You've flown halfway around the world；you've sniffed out this place that nobody in Falongland or Thailand seems to have ever heard of；so what on earth is there to do here？You consider this question as you sink into an old wooden beach chair that holds you above the sand.

It was a long journey from Bangkok to Huaplee.By the time you found the bus station and got yourself sorted out，it took almost as long as the flight from Falongland.

    Huaplee is located just south of Hua Hin，about two hundred kilometres from Bangkok，down the west side of the Gulf of Thailand. Not many tourists find this place，and the ones that do wonder if finding it has been their purpose all along.

    There's an apparent laziness that surrounds you here.It's what this place offers，and it's free of charge.The small waves that tap the shoreline seem to slow everything down.You settle into your beach chair in preparation for a long rest.You sit there and watch the sea.

    It's early afternoon，so the cook comes out and asks what you'd like to eat this evening.Before long he's rushed off to the market to buy the ingredients for whatever it was that you ordered－every meal fresh and to order.No menu here.

    There is no poolside noise here but just that wonderfully warm，clear blue sea.There's no street noise.The only sounds are the murmurs of nature.

    For now you just count your blessings (福祉)，listing them in the sand with your toe (脚趾)．You don't have to worry about being late for work. You don't have to do anything.

    The beach to your right stretches off to the horizon (地平线)，slowly narrowing to nothingness only to reemerge again on your left，now steadily widening until it covers the chair beneath you.Sand to your left and sand to your right; it's unbroken，endless.No start，no end，just sand，sun，and peace.Step off it，and you re­enter the world of traffic，stress，work，and hurry.

    Normally you're the type who can't sit still for more than ten minutes，but you're on Huaplee Lazy Beach now and，in the right frame of mind，it stretches all the way around the world.

     “How could it take me so long to find it？” you wonder.

    I had worried myself sick over Simon's mother coming to see me.I was a new teacher,and I gave an honest account of the students' work.In Simon's case,the grades were awfully low.He couldn't read his own handwriting.But he was a bright student.He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension.His work in no way reflected his abilities.

    So when Simon's mother entered the room.my palms（手掌心）were sweating.I was completely unprepared for her kisses on both my cheeks."I came to thank you,"she said,surprising me beyond speech.Because of me,Simon had become a different person.He talked of how he loved me,he had begun to make friends,and for the first time in his twelve years,he had recently spent an afternoon at a friend's house.She wanted to tell me how grateful she was for the self-respect I had developed in her son.She kissed me again and left.

    I sat,stunned,for about half an hour,wondering what had just happened.How did I make such a life-changing difference to that boy without even knowing it?What I finally came to remember was one day,several months before, when some students were giving reports in the front of the class,Jeanne spoke quietly,and to encourage her to raise her voice,I had said,"Speak up.Simon is the expert on this.He is the only one you have to convince,and he can't hear you in the back of the room."That was it.From that day on,Simon had sat up straighter,paid more attention,smiled more,and became happy.And it was all because he happened to be the last kid in the last row.The boy who most needed praise was the one who took the last seat that day.

    It taught me the most valuable lesson over the years of my teaching career,and I'm thankful that it came early and positively.A small kindness can indeed make a difference.

    A Samoan airline says that it is the world's first carrier to charge passengers by their weight. Samoa Air, which opened in 2012, asks passengers to give their personal weight during booking, which is then charged according to the length of a flight. The customers will also be weighed just before they board the plane.

    "It is believed that all people throughout the world are the same size," Samoa Air CEO Chris Langton said. "Airplanes always run on weight, not seats."

    "There is no doubt in my mind that this is the concept of the future. This is the fairest way of your travelling with your family or yourself."

    Though the airline introduced the plan last November, it caught people's attention last week when the carrier began international flights to neighboring American Samoa.

    Almost at the same time, a Norwegian economist, Bharat Bhatta, published a report suggesting that airlines should charge obese passengers more.

    The Pacific Islands contain some of the world's most common countries for obesity, many ranking in the top 10, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Samoa is ranked number four, with 59.6 percent of the population considered obese, said the most recent WHO report.

    According to Samoa Air's latest schedule, the airline charges up to $0.57 per kg for flights in Samoa and $1.03 per kg for its only international flight to American Samoa, around 250 miles.

    Children under 12 are charged 75 percent of the adult rate, with fares also based on weight. Any overweight baggage is calculated at the same rate as the passenger's personal weight.

    The plan could actually prove cheaper in some cases, such as for families travelling with small children, and Langton said customer reaction has mainly been "amazingly positive".

    The idea of charging passengers by weight has been hotly discussed before, and in the US some airlines require those who do not fit into a seat comfortably to buy a second seat.

    Scientists today are making greater effort to study ocean currents (洋流) . Most do it using satellites and other high-tech equipment. However, ocean expert Curtis Ebbesmeyer does it in a special way -- by studying movements of random floating garbage. A scientist with many years' experience, he started this type of research in the early 1990s when he heard about hundreds of athletic shoes washing up on the shores of the northwest coast of the United States. There were so many shoes that people were setting up swap meets to try and match left and right shoes to sell or wear.

    Ebbesmeyer found out in his researches that the shoes — about 60,000 in total — fell into the ocean in a shipping accident. He phoned the shoe company and asked if they wanted the shoes back. As expected, the company told him that they didn't. Ebbesmeyer realized this could be a great experiment. If he learned when and where the shoes went into the water and tracked where they landed, he could learn a lot about the patterns of ocean currents.

    The Pacific Northwest is one of the world's best areas for beachcombing(海滩搜寻) because winds and currents join here, and as a result, there is a group of serious beachcombers in the area. Ebbesmeyer got to know a lot of them and asked for their help in collecting information about where the shoes landed. In a year he collected reliable information on 1, 600 shoes. With this data, he and a colleague were able to test and improve a computer program designed to model ocean currents, and publish the findings of their study.

    As the result of his work, Ebbesmeyer has become known as the scientist to call with questions about any unusual objects found floating in the ocean. He has even started an association of beachcombers and ocean experts, with 500 subscribers from West Africa to New Zealand. They have recorded all lost objects ranging from potatoes to golf gloves.

    One Moore Elementary school teacher is showing students the importance of communication through “shout-outs”. Third Grade Moore Elementary Teacher Lindsey Winders said a shout-out is a compliment(称赞) that students can say or write down. “Like, 'hey I noticed you doing a really great job solving your math problems yesterday. I wanted to make sure you know that I saw you do that,'” Winders said.

    Winders said she makes sure she is giving shout-outs to her students every day. “I might write them a sticky note, or write them a quick little note in their planner. I might just say it to them on their way into the classroom or on their way out of the classroom, but most importantly I try to do it every day,” Winders said.

    In addition to the compliments, Winders has the students greet(问候) each other every morning during morning meeting. She will have students give examples to the class of how to communicate in different settings(场景). Third grade student Nayelli Moranchel said she had given at least six shout-outs this year. “It makes me happy, because they always write something back,” Moranchel said.

    Recently, Winders took it one step further and wrote a personalized note on each of her students' desk. “In our classroom, sometimes it can be challenging for me to give a compliment or a shout-out to each and every one of them in a way that feels equal(平等的) and valuable at the same time. So I decide that there is no better way than leaving a note on their desk that can stay for as long as they wants it to,” Winders said.

    Winders said it is encouraging when she sees her students copy the act, and give each other compliments without her guidance(指导).

    One cold morning in winter, I went alone to a hillside to do some hunting. I sat there waiting for about an hour. Suddenly, a big beautiful deer appeared less than 20 feet away from me. There was no cover near him. Surely I could shoot him.

    To my surprise, he came toward me! He was curious, I suppose, or maybe he was stupid. For this was not a young deer, but a fully grown-up one. He must have known about men and their guns. But this deer came closer, and I still waited. His big eyes never moved away from my face. His wonderful head with a set of antlers (鹿角) was clearly in sight.

    I was getting a bit nervous as he walked closer. A big deer can do a lot of damage. Well, he walked right up to where I was sitting. Then he stopped and looked at me.

What happened next was hard to believe. But it all seemed quite natural. I held out my hands and touched his head right between the antlers. And he liked it. The big, wild, beautiful deer bent his head.

    I touched his head and body. His nose touched my shoulder. I fed him with my last sandwich.

    Well, he finally went his way, down the hill. Shoot him? Not me. You wouldn't, either. Not after that. I just watched him go, a strong deer carrying a proud head.

    I picked up my gun, and started walking back. Suddenly, I heard two shots, one after another. If you have hunted much, you will know what two shots mean. They mean a kill. I had forgotten that there were other hunters around.

    You will now understand why I gave up hunting from that day on.