Many blind people use guide dogs to help them get safely from place to place and to warn them of danger. But what can blind people do if they are allergic(过敏的) to dogs or just don't like them? For these people, they can turn to the Guide Horse Foundation.

    Janet and Don Burleson founded(成立) the organization in 1999. They began training miniature horses to help guide blind people. Miniature horses look just like common horses, only much smaller. They are generally less than 34 inches tall.

    Cuddles was the foundation's first guide horse in full service. She became 45-year-old Dan Shaw's helper. Shaw has an eye disease and his sight is very poor. One night, while filling out a form to get a guide dog, Shaw heard a news story on TV about people training horses to guide the blind. Shaw loves horses and wanted a guide animal that would live a long time. So he applied(申请)，and a year later, Cuddles and Shaw began training as a team.

    On a trip to New York, Cuddles helped Shaw safely visit many places of interest .They even traveled on a boat and on the subway system.

    Shaw says that he is very lucky to have Cuddles. He believes that Cuddles has changed his life for the better by giving him the chance to do things himself and making him feel much more confident about himself.

    Recently I and other Red Cross volunteers met a group of victims from Hurricane Katrina. We were there, as mental health professionals, to offer “psychological first aid” and I was struck by the simple healing power of presence. As we walked in the gate to the shelter, we were greeted with a burst of gratitude from the first person we met. I felt appreciated, but also guilty, because I hadn't really done anything yet.

    I first realized the power of presence many years ago when a friend's mother passed away unexpectedly. I received a call saying she had just passed away. I wanted to rush down there immediately, but didn't want to intrude(打扰) on this very personal period of sadness. I was torn about what to do. Another friend with me then said, “Just go. Just be there.” I did, and I will never regret it.

    Since then, I have not hesitated to be in the presence of others. Once I sat at the bedside of a young man suffering from the pain of his AIDS-ralated dying. He was not awake, and obviously unaware of others' presence. However, the atmosphere was by no means solenm. His family, playing guitars and singing, allowed him to be present with them as though he were still fully alive.

    In my life, I am repeatedly struck by the healing power of presence. In it, none of us are truly alone. It not only is something we give to others but also changes me for the better.

    Are you interested in some of the most popular brands such as Beats headphones, True Religion jeans, and UGG shoes? They are also expensive. But some experts say they are not much better than cheaper brands.

    For example, Jim Wilcox works for Consumer Reports. He tested all kinds of headphones. He says that $80 Koss Pro headphones provide basically the same quality and comfort as Beats. So why do people pay twice or even 10 times as much for the hottest brands?

    Experts say it's because fashionable, expensive brands send a message. Brands say “I belong” or “I can afford it.”

    Some people think that expensive brand names are worth the price. They say that some designer clothes are really top quality and that they last longer than cheaper brands. Some teenagers choose to wear popular brands because these brands make them feel good about themselves.

    Alexandra Allam, 17, likes to buy brand-name products. “I'd rather spend the extra money to get something I know I'll be satisfied with,” she says. Her friend Emmy Swan agrees, saying “As long as you can afford it, it seems reasonable to buy what you want.” But not all teenagers agree. “Spending hundreds of dollars for designer sunglasses is stupid and unreasonable,” says Daniel Steinbrecher, 16. “It's fake (假的) happiness.”

    People who are against wearing expensive brand names say that many designer brands aren't any better. “It's wasteful to buy things just because they are popular,” says Edmund Williams, 15. “You'll feel better if you buy things because you like them. If you have extra money to spend, it would be better to give it to people in need.”

    Have you ever found yourself in this situation: You hear a song you used to sing when you were a child – a bit of nostalgia(怀旧) or "blast from the past," as we say. But it is not a distant childhood memory. The words come back to you as clearly as when you sang them all those years ago.

    Researchers at the University of Edinburgh studied the relationship between music and remembering a foreign language. They found that remembering words in a song was the best way to remember even one of the most difficult languages.

    Here is what they did. Researchers took 60 adults and randomly divided them into three groups of 20. Then they gave the groups three different types of "listen-and-repeat" learning conditions. Researchers had one group simply speak the words. They had the second group speak the words to a rhythm, or beat. And they asked the third group to sing the words.

    All three groups studied words from the Hungarian language for 15 minutes. Then they took part in a series of language tests to see what they remembered.

    Why Hungarian, you ask? Researchers said they chose Hungarian because not many people know the language. It does not share any roots with Germanic or Romance languages, such as Italian or Spanish. After the tests were over, the singers came out on top. The people who learned these new Hungarian words by singing them showed a higher overall performance. They did the best in four out of five of the tests. They also performed two times better than those who simply learned the words by speaking them.

    Dr. Katie Overy says singing could lead to new ways to learn a foreign language. The brain likes to remember things when they are contained in a catchy 3, or memorable 4, tune 5.

    Dr. Ludke said the findings could help those who struggle to learn foreign languages. On the University of Edinburgh's website Dr. Ludke writes, "This study provides the first experimental evidence that a listen-and-repeat singing method can support foreign language learning, and opens the door for future research in this area."

    Young people can have problems with their minds. Some students become worried because they have to study very hard. Others have trouble getting on well with people like their parents and classmates.

    Li Wen, a junior 2student from No.2Middle School, could not understand his teacher and was doing badly in his lessons. He became so worried about it that he started to cut his finger with a knife. Another student16yearold Yang Fang from No.1Middle School, was afraid of exams. She got very worried in one and when she looked at the exam paper, she couldn't think of anything to write.

    A recent report from Jiefang Daily says about 18% of Shanghai teenagers have mental problems. Their troubles include being worried and very unhappy and having problems in learning and getting on with people. Many students who have problems won't go for advice or help. Some think they will look stupid if they go to see a doctor. Others don't want to talk about their secrets Liang Yuezhu, an expert on teenagers from Beijing Anding Hospital has the following advice for teenagers：

    Talk to your parents or teachers often.

    Take part in group activities and play sports.

    Go to see a doctor if you feel unhappy or unwell.

    A new study suggests that patients with breast cancer who take additional vitamins during chemotherapy(化疗) treatment may face increased risks.

    Researchers said the use of dietary supplements(补充剂) that increase levels of antioxidants, iron, vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids appeared to lower the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Researchers reported their findings in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

    Christine Ambrosone is the head of cancer prevention and control at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. She said, "From this study and others in the literature, it seems that it may not be wise to take supplements during chemotherapy."

    "It's thought that antioxidants might interfere with the ability of chemotherapy to kill cancer cells," Ambrosone said.

    Some doctors have been advising patients for a number of years not to take antioxidants during chemotherapy. "But there was no strong empirical data for that recommendation," Ambrosone said.

    So, Ambrosone and other researchers decided to study whether supplement use might affect chemotherapy's effectiveness. They looked for evidence in an earlier study on diet, exercise, lifestyle and cancer results.

    In the earlier research, people who took part were asked about their use of supplements at the beginning of and during treatment, and about their lifestyle, diet and exercise. The researchers studied 1,134 patients who filled out the surveys and followed them for a median of six years.

    The researchers searched for possibilities that might increase the risk of the disease reappearing or of death. They found that patients who took any supplements at the beginning of and during chemotherapy were 41 percent more likely to have their breast cancer return than those who did not. In addition, the supplement takers were 40 percent more likely to die later on compared to patients using no supplements. The supplements included vitamin A, C and E. Those taking vitamin B12 and iron supplements were at greater risk of cancer returning, the researchers said.