On the third Sunday in June, Americans take time to recognize and thank a special person in the family -fathers! Father's Day celebrates the importance of fathers, young and old and the men thought of as father figures.

    The words "the child is father of the man" come from William Wordsworth's poem My Heart Leaps Up. "It means people's personalities form when they are children. They will most likely have the same qualities as an adult that they had as a child.

    Used in everyday speech, one could say, "In his case, the child was father of the man; he loved nature as a child and now works as a botanist(植物学家)".

    Let's say you want to tell a child a story about something that happened long before they were born. You could say it happened when they “were just a twinkle in their father's eyes.” This expression has a humorous and dreamy feel. Here, the word “twinkle” suggests the interest your father had in your mother.

    When a much older man is interested in a much younger woman and supports her with his money, he is called he “sugar daddy.” The money part is very important-that's the sugar.

    Sometimes fathers are not a good influence or active in the lives of the children. In that case, a person may look for a father figure, a man who is not actually the person's father but who acts like one.

    The relationship between a man and his son can be complex. But the relationship between a father and daughter is often simpler. The expression “daddy's little girl” is understood to mean that, in a father's eyes, his daughter can do no wrong.

    There is usually not a dry eye at any wedding during the traditional father-and-daughter dance, especially if they are dancing to a song like Michael Buble's “Daddy's Little Girl.”

    Next time you make yourself a hot cup of tea or coffee, you might want to let it cool down a bit before drinking.

    Researchers say letting your hot drinks cool off could help you avoid some kinds of cancer. Researchers at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found evidence that drinks at temperatures above 65℃, when swallowed, can cause cancer of the esophagus (食道). The researchers examined findings from other studies where tea and coffee were often served at 70℃ or above. Those studies were completed in Iran, China and South America.

    In developed countries, health experts have linked esophageal cancer to smoking and alcoholic（酒精）drinks. However, this form of cancer is more common in areas where people drink beverages（饮料；酒水）at very high temperatures.

    In Europe and the United States, many people drink coffee and tea at temperatures around 60℃.And they often add milk which lowers the temperature greatly. However, tea-drinkers in Iran and mate-drinkers in South America often enjoy their beverages at closer to 70℃.

    The researchers find that South Americans not only drink their mate very hot, they also drink it through a metal straw(吸管). This sends the scalding liquid directly into the throat.

    The findings, however, are good news for coffee drinkers. In 1991, the World Health Organization listed coffee as possibly carcinogenic (致癌的).” The WHO officials have since changed their position on that listing. They now suggest that the temperature of your hot drink is a greater risk factor than the actual drink itself.

    The results suggest that drinking very hot beverages is one probable cause of esophageal cancer and that it is the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, that appears to be responsible.

    Having friends may well keep you healthier and help you deal with stress better. Some studies show that people with close friends have a greater ability to fight disease than people who are alone.

    Place friendship in the first place. Find the time to be with friends even if it means letting the lawn(草坪) go unmowed (未割的) or the dishes unwashed for a while. When you can't get together, use the phone to keep in touch.

    Open up to close friends. Keeping a deep friendship requires a level of “heartfelt” intimacy (亲密).Don't be afraid to express your inner fears and disappointments. Listen to your friends when they have problems， but offer advice only when it's wanted. Help raise friends' self-esteem(自尊) when they are sad about a job loss, or other such events.

    Have different friends for different activities, such as going to the movies， singing in a choir， and joining in a bowling league.

    Don't wait for a friend to ask for helps. When a friend has the flu， offer to go to the store or drive his or her children to their afterschool activities.

    Never take a friendship for granted. Like a good marriage， friendship needs care and patience. Become a joiner. Find a group that matches your interests.

    Talk to strangers. Conversations started in museums, laundry rooms， or bookstores can lead to firm friendship.

    Enroll in an adult education course. A classroom is an ideal place to meet others with similar interests.

    Why do you go to the library? For books, yes－but you like books because they tell stories. You hope to get lost in a story or be transported into someone else's life. At one type of library, you can do just that－even though there's not a single book.

    At a Human Library, instead of books, you can "borrow" people. Individuals volunteer as human "books" and participants in the event can "read" the book－meaning they would have a one-on-one conversation with the volunteer and share in a dialogue about that individual's experience. "Books" are volunteers from all walks of life who have experienced discrimination (歧视) based on race, religion, class, gender identity, age, lifestyle choices, disability and other aspects of their life.

    For a certain amount of time, you can ask them questions and listen to their stories, which are as fascinating and as attractive as any you can find in a book. Many of the stories have to do with some kind of stereotype. You can speak with a refugee (难民), a soldier suffering from PTSD, a homeless person or a woman living with HIV. The Human Library encourages people to challenge their own long-held beliefs to truly get to know, and learn from someone they might otherwise make a quick judgment about.

    According to its website, the Human Library is "a place where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered." It provides the opportunity for the community to share and understand the experiences of others in their community.

    The Human Library Organization came to be in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2000. Ronni Abergel and his colleagues hosted a four-day event during a major Northern European festival, hoping to raise awareness about violence among youth. After the success of this event, Abergel founded the Human Library Organization, which has been growing ever since.

    Though there are a few permanent human libraries, most aren't places at all, but events. Though many do take place at physical libraries, you don't need a library card－anyone can come and be part of the experience. There have been human library events all over the globe, in universities and in pubs, from Chicago to Tunis to Edinburgh to San Antonio.

    The stories these "books" tell range from fascinating to heartbreaking and everything in between. And that's the very point of the organization－to prove that no person can be summed up in just one word. It seeks to show people that you truly can't judge a book by its cover－or by its title or label.

    The United States Congress is responsible for making and approving federal laws—rules that everyone in the country must follow. But exactly how do those laws get made? The process is not easy, and it takes a long time.

    A law begins when someone puts forward an idea. The idea can come from anyone, but it has to get to a U. S. lawmaker who wants it to become legislation. In time, the idea is further developed into a written proposal, called a bill.

    Then, a member of Congress officially proposes the bill. After the bill is introduced, it is sent to a small group of lawmakers, called a "committee". Sometimes committee members seek more information about the proposal by holding hearings. Sometimes the committee changes the bill. Sometimes it decides not to take any action. In that case, we say lawmakers "table" the bill, or let it "die in committee".

    But now and then, the bill is offered to lawmakers not on the committee. Those lawmakers debate the bill further. They might change the bill again. Finally, the full House or Senate votes on the bill. If it does not earn the majority of votes, the bill does not advance.

    Finally, the agreed-upon bill is sent to the president. If the president signs it, the bill becomes a law. If the president does nothing and Congress is officially meeting, the bill becomes a law. But if the president does nothing and Congress is not in session, the bill does not pass. Or the president can officially reject the bill. If that happens, the bill is not stopped. Instead, it is returned to both the Senate and the House. If two-thirds of the senators and two-thirds of the House members approve the bill once again, even with the president objecting, they turn the bill into a law.

Understanding the link between the clean environment and human life is not a new concept. In fact, it was noticed as early as ancient Roman times. Today we see how green living has influenced our everyday lives. There is a growing community of people who embrace a zero waste lifestyle and make changes to the way they live to reduce their carbon footprint. 

Living a zero waste lifestyle means doing one's best to achieve the aim of not sending anything to a landfill. People who adopt this lifestyle ultimately cut down on their waste by reducing what they need and want. They reuse what they own, sending few things to be recycled. 

Many people who adopt the zero waste lifestyle claim to be frustrated by the many harmful chemical substances found in beauty and cleaning products. They also find the uses of disposable items and excessive packaging the same. For example, how many times have we had to peel away layers of plastic wrap and cardboard before finally taking out the item which we had bought? Instead of buying prepackaged food and goods, those who identify with the zero waste philosophy tend to shop in stores that allow them to make purchases and bring their own cloth bags and glass jars to store their purchases. 

Many people have the misconception that it is easier to live a zero waste lifestyle in the West. Nevertheless, Malaysian environmental journalist, Ms Aurora Tin, has proven that a zero waste lifestyle is possible even in the Asian context. Instead of going to the supermarket to buy prepackaged foods, Ms Tin now visits the wet market and brings her own bags for vegetables. She has even stopped using store-bought toothpaste and make her own toothpaste from coconut oil and baking soda. This lifestyle may be too big a change for the average person, but we could follow her suit to make gradual changes to our own lives.