Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The next building was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.

    After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn't wash her window. It really looks terrible.”

    One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside.

    Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible(可见的). Her window was clean!

Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing (批评) her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.

    That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?

    Since then, whenever I wanted to judge someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?” I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.

    Sometimes the toughest thing about feelings is sharing them with others．Sharing your feelings helps you whether your feelings are wonderful or terrible．Sharing also helps you to get closer to people you care about and who care about you．But how?

    You can't tell your friends what's inside your backpack if you don't know what's in there yourself．Feelings are the same way．Before you can share them with anyone，you have to figure out what feelings you have．

    Making a list of your feelings can help．You can do this in your mind or by writing it out or even by drawing pictures．Is something bothering you? Does it make you frustrated or terrified? Do you feel this emotion only once in a while or much of the time?

    The way a person feels inside is important．If you keep feelings locked inside，it can even make you feel sick! But if you talk with someone who cares for you，you will almost always start to feel better．It doesn't mean your problems and worries magically disappear，but at least someone else knows what's bothering you and can help you find solutions．

    Your mom and dad want to know if you have problems and what's happening in your life．But what if a kid doesn't want to talk with parents? Then find another trusted adult，like a relative or a teacher at school．Maybe this person can help you talk with your parents about your problem or concern．

    Once you know who you can talk with，you'll want to pick a time and place to talk．You can talk publicly in your family．But some kids are more private than others and they will feel shy about sharing their feelings．Then find a quiet place or write it down on a piece of paper．A kid doesn't have to share every feeling he or she has．

    A family is a collection of people who share the same genes（基因）but cannot agree on a place to pull over for lunch. Ed and I, plus his parents and sister Doris and eight-year-old niece Alisha, are on a road trip to Yosemite. Ed wants Subway, I want. In-N-Out Burger, Doris wants Sonic. In the end, we compromise on McDonald's, where Alisha will get an action figure.

    It's a three-hour drive to Yosemite, but we're taking a little longer, as we're working in a tour of Highway 80's public restrooms. As the saying goes, “Not one bladder（膀胱）empties but another fills.” Many of these restrooms belong to gas stations. I prefer them to the high-tech ones on planes.

    We get back on the road. Ed is driving now. When all the tabloids（小报）have been read, the travel has grown tedious and anyone under age 12 asks “Are we there yet?” at ever-shortening internals. Just outside Manteca, California, we stop for coffee. At a Starbucks checkout, Ed buys a CD of Joni Mitchell's favorite musical picks. The hope is that it will have a calming effect.

    As we pull back onto the highway, it starts to pour. Then something amazing happens. As we climb the mountain, the rain turns to snow. The pines are spotted with white. We're struck dumb（说不出话）by the scene outside. For a solid 15 minutes, everyone forgets about their bladder, their blood sugar and the temperature. Alisha has never seen snow, so we pull over to make snowmen and catch snowflakes on our tongues. Then Ed realizes we need tire chains, and we have to turn back and drive 30miles to Oakhurst. “Good,” says Doris. “There was a very nice restroom there.”

    What do Leonardo da Vincii, Marie Curie, and Albert Einstein have in common? They were all left-handed, along with other famous people including Brad Pitt Prince William, and Barack Obama. In fact, an estimated 13 percent of the world's population may be left-handed and still most people around the world are right-handed.

    What makes a person become right-handed rather than left-handed? As yet no one really knows for sure. One simple idea suggests that people normally get right-handedness from their parents. Studies have found that two right-handed parents have only a 9.5 percent chance of having a left-handed child, whereas two left-handed parents have a 26 percent chance of having a left-handed child. Another common theory is that left-handed people suffer mild brain damage during birth, which makes them left-handed. However, if this theory were true, it would not explain why the percentage of left-banded people is so similar in every society, when birth conditions vary so much from society to society.

    Whatever the reasons behind it, people's attitudes toward left-handedness have changed a lot over the years. Statistics show that although 13 percent of young people (10-20 years old) are left-handed, only 6 percent of the elderly are left-handed. Left-handed children used to be punished until they began using their right hand like other children, but today people who are left-handed are no longer looked down on nor are they considered abnormal. For most people today, either case is perfectly acceptable.

Aptitude Tests Recommendations

Aptitude tests are helpful to job seekers of all ages. While career quizzes explore your values and work style, aptitude tests provide a more objective evaluation of your skills, helping you select a career you're most likely to succeed in. Below are some of the best aptitude tests out there.

Clifton Strengths

The Clifton Strengths program was created based on research around leadership. The research in question pointed to common strengths among successful leaders, like strategic thinking, adaptability and communication. To complete the test, you must answer around 150 questions, each within 20 seconds. Allen Cheung, a tech blogger, notes that CliftonStrengths is more valuable than your average career test because it includes "tricky questions which aren't as easily gamed".

Red BullWingfinder

Developed and tested out by psychology experts, the Red Bull Wingfinder assesses your thinking under pressure. Questions include image sorting, logic puzzles and leadership-related questions. Once you complete the test, you'll receive a nine-page report and career coaching tailored to your results.

SEI Development Report

The SEI Development Report is an extensive EQ aptitude test that has timed right-and-wrong answers that assess eight fundamentals, including emotional literacy, emotional management and empathy. At the end, you'll receive a 20-page report with recommended courses on workplace EQ development.

CareerOneStop

While it only takes a few minutes to complete, the CareerOneStop Skills Assessment will help you rank both your technical and soft skills. The career suggestions at the end can be sorted by relevance, annual wages, and job outlook, coupled with with professional coaching or consultation improve your skills.

Although a few recreational snowmobilers (驾驶摩托雪橇者) destroy ecosystems as they ride through the wilderness, most snowmobilers love and respect America's natural heritage. That's why they brave the cold to explore what is left of wild America — including Yellowstone National Park. Unfortunately these snowmobilers are unconsciously damaging what they love. Because snowmobiles in the park not only create both air and noise pollution but also strains (使紧张) the already tight budget of the park service, recreational snowmobiles should be banned from Yellowstone National Park.

It may be hard to imagine that about 1,000 snowmobiles a day could lead to air pollution in a park half the size of Connecticut, but in fact they can. In addition to polluting the air, snowmobiles are noisy, disturbing the peace and silence that park visitors have a right to expect. One study reports that twelve snowmobiles traveling together could be heard as far as two miles away. Such noise affects the park's wildlife.

Funds that should be used to preserve Yellowstone National Park and its wildlife have been used to deal with the snowmobile issue. Also, park rangers are spending an increasing amount of their valuable time policing snowmobilers, which takes away from park rangers' primary responsibility—preserving this country's treasured natural resources.

Opponents of a ban argue that a central mission of the park service is to provide access to national parks. Admittedly, winter access is important, but ordinary people can enjoy the park by means other than snowmobiles. Also, the park service's mission is not just to provide access to the parks; no less important is its mission to preserve the parks' pristine natural resources for future generations.

Even with a ban on snowmobiling in the park itself, the Yellowstone area would still earn the title of Snowmobiling Capital of America. All of the streets of West Yellowstone, the area's major town, are open to snowmobilers, and many trails run out of the town. As to Yellowstone National Park, a ban on snowmobiles would allow the park service to devote more of its limited resources to one of its primary missions: the protection of natural resources. Visitors would still be able to appreciate Yellowstone's beauty— its geysers, its wildlife, and its snow-covered vistas —throughout the park's long winter.