The police in Taiwan are unable to judge whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat. Either way, it could be the perfect crime, because the criminals are birds — homing pigeons!

    The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car: if you want the car back, pay up. Then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside. Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off.

    There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind — one that avoids not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place. Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return. Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad in the newspaper asking for help.

    The theory is supported by the fact that, so far, none of the stolen cars have been returned. Also, the amount of money demanded — under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars — seems too little for a car worth many times more.

    Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal. “We have more important things to do,” he said.

    For most of us Veterans Day just means a chance to enjoy an extra day off from school or work．However this November 11th，be sure to spend a few minutes on its true purpose，by acknowledging（感谢）the men and women who have served in our armed forces．

    And you don't have to stop at just this one day．Join the over 10，000youth members of the Young Marines group that honor these brave men and women all year long with special events and completely spoil them for an entire week，from November 4th to 11th，by visiting hospitalized veterans，performing chores for disabled veterans and even organizing community－wide social event．The program open to kids ranging from the age of eight all the way to high school，is a great way to not only show your appreciation，but also get a chance to do some fun activities with like－minded kids and make a real difference in a veteran's life．

    People often believe that Memorial Day and Veterans Day are celebrated for the same reason．There is however a subtle but important difference between the two．While both honor our military personnel，the former is a day to remember and pay respect to all the men and women that died serving our country in a war，while Veterans Day is to celebrate the soldiers who are still alive and served in the forces at any time，during peace or war． Though several other countries celebrate this day in honor of their own veterans，the meaning is slightly different for each one．Some like the United Kingdom，celebrate it in honor of all soldiers－living or dead，while others like Canada celebrate it to honor all living veterans．They also call it different names．France and New Zealand sill call it Armistice Day．In the United Kingdom，Australia and Canada it is referred to as Remembrance Day，while Malta and South Africa celebrate it as Poppy Day．

    No matter what it is called，the reason for observing the day is the same－to show our appreciation to the brave men and women who sacrifice（牺牲）everything to make this world a safer place for the rest of us．

    Suppose you are a visitor in the land of Mongolia, some friends ask you to eat with them. What kind of manners do they want you to have? They want you to give a loud burp (饱嗝)after you finish eating. Burping would show that you like your food. In some countries, if you give a big burp, you are told to say “Excuse me, please”.

    In many places people like to eat together. But in some parts of Polynesia it is bad manners（没礼貌） to be seen eating at all. People show their good manners by turning their backs on others while they eat.

    What are manners like in an East African town? The people try not to see you. They are being polite. You may see a friend. He may not see you at all. If you are polite, you will sit down beside him. You will wait until he finishes what he is doing. Then he will talk to you. Manners are different all over the world. But it is good to know that all manners begin in the same way. People need ways to show that they want to be friends.

    Everyone needs friends. We all like to feel close to someone. It is nice to have a friend to talk, laugh and do things with. Surely, there are times when we need to be alone. We don't always want people around. But we would feel lonely if we never had a friend.

    No two people are the same. Sometimes friends don't get along well, which doesn't mean that they no longer like each other. Most of the time they will go on being friends. Sometimes friends move away, then we feel very sad. We miss them much, but we can call them and write to them. Maybe we would never see them again, and we can make new friends. It is surprising to find out how much we like new people when we get to know them. Families sometimes name their children after a close friend. Many places are named after men and women, if they are friendly to people in a town. Some libraries are named this way. So are some schools. We think of these people when we go to these places.

    There is more good news for people, if they have friends. These people live longer than those who don't have friends. Why? It could be that they are happier. Being happy helps them keep Healthy. Or it could be just knowing that someone cares. If someone cares, they take better care of themselves.

    Getting less sleep has become a bad habit for most American kids. According to a new survey by the National Sleep Foundation, 51% of kids aged 10 to 18 go to bed at 10 pm or later on school nights, even though they have to get up early. Last year the Foundation reported that nearly 60% of 7- to 12-year-olds said they felt tired during the day, and 15% said they had fallen asleep at school.

    How much sleep you need depends a lot on your age. Babies need a lot of rest: most of them sleep about 18 hours a day! Adults need about eight hours. For most school-age children, ten hours is ideal. But the new National Sleep Foundation survey found that 35% of 10- to 12-year-olds get only seven or eight hours. And guess what almost half of the surveyed kids said they do before bedtime? Watch TV.

    “More children are going to bed with TVs on, and there are more opportunities(机会) to stay awake, with more homework, the Internet and the phone,” says Dr. Mary Carskadon, a sleep researcher at Brown University Medical School. She says these activities at bedtime can get kids all excited and make it hard for them to calm down and sleep. Other experts say part of the problem is chemical. Changing levels of body chemicals called hormones not only make teenagers' bodies develop adult characteristics, but also make it hard for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 pm.

    Because sleepiness is such a problem for teenagers, some school districts have decided to start high school classes later than they used to. Three years ago, schools in Edina, Minnesota, changed the start time from 7:25 am to 8:30 am. Students, parents and teachers are pleased with the results.

    It's nothing unusual for people to multitask nowadays. But the ability to do a number of things at the same time could be different between the two sexes.

    A team of UK researchers recently compared the performances of 120 women and 120 men in a computer test about switching(转换) between tasks of counting and shape recognition.

    Men equalled women when tasks were done one at a time. But when the tasks were mixed up, there was a clear difference. According to the paper published in the journal BMC Psychology, both women and men slowed down and made more mistakes as the switching became more rapid. But men were slower, taking 77 percent longer to answer, while women took 69 percent longer.

    To make the experiment more connected to day-to-day life, researchers tried a second test. A group of women and men were given eight minutes to complete a series of everyday tasks, such as finding restaurants on a map, doing simple math problems, answering a phone call, or deciding how they would search for a lost key in a field.

    Once again, women performed better than men in the test, especially in the key-searching task.

    Where do women get the ability to keep organized under pressure better than men? Researchers believe that it has its origins in evolution(进化). In ancient times, women had to keep an eye on children while cooking meals. Meanwhile, men only needed to focus on hunting.

    However, as with all studies, the results don't necessarily apply to every single person in the world. "We don't mean that men can't multitask, or that only women can," researcher Keith Laws of the University of Hertfordshire, UK, told BBC News. "We are saying that the average woman is better able to organize her time and switch between tasks than the average man."