What's On?

Trouble in Mind

    Alice Childress won an Off-Broadway award in 1956 for this story of a black actress rehearsing a play with a white director who increasingly finds it impossible for the show to go on. Tanya Moodie and Joseph Marcell star in the play directed by Laurence Boswell.

8.30p.m. —10.30p.m, Theatre Royal. Box office: 01225 448844.

Lazarus

    Inspired by the sci-fi (science fiction) novel and movie, The Man Who Fell to Earth, this musical deals with a hero, Thomas Newton. Likely to be the autumn's hottest ticket, the score includes new songs composed by Bowie.

7.00p.m. — 9.00p.m., King's Cross theatre. Box office: 0844 871 7604.

The Gaul

    On the night of 8 February 1974, a fisherman FV Gaul disappeared off the coast of Norway. For people on board, waiting for news was great suffering. Theories began to come up, including the possibility that the boat had fallen victim to cold war. Even when he was discovered, many still felt there were questions that remained unanswered. Mark Babych directs Janet Plater's play.

8.00p.m. —11.00 p.m., Royal Shakespeare theatre. Box office: 01482 323638.

The Suppliant Women

    It is a new version of Aeschylus's 2,500-year-old play about a group of women seeking shelter who make the long journey to escape forced marriage. It was written by David Greig and directed by Ramin Gray. An ancient piece asks a contemporary question: when we are in trouble, who will open their doors and give us a harbor?

8.30p.m. —10.00p.m, Hampstead theatre. Box office: 0131 248 4848.

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 year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms, though my teacher emphasized (强调) the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.

    One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished. Gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, he said, “You don't say!” “You don't say!” I was puzzled. I thought, perhaps this is not an appropriate topic (适当的话题). “Well, I'd better change the topic.” So I said to him. “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall？ By the way, have you ever been there？” “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was magnificent.” He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide. “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are very proud of it..” Soon I was interrupted again by his words: “You don't say!” I couldn't help asking, "Why do you ask me not to talk about it？" "Well, I didn't request you to do so, " he answered, greatly surprised. I said, "Didn't you say' you don't say？”Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to explain, “'You don't say' actually means 'really!' It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don't pay attention to English idioms.” Only then did I know I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions. Remember: what the English teachers said is always right to us students.

    In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up with the Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.

    The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.

    It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They had to move back to an apartment in New York City. Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses" because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States. "Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand's series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

    People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are "Joneses" in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

    Below you will find a profile of each gap year program. If there is a specific program you are interested in or a question you have regarding these programs, please feel free to contact them directly.

    Youth International

    Since 1997, Youth International has been providing many people with the most exciting and educational experience of their life. It is a learning program that combines international travel, inter-cultural exchange, home stays, volunteer community service work and outdoor adventures.

    Phone: 720-270-3323

    Carpe Diem Education

    Through volunteer service, travel and cultural exchange, students of Carpe Diem Education receive a personal insight into themselves and their cultures. We specialize in guiding summer and semester programs for high school students. Each course is carefully crafted to develop leadership and self-awareness within our students, who return home better prepared to be leaders in thought and action.

    Phone: 503-285-1800

    Center for Interim Programs

    Founded in 1980, Center for Interim Programs is the first independent gap-year organization in America. Based on students' interests and budget, our experienced teachers help make individual course choices including: low cost volunteer options, language programs, research trips, and so on. We are committed to helping students find more experiences of formal education and work.

    Phone: 413-585-0980

    EF Gap Year

    EF Gap Year offers students the ability to explore several countries where you will learn a language, volunteer for a good cause, gain international work experience. Choose between a 12-week semester or 26-week academic year. You can then personalize your program to meet your learning goals and interests by deciding where, when, and how you wish to study on your own. Our well-structured curriculum even allows you to place out of college-level classes and earn advanced credits toward graduation.

    Phone: 800-726-9746

    There are excellent reasons for anyone to seek out the optimistic. Optimists experience better health outcomes, live longer and are more satisfied with their relationships. Optimism enables people to hold on in the face of difficulty, while pessimism leaves them depressed and even expecting failure.

    I want that hopeful, optimistic outlook for my children. But many times we may feel pessimistic. The result of negativity makes me worry that my kids' future will be uncertain. Fortunately, research suggests ways to help our children grow up with an optimistic attitude and maintain a happier outlook ourselves.

    Humanity has improved by many measures, but that success has become the water in which we swim, and like fish, we take the water for granted. While we fail to notice the positive, our brains naturally emphasize on the negative. With practice, we can help our brains to give the good stuff equal weight. Dr. Hanson's advice: when you hear a great story or achieve something in your own life, deliberately rest your mind on that experience and stay with it. Sink into that feeling as it sinks into you. Describe what you're doing to your kids, and encourage them to dwell on their joys and pleasures as well.

    Following the "big scary" news can leave us feeling helpless. Find something in your area that makes you feel hopeful, and make it a part of your family life. Researchers found that when people with a pessimistic outlook use positive language to describe situations they find upsetting, their feelings about the situation become more positive. That's something we can try at home.

    Raising optimistic kids is hard because it demands that parents abandon the pessimistic perspective that's the easiest response to pessimistic times. Put your energy into making sure you and your family are a part of the world around you. That might mean simply joining and being part of local clubs that feed our natural human need for connection (not of the digital kind).