When John was growing up, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him weeding the garden, carrying out the garbage and delivering newspapers. But when John reached adulthood, he was better off than his childhood playmates. He had more job satisfaction, a better marriage and was healthier. Most of all, he was happier. Far happier.

These are the findings of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 teenage boys from Boston. The study showed that those who had worked as boys enjoyed happier and more productive lives than those who had not. “Boys who worked in the home or community gained competence (能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society,” said George Vaillant, the psychologist (心理学家) who made the discovery. “And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them.”

Vaillant's study followed these males in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Vaillant, the researchers compared the men's mental-health scores with their boyhood-activity scores with their boyhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

The link between what the men had done as boys and how they turned out as adults was surprisingly sharp. Those who had done the most boyhood activities were twice as likely to have warm relations with a wide variety of people, five times as likely to be well paid and 16 times less likely to have been unemployed. The researchers also found that IQ and family social and economic class made no real difference in how the boys turned out.

Working—at any age—is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence—the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this. Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, “One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work.”

    When it was announced that Patrick Modiano had won the Nobel Prize in Literature on Oct.9, the Swedish Academy had not yet managed to reach the writer himself to tell him the news. as the Telegraph put it, “It was a curious case of missing personhood in an author whose career had been spent in searching others, within the confines (界限) of a single city.”

    Though the 69-year-old French author has had a successful writing career, only six of his books have been translated into English. One reason for this might be that “Modiano's storylines are as slim as the books themselves”, said the BBC.

    While most of Modiano's works don't run for hundreds of pages, they explore serious subjects. The author's signature themes are Germany's occupation during World War II and the evolution of Paris over the past century.

    Modiano's life has been greatly affected by Nazi Germany's occupation during the war, and his family's connections to it. According to New York-based newspaper Forward, his father survived the war dishonorably. When Paris's Jews were rounded up for deportation(驱逐)to concentration camps, the businessman did not join them but spent the time making money from deals with Nazis on the black market.

    “The novelist has a duty to record the traces of the people who were made to disappear,” French writer Clemence Boulouque, also an expert in Jewish Studies, told The New York magazine.

    In his more than three dozen novels, Modiano has returned again and to the same themes: Jewishness, the Nazi occupation, and loss of identity.

    Paris is another recurring(重复的)theme in Modiano's works .Most of his novels are set in the city , from the rich parts of downtown Paris to more remote suburbs where the characters try to live anonymous protect lives.

    Anne Ghisoli, the director of  Librairie Gallimard, a bookstore in Paris, concluded, “Modiano is a master of writing on memory and occupation, which haunt(萦绕)and inform his works. He is a chronicler(年代记录者)of  Paris ,its streets, and its present.”

    In the U.S., speaking more than one language fluently is not very common — except in Los Angeles, California. The city has one of the largest populations in the U.S. of young people between the ages of 18 and 34. More than half of them in Los Angeles are bilingual (会说两种语言的).

    Maria Elena Burgos, a mother of two American-born daughters, is cooking a Mexican breakfast. She says making Mexican food is just one of the many traditions in her home. Another is speaking Spanish to her children. “We want to keep Spanish somewhere in their learning too, not only at home.” Ms. Burgos thinks being bilingual will give them more opportunities in the competitive world. Knowing Spanish also means the children can talk with their relatives in Mexico.

     Ms. Burgos' daughters both want to know their family's culture. “We are doing this in order to go back to our roots because that's part of who we are,” they say.

    The U.S. Census Bureau (人口普查局) says more than half the adults in the Los Angeles area between 18 and 34 years old speak a language other than English at home. For the whole country, the number of bilingual adults is only 25 percent. The number of bilingual speakers has gone up since the 1990s.

    University of California Los Angeles professor Raul Hinojosa says that in the past, the children and grandchildren of immigrants (移民) did not continue to speak the parents' native language. But now the opposite is true.

    In the last ten years, more immigrant parents say they want their children to keep speaking their native language. Mr. Hinojosa calls their choice the “path of pride”. The decision to keep a native language is clear in Los Angeles now. And, as the number of minorities in the U.S. continues to grow, he thinks bilingualism will spread to the rest of the country.

    At schools across the United States, students often sit down to cafeteria lunches made from processed foods that are high in fat, sodium, and sugar. But kids at Public School(P. S. )216 in Brooklyn have a different dining experience. Principal Donna Neglia reports that her students love eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

    P. S. 216 participated in the Edible Schoolyard Project, a nonprofit program founded by Chef Alice Waters in 1995. The program that Waters created helps public schools across the country start on-site gardens and weave principles of healthy eating into the curriculum. Students grow and maintain crops, harvesting the fruits and vegetables for cafeteria meals.

    Waters expressed her passion for the principles of the farm-to-table movement. She advised schools to connect with the farmers in their area and change their buying practices when planning meals for students.

    Waters has long been inspiring people to care about where their food comes from. In 1993, she put forward the idea of a White House vegetable garden. It was not until 2009 that Michelle Obama started the garden in the backyard of the White House. She and members of the kitchen staff spent hours tending to the garden, often with help from local school children.

    “That gave people a sense that she cared about children and cared about where our food comes from,” Waters said, praising the former First Lady's concern for young people's health. “We are just building this movement, and it is very exciting. ”

    “Through the Edible Schoolyard Project, students also learn about the benefits of healthy eating in the classroom.” Neglia said. “P. S. 216 is teaching kids about careers in the food industry—such as farming and agriculture, nutrition, food safety, and the restaurant business.”

    Similar classes are taking place around the country. So far, the Edible Schoolyard Project has reached more than 1 million students in more than 367 schools. “I'm thinking about the future of the planet,” Waters said. “I'm doing this for our generation.”

    The phone ID flashed，“Emergency Vet”.“ Oh no” I whispered. I could not lose Merlin now.

    Ron and I had tried to have children for a long time with depressing results. I threw myself into my work. Any maternal feelings I had were spent on Merlin.

    I couldn't wait to get home from work each night. I wanted to pick up that warm bundle of loving fur and nestle him. I wanted to sing “Rock-a-bye Merlin”，as I did every night as he would put his paws around my neck.

    Merlin was my comfort especially at times when I wondered if God was listening. But last night something had changed. Not only did I sing “Rock-a-Bye M1erlin”,but I asked, you 're gone？”

    Although Merlin was 19 years old, a senior in the· age of a cat, he didn't look or act that way. I didn't want to accept the fact that he was nearing the end of his lifetime. My job at the law firm was so demanding and stressful that I couldn't imagine getting through the day without Merlin waiting to greet me at home.

    I dialed the vet's number. I asked for my husband but he already left. Then I took a breath and asked the question that no one wants to ask，“Is my Merlin still alive？”The nurse said“ yes.”

    Ron came home and said that Merlin had almost no red blood cells left. White blood cells were replacing them. Merlin would need expensive transfusions most likely on a monthly basis. We both knew Merlin was running out of time. I asked Ron to drive me to the vet so I could say goodbye to my little boy cat but he was beat tired and it was late. Ron said if Merlin was still alive he next morning then he would take me to the vet.

    The next morning I called the vet. Merlin had survived the night. After driving to the vet, I went into the examining room. The nurse brought Merlin and placed him on an examining table on his side. His eyes were tightly shut. I thought he died already. I carefully edged my hand to reach his body. His body felt warm, but when I spoke his name there was no response. No response to his name or that I was there and that I loved him. I was extremely sad. In that examining room I felt helpless. I wondered how many people in an examining room felt as helpless as I did. Feeling driven to prayer I yelled, “God this isn't good enough. I need to see my Merlin the way I remember him, I need a miracle and I need it now！”

    At that moment, God granted a miracle. Merlin's favorite compliment entered my mind. I said, “Merlin, you are beautiful and you are gorgeous, do you hear me？”

One eye opened.

    I said “Gotcha”. I kept repeating those words.

    Merlin opened the other eye and, one limb at a time, got up. He was waiting for that phrase. He wanted to hear that he was beautiful and gorgeous again.

    Then I experienced another miracle.

    There was no sound in that examining room until Merlin started walking to me. From out of nowhere, or maybe from heaven, I clearly heard a song we sung in church often: “It Is Well With My Soul.” I remember叫thinking，“Yes, it is well with my soul. I got to see my little boy cat one more time.”

    Merlin walked to me. He put his face in mine, which he had never done before. He rubbed a circle around my face twice. Merlin said goodbye with his face and marked me for life.

    Ron appeared shocked that Merlin was up and had walked to me. I said to Merlin，“Tell God you are a good boy and how much we love you”and then handed him back to the nurse.

    Tears of gratitude poured forth in memory of a miracle. You see for nineteen years God spoke to me through a special cat named granted a miracle. That miracle gave me time to say goodbye.

    WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL REALITY CINEMA AMSTERDAM

    World's First Virtual Reality Cinema

    Going to the VR CINEMA offers you the opportunity to watch movies like you've never done before. You can see 360 degree movies using a VR headset. In the VR CINEMA, ringing mobile phones and noisy visitors belong to the past. Furthermore, traditional red cinema chairs or the big white screen are nowhere to be found. Instead, a Samsung Galaxy S6 (smart phone) together with the Samsung Gear VR (virtual reality glasses) transports you to a completely new world. Headphones shut out background noise, and above all, offer super sound quality. Turning chairs allow you to freely look around and see what's happening above, below, behind, in front, on the right and on the left side of you. So no sore neck, we promise.

    In the VR CINEMA, you will experience 30 minutes of the coolest virtual reality films. We proudly present four film selections in different themes in order to please every virtual reality lover. Are you brave enough for our scary films? Will you immerse (沉浸于) yourself in VR documentaries from around the globe? Do you prefer to go on an adventurous journey like no other? Or do your kids want to swim with dolphins, interact with magical characters, and experience the moving stories beyond imagination? Supernatural, Documentary, Journey and Fun are waiting for you!

    For kids, young and older ones, there's the cheerful and colourful selection. The only thing you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the VR experience of your choice.

    Location: Oosterdokskade 5, 1011 AD Amsterdam The Netherlands

    Tel: +31(0) 6 27 00 69 16

    E-mail: mail@thevrcinema.com

    Ticket Price: ￡12.5

    Opening hours: Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 14:00-21:00

    Saturday & Sunday: 12:00-22:00