Vacation is a time for refreshment. In work, we are often called to think. Sometimes, it's good to give our brains a rest. Without a break, we may not be able to perform up to our potential. This can be a problem, not only for the employee, but for the employer as well.

    “The main benefit of vacation is for the worker to come back energized,” says Weaver. “If they haven't had a break, then they're not coming back with new energy. They haven't had a chance to step back and get perspective (远景), and come back with renewed enthusiasm.”

    Long working hours without a break, insecurity (不安) about one's job, and other work-related worries can lead to burnout and stress. Humans can usually adapt to pressure, but not for a limitless amount of time.

    “It is a problem of relating good workers and having them loyal to the firm while they're there,” says David Maume, PhD, professor of sociology at the University of Cincinnati. He says burnout can also affect employees' productivity, creativity, and effectiveness.

    In addition, high levels of stress are likely to be precursors (前兆) to depression, which can hit both the employer and employee's pocketbook. Even people who manage to remain productive at work can have problems. If they're always at work, then they're not with their family and friends. If they're working while on vacation, for the time that they're on the job, they're not really present.

    An unbalanced emphasis on work can strain family and social life. When you come up for air, you may see that you're alone, or that your relationships have gone on without you.

    Bike Share Toronto is the city's official bike share program, designed to give locals and visitors a fun, affordable and convenient alternative to walking, taxis, buses and the subway. There are 200 Bike Share Toronto stations and 2,000 bikes across the city, making Bike Share the most accessible way to get around and explore.

How it works

    Become an Annual Member or buy a day Pass to access the system.

    Find an available bike nearby, and get a ride code or use your member key to unlock it.

    Take as many short rides as you want while your pass or membership is active.

    Return your bike lo any station, and wait for the green light on the dock（停靠点）to make sure it's locked.

    Choose a plan

    For visitors

    Day Pass: $7.Unlimited 30-minute rides in a 24-hour period.

    3-Day Pass: $15.Unlimited 30-minute rides in a 72-hour period.

    For locals

    Monthly Pass: $25.Unlimited 30-minute rides for a month.

    Annual Membership: $90.Unlimited 30-minute rides for a whole year. The Annual Membership is the best deal for locals of Toronto and other frequent riders.

    The first 30 minutes of each ride is included with the membership or pass price. Avoid extra fees by dropping off your bike every 30 minutes at any other station. If you keep a bike out for longer than 30 minutes at a time, you will be charged an extra $1.50 for the first 30 minutes over, $4 for the next 30 minutes, and $7 for each additional 30 minutes after that.

    Contact us

    Customer Service: (855)898-2388

    Repair Service: (855)-2378

    Corporation Partners: (855)898-2398

    Employment Opportunities: (855)898-2498

    When her five daughters were young, Helen An always told them that there was strength in unity (团结). To show this, she held up one chopstick, representing one person. Then she easily broke it into two pieces. Next, she tied several chopsticks together, representing a family. She showed the girls it was hard to break the tied chopsticks. This lesson about family unity stayed with the daughters as they grew up.

    Helen An and her family own a large restaurant business in California. However, when Helen and her husband Danny left their home in Vietnam in 1975, they didn't have much money. They moved their family to San Francisco. There they joined Danny's mother, Diana, who owned a small Italian sandwich shop. Soon afterwards, Helen and Diana changed the sandwich shop into a small Vietnamese restaurant. The five daughters helped in the restaurant when they were young. However, Helen did not want her daughters to always work in the family business because she thought it was too hard.

    Eventually the girls all graduated from college and went away to work for themselves, but one by one, the daughters returned to work in the family business. They opened new restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Even though family members sometimes disagreed with each other, they worked together to make the business successful. Daughter Elizabeth explains, “Our mother taught us that to succeed we must have unity, and to have unity we must have peace. Without the strength of the family, there is no business.”

    Their expanding business became a large corporation in 1996, with three generations of Ans working together. Now the Ans' corporation makes more than $ 20 million each year. Although they began with a small restaurant, they had big dreams, and they worked together. Now they are a big success.

    For most of us Veterans Day just means a chance to enjoy an extra day off from school or work．However this November 11th，be sure to spend a few minutes on its true purpose，by acknowledging（感谢）the men and women who have served in our armed forces．

    And you don't have to stop at just this one day．Join the over 10，000youth members of the Young Marines group that honor these brave men and women all year long with special events and completely spoil them for an entire week，from November 4th to 11th，by visiting hospitalized veterans，performing chores for disabled veterans and even organizing community－wide social event．The program open to kids ranging from the age of eight all the way to high school，is a great way to not only show your appreciation，but also get a chance to do some fun activities with like－minded kids and make a real difference in a veteran's life．

    People often believe that Memorial Day and Veterans Day are celebrated for the same reason．There is however a subtle but important difference between the two．While both honor our military personnel，the former is a day to remember and pay respect to all the men and women that died serving our country in a war，while Veterans Day is to celebrate the soldiers who are still alive and served in the forces at any time，during peace or war． Though several other countries celebrate this day in honor of their own veterans，the meaning is slightly different for each one．Some like the United Kingdom，celebrate it in honor of all soldiers－living or dead，while others like Canada celebrate it to honor all living veterans．They also call it different names．France and New Zealand sill call it Armistice Day．In the United Kingdom，Australia and Canada it is referred to as Remembrance Day，while Malta and South Africa celebrate it as Poppy Day．

    No matter what it is called，the reason for observing the day is the same－to show our appreciation to the brave men and women who sacrifice（牺牲）everything to make this world a safer place for the rest of us．

    One night, Pilar was in a deep sleep when she was woken by her cat Inti. Inti was meowing wildly outside Pilar's bedroom and throwing himself against the closed bedroom door. When Pilar opened her eyes, she saw that her bedroom was filled with smoke. As she escaped her house with Inti in her arms, she saw that a fire was burning in her kitchen. Pilar could easily have lost her life, but Inti would not let that happen. Even though Inti could have escaped the house through a cat door, he wouldn't leave Pilar.

    As amazing as this story is, it is not as uncommon as you may think. Take the example of Charlotte Lee and her horse, Thunder. One summer night, the whole family was asleep with the windows open. It was normally very quiet where they lived. Suddenly, there was a loud noise. Charlotte woke up from her sweet dream, and the noise continued. Then she heard a horse running fast towards the house. The next thing she saw was Thunder standing outside her window, neighing(嘶叫) and shaking his head. She knew something was wrong. Charlotte quickly got everyone out of the house before the earthquake hit. Thunder has saved her life.

    There are also stories of wild animals coming to the rescue of humans. One animal known to be a friend of humans is the dolphin. Once, Todd Endris was surfing with his friends when he was attacked by a 13-foot(4-meter) shark. In the middle of the attack, a group of dolphins came to his rescue by forming a protective ring around Endris until he could get safely to shore. Without the help of the dolphins, there is little chance that Todd could have escaped.

    No one is sure why animals have so often come to our rescue. However, it is clear that humans and animals enjoy a close relationship. It is important that we care for them as much as we can.

    A study showed that the experiences children have in their first few years are important. These experiences affect the development of the brain. When children receive more attention, they often have higher IQs. Babies receive information when they see, hear and feel things, which makes connections between different parts of the brain. There are a hundred trillion(万亿)connections in the brain of a three-year-old child.

    Researcher Judit Gervain tested how good newborns are at distinguishing different sound patterns. Her researchers produced images of the brains of babies as they heard different sound patterns. For example, one order was mu-ba-ba. This is the pattern"A-B-B". Another order was mu-ba-ge. This is the pattern “A-B-C”. The images showed that the part of the brain responsible for speech was more active during the" A-B-B" pattern. This shows that babies can tell the difference between different patterns. They also were sensitive to where it occurred in the order.

    Gervain is excited by these findings because the order of sounds is the building block of words and grammar." Position is key to language," she says. "If something is at the beginning or at the end, it makes a big difference: John caught the bear.' is very different from 'The bear caught John.'”

    Researchers led by scientist Patricia Kuhl have found that language delivered by televisions, audio books, the Internet, or smartphones－no matter how educational－doesn't appear to be enough for children's brain development. They carried out a study of nine-month-old American babies. They expected the first group who'd watched videos in Chinese to show the same kind of learning as the second group who were brought face-to-face with the same sounds. Instead they found a huge difference. The babies in the second group were able to distinguish between similar Chinese sounds as well as native listeners. But the other babies－regardless of whether they had watched the video or listened to the audio－learned nothing.