Do you like air travel with a service dog? Air travel makes some people very nervous. The crowds, the noise and flying itself can cause unease. But there are classes people can take to help them defeat their fear of flying. And, let me introduce similar training for service dogs that suffer the same problem

    Service dogs almost never leave the side of the people they care for. You will see them working on buses, trains and other public transport systems. But the busy environment found at an airport can trouble even the best trained working dog.

    People with disabilities depend on their dogs. They want the animals to safely guide them through security areas. They also need the dogs to remain calm on duty on the plane, even when the flying is not smooth. This takes special training. The Air Hollywood K9 Flight School is one place where such help can be found.

    The school has a piece of equipment that provides the sights, sounds and even the feel of an airplane in flight. It is called a flight simulator, which was built for filming airplane scenes in movies.

    Sandy Alexander has a disability that requires his two-year-old dog, Doc, to be always at his side. Mr. Alexander took the dog to the flight school to get him ready for plane trips. He says Doc did not like the bumpy part of the flight simulation( 模拟).

    Dog trainer Mary Segall is with Canine Companions for Independence. It provides dogs for people with disabilities. Ms Segall says successful training is based on a simple rule: preparation.

    "Dogs need to be exposed gradually and repetitively to stimulation, to the environment, to loud noises, to sounds and to other dogs so that when this experience happens to them on a daily basis, they are able to act in a way that they're used to acting and that they don't get excitable."

    Dog owners who attended the training at Air Hollywood K9 Flight School say they now feel much more at ease about future flight. Their dogs also seem ready for take-off.

    Ammie Reddick from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, was only 18 months old when she had the accident that had scarred(留下创伤）her for life. The curious child reached up to grab the wire of a hot kettle in the family kitchen and poured boiling water over her tiny infant frame.

    Her mother Ruby turned round and, seeing Ammie horribly burnt, called an ambulance which rushed her daughter to a nearby hospital. Twenty percent of Ammie's body had been burned and all of her burns were third-degree. There, using tissue（组织）taken from unburned areas of Ammie's body, doctors performed complex skin transplants(移植）to close her wounds and control her injuries, an operation that took about six hours. Over the next 16 years, Ammie underwent 12 more operations to repair her body.

    When she started school at Maxwelton Primary at age 4, other pupils made cruel comments or simply wouldn't play with her. "I was the only burned child in the street, the class and the school,” she recalled, “some children refused to become friends because of that.”

    Today, aged 17, Ammie can only ever remember being a burned person with scars; pain is a permanent part of her body. She still has to have two further skin transplants. Yet she is a confident, outgoing teenager who offers inspiration and hope to other young burns victims.

    She is a member of the Scottish Burned Children's Club, a charity set up last year. This month, Ammie will be joining the younger children at the Graffham Water Center in Cambridge shire for the charity's first summer camp. “ I will show them how to get rid of unkind stares from others,” she says. Ammie loves wearing fashionable sleeveless tops, and she plans to show the youngsters at the summer camp that they can too.“ I do not go to great lengths to hide my burns scars,” she says, “ Igave up wondering how other people would react years ago.”

    An "apple polisher" is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment.It is not exactly a bribe（贿赂）, but is close to it.

    All sorts of people are apple polishers,including politicians and people in high offices—just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell,the great English leader,offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party,but failed.

    There are other phrases meaning the same thing as "apple-polishing"—"soft-soaping" or "butter-up".A gift is just one way to "soft-soap" somebody,or to "butter him up".Another that is just as effective is flattery,giving someone high praise—telling him how good he looks,or how well he speaks,or how talented and wise he is.

    Endless are the ways of flattery.Who does not love or hear it?Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is.In truth,flattery is good medicine for most of us,who gets so little of it.

    We need it to be more sure of ourselves.It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it.But we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment,as a cat laps up milk,then we can still remain true to ourselves.

    Sometimes,however,flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it.A good example is the famous 12th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England.The king got tired of listening to the endless sickening flattery of his courtiers（朝臣）.They over-praised him to the skies,as a man of limitless power.

    He decided to teach them a lesson.He took them to the seashore and sat down.Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in.The tide was too busy to listen to him.The king was satisfied.This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery.

    With more than 100,000 people aged 100 or over, Spain is the country with the greatest life expectancy after Japan. How do you live to 100? Here 4 of the country's centenarians (百岁老人) give their advice on staying youthful.

Francisco Nunez, 112

    He is from Bienvenida, Badajoz, southern Spain. Nunez lives with his daughter. He says he doesn't like the pensioners' (领养老金的人) daycare center because it's full of old people, whose negative attitude towards life affects him deeply sometimes. Despite his old age. he has always maintained (保持) a youthful outlook, and that is what has kept him going on.  Pedro Rodriguez, 106

    He lives in Cangas de Onis, Asturias, northern Spain. Rodriguez plays the piano every day in the living room of the flat where he lives with his wife who is nearly 20 years younger than him. Their daughters visit them often. His hobby is something that he feels has kept him young. "The nuns (修女) taught me how to play the piano as a child," he says.

    Maximino San Miguel, 102

    He lives in Leon, northern Spain. San Miguel discovered his passion (酷爱) for amateur dramatics at the age of 80 and has participated in many local productions. He didn't go to school as a child because he was sent to work as a shepherd (牧羊人). He prefers reading books about drawing and traveling. Now this hobby, he said, has kept him full of energy.  Pilar Fernandez, 101

    She lives with her daughter Pili, granddaughters Flori and Ana in Ambas, Asturias, northern Spain. Fernandez suffered hunger and hardship during the war years alongside her nine brothers and sisters. To avoid history repeating itself, she limited herself to just one child. "From pure fear, I didn't have anymore," says Fernandez. One of the best things for her health, she says, is tending livestock (家畜) and a vegetable garden.

    If Confucius(孔子) were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He'd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.

    While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal. Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.

    But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.

    In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually include Chinese art, history and philosophy(哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Western philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.

    So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.

    Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.

    As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.

    Monthly Talks at London Canal Museum

    Our monthly talks start at 19:30 on the first Thursday of each month except August. Admission is at normal charges and you don't need to book. They end around 21:00.

    November 7th

    The Canal Pioneers, by Chris Lewis. James Brindley is recognized as one of the leading early canal engineers. He was also a major player in training others in the art of canal planning and building. Chris Lewis will explain how Brindley made such a positive contribution to the education of that group of early "civil engineers".

    December 5th

    Ice for the Metropolis, by Malcolm Tucker. Well before the arrival of freezers, there was a demand for ice for food preservation and catering, Malcolm will explain the history of importing natural ice and the technology of building ice wells, and how London's ice trade grew.

    February 6th

    An Update on the Cotsword Canals, by Liz Payne. The Stroudwater Canal is moving towards reopening. The Thames and Severn Canal will take a little longer. We will have a report on the present state of play.

    March 6th

    Eyots and Aits-Thames Islands, by Miranda Vickers. The Thames had many islands. Miranda has undertaken a review of all of them. She will tell us about those of greatest interest.

    Online bookings:www.canalmuseum.org.uk/book

    More into:www.canalmuseum.org.uk/whatson

    London Canal Museum

    12-13 New Wharf Road, London NI 9RT

    www.canalmuseum.org.uk   www.canalmuseum.mobi

    Tel: 020 77130836