Lisa: My best teacher is my geography teacher in 10th grade. Why? Because we did school projects! Back then I wrote about India and never forgot what I had learned. He brought the culture to life by letting me become part of it. He also listened to us and was always ready with a kind word.

David: My best teacher is my high school social studies and history teacher, Thomas Ladenburg. He respected us, though we were just teenagers. His class was never boring because he often asked us to discuss in class. He used his own materials which made the class very interesting.

Henry: My best ever teacher is my biology teacher in high school. I really liked her class. She explained everything very clearly. She also checked our notebooks to make sure we had written down what she said. Now, many years later, I can still remember a large part of the things she taught!

Susan: The best teacher I have ever had is my 10th grade social studies teacher. She was always in a good mood and kept us laughing. She was really young, so she acted like us teenagers, which made learning fun. If we needed to talk to an adult about a problem, we would always come to her because we knew she could help us.

Tom: My favourite teacher is Mr. Yelle. He taught us math, science and music. He spoke to us “at eye level”, and was very patient and kind. We did great projects for the science fairs. Forty years later, I still remember his lessons very well. By the way, though he was called Mr Yelle, he didn't yell(喊叫).

    Australian cities can keep their native wildlife — but only if they can kick their habit of urban sprawl (扩展). That's the finding of a new study by leading Australian environmental researchers Jessica Sushinsky, Professor Hugh Possingham and Dr. Richard Fuller of The University of Queensland.

    “While urban development usually reduces the number of birds in a city, building more compact (紧凑的) cities and avoiding urban sprawl can slow these reductions greatly,” says lead author Jessica Sushinsky. “Compact housing development leaves birds' homes untouched, leading to fewer losses of birds.”

    The researchers surveyed native and wild birds in Brisbane's urban areas, including living and industrial areas, public parks and gardens, major roadways and airports. They then used statistical modeling to find out what will happen to the birds as the city grows. The first setting was compact growth — where multiple homes are built on land that previously had only one house. The second setting was sprawling growth — a familiar pattern where homes are built here and there beyond the city's current boundaries.

    The team's forecasts showed that a much greater diversity of species was lost over 20 years in the sprawling setting compared to the more compact setting. “Urban sprawl resulted in the disappearance of many urban-sensitive birds — birds that only live in areas where there is native vegetation (植被), such as parklands and woodlands,” Ms. Sushinsky says.

    “On the other hand, we found the city with the compact development attracted more birds because it kept more of its parks and green areas.”

    Now the Queensland Government has adopted the more compact urban growth strategy, which, Dr. Richard Fuller says, is good news for Australia's native birds. These birds are environmental specialists — they need a particular environment to do well. “While compact development means smaller backyards, it can also make our entire cities more biodiverse,” according to Dr. Fuller. “The study shows that we should hold on to our green spaces instead of clearing them for sprawling development.”

    This is the first time science has modeled the effects of different urban growth strategies on birds, the researchers say. “Statistical models like these are important because they help us to understand the ecological consequences of a particular decision,” says Dr Fuller.

    If you're traveling with kids in London, many London hotels have special services and features to help the family holiday, offering services to kids as well as games, bike hire and free ice cream!

Athenaeum

    The five­star Athenaeum is a fantastic family hotel，particularly with the addition of its kids' services. Even before you arrive, they'll be in touch to make sure your kids have their favorite DVDs, treats and anything else to keep them happy. And they can arrange your perfect family activities, from bike hire to theater tickets.

Novotel

    Novotel's family rooms are designed to accommodate two adults and two children. Accommodation and breakfast are free for under­16s(up to two staying in their parents' room)．You can also enjoy a late check­out at 5 p. m. on a Sunday, and while you lie in, the kids can entertain themselves with the Cartoon Network.

Chessington Safari Hotel

    At Chessington Safari Hotel, kids will love staying in an African adventure­themed room, having breakfast, overlooking the animals of the Wanyama Reserve, watching family­friendly movies and getting into the theme park before it opens.

The Ritz

    Kids at The Ritz are treated just as well as their parents, if not better! Children can enjoy computer games and DVDs, free ice cream and their own bathrobes and slippers. Under­16s can stay for free in their parents' bedroom, depending on the room type.

Marlin Apartments

    Marlin Apartments operate more than 700 serviced apartments in London. Apartments are all within five minutes' walk of the Tube(Good for tired little legs！) with flat screen TVs, fully equipped kitchens and free Wi­Fi. One or two bedroom family apartments have extra room for folding beds in the living area.

    One of the most striking findings of a newly research in the UK is that of the people interviewed, one in two believes that it is becoming more difficult to meet someone to start a family with.

    Why are many finding it increasingly difficult to start close relationships? Does modem life really make it harder to fall in love? Or are we making it harder for ourselves? It is certainly the case today that contemporary couples benefit in different ways from relationships. Women no longer rely upon partners for money or status. A man doesn't expect his wife to be in (唯一的) charge of running his household and raising his children.

    But perhaps the knowledge that we can live perfectly well without a partnership means that it takes much more to persuade people to abandon their independence.

    In theory, finding a partner should be much simpler these days. Only a few generations ago, your choice of soul mate was limited by geography, social convention and family tradition. Although it was never clear，many marriages were essentially arranged. Now those barriers have been broken down. You can approach a builder or a brain surgeon in any bar in any city on any given evening. When the world is your oyster ( 牡蛎), you surely have a better chance of finding a pearl.

    But it seems that the old conventions have been replaced by the limitations of choice. The expectations of partners are raised to an unmanageable degree: good looks, impressive salary, kind to grandmother, and right socks. There is no room for error in the first impression.

    We think that a relationship can be perfect. If it isn't, it should be ended. We work to protect ourselves against future heartache and don't put in the hard emotional labor needed to build a strong relationship. Twelve-hour work at the office makes relaxed after-hours dating difficult. The cost of housing and child-raising creates pressure to have a stable income and Career before a life partnership.

    It is that time of year when people need to lock their cars. It's not because there are a lot of criminals running around stealing cars. Rather, it's because of the good-hearted neighbors who want to share their harvest. Especially with this year's large crop, leaving a car unlocked in my neighborhood is an invitation for someone to stuff it full of zucchini（西葫芦）.

    My sister-in-law, Sharon, recently had a good year for tomatoes. She and her family had eaten and canned so many that they began to feel their skin turn slightly red. That's when she decided it was time to share her blessings. She started calling everyone she knew. When that failed, she began to ask everyone in the neighborhood like a politician, eventually finding a neighbor delighted to have the tomatoes. "Feel free to take whatever you want," Sharon told her. She felt happy that she could help someone and that the food didn't go to waste.

    A few days later, Sharon answered the door. There was the neighbor, holding some bread. The neighbor smiled pleasantly, "I want to thank you for all of the tomatoes, and I have to admit that I took a few other things and hope you wouldn't mind."

    Sharon couldn't think of anything else in her garden that had been worth harvesting and said no. "Oh, but you did," the neighbor said. "You had some of the prettiest zucchini I've ever seen."

    Sharon was confused. Zucchini in her garden? They hadn't even plated any zucchini. But her neighbor insisted that there really were bright-green zucchini in her garden. The two of them walked together into the backyard. When the neighbor pointed at the long green vegetables, Sharon smiled, "Well, actually, those are cucumbers that we never harvested, because they got too big, soft and bitter for eating or canning."

    The neighbor looked at Sharon, shock written all over her face. Then she smiled, and held out the bread that she had shared all over the neighborhood, "I brought you a loaf of cucumber bread. I hope you like it."

    Telling fewer lies benefits people physically and mentally. Anita E. Kelly, study author and professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame, employed 110 adults for her study. She divided them into two groups and asked one group to stop lying for 10 weeks. Lies included big ones and tiny ones—any false statements—but participants were still allowed to leave out the truth, keep secrets and avoid questions they didn't want to answer, etc. The other group wasn't given any special instructions about lying.

    It turned out that both groups reduced their lying, but those who were specifically told to tell the truth improved their health more. "We found that the participants could purposefully and dramatically reduce their everyday lies. That in turn was associated with significantly improved health," said Kelly.

    When participants in the no-lie group told three fewer white lies than they did in other weeks, they experienced, on average, fewer mental-health complaints and physical complaints. They were less likely to feel tense or sad and also experienced fewer sore throats and headaches. They also reported that personal relationships improved. Additionally, participants found themselves honest about their daily accomplishments, and they stopped making up excuses for being late or failing to complete a task, for example.

    "It's certainly a worthy goal to have people be more honest and interact with others in a more honest way,” says University of Massachusetts psychologist Robert Feldman. “That would be beneficial. I'm a little doubtful whether it makes us all healthier, but it may make us healthier in a psychological way."