When Charles Lee handed me the small red notebook in 1974, he changed my life. “While you are traveling, you should keep notes of things you see and do,” he explained.

    I was 20 years old, a junior in college, spending a term at the University of London. Charles was a retired traveling salesman. I was staying with him in his cottage in Kendal, located in the Lake District of northern England. It was a one-week homestay the university arranged for us before classes began.

    I took his advice. I wrote in the notebook every day during the homestay. Back in London, I recorded weekend trips to Wales, Yorkshire, France, and Spain. I commented on my classes, professors, and classmates. I contrasted my life at a small college in the US with my wandering through the streets of London, my introduction to life in a big city, and my initial travels outside the US. I tracked ideas I had about my life and my future.

    When I wrote in the notebook, I struggled with a sense of my audience and purpose. Who would read this? Were these writings just for me, or did I want others to read them? Was I recording events and ideas just as a prompt(提示) to memory, or was there some larger purpose for this daily exercise?

    I knew I was recording events, thoughts, words that were important to my life. I imagined a future me sitting down to read the pages. I wondered what it would feel like to read those words later. I wondered where I would be and what my life would be like.

    I filled the notebook Charles gave me. I bought a new one and filled it. Then another and another. I continued writing in notebooks for four decades. By that time, they filled two boxes in my garage.

    I had reread some of the journals. Specific volumes had provided me with the background I needed for dozens of articles for magazines. But I had never read them all. Recently, I decided to bring my collection of notebooks into my office and replay my life. As I opened the first box, I suddenly became nervous would I like the former me described on those pages? There was a risk in opening that first notebook. I did it anyway.

    Charles had been right. I remembered the big events and the central happenings, but on each page were many details I hadn't retained(保留).

    The pages revealed highlights from college classes and stories about roommates and friends. I read anxious comments I'd written as I'd launched my teaching career, learned to write lesson plants, assigned grades for student work, and solved discipline problems. I reflected on my coming marriage, then the wedding, and eventually the proud moments when I held each of my three girls as a father. I recounted more trips—returning to Europe, teaching in South America, going on safari(游猎) in Africa, and exploring Greenland. I relived memories of trails hit, rivers crossed, and mountains climbed.

    The writings in those journals framed my life. I hadn't written every day. I often skipped a few days or even weeks, but I always picked up the writing when it felt important. Journals went with me when I traveled, and I often wrote in them at school when my own students were writing.

    It took several long evenings to read through the notebooks, taking me on tour spanning(持续) 42 years. As I read I could recall sitting on a bench in Trafalgar Square in London or in our apartment in Peru to write to the future me. It was then that I realized: I am now the person I was writing to throughout those years.

    Eating too much fatty food, exercising too little and smoking can raise your future risk of heart disease．But there is another factor that can cause your heart problems more immediately: the air you breathe.

    Previous studies have linked high exposure (暴露）to environmental pollution to an increased risk of heart problem, but two analyses(分析) now show that poor air quality can lead to heart attack or stroke (中风）within as little as a few hours after exposure．In one review of the research, scientists found that people exposed to high levels of pollutants (污染物）were up to 5% more likely（可能的） to suffer a heart attack within days of exposure than those with lower exposure．A separate study of stroke patients showed that even air that the U．S．Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers to be of “moderate” (良好）quality and relatively safe for our health can raise the risk of stroke as much as 34% within 12 to 14 hours of exposure.

    The authors of both studies stress（强调）that these risks are relatively（相对的）small for healthy people and certainly modest compared with other risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure．However, it is important to be aware of these dangers because everyone is exposed to air pollution regardless of lifestyle choices．So stricter regulation（规章制度）by the EPA of pollutants may not only improve environmental air quality but could also become necessary to protect public health.

    It may surprise bookworms, but apparently masterpieces such as Jane Eyre are lacking in something — sound effects. An electronic-book firm is adding background noises and music to the works of Charlotte Bronte, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and William Shakespeare in the hope of attracting younger readers. In one example, a description of rain lashing against a window in a Sherlock Holmes story will be“enhanced”with matching noises.

    The first multimedia e-books — with sounds to accompany novels — will be available this Friday in the UK. The Booktrack releases are available to iPad users, with other tablet computer versions to follow. The concept is already in use in the U.S., where the classics come with added sound effects. Readers for example can hear the china cups chinking in Mr. Darcy's garden as they read Pride And Prejudice.

    A story by Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie will be released later in the year with a specially crafted orchestral score. Rushdie's story In The South will be released with a soundtrack provided by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

    The Power Of Six by Pittacus Lore, a novel for young adults, is one of the first to be tested with a soundtrack which builds in suspense in keeping with the plot. It works by timing the speed of each reader and the software measures the “turning” of a page and moves the music or sounds along accordingly. It has been created by Booktrack which synchronizes (使同步) music to each novel. It is funded by Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal.

    Mr. Thiel said, “It's always exciting to witness the creation of a new form of media. The technology promises to captivate readers in a different way.”

    However, they have been greeted with horror by traditionalists, who say the technology takes away the pleasure of having one's imagination stimulated by a story. They also raise the prospect (预期) of having to ask an overly eager reader to turn their book down. David Nicholls, whose bestseller One Day was recently turned into a film starring Anne Hathaway, said, “This sounds like the opposite of reading. It would be a distraction.”

    Important facts about ELIQUIS® (apixaban)

    This is a summary of important information that you need to know about ELIQUIS. Keep this document in a safe place, so you can refer to it before and during your treatment.

    Look out for the following signs as you read:

Do not stop taking ELIQUIS without talking to the doctor who prescribed (开处方) it to you.

    Talk to your healthcare team before any medical procedures. ELIQUIS may need to be stopped before surgery, or a medical or dental procedure. Your doctor will tell you when you should stop taking ELIQUIS and when you may start taking it again. If you have to stop taking ELIQUIS, your doctor may prescribe another medicine to help prevent a blood clot from forming.

    What is the possible serious side effect of ELIQUIS?

    ELIQUIS can cause bleeding, which can be serious, and rarely may lead to death. This is because ELIQUIS is a blood thinner medicine that reduces blood clotting. While taking ELIQUIS, you may hurt more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop.

    Call your doctor or get medical help right away if you have any symptoms of bleeding when taking ELIQUIS.

    Who should not take ELIQUIS?

    ELIQUIS is not for patients who:

    Have artificial heart valves (瓣膜). Currently have certain types of abnormal bleeding. Have had a serious allergic (过敏的) reaction to ELIQUIS.

    What should I discuss with my healthcare team before starting ELIQUIS?

    Talk to your healthcare team about the following:

    Liver problems any other medical conditions if you have ever had bleeding problems.

    Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant or breastfeed. You and your doctor should decide whether you will take ELIQUIS or breastfeed. You should not do both.

    Tell your healthcare team about all of the medicines you are taking.

    Monty Hempel is a professor of environmental sciences at Redlands University in California. He studies ecological literacy­or eco-literacy, for short. Eco-literacy is the ability to think about and understand the natural processes that make life possible.

    Monty Hempel says eco-literacy gives people knowledge about environmental problems. But he says it does not always work on getting them to change their behavior.

    Mr. Hempel wrote part of the Worldwatch Institute's latest State of the World report. He says in his article, "Some people think that eco-literacy is just a green form of science literacy. And what I have tried to ask is whether that's enough. In other words, what an ecologically-literate person needs to know might include things like the effect of environmental pollution on ecosystem, the energy systems, and all of those kinds of things that we would call the science of ecology."

    "That doesn't seem to lead to action to protect our environment ­ to protect our life-support system to the level that we need to. Just knowing a lot about the environment doesn't mean that we actually act to save it. After all, actions speak louder than knowledge."

    He adds that people may not be very worried about environmental problems if they seem far away. "Some people call it psychological distance. A lot of climate issues are worse in the Arctic and most of us don't spend time in the Arctic. And so, there's a certain distance. But there's also a distance that's happening in the world as it urbanizes ­ people spending more time in front of screens and less time out in nature. We become, if you will, disconnected from the natural systems that used to be the key to success for a human being."

    To help children discover the wonders of nature, he adds that children should learn about nature in school. But he also points out we have a high mountain for people to climb from knowledge to action.

Best Movies on Netflix

Parenthood

Year: 1989

Director: Ron Howard

Stars: Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Jason Robards, Rick Moranis

Parenthood is a feel-good family dramedy directed by Ron Howard, focusing on the parental anxieties of Gil Buckman（Steve Martin）and his family. The cast includes Dianne Wiest, Keanu Reeves, Joaquin Phoenix, Rick Moranis, and Jason Robards as Gil's father. The film has terrifying but painfully funny moments.

Beverly Hills Cop

Year: 1984

Director: Martin Brest

Stars: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher, Ronny Cox, Steven Berkoff

Eddie Murphy stars in Beverly Hills Cop, an action-packed comedy. Originally, Mickey Rourke and Sylvester Stallone were considered for the role before it was tailored for Murphy. This film showcases his cocky, wise-cracking persona（人格面具）as Axel Foley, who always remains in control despite being a fish out of water.

Starman

Year: 1984

Director: John Carpenter

Stars: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel

John Carpenter's Starman was initially developed alongside E. T. and envisioned variously as a family drama or sci-fi film. Carpenter focused on dramatic, romantic aspects and the bond between a woman and an alien who looks like her dead husband. Despite similarities to E. T., Carpenter's unique touch is evident in the film's horror element s and the transformation of the alien into an adult Jeff Bridges.

Fletch

Year: 1985

Director: Michael Ritchie

Stars: Chevy Chase, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Tim Matheson, Joe Don Baker, Richard Libertini

Michael Ritchie's Fletch, starring Chevy Chase, is a comedy that draws from film noir（黑色电影）. It showcases Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher, an investigative reporter known for ridiculous disguise（伪装）. Filled with quotable lines and memorable scenes, this film becomes more enjoyable over time.