Time is more precious than money for an increasing number of people who are choosing to live more with less—and liking it.

    Kay and Charles Giddens, two lawyers, sold their home to start a B&B hotel. Four years later, the couple dishes out banana pancake breakfast, cleans toilets and serves homemade chocolate chip cookies to guests in a B&B hotel surrounded by trees on a hill known for colourful sunsets.

    “Do I miss the freeways? Do I miss the traffic? Do I miss the stress? No,” says Ms. Giddens, “This is a phenomenon that's fairly widespread. A lot of people are revaluating their lives and figuring out what they want to do. If their base is being damaged, what's the payoff?”

    Simple living ranges from cutting down on weeknight activities to sharing housing, living closer to work, avoiding shopping malls, borrowing books from the library instead of buying them, and taking a cut in pay to work at a more pleasurable job.

    Vicki Robin, a writer, lives on a budget equal to a fifth of what she used to make. “You become conscious about where your money is going and how valuable it is,” Ms. Robin says, “You tend not to use things up. You cook at home rather than eat out…”

    Janet Luhrs, a lawyer, quit her job after giving birth and leaving her daughter with a nanny for two weeks. “It was not the way I wanted to raise my kids,” she says, “Simplicity is not just about saving money; it's about me sitting down every night with my kids to a candlelit dinner with classical music.”

    Mrs. Luhrs now edits a magazine, Simple Living, which publishes tips on how to buy recycled furniture and shoes, organize potluck dinners instead of expensive receptions, and generally how to consume less.

    Mrs. Luhrs explains, “It's not about poverty. It's about conscious living and creating the life you want. The less stuff you buy, the less money goes out of the door, and the less money you have to earn.”

    Everybody hates rats (big mice). But in the earthquake capitals of the world — Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey — rats will soon be man's best friends.

    What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can't get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.

    How does it work? First, the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat's brain gives a signal (信号)．This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When the rat's brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.

    Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, "Robots' noses don't work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that." Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don't need electricity!

    The "rat project" is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Organization in Scotland says, "It would be wonderful. A rat could get into spaces we couldn't get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn't safe." Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building (but only after an earthquake, of course).

    Palaces are known for their beauty and splendor, but they offer little protection against attacks. It is easy to defend a fortress (堡垒),but fortresses are not designed with the comfort of a king or queen in mind. When it comes to structures that are both majestic and well-defended, the classic European castle is the best example of design. Across the ages castles changed, developed, and eventually fell out of use, but they still command the fascination of our culture.

    Castles were originally built in England by Norman invaders. In 1066. As William the Conqueror advanced through England, he defended key positions to secure the land he had taken. The castles he built allowed the Norman lords to draw back to safety when threatened by English rebellion. Castles also served as bases of operation for offensive attacks. Troops were summoned to（召集）, organized around, and deployed (部署) from castles. In this way castles served both offensive and defensive roles in military operations.

    Not limited to military purposes, castles also served as offices from which the lord would administer control over his kingdom. That is to say, the lord of the land would hold court in his castle. Those that were socially beneath the lord would come to report the affairs of the lands that they governed and pay tribute to the lord. They would address conflicts, handle business, feast, and enjoy festivities, In this way castles served as important social centers in medieval England. Castles also served as symbols of power. Built on important and noticeable sites overlooking the surrounding areas, castles constantly appeared in the background of many peasants' lives and served as a daily reminder of the lords strength.

    Now, castles no longer serve their original purposes. However, the remaining castles receive millions of visitors each year from those who wish to experience the glory of a time long passed.

    Making employees feel happy and healthy at work is good for many businesses. But it isn't always an easy thing. A study suggests that only 33% of the U. S. employees consider themselves fully engaged （投身于）in work, while 16% are greatly disengaged, and 51% are just showing up.

    But there is an exception. When it comes to employee engagement, it seems that employees in small companies are doing better. According to the same research, the largest U. S. companies are at the lowest levels of engagement, while companies with fewer than 25 employees are at the highest. And in one recent report, 75% of small business workers surveyed said they were "very" or "extremely" satisfied with their role as a small company employee.

    Unlike big companies, small companies are often short of resources but the employees can get more surprises there. Small companies offer excellent career opportunities to their employees. The bosses often know their staff very well and understand their personal needs. Employees of small companies are more likely to receive free meals, paid leave, and they can even bring their pets to work.

    But of course, there are many other draws in small businesses. One of the top draws is flexible scheduling (弹性工时). Another is being able to really see the fruits of one's labor. Besides, non-cash award is also a big draw. This could be something small that reflects employees' interests and lifestyles.

    While a parental leave might lead to some financial problems, small companies may do something to improve it. "It may be impossible for a five-person team to be reduced to four for six months," writes Camillia Velasquez, head of HR management platform, Justworks. "But it could be possible to allow new parents to take on reduced hours in a work-from-home environment." This kind of method has been realized in some small companies.

    Families around the country are finding new options for their children's midday meal thanks to a growing number of delivery options catering to students. Kiddos Catering in Chicago adopts a method of providing restaurant meals to schools that contract with it. Owner Michelle Moses and her staff work with area restaurants to create a variety of kid-friendly choices and deliver the meals to the schools five days a week. Parents select the lunches from an online order form that lists the day's featured restaurant and its menu choices.

    "Each day is a different restaurant with six to 10 menu options," she said. "It offers so much choice to kids." The service appeals to parents because they think their children are less likely to toss out restaurant food than a packed lunch, Ms. Moses said. The schools appreciate that Moses handles the ordering, payment, pickup, and food distribution in the cafeteria. "Schools really want to be in the business of educating kids," she said. "They don't want to be in the food and beverage(餐饮) business."

    That doesn't mean that schools always like it when teens (or parents) take it upon themselves to order food through phone apps. Many schools have banned that practice, citing safety concerns about delivery drivers showing up at school unannounced and the burden of tracking down students to alarm them that their meals have arrived.

    "These types of deliveries pose an unnecessary security risk for students and staff," said Bernard Watson, director of community relations for Gwinnett County Public Schools in Suwanee, Ga. "In addition, our award-winning school nutrition program provides students with a wide variety of tasty, nutritious meals on-site, so there is no need to order food from outside."

    Jacob Levin, a recent graduate of Bexley High School in Bexley, Ohio, relied on a sub shop to deliver a sandwich to him during lunchtime meetings or other appointments that conflicted with his lunch period. "It was a convenient option. In most cases, I would not have been able to eat at school if it weren't for the delivery option," he said. "Having a restaurant-quality sub also was much more enjoyable than cafeteria food."