About 70 scientists were working on a very busy project. All of them felt really desperate due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting their job.

    One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him, “Sir, I've promised to take my children to the exhibition going on in our township so I want to leave at 5:30 p. m.” His boss replied, “OK. You're permitted to leave the office early today.”

    The scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual, he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch only when he felt he was close to completion. The time was 8:30 p. m. suddenly he remembered his promise to the children. He looked for his boss but he was not there. Having told him in the morning himself, he closed everything and left for home. Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children. He reached home. The children were not there. His wife alone was sitting in the hall and reading magazines. The situation was explosive; any talk would boomerang on him. His wife asked him, “Would you like to have coffee or shall I straight away serve dinner if you are hungry?” The man replied, “If you would like to have coffee, I too will have but what about the children?” His wife replied, “You don't know? Your boss came here at 5:15 p. m. and has taken them to the exhibition.”

    What had really happened was the boss who gave him permission was observing him working seriously at 5:00 p. m. He thought to himself: this person will not leave the work, but he's promised to take his children to the exhibition. So he took the lead in taking them there. The boss does not have to do it every time. But once it's done, loyalty is established.

    That is why all the scientists at Thumba continued to work under their boss even though the stress was extraordinarily huge. By the way, can you boldly guess who the boss was? He was none other than the mastermind behind India's successful nuclear weapons program, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India.

    Here's a selection of festivals for tourists to the United States in summer.

    San Francisco Silent Film Festival

    Films at this odd cinematic event have a variety of musical accompaniments,including piano and violin.It includes some classic silent movies.If you want to see them all,you can buy a festival pass.

    May 29 to June 1; www.silentfilm.org

    Union Street Festival

    This popular street fair stretches out over six blocks of the city,in the fashionable shopping area of Union Street.This year,there's beer,wine tasting and more separate themes—fashion,cuisine,tech,local,craft,and health and fitness.

    June 7 to 10; www.unionstreefestival.com 

    North Beach Festival

    This is San Francisco's oldest street party,with live entertainment,delicious food and arts and crafts.Situated in the Little Italy district,known for its associations with the "Beat Generation",festival goers are guaranteed plenty of good Italian food.There is also as the “blessing of the animals”,a San Francisco tradition which takes place at the National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi (610 Vallejo Street) at 2 pm on both days of the festival.

    June 14 to 16; www.sfnorthbeach.org

    Stern Grove Festival

    This is the oldest free summer arts festival of its kind in the United States.It includes a wide variety of acts,from the local symphony orchestra to well known artists such as Smokey Robinson.

    Sundays from June 22 to Aug 24; www.sterngrove.org

    There is much to see Australia that you can't see easily in its natural setting anywhere else. A visit to Australia would not be complete without taking the chance to see some of these animals in their natural environment.

Bandicoot

    There are several species of Bandicoot around Australia, and although occasionally they can be seen during the day, they are generally nocturnal. Bandicoots are small creatures only about the size of a rat and eat small insects and plants. Several of the Bandicoots around Australia include the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, which is now rare around Australia and the Southern Brown Bandicoot found in eastern and western parts of Australia.

Koala

    Koalas are small bears like creatures that live along the east coast of Australia, with their habitat amongst the famous Eucalyptus trees. However, koalas only like to eat a small percentage of the Eucalyptus trees found around Australia. Koalas have hard black noses, with sharp claws and a thick furry coat and can grow to a weight of about 10kg, most of their time is spent asleep in the trees, which is the best place to see a koala.

Dingo

    Dingoes are found in various areas across Australia, and unlike domestic dogs do not bark. Instead, the Dingo makes a howling sound that is very particular. Dingoes generally eat mice, rabbits and rats, although sometimes they can also attack livestock(家畜) when hungry.

Frilled Lizard

    The Frilled Lizard is found in the eastern and northern parts of Australia, living within the bush. The Frilled Lizard frill normally hangs around its neck, and is made out of a flap of skin. When threatened, the Frilled Lizard will raise its frill making it seen more dangerous.

    Most dog owners feel that their dogs are their best friends. Almost everyone likes dogs because they try hard to please their owners. One of my favorite stories is about a dog who wanted the owner to please him. One of my friends has a large German shepherd(牧羊犬) named Jack. These dogs are often very intelligent (clever). Every Sunday afternoon, my friend takes Jack for a walk in the park. Jack likes these long walks very much.

    One Sunday afternoon, a young man came to visit my friend. He stayed a long time, and he talked and talked. Soon it was time for my friend to take Jack for his walk, but the visitor didn't leave. Jack became very worried about his walk in the park. He walked around the room several times and then sat down directly in front of the visitor and looked at him. But the visitor paid no attention. He continued talking. Finally, Jack couldn't stand(容忍) it any longer. He went out of the room and came back a few minutes later. He sat down again in front of the visitor, but this time he held the man's hat in his mouth.

    German shepherds aren't the only intelligent dogs. Another intelligent dog is a Seeing Eye dog. This is a special dog that helps blind people walk along the streets and do many other things. We call these dogs Seeing Eye dogs because they are the "eyes" of the blind people and they help them to "see". Seeing Eye dogs generally go to special schools for several years to learn to help blind people.

    Do you know the difference between a food chain anda food web? Food chains show how a living thing such as a plant or an animal gets its energy. A food web consists of multiple food chains and includes many more plants and animals than a food chain includes. This diagram shows a food chain within a food web of the African savanna.

    The market for products designed specifically for older adults could reach $30 billion by next year, and startups (初创公司) want in on the action. What they sometimes lack is feedback from the people who they hope will use their products. So Brookdale, the country's largest owner of retirement communication, has been inviting a few select entrepreneurs just to move in for a few days, show off their products and hear what the residents have to say.

    That's what brought Dayle Rodriguez, 28, all the way from England to the dining room of Brookdale South Bay in Torrance, California. Rodriguez is the community and marketing manager for a company called Sentab. The startup's product, Sentab TV, enables older adults who may not be comfortable with computers to access email, video chat and social media using just their televisions and a remote control.

    "It's nothing new, it's nothing too complicated and it's natural because lots of people have TV remotes." says Rodriguez.

    But none of that is the topic of conversation in the Brookdale dining room. Instead, Rodriguez solicits residents' advice on what he should get on his cheeseburger and how he should spend the afternoon. Playing cards was on the agenda, as well as learning to play mahjong(麻将).

    Rodriguez says it's important that residents here don't feel like he's selling them something. "I've had more feedback in a passive approach." he says. "Playing pool, playing cards, having dinner, having lunch, all work better than going through a survey of questions. When they get to know me and to trust me, knowing for sure I'm not selling them something—there'll be more honest feedback from them."

    Rodriguez is just the seventh entrepreneur to move into one of Brookdale's 1,100 senior living communities. Other new products in the program have included a kind of full-body blow dryer and specially designed clothing that allows people with disabilities to dress and undress themselves.

    "First and foremost, the residents love it." says Smith. "It also provides Brookdale the opportunity to learn about and experience new technologies quickly and inexpensively and to make sure that we understand what residents want and need."

    Mary Lou Busch, 93, agreed to try the Sentab system. She tells Rodriguez that it might be good for someone, but not for her.

    "I have the computer and FaceTime, which I talk with my family on." she explains. She also has an iPad and a smart phone. "So I do pretty much everything I need to do."

    Rodriguez takes it pretty well.

    "I'm not going to lie to you, I would've liked a more positive response." he says. But "if people don't need it or want it, it's up to us to change, adapt it or make it more useful."

    To be fair, if Rodriguez had wanted feedback from some more technophobic (害怕技术的) seniors, he might have ended up in the wrong Brookdale community. This one is located in the heart of Southern California's aerospace corridor. Many residents have backgrounds in engineering, business and academic circles.

    But Rodriguez says he's still learning something important by moving into this Brookdale community: "People are more tech-skilled than we thought."

    And besides, where else would he learn to play mahjong?