It started as a special day for Wesley Autrey, a 50-year-old construction worker in New York City. It was about 12:45 P.M., and he was waiting on a subway platform (月台) to take his daughters home before he went to work. He suddenly noticed a man nearby have convulsions (抽搐) and fall down suddenly. Mr. Autrey and two women went to help the stranger. The man, Cameron Hollopeter, managed to get to his feet, but then stumbled (绊倒) at the edge of the platform and fell onto the subway tracks. Mr. Autrey looked up and saw the lights of the subway train coming near through the tunnel.

    Mr. Autrey jumped onto the track immediately. He realized that he didn't have time to get Mr. Hollopeter and himself back up on the platform before the train arrived, so he lay on top of the man and pressed down as hard as he could. Although the driver tried to stop the train before it reached them, he couldn't. Five cars passed over them before the train finally stopped. The cars had passed only inches from his head.

    New York loves a hero. Mr. Autrey became an overnight hero and was named the “Subway Superman”. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave him the Bronze Medallion, the city's highest honor. He was asked to appear on several TV talk shows. He was also rewarded with money and gifts, such as $10,000 from Donald Trump, a $5,000 gift card from the Gap clothing store, a new Jeep, and Beyonce concert tickets.

    How did Autrey react (反应) to all this? He said, “I don't feel like I did anything great; I just saw someone who needed help. I did what I felt was right”.

    I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled(贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.

    War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.

    The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute without a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled(爬) under her covers, weeping. Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart,

    Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn't noticed Kate had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me. “Thanks.”

    Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn't always agree, but we learned the key to living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.

    The other day I heard a few local musicians talking:

    "I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can't even understand a bit of music."

    " I'm never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us."

    But one younger musician said, "There are a few clubs that book my band a few nights a month, and I'm trying to find other places to play. I'm also looking to book a few summer festivals this year."

    I've heard that you are the average of the five people whom you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are.

    Attitudes are important. Whether they're positive or negative, they're rubbing off on you. If you're around people who complain about lack of work and about other musicians, or blame others, and you play the role of victim, chances are you'll start to as well. So it's time to take a look at the people you call "friends".

    This is an easy exercise: Make a list of the people who you hang out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don't become friends with people who fall below that standard.

    Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it. Ask if they will help you get the work you're looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path.

    Almost every light comedy or situation comedy makes me feel like I should be drinking wine every night with my best friend while one of us tries on clothes. Not only should we share the same dress size, but we should also have a long, rich history of togetherness and secrets. Clearly, this is not reality.

    I have 598 friends. OK, but if I'm honest, 99.3 percent of those friends are those I met only once or acquaintances who live too far away to see regularly. That leaves 4 people, who I can call anytime, not feeling like I'm absolutely wasting their time. The remaining 0.2, I've decided, is my houseplant. I can tell it anything.

    Feeling the same way? You're absolutely not alone. Most of us find our "people" in school, but over time life changes: marriage, kids, etc. We grow out of our relationships and they grow out of us.

    So when the relationships come to an end, how do you find a new one?

    A woman in my apartment building, who I had seen around over the years, approached me one day and introduced herself. She bravely stated, "You seem cool. Do you want to hang out with me sometime? I'm looking for new friends." I almost dropped my bag of groceries at her social honesty. And now we get together for coffee a few times a year, gossip (八卦) about the neighbors, and take in the mail when one of us is on vacation. But a few times a year isn't enough for me.

    So, what counts as true friendship as you get older? For me, it's feeling comfortable enough to be myself. And if you're like me, it's also trust — not just keeping the secret, but trusting that my life choices aren't their gossip elsewhere.

    Eating chips, chocolates and cakes may damage a child's intelligence, according to researchers at Bristol University. Their study suggests a link between diet high in processed(加工的) food and a slightly lower IQ. Writing in the journal of Epidemiology and Community health, they suggest poor nutrition may affect brain development.

    The eating habits of 3,966 children taking part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children were recorded at the ages of three, four, seven and eight and a half. The researchers said three types of diet appeared: processed diet which was high in fat, sugar and fast food, traditional diet of meat, potatoes and vegetables, and healthy diet of salads, fruit and fish. The children all took IQ tests when they were eight and a half.

    The researchers found a link between IQ and diet, even after taking into consideration other factors such as the mother's level of education and social class. Diet high in processed food at the age of three was linked to a slightly lower IQ at the age of eight and a half, suggesting early eating habits have a long-term influence. Dr Pauline Emmett, who carried out the study at Bristol University, said, “Brain development is much faster in early life, and it's when it does most of its growing.”

    Although the relationship between diet and IQ was very strong, the influence was quite small. Processed food was linked with IQs only a few points lower. Experts in the field said the results had shown common sense was right. Fiona Ford, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, said, “It's well worth looking at the long-term influence of diet, for everyone's familiar with the short term. The research agrees with the type of advice we already know, but that's not always enough. Sometimes a society has to help a person change; we need to educate more young parents about healthy eating.”

    It seems that you can hardly go to any bookstore without encountering Charles Dickens. From Oliver Twist to A Tale of Two Cites, Dickens' works still enjoy great popularity today and are placed on notable shelves.

    As someone who teaches Dickens, the question of why we still read him is often on my min. Nearly 10 years ago, I told my students that Dickens, works started crazes in Victorian readers. Then a hand shot up in the middle of the room. “But why should we still read his stuff?” A student asked. I was speechless because I had never considered the question myself. The answer I gave was only acceptable. “Because he teaches you how to think,” I said.

    The question annoyed me for years, and for years I told myself answers, but never with complete satisfaction. We read Dickens because he not only was a man of his own times, but also is a man for our times. We read Dickens because his exploration of the human mind is deep. We read Dickens because we can learn from the experiences of his characters. These are all wonderful reasons, but not exactly the reasons why I read Dickens.

    My search for an answer continued in vain, until one day a text message came from a student of mine. “We still read Dickens' novels,” she wrote, “because they tell us why we are what we are.” Simple as it was, that was the explanation I had thought for years.

    Like most people, I think I knew who I was without knowing it. I was Oliver Twist, always wanting and asking for more. I was Nicholas Nickleby, convinced that my father was watching me from beyond the grave. I was Pip, in love with someone far beyond my reach. I was all of these characters, and I began to understand more about why I was who I was because Dickens had told me so much about human beings. Dickens shines a light on who we are during the best and worst of times. That's why we still need to read him today.