When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, clothes and cars.

    A true friendship carries a long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected. It is a treasure we should protect. Unfortunately, the better friends you are, the more probably you'll have disagreements. And the result can be what you don't want—an end to the relationship.

    The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended. First, don't let your pride get in your way. Most of us can forgive each other when differences are brought out in the open. Second, apologize when you're wrong — even if you've been wronged. Over the course of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes. Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person takes the lead and apologizes. When you apologize, give your friend a chance to admit(承认) that he has been wrong. Third, see things from your friend's point of view. And finally, accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyle change. Making friends can sometimes seem easy. The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships. My suggestion: consider friendship as an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure and nurture(培养).

    Do students learn as much when they read digitally as they do in print? Investigators have been trying to determine whether students do as well when reading an assigned text on a digital screen as on paper.

    A number of researchers have sought to measure learning by asking people to read a passage of text, either in print or on a digital device, and then testing for comprehension.

    Most studies have found that participants scored about the same when reading in each medium, though a few have indicated that students performed better on tests when they read in print.

    Since in standardized testing, reading passages and answering questions afterwards may tell us little about any deeper level of understanding, some researchers are beginning to pose more subtle questions.

    When people were asked to read d story in print or on a digital device and then to reconstruct the plot development, the answer is: Print yielded better results. When people were asked to read by choosing how much time to spend on each platform, the researchers found that participants devoted less time to reading the passage on screen and performed less well on the following comprehension test.

    So, how does the learning question relate to educational goals?

To become skilled in critical thinking, students need to be able to handle text. The text may be long, complex or both. To make sense of it, students cannot skim, rush ahead or continually get distracted. So, does reading in print versus on screen build critical thinking skills?

    When asked in which medium they felt they concentrated better, 92 percent replied “print”. For long academic reading, 86 percent favored print Participants were also reported to be more likely to reread academic materials if they were in print

    What's more, a number of students indicated they believed print was a better medium for learning. By contrast, in talking about digital screens, students noted “danger of distraction” and “no concentration”.

    Evidently, it's not too hard to tell that a pattern did emerge: Print stood out as the medium for doing serious work.

    He may not have an "S" across his chest but this dog is most certainly a hero.

    Harley, who was rescued from a puppy mill four years ago, was named the American Humane Association's 2015 American Hero Dog. Harley, who is missing an eye and has other medical issues from his time at the mill, is now a "spokes-dog" against puppy mills. He serves as the adorable furry face of the "Harley to the Rescue" campaign, which raises funds for the National Dog Mill Rescue, according to a press release.

    The pup was rescued back in 2011 and adopted by Rudi and her husband, Dan. "It was just four years ago that he was pulled from the cage in the puppy mill and left to die," Harley's owner, Rudi, said during the awards show at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles this past weekend, according to Today. com. "We never would have ever thought he would live this long and make such a difference for so many puppies."

    The dog was one of eight finalists up for the American Hero Dog and was chosen as the winner through public votes. The finalists all won $ 1,500 to be donated to one of American Humane Association's charity partners, with Harley receiving another $ 5, 000 to go toward his charity partner, New Leash On Life.

    According to the release, Harley spent 10 years at the puppy mill, and endured rough treatment there, which led to his many medical issues. He lost his eye as a result of his cage being power-washed with him inside.

    The dog isn't just the face of his campaign, he also goes on rescue missions and makes public appearances at events and schools to raise awareness for puppy mills.

    This incredible work is all due to the dog's fighting spirit. That spirit is allowing him now to be the voice for dogs who cannot speak for themselves and give everybody hope that tomorrow's going to be a better day.

    A handsome man can earn a fifth more than a plainer colleague (同事) but a beautiful woman is not paid a penny more than her average-looking colleague, new research has shown.

    The study by senior economists (经济学家) found that being good-looking meant male workers could earn 22 percent more than average-looking colleagues. Researchers said good looks did not give women a similar advantage.

    Andrew Leigh, the former economics professor at the Australian National University who co-authored the report, said: "Beauty can be a double-edged sword for women."

    "Some people still believe good looks and intelligence (智慧) are incompatible (矛盾的) in women so a good-looking woman can't be that productive, but it doesn't affect men's pay."

He said that although he believed good-looking women may also earn more, the research did not support his theory.

    The research found that handsome men in all jobs, from manual labour to highly-paid professional careers, can earn 22 percent more than their colleagues doing the same work.

    Men with below-average looks face a battle in the office, with ugliness reducing a man's earnings by 26 percent compared to an average-looking worker.

    Former male model Ian Mitchell, 28, who has a first class degree in history from Edinburgh University and now works for a cosmetics (化妆品) company, told the Sunday Times: "It gives you confidence, and I suspect people tend to warm to you more quickly."

    The study, named Unpacking the Beauty Premium, was the largest exercise of its kind and repeated a survey from 1984 to see if the beauty premium had changed.

    Leigh said the research showed people in the workplace were "lookist (以貌取人的) " and he hoped the findings would encourage employers to remove their prejudice(偏见).

    The world is a greener place than it was 20 years ago. A study published in the journal “Nature Sustainability” said that recent satellite data reveals a greening pattern that is strikingly prominent in China and India. The study shows that human activity in China and India dominates this greening of the planet, thanks to tree planting and agriculture. The effect comes mostly from ambitious tree-planting programs in China and intensive agriculture in both countries.

    “China and India account for one-third of the greening,” said lead author Chi Chen of Boston University. “ That is a surprising finding, considering the vague idea of land degradation (毁坏) in populous countries from overexploitation,” added Chen.

    China alone accounts for 25 percent of the global net increase in leaf area with only 6.6 percent of global vegetated area. The greening in China is from forests (42 percent) and croplands (32 percent), but in India, it is mostly from croplands (82 percent) with minor contribution from forests (4.4 percent).

    China's outsized contribution to the global greening trend comes in large part from its programs to conserve and expand forests with the goal of preventing land degradation, air pollution, and climate change.

    “Once people realize there is a problem, they tend to fix it,” said Rama Nemani, research scientist and co-author of the study. “In the 1970s and 80s in India and China, the situation around vegetation loss was not good. In the 1990s, people realized it, and today things have improved. Now we see that humans are contributing.”

    Land area used to grow crops is comparable in China and India—more than 770, 000 square miles—and has not changed much since the early 2000s. Yet these regions have greatly increased both their annual total green leaf area and their food production.

    This was achieved through multiple cropping practices, where a field is replanted to produce another harvest several times a year. Production of grains, vegetables, fruits and more have increased by about 35%～40% since 2000 to feed their large populations.

Steven Stein likes to follow garbage trucks. His strange habit makes sense when you consider that he's an environmental scientist who studies how to reduce litter, including things that fall off garbage trucks as they drive down the road. What is even more interesting is that one of Stein's jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shopping bags.

Americans use more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year. So many end up in tree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow them at checkouts(收银台). The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California, including Los Angeles. Eyeing these headwinds, plastic-bag makers are hiring scientists like Stein to make the case that their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume.

Among the bag makers' argument: many cities with bans still allow shoppers to purchase paper bags, which are easily recycled but require more energy to produce and transport. And while plastic bags may be ugly to look at, they represent a small percentage of all garbage on the ground today.

The industry has also taken aim at the product that has appeared as its replacement: reusable shopping bags. The stronger a reusable bag is, the longer its life and the more plastic-bag use it cancels out. However, longer-lasting reusable bags often require more energy to make. One study found that a cotton bag must be used at least 131 times to be better for the planet than plastic.

Environmentalists don't dispute (质疑) these points. They hope paper bags will be banned someday too and want shoppers to use the same reusable bags for years.