Last Saturday on the way to the mall, two children, a boy and a girl, came running towards me with bottles on their hands, asking if I wanted bottled water. It was a surprising gesture. I was wondering if they were doing fund-raising. I knelt and asked them where their parents were and how much a bottle of water cost. Then two adult women came up to me explaining what the children were doing. “We are teaching the children to give without anything in return. We are teaching people to accept without giving in return. ”

    Two mothers had bought bottled water and placed a sticker(小贴纸) on all bottles with five different quotes（引述）：

1). Smile at everyone. You'll never know when someone may need it.

2). If Plan A does not work, there are 25 more letters in the alphabets.

3). Have a thirst for life. Every day is filled with possibilities.

4). In your thirst for knowledge, be sure you don't drown in all the information.

5). Dig your well before youh're thirsty.

    The bottle I have has quoted No.5. A sudden change of attitude opened up between me, the mothers and the children. We are no longer strangers to each other. We were having such a great time chatting and I ended up helping them give away the rest of the bottled water.

    One young lady was so thankful that she happily accepted the water and said it was the best thing that happened to her all day since she had a bad day at work. A man refused and walked away saying “No, thanks”. A couple kept on bowing to us in gratitude. When it was all done, the children and I were giving each other high-five. It was so much fun. I think I had more fun doing this than the mothers and the children.

    Pretty much anyone can book a trip, but not everyone can plan an ultimate adventure that's affordable, accommodating, and fun for everyone in your group. At Tripslnsider.com, we aim to provide you with the best insider secrets in the travel business and a state-of-the-art travel comparison tool to make planning easier than ever.

    Here are some insider tips that we'd like to share with you.

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    It's not easy being a teenager– nor is it easy being the parent of a teenager. You can make your child feel angry, hurt, or misunderstood by what you say without realizing it yourself. It is important to give your child the space he needs to grow while gently letting him know that you'll still be there for him when he needs you.

    Expect a lot from your child, just not everything. Except for health and safety problems, such as drug use or careless driving, consider everything else open to discussion to help them grow up more independently. If your child is unwilling to discuss something, don't insist he tell you what's on his mind. The more you insist, the more likely that he'll clam up. Instead, let him attempt to solve things by himself. At the same time, remind him that you're always there for him should he seek advice or help. Show respect for your teenager's privacy (隐私). Never read his mail or listen in on personal conversations.

    Teach your teenager that the family phone is for the whole family, which can make them more mature. If your child talks on the family's telephone for too long, tell him he can talk for 15 minutes, but then he must stay off the phone for at least an equal period of time. This not only frees up the line so that other family members can make and receive calls, but teaches your teenager moderation (节制). Or if you are open to the idea, allow your teenager his own phone that he pays for with his own pocket money or a part-time job.

    Three men traveling on a train began a conversation about the world's greatest wonders.

    "In my opinion, "the first man said, "the Egyptian pyramids are the world's greatest wonder. Although they were built thousands of years ago, they are still standing. And remember: the people who built them had only simple tools. They did not have the kind of machinery that builders and engineers have today."

    "I agree that the pyramids in Egypt are wonderful," the second man said, "but I do not think they are the greatest wonder. I believe computers are more wonderful than the pyramids. They have taken people to the moon and brought them back safely. In seconds, they carry out mathematical calculations that would take a person a hundred years to do."

    He turned to the third man and asked, "What do you think is the greatest wonder in the world?"

    The third man thought for a long time, and then he said, "Well, I agree that the pyramids are wonderful, and I agree that computers are wonderful, too. However, in my opinion, the most wonderful thing in the world is this thermos."

    And he took a thermos out of his bag and held it up.

    The other two men were very surprised. "A thermos?" they exclaimed. "But that's a simple thing."

    "Oh, no, it's not," the third man said. "In the winter you put in a hot drink and it stays hot. In the summer you put in a cold drink and it stays cold. How does the thermos know whether it's winter or summer?"

Keeping secrets is a burden

    "Don't tell anyone". We hear these words when someone tells a secret to us. But it can be hard to keep a secret. We're often tempted to "spill the beans(说漏嘴)",even if we regret it later.

    According to Asim Shah, professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, US, keeping a secret may well "become a burden". This is because people often have an "obsessive and anxious urge to share it with someone".

    An earlier study, led by Anita E. Kelly, a scientist at the University of Notre Dame, US, suggested that keeping a secret could cause stress. People entrusted(受委托 ) with secrets can suffer from depression, anxiety, and body aches, reported the Daily Mail.

    But with secrets so often getting out, why do people share them at all? Shah explained that people often feel that it will help them keep a person as a friend. Another reason people share secrets is guilt over keeping it from someone close to them. A sense of distrust can develop when people who are close do not share it with each other. "Keeping or sharing secrets often puts people in a position of either gaining or losing the trust of someone," according to Shah.

    He added that talkative people could let secrets slip out (泄露).But this doesn't mean that it is a good idea only to share secrets with quiet people. A quiet person may be someone who keeps everything inside. To tell such a person a secret may cause them stress, and make them talk about the secret. Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret.

    Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret, you'd better put yourself in their position. Think about how you would feel to be told that you mustn't give the information away. Shah also recommended that if you accidentally give up someone's secret you should come clean about it. Let the person know that their secret isn't so secret anymore.

Smart and highly sensitive （灵敏的）, a new soft sensor developed by UBC (University of British Columbia) and Honda researchers opens the door to a wide range of applications in robotics and prosthetics （假肢）.

When applied to the surface of prosthetic or robotic arms, the sensor skin provides touch sensitivity and flexibility, making it possible for difficult tasks to be completed by machines, such as picking up a piece of soft fruit. The sensor is also soft to the touch, like human skin. which helps make human interactions safer and more lifelike.

"Our sensor uses weak electric fields to sense objects, even at a distance, much as touchscreens do. But unlike touchscreens, this sensor is soft and can detect forces into and along its surface," explained Dr. John Madden, senior study author and a professor of electrical and computer engineering who leads the Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory at UBC.

The UBC team developed the technology in cooperation with Frontier Robotics, Honda's research institute. Honda has been innovating in humanoid robotics since the 1980s, and developed the well-known ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) robot. It has also developed devices to assist walking and the emerging Honda Avatar Robot.

"Dr. Madden's lab has significant expertise in flexible sensors and we're happy to cooperate with this team in developing touch sensors that can be applied to robots," said Mr. Ishizaki Ryusuke, one of the study's lead authors and chief engineer at Frontier Robotics.

Dr. Madden said, "Human skin has a hundred times more sensing points on a fingertip than our technology does, making it easier to light a match or sew. As sensors continue to develop to be more skin-like, and can also detect temperature and even damage, there is a need for robots to be smarter about which sensors to pay attention to and how to respond. Developments in sensors and artificial intelligence will need to go hand in hand."