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！The schoolmates seemed to regard me as a fool, and they were probably right.

    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 vice president 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.

    Businesses are witnessing a difficult time, which has in turn produced influence on consumers, desire to go green. However, shoppers are still laying stress on environmental concerns.

    Two thirds of customers say that environmental considerations inform their purchases to the same degree as they did a year ago, while more than a quarter say that they are now even better aware of the environmental effect on what they buy.

    This may help to influence how shops store goods on their shelves. And the companies should still make efforts to become more environmentally friendly. Two out of three people think it is important to buy from environmentally responsible companies, with about one in seven saying that they had even decided to take their custom elsewhere if they felt a company's environmental reputation was not good enough.

Harry Morrison, chief executive (主管) of the Carbon Trust, sympathizes: "I understand this situation where survival is very important now. But from environmental considerations, the clock is ticking—we don't have much time. In addition, cutting carbon has an immediate effect as costs drop and a medium-term benefit for the brand."

    Larger companies have an extra motivation to look at reducing their carbon footprint, as new rules next year will require businesses to buy carbon allowances to make up for their emissions (排放). Those that have taken early action will have a head start. More than two thirds of consumers are not clear about which companies are environmentally responsible. This suggests that firms that are able to relay clearly their message to the public will be in a pole position to attract shoppers.

The Carbon Trust believes that it can help by informing customers about the good work companies are doing. "When companies are granted (授予) the standard, they can use a logo (标识) in all their marketing which makes it clear that they are working towards cutting emissions," Mr. Morrison said.

    If you want to convince the boss you deserve a pay rise or promotion, the solution could be simple—eat the same food as they do.Psychologists have discovered managers are much more likely to instantly trust us if we choose the same dishes as them.

    During experiments, discussions over wages and work conditions were much more successful if both sides chose to snack on the same treats.And shoppers were much more likely to buy a product advertised on TV by someone eating a similar food to them at the time.

    The reason is thought to be so­called similarity attraction theory—where people tend to like others who have similar tastes or habits to themselves.But this is believed to be one of the first studies highlighting the role of food in this relationship.Researchers at Chicago University in the US conducted a series of experiments to examine food's role in earning trust.

    In a test, participants were told to watch TV—where someone pretending to be a member of the public praised a certain product.The volunteers were given Kit Kat bars to nibble, while the TV people ate either a Kit Kat or grapes as they talked.

    The results showed viewers were much more likely to express an interest in buying the product if the TV showed the other person eating a Kit Kat too.

    The researchers added, “Although similarity in food consumption is not a sign of whether two people will get along, we find consumers treat this as such.They feel more trusting of those who consume as they do.It means people can immediately begin to feel friendship and develop a bond, leading to smoother transactions from the start.”

    Harley Street psychologist Dr.Lucy Atcheson said it was already known that wearing similar clothes could instantly create trust.But this was the first report that food had the same effect.She said, “This is really interesting.It makes sense as people feel they have common ground and can trust the other person.That means negotiations are more likely to be successful.”

    King's College Summer School is an annual (年度的) training program for high school students at all levels who want to improve their English. Courses are given by the teachers of King's College and other colleges in New York. Trips to museums and culture centers are also organized. This year's summer school will be from July 25 to August 15. More information is as follows：

    Google, hoping to put down a protest by employees upset that the technology they were working on could be used for deadly purposes, will not renew a contract with the Pentagon(五角大楼) for artificial intelligence work when a current deal expires next year.

    Diane Greene, who is the head of the Google Cloud business that won a contract with the Pentagon's Project Maven, said during a weekly meeting with employees Friday that the company was backing away from its AI work with the military, according to a person familiar with the discussion but not permitted to speak publicly about it.

    Google's work with the Defense Department on the Maven program, which uses artificial intelligence to interpret video images and could be used to improve the targeting of drone strikes, riled the internet giant's workforce.

    About 4,000 Google employees signed a petition(请愿书) demanding "a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology," and a handful of employees resigned in protest.

    The money for Google in the Project Maven contract was never large by the standards of a company with profit of $110 billion last year — $9 million, one official told employees, or a possible $15 million over 18 months, according to an internal email.

    But some company officials saw it as an opening to much greater revenue down the road. In an email last September, a Google official in Washington told colleagues she expected Maven to grow into a $250 million-a-year project, and eventually it could have helped open the door to contracts worth far more.

    While small may be beautiful, tall is just plain uncomfortable it seems, particularly when it comes to staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.

    The Tall Persons Club Great Britain (TPCGB), which was formed six months ago to campaign for the needs of the tall, has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants. Beds that are too small, shower heads that are too low, and restaurant tables with hardly any leg-room all make life difficult for those of above average height, it says.

    But it is not just the extra-tall whose needs are not being met. The average height of the population has been increasing yet the standard size of beds, doorways, and chairs has remained unchanged.

    "The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it, so even a king-size bed at 6′6″ (6 feet and 6 inches) is falling short for 25% of men, while the standard 6′3″ bed caters for less than half of the male population." Said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy, "seven-foot beds would work fine."

    Similarly, restaurant tables can cause no end of problems. Small tables, which mean the long-legged have to sit a foot or so away from them, are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere.

    Some have already taken note, however. At Queens Moat Houses′ Caledoman Hotel in Edinburgh, 6′6″ beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors, particularly Americans.