I was very disappointed not to be able to go to the jazz concert last Friday. The advertisement in the paper said that you could buy tickets at the theatre box in Richland Hills any day between 10:00 and 4:00. Since I work from 9:00 to 5:30, the only time I could go to the theatre was during my 45-minute lunch break.

    Unfortunately, the theatre is on theother side of the town, and the bus service between my office and Richland Hills is not very good. Butif you are lucky, you can make the round trip in 45 minutes. Last Monday, Istood at the bus stop for 15 minutes waiting for the bus, By the time I saw onecome around the corner, there was not enough time left to make the trip.

     So I gave up and went back to the office. The same thing happened on Tuesday, and again next day. On Thursday, my luck changed. I got on a bus right away and arrived at the theatre in exactly 20 minutes. When I got there, however, I found along line of people at the box office, I heard one man say he had been waitingin line for over an hour. Realizing I would not have enough timeto wait in line. I caught the next bus and headed back across the town.

    By Friday I realized my only hope was tomake the trip by taxi, it was expensive, but I felt it would be worth it tohear the concert. The trip by taxi only took 10 minutes, but felt like an hour to me. When I got to the theatre, I was relieved to see that nobody was waiting in line. The reason, however, I quickly discovered, was that they had already sold all the tickets.

    When Kate's paintings were on show in London，a poet described her paintings as “a ribbon (丝带）around a bomb”．Such comments seem to suggest Kate had a big influence on the art world of her time．Sadly，she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time．

    Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City，Kate suffered from polio（小儿麻痹症）at the age of seven．Her spine (脊柱)became bent as she grew older．Then，in 1925，her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident．Throughout the rest of her life，the artist had many operations，but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back．However，the accident had an unexpected side effect．While lying in her bed recovering，Kate taught herself to paint．

    In 1929，she got married to Diego Rivera，another famous Mexican artist．Rivera's strong influences on Kate's style can be seen in her early works，but her later works from the 1940s，known today as her best works，show less influence from her husband．

    Unfortunately，her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s，even in her home country．Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953．For more than a decade after her death in 1954，Kate's works remained largely unnoticed by the world，but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last．

    New York's iconic, blue-green statue of liberty wasn't always green. When the statue was gifted to the US from France in 1885, she was actually a shiny copper color. A new video reveals the chemical reactions involving oxygen and even air pollution that led to her color change from copper to liberty green. The statue of liberty was a gift from France to the US as a way of commemorating the US's fight for independence, as well as their own aspiration for democracy.

    A video, published by the American Chemical Society, explains that the 305-foot (93 meter) statue was built over nine years in sections of copper skin on top of an iron skeleton.

    In her first few decades in the Big Apple, the statue slowly turned from that shiny copper color to a dull brown and the, finally, to the blue-green, or as they'd say back in France, 'verdigris' we see today,' said the video's narrator.

When it changed color, some officials suggested restoring her back to her original color, but after the public protested against this decision, she was left the way she is. The statue's color change was as a result of oxidation reactions between copper and the air. But it was more than one reaction - the color change is due to about 30 years worth of different reactions leading to a mixture of greenish minerals.

    Oxidation reactions happen when an atom loses an electron to another atom.

    In the case of the statue of liberty, her color change was bound to happen due to oxygen in the atmosphere that is 'hungry' for electrons. On top of this, elements of New York City's polluted air added to the color change too.

The first chemical reaction of the color change involved copper giving up electrons to electron-hungry oxygen in the atmosphere. This led to a mineral called cuprite - which is pinkish red.

    Then, cuprite loses even more electrons to oxygen, forming a new mineral（矿物质） called tenorite, which is blackish in color. The black color of tenorite explains why the statue got darker over time, forming a dark brown color.

    Then, further chemical reactions occurred when sulfur（硫） in the atmosphere reacts with oxygen to form sulfur dioxide. Sulfur comes from natural processes such as volcanic eruptions, but also from man-made emissions from boats, cars, airplanes and factories. When sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere reacts with water, it produces sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid forms green minerals with copper oxides, so the sulfuric acid in the atmosphere made the state green over time.

    Added to that, chloride from the sea spray surrounding Ellis Island where the statue is located made the statue even greener.

    The statue stayed this way for over 100 years because the exposed copper is now oxidized and stable, but the statue wouldn't be the same anywhere else.

    US scientists say they have poured cold water on the theory that washing hands with hot water kills more germs (细菌) than unheated water. The small study of 20 people found using water at 15C (59F) left hands as clean as water heated to 38C (100F).

    National Health Service (NHS) recommends that people wash their hands in either cold or warm water. In this study, scientists at Rutgers University-New Brunswick wanted to find out if popular assumptions about the benefits of warm or hot water and official guidance on hot water — given to the food industry in the US — held true. They asked 20 people to wash their hands 20 times each with water that was 15C (59F), 26C (79F) or 38 degrees (100F). Volunteers were also asked to experiment with varying amounts of soap. Before they started the tests, their hands were covered in harmless bugs. Researchers say there was no difference in the amount of bugs removed as the temperature of the water or the amount of soap changed.

    Prof Donald Schaffner said: “People need to feel comfortable when they are washing their hands but as far as effectiveness goes, this study shows us that the temperature of the water used did not matter.”

    However, the researchers accept their study is small and say more extensive work is needed to determine the best ways to remove harmful bacteria.

    In the UK, NHS experts say people can use cold or hot water to wash their hands. They say hands should be washed for at least 20 seconds and stress the importance of using enough soap to cover the whole surface of the hands. Their guidance focuses on rubbing hands together in various ways to make sure each surface of each hand is clean.

    To start a conversation about the secret to happiness, ABC News' health editor Dr. Richard Besser hosted a Twitter chat Tuesday.  Experts from the National Institutes of Health, Mayo Clinic, Harvard University and TEDMED, as well as clinicians and people from across the country, joined the one-hour discussion. There are countless ways to measure happiness. With research on the topic increasing, researchers have carried out surveys to study people's sense of well-being.

    Angela Haupt, health and wellness editor for U.S. News and World Report, said, “Happiness indicators include life satisfaction, health and community engagement.”

    @toddkashdan added that, “despite problems with self-reports, there is no better way to measure happiness than focusing on personal thoughts and feelings.”

    While scientists try to find out what caused happiness, others often believe that true joy doesn't exist. Dr Friedman, a psychiatrist at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Hospital, said that “happiness is hard to measure, but easy to recognize.”

    Still, common themes about satisfaction come up in these conversations. Finding meaning in daily work was important. Indeed, researchers have found that having creative and purposeful work to do is a key factor in happiness.  But people were quick to state the importance of balancing work and family obligations.

    Chat participants(参与者) agreed that money does not surely bring happiness. And studies agree once people's basic needs like food and housing are met, higher incomes do little to improve your happiness.  At last, people found value in their connections with others.  Research shows that having support through friends, family, and social networks can bring happiness.  Many agree with @drmommy, who said “I measure my happiness by the loving people that are around me.”

    So, can we increase our happiness?  Expressing gratitude(感激) is a possible way of feeling happiness. Researchers have found that people who regularly write down things for which they are grateful in “gratitude journals” have increased satisfaction in life, higher energy levels, and improved health.  In one study, people who read a letter of appreciation to someone in their lives prove happier almost one month later.  Performing acts of kindness can raise your moods

    Data show that our relationships matter, too. People who are interested in meaningful conversations with friends or family are reported to be happier than those who don't. Close interpersonal ties and strong social support are important for happiness.

    On the first day of my new high school, I almost had a nervous breakdown. Everything about the school seemed so difficult. When I got home, my parents said, "You're nervous and that's okay. Everyone is afraid of high school." I denied it. I wanted to be strong, so I refused to let anyone know about my fear, even my closest friends.

    On the first day I was late for every class and was constantly lost. The school seemed like a puzzle that I couldn't figure out. Was this how the whole year was going to be? I didn't think I could rise to this challenge, especially carrying a huge backpack that I could hardly lift. It was so big that I could knock someone out with it!

    Despite my fears, after the first week I finally had my schedule figured out. With the exception of falling up and down the stairs a couple of times and getting laughed at, high school was turning out to be not so bad. It was actually much better than middle school and much more challenging. Since then, I've been elected（选举）vice monitor of my class, which wasn't much of a victory since only three people ran for the four positions.

    It is normal to be scared about a new school. Take a deep breath and relax. High school is something that any student can overcome. Make sure you participate in some out-of-class activities because you'll find it easier to make friends. Try to do your best  even if it isn't straight A's.

    Most important of all, be who you are, whether you're a "fool"， an athlete, or a lower grader. Don't try to pretend to be someone you're not. Now you know the true secrets of high school.