When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games. Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them. We always felt better when she was around.

    One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up(咬破)one of Dad's shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, “Bad girl,” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.

    Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet. She went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pat her. Of course she'd let anyone pat her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we'd be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. she never barked(吠) or tried to get away. Funny thing is that she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.

    Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss days when she was with us.

    Early birds-people who feel most energetic in the morning-tend to make healthier food choices throughout the day than night owls(夜猫子) , according to a new study.

    "Evening types had more irregular meal times," notes study author Mirkka Maukonen, studying human nutrition and obesity(肥胖) in Finland.

    Her study focused on people's risk of heart disease and their eating habits. Participants described when and what they had eaten during the past two days.

Maukonen's team then looked at l,854 people's lifestyle. After analyzing the data, the researchers found that both morning and evening people consumed approximately the same number of calories over a whole day.  However, night owls tended to eat their meals later than early birds. Before 10:00 am, night owls consumed less food than early birds. More of their calories came from sugar. After 8:00 pm, the night owls ate more sugar and fat. Meanwhile ,early birds ate more protein during both the morning and the evening hours.

    "Night owls tend to be less healthy than early risers," notes Courtney Peterson who studies diet and meal timing. "They are more likely to get heart disease or cancer. The fact that night owls tend to eat more junk food probably plays a role," Peterson says. "Other factors(因素) also can ruin a night owl's health. Night owls generally sleep worse," says Peterson. "Poor sleep has been linked to unhealthy food choices. "

    Peterson and Maukonen say night owls tend to have poor eating habits. But that doesn't necessarily mean that being a night owl makes a person a poor eater. It could be the reverse- eating poorly could affect people's sleep habits.

"The new findings should serve as a wake-up call to night owls. For them, the new results should encourage paying attention to healthier lifestyle choices," says Maukonen. 28. How did Maukonen do research about people's risk of heart disease?

    Will it matter if you don't take your breakfast? Recently a test was given in the United States. Those testes included people of different ages, from 12 to 83. During the experiment, these people were given all kinds of breakfast, and sometimes they got no breakfast at all. Special tests were set up to see how well their bodies worked when they had eaten a certain kind of breakfast. The results show that if a person eats a proper breakfast, he or she will work with better effort than if he or she has no breakfast. This fact appears to be especially true if a person works with his brains. If a student eats fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, he will learn more quickly and listen with more attention in class. Contrary to what many people believe, people become so hungry at noon that they eat too much for lunch, and end up gaining weight instead of losing. You will probably lose more weight if you reduce other meals.

An Invisible Smile

    Mr Dawson was an old man who always complained a lot, and everyone in town knew it. Kids ever went into his yard to pick a delicious apple. Old Dawson, they said, would come after them with his gun.

    One Friday, 12-year-old Janet was going to stay all night with her friend Amy. They had to walk by Dawson's house on the way to Amy's house, but as they got close, Janet saw him sitting on his front porch and suggested they cross over to the other side of the street. Like most of the children，Janet was scared of the old man.

    Amy said not to worry, Mr Dawson wouldn't hurt anyone. Still, Janet was growing more nervous with each step closer to the old man's house. When they got close enough, Dawson looked up with his usual frown, but when he saw it was Amy, a broad smile changed his entire face as he said, “Hello, Miss Amy. I see you've got a little friend with you today. ”

    Amy smiled back and told him Janet was staying overnight and they were going to listen to music and play games. Mr Dawson said that sounded fun and offered them each a fresh picked apple off his tree. They gladly accepted. Mr Dawson had the best apples in the whole town.

    When they left, Janet asked Amy, “Everyone says he's the meanest man in town. How come he was so nice to us?”

    Amy explained that when she first started walking past his house he wasn't very friendly and she was afraid of him, but she pretended he was wearing an invisible smile and so she always smiled back at him. It took a while, but one day he half-smiled back at her.

    After some more time, he started smiling real smiles and then started talking to her. Just a “hello” at first, then more. She said he always offered her an apple and was always very kind.

    “An invisible smile? ”questioned Janet.

    “Yes,”answered Amy, “my grandma told me that if I pretended I wasn't afraid and pretended he was smiling an invisible smile at me and I smiled back at him, sooner or later he would really smile. Grandma says smiles are contagious.”

If we remember what Amy's grandma said — everyone wears an invisible smile, we too will find that we're always on the go trying to accomplish so much, aren't we? It's so easy to get caught up in everyday life that we forget how simple it can be to bring cheer to ourselves and others. Giving a smile away takes so little effort and time. Let's make sure that we're not the ones that others have to pretend to be wearing an invisible smile.

    Allegra Ford Thomas Scholarship

    $2,500 awards available:1

    The Allegra Ford Thomas Scholarship is a $2,500 one-time scholarship. Applicants must:

    Be a graduating high school senior with a documented learning disability who will be enrolled (招收) in a two-year community college, a training program, or a specialized program for students with learning disability in the fall；

    Demonstrate (证明) financial need;

    Provide most current documentation of an identified learning disability (Please note: attention-deficit (注意力缺乏症)/ hyperactivity disorder (多动症) alone is not considered to be a learning disability; candidates with AD/ HD must also provide documentation of a specific learning disability);

    Be a United States citizen.

    Contact: afscholarship@ncld.org            Tel:646-616-1211

    Marion Huber Learning Through Listening® (LTL) Scholarship

    $6,000 or $2,000 awards available: 6

    The awards are presented to those who are high school seniors with learning disabilities, in recognition of academic achievement, outstanding leadership, and service to others. The awards are given to six students who are chosen by a selection committee every year. The three top winners will get $6,000 each and the other three winners $2,000 each.

    Contact: naa@learningally.org         Tel: 800-241-4792

    Joe Hornsby Ⅲ Scholarship

    $2,000  awards available: 4

    The scholarship will focus specifically on students who have special needs because of physical disabilities and want to further their education at a college/ university or trade school. Applicants must:

    Be a graduating senior of a high school in Mesquite Independent School District;

    Be planning to attend or be enrolled in an undergraduate program at a college, university or technical training program;

    Have had at least a "C" average during high school (2.0 GPA)

    Contact: scholarship@dallasfoundation.org     Tel: 214-741-9683

    WSAJ Past Presidents. Scholarship

    7,500 awards available: 2

    Applicants must be high school seniors who have a history of achievement despite having been a victim of injury or overcoming a disability or similar challenge, and a documented need for financial assistance. They must also have a record of commitment to helping people in need or protecting the rights of injured persons and a plan to apply their education toward helping people. The scholarship is only open to students of Washington.

    Contact: anta@washingtonjustice.org          Tel: 214-741-9863