The Handshake

    I don't remember the exact date I met Marty for the first time. Like a lot of people who want to get through a checkout line, I found my thoughts on speed, nothing more. The line I was standing in wasn't moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier, who was receiving money from customers.

    He was an old man in his sixties. I thought, well, it probably took him a little longer to get the jobs done. For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before he began scanning the goods they were purchasing. Sure, his words were the usual, “How's it going?” But he did something different—he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and talk with them briefly.

    I thought it was strange, but I guessed I had grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of a conversation without thinking. Usually, after a while, you don't give any thought to the question and just say something back quietly.

    This old cashier seemed sincere about wanting to know how people were feeling. Meanwhile, the high-tech cash register rang up their purchases and he announced what they owed. When customers handed money to him, he pushed the appropriate keys, the cash drawer popped open, and he counted out their change.

    Then magic happened.

    He placed the change in his left hand, walked around the counter to the customers, and extended his right hand in an act of friendship. As their hands met, the old cashier looked the customers in the eyes. “I want to thank you for shopping here today,” he told them. “You have a great day. Bye-bye.” The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless.

    Now it was my turn. I glanced down at the name tag on his red waistcoat, the kind experienced Wal-Mart cashier wore. It read, “Marty.”

    Marty told me how much I owed and I handed him some money. The next thing I knew he was standing beside me, offering his right hand and holding my change in his left hand. His kind eyes locked onto mine. Smiling, and with a firm handshake…

    Eve was waiting in the corridor outside her class. She was feeling sick. She had two exams that day and physics was first. She really hated physics. It was her worst subject. Lisa looked back at her, and then looked away quickly. Eve thought she looked guilty. She didn't have a problem with physics. She didn't have a problem with anything... Miss Perfect!

    "Hi, Eve! So what's wrong with you and Lisa?" asked Tina, "I thought you were friends." "Yes, so did I," said Eve. "But she hasn't spoken to me for two weeks now. She promised to help me review for the physics exam too, but then she's ignored all my calls and texts."

    While in the exam, Eve found Lisa was holding her phone on her knee under the table and reading from it. Eve couldn't believe it! Is that how Lisa always got such good grades? She thought about telling the teacher, but she hesitated. The next exam was history. That was Eve's favorite subject but she couldn't concentrate. She didn't know what to do about Lisa. Just then, Mr. Reed, their teacher, walked past. "Mr. Reed…"

    Lisa was called to the teachers' office and there waited Mr. Reed…

    The history test was over. Eve was walking towards the school gate when she heard footsteps behind her. It was Lisa. Eve could see that she had been crying. "Listen," said Lisa. "I'm really sorry I haven't answered your calls, but my dad had a heart attack two weeks ago and he's in hospital. He had a big heart operation today and I was very worried about him. So I was reading texts from my mum, but Mr. Reed caught me. He thought I was cheating. He believes me now, but I have to take the exam again. I'm sorry I didn't tell you what was happening. Will you forgive me?"

    Here is a list of some of the best museums for children in America.

    Please Touch Children's Museum

    This museum lies in Philadelphia. It offers Alice in Wonderland exhibits where young children can play with giant flowers and have tea parties. Kids can also play on musical instruments and babies can crawl on lily pads, which make musical sounds.

    The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

    This museum lies in Indiana. It holds a fair share of dinosaur fossils (化石). There are many fossils like the T. Rex, Bucky and many others in an 8,000-square-foot area. Around 10,000 man-made objects, including a 55-ton steam engine and a 33-foot tall water clock, are there in the 365,000-square-foot area. It also offers activities like dinosaur building, camps and classes featuring space themes and other educational programs.

    Boston Children's Museum

    This museum lies in Massachusetts. The exhibits here are of health, art, science, culture and environment. In this museum, children also learn about Japanese culture. Activities like Play Lab, New Balance Climb and The Recycle Shop bring out the creativity in children.

    National Museum of Play

    This museum, which lies in Rochester area of New York, has a wide collection of dolls, games, toys and other home crafts dating back to the 19th century. Here, educational tours include stories of machines and other toys. Kids can walk in Sesame Street exhibit and cook food at play or TV studios.

    Children's Museum of Houston

    This museum lies in Texas. Termed as the best playground for mind, this museum offers scores of activities for kids of every age. It even offers free family adventure events where families with their kids are encouraged to work on math activities and games. Children also learn about broadcasting activities and preserving ecosystems.

    The New Caledonia Barrier Reef (新喀里多尼亚堡礁)is located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific, and is the second-longest coral reef in the world, after Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The New Caledonia Barrier reef surrounds Grand Terre, New Caledonia's largest island, as well as the Ile des Pins and several smaller islands, reaching a length of 1, 500 km. The reef encloses(围住) in a lake of 24, 000 square kilometers, which has an average depth of 25 meters. The reefs lie up to 30 kilometers from the shore, but extend almost 200 km to the Entrecasteaux reefs in the northwest. This northwestern extension encloses the Belep Islands. Several natural passages open out to the ocean. The Boulari passage(通道), which leads to Noumea, the capital and chief port of New Caledonia, is noted for the Amedee lighthouse.

    The reef has great species diversity with a high level of endemism(动植物的特有分布), and is home to endangered dugongs, a kind of sea animal, and is an important nesting site for Green Sea Turtle.

    Most of the reefs are generally thought to be in good health. Some of the eastern reefs have been damaged by wastewater from nickel mining(镍开采)on Grand Terre. The waste from mining, agriculture, and grazing(放牧) has affected reefs near river mouths, which has been worsened by the destruction of mangrove forests, which help to keep wastes. Some reefs have been buried under several meters of wastes.

    In January 2002, the French government proposed(提议) listing New Caledonia's reefs as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO listed New Caledonia Barrier Reef on the World Heritage List on 7 July 2008.

    Turning the lights out or wearing a blindfold while eating could be a quick way to lose weight, according to scientists. The simple trick works because it stops diners eating for pleasure rather than for calories. It also triggers (引发) a part of the brain that is worried that unseen food may go bad.

    An experiment by the University of Konstanz, in Germany, found that people who were blindfolded consumed nine percent fewer calories before they felt full, compared to those who could see. They also vastly overestimated how much they had eaten because they could not see how much was left on the plate. Blindfolded volunteers estimated(估计) they had eaten 88 percent more than they actually had.

    Scientists believe that not seeing food on the table also allows the body to know when it is full in real time rather than remembering past experiences where it might have taken a full plate to feel full.

    In the experiment, 50 people were blindfolded and 40 were allowed to see their food. All were told not to eat within two hours of the experiment. They were then given three 95g bowls of chocolate ice cream and invited to eat for 15 minutes. Their bowls were taken away and the remaining ice-cream weighed, while the participants were quizzed on how much they thought they had eaten.

    On average the group who could see ate 116g while the blindfolded groups ate 105g. However, the blindfolded group believed they had eaten 197g while compared with 159g for the non-blind volunteers. They were also asked how pleasant the ice-cream tasted and the blindfolded group rated lower than those who could see.

    “The experienced pleasure of eating was significantly lower in the blindfolded group. Not seeing the food might have decreased the appetite. Sight plays an important role in the eating experience and in the overall dining experience.”

    Previous studies have shown that the visual influence of food plays a large part in the taste. While restaurants that allow diners to eat in the dark state that it triggers other senses, in fact eating in darkness is likely to taste far milder than usual.

    Tonya, Elsa and Mark are students at LaGuardia High School in New York City. It's a school with regular academic (学术的) classes, but it also gives special attention to the performing arts. Tonya likes dancing, Elsa wants to be an artist and Mark is a singer.

    The students are all 15, and they're in 10th grade. They study subjects like English, math, social studies, science and PE. They also choose a foreign language: French, Italian, Spanish or Japanese. Students have many academic classes, but during the school day they also take classes in the arts, like theater, art, dance and music. Mark says, “I get the basic classes, but I also take a voice class and a music history class.”

    There is even more for LaGuardia students after school. There are more than 40 clubs for students. For example, there's a movie club, a music club and an environment club. “We have so many choices here,” says Tonya. “My favorite club is the camera club. I like taking photos. It's also a great way to meet people with common interests.”

    Students at LaGuardia can also do many sports. For example, they can play basketball, tennis, volleyball and soccer. Elsa is on the gymnastics team. She says, “I like being on a team. It makes me work hard and do my best.” Students practice after school. They compete against other high schools. Mark says, “At school, I study by myself. I'm a singer, and I do that alone, too. That's why I like playing on the basketball team. We work together and compete against other teams.”

    LaGuardia offers many great classes, clubs and sports for students. Students at LaGuardia get a good education and they also develop their own interests. Many LaGuardia students become dancers, singers and actors!