Imagination Stage is a children's theater in the state of Maryland. A special performance is put on for children with autism (自闭症) each day. People with autism have difficulty communcating and socializing with other people. Children in the theater are allowed to move around during the performance. It's OK if they shout out or hold their ears when the music is too loud. These special performances are sometimes the only thing that a family can go to the theater together to see if a child has autism.

    That is the same idea with Autism on the Seas. This company organizes vacations for families of children with autism, especially vacations on cruise ships. Jamie Grover is director of group development in Autism on the Seas. He said, “With our staff on board, parents know that they are going to be able to relax, enjoy their vacation, and participate in ship activities. They know that their children are well taken care of.”

    The benefit of such vacations organized by Autism on the Seas is not waiting in huge lines on departure day. The company has staff to help in the ports. Waiting in long lines or being in the middle of big crowds can cause problem behavior in children with autism. Autism on the Seas helps families avoid situations like that.

    Autism on the Seas works with the help of cruise companies like Royal Caribbean. Special times or places are arranged for families to play video games, go skating or rock climbing, or eat dinner. Autism on the Seas also directs families to organizations that can help them pay for these vacations.

    Bambi Van Woert from the state of Michigan went on a cruise with her 7-year-old Ben, who has autism. She said, “I would never do something like this myself. I cannot take Ben shopping by myself at this point, so for me to try to do a cruise without help would be absurd.”

Mini Book Excerpts (节选)

    Biography

    When Salinger learned that a car park was to be built on the land, the middle-aged writer was shocked and quickly bought the neighboring area to protect it… The townspeople never forgot the rescue and came to help their most famous neighbor.

    J. D. Salinger: A Life by Kenneth Slawenski (Random House, $ 27)

    Mystery

    “You're a smart boy. Benny's death was no accident, and you're the only one who saw it happen. Do you think the murderer should get away with it?” The boy was staring stubbornly at his lap again.

    A thought suddenly occurred to Annika, “Did you... You recognized the man in the car, didn't you?”

    The boy hesitated, twisting his fingers. “Maybe,” he said quietly.

    Red Wolf by Liza Marklund (Atria Books, $ 25.99)

    Short Stories

    She wants to say to him what she has learned, none of it in class. Some women are born stupid, and some women are too smart for their own good. Some women are born to give, and some women only know how to take. Some women learn who they want to be from their mothers, some who they don't want to be. Some mothers suffer so their daughters won't. Some mothers suffer so their daughters won't.

    You Are Free by Danzy Senna (Riverhead Books, $ 15)

    Humor

    Do your kids like to have fun? Come to Fun Times! Do you like to watch your kids having fun? Bring them to Fun Times! Fun Times's “amusement cycling” is the most fun you can have in the United States right now. Why spend thousands of dollars flying to Disney World when you can spend less than half to that within a day's drive in most cities?

    Happy And Other Bad Thoughts by Larry Doyle (Ecco, $ 14.99)

    TEENSGIVING is an exciting yearly event where hundreds of New York City teens gather together annually for a remarkable day of community service. This year, TEENSGIVING in SPRING 2016 participants will once again better New York City and influence thousands of lives!

    When is TEENSGIVING in SPRING 2016?

    Sunday, April 20, 2016

    Where is TEENSGIVING?

    All over New York City. Everyone will meet at the 92nd Street Y ( 92nd and Lexington ) at 9:00 AM for the event kick-off. Then, all TEENSGIVING volunteers will go across the city to work with our partnering agencies where they will make a HUGE difference and have fun!

Who participates in TEENSGIVING?

    Hundreds of teenagers from around the city. Teens come from the 92nd Street Y, various city schools, youth groups, and organizations in the area. In addition, many adult volunteers ( aged 21 and older) will donate their time to TEENSGIVING in SPRING 2016.

    What projects do participants do at the agencies?

    Sample projects include painting park benches, planting gardens, visiting and playing with poor and disabled children, assisting at animal shelters, working at soup kitchens, delivering meals and celebrating with families at homeless shelters.

    Do I get anything for participating in TEENSGIV1NG?

    Yes! Everybody benefits! Teen volunteers will receive “6 hours” of community service credit, good towards honor society, high school graduation and college application requirements. Adult volunteers will be thanked with a light breakfast, a gift certificate for their troubles, and the satisfaction of helping our city's youth contribute to their community. In addition, all teen and adult volunteers will receive a cool TEENSGIVING in SPRING 2016 T- shirt.

    This sounds awesome! How do I register for TEENSGIVING in SPRING 2016? Interested teens and/or adults should e-mail the TEENSGIVING Coordinator Josh Hyman at jhyman@92Y.org < mailto: jhyman@92Y.org > (subject: TEENSGIVING) to receive more information and to register for this fantastic event!

    Teens can also contact their school's Community Service Advisor.

    TEENSGIVING is sponsored by the 92nd Street Y.

    From July to October every year, about a quarter of the world's blue whales feed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. But the whales currently face a major threat in their favorite feeding area. Ships carrying cargo （货物）sail in the same area at the same time. All too often, the whales' paths and the ships' travel lines overlap (重叠), and a ship will hit a whale.

    According to a new study, these ship strikes have become a serious threat to the overall population of the world's blue whales. Only about 10,000 of the creatures still exist worldwide. Blue whales are the largest known animals ever to live on Earth. Even so, if hit by a container ship, a blue whale will likely die from its injuries.

    In 2007 alone, large ships killed five blue whales in the waters off San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says that because there are so few whales already, losing three to five from the California whale population every year is a significant loss. "The estimated population of blue whales in this part of the Pacific is 2,500", says Sean Hastings, a NOAA analyst. "So every whale counts toward this species moving off the endangered-species list."

    Now, marine scientists must figure out how to protect the whales from the giant container ships. One very simple program is already under way in the Santa Barbara Channel, a waterway that separates mainland California from the nearby Channel Islands.

    The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary has asked large container ships passing through the area to voluntarily slow down. Sailing slower will allow the ships crew （船员）more time to change course before hitting a whale.

    Several of the world's largest shipping lines are set to participate in the new program. For every ship that passes through the Santa Barbara Channel at or below the reduced speed of 12 knots （海里/小时）, the company that owns the ship will be paid $2,500.

    Alice Moore is a teenager entrepreneur(创业者), who in May 2015 set up her business AilieCandy. By the time she was 13, her company was worth millions of dollars with the invention of a super-sweet treat that could save kids' teeth, instead of destroying them.

    It all began when Moore visited a bank with her dad. On the outing, she was offered a candy bar. However, her dad reminded her that sugary treats were bad for her teeth. But Moore was sick of missing out on candies. So she desired to get round the warning, "Why can't I make a healthy candy that's good for my teeth so that my parents can't say no to it?" With that in mind, Moore asked her dad if she could start her own candy company. He recommended that she do some research and talk to dentists about what a healthier candy would contain.

    With her dad's permission, she spent the next two years researching online and conducting trials to get a recipe that was both tasty and tooth-friendly. She also approached dentists to learn more about teeth cleaning. Consequently, she succeeded in making a kind of candy only using natural sweeteners, which can reduce oral bacteria.

    Moore then used her savings to get her business off the ground. Afterwards, she and her father secured their first business meeting with a supermarket owner, who finally agreed to sell Moore's product—CanCandy.

    As CanCandy's success grows, so does Moore's credibility as a young entrepreneur. Moore is enthusiastic about the candy she created, and she's also positive about what the future might bring. She hopes that every kid can have a clean mouth and a broad smile.

    Meanwhile, with her parents' help, Moore is generally able to live a normal teenage life. Although she founded her company early on in life, she wasn't driven primarily by profit. Moore wants to use her unique talent to help others find their smiles. She donates 10% of AilicCandy's profits to Big Smiles. With her talent and determination, it appears that the sky could be the limit for Alice Moore.

    You are a member in a full-time school called "life". Each day here you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or hate them, but you have designed them as part of your curriculum.

    Why are you here? What is your purpose? Humans have sought to discover the meaning of life for a very long time. What we and our ancestors have to overlook is that there is no one answer. The meaning of life is different for every individual.

    Each person has his own purpose and distinct path, unique and separate from anyone else's. As you are traveling your life path, you will be presented with numerous lessons you will need to learn in order to achieve that purpose. The lessons you are presented with are specific to you; learning these lessons is the key to discovering and achieving the meaning of your own life.

    As you are traveling through your lifetime, you may meet challenging lessons that others don't have to face, while others spend years struggling with challenges that you don't need to deal with. You may never know why you are blessed with a wonderful marriage, while your friends suffer painful divorces, just as you cannot be sure why you struggle financially while your peers enjoy abundance. The only thing you can count on is that you will be presented with all the lessons that you specifically need to learn.

    The challenge, therefore, is to arrange yourself with your own unique path by learning individual lessons. This is one of the most difficult challenges you will face in your lifetime, as sometimes your path will be different from others. But don't compare your path with that of people around you and focus on the differences between their lessons and yours. You need to remember that you will only face lessons that you can learn and are specific to your own growth.

    Our sense of fairness is the expectation of equality. Life is not, in fact, fair, and you may indeed have a more difficult life path than others around you, deserved or not. Everyone's circumstances are unique, and everyone needs to handle his or her own circumstances differently.