One of the most important things in the world is friendship. In order to have friends, you have to be a friend. You have to be with them in both good and bad times. In return, they will be there for you. But how can you be a good friend?

    Listen. Listen when they are talking. Keep eye contact. Don't say anything unless they ask you a question. Sometimes you're not required to have anything to say; they just need someone to talk to about their feelings.

    Help them. If your friends are ever in need of something, be there to help them. You should try to put them first, but make sure you don't become their slave (奴隶). Try to take an extra pencil or pen with you to classes as they may forget to take one. Have a few extra dollars in your pocket in case they forget something they need.

    Be there for them. Try to make something for your friends to help make them feel better in hard times. Making cards and baking things are among the nicest things you can do for a friend when they are in hard times. Marilyn Monroe once said, "I'm selfish, impatient (急躁的) and a little insecure. I make mistakes, and I am out of control and at times hard to deal with. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you surely don't deserve (值得) me at my best. " Always remember this! If you don't want to deal with your friends when they're depressed, then you don't deserve to be with them during those parties where you have a good time!

    Try to make plans with your friends. Go shopping, go for an ice cream, have a party, go to a movie and so on. Make time to know each other even better by doing something you both enjoy. These are the things you'll remember once you're all long graduated when looking back on your life!

    Durian(榴莲) is probably the smelliest fruit in the world, letting out an unusual unpleasant smell which would make anyone bring up. However, nobody was aware of what gave this fruit its unique smell, so a team of researchers from Singapore decided to take a look at its genome (基因组) and find out,

    Durian is well-known throughout Southeast Asia as the king of fruits, mostly because of its awful appearance and smell. However, the origin of this unpleasant smell was unknown, so researchers decided to map the genome of the fruit, and find the gene that controlled it. A group of genes, volatile sulfur compounds (含硫化合物), became very active in the fruit, and they were found responsible for resulting in the unpleasant smell.

    The fruit confuses everyone with a sulfuric smell, like rotten onions and ingredients. The smell lasts long, mostly because the fruit contains more volatile sulfur compounds. Other species usually benefit from two gene copies at most, but durian has four, leading to the striking smell.

    However, this smell might be an advantage for durian in the wild. Although we find it unpleasant, many animals might be attracted by it. If they eat the fruit, then they can easily spread its seeds everywhere, thus contributing to the distribution of the species.

    The mapping of the durian genome also showed some other information on the species. First of all, the fruit has an impressive number of genes, namely 46,000. Also, with the help of these genes, they saw how it evolved, and discovered it was related to the cacao tree. All the other discoveries have been published in the journal Nature Genetics.

    Despite the striking smell, many people actually enjoy eating the fruit. However, not all durian species are edible, and some of them may even cause damage to our health, Even so, the fruit is often imported, significantly contributing to the economy.

    Mother's Day is a time of memory and celebration for Mom. The earliest Mother's Day celebrations date back to ancient Greece in honour of Rhea, the Mother of Gods. During the 1600s, England celebrated a day called “mothering Sunday”. Celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent(四旬斋)，“mothering Sunday” honoured the mothers England.

    During the time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy.AS most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday, the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along.

As Christianity(基督教) spread throughout Europe, the celebration changed to honour the “Mother Church”—the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival combined with mothering Sunday celebration. People began honouring their mothers as well as the church.

    In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe as a day devoted to peace. Then in 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign(运动) to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd day Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

    Ms Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessmen, and politicians demanding to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful as by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement that Mother's Day was a national holiday and it was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

    While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother's Day on the 2nd Sunday of May.

    The days of the hunter are almost over in India. This is partly because there is practically nothing left to kill, and partly because some steps have been taken, mainly by banning tiger-shooting, to protect those animals which still survive.

    Some people say that Man is naturally a hunter. I disagree with this view. Surely our earliest forefathers, who at first possessed no weapons, spent their time digging for roots, and were no doubt themselves often hunted by meat-eating animals.

    I believe the main reason why the modern hunter kills is that he thinks people will admire his courage in overpowering dangerous animals. Of course, there are some who truly believe that the killing is not really the important thing, and that the chief pleasure lies in the joy of the hunt and the beauties of the wild countryside. There are also those for whom hunting in fact offers a chance to prove themselves and risk death by design; these men go out after dangerous animals like tigers, even if they say they only do it to rid the countryside of a threat. I can respect reasons like these, but they are clearly different from the need to strengthen your high opinion of yourself.

    The greatest big-game hunters expressed in their writings something of these finer motives. One of them wrote.

    “You must properly respect what you are after and shoot it cleanly and on the animal's own territory(领地). You must fix forever in your mind all the wonders of that particular day. This is better than letting him grow a few years older to be attacked and wounded by his own son and eventually eaten, half alive, by other animals, Hunting is not a cruel and senseless killing - not if you respect the thing you kill, not if you kill to enrich your memories, not if you kill to feed your people.”

    I can understand such beliefs, and can compare these hunters with those who hunted lions with spears(矛) and bravely caught them by the tail. But this is very different from many tiger-shoots I have seen, in which modern weapons were used. The so-called hunters fired from tall trees or from the backs of trained elephants. Such methods made tigers seem no more dangerous than rabbits.

    Finding a mountain goat resting high on a cliff(悬崖) might thrill many of the millions of tourists who visit Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park every year, but park officials say it might be time for the bearded animals to go.

    The problem, according to the park, is that Grand Teton's 100 or so mountain goats threaten about 80 bighorn sheep. The bighorn sheep numbered as many as 125 just a few years ago. The strong goats spread disease and compete with bighorn sheep for food. Unlike small-sized bighorn sheep, Grand Teton's mountain goats aren't native to the park. They were introduced to the park in the 1960s.

    Grand Teton spokeswoman Denise Germann said, “We've got a management responsibility to protect the native species. After hearing from the public on the proposal (建议) in January, park officials expect to decide as soon as mid-February on what to do about the mountain goats.”

    The goats are reproducing rapidly. Now might be the best time to reduce the animals before they're too many to bring under control, according to the Park Service.

    One wildlife biologist who studies bighorn sheep praised the proposal. Mountain goats' original habitat is nowhere close to where they've been introduced in the U.S. to provide hunting opportunities, said Rob Roy Ramey II, with Nederland, Colorado-based Wildlife Science International, Inc.

    Wildlife managers should get rid of mountain goats not only in Grand Teton but elsewhere to help struggling bighorn sheep, Ramey said. “Unfortunately, state wildlife agencies sell nonnative wildlife viewing opportunities to the public,” Ramey said. “This is not a zoo in the wilderness. It should really be for native wildlife.”

    It's nice to have people of like mind around. Agreeable people boost your confidence and allow you to relax and feel comfortable. Unfortunately, that comfort can hinder the very learning that can expand your company and your career.

    It's nice to have people agree, but you need conflicting perspectives to dig out the truth. If everyone around you has similar views, your work will suffer from confirmation bias (偏颇).

    Take a look at your own network. Do your contacts share your point of view on most subjects? If yes, it's time to shake things up. As a leader, it can be challenging to create an environment in which people will freely disagree and argue, but as the saying goes: From confrontation(冲突) comes brilliance.

    It's not easy for most people to actively seek conflict. Many spend their lives trying to avoid arguments. There's no need to go out and find people you hate, but you need to do some self-assessment to determine where you have become stale(疲沓的) in your thinking. You may need to start by encouraging your current network to help you identify your blind spots.

    Passionate, energetic debate does not require anger and hard feelings to be effective. But it does require moral strength. Once you have worthy opponents, set some ground rules so everyone understands responsibilities and boundaries. The objective of this debating game is not to win but to get to the truth that will allow you to move faster, farther, and better.

    Fierce debating can hurt feelings, particularly when strong personalities are involved. Make sure you check in with your opponents so that they are not carrying the emotion of the battles beyond the battlefield. Break the tension with smiles and humor to reinforce the idea that this is friendly discourse and that all are working toward a common goal.

    Reward all those involved in the debate sufficiently when the goals are reached. Let your sparring partners (拳击陪练) know how much you appreciate their contribution. The more they feel appreciated, the more they'll be willing to get into the ring next time.