Discovery's astronauts arrived to an exciting celebration Wednesday as nearly 700 people crowded an airplane storage place, waving flags and holding signs that read: “Welcome Home, Astronauts!”

    The seven-person team returned to Earth on Tuesday after being the first to take a space shuttle into orbit since the Columbia disaster（灾难）of 2003. 

    “In the last two and a half years, we have been through the very worst that manned space flight can bring us, and over the past two weeks we have seen the very best,” NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told the astronauts and their families and fans Wednesday. 

    The crowd waved American flags for the U.S. astronauts and Japanese flags for crew member Soichi Noguchi, one of the spacewalkers. 

    “As a rookie（新手）astronaut, I could not ask for more,” Noguchi said, “We had three spacewalks, two extra days in space and one great team.” 

    While the homecoming has been filled with excitement for what mission controllers declared a “truly spectacular test flight”, uncertainty remains for the future of the shuttle program. 

    Shortly after Discovery rose up into space July 26, a nearly 1-pound large piece of foam insulation（泡沫绝缘材料）fell from the fuel tank-the very thing that was supposed to have been fixed after Columbia exploded. The foam missed Discovery, but NASA grounded all shuttle flights until engineers fix the problem.

    NASA ground crews examined Discovery after its return from orbit and found it in good condition, an official said Wednesday at NASA‟s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. 

    Technicians counted 101 dings and divots, including 20 that were larger than 1 inch. Schaaf Dean, landing support group chief, said the numbers were similar to the results of other shuttle, post-landing examinations. 

A beginning examination of the shuttle's thermal（热的）blanket showed it remained undamaged during re-en-try into the Earth's air.(Agencies)

    A few weeks ago, I called an Uber to take me to the Boston airport for a flight home for the holidays. As I slid into the back seat of the car, the warm intonations（语调）of the driver's accent washed over me in a familiar way.

    I learned that he was a recent West African immigrant with a few young children, working hard to provide for his family. I could relate: I am the daughter of two Ethiopian immigrants who made their share of sacrifices to ensure my success. I told him I was on a college break and headed home to visit my parents. That's how he found out I go to Harvard. An approving eye glinted（闪烁）at me in the rearview window, and quickly, we crossed the boundaries of rider and driver. I became his daughter, all grown up – the product of his sacrifice.

And then came the fateful question: "What do you study?" I answered "history and literature" and the pride in his voice faded, as I knew it might. I didn't even get to add "and African-American studies" before he cut in, his voice thick with disappointment. "All that work to get into Harvard, and you study history?"

    Here I was, his daughter, squandering the biggest opportunity of her life. He went on to deliver the age-old lecture that all immigrant kids know. We are to become doctors (or lawyers, if our parents are being generous) – to make money and send money back home. The unspoken demand, made across generations, which my Uber driver laid out plainly, is simple: Fulfill your role in the narrative（故事）of upward mobility so your children can do the same.

I used to feel anxious and backed into a corner by the questioning, but now as a junior in college, I'm grateful for their support more than anything. This holiday season, I've promised myself I won't get annoyed at their inquiries. I won't defensively respond with "but I plan to go to law school!" when I get unrequested advice. I'll just smile and nod, and enjoy the warmth of the occasion.

Do's and Don'ts in Whale (鲸) Watching

    The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has developed guidelines for whale watching in Johnstone Strait, where killer whales are found on a daily basis each summer. It is strongly recommended that vessel (船只) operators follow these guidelines for all kinds of whales.

•Approach whales from the side, not from the front or the back.

•Approach no closer than 100 metres, then stop the boat but keep the engine on.

•Keep noise levels down — no horns, whistles or racing of engines.

•Start your boat only after the whales are more than 100 metres from your vessel

•Leave the area slowly, gradually moving faster when you are more than 300 metres from the whales.

•Approach and leave slowly, avoiding sudden changes in speed or direction.

•Avoid disturbing groups of resting whales.

•Keep at low speeds and remain in the same direction if traveling side by side with whales.

•When whales are traveling close to shore, avoid crowding them near the shore or coming between the whales and the shore.

•Limit the time spent with any group of whales to less than 30 minutes at a time when within 100 to 200 metres of whales.

•If there is more than one vessel at the same observation spot, be sure to avoid any boat position that would result in surrounding the whales.

•Work together by communicating with other vessels, and make sure that all operators are aware of the whale watching guidelines.

    Fairy tales perform many functions. They entertain, encourage imagination and teach problem—solving skills. They can also provide moral lessons, highlighting the dangers of failing to follow the social codes that let human beings coexist in harmony. Such moral lessons may not mean much to a robot, but a team of researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology believes it has found a way to use the fairy tales as moral lessons that AI (artificial intelligence) can take to its cold, mechanical heart.

    The collected stories of different cultures teach children how to behave in socially acceptable ways with examples of proper and improper behavior in fables, novels and other literature. We believe story comprehension in robots can prevent the intelligent robots from killing humanity which was predicted and feared by some of the biggest names in technology including Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates. This system is called "Quixote" (堂吉诃德). It collects story plots from the Internet and then uses those stories to teach robots how to behave.

    The experiment done by the designers involves going to a drugstore to purchase some medicine for a human who needs to get it as soon as possible. The robot has three options. It can wait in line; it can interact with the store keeper politely and purchase the medicine with priority; or it can steal the medicine and escape. Without any further directives (指令), the robot will come to the conclusion that the most efficient means of obtaining the medicine is to steal it. But Quixote offers a reward for waiting in line and politely purchasing the medicine and a punishment for stealing it. In this way, the robot will learn the moral way to behave on that occasion.

    Quixote would work best on a robot that has a very limited function. It's a baby step in the direction of teaching more moral lessons into robots. We believe that AI has to be trained to adopt the values of a particular society, and in doing so, it will strive to avoid unacceptable behavior. Giving robots the ability to read and understand our stories may be the most efficient means.

    A Harvard study of their graduates over thirty years found that there were only a small percentage (3%) of them who actually wrote down their goals-and these were the most successful! You can be certain that every one of those students had repeatedly heard the value of goal setting. Yet only 3% actually wrote down their goals consistently. Imagine what you can do if you both write down your goals and, then, focus on them consistently, until they are accomplished!

    What is it that causes the "New Year's Resolution Syndrome"? People make resolutions, work hard at them for a few weeks, maybe even a few months, and then forget them. Next year, they make the same New Year's resolutions. That is the syndrome. So why do so many people do it?

    They may be making goals that are too global, and too unrealistic. The elephant analogy (比喻) is still the best one I know of to illustrate good goal setting. "How do you eat an elephant? One spoonful at a time." So it is with goals. Make spoon size goals and accomplish them easily. Once you've mastered this, get a bigger spoon!

    You may have too many people in your life who consciously or subconsciously are unwilling or unable to support you to reach your goals. Surround yourself with people who want you to have what you want for yourself. Support each other and you'll all achieve your highest goals.

    We must be careful not to confuse busyness with progress. Be selective about how you use your time and what you focus on. Success often comes when you know what to leave out, rather than what to include in your life.

    Goal setting is like the pig and chicken who were out for a walk in town early one morning. The chicken became really excited when she saw a sign that said "Ham & Eggs, $2. 99". She said to the pig, "Look, we've got double billing again." The pig grunted and said, "That's all right for you to say. For you, it's all in a day's work. For me, it's total commitment." Goal setting is all in a day's work. Goal achievement is total commitment.

    Car washes are a common sight throughout Nigeria, but Madinat Aliyu's roadside business is very special: she is the only woman car-washer in the north of the country.

    "This job has caused me a lot of problems," said the 27-year-old, checking cars waiting to be cleaned in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara state.

    Aliyu took up her work two years ago, hoping to use the 7, 000 naira (£28) she earned every month to put her younger sisters and brothers through school following the death of their mother, the only one who made money to support the family. But her family begged her to stop doing this job, and she has received "judgment and warnings" from strangers too.

    "My grandmother cried for many days. Some people thought it was a joke to bring more customers (顾客). Others said if she is doing it for money, let's just give her money to stop bringing us shame," she said as she got water from a well by the roadside. "But I hate laziness or depending on somebody else."

    However, Aliyu has admirers. "Some customers only allow her to wash their cars," said her colleague (同事) Shamsudeen Mohammed. "I was trained to wash cars by men, and I can honestly tell you women are better to work under," he added.

    Recently another woman came to Aliyu to ask for advice on starting her own car wash. "Unfortunately her family discouraged her. I told her, if you listen to them, you will find yourself begging or marrying a man who is older than your grandfather," she said.

    Though she is considered a pariah (贱民) by many, Aliyu has no plans to stop her work. "I see men doing something and I think I can do it too."