In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair­weather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck，but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities of character，especially understanding, honesty and reliability(信任)．

    Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person's place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.

    At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.

    Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor，he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.

    There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.

    When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding，I know I've found a friend!

    The sky is large place, and though it has been carefully examined for centuries, new features still turn up. Last March it was the rule of Uranus (天王星), and last week astronomers announced what may turn out to be a new planet, though a very small one, in the solar system.

    The object was first sighted last month by Charles Kowal, an astronomer at the Hale Observatories in Pasadena, Calif. Mr. Kowal observed a faint trail of light on photographic plates, indicating that something was moving in relation to the background of stars. Other observers have confirmed the discovery.

    The “mini-planet”, identified for the time being as “Object-Kowal”, appears to be about 1.5 billion miles away, between the orbit of Saturn and Uranus, and its diameter (直径) has been estimated at between 100 and 400 miles. Its orbit has not been determined yet, but if the orbit proves to be roughly circular, like that of the major planets, the new object would probably take 66 to 70 years to make a circuit of the sun.

    Some astronomers have speculated that Mr. Kowal's discovery may be the first indication of an asteroid (小行星) belt beyond Saturn.

    It's rare that you see the words “shyness” and “leader” in the same sentence. After all, the common viewpoint is that those outgoing and sociable guys make great public speakers and excellent networkers and that those shy people are not. A survey conducted by USA Today referred to 65 percent of executives who believed shyness to be a barrier to leadership. Interestingly, the same article stresses that roughly 40 percent of leaders actually are quite shy—they're just better at adapting themselves to situational demands. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Charles Schwab are just a few “innies”.

    Unlike their outgoing counterparts who are more sensitive to rewards and risk-taking, shy people take a cautious approach to chance. Rather than the flashy chit-chat that defines social gathering, shy people listen attentively to what others say and absorb it before they speak. They're not thinking about what to say while the other person is still talking, but rather listening so they can learn what to say. Along the same lines, shy people share a common love of learning. They are intrinsically (内在地) motivated and therefore seek content regardless of achieving an outside standard.

    Being shy can also bring other benefits. Remember being in school and hearing the same kids contribute, until shy little Johnny, who almost never said a word, cut in? Then what happened? Everyone turned around to look with great respect at little Johnny actually talking. This is how shy people made good use of their power of presence: they “own” the moment by speaking calmly and purposefully, which translate to a positive image.

    Shyness is often related to modesty. Not to say that limelight-seekers aren't modest, but shy people tend to have an accurate sense of their abilities and achievements. As a result, they are able to acknowledge mistakes, imperfections, knowledge gaps and limitations.  Since shy people have a lower sensitivity to outside rewards than outgoing ones, they're more comfortable working with little information and sticking to their inner desires. Shy people are also more likely to insist on finding solutions that aren't primarily apparent. Don't believe me? Maybe you'll believe Albert Einstein, who once said, “It's not that I'm so smart, it's that I stay with problems longer.” Obviously, finding certainty where uncertainty is typically popular is a huge plus for any successful person.

    The myth that shy people are less effective leaders than their outgoing fellows is just a misunderstanding. Make wise use of your personality strengths to lead your business no matter what side of the range you fall on.

    Have you ever pressed the pedestrian button at a crosswalk and wondered if it really worked? They're called “placebo(安慰剂）buttons” 一buttons that mechanically sound and can be pushed，but provide no functionality.

In New York City, only about 100 of the 1, 000 crosswalk buttons actually function. Crosswalk signals were generally installed before traffic jam had reached today's levels.

    But while their function was taken over by more advanced systems—such as automated lights or traffic sensors — the physical buttons were often kept, rather than being replaced at further expense. Other cities，such as Boston， Dallas and Seattle， have gone through a similar process, leaving them with their own placebo pedestrian buttons. In London, which has 6, 000 traffic signals， pressing the pedestrian button results in a reliable “Wait” light. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the “green man”— or “pedestrian stage” in traffic signal design profession — will appear any sooner.

    “We do have some crossings where the green light comes on automatically, but we still ask people to press the button because that enables accessible features,'' said Glynn Barton, director of network management at Transport for London.

    These features, such as blind tracks and hearable traffic signals, help people with visual disorder cross the road and only function when the button is pressed. As for the lights, a growing number of them are now combined and become a part of an electronic system that detects traffic and adjusts time frequency accordingly (giving priority to buses if they're running late, for example), which means that pressing the button has no effect.

    According to Langer, a Harvard psychologist, placebo buttons give us the illusion (错觉)of control — and something to do in situations where the alternative would be doing nothing. In the case of pedestrian crossings, they may even make us safer by forcing us to pay attention to our surroundings. “They serve a psychological purpose at the very least,” she added.

    I'm a reporter. Last month I was in Stockholm, Sweden. Now I'm in Frankfurt, Germany. Next month, who knows?

    You certainly won't believe that I can call you from my laptop, which is what I'm often doing these days using something called Skype.

    Skype lets me call any phone number anywhere in the world for about 2 cents a minute, a little more to some places, such as the Middle East and Asia. My computer does the dialing, and the processing of incoming and outgoing voices. All you need is a broadband connection (宽带接头). With the basic version of Skype, all anyone needs to make or receive a call is to install the program on his or her computer (and that includes personal digital assistants). All calls from PC to PC are free.

    You don't even need a pair of headphones, though headphones can be a good idea if you wish to be discreet. I use my laptop's built-in microphone.

    The paid service for calling regular telephones is called SkypeOut. The quality is completely clear, provided that there's not too much traffic on the Internet. If there's an echo, hang up and try again, and it usually gets better. There is one warning: on some computers, especially those running older versions of Windows, it doesn't always work, or can sound like a confusing conversation. You can't hear a thing.

    Skype was invented chiefly by a Swede named Niklas Zennstrom along with a group of programmers in Estonia.

    My favorite book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, talks about a formula called "SFF" which stands for "stopping finding faults". I used to be a critical person and tried to find faults. I guess I somehow inherited this character from my father. Actually, many good qualities of my father are worth admiring except this.

    My father is the person who constantly looks for mistakes in other people and he thinks no one is perfect in the world. His character created a negative atmosphere in my family. I was the same as my father, so I often felt angry, disappointed, depressed, and lonely in school.

    After I had read my favorite book I began to seek "good things" in other people. It has completely changed my life. Now I feel happier, I have more friends, I have more trust in people, and I realize everyone has their own strength! Another important lesson I got from this book is that I should always behave myself in a positive manner. Let's admit that we sometimes complain about our situation. That's not good. "Believe it or not, people don't like to listen to negative opinions."

    One more valuable lesson I got from the book is that I should be a good listener. When I was younger, I only wanted people to pay whole attention to my words so that I could show them how important I was. I was very proud and would show off my achievements in school without considering others' feeling. I had very few friends and most people considered me as an "arrogant" person. Now, I find it much easier to make friends after making some changes!