Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation?

    UBC Professor Simard explains how trees are much more complex than most of us ever imagined .Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard shows just how wrong he was. In fact, the opposite is true: trees survive through their co-operation and support, passing around necessary nutrition “depending on who needs it”.

    Nitrogen（氮） and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi（真菌） networks, making sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This hidden system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons（神经元）in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it affects all.

    Simard talks about “mother trees”, usually the largest and oldest plants on which all other trees depend .She explains how dying trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important minerals to young trees so they may continue to grow .When humans cut down “mother trees” with no awareness of these highly complex “tree societies” or the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances of survival for the entire forest.

    “We didn't take any notice of it .” Simard says sadly. “Dying trees move nutrition into the young trees before dying, but we never give them chance.” If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.

    The O. Henry Museum

    The aim of the O. Henry Museum is to collect, preserve, and interpret artifacts，works and archival (档案的) materials relative to the author, for literary» educational, and historical purposes that are accessible to the public. The museum was set up in 1934, under the authority of the City of Austin, and is both a National Register Property and a National Literary Landmark.

    The O. Henry Museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 5:00 pm. Admission is free. Tours are also available for free. Please contact the museum at least one week in advance to schedule a tour for a group of 10 or more. Metered parking is available on the street in front of the museum. The museum's gift shop has for sale T-shirts, coffee mugs, DVDs, and an array of books by and about O. Henry.

    Group tours:

    We ask for one-week advance notice of groups more than 10 people, including schools, church groups, and organizations.

    Donations:

    Donations greatly benefit the museum and its programs. Inquire about contributing.

    Volunteer:

    Contact us about volunteering at the museum. We are currently in need of a gardener and a volunteer docent (讲解员).

    Staff:

    Valerie Bennett, Curator valerie. bennett@ci. austin. tx. us

    Michael Hoinski, Culture & Arts Education Specialist michael. hoinski@ci. austin. tx. us

    Elizabeth Taylor, Docent

    Location: 409 East Fifth Street, Austin, Texas 78701

    We have most friends at the age of 26 after having spent the first quarter of our lives building up our friendship circle, a new research has claimed.

    The research into friendship shows that our social circle peaks at 26 years and 7 months, at which we typically have five close friends.  Women are most popular at 25 years and 10 months, with men hitting the highest friendship point a little later at 27 years and 3 months.

    The research, by Forever Friends, shows that about a third of adults meet their closest friends when at school, with about a fifth saying they meet them at work.

    Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter now also play a major role in building new friendship. The research points out that 25 to 34-year-olds make 22 friends via Facebook, compared to 18 to 24-year-olds who make 12, and 35 to 44-year-olds who make just 4.

    Forever Friends' relationship coach Sam Owen says, “It is no coincidence that over a third of us meet our best friends at school.  It is a key time in our lives when friendship is growing through sharing notes, giving gifts, seeing each other regularly and laughing a lot.  As adults we can often forget how powerful these small things are and how the little things can make a difference. ”

    Later in life we find ourselves losing friends. Over half of us lose friendship through moving, while 36% say that over time they grow apart from close pals. Having children also causes 19% to drift away from childhood friends.  

    With growing pressures being put on friendship these days, it's important to make time for our friendship.

    For as long as we've known about it, humans have searched for a cure for cancer. Across the world, countless amounts of time and money have been spent on researching a way to stop this terrible disease. But now, it seems like the answer could have been inside our own bodies the whole time.

    Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, a government agency that's responsible for healthcare, approved a new form of gene therapy (疗法) that could mean the end of a certain type of cancer.

    The therapy allows scientists to "train" the immune (有免疫力的) cells of sick patients to fight leukemia (白血病)—a form of blood cancer that mostly affects young people.

    The exciting new treatment works by removing healthy immune cells from the patient, known as T-cells, which are then changed to be able to "hunt down" cancer cells.

    The cells are then put back into the patient before they begin to get rid of the patient's leukemia over time, similar to how the body fights off other illnesses.

    "This is truly an exciting new day for cancer patients," Louis J. DeGennaro, president of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, said in a news release.

    Up until now, a long and painful marrow transplant (骨髓移植) was the only option for many leukemia patients.

    In this procedure, healthy blood cells are taken from a donator and placed into the sick patient, who also has to go through chemotherapy (化疗) to allow their body to adjust to the new cells.

    But with a recovery rate of around 83%—according to a news release published by the FDA—it's hoped that the days of painful trips to the hospital, or even death, are over for leukemia sufferers.

    "We're entering a new frontier in medical innovation (创新) with the ability to reprogram a patient's own cells to attack a deadly cancer," FDA representative Scott Gottlieb said in the release. "New technologies such as gene and cell therapies hold the potential to transform medicine and our ability to treat and even cure many incurable illnesses."

    "Opinion" is a word that is used carelessly today. It is used to refer to matters of taste, belief, and judgment. This inaccurate use would probably cause little confusion if people didn't attach too much importance to opinion. Unfortunately, most attach great importance to it. "I have as much right to my opinion as you to yours,'' and "Everyone's entitled to his opinion,'' are common expressions. In fact, anyone who would challenge another's opinion is likely to be branded intolerant.

    Is that label accurate? Is it intolerant to challenge another's opinion? It depends on what definition of opinion you have in mind. For example, you may ask a friend "What do you think of the new Ford cars?" And he may reply, "In my opinion, they're ugly." In this case, it would not only be intolerant to challenge his statement, but foolish. For it's obvious that by opinion he means his personal preference, a matter of taste. And as the old saying goes, "It's pointless to argue about matters of taste."

    But consider this very different use of the term. A newspaper reports that the Supreme Court has delivered its opinion in a controversial case. Obviously the justices did not share their personal preferences, their mere likes and dislikes. They stated their considered judgment, painstakingly arrived at after thorough inquiry and deliberation(审议).

    Most of what is referred to as opinion falls somewhere between these two extremes. It is not an expression of taste. Nor is it careful judgment. Yet it may contain elements of both. It is a view or belief more or less inaccurately arrived at, with or without examining the evidence.

    Is everyone entitled to his opinion? Of course, this is not only permitted, but guaranteed. We are free to act on our opinions only so long as, in doing so, we do not harm others.

    My topic today is the Internet. It was prompted(引出)by the first letter, which I am unable to answer fully for the reasons given!

    Dear David, I am a middle school student. Now I am preparing for a writing competition. Could you please check the mistakes in my article about using the Internet and give me some advice? Thank you.

    No name

    David writes: I am very sorry to say that I think it would be very unfair for me to help you win a competition — unfair to the other competitors!

    But I will say that your article is very interesting and I wish you good luck. Your article makes some good points that deserve talking about in this column!

    Dear David,

    I'm now learning English by myself. Can you introduce some useful websites where I can make friends with foreigners? Please help me.

    Moonlight

    David writes: Well, dear moonlight, I bet you made a good choice by using the Net in your self-studies. Two very good websites I would suggest to you are: www.britishcouncil.org.cn and www.britishcouncil.org /learnenglish.

    By the way, for those readers interested in the teaching of English, there is an Internet discussion group called ELTCSChi-L (English Language Teaching Contacts Scheme China List).And also, a healthy warning to all my readers: If over-used, the Internet can be a WOMBAT-A Waste of Money, Brains and Time!