Dictionaries are not closed books. There is still plenty of room for more words in these great vocabulary authorities.

    Dictionaries are not closed books. There is still plenty of room for more words in these great vocabulary authorities. New words are continually being created and added to our language. And many of today's word experts can credit a famous mathematician with the creation of the method by which they develop many new words. The mathematician was an Englishman named Charles L. Dodgson. In addition to working with figures, Dodgson wrote books. His imaginative stories and poems have made Dodgson beloved to generations of readers. We know him, however, not by the name of Dodgson but by his pen name, Lewis Carroll.

    Lewis Carroll has delighted countless readers, young and old, with Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and numerous poems. In these works, Carroll developed dozens of nonsensical words such as "chortle" and "galumph". Many of these words are combined naturally with more common words in the English language. Carroll referred to his made-up words as "portmanteau" words, named after a kind of leather suitcase that opens into two compartments. The name was well suited, because most of Carroll's words had two compartments. Rather than being entirely fabricated（虚构）, they were usually made from the combined parts of two different words. A "snark", for example, clearly came from a snake and a shark.

    Although Carroll died long ago, his technique continues to be used today. We clearly see his influence in such words as smog, brunch, and guesstimate.

    How would you like to have been born without any ability to feel pain? There are such people. One of them is being studied by doctors at a hospital in New York City. He is a 22-year-old clerk who really does not know the meaning of pain. But he wishes he did.

    Not long ago a packet of matches flared up(骤然烧起) in his hand. Luckily the burn was not serious. It caused large blisters(水泡) but still did not bother him. He said the burn felt like a fly crawling(在……上爬行) on his fingers. It has been the same story as far back as he can remember. He has never had headaches or sore(疼痛的) muscles. Bee stings, cuts and bruises(疼痛的) do not hurt.

    Being free from pain is not as wonderful as you may think. The young man has had to have rotted teeth pulled because he never felt toothache warnings. A sudden attack of appendicitis(阑尾炎) could be deadly. Life without pain is as risky as trying to run a cruise ship without fire alarms.

B

    Asking for salary history provides an easy way to sort applicants into an employer's desired price range and helps the employer calculate the lowest offer that will still attract a candidate. But an increasing number of U.S. states and cities agree there ought to be a law against it. Massachusetts, Philadelphia, New York City and Puerto Rico have banned salary history questions on applications and in interviews.

    Why? Because when it comes to a candidate's suitability for a job, salary history is a subjective (主观的) and often misleading indicator — and it may most affect ＂the people who have already been illegally treated,＂ says Katie Donovan, a salary negotiation coach and one of the authors of the Massachusetts law.

    Candidates who start their careers underpaid because of the gender (性别) or race wage gap, a bad economy or a cheap boss finds that this lowball (虚报低价) figure continues to weigh them down throughout their career. At the same time, senior victims of layoffs have difficulty being hired because employers assume they're not interested in senior victims.

    In an interview, you can avoid talking about salary history questions by turning the discussion to what you're looking to make.

    Donovan recommends a method similar to what you're already doing: Enter $0.00, or some other number that is clearly intended not to cheat, but to oppose.

    Of course, there's always a risk doing so because it will cost you opportunities. But Ronda Wakefield, owner of NW MT HR Solutions, says that when she receives an application with an obviously false salary history, she'll still follow up if the candidate interests her. ＂I personally don't want to miss out on a great candidate because they didn't want to answer the question directly,＂ she says.

    Alvin Irby, a former kindergarten and first-grade teacher, was at a barbershop when he saw one of his former students sitting in the shop with a bored look on his face. That's when Irby realized that by pairing barbershops and books, he might be able to inspire young black boys to read.

    Four years ago, he launched Barbershop Books as a way to not just get books into the hands of young black boys, but to also create community reading spaces in a place where kids go frequently. Since its inception in 2013, the program has created kid-friendly reading spaces in 50 barbershops in 12 states throughout the United States.

    Irby isn't the first person to see the connection between barbers and books and boys. Hair stylist Courtney Holmes, launched a program a few years ago offering free haircuts to kids as long as they read to him while he cuts their hair.

    That's the kind of environment that Irby wants to promote with his program. The reading spaces created by Barbershop Books help to spark an interest in books by showing kids that reading is about more than just spelling and vocabulary skills, it's about making reading a low-stress activity that can help them relax, laugh and have fun.

    “Our belief is that if we can create positive reading experiences early and often for young black boys, then they will choose to read for fun because they will identify as a reader,” Irby noted, adding, “This is really what Barbershop Books is about, getting young black boys to say three words: I'm a reader.”

Irby's idea is catching on, and it will continue to spread thanks in part to the National Book Foundation. Barbershop Books recently won the organization's 2017 Innovations in Reading prize, which is given to Programs that use reading to make a social impact.

    When I was growing up, we were not an "I love you" family. We certainly found such affection lovely. We just didn't do it.

    I was thinking about all of this on Saturday at my daughter Katie's recital (演奏会). I had never insisted she do anything in her free time except learn how to play the piano. I carried this from childhood. My parents couldn't afford these lessons. My daughter mostly accepted this demand with good humor. This has meant, through the years, that our house has been filled with a few muddled (混乱的) complaints mixed with versions of songs.

    The day of the recital, I was listening to Katie practice The Entertainer, and one note was not good. I don't know how to play the piano, but I did say, "Hey, Katie, maybe you should hold that note just a bit longer." Then she played it again and again. I realized that I had done something unintended — I was making her think too much just a few hours before her recital.

    So I told her not to worry about it, but it was too late. She kept at it for a little while longer until finally I said that she'd played it perfectly. I didn't think we ever isolated that note; I felt pretty bad for even bringing it up.

    Then it was time for recital. Katie was the first one to perform. She was dressed well. As I watched her play The Entertainer, all I could think was how grown-up she had become, and that I had already missed the four-, five-, six-year-old versions of her.

    She got to the end of the song, and she reached the note we had talked about. And she held it. She held it so long that for an instant it broke her timing on the rest of the song. Then she finished the song, and she looked right at me. Then I hugged her. My parents are right. You don't have to say the words "I love you". Sometimes one note will do.

    More and more people like bicycling and it is no surprise. It is fun, healthy and good for the environment.

    Maybe that's why there are 1.4 billion bicycles and only 400 million cars on roads worldwide today. Bikes can take you almost anywhere, and there is no oil cost! Get on a bicycle and ride around your neighborhood. You may discover something new all around you. Stopping and getting off a bike is easier than stopping and getting out of your car. You can bike to work and benefit(受益)from the enjoyable without polluting the environment. You don't even have to ride all the way.

    Folding(折叠) bikes work well for people who ride the train. Just fold the bike and take it with you. You can do the same on an airplane. A folding bike can be packed in a suitcase. You can also take a common bike with you when you fly. But be sure to look for information by getting on airline websites. Not all airlines are bicycle-friendly to travelers.

    Health benefits of bicycling

    It helps to prevent heart diseases

    Bicycling helps to control your weight

    A 15-minute bike ride to and from work three times a week burns off five kilos of fat in a year.

    Bicycling can improve your mood.

    Exercise like bicycling has been shown to make people feel better, more relaxed and self-confident.