Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named “Lucky”．Whenever Mary and Jim had friends come for a weekend visit，they would warn their friends not to leave their luggage open because Lucky would steal something from their luggage and he always hid his finds in his toy box in the basement.

    It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer.She felt she was going to die of this disease.The night before she was to go to the hospital，a thought struck her，“What would happen to Lucky？” “If I die，who will look after Lucky？” Mary thought.The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

    Mary stayed in the hospital for two weeks.Jim took Lucky for his evening walk every day，but the little dog just looked sad and miserable.

    Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital.When she arrived home，Mary was so tired that she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom.Jim made his wife comfortable on the bed and left her to sleep.

    Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called.It made Mary sad.But she felt so sleepy that soon she fell asleep.

    When Mary woke，for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong.She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy.But panic(惊慌) soon gave way when Mary realized the problem.She was enclothed with a blanket，and with every treasure Lucky owned!

    While she had slept，the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved hostess all his favorite things.He had covered her with his love.

    It's been 12 years now and Mary is still living.Lucky? He still steals treasures and hides them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

    Gardening can be a very relaxing hobby for many people and this wonderful experience is not just for adults. Children are interested in gardening as well, if given the chance to explore nature and science in this way. Gardening can bring joy to both children and their parents alike, especially when the experience is shared together.

    The time that is spent gardening together builds precious memories within their hearts and minds for years to come. When you are gardening with your children, try to give them their own special area. Keep their area in the center of the best soil and light, as you want to make sure of a successful gardening experience.

    Plastic tools easily break and are difficult to use in the dirt, so when you are gardening with your children, give them real tools to use if possible. Even offering to let them use your tools is a way to admit the worth of the work they are doing. It is also important to talk with your children about the whole process of gardening, from planting to the harvest. They need to understand how things work and the importance of what they are doing.

    Show off the children's gardening work by taking friends and visitors for a walking tour through the garden and point out the children's particular spot. When you give attention to the children's work, this is a great motivation（动机） for children to continue wanting to be involved. Do not force children to take part when they are in a bad mood or if they are becoming bored. Instead, allow them to do something different, like building a scarecrow(稻草人)! This makes the gardening experience even more interesting. As you work together side by side with your children, you will encourage a love of the land in them, as well as creating lasting memories of time spent with you.

    One May morning, 10-year-old Khadab played in the ruins of a school near his home in northern Iraq. He saw something that looked interesting. It was yellow and plastic and looked like a ball. He reached for his new toy and, BANG!

    The last thing he remembered was a big noise. When Khadab awoke, he was in hospital. His parents stood sadly by his side. They told him he had picked up an unexploded bomb. When it exploded, Khadab lost an arm.

    He was just one of hundreds of Iraqi children who have been injured or killed by stepping on and picking up explosives left over from the war.

    These landmines (地雷) and bombs have injured and killed at least 15 people a day since Saddam Hussein's government fell on April 9. And children are the most affected.

    Iraq is among the worst landmine-affected countries in the world. Many villages in the war-torn areas are surrounded by minefields (雷区). These landmines lie on the ground between rocks, up in trees and on riverbeds.

    Even though the war in Iraq is over, many children have not returned to school. They can be seen walking the streets with the natural curiosity of young kids. Their new playgrounds are places where the fighting took place. Many boys can be seen playing with unexploded bombs. A new game is to throw the bombs and run away. Some of them get away, but too many are killed. They do this for fun, and don't realize the dangers until it's too late.

    UNICEF (联合国教科文组织) has warned children, through the TV, of the dangers of landmines and unexploded bombs in Iraq. They hope to make children aware of the dangers they face.

    “I can't imagine there's going to be a classroom in the north without scared children in it. It's so widespread,” said Sean Sutton of the British-based Mines Advisory Group (MAG).

    MAG is an organization working to clear unexploded bombs and landmines in war-torn areas.

    It is difficult to report the exact number of deaths. Sutton said MAG found 320 injuries in northern Iraq in the first month after April 9. But he said the real figure was probably much higher.

    Are you a social media addict? Are you always checking your smart phone to see how many "likes" you've received for your latest post? Maybe you feel comforted by the sound that someone has sent you a message?

    Don't worry, you're not alone. We check our phones an average of 150 times a day, and around 30% of the total time spent online is devoted to social media. Some experts now fear this habit could be damaging our mental health.

    This is something particularly bothering young adults, according to a study from the University of Pittsburgh. It found the more they used social media, the more likely they were to be depressed. In tests, those people who checked social media frequently were 2.7 times more likely to be depressed compared to those who spent most of their time generally surfing the Internet, who had just 1.7 times the risk.

    Some of us certainly feel sad when we're ignored on social media sites, or when we see someone else having a better time than us. But depression is a more serious condition and clinical psychologist, Abigael San, recently told the BBC that ,"It's a real issue, and it's been getting significantly worse over the last 5﹣6 years. You can get so hooked that it takes you away from your real relationships. "However, Abigael does admit that social media is more likely to worsen pre﹣existing issues than directly cause them.

    Other research by the University of Glasgow found that teenagers are affected by the 24﹣hour demands of their social media accounts. It found that those with higher levels of emotional investment in social media, and who use it at night, were more likely to feel depressed and anxious.

    Despite these warning signs, why do some of us continue to keep clicking? Well, I suppose we all want to be liked and we don't want to miss out on a conversation that's taking place online. But we need to know when to switch off our virtual online world and connect with the real world instead.

    14 Oct 2019

    Sydney, CBD, Inner West & Eastern Suburbs

    Full Time

    Administration & Office Support, Office Management

    The Opportunity:

    We are currently looking for an energetic office assistant to support the daily running of our office! This is a hands-on role that would suit someone who has an office management background and is looking for a busy role within an exciting industry. Within this role you will have the opportunity to deal with clients at home and abroad.

    Duties will include, but are not limited to:

    Being the face of the office!

    Meet and greet guests with a warm and friendly approach

    Manage all deliveries in and out of the office

    Office Administration

    Manage expenses for the management team

    Order stationary

    Manage kitchen supplies

    Order samples for sales staff

    General office management ensuring everywhere is kept tidy

    Sales & Marketing Support

    Support the management team on meeting arrangements

    Order catering for meetings

    Event Management

    Coordination of wine dinners with customers

    Arrange office social events

    Travel Bookings

    Support the management team with travel bookings

    About you:

    To be successful in this role you will have administration or office management experience and will be comfortable dealing with people at all levels. You will be flexible, adaptable and will have strong organizational skills.

    To apply for this role, please submit your application through our career's website: http://careers.australianvintage.com.au/