Meet big brother Blue and his sisters Meadow and Little Willow, a family of three blind cats that got adopted by the family Catherine Magno.

    Their story starts just before the Christmas of 2014 when the kittens (小猫) were found in an abandoned house in Dubai. By then they had already lost their sight due to a cat flu that was left untreated by their previous (先前的) owner. After that they came to an animal home. At some point, brother Blue almost got adopted by the previous owner's neighbor, but the poor confused cat couldn't bear living without his sisters and cried all night while searching for them. Soon they were all united in the animal home until the important night of 19 February 2015, when Catherine took under her wing.

    “I had zero experience having adopted my first ever rescue kitten just a couple of months ago,” Catherine said. “But their story touched my heart so much that I couldn't bear the thought of them being put in a cage for a very long time or even worse.”

    Catherine was worried about the special needs of her new pet friends: “My worry was that it's going to not only be challenging but also require a lot of adjustments on my part,” but apparently it wasn't that much different. “The only adjustment early on was keeping everything where it was but they are soon adaptive(适应的).” And as she wonderfully put it: “Blind pets see through their hearts.”

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Do you want to get home from work knowing you have made a real difference in someone's life?

If yes, don't care about sex or age! Come and join us, then you'll make it!

    Position: Volunteer Social Care Assistant

     (No Pay with Free Meals)

    Place: Manchester

    Hours: Part Time

We arc now looking for volunteers to support people with learning disabilities to live active lives! Only 4 days left. Don't miss the chance of lending your warm hands to help others!

    Role:

    You will provide people with learning disabilities with all aspects of their daily lives. You will help them to develop new skills. You will help them to protect their rights and their safety. But your primary concern is to let them know they are valued.

    Skills and Experience Required:

You will have the right values and great listening skills. You will be honest and patient. You will have the ability to drive a car and to communicate in fluent written and spoken English since you'll have to help those people with different learning disabilities. Previous care-related experience will be a great advantage for you.

    Kiss crisis, hug horrors and the UK's handshake headaches

    Greeting someone, saying goodbye — these situations fill me with unease. You have a second to make a dangerous decision. One peck (轻吻)? Two pecks? Three? No kisses at all? Why, I think, as I crash into the other person's face, why can't it be as simple as a handshake?

    A survey by the soap company Redox in May showed one in five Brits now feels a handshake is “too formal”, according to the Daily Mail. Some 42 percent said they never shook hands when greeting friends. For one third of people the alternative was a hug, for 16 percent a kiss on the cheek.

    British people are known to be reserved (保守的) — unfriendly, some would say. Handshakes used to work for us because we didn't have to get too close. But the super-British handshake is no longer fashionable. We want to be more like our easygoing Mediterranean neighbors who greet each other with kisses and hugs.

    The trouble is, we still find it a bit awkward. What does a married man do when greeting a married female friend, for example? How should someone younger greet someone older?

    Guys don't tend to kiss one another; my male friends in Britain go for the “manly hug”, taking each other stiffly (不自然地) in one arm and giving a few thumps on the back with words like “Take it easy, yeah?”.

    The biggest questions, if you do decide to kiss, are how many times and which cheek first. Unlike the French, who comfortably deliver three, our cheek-pecks usually end in embarrassed giggling (咯咯笑): “Oh, gosh, sorry, I didn't mean to kiss you on the lips, I never know where to aim for first!”

    But then it's never been easy for us poor, uncomfortable Brits. Even the handshake had its problems: don't shake too hard, but don't hold the other person's hand too limply (无力地) either, and definitely don't go in with sweaty hands.

    Maybe it's better to leave it at a smile and a nod. 

The most anticipated films of 2018

    Thanks to movies like Wolf Warrior 2, Never Say Die, Youth, The Fate of the Furious an Dangal, the 2017 box office gross (票房收入) has reached new heights. Meanwhile, audience have been fed up with Hollywood's long dependence on sequel (续集) films. A lack of origin stories has been criticized for a while.

    As we embrace the new year, let's look to the future, and the most anticipated films in t following year.

Guardians of The Tomb

Country: China and Australia

Release Date: Jan 19, 2018

Director: Kimble Rendall

Stars: Li Bingbing, Kellan Lutz, Wu Zun, Kelsey Grammer

    An innocent discovery of a well-preserved mummified Emperor from 200 BC China unearths a 2000-year-old nightmare — a secret that should have remained buried.

Monster Hunt 2

Country: China

Release Date: Feb 16, 2018

Director: Raman Hui

Stars: Bai Baihe, Jing Boran, Tony Leung Chiu-wai

    Monster Hunt was a huge commercial success, breaking numerous box office records. The film took place in the distant past, when the human race existed alongside the Monster race. Monster Hunt 2 is the sequel of it.

Avengers: Infinity War

Country: United States Release

Date: May 4, 2018

Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans

    The upcoming American superhero film, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers, is the sequel to 2012's Marvel's the Avengers and 2015's Avengers.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation

Country: United States

Release Date: July 13, 2018

Director: Genndy Tartakovsky

Stars: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, David Spade

    This 3D animated cartoon movie, the sequel of Hotel Transylvania 2, is a fantasy-comedy for your whole family to enjoy.

    When I was a little girl, I remember that when my dad was repairing something, he would ask me to hold the hammer, so we would have time for a conversation with each other. I never saw my dad drinking or taking a night out. All he did after work was taking care of his family.

    I grew up and left home for college and since then, my dad had been calling me every Sunday morning. And when I bought a house several years later, my dad painted it by himself in the fierce summer heat. All he asked was to talk to him, but I was too busy in those days.

    Four years ago, my dad visited me. He spent many hours putting together a swing for my daughter. He asked me to have a talk with him, but I had to prepare for a trip that weekend.

    One Sunday morning we had a telephone talk as usual. I noticed that my dad had forgotten some things that we discussed lately. I was in a hurry, so our conversation was short. Several hours later that day I received a call. My father was in the hospital. Immediately I bought a plane ticket and on my way I was thinking about all the occasions I missed to have a talk with my dad. By the time I arrived at the hospital, my father had passed away. Now it was he who did not have time for a conversation with me. I realized how little I knew about my dad, his deepest thoughts and his dreams.

    After his death I learned much more about him and even more about myself. All he ever wanted was my time. And now he has all my attention every single day.

    My family and I never talked about school as the ticket to a future. I was in the classrooms, but I wasn't there to learn to write, read or even speak. When it was my turn to read, I wanted to hide. I was 13 years old, but I already hated being who I was.

    I had an English teacher, Mr. Creech, who knew I couldn't read. In one of my first lessons the teacher said that anyone who had a reading age below six had to stand up. I felt so embarrassed. But at the same time, it made me realize that I needed to change the situation. I was determined it wouldn't happen again. Later that day, Mr. Creech encouraged me and promised he would try his best to help me learn to read. From then on, I never gave up practicing reading.

    Now I was 41 years old. One day, I planned to fly back to Texas to visit my friends and family. On my way from the airport, I saw Mr. Creech buying himself a drink. I rushed over and reached into my pocket to pay for him.” Do I know you?” he asked.” Yes, sir, you do know me,” I answered excitedly.” My name is Anthony Hamilton. You taught me English.” The look on his face told me that he remembered the boy he'd once encouraged.

    "I'm so glad I had a chance to see you," I said. "And Mr. Creech, I have great news to share." I told him I had learned to read. But that wasn't all. I had become a published author and an active speaker." The next time you get another Anthony Hamilton in your classroom, please encourage him to read as well." I added.

    The experts say what once worried me has a name: dyslexia(诵读困难症). But I can tell you it was a lack of desire for education.