When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer as we get older.

    For kids, happiness has a magical quality: Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫不掩饰的).

    In the teenage years, the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.

    In adulthood the things that bring deep joy－love, marriage, birth－also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated (复杂的).

    My definition of happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment”. The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It's easy to overlook(忽视) the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.

    I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunchbox and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.

    Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don't think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children，had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her most.

    We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we've got to have. We're so self-conscious about our “right” to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier.

    Happiness isn't about what happens to us－it's about how we see what happens to us. It's the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess.

Do you want to get home from work knowing you have made a real difference in someone's life?

If yes, don't care about sex or age! Come and join us, then you'll make it!

    Position: Volunteer Social Care Assistant

     (No Pay with Free Meals)

    Place: Manchester

    Hours: Part Time

We arc now looking for volunteers to support people with learning disabilities to live active lives! Only 4 days left. Don't miss the chance of lending your warm hands to help others!

    Role:

    You will provide people with learning disabilities with all aspects of their daily lives. You will help them to develop new skills. You will help them to protect their rights and their safety. But your primary concern is to let them know they are valued.

    Skills and Experience Required:

You will have the right values and great listening skills. You will be honest and patient. You will have the ability to drive a car and to communicate in fluent written and spoken English since you'll have to help those people with different learning disabilities. Previous care-related experience will be a great advantage for you.

    If you are travelling in Britain, besides so many world-class things to see and do in London, planning a day trip away from it can also be worthwhile.

    Stonehenge

    Stonehenge consists of a group of huge standing stones. The 5,000-year-old stones are one of the world's biggest mysteries that no one has figured out yet. While exploring Stonehenge, you can imagine wildly and decide for yourself how the stones came to be there and why. Although you can't touch the stones, you can walk among them and feel the changes of seasons.

    Windsor

    Most people visit Windsor to see Windsor Castle, where the Queen spends most of her time. The castle itself could keep you busy for days. The best way to appreciate Windsor Castle is to approach via the Long Walk, a straight road where there are no cars, but you might see some deer.

    Oxford

    Oxford is best known for its world-famous university. The large student population keeps the atmosphere young and fresh, though there's no shortage of history if you want it. 30 colleges make up the university itself. A tour of the colleges is a must—Harry Potter fans will recognize various locations used in the movies.

    Bath

    Founded by the Romans, who used the area's springs to create a spa retreat（水疗中心）, Bath's now the best tourist attraction of Southwest England. Visitors never miss the Roman Bath Complex, which is divided into four main parts—the Bath House, the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple and the museum, which displays fascinating finds from the historical ruins of the city.

    How was your day today? If it was just sort of OK, with nothing much happening, then Scott Shaffer wants to hear from you. Mr Shaffer is the editor of the Journal of Mundane Behaviour. "We can learn a lot about the way that society works by examining normal patterns of behavior," he says. "All the ordinary decisions we make and ordinary things we do are society in action."

    The idea that social scientists should "study the unmarked", in Mr Shaffer's words, has also spread to historians. Traditionally, most history has been written as the story of greatness. It is all about great ideas, great people and great economic and social forces changing the way that millions of people live for ever. Albert Einstein's theory of relativity changed the way that we look at the universe. But has he been of more benefit to humanity than the unknown person who invented the first really comfortable shoe? Try thinking great thoughts when your feet hurt.

    In recent years, books of micro-history have been a great success with the public. Most micro historians like to relate their subject to wider developments in society. According to historian Catherine Gallagher, the potato was once a matter of great argument. Supporters pointed out that it could grow cheaply and easily and help feed the poor. Opponents said that this would lead to the poor becoming more powerful, since they did not have to spend every hour working to feed themselves. It seems that European socialism started with an argument about vegetables. British historian Colin Jones wants us to look at pictures painted hundreds of years ago. He wants us to notice the fact that nobody smiles in these pictures. Compare that with today, when everyone smiles for the camera and refusing to smile is seen as an unfriendly act. It is all because of dentistry, he says. Once people were able to look after their teeth, they began to smile and the world became a happier place.

    Whether stories like this are true or not, they put ordinary people at the center of history. Most of us are not going to change the world in a big way. But we might be able to do something that makes life a bit easier for other people. And maybe one day a historian will come along and write the story. It is something to get excited about, though perhaps not very excited.

    The Chinese invented paper in 105 A. D. They mixed the bark of a tree and rags (破布) with water, put a screen into the mixture, and lifted out a thin piece of wet paper. They dried the paper in the sun.

    The Chinese kept their secret of how to make paper until a war with Muslims in the ninth century. The art of papermaking soon spread throughout the Muslim world.

    The Mayan Indians in Central America and Pacific Islanders also discovered how to make paper, but their knowledge never spread to the rest of the world.

    For centuries, all paper was made by hand. Rags were the main material. Then a French scientist discovered that people could make paper from wood, too. Finally, in the eighteenth century, a Frenchman invented a machine to make paper from wood.

When {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (ask) by a TV reporter to talk about air and water quality in his hometown, Qi Mu noted, "The air is great now, and we can take more walks and enjoy being outdoors again." He felt quite pleased because the villagers were living {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (harmonious) with nature once more. However, he could not forget about an earlier time {#blank#}3{#/blank#} his village had been struggling with a serious air quality problem.

In the 1990s, garbage from nearby city was usually brought to the village. "How can we make use of this?" The villagers wondered. Soon they found that garbage could be used {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (feed) pigs. "Over the next few years, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (dozen) of pig farms were set up," Qi recalled. But then nobody in the village wanted to open their windows. "The smell from the garbage and pig waste was making us sick," Qi said. The numbers of mosquitoes and flies were also {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (horrify). "Under such circumstances, no single women wanted to marry anyone in our village and move here," Qi {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (sigh).

The villagers could no longer tolerate the situation. So {#blank#}8{#/blank#} initiative was launched and "clean-up" campaign was added to the government agenda, including restricting large vehicles {#blank#}9{#/blank#} passing through the village. Garbage from the city was no longer disposed of in the village and more trees were planted. "We can all breathe more freely now that the natural beauty of our village {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (restore) since then," said Qi.