Getting late for a meeting, I need to run,” he said, as he put his coat over the shoulder and rushed out of the house. As he drove away, she came running down the stairs two at a time. “Wait, wait,” she shouted, but he had already left.

    “He forgot to give me a goodbye kiss,” she said in a low, sad voice that shook under the weight of the hurt. She called him and said, “You left without giving me a kiss.” “I am sorry, sweetheart,” he said, his voice shaking. “It is okay,” she said, trying to be all grown-up as she cut the call.

    She ate her breakfast quickly, put on her shoes, picked up her school bag and started to walk out of the door. Her shoulders were slumped(耷拉) and her eyes were filled with tears. As she climbed down the steps, a car came to a stop outside the house. He got out of the car. She ran to him.

    “I am sorry I forgot,” he said, as he picked her up and hugged her. She said nothing. Her jaw ached from smiling.

    Fifteen years later, no one would remember he was late for a meeting, but a little girl would never ever forget that her father drove all the way back home just to kiss her goodbye!

    What is more important, work or family? Some parents always put work before everything. But some put family first. Remember, the company will run the same without you and your colleagues(同事) may forget you soon after you leave. But you are everything to your children.

    German engineers Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz built the first successful gasoline engines in 1885.After 1900, however, the United States became a leader in automobile production.

    The first cars were handmade and very expensive. Only people in rich cities could afford them. The first company to make gasoline cars in the U.S. was the Duryea Motor Wagon Company. Then, in 1901, Ransom E. Olds Began mass-producing his car, the Oldsmobile. In 1913Henry Ford made great strides in the mass production of cars by using an assembly line in his factory. Mass production meant that each car was less expensive to make. Now car ownership was affordable for the average person. By 1916there were more than one million cars in the United States.

    The automobile gave people the freedom to travel anywhere there were passable roads. Families that lived great distance apart could travel by automobile to visit each other. People could visit places they had never seen before.

    Before the mass production of cars, people lived close to work. Their means of transportation included walking, riding a bicycle, using a horse and carriage, or taking a train. The automobile gave people the ability to live farther away from work. The result was that gradually people moved out of the cities to the less crowded suburbs.

    The automobile industry created millions of jobs. The jobs were not just in the auto factories, where the cars were assembled. Workers were needed to make auto parts, run gas stations and repair shops, and work at new motels and restaurants that served people who traveled by car. Jobs became available at car rental companies. People were needed to build roads. These jobs and many others still exist because of the automobile.

    Mary Anning was an English fossil(化石)collector，dealer and paleontologist(古生物学家).Her fossil-hunting helped change the way people thought about the world.

    Mary was born into a poor family in England on May 21, 1799. She lived in the seaside town of Lyme Regis, in Dorset. The family had nine children. Only Mary and her brother Joseph grew up. Mary's father took his children along the beach. They picked up shells and stones to sell to visitors. Mary did not go to school much. Her family was too poor. And schools did not teach children about fossils. Mary could read and write. She taught herself. She learned about rocks and how bodies are made.

    In 1811 when Mary and Joseph were fossil hunting, Joseph saw a bone sticking out of the rock. Mary had a hammer to chip away at the rock. Very carefully she uncovered it. She found the first complete fossil of the ichthyosaur(鱼龙).

    Since then, Mary became crazy about fossil hunting. She liked to hunt on the beach after a storm. The wind, rain and waves made the rocks crumble. It was easy to spot fossils. Most days Mary went fossil hunting with her dog, Tray.

    Rich friends helped Mary by selling fossils for her. They sent her money. Scientists wrote letters and came to see her. One good friend was William Buckland, a professor at Oxford University. Mary also opened a shop to sell fossils, stones and shells. She chatted with visitors.

    Mary Anning died in1847. How evolution(进化)works was explained by Charles Darwin not long after Mary died. Her fossils had helped scientists understand how things began.

    My elephant adventures began in 1984 when, with our one-year-old daughter, my husband and I crossed the jungle in a jeep, slicking behind a lorry for comfort and company. The elephants standing like watchers on either side of the forest highway had us praying for our safety. One elephant made loud noise and angrily pawed (抓) the ground, warning us off. We raced away before they could attack.

    It was wise to keep elephants at a distance. We heard stories of tourists whose jeeps were overturned, and a couple of photographers were killed because they moved too close. Elephants are misleading animals. They give people an impression of being quiet and kind, so tourists think it's safe to picnic in the jungle (丛林). Yet angry elephants have knocked them down in seconds before they could take off.

    Elephants might make life unpredictable and dangerous. It's difficult for inexperienced environmentalists to even, begin to grasp this reality. I've heard city people say " We humans are encroaching (侵害) on their forests." But what's the solution?

    When a poor farmer borrows heavily to plant a crop, he'll do anything to protect it His life depends on it Elephants ruining an about-to-be-harvested corn field cannot expect to be welcomed like special guests. The battle between beast and farmer is violent.

    Experts are working on solutions to human-elephant conflicts (冲突). Some are sure to fail to like the plans to build electric fences around human settlements. Elephants rapidly figure them out and come in, around and over them.

    There are more questions than answers, for sure. But as my husband said, "More people die in car accidents every single day, in every city on the earth. But they won't take cars off the roads, will they?" So we need to seek practical ways of preventing elephant accidents.

    India has a very vast history and heritage (遗产). The country has witnessed some of the most important events in the past and every event has an effect of its own on the culture, religion, lifestyle, and economy of the country. This is one of the leading reasons why tourists prefer India to travel and explore. Historical tours in India provide everything that a traveler expects from his/her journey. These historical tours give an opportunity to study and explore Indian history.

    Historical tours of India generally consisted of four phases: ancient, medieval (中世纪的), modern India and contemporary (当代的) India. Some of the historical travel packages are:

    Forts and Palaces

    The rich cultural past of India is reflected in the countless forts (堡垒) and palaces across the country. Most of the forts were constructed as a defense device to keep the enemy away and palaces were made on the names of the kings and queens. Some of the famous forts and palaces are: Agra Fort (Agra), Fatehpur Sikri (Agra), Hawa Mahal (Jaipur), Amber Fort (Jaipur), City Palace (Jaipur), Gwalior Fort (Gwalior), Mysore Palace (Mysore), Red Fort (Delhi), etc.

    India Heritage Tours

    The main purpose of India Heritage tours is to make Indians as well as tourists familiar with the rich Indian legacy (遗产). The heritage of the country is at least 5000 years. Some of the heritage tours are: medieval heritage, Rajput heritage, Golden Triangle, splendid Gujarat, etc.

    South India Historical Tours

    The Southern India is known for its diversity and there are many places, which (景区) in South India include Goa, Cochin, Kerala, Munnar, Periyar, Kottayam and the list goes on and on.

Four Books about Curious Creatures

In these brilliant books find out about fleas, foxes and some unexpected friendships. 

Animal Sidekicks

by Macken Murphy.

Illustrated by DraganKordic

This illustrated book explores the idea of symbiosis—animals that form amazing relationships to help each other. Youˈll learn about clownfish living peacefully with poisonous sea anemone, the frog that lives with a tarantula, and lots more. 

The Secret Life of Foxes

by ChloePetrylak.

Have you ever spotted a fox on the streets of your town at night or even in your back garden? Wildlife enthusiasts will love finding out more about the mysterious lives of foxes. As well as lots of interesting information, this book includes great ideas for ways to help foxes near you. 

PleaseDonˈt Bite Me

by Nazzy Pakpour.

Illustrated by Owen Davey

Did you know that wasps can build nests as much as five metres wide? Or that fleas can jump 150 times their own height? How do mosquitoes track you down? This interesting illustrated book digs out the surprising lives of some of the buzzing, biting and stinging insects that are all around. 

Stone Age Beasts

by BenLerwill.

Illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith

Travel back in time to meet incredible creatures in this beautiful book. It features many of the prehistoric animals that our human ancestors would have met face-to-face in the Stone Age. Learn about the woolly mammoth, the sabre-toothed cat, and the six-metre snake that once slithered along the forest floor.