My writing career began ten years ago with my articles published locally and nationally. As a beginning writer, I was happy to be on my way, writing and learning as much as I could . With two little kids underfoot, as well as working full-time, it was really difficult to make time for writing, but I managed.

    Readers told me they laughed, cried or were inspired by my articles. But they didn't know what was really going on behind the typewriter. I was not a happy mommy, and found it difficult to enjoy the everyday little things in life. In short, I was not a happy person.

    I realized I had to make some changes. I started walking every morning. It cleared my head, allowed me time to think, gave me fresh air, and made me feel invigorated (精神焕发） and healthy. I was eating wisely, and the weight started to go. I started a new job, joined a monthly writing chapter，and was determined to keep up my walking. Finding the balance was sometimes difficult. But I was determined to fit in writing time because it made me happy. Sure I loved to watch the news and have my tea, but that wasn't what made me truly happy.

    My own happiness has shown through my family, my job performance and my attitude towards challenging situations. I again have readers telling me the effect my writing has had on them, with some able to get on with their own writing because of my articles.

    It was up to me to make it happen—my own happiness. One step at a time-one word at a time. And I did it.

    In some countries，open campus (校园) is widely accepted. For example, French students have a two-hour lunch break from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. During their lunch break, they can eat at home or at a restaurant. But students in the Philippines have a tougher schedule. They have only two 15-minute breaks and an hour for lunch.

    What Schedule would be best for American schools?

    Having breaks between classes is great, but having breaks off campus is even better. There are several advantages to open campus, including simple conveniences such as being able to eat different meals during lunchtime, rather than having the cafeteria (自助食堂) dishes, as well as having the chance to take a break at home.

    However, there are more reasons I disagree with allowing high school students the right to have an open campus. Sure, it's great being able to escape school during the day for a while, but soon enough that may easily become the rest of the day.

    If open campus is allowed, it is very possible that such freedom will make it all too easy for students to skip their afternoon classes. Of course, there will be students responsible enough to come back to school.

    But unexpected problems such as heavy traffic, city bus delays (延迟) or cars breaking down may prevent them from returning to school. It benefits the students to stay in school during lunch hours to avoid transportation issues.

    Depending on how close the school is to restaurants and students' homes, open campus could be a great idea. Unfortunately, though, most public schools in America are not located close enough to restaurants or students' homes, thus causing the negative results to outweigh (超过) the positives in the end.

    Does Fame Drive You Crazy?

    Their cheery song brightens many a winter's day. But robins are in danger of wearing themselves out by singing too much. Robins are singing all night一as well as during the day, British-based researchers say.

    David Dominoni, of Glasgow University, said that light from street lamps, takeaway signs and homes is affecting the birds' biological clocks, leading to them being wide awake when they should be asleep.

    Dr Dominoni, who is putting cameras inside nesting boxes to track sleeping patterns, said lack of sleep could put the birds' health at risk. His study shows that when robins are exposed to light at night in the lab, it leads to some genes being active at the wrong time of day. And the more birds are exposed to light, the more active they are at night.

    He told people at a conference, "There have been a couple of studies suggesting they are increasing their song output at night and during the day they are still singing. Singing is a costly behaviour and it takes energy. So by increasing their song output, there might be some costs of energy."

    And it is not just robins that are being kept awake by artificial light. Blackbirds and seagulls are also being more nocturnal. Dr Dominoni said, "In Glasgow where I live, gulls are a serious problem. I have people coming to me saying `You are the bird expert. Can you help us kill these gulls?'.During the breeding(繁殖)season, between April and June, they are very active at night and very noisy and people can't sleep."

    Although Dr Dominoni has only studied light pollution, other research concluded that robins living in noisy cities have started to sing at night to make themselves heard over loud noise.

    However, some birds thrive(兴旺)in noisy environments. A study from California Polytechnic University found more hummingbirds in areas with heavy industrial machinery. It is thought that they are capitalising on their predators(天敌)fleeing to quieter areas.

    Computer programmer David Jones earns £35,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank ready to let him have a credit card(信用卡). Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18.

    The 16-year-old works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David's firm releases(推出) two new games for the fast throwing computer market each month.

    But David's biggest headache is what to do with his money. Even though he earns a lot, he cannot drive a car, take out a mortgage(抵押贷款), or get credit cards. David got his job with the Liverpool-based company four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. "I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs," he said. David spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother 50 pounds a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.

    "Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school," he said. "But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway." David added: "I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement(退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear."

    Jane Austen is loved mainly as a charming guide to fashionable life in the Regency period (英国摄政时期). She is admired for describing a world of elegant houses, dances, servants and fashionable young men driving barouches (四轮四座大马车). But her own vision of her task was completely different. She was an ambitious and strict moralist. She was highly conscious of human failings and she had a deep desire to make people nicer: less selfish, more reasonable and more sensitive to the needs of others.

    In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bonnet start off heartily disliking each other and then, gradually realize they are in love. They make one of the great romantic couples. He is handsome, rich and well connected; she is pretty, smart and lively. But why actually are they right for one another?

    Jane Austen is very clear. It's for a reason we tend not to think of very much today: It is because each can educate and improve the other. When Mr. Darcy arrives in the neighborhood, he feels "superior" to everyone else, because he has more money and higher status. At a key moment, Elizabeth condemns his arrogance (自大) and pride to his face. It sounds offensive in the extreme, but later he admits that this was just what he needed.

    Mostly, we tend to think of love as liking someone for who they already are, and of total acceptance. But the person who is right for us, Austen is saying, is not simply someone who makes us feel relaxed or comfortable; they got to be able to help us overcome our failings and become more mature, more honest and kinder—and we need to do something similar for them.