Most heroes are not super. They don't appear in comic books, on television, or in movies. They just do what they believe needs to be done to make their world a better place. Bike Batman is one of them.

    Bike Batman is a 30-year-old married engineer who lives in Seattle, Washington. He's a cyclist who also buys and sells bikes as a hobby.

    About three years ago, he was looking for a bike for his wife. He found one on Craigslist, a website where people list things they want to sell. As he often does, he also looked at Bike Index, a popular website that allows users to register their bikes and post reports when they're taken. The bike, which he was considering purchasing, clearly matched one reported stolen on Bike Index. Then he called the person who claimed to be the bike's owner and arranged to meet him— supposedly to complete the sale. When the two men met, Bike Batman told the thief, “You've got two options. You can wait until a police officer gets here, or you can just get out of here.” You can imagine what the thief did.

    After that first success, Bike Batman developed a safer routine. When he sees questionable bike ads on Craigslist, he cross references the image with bikes reported on Bike Index. Once he has confirmed it with the owner, he arranges a meet-up with the thief and will call the Seattle police department so that officers can participate in the action. In more than half of the 22 cases in which he has got back and returned bikes, the thieves have been arrested. In one case, Bike Batman even helped a family recover a wide range of prized possessions that suspects had stolen during a home burglary.

    His nickname came from a discussion with a police officer who suggested he be called “Robin Hood”. Since he wasn't exactly stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, “Batman” seemed a better fit. The idea of a superhero punishing criminals feels pretty silly to him, but the main reason he continues his work is to keep up Seattle's reputation as a friendly city.

    Dodder is an unusual and unwanted plant that attacks other plants. Except for its flowers, 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 (茎) 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 a potential host within a few days, it will dry up and disappear—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.

    Time flies, or so they say. No matter where you are, humans are constantly measuring and checking time. Some of us are good at it—planning and doing things ahead of time—while others are always trying to beat the clock and do things at last. What about if you are behind time?

    Delay can be serious. If you were one minute late for work, would you resign? It may sound extreme to many of us, but that is exactly what occurred in the UK upper chamber of parliament, the House of Lords, in January 2018. International development minister Lord Bates arrived one minute late, and, as a result, was unable to answer a scheduled question. Instead of trying to make up for lost time, he resigned on the spot. He apologised for his discourtesy and stated that he was ashamed. His resignation, though, was not accepted by the UK prime minister.

    So, how late is too late? Many cultures take punctuality very seriously, whereas others seem to accept lagging behind as just the normal way of things. BBC employees from Latin America, Rwanda and Sri Lanka said that there are more flexible attitudes to timekeeping in their cultures. In Latin America, things may happen five minutes, 20 minutes, an hour or even two after they were planned. Whereas, in Sri Lanka, lateness is a part of the daily routine. This is because of poor infrastructure and heavy traffic conditions. In Rwanda, those who attend to deadlines with strick timekeeping are said to be “like a typical European”.

    On the other hand, German and Japanese employees mentioned a stricter adherence to time. In Japan, it is common to make an effort to arrive with time to spare for an appointment. Those who arrived at the stroke of nine to a meeting starting at 9 am would be considered late. In Germany, however, if a dinner party were to begin at eight, a person who had arrived five minutes prior, may walk around the block to make sure that they arrive at eight on the dot.

Music

    Opera at Music Hall： 1243 Elm Street. The season runs June through August, with additional performances in March and September. The Opera honors Enjoy the Arts membership discounts. Phone: 241 -2742. http://www.cityopera.com

    Chamber Orchestra： The Orchestra plays at Memorial Hall at 106 Elm Street, which offers several conceits from March through June. Call 723-1182 for more information. http://www.chamberorch.com.

    Symphony Orchestra： At Music Hall and Riverbend. For ticket sales, call 381-3300. Regular season runs September through May at Music Hall in summer al Riverbend. http://www.symphony.org/honie.asp.

    College Conservatory Of Music (CCM): Performances are on the main campus of the university, usually at Patricia Cobbett Theater. CCM organizes a variety of events, including performances by the well-known LaSalle Quarter, CMM's Philharmonic Orchesira, and various groups of musicians presenting Baroque through modem music. Students with I.D. cards can attend the events for free. A free schedule of events for each term is available by calling the box office at 556-4183. http://www.ccm. uc.edu/events/calendar.

    Rivebent Music Theater.6295 Kellogg Ave« Large outdoor theater with the closest seats under cover (price difference ). Big name shows all summer long! Phone: 232-6220. http://www.riverbendmusic.com

    Many of the world's most well-known people were once successful failures. Here are the stories of a few of them.

    Abraham Lincoln(1809-1865)

    Abraham Lincoln was one of America's greatest leaders, taking the country through the Civil War(from 1860 to 1865). However, his life was never easy. He started numerous businesses that failed. He went bankrupt twice, and was defeated in 26 campaigns for public office. He later said, “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure. ”

    Vincent Van Gogh(1853-1890)

    Van Gogh is one of the most famous and influential painters in the history of Western Art. He's renowned for paintings such as TheStarryNight, ThePotatoEaters and Sunflowers. However, during his lifetime, Van Gogh sold only one painting for a very small amount of money. Despite this, he carried on painting, sometimes even going without food so he could complete his collection of over 800 known works.

    Albert Einstein(1879-1955)

    Albert Einstein won the Noble Prize in Physics in 1921. However, he wasn't always considered as a “genius”. He didn't speak until he was four, and couldn't read until he was seven. His teachers and parents thought he was slow, so he was expelled from school and couldn't get into the Zurich Polytechnic School. He later famously said, “Success is failure in progress. ”

    Stephen King(born 1947)

    Stephen King is one of the best-selling authors of all time, but his first book,  Carrie, was rejected by about 30 publishers. Eventually, Stephen threw it in the bin,  but his wife fished it out and encouraged him to resubmit it, which he did successfully this time!

    One of the most important things in the world is friendship. In order to have friends, you have to be a friend. But how can you be a good friend at school?

    Listen — Listen when they are talking. Don't say anything unless they ask you a question. Sometimes it's not necessary for you to have anything to say; they just need someone to talk to about their feelings.

    Help them — If your friend is ever in need of something, be there to help them. You should try to put them first, but make sure you don't do everything they want you to do. Try to take an extra (额外的) pencil or pen with you to classes in case (以防) they forget one. Have a little extra money in your pocket in case they forget something they need.

    Be there for them — Try to make something for your friend to help make them feel better in hard times. Making cards and encouraging them are among the nicest things you can do for a friend. Marilyn Monroe, a famous U.S. actor, once said, “I often make mistakes. Sometimes I am out of control. But if you can't stay with me at my worst, you are sure not to deserve (值得) to be with me at my best.” Always remember this! If you don't want to stay with your friends when they're in hard times, then you don't deserve to be with them when they're having a good time!

    Make plans — Try to make plans with your friends. Go shopping, go for ice cream, have a party, go to a movie and so on. Take time to know each other even better by doing something you both enjoy. By planning things together, you both can have a good time. And you'll remember these things when you're all old!