Most of us have quite good memories, butour memories are limited. For example, we cannot remember everyone we have evermet or what we did on every single day of our lives. However, there are some people who do have prodigious memories. These people have a rare condition known as savant syndrome (学者症候群). Savants suffer from a developmental disorder, but they also exhibit great talents that contrast(显出差异) sharply with their physical and mental disabilities.

    Kim Peek (1951-2009) was a savant wholived in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. He was born with damage to parts of his brain, but it seemed that other parts of his brain, particularly those relating to memory, became over-developed.

Peek's unique abilities appeared at avery early age. When he was just 20 months old, he could already remember every book that was read to him. Peek could read two pages of a book at the same time—one page with the right eye and one with the left—in less than 10 seconds and remember everything he read. By the time he died, Peek had memorized more than 9, 000 books. He could remember all the names and numbers ina variety of telephone books. He could remember thousands of facts about history, literature, geography and sports.

    Dr. David Treffert, an expert on savantsyndrome, once described Peek as “a living Google” because of his astonishing ability to memorize and connect facts. However, at the same time, Peek was unable to carry out simple tasks, such as brushing his hair or getting dressed, and he needed others to help him. In 1989, the movie Rain Man won the Oscar forbest Picture. The main character in the movie, played by Dustin Hoffman, wasbased on Kim Peek's life. He started to appear on television, where he would amaze audiences by correctly answering difficult questions on different topics. Peek became world famous, and he and his father began touring widely to talk about overcoming disabilities. He inspired a great many people with his words.“Recognizing and respecting differences in others, and treating everyone in the way you want them to treat you, will make our world a better place foreveryone. Everyone is different.”

    About aspirin (阿司匹林):

    Aspirin is a commonly used drug which can be taken to relieve discomfort caused by numerous medical problems including headaches, toothache, inflammation(发炎) and infections. It is also suitable to treat colds and flu-like symptoms(症状), and to reduce a high temperature.

    Who can take aspirin? Adults and children over 16 years of age.

    Who should not take aspirin? Women who are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant. Aspirin may harm your unborn baby.

    Women who are breast-feeding. Aspirin can pass into your breast milk and may harm your baby. People who have any problems with the way the liver works or with the way the kidneys work.

    How to take aspirin: Take aspirin after meals, with a full glass of water or milk.

    The recommended dose (剂量) ranges from two to three tablets at a time. Never take more than 4g 12 tablets) in any 24 -hour period. You must not take these tablets with any other medicine which contains any aspirin or painkiller.

    How to store aspirin: Keep all medicines out of the reach and sight of children.

    Store aspirin in a cool, dry place, away from direct heat and light.

    Do not put aspirin in the bathroom because the dampness there can cause it to lose its effectiveness. Throw away aspirin that smells strongly of vinegar.

    Possible side effects: Feeling sick, increased risk of bleeding, stomach pain, indigestion and heartburn are common. If these effects continue, contact your doctor. Ringing in the ears, difficulty breathing, dizziness, and mental confusion are rare. If these occur, stop taking the drug and contact your doctor for further advice.

    It was dinner time for the Rangers, a group of mostly Indigenous (本地的) Australians who had spent a long day cleaning up the polluted beaches of the continent's northern coast. Soon they would be eating freshly caught fish and seafood cooked under the stars on an open fire, as their ancestors did.

    The Rangers are of more than 100 Indigenous groups spread across Australia who have taken on the job of protecting the land of their forefathers. In Arnhem Land, they are the protectors of 3,300 square miles of land and sea. They comb the beaches by hand, picking up as much rubbish as possible. The task is very difficult as each day it delivers waves of new rubbish.

    For the Rangers, cleaning the beaches is more than a vacation. For a people whose culture is strongly tied to the land, protecting the environment is equal to preserving their history.

    However, colonization forcefully broke their connection to the land generations ago. Indigenous people were displaced and their cultural practices outlawed. Tens of thousands of years of traditional land management ended, and as a result many parts of the country now face serious disasters from invasive plant and animal species, bush fires and land mismanagement.

    In recent years, the government has restored more than 20 percent of Australia's land to Indigenous owners. Since 2007, the Indigenous Rangers Organizations have been at work protecting this land.

    Luck, one of the few non-Indigenous employees working with the Rangers, said the combination of old and new techniques and an appreciation for the culture of Indigenous workers has been critical to the program's success.

    "You are working with staff who see the world different to you, so there is a much higher focus on the cultural aspects of work and life," he said.

    "Being a ranger is a source of confidence. You feel strong," said Terence, a senior ranger. "Here we still live on the land. The culture is still alive."

    Making employees feel happy and healthy at work is good for many businesses. But it isn't always an easy thing. A research suggests that just 33% of the U. S. employees consider themselves fully engaged (投身于) at work, while 16% are actively 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 have the lowest levels of engagement, while companies with fewer than 25 employees have the highest. And in one recent report, 75 percent 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're 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, non­cash 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 five­person team to be reduced to four for six months," writes Camilla Velasquez, head of HR management platform Justworks. "But it could be possible to allow new parents to take on reduced hours in a work­from­home environment." This kind of method has been realized in some small companies.

    Everybody sleeps, but what people stay up late to catch or wake up early in order not to miss varies by culture.

    From data collected, it seems the things that cause us to lose the most sleep, on average, are sporting events, time changes, and holidays.

    Around the world, people change sleep patterns thanks to the start or end of daylight-saving time（夏令时间）. Russians, for example, began to wake up about a half-hour later each day after President Vladimir Putin shifted the country permanently to "winter time" starting on October 26.

    Russia's other late nights and early mornings generally correspond（相一致）to public holidays. On New Year's Eve, Russians have the world's latest bedtime, hitting the hay at around 3:30 a. m.

    Russians also get up an hour later on International Women's Day, the day for treating and celebrating female relatives.

    Similarly, Americans' late nights, late mornings, and longest sleep fall on three-day weekends.

    Canada got the least sleep of the year the night it beat Sweden in the Olympic hockey（冰球）final.

    The World Cup is also chiefly responsible for sleep deprivation. The worst night for sleep in the U. K. was the night of the England-Italy match on June 14. Brits stayed up a half-hour later to watch it, and then they woke up earlier than usual the next morning thanks to summer nights, the phenomenon in which the sun barely sets in northern countries in the summertime. That was nothing, though, compared to Germans, Italians, and the French, who stayed up around an hour and a half later on various days throughout the summer to watch the World Cup.

    It should be made clear that not everyone has a tool to record their sleep patterns; in some of these nations, it's likely that only the richest people do. And people who elect to track their sleep may try to get more sleep than the average person. Even if that's the case, the above findings are still striking. If the most health-conscious among us have such deep swings（明显改变）in our sleep levels throughout the year, how much sleep are the rest of us losing?

The theatre in Shakespeare's time was much different than it is today. Authors wrote plays for the masses, especially those who couldn't read or write.

The theatre changed a lot during Shakespeare's lifetime. The authorities didn't like it and didn't allow acting in the city itself: They thought it had a bad influence on people and kept them from going to church. Queen Elizabeth, on the other hand, loved acting and helped the theatre become popular.

The theatre in Shakespeare's time was full of life. People did not sit all the time and it was not quiet during the performance. The audience could walk around, eat and drink during the play.

Theaters were open arenas or playhouses that had room for up to three thousand people. There was almost no scenery because the dialogue was the most important part of the play. Colourful and well­designed costumes were very important and told the people about the status of a character. Women never performed in plays, 80 young boys played female characters. The performances took place in the afternoon because it was too dark at night.

There was no stage crew as there is today. Actors had do everything themselves—from making costumes to setting the stage. Plays were organized by acting companies. They performed about 6 different plays each week because they needed money to survive. They had almost no time to rehearse (排练).

The companies in Shakespeare's time had a rank system. The company belonged to shareholders and managers. They were responsible for everything and got most of the money when the company was successful. Sometimes they even owned their own buildings. Actors worked for the managers arid after some time became a permanent member of the company. Apprentices (学徒) were young boys and were allowed to act in unimportant role. They also played females characters in play.