“Is there anything else you need, honey？” my dad asked  me as he put three twenty­dollar bills in my hand. I was traveling  back home from a family visit, and after treating me to breakfast  and filling my car with gas, it was obvious that my dad wanted  to make sure that I would be okay on the road.

    “No, Dad. You've done so much already. Thank you！” I was overwhelmed once again by his kind acts of providing  everything I needed, despite the fact I just turned 40. Yet I realize that in my father's eyes, I will always be his little girl. He takes deep pleasure in knowing his children are all right.  Now that he has enough money, he loves to give whenever he  sees a need.

    But this was not always the case.  Divorced from my mother when I was 11, my dad couldn't be around his kids as  often as he would have liked. Money was also tight; even weekend visits were rare. However, my dad stayed in constant  communication with us and made sure he was involved in our lives. Though he couldn't always be there in person, I knew  he was only a phone call away. I could always count on that.

    Even now, almost 30 years later, I treasure knowing that I can pick up the phone and call Dad, and he'll be there for me. I have a wonderful husband, but that hasn't changed how   Dad sees me. I'm still his child and he loves to see that my   needs are met.

    I remember a time when I was shopping in a hardware store(五金店)with Dad. I mentioned my plans to paint one wall in my house. Well, that's all it took for Dad to take   action. By the time I got to the checkout(结账) line, all the supplies I picked out were put out of my hands and placed with things he bought.

    Then there was the time when I took him with me to do some grocery shopping for just a few “ items”. By the time we  were finished, my shopping cart was full of groceries from  every shelf in the store! My sister and I joke that if you don't want Dad to buy it for you, avoid even mentioning you want something.

    Instagram is containing so many photos of food—now a pop-up diner in London is taking advantage of this new trend by letting people settle the bill for their meals simply by uploading photos of their dishes to social networks.

    I always thought people's taking pictures of their food was kind of silly, but at this new pop-up restaurant in the UK,I'd probably do it too.“The Picture House” is the world's first pay-by-photo restaurant—you order, click a photo of the food,share on Instagram and eat for free!

    The restaurant belongs to frozen food giant (巨人) Birds Eye,who came up with the idea to cash in on people's addiction with photographing food and sharing the pictures online.They conducted a survey and found out that more than half of the British population regularly took pictures of their meals.So they realized it was a better way to advertise their new dining range.

    The pop-up diner was open in Soho, London for three days in May,and is now moving to other major UK cities. They serve two-course meals that customers don't have to pay for,if they photo and Instagram it.

    The restaurant is a part of Birds Eye's 'Food for Life' campaign,a new marketing project that aims at changing the way people look at frozen food."Taking photos of food enables people to show off and to share their mealtime moments—from the everyday to the special," said marketing director Margaret Jobling .

    The reaction to The Picture House has been great so far.And The pay-by-picture concept has proven to be an effective way.Alternative payment methods are actually gaining popularity among a lot of businesses.Last year,in a cafe in Germany customers pay by how much time they spend there,not by what they eat.

    Having three cancer patients in the same household can turn a whole family upside down. Michelle Bruce, her husband, Jeremy, and their son, Holden, all had cancer. The family moved to Michelle's hometown of Franklin, Nebraska six years ago, so her parents could help.

    Doctors found Holden's brain tumor（肿瘤）, when he was 12 years old. His family was living in a small town at the time, but there were related doctors in the state. Holden had two operations in Omaha clinic, both of which were tough.

    When Holden's cancer came back again in 2012, nothing could be done. But the family didn't give up. They reached out to Boston Children's Hospital, which has better equipment and doctors with more experience operating on kids. After looking at Holden's records, the doctor sent back her diagnosis: She was confident that she could remove the tumor.

    The family was beyond relieved, until they learned insurance wouldn't cover any of the operation's costs. The operation would cost $39,000 – more than the parents could afford. The family got desperate.

    In a town of just 1,000 people, however, word traveled fast. Within days, a local woman Michelle had never met in person called to say she was planning an event to raise money for Holden. Michelle was touched.

    The event was uplifting. Finally, the town raised $45,000 – enough to cover not just Holden's hospital bills, but for Michelle and Jeremy's trip to Boston with their son. “I just didn't know what to say,” said Michelle. “Nobody could really believe it.”

    Holden's operation went much more smoothly than the first two. He is cancer-free and now is attending Central Community College-Hastings on a full-ride scholarship.

    Some international languages are widely used for many purposes. Some minority languages will die out and some nations tend to keep minority languages. I reckon that most common used international languages ease our life quality and communication with different nationalities. On the other hand, we need to help improve minority languages.

    There are many languages in the entire world but two or three minority languages die out each year. Some countries try to save dying languages. For instance, Australian Government created a project to save the language and culture of Maori who are Australian aborigines. And there are other projects to keep minority languages such as American Indian language.

    However, the worldwide job market usually requires candidates who can speak English or other international languages. People who cannot speak lingua franca (共通语) could hardly be promoted at work. For example, some companies need an employee who can deal with foreign companies. So most people tend to learn at least one international language that helps them to find a better job.

    Therefore, world needs one common lingua franca that should be spoken in any country. Consequently, one common language should be a required subject in every school. So anyone speaking one common language can travel without worries to any point of the world and trade their products. People will not be forced to learn many languages.

    In conclusion, we should help minority nations to keep their languages for the cultural diversity. To ease the worldwide communication among nations, we should create a common language and provide courses of it. As a result, no one will face a language issue.

    Have you grasped the information taught by your teacher in class? Have you understood what you saw on the screen? Maybe everyone has their own learning style.

    Generally speaking, we gather information with our minds and bodies in different ways, such as seeing, hearing and doing. Then our brains deals with that information, organizing it and connecting it to things we are already aware .In other words, our brains will deal with the information in different ways. Sometimes we think in pictures or words. Sometimes we remember details or the big pictures.

    For different people, their learning styles are different too. One person may find it hard to make out the information in written forms but easy to know it immediately in an oral description. However, another person might find difficulties with the picture but the written message.

    Now scientists say there exist seven basic learning styles.

    Linguistic: These people learn through listening, reading, speaking and writing.

    Logical: These people learn with formula (公式) and principles (原理).

    Visual: These people learn by seeing what they are studying.

    Musical: These people learn well when information is presented through music.

    Kinesthetic: These people learn from movement and physical activities.

    Intrapersonal: These people learn best by linking new information directly with their own experiences.

    Interpersonal: These people learn well by working with others.

    Therefore, if you know what learning style is your strength, you can balance your weakness, and get a more successful learning experience.

    You may think that light pollution isn't something extraordinarily important. You may believe that every other type of pollution has a larger impact on the environment than light pollution does. But light pollution is serious.

    Light pollution, or "sky glow", is the glow you can see at night above cities and towns. Light pollution is a problem that has been accompanying man ever since he started his first fire some 15,000 years ago. Light pollution is the light that comes from streetlights, buildings, parking lots and any other source of light that is reflected or directed into the atmosphere.

    Urban light pollution means that one­fifth of the world's population can no longer see the Milky Way with the naked eye(肉眼). Many city kids, even if they did look through the orange smog above their heads, would probably see only a handful of stars. We have lost our view of the stars, and we have mucked up our night­time environment as well. Astronomers are calling for the dark places on Earth to be preserved as national parks.

    Lots of people find the ever­brightening night annoying, and animals that are programmed to prefer the dark may avoid a brightened habitat. Sea turtles can get lost searching for a beach to lay eggs, and their hatchlings(孵化的幼仔)may confuse over­lit beachfront resorts for the ocean horizon, wasting precious energy needed to find the sea and escape predators(食肉动物). Because their necks aren't yet long enough to see things far away, baby turtles rely on the mirror image of the moon to guide them to the sea, to begin their new life. A car may even hit a particular turtle, which was thinking the light from a nearby city was moonlight reflecting off the ocean waves. Birds that live in and around cities can die because of sky glow, too. The bright lights can blind them, leading to countless collisions with buildings and other tall structures.

    On an individual level, people can help reduce much sky glow by using lighting only when necessary. The stars above us are priceless heritage— for not only for astronomers but for all humans. More of our children should be able to look up at night and see the Milk Way.