I'm part of the Roots & Shoots program founded by Dr. Jane Goodall. The program is intended to make and promote positive changes in the world. As Dr. Goodall says, "What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make."

    In Bulgaria, where I live, homeless dogs are everywhere. Many people here turn a blind eye to them. But I cannot ignore the life of a street dog whenever I see one wandering in the street, looking for something to eat. That's why I'm no longer a food waster. When I see wasted food, I always think of a hungry dog climbing to garbage bins, searching for food that people have thrown there. When eating in a restaurant, I'm not afraid to take leftover food to feed stray cats or dogs.

    A week ago, I saw a homeless dog around the garbage bins. Immediately I knelt down, spoke to her softly and ran my hands over her. I could see that she had had puppies. I couldn't imagine how she could have been able to care for them. Hours earlier, I'd bagged up a plate of leftover fish. As I unwrapped it, she wagged her tail and sniffed at it. She ate all the fish in no time.

    It's sad, isn't it? I can't understand why many of us waste so much and think little of it. These homeless animals have taught me that food is precious. Even when I don't have leftovers with me, I'll take the time to get something from the grocery store to feed them.

I know my power is small, so I hope that next time you see wasted food, do turn it into worthy food. You have the power to save a life!

    Many teens in high school want to try out for sports. A lot of them try out because they think it will make them popular or get them more dates. While this may seem like a silly reason, there are lots of other benefits to sports that your children may fail to notice.

    With TV, movies, computers and video games becoming more and more popular, it has become so much easier for teens to be by themselves rather than going out with friends. Kids used to go hang out at the mall or drive around town; now they just sit at home. Getting your teens into a sport gives them a chance to go out and spend time with other people socially. While they may not find a new best friend, they will learn how to communicate with one another and work as a team and they'll find something useful later in life.

    More and more kids are becoming overweight. Joining a team sport will help teens get out and get some exercise without feeling pressured to lose weight or get in shape. What's more, if your teens see that their physical condition is causing them to under-perform, they may be encouraged to do other activities to get healthy. By the time your children reach their teenager year, part of good parenting will be providing them with direction and encouragement and continuing to help them develop a healthy style of living.

    These days, it's becoming harder to show your teenagers that you love and support them. A great way to do this is by showing up to their game, helping them practice, and helping with team fundraisers. These are also great ways to spend time with your kids and talk to them.

    You may think “but my teen isn't good enough to make their school team”. There are plenty of other places besides school to play team sports. You can always check out “for-fun” teams. You could look into more unknown sports that you may not have thought of, did you know that bowling is a NCAA team sports If you do a little research, you're sure to find something your teen will enjoy.

    Team sports are a great way for teens to get out of the house, get moving, make friends, and even get a scholarship to college. So why not talk to them about getting into sports today

GAOMI, Shandong, Oct. 11(Xinhua)—China writer Mo Yan said last Thursday that he was “very surprised” at winning the Nobel Literature Prize.

    “I am very happy,” he said. “I was having dinner when I received the news. I was surprised.”

    “Thank you for coming all the way to Gaomi. This should be a season of red sorghum, but no such crop is planted any more. I believe none of you have seen the crop.” he said.

    “The Nobel Literature Prize is a very important literature prize, but not the top award. It represents the opinions of the jury(评审团). I am satisfied with my major works and I still keep writing by hand. My works are Chinese literature, which is part of world literature. They show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs. Meanwhile, my novels described human beings in the broad sense. I wrote in the perspective（角度） of a human being. These works stand beyond regions and ethnic(民族的)groups,” he said.

    Mo's win brought joy to other writers and readers throughout the country as he is the first Chinese native to win the Nobel Literature Prize in its century-long history.

    A lot of kids have dreams they will never achieve due to the limitations of their little bodies. They want to fly, or to become a dinosaur, or to learn how to shoot webs out of their fingers like Spiderman.

    Luka Tavcar, 12, has muscular dystrophy(萎缩) and is totally dependent on his wheelchair. Nevertheless, late last year, he had an inspired plan: to be photographed walking around and having fun.

    He approached Matej Peljhan, an amateur photographer and a psychologist at CIRIUS rehabilitation(康复) center near Ljubljana, Slovenia, where Luka is a patient.

    At first, Peljhan was perplexed. How could he photograph a boy who can not move or act in motion? "Luka wanted to see himself playing and having fun, but it seemed impossible," he says.

    Then Peljhan had a brainstorm: Luka could lie down on a piece of cloth and, with the help of an assistant, Peljhan would pose the boy as if he were jumping, climbing stairs, moving downhill on a skateboard, and playing basketball. Then Peljhan would shoot these images from above. The photos took about a month to produce; all were shot early this year.

    Peljhan, who lost his right arm and left eye as a child, says his disabilities motivated him to make the photographs. "I understand people with limitations," he says.

    He named the series the little Prince after the French story by Antoine de Saint-Exupery in which a boy teaches a man about trust, hope and friendship. Luka loves the photos.

    Peljhan himself understands what it is like to live with limitations- he lost his right arm and left eye as a child. "He wants to stay positive," the photographer explains. "Luka's imagination helps him forget his phisical limitation", says Peljhan. "He's fragile, but he can see the world differently."

    Something very strange and mysterious was going on in Sesemann's house. Every morning, when the servants went downstairs, they found the front door wide open. During the first few days that this happened, every room and corner was searched in great alarm to see if anything had been stolen, but not a thing in the house had been touched. The door was doubly locked at night, and for further security the wooden bar was fastened across it; but it was no good – next morning the door again stood open. One servant even claimed he had seen a white figure standing at the top of the steps and then all in a minute it disappeared.

    Mr. Sesemann told his old friend, a doctor, what had happened in his house. That evening they decided to wait for the ghost. One o'clock struck. There was not a sound. Suddenly the doctor lifted his finger. "Hush! Don't you hear something?" They both listened, and they distinctly heard the bar softly pushed aside and then the key turned in the lock and the door opened. They stepped into the hall.

    "Who is there?" thundered the doctor in a voice that echoed through the hall, as the two men advanced with lights and weapons towards the figure. It turned and gave a low cry. There stood Heidi, with bare feet, staring with wild eyes and trembling from head to foot. The two men looked at one another in surprise. "Child, why did you come down here?" said Sesemann. White with terror, and hardly able to make her voice heard, Heidi answered, "I don't know." The doctor gently took the child by the hand upstairs.

    Then the doctor sat down besides her and asked her some questions in a kind voice. Later he went downstairs. "Sesemann," he said, "let me first tell you that the child is a sleep-walker; secondly, the child is consumed with homesickness. Something must be done at once."

    THREE years ago Jenny Salgado, a Dominican shop assistant, moved to Highland town, a neighborhood of Baltimore. When she arrived the shop she works in, it was one of only a few Spanish businesses. Now there are many more. "It's good now if you speak Spanish," she smiles.

    Baltimore has been losing people for 60 years. To address this, its mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, wants to make it the most immigrant-friendly city in the world. Its libraries provide Spanish-language exercise classes. To help those with no papers, the city is introducing micro-loans (小额贷款) which require no credit checks; city police would no longer routinely check the immigration status of citizens or enforce any federal immigration law unless required to. The then governor, Martin O'Malley made it possible for illegal immigrants to get driving licenses.

    Such welcoming policies are spreading. Such cities as Cleveland, Dayton and Philadelphia all eagerly try to please immigrants. Rick Snyder, the governor of Michigan, has asked the federal government to offer 50,000 visas to people who agree to live in Detroit. His administration has made it easier for skilled migrants to get professional licenses.

    When a city's population falls, both tax receipts and services fall. Half-deserted neighborhoods breed (滋生) crime, driving yet more people to leave. No city has escaped this death circle without attracting new residents, says Steve Tobocman of Global Detroit.

    Several studies suggest that when immigrants arrive, crime goes down, schools improve and shops open up. In Detroit, immigrants living near the tiny separate city of Hamtramck have formed local watches to guard against thieves. Their neighborhoods are not just safer; they are also among the only places where it is as easy to buy fresh vegetables as drugs and alcohol.

    But attracting new immigrants to the cities which most need them is hard, argues Audrey Singer of the Brookings Institution. They care about the same things as everyone else: safe streets, good schools and jobs. Cities which have lost population for decades struggle with all of these.