One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem—inability to read.

    In the library, I found my way into the “Children's Room.” I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.

    There on the book's cover was a beagle which looked identical(相同的) to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.

    Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.

    My mother's call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.

    I never told my mother about my “miraculous(奇迹般的) ” experience that summer, but she saw a slow but ramarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in the literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.

    The first ancient Olympic Games for which we still have written records were held in 776 BC. Coroebus won the only event at the Olympics. This made him the very first Olympic champion in history. Then they grew and continued to be played every four years. In 393 AD, the Roman emperor Theodosius Ⅰ, a Christian, announced to end the Games because of their pagan (异教的) influences.

    About 1,500 years later, a young Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin began their revival (恢复). In 1892 Coubertin first brought forward his idea to revive the Olympic Games but failed.

    Two years later, Coubertin organized a meeting with 79 delegates (代表) who represented nine countries. At this meeting he got what he wanted. All the delegates at the conference voted for the Olympic Games. They also decided to have Coubertin set up an international committee to organize the Games. This committee became the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Demetrious Vikelas from Greece was selected to be its first president. Athens was chosen for the revival of the Olympic Games and the planning was begun.

    The very first modern Olympic Games opened in the first week of April, 1896. Since the Greek government had been unable to afford a stadium, a rich Greek architect, Georgios Averoff, donated one million drachmas (over $100,000) to repair the Panathenaic Stadium, originally built in 330 BC.

    Since the Games were not well publicized internationally, contestants (选手) were not nationally chosen but rather came individually and at their own expense. Some contestants were tourists who happened to be in the area during the Games.

    During my elementary school years, I used to compare my mom with my best friend Tiffany's mom.

    Tiffany's mom always gave her lots of money to buy the most fashionable clothes and favorite food. Her mom allowed her to do anything she liked. I really admired Tiffany. My mom didn't give me much pocket money and she always told me that I should behave myself. I was annoyed with her.

Whenever I didn't get what I wanted, I would complain to my mom, Tiffany's mom would give her that! I wish she were my mom. Every time, my mom would calmly say "Poor Tiffany". I couldn't understand her. "She shouldn't be feeling sorry for Tiffany!" I thought. "She should be feeling sorry for me."

One day, I couldn't help saying to Mom, "Poor Tiffany? Lucky Tiffany! She gets everything she wants! Why do you feel sorry for her?" I burst into tears.

My mom sat down next to me and said softly. "Yes, I do feel sorry for her. I have been teaching you a lesson that she will never be taught."

I looked up at her. "What are you talking about?"

Mom said with care, "One day she will really want something. Maybe she'll find out that she can't have it. Her mother won't always be around to give her money, and what's more, money can't buy everything."

She continued, "I have taught you valuable lessons by not giving you everything you want. You'll know how to look for bargains and save money, but she won't. You'll understand that you need to work hard to get the things that you want but she won't. When Tiffany is a grown woman, she'll wake up one day and she will be wishing that she had a mom like the one you've got. Life lessons are more important than modern clothes and delicious food."

    It took some time, but I eventually understood my mom's words. Now I am a happy and successful woman.

    If you're dreaming of visiting one of those picture-perfect European towns filled with old-world attractiveness and scenic beauty, here is a look at the most beautiful small towns in Europe.

    Manarola

    Manarola, Italy, is filled with rainbow-colored homes along the Mediterranean(地中海) coast. This attractive fishing town is famous for its unbelievable wine, and the paintings. There are no cars here, no traffic lights, or traffic noise. You can drive to Manarola, but you'll have to park just outside the town and then take a shuttle bus or walk in on foot.

    Garmisch-Partenkirchen

    Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, is a fascinating(迷人的) mountain town. Once two separate(分开的) towns, one Roman and the other Teutonic, the 1936 Winter Olympics forced them to become one, though the two sides still have different characters(特点). The town dates back to 15 AD, filled with narrow, cobblestoned streets lined with historic three or four-story buildings painted with religious scenes(宗教场景).

    Marsaxlokk

    The energetic trading port of Marsaxlokk, Malta, was built in 900 BC. Today, this pictures-like town is the main supplier(供应地) of fish to the island nation that sits in the Mediterranean Sea. It has no modern buildings to ruin its attractiveness. With such quiet surroundings, including the traditional luzzu's (fishing boats), it's a particularly charming(迷人的) place to visit.

    Portmagee, Ireland

    In a country filled with beautiful towns, Portmagee, is a standout, sitting on the southwest coast of Ireland. This postcard-perfect seaside fishing town has a row of brightly colored buildings along with a rich and colorful history. At The Bridge Bar, you'll find live music many nights of the week along with nice food and a fine glass of beer.

    On average, Americans spend about 10 hours a day in front of a computer or other electronic devices and less than 30 minutes a day outdoors. That is a claim made by David Strayer, a professor of psychology at the University of Utah. In his 2017 TED Talk, Strayer explained that all this time spent with technology is making our brains tired.

    Using an electronic device to answer emails, listen to the news and look at Facebook puts a lot of pressure on the front of the brain, which, Strayer explains, is important for critical thinking, problem­solving and decision­making.

    So, it is important to give the brain a rest. And being in nature, Strayer claims, helps get a tired brain away from too much technology. More than 15,000 campers from around the world attended an international camping festival in September. That is when friends and family take time off and escape to nature for several days. They take walks, climb, explore, swim, sleep, eat and play. Camping may be just what a tired brain needs.

    Take Carl for example. He lives in West Virginia and enjoys camping. He says that staying outdoors makes him feel at ease. It also prepares him for the work he must do. Kate Somers is another example who also lives in West Virginia. She says she enjoys camping with her husband and two children. She calls it a "regenerative" experience.

    At the University of Utah, David Strayer has studied both short­term and long­term exposure to nature. He found that spending short amounts of time in nature without technology does calm the brain and helps it to remember better. However ,he found, it is the long­term contact with nature that does the most good. He and his research team found that spending three days in nature without any technology is enough time for the brain to fully relax and reset itself.

    Earlier this month, two rock climbers achieved what many thought impossible: They climbed up the 3,000-foot-high Dawn Wall in Yosemite National Park without specialized equipment. Climbing without this equipment is called "free-climbing." Until now, no one had free-climbed to the top of the rock face, which is a part of the mountain EI Capitan.

    EI Capitan, which means "the captain" or "the chief" in Spanish, has always presented a challenge to climbers. But the Dawn Wall, on the mountain^'s southeast face, is a particularly difficult route to the summit (顶峰). It is a rock formation that is both steep and relatively smooth. This makes free-climbing the rock face seem almost impossible.

    About seven years ago, professional climber Tommy Caldwell spotted a possible route up the wall. It took years of planning and preparation, but this month, Caldwell, 36, and his friend Kevin Jorgeson, 30, finally make the climb.

    Free climbers do use ropes and other basic safety equipment to catch them if they fall — and Caldwell and Jorgeson fell often. Before starting their climb, they broke down their route into 32 sections. Each section was based on a rope length called a "pitch." The rope was secured into the rock face to catch the climbers if they fell.

    Caldwell and Jorgeson's goal was to climb the Dawn Wall without returning to the ground. If they fell, they had to start that pitch all over again. The two men started climbing on December 27. They slept in hanging tents, and a team of friends brought them food each day.

    The men had spent years rehearsing (排练) the movements it would take to get through each pitch. They made it through the first half of the climb relatively easily. But halfway up, Jorgeson ran into trouble. In one difficult spot, he fell each time he attempted to climb. After 10 days of trying, Jorgeson finally made it to the next pitch.

    Getting through that troublesome pitch gave both climbers renewed energy. They finished the rest of the climb five days later, on January 14.