Most people agree that honesty is a good thing. But does Mother Nature agree? Animals can't talk, but can they lie in other ways? Can they lie with their bodies and behavior? Animal experts may not call it lying, but they do agree that many animals, from birds to chimpanzees, behave dishonestly to fool other animals. Why? Dishonesty often helps them survive.

    Many kinds of birds are very successful at fooling other animals. For example, a bird called the plover sometimes pretends to be hurt in order to protect its young. When a predator（猎食动物）gets close to its nest, the plover leads the predator away from the nest. How? It pretends to have a broken wing. The predator follows the "hurt" adult, leaving the baby birds safe in the nest.

    Another kind of bird, the scrub jay, buries its food so it always has something to eat. Scrub jays are also thieves. They watch where others bury their food and steal it. But clever scrub jays seem to know when a thief is watching them. So they go back later, unbury the food, and bury it again somewhere else.

    Birds called cuckoos have found a way to have babies without doing much work. How? They don't make nests. Instead, they get into other birds' nests secretly. Then they lay their eggs and fly away. When the baby birds come out, their adoptive parents feed them.

    Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky. After a fight, the losing chimp will give its hand to the other. When the winning chimp puts out its hand, too, the chimps are friendly again. But an animal expert once saw a losing chimp take the winner's hand and start fighting again.

    Chimps are sneaky in other ways, too. When chimps find food that they love, such as bananas, it is natural for them to cry out. Then other chimps come running. But some clever chimps learn to cry very softly when they find food. That way, other chimps don't hear them,  and they don't need to share their food.

    As children, many of us learn the saying "You can't fool Mother Nature." But maybe you can't trust her, either.

    The booking notes of the play 'Sherlock'

    Price: $10

    BOOKING

    There are four easy ways to book seats for the play:

—in person

    The Box Office is open from Monday to Saturday, 10 am—8 pm

—by telephone

    Ring 01324976 to reserve(预订) your tickets or to pay by credit card (Visa and MasterCard).

—by post

    Simply complete the booking form and return it to Box Office.

—online

    Complete the online booking form at www.Satanfiedtheatre.com.

    DISCOUNTS（折扣）:

    Saver: $2 off any seat booked any time in advance for the play from Monday to Thursday. Savers can be got for children up to 16 years old, over 60s and full-time students.

    Supersavers: half-price seats can be got for people with disabilities and one companion. It is advisable to book in advance. There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces and one wheelchair space will be held until an hour before the show.

    Standby: best seats are on sale for $6 from one hour before the play for people suitable for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other customers.

    Group Booking: there is a 10% discount for parties of twelve or more.

    School: school parties of ten or more can book $6 standby tickets and will get every tenth ticket free.

    Please note: we are unable to exchange tickets or pay the money back unless the play is called off because of unexpected situations.

    About three decades ago, China was known as the "Bicycle Kingdom". But later on, bikes were replaced by their fuel-powered competitors.

    But recent months have seen a recovery of the humble bike across China, with an increasing number of people choosing cycling instead of driving to schools, to workplaces or to do sightseeing. The introduction of bike-sharing schemes, pioneered by start-ups like Ofo and Mobike, has brought the trend to a new level.

    People can unlock the shared bikes by simply using their smartphone. The bikes are equipped with GPS and can be left anywhere in public for the next user. They're popular among many Chinese people as they provide an effective solution to the "last mile" problem, which refers to the final leg of a person's journey.

    " In places where the subway doesn't extend, where it's difficult to change from one kind of transport to another, it's so easy to get where you want to go with Mobike," Hu Hong,29,told AFP. She pedals(骑车)to her Shanghai real-estate job.

    However, the schemes have also led to problems such as illegal parking, vandalism(故意毁坏) and theft. Last month, two nurses in Beijing were placed under administrative punishment for five days for putting locks on two shared bikes. And in December, a man who stole a shared bike was sentenced to a 3-month detention(拘留),and fined 1 ,000 yuan by the Shanghai Minhang People's Court.

    " Bike-sharing is a greener method of transportation and provides a user-friendly experience,"said Liu Xiaoming, vice-minister of transport.

    " But it's a combination of online and offline business. Operators are usually strong in online services, but lack offline business experience, which causes problems."

    Now, Chinese service operators are trying to solve the problems. For example, a bike- sharing company called Mobike sets a 100-point credit score for each user, with points taken in the case of bad behavior. Once a score drops below 80, bike rental is increased to 100 yuan per 30 minutes, up from 0.5 - 1 yuan.

    What's your feeling when you step into senior high school? It is a completely new experience, but you shouldn't worry. We've got some tips to help you.

    You're not alone

    Remember that everybody else in your grade is in the same boat. You may not notice it, but they're just as nervous as you are.

    Moving up to senior high school is a chance, not a problem. Things are different, and all you need to do is to be polite and learn the new rules.

    The teachers will help you

    If you don't know what to do or are worried about something, then ask for help. Teachers are probably the best people to turn to because they have experience in helping new students. Pay attention to what your teachers say.

    Everything changes

    There are lots of differences between junior high school and senior high school. You will you're your lessons with different teachers in different schools. You will have homework for different subjects on different days, so make sure you get organized.

    Other points

    If you've got an elder brother or sister at senior high school, then ask them for advice. Be yourself! It sounds simple, but things will become much better if you just act naturally.

    Going to bed early makes a difference. You'll also find it easier to get up in the morning!

Feeling achy and feverish? Your misery has plenty of company. By the end of December, the tally(记录) of flu-like illnesses in the state exceeded the peaks in the two previous seasons, when the biggest number of cases occurred in February and March. This time, the flu virus seems to be hitting even harder.

Flu is unique among human diseases. It circulates constantly in cool and dry areas. Because it spreads from person to person and can be picked up easily, nearly everyone is exposed. While it's unclear whether the annual flu epidemic(流行病) will worsen this year, or just arrived earlier, fears have been increased by the severity of flu in Australia during its most recent season and the fact that the vaccine may protect against the predominant(盛行的) kind of the flu only 30 percent of the time.

Despite the worries, doctors and public health officials say there is no evidence that people are getting sicker than usual. Flu cases in Massachusetts started rising around Thanksgiving and increased steadily, with an especially steep climb in the last week of the year. "This is a bad flu season but not a horrible one," said Dr Andrew G. Villanueva, a lung specialist and chief quality officer at the Lahey Hospital & Medical Centre in Burlington.

"The flu season, while clearly in full swing, doesn't ‘feel different' from previous years," Villanueva said. "We're not seeing a lot of people being hospitalised because of flu," he said. "Most people with the flu recover on their own without medical care." 

It was a typical weekend for Mitch White and his friends. They were out celebrating a bachelor party, sailing the peaceful waters of the Minnesota River. They never expected that this single party would transform from a relaxed canoe trip into a painful rescue mission. With the sun setting, an unexpected bark changed everything.

Led by Mitch White, the soon-to-be-married man, they searched for the source of the sound along the banks of the river. Suddenly, a weak cry for help came from the mud. They were surprised to find that the head of a 13-year-old St. Bernard named Ed was barely visible in the thick mud. Mitch said, "The dog wasn't moving on its own, so we should feed it and give it water. " The dog looked like i had used all its strength.

The men took up their oars（桨） and began digging, their festive mood giving way to a focused rescue mission. It took them more than half an hour to free the trapped dog as it was already breathing very feebly after possibly being trapped for 24 hours. When they got the poor fellow out of the mud, he couldn't walk, so they carried him back to the house. Back home with his owner, George Niskanen, Ed began his slow restoration-a happy ending to a dangerous adventure. George was thankful to the bachelor party heroes.

Now, the people of Carver, Minnesota, have new heroes to cheer for. Indeed, this incredible act of bravery and compassion redefined the meaning of a bachelor party. It became a heroic tale of humanity, friendship, and the instinct（本能）to do what's right.