple tips to drill and build up your confidence:

1). Admit your shortcomings calmly.

    Do not try to flee from them or cover them. Face them bravely. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Fight against them every day until the day when you could break away and conquer them.

2). Dress for self-confidence.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} And therefore pay attention to your dress, display your unique physical advantages and exhibit your best image. In addition, on formal occasions such as a business conference or a wedding ceremony, elegant dressing contributes to building your confidence.

3). {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    You should break your routine that deals with the work passively. Concentrate your efforts immediately on overcoming it, because it will make your restless mind at ease and build your self-confidence.

4). Be positive.

    Feel pity neither on yourself nor on others. If you are used to hating and accusing yourself, others would tend to do that and believe it. Instead, you should speak positively about yourself, your progress, and your bright future. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    The holiday season isn't just about shopping and gifts. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, holiday travel can be more expensive than the gifts. Fortunately, the following tips will help keep your travel spending under control.

● Plan ahead. The earlier you book your travel, from airfare to hotels, the easier it is to find good deals. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Your best prices on airfare come when you book three weeks before the plane leaves for domestic flights. For international flights, consider booking 30 days in advance. Many experts point out that you should book travel between  one month and three months out for high-traffic holidays.

● Book your air travel on cheaper days. Traveling by air on Tuesdays and Wednesdays often costs less than traveling on Fridays and Sundays. During the holidays, it is not just about a specific day of the week. You also need to consider the days surrounding the holiday but days immediately before and after a holiday can be expensive. One of the best ways to save is to plan your air travel on the Day of the holiday. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

● Consider traveling overnight. Red-eye flights and overnight flights often cost less than those at more convenient times. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Traveling overnight can help you avoid a night in the hotel, as well as save your money on travel to your destination.

●{#blank#}5{#/blank#} You can't bring liquids with you on the airline, but you can bring sandwiches and other snacks. When you are on the road, you can buy food at local groceries to make your own meals. If you are staying in a hotel long-term, consider cooking your own food, especially if you have access to a microwave.

    Old age may not sound exciting.But recent findings offer good news for older people and for people worried about getting older.Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty.In fact，they say by the age of eighty­five，people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.

    The findings came from a survey of more than three hundred forty thousand adults in the United States.The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008.At that time，the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty­five.The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness，sadness and worry.They also asked about mental or emotional stress.

    Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study.His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty­two and twenty­five.The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.

    The study also showed that men and women have similar feeling patterns as they grow older.However，women at all ages reported more sadness，stress and worry than men.

    Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older.One theory is that，as people grow older，they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their feelings.They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.

    Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world，or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.

    The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children，being unemployed or being single.But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well­being related to age.

In a time when a dangerous number of people are overweight, many people seem to have forgotten the most important way to keep healthy and slim—exercise. And as a new study carried out on mice in the lab has shown, exercise done early in life can reward you in your adult years.

    A team of researchers at the University of California studied the effects of early exercise on adult physical activity, body mass and eating. They found that early-age exercise in mice has positive effects on adult levels of voluntary exercise in addition to reducing body mass.

    "These results may have an effect on the importance of regular physical education in elementary and middle schools," said Theodore Garland, a professor of biology, who led the research project. "If kids exercise regularly through their school years, then they may be more likely to exercise as adults, which could have far-reaching positive effects on human health and well-being."

    Although the positive effects of early-life exercise lasted for only one week, it is important to note that one week in the life of a mouse is the same as about nine months for humans. "Our results suggest that any positive effects of early-life exercise on adult exercise will need to be kept up if they are to be long-lasting."

    His team of researchers found, too, that all mice that had access to early exercise were lighter in weight than non-exercised mice.

    Garland explained that, in general, exercise will stimulate appetite sooner or later. However, it is possible that certain types of exercise, done for certain periods of time or at certain light levels, might not stimulate appetite much, if at all, at least in some individuals.

    "If we could understand what sorts of exercise these might be, then we might be able to tailor exercise recommendations in a way that would bring the benefits of exercise without increase in appetite, leading to a better chance of weight loss," he said.

    Being able to land safely is a critically important skill for all flying animals. Whereas terrestrial animals face no particular challenge when they need to stop running or crawling, flying animals move at much higher speeds, and they must be careful about how they land. Hitting the ground, or even water, at full flight speed would be quite dangerous. Before touching down, they must decrease their speed in order to land safely. Both bats and birds have mastered the skill of landing, but these two types of flyers go about it quite differently.

    In the past it was believed that, in terms of flying mechanics, there was little difference between bats and birds. This belief was based only on assumption, however, because for years nobody had actually studied in detail how bats move their wings. In recent years, though, researchers have discovered a number of interesting facts about bat flight. Bats are built differently from birds, and their wings incorporate(结合) both their front and hind limbs (后肢). This makes their limbs working together more difficult for bats and, as a result, they are not very good at flying over longer distances. However, a bat can quickly change its direction of flight or completely reverse it, something a bird cannot easily do.

    Another interesting characteristic of bat flight is the way in which bats land—upside down! Unlike birds, which touch down on the ground or on tree branches, bats can be observed flying around and then suddenly hanging upside down from an object overhead. How do they do it? A group of researchers recently used video cameras to film bats landing on nets suspended from the ceiling of their laboratory and studied the recordings in slow motion. They painted spots on the bats' wings to see in detail what happens to the wings in flight and during touchdown. It turns out that the bats flew in a straight line up to the net and then quickly flipped over and attached themselves to it upside down. One disadvantage to this landing routine is that the bats often slam into their landing spot with some force, which probably causes pain. However, not all bats hit their landing spots with the same speed and force; these will vary depending on the area where a bat species makes its home. For example, a cave bat, which regularly rests on a hard stone ceiling, is more careful about its landing preparation than a bat more accustomed to landing in leafy treetops.