Restaurants in the USA

    Steve's Pizza

    So many pizza chains compete for the attention of tourists in South Beach,but ask a Miami Beach local where to get the best pizza and they'll tell you about Steve's.This is New York-style pizza,handmade with care and good ingredients（成分）.New branches of Steve's are opening elsewhere in Miami,all in non-tourist areas.

    Opening hours: 11 am~3 am

    Cattleman's Steakhouse

    This place is 20 miles east of the city,but local folks would probably drive 200 miles to eat here.The food is good,and the scenery is even better.Come early and wander around the grounds of Indian Cliffs Ranch,where you'll see everything from rabbits to buffalo（水牛）,then catch the sunset either before or after your meal.

    Opening hours: 5 pm~10 pm

    Absolute Baking &,Cafe

    The screen door is always swinging open at this town hot spot with giant breakfasts.Try the green chili on eggs—it's made from scratch,as are the organic（有机的）breads.Lunch includes salads,big sandwiches and local grass-fed beef burgers.Don't miss a square of soft,fresh carrot cake.

    Opening hours: 7 am~2 pm

    Walt's Wharf

    Everybody's favorite for fresh fish (some drive in from LA),Walt's packs them in on weekends.You can't make reservations for dinner (though they're accepted for lunch),but it's worth the wait for the tree fire-grilled seafood and steaks in the many-windowed ground floor or upstairs in captain's chairs.

    Opening hours: 11 am~3:30 pm

Do you believe that things are connected for no scientific reason at all? For example, do you avoid saying the word "four" to avoid bad luck? If so, you have a superstition (迷信). And you're not alone – all kinds of people have them.

For example, Portugal's soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo always steps onto the pitch (球场) with his right foot first, according to The Telegraph. And sports players are not alone in having superstitions. A visitor once asked the Nobel Prize winning scientist Niels Bohr whether he really believed that the horseshoe he'd hung at his country home was lucky. "Of course not," the Danish physicist said. "But I understand it's lucky whether you believe in it or not."

One recent study found that even scientists at MIT and other top US schools tended to look for a meaning in natural events, similar to the connection between stepping on the pitch and playing soccer well, according to The Atlantic. When the researchers gave the scientists little time to answer questions, they were twice as likely to agree with statements such as "Trees produce oxygen so that animals can breathe" as they were when they had more time to think about their reply.

It seems that fear can make people think differently in this way, too. In a British study, students imagined meeting a "witch" who said she would cast (施魔法) an evil spell(符咒) on them. About half said a scientist should not be worried about the spell. Yet each of them said that, personally, they wouldn't let the witch do it to them.

So why are so many of us superstitious? Well, it seems to be our way of dealing with the unknown. "Many people quite simply just want to believe," Brian Crank, a professor of psychology at Missouri Western State University, said in a 2008 interview. "The human brain is always trying to work out why things happen, and when the reason is not clear, we tend to make up some pretty bizarre (古怪的) explanations."

    And these explanations aren't completely unhelpful. In fact, superstitions can sometimes work and bring real luck, according to psychologists at the University of Cologne in Germany in the May 2010 issue of the journal Psychological Science. They found that believing in something can improve performance on a task like an exam.

    So, what about you? What superstitions do you follow to keep you safe and successful?

    Have you ever heard of the Coral Sea? It is home to an amazing variety of turtles, sharks, whales, dolphins, large fish, birds, corals, plants, and many other species. Many of these species are endangered elsewhere in the world, but still survive in the healthy environment of the Coral Sea.

    The Coral Sea is a large series of coral reefs located off the northeast coast of Australia. This area is three times larger than Australia's famous Great Barrier Reef, which the Coral Sea borders.

    The Coral Sea is one of the few coral reef environments that have remained largely undamaged by over-fishing, oil and gas exploration and pollution. However, statistics show that coral reefs around the world are disappearing five times faster than rainforests. It is very likely that in the near future the Coral Sea will face the same threats to its existence.

    The Australian government is currently looking at options for protecting the Coral Sea but has made no decisions. Environmentalists are pushing for laws to declare the Coral Sea area a marine protected area, which will mean a large “no-take zone” for fishermen, a no-exploration zone for gas and oil companies and a no-dump zone for pollution, possibly making the Coral Sea a marine park larger than any other in the world.

    We can write letters to Australian leaders, Australian environmental protection agencies, and Australian friends, to let them know that people worldwide support this protection of the Coral Sea. To lose this last great marine wilderness world would be a loss for the whole world.

    Lost iPhone

    Unexpectedly, I lost my white iPhon5s in Midtown on Friday night. It had a blue green cover on it. There are many pictures of my son on it, and I'm heartbroken， Please return, no questions asked. Reward. Reply to: -2652255359@craigslist.org

    Do you need a babysitter that you can trust?

    My name is Tina. I am a responsible babysitter that you can trust. If you are looking for someone dependable and affordable I am that person! I HAVE MORE THAN 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE (including disabled children)! I am a retired Home Health Aid and absolutely love children. I work with my sister Iris who has also 20+years as a teacher's assistant. WE LOOK FORWARD TO MEETINC YOU! Available 24 hours and flexible with fees! I am fully bilingual—Spanish/English. Please email me or call 712-867-7688.

    I BABYSIT ONLY AT MY HOME.

    I accept children from all ages. Fee starts from $100-$150 a week depending on the hours. I am very flexible and my fee can change. Feel free to contact me via email or on my cell phone 566-67-1873 and we can work something out.

    Part-time Chinese Babysitter Wanted

    Part-time Chinese speaking babysitter needed to assist with one-year-old twins and to perform some light house work as needed. Assistance needed Fridays and occasional weekends. Please provide your salary expectation. College students are welcome to apply.

    Reply to: comm-encbq-2652113885 @craigslist.org

    Augustus Saint-Gaudens and his family immigrated to New York, America, from Dublin, Ireland, in 1848 when he was just six months old. As he grew up, Augustus liked racing his friends around the block, buying candies at the store, especially drawing—drawing pictures of the shoemakers at his father's shoe shop. At the age of 13, his father told him it was time to go to work. Augustus replied, "I should like it if I could do something which would help me to be an artist." He began as an apprentice to a cameo cutter out of stone and shell, and carved cameos of people, lions, and even the head of Hercules from Greek mythology, when the Civil War had just begun.

    At 19, with his earnings and his parents' support, he travelled to Paris and Rome for further training and artistic study. Before he left, he drew a portrait of his mother in pencil and sculpted a small bust(半身像) of his father out of clay. Then, 22-year-old Augustus opened an art studio in Rome and worked on his first life-sized sculpture, called Hiawatha. An art patron was impressed with this sculpture and promised to help Augustus "until your genius and labors shall have met with the reward to which I feel they are entitled".

    In 1876, Augustus was chosen to design a monument to the Civil War hero Admiral David Farragut of the U. S. Navy. Completed five years later, when he was 33, his first major sculpture for the U. S. was unveiled at Madison Square in New York City, the sculptor's boyhood home. One art critic called it "the best monument of the kind the city has to show". Then the giant Standing Lincoln in Lincoln Park, Chicago in a setting by architect White, 1884-1887, was considered the finest portrait statue in the U. S.

    However, in 1900, aged 52, his doctors told him he had cancer. Even though he was often ill, he continued to work at his home and studio in Cornish, New Hampshire.

    In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt requested that Augustus redesign American coins—to convey the strength of the nation. Augustus made lifelike pencil sketches of his coin designs. Yet, Augustus died in August 1907, two months before his l0-dollar and 20-dollar gold coins were issued. Augustus Saint-Gaudens had fulfilled his dream-and more! He was one of the greatest American sculptors not only of his day but also of all time.

Something Fun

    A person is on trial for murder in a court room in Oklahoma. There is strong evidence indicating that he is guilty（有罪的）. However, the body is not found.

    In the defense's (辩护方) closing speech, the lawyer, knowing that his client (委托人) is guilty and that it looks like he'll probably be seriously punished, decided to play a clever trick.

    "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury (陪审团), I have a surprise for you all," the lawyer says as he looks at his watch. "Within one minute, the person assumed dead in this case will walk into this court room," he says and he looks towards the court-room door. The jury, somewhat surprised, looks at the door eagerly. A minute passes. Nothing happens.

    Finally the lawyer says, "Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all waited with expectation. I, therefore, put it to you that there is a reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you pass a judgment of not guilty."

    The jury, clearly confused, back off to discuss.

    A very few minutes later, the jury returned and one of them pronounces a verdict (裁决) of guilty.

    "But how?" asks the lawyer in surprise  "You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door."

    Answers the jury member, "Oh, we did look. But your client didn't."