Mrs Mullen had just got a new heart. She'd waited a year for it, she told me— not that she was complaining. In fact, Mrs Mullen never complain about anything. She just got on with it. Although she was getting over a serious operation, she didn't even like to bother the nurses for a painkiller. She put me, and most of my patients in the hospital, to shame.

    My generation are a generation of complainers. We think the world owes us something. But if the world owes anyone anything, it owes people like Mrs Mullen. She left school at 14, even though she'd won a place at grammar school. She worked in a factory until she retired. She never had a day off sick in her life and never had a holiday — not even when she gave birth to her three children. That's nearly 50 years of hard work. I've never worked as hard as Mrs Mullen, and I'll almost certainly never have to.

    Mrs Mullen recovered well and soon left hospital. It never occurred to me that I'd see her again, so I couldn't believe my eyes when a few weeks later I went to buy a sandwich from the hospital Friends' shop.

    “What are you doing here?” I asked. “You're supposed to be resting.”

    “Oh I am,” she replied. “It's only a few hours a week. I saw the ad for volunteers while I was staying here. It's my way of saying thank you for all that this hospital has done for me.”

    Thank you? Mrs Mullen is the sort of person who gives back more than she takes. I asked for a cheese and tomato sandwich. She handed me egg instead — it was all they had got. I hate egg, but I decided to eat it anyway and not to complain.

    “Years ago when I was at the Grand Canyon, I remembered someone coming up to the canyon's edge, taking a shot with a camera and then walking away, like 'got it – done', barely even glancing at the magnificent scene in front of him,” Linda Henkel, a scientist at Fairfield University, US told Live Science.

    Henkel was surprised by how obsessed (痴迷的) people are with taking pictures these days - before dinner, during friends' birthday parties, on museum tours and so on.

    They keep taking pictures because they think that it helps record the moment, but as Henkel's latest study has just found out, this obsession may prevent their brains remembering what actually happened, reported The Guardian.

    In her study, Henkel led a group of college students around a museum and asked them to simply observe 15 objects and photograph 15 others. The next day the students' memory of the tour was tested, and the results showed that they were less accurate in recognizing the objects and they remembered fewer details about them if they photographed them.

    ''When people rely on technology to remember them — counting on the camera to record the event and thus not needing to attend to it fully themselves, it can have a negative impact on how well they remember their experiences,” Henkel explained.

    But there is also an exception: if students zoomed in to photograph part of an object, their memory actually improved, and those who focused the lens (镜头) on a specific area could even recall parts that weren't in the frame.

    So basically, this study is saying that constantly taking pictures can harm your memory. But shouldn't reviewing pictures we have taken help wake up our memories? This is true, but only if we spend enough time doing it.

    “In order to remember, we have to access and interact with the photos, rather than just collect them,” Henkel told The Telegraph. However, previous research has shown that most people never take the time to look over their digital pictures simply because there are too many of them and they aren't usually very organized on their computers.

    One of the main decisions you must make when traveling is deciding where to stay. A place to stay can often make or break a holiday. Whether you are looking for a classy hotel or a night under the stars, we can guide you through your different options.

    Bed and Breakfast

    An English invention, bed and breakfasts, offers exactly what they suggest, a bed for the night and breakfast in the morning. “B&Bs”，are usually someone's private home, often found in the countryside.

    Hostels

    For those traveling on a tight budget, hostels are the best accommodation option. Informal places usually with a lovely relaxed atmosphere, they offer dormitory beds for rent. Bathrooms are usually down the hall.

    Remember to check reviews by previous guests online before you book your hostel.

    Couch Surfing

    An unusual but interesting option, couch(沙发) surfing is a growing trend among young internationals. The idea is that you become a member of the online couch-surfing community (www. couchsurfing. com) and then when you travel, look up other members in that country and ask to stay on their couch. Most hosts will suggest sightseeing trips and take you out in the evening, making it a great way to see things that aren't in your guidebook. And remember, it may be free but don't forget to offer to buy your host a drink or dinner.

    Camping

    Sleeping under the stars! For budget travelers staying at camping grounds is the cheapest way to travel. The drawback is having to carry a tent with you. Camping grounds can be found across Europe, America and Australia. However, if you intend on camping in busy cities check first where the nearest place for camping is. More often than not, they are on the edge of cities, which can mean lengthy bus rides into town when you want to eat or see the sights.

    Welcome to SummerCamps.com; find and book the very best summer camps. Your children are precious so we offer the highest quality of camps that will meet each child's needs and interests.

    Catalina Sea Camp

    Sea Camp offers three one-week sessions to boys and girls aged 8-13 and two three-week sessions to teens aged 12-17. Our hand-picked instructors create an atmosphere of fun and excitement while leading campers to a host of ocean adventures, marine(海洋的) biology, and social summer camp activities.

    Address: Toyon Way, San Bruno, California 94066

    Phone: 800-645-1423

    Camp Cayuga

    Camp Cayuga is a private summer camp for children aged 6 to 16. The camp is on a 350-acre land in the Pocono Mountains of Northeast Pennsylvania, just outside the village of Honesdale. It's a 3-hour drive from New York City and Philadelphia.

    Address: 321 Niles Pond Road-Suite ISC, Honesdale, Pennsylvania 18431

    Phone: 908-470-1224

    Camp Rockmont

    Camp Rockmont is a Christian summer camp for boys, aged 6-16, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Rockmont's duty of developing boys into healthy young men is accomplished through age-appropriate skills, activities, and challenges that help campers to know themselves better.

    Address: 375 Lake Eden Road， Black Mountain, North Carolina 28711

    Phone: 828-686-3885

    Primitive Pursuits Overnight Camps

    Primitive Pursuits Overnight Camps offer week-long Summer Adventure Overnight Camps in New York's Finger Lakes to your children aged 11-15. Campers experience a week of nature-based skills training, inspiring challenges, and fun activities under the guidance of skilled instructors.

    Address: 611 County Rd 13, Van Etten, New York 14889

    Phone: 607-272-2292

    The secret to happiness is keeping busy, research has found. Keeping the mind occupied with tasks—no matter how meaningless—keeps off negative emotions, the study found.

    However, the bad news is that humans are seemingly born to be lazy in order to save energy, according to Professor Christoper Hsee, a behavioral scientist at Chicago University.

    In a study, 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first, they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either handing in the first survey nearby or a more distant location they had to walk to. Whichever option they chose, they received a chocolate bar. It turned out that about two-thirds (68 students) chose the lazy option. Those who had taken the walk reported feeling happier than those who had stayed put.

    Professor Hsee concluded that keeping busy helped keep people happy. He said the findings, reported in the journal Psychological Science, had policy implications (暗示).

    “Governments may increase the happiness of idle (无所事事的) citizens by having them build bridges that are actually useless,” he proposed.

    At the personal level, he advised, "Get up and do something. Anything. Even if there really is no point to what you are doing, you will feel better for it." He added, "Incidentally, thinking deeply or engaging in self-reflection counts as keeping busy, too."

    “You do not need to be running around. You just need to be engaged, either physically or mentally.”

    Doctors say you had better use it before you lose it. The more you sit each day, the more chance you have of getting sick.

    Richard Rosenkranz of Kansas State University was among the researchers. He said people who sat for long periods were at great risk of diseases when compared with those who sat less. He said that was especially true for some chronic (慢性的) diseases.

    Richard Rosenkranz studied the relationship between sitting and chronic diseases in middle-aged Australian men. He worked with researchers from the University of Western Sydney. They examined the health records of more than 63,000 men from New South Wales. The men were between the ages of 45 and 65. The men reported about what diseases they had, or did not have. And they kept record of the amount of time each day that they sat.

    The study also showed that exercising every morning for 30minutes did not reduce the health risk if you spend the next eight hours sitting at the desk. Mr. Rosenkranz said it was important to make sure you exercise. But he said it was also important to find ways not to sit so much during the day.

    Many jobs today require sitting and working at the desk all day. James Levine works at the Mayo Clinic in the United Sates. He suggests working while standing at high table some of the time instead of sitting at a desk. Dr. Levine also suggests standing while using the telephone or eating. Or he advises walking with the people you work with for an on-foot meeting. And he notes that if you spend more time on your feet, you may have muscle activity that helps burn fats and sugars in your body.