Living and dealing with kids can be a tough job these days, but living and dealing with parents can be even tougher.

    If I have learned anything in my 16 years, it is that communication is very important, both when you disagree and when you get along. With any relationship, you need to let other person know how you are feeling. If you are not able to communicate, you drift apart. When you are mad at your parents, or anyone else, not talking to them doesn't solve anything.

    Communication begins with the concerns of another. It means that you can't just come home from school, go up to your room and ignore everyone. Even if you just say “Hi”, and see how their day was for five minutes, it is better than nothing.

    If you looked up the word “communication” in a dictionary, it would say “the exchange of ideas, the conveyance （表达）of information, correspondence （通信）, means of communication: a letter or a message”. To maintain (保持) a good relationship, you must keep communication strong. Let people know how you feel, even if it's just by writing a note.

    When dealing with parents, you always have to make them feel good about how they are doing as a parent. If you are trying to make them see something as you see it, tell them that you'll listen to what they have to say, but ask them politely to listen to you. Yelling or walking away only makes the situation worse.

    This is an example: one night, Sophie went to a street party with her friends. She knew she had to be home by midnight after the fireworks, but she didn't feel she could just ask to go home. That would be rude. After all, they had been nice enough to take her along with them. Needless to say, she was late getting home. Her parents were mad at first, not when Sophie explained why she was late, they weren't as mad and let the incident go. Communication is the key factor here. If Sophie's parents had not been willing to listen, Sophie would have been in a lot of trouble.

    Communication isn't a one-way deal: it goes both ways. Just remember: if you get into a situation like Sophie's, telling the other person how you feel-listening is the key factor to communication.

    We offer five kinds of courses. Each course has been designed to help students according to their needs.

    Course 1：General English

    General English is designed to develop students' basic communication skills in speaking and pronunciation，reading，listening，writing，grammar and vocabulary. Tuesday to Friday：9：00 am to 11：00 am，$288 per week.

    Course 2：Academic English

    Academic English is for students who want to take the IELTS exam or for those who need to use English in a professional area. Monday to Friday：4：00 pm to 5：00 pm，$320 per week.

    Course 3：High School ESL

    Why not make the most of your time studying in Australia with the help from TIES？We have High School ESL classes each week specifically designed for international students. Tuesday to Friday：8：00 am to 11：00 am，$25 per hour.

    Course 4：Night Classes

    Do you want to improve your English and get the best possible results in your GRE test？We have two night classes each week designed to meet your needs. Tuesday and Thursday evenings：8：30 pm to 10：30 pm. $60 per day.

    Course 5：One on One

    If you are interested in some One on One lessons with TIES teachers，we can design a course to meet your needs. One on One lessons can improve your English language skills more quickly and help students who want to take TOEFL. Tuesday and Friday：2：00 pm to 5：00 pm，$80 per hour.

    Please click here to learn more about the courses!

    All Poetry, the largest poetry writing group, would improve poets' works, create a fan base, and read the best poetry of our generation. It is the home base for poets. Many poets are willing to show their works and over 500,000 poets get feedback（反馈）and improve their poetry. Both beginners and experts are welcomed. All Poetry helps poets learn what they need to improve.

    Writing groups

    All Poetry is designed as a big writing group. Every poem gets several .encouraging comments. We also have private comments for friends.

    Award-winning poets

    The best poems are featured, and many poets have won national contests. Experts encourage amateurs（业余爱好者）to improve their poems.

    Various contests

    All contests are totally free and some are with cash prizes. Dozens of free contests are started every day. Let fair judging inspire you.

    Poets are Saying

     “All Poetry has helped me improve my work so much! I'm now so much more confident about my use of concrete images, and other poetic devices. My own poetry is well received and appreciated and that makes me very happy.”

    Sarah Versa

    “As a member, I've made some good friends at All Poetry. I really appreciate the exchange of constructive comments and general contact with some excellent writers of poetry.”

    Anthony Christopher

We are interested in the preservation of the biodiversity on Earth. What I've been working on is rats. Just looking at rats, you can understand continental drift and climate change. We've actually rediscovered rats that were thought to be extinct. Darwin was the last one to document them on the Galapagos Islands. People have gone there for hundreds of years and not seen one. In 1997, I went there with my mentor(导师) and another graduate student. Everyone thought I was crazy, why look for something that doesn't exist? They wouldn't even give us permits. Our plan was to stop on a beach for a day and then hike up to the top of an extinct volcano where very few people had been: We were on a picturesque, isolated beach. We set out the traps just to see what we might find. The next morning, I checked my traps! I immediately ran back to my mentor. When he looked in the mental trap—I will never forget his face— It looked like he'd seen a ghost.

I certainly understand the argument: "Who cares about an extinct rat?" but you have no idea what role that rat plays in that functioning ecosystem. People can appreciate beauty, so that's why people love pandas and want to keep them around. You never hear, "What good is panda?" Ecologically, these rats are much more important to their ecosystem than those pandas— not that I don't love pandas but we have to look beyond the big and beautiful.

    I teach conservation biology and evolution. In both you have to appeal to people asking "Why is this important to me?" Some scientists refuse to do that. That's my entire approach. I'll ask "How many of you had a family member who was in a tornado, hurricane or flood?" .And almost every hand goes up. Climate change is suddenly very personal, and now they want to hear what you are saying. You are not looking for sympathy for the rats but for a greater understanding of the system.

    Dodder is an unusual and unwanted plant that attacked other plants. Except for its flower, the plant looks like spaghetti, a kind of noodles in the shape of long thin pieces that look like string when they are cooked. It's almost leafless, thread-like stems hang down on top of other plants that dodder needs to stay alive. Dodder does not produce its own food. Instead, it steals food from other plants. It feeds by sucking juices from the plant which is wrapped around, often making its host very weak or even killing it.

    Dodder can find other plants by their smell. When a young dodder plant starts growing, it follows the smell of plants it prefers, like tomato plants, potato plants, or other farm crops. Unlike most plants that usually grow in the direction of light or warmth, a dodder plant will grow in the direction of, for example, tomato smell-if a tomato happens to be growing nearby.

    However, a young dodder plant must find a host plant quickly. It no longer needs its root once it is attached to the host and wrapped around it. If it cannot catch a smell of potential host within a few days, it will dry up and vanish even if there is plenty of water around. Once it finds a host, the young dodder plant will attach itself to it and start growing faster. At that point the dodder plant will drop its root.

    Dodder is thus a difficult weed to manage and a real headache for farmers. When it does get out of hand, dodder can greatly reduce a farmer's harvest or even destroy crops completely. Before sowing their produce, especially farmers in warm parts of the world often check to make sure no unwanted dodder seeds have mixed with their crop seeds. This is a good way to stop dodder plants from making their way to a crop field secretly.

    NYRR is celebrating 20 years of free youth running in Central Park at the NYRR Summer Community Run. This event is perfect for all ages, with waves for runners, walkers, and families with strollers(婴儿车), to encourage participation by all.

    Take on a 1.5-mile course and then enjoy the post-race festival full of fun activities.

    Note: Please be sure to register all those who will be participating on race day­including those little ones in the stroller.

    Live Results

    Live unofficial results are available during the race at liveresults.nyrr.org and in the NYRR app, including leaderboards, map tracking, and an individual runner search that can be shared on Twitter.

    Race Number Pickup

    Numbers and souvenir (New Balance water bottle) may be picked up at the NYRR RUNCENTER at 320 West 57th Street on the following dates:

    * Sunday, August 11, 9: 00 a. m. ­5: 00 p. m.

    * Monday­Friday, August 12­August 16, 7: 00 a. m. ­8: 00 p. m.

    * Saturday, August 17, 8: 00 a. m. ­7: 00 p. m.

    Show the QR code(二维码) from your race confirmation email or your NYRR account to pick up your race materials. Please pick up during the week to avoid crowds on race day. Race-day lines may affect your ability to get to the start on time. Please note that souvenirs may not be available at race-day pickup.

    Race-day pickup will be available at Race-Day Central in Central Park from 6: 00 a.m. to 7: 30 a. m.

    Detailed Route Info

    Begin your race on the west side of the 72nd St Transverse, and head south around the southern end of the park, continuing onto East Drive. Turn left onto the 72nd St Transverse and head to the finish line near Bethesda Terrace.