On a rainy night three years ago my dear mom went to accompany her Lord. She did it her way.

    I got the call at work, and l headed home quickly. Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven. I hated going there every weekend. There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception.

    My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land. The place was rural, with no indoor plumbing or heat. We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me.

    In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen. I sang the melody and Mom harmonized. Her favorite song was “Moon River” and we sang it over and over. Mom told me stories about how when I was a little girl I could sing before I could talk.

    As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit them every week or two. The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad. Me, well, I still hated the silence of the farm. While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle of my life at home. But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced.

    Now, I sat back in the silence and the silence was deathly so I finally leaned over to turn on an old radio. Music always comforted me. My heart skipped a beat. “Moon River” was playing on the radio. I sat there wordless, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note.

Make a five-minute film and win!

    Do you love the summer holidays but hate being bored? Then why don't you enter the Film Street Summer Shorts Competition by making a short film this summer with your family and friends?

What you have to do

    To enter the competition, you have to make a short film that around 5 minutes long (It can be shorter but not longer!) on a digital camera, or mobile phone.

Awards

    The best short film entered into our competition will be shown in Film Street's Cinema and you'll win a Cineworld Cinemas pass for yourself and there more for other members of your film crew. If you have a Cineworld Cinemas pass, you can watch as many films as you like for a year, for free, at any Cineworld Cinema!

Rules

.We can't show films that tell others about either your, or any other kids', name or address.

.We can't show films that hurt, harm or insult(侮辱） other people。

.We can't show films that have bad language.

Copyright Checklist

Getting permission to use someone else's work in your film can be expensive, so check your film to make sure that:

.Your film is original and you haven't copied someone else.

.There are no scenes of branding on shop signs, books, magazines or CDs.

.There are no scenes of someone else's artwork.

Address and Date

Post your finished film on tape, CD or DVD by Monday, October1st, 2007 to:

Unit 6,Third Floor, The Bond

180-182 Fazeley Street; Birmingham

    So what's stopping you? Start making your Film Street Summer Short now!

    If you want to convince the boss you deserve a pay rise or promotion, the solution could be simple—eat the same food as they do.Psychologists have discovered managers are much more likely to instantly trust us if we choose the same dishes as them.

    During experiments, discussions over wages and work conditions were much more successful if both sides chose to snack on the same treats.And shoppers were much more likely to buy a product advertised on TV by someone eating a similar food to them at the time.

    The reason is thought to be so­called similarity attraction theory—where people tend to like others who have similar tastes or habits to themselves.But this is believed to be one of the first studies highlighting the role of food in this relationship.Researchers at Chicago University in the US conducted a series of experiments to examine food's role in earning trust.

    In a test, participants were told to watch TV—where someone pretending to be a member of the public praised a certain product.The volunteers were given Kit Kat bars to nibble, while the TV people ate either a Kit Kat or grapes as they talked.

    The results showed viewers were much more likely to express an interest in buying the product if the TV showed the other person eating a Kit Kat too.

    The researchers added, “Although similarity in food consumption is not a sign of whether two people will get along, we find consumers treat this as such.They feel more trusting of those who consume as they do.It means people can immediately begin to feel friendship and develop a bond, leading to smoother transactions from the start.”

    Harley Street psychologist Dr.Lucy Atcheson said it was already known that wearing similar clothes could instantly create trust.But this was the first report that food had the same effect.She said, “This is really interesting.It makes sense as people feel they have common ground and can trust the other person.That means negotiations are more likely to be successful.”

    Employers and managers must never ignore the need for an office or industrial first aid kit. The federal government says that every workplace should be equipped with first aid kits and that employees should be taught first aid.

    Good preparation can prevent unnecessary injury, lose of productivity(生产效率), or even law suits when a workplace emergency occurs.

    An employer must first provide the proper number of first aid kits for his workers. Many kits are available for sale online by industrial first aid kit suppliers. Kits designed for ten workers cost about $15 and kits designed for fifty workers cost about $80. There are kits also available for a small office，a vehicle，or work sites. Kits should be stored in a portable(轻便的), durable, watertight container. Fix the kit to the wall so that it is easily seen and reached in an emergency. Include a list of kit's contents to ensure it is always fully stocked.

    Show each worker where the kit is located and what tools it contains. Educate each worker about possible injuries and which ones will require immediate medical attention from professionals.

    The American Red Cross sells industrial first aid kits that meet the United States' Occupational Safety and Health Administration's requirements. Several types of kits are available. The Personal Protection Kit contains gloves, gowns, and masks to protect workers from dangers like blood and bodily fluids. It costs about $15. The American Red Cross also sells industrial first aid kits for 25 or 50 workers that are both very cheap.

    In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh (法老) treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off.

    Shades of that spirit spread over today's conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out of the door, picnic basket in hand, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, "Oh, boy, bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it's going to rain." I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his smile.

    Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter, the sales agent said with a broad smile, "Oh, that bus left five minutes ago." Dreams of head-cutting!

    It's not the news that makes someone angry. It's the unsympathetic attitude with which it's delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time, and big winners do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way. A boss informing an employee he didn't get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling of the receiver.

    Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this. When you're tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn't ready yet? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter merrily told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist (拳头) right on their unsympathetic faces.

    Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warning. Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, "Oh, that's all right. I'll catch the next one." Big winners, when they bear bad news, deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded (被轰炸的) person is sure to have.

    If you're DIY-minded, you can build your own solar power system. In some cases, you can even build your own solar panels (电池板), although the amount that you can effectively DIY home solar depends on how much you want to power. Making your own solar panel is a time-consuming process and requires some electrical skills. However, it can also be very rewarding-learning to build your own panel is a great way to understand how solarelectricity is generated.

    Before you can build your own solar panels, you first need to understand how solar cells generate electricity. Once you've bought individual solar cells (they can be purchased online), the basic process for building your own solar panel goes like this: Prepare the backing for your panel. Many DIY solar panel builders prefer to use a wooden board as the base for their solar cell. You'll need to drill holes in the board so that the wires for each cell can pass through. Wire your solar cells together. This requires some experience with electrical work. Use a soldering iron (烙铁) to attach wire to the solar cells and then link each of the cells together. Attach cells to your backing. If possible, attach each solar cell to the backing individually. This makes it easier to replace a single cell in the event that becomes damaged or is not operating properly.

    At this point you have a functional solar panel that can produce electricity when the sun shines. However, a solar panel by itself is not useful. If you are trying to generate electricity to power devices in your home, you need to pair your panel with an inverter (换流器) that will turn direct current (DC) power from the sun into the alternating current (AC) power used in most modern electronic devices.