Do you know an outstanding junior high or high school teacher, coach, guidance counselor, librarian，or headmaster? Nominate (提名)that special teacher you'll always remember and give him/her the chance to be recognized in a famous national magazine through "Educators of the Year Contest"!

Prizes

    Cash awards will be given to those from across the country who are given the honor of Educators of the Year. Besides, your winning essays will also be published in our magazine.

Guidelines

    We will only consider essays written by teens, and nominations must be for junior high or high school educators only. Elementary school educators are not suitable.

    Convince us your educator is special. Tell us about his or her style of teaching, his or her role in school activities, and community service. What has your educator done for the entire school, your class, for you or another student? Give examples with specific details. Keep your essay between 200 and 1,000 words. Remember to include the first and last name, position, and school of your educator in your essay.

Don't forget to submit (提交)your essays through our website. You can also read our submission guidelines for more information on this website.

The Deadline

    The deadline for submitting your essays is December 30. Your essays are accepted and will appear in our magazine all over the year. Winners will be made public after the January issue is published.

    Off the coast of Hong Kong, there are numerous beautiful places that have long stay hidden, just waiting to be discovered by travelers. We've done the hunting for you.

Tap Mun

    Located north of the Sai Kung island, Tap Mun is home to a remote fishing, community with a population of less than a hundred. Tap Mun is also widely known as Grass Island, and it's easy to see why — this 1.7sq km island is an expense of grassy hill populated by wandering cows, a perfect scene to set a milk advertisement.

    Tap Mun is highly sought after as a spot for both camping and kite-flying, while also boasting several rocky beaches. For a relaxing afternoon, take a walk along the 2km footpath and slowly take in the panoramic(全景的) 360-degree view while enjoying the cool breeze.

Tung Ping Chau

    For a rugged(崎岖的) island getaway, set off for a trip to Tung Ping Chau — an offshore island sitting in splendid isolation in Mirs Bay on the northeastern side of Hong Kong. As a part of the Hong Kong Geopark, Tung Ping Chau is among the eight sites specially chosen for conservation in light of its special geological significance. Its rich marine life also led to its designation(指定) as one of Hong Kong's four marine parks.

Po Toi

    Located just three kilometers away from Hong Kong Island's southeastern tip, Po Toi is a quiet place that will make you feel completely isolated from modern life. While just a stone's throw away from the busy life of Hong Kong, Po Toi seems to be miles away from the busy city life.

    Take a leisurely stroll (闲逛) along the main path on the island, as you approach a lighthouse located on the sides of the cliff. Along the way, do not miss the dramatic and unusual rock formations as you are amazed by the glory of the famous Turtle Climbing up the Mountain, Monk Rock, and Palm Cliff.

    I was getting ready to go to bed when the phone rang. This could not be good. My mind raced through the list of family members who might need help, but the voice was hardly familiar.

    "Lindy, this is Lesley." I don't know Lesley well. We did occasionally speak with each other, but to say we were friends was not appropriate. I asked what she needed. Perhaps something really awful caused her to reach someone she barely knew. Instead, she asked me, "Do you have room for a turkey? In your freezer?" We had lots of room in our freezer, and in fact, too much. "Sure," I responded, "did your freezer break down?" "Not exactly," Lesley replied, but I will explain when I arrive."

    Minutes later came a huge freezer truck. Lesley stepped down and explained the lease (租约) of the grocery store her husband serviced had run out and that they had to empty all the freezers that very night. Thinking it was a shame to throw away all this good food, they decided to drop off food to anyone she could think of. Noticing our freezer was pretty empty, Lesley asked to fill it up. Our home was their last stop and anything left would have to be put in our freezer. An hour later, everything finished, I asked her, "When will you come back for all this?" Lesley laughed, "We don't want it back. It is yours! Thanks for helping us out!" Then they waved goodbye and drove away.

    "For helping them out?" We opened our freezer door. Inside were all expensive foods we never bought but often longed to try. We were struggling to buy groceries, yet it was not something we shared with anyone. However, our needs were met in an unexpected way, by that call, "Do you have room for a turkey?"

    I always feel sorry for world leaders busy dealing with fights between nations. When my three children were young, most days it was hard to keep my house from becoming a battlefield.

    It got worse as they grew older. Three years ago, Zack, then 16, couldn't make it through a day without making his sisters, Alex 11 and Taryn 9, angry.

    My husband and I tried to be understanding the boy at such an age. We reasoned, punished, and left heartfelt notes on his bed about how he was hurting our family. His answer was "I say it because it's true."

    I even tried telling the girls to fight back. Bad idea. Now I had three children at war. Whatever I said to them, they paid no attention. When there was no way out, I told everything to my sister in an e-mail. She replied, "Don't e-mail me. E-mail him."

    Our son was online every day, mailing and talking with his friends. Maybe he would actually hear me this way. I didn't say anything different, but e-mail just took the tension(紧张) away. There'd be no shouting or door banging. Zack wouldn't feel under attack.

    Zack didn't reply for days. When he finally did, his entire message was four small words. I smiled when I read them, "You're right. I'm sorry."

    The children still fought, of course, but Zack changed. Best of all, I now have a better way to talk with not one but three of them. I like it that they don't tune me out as much as they used to. They like not having to listen to me shouting to them. Or as Alex says, "You're so much nicer online."

    All I know is that the house is quiet. But we're talking.

It's generally believed that people act the way they do because of their personalities and attitudes .They recycle their garbage because the care about the environment .They pay $5 for a caramel brulée latte because they like expensive coffee drinks.

It's undeniable that behavior comes from our inner dispositions (性情), but in many instances we also draw inferences about who we are, as suggested by the social psychologist Daryl Bem , by observing our own behavior .We can be strangers to ourselves .If we knew our own minds, why would we need to guess what our preferences are from our behavior? If our minds were an open book, we would know exactly how much we care about the environment or like lattes .Actually, we often need to look to our behavior to figure out who we are.

Moreover, we don't just use our behavior to learn about our particular types of character—we infer characters that weren't there before .Our behavior is often shaped by little pressures around us, which we fail to recognize .Maybe we recycle because our wives and neighbors would disapprove if we didn't .Maybe we buy lattes in order to impress the people around us .We should not mistakenly believe that we always behave as a result of some inner disposition.

Whatever pressures there can be or inferences one can make, people become what they do, though it may not be in compliance (符合) with their true desires .Therefore, we should all bear in mind Kurt Vonnegut's advice: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."