Beverly Cleary has sold 85 million copies of 41 books and — if those numbers weren't impressive enough — she turns 100 on Tuesday. Though the world was a very different place when Cleary was a child, she has always maintained that kids pretty much stay the same — which explains the ongoing popularity of her beloved characters, like Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins and Ralph S. Mouse.

    Cleary was in her early 30s and working part time in a bookstore when she sat down at a typewriter to see if just maybe she could write a book for kids. She had worked as a librarian before World War II, and she wished she'd had books for young readers about children living everyday lives.

    "I think children want to read about normal, everyday kids," she told NPR in 1999. "That's what I wanted to read about when I was growing up. I wanted to read about the sort of boys and girls that I knew in my neighborhood and in my school. ... I think children like to find themselves in books."

    Her first book, Henry Huggins, came out in 1950. Henry had a friend named Beezus, and Beezus had a mischievous（爱恶作剧的） but lovable little sister named Ramona. Over the next five decades, Cleary took Ramona all the way from nursery school （托儿所）to the fourth grade. Cleary says when she was writing Ramona, she took inspiration（灵感） from a little girl who lived in the house behind her as a child.

    Her books have hooked generations（几代） of children, including a young Jeff Kinney, who grew up to become the author of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series.

    "I must have been about 8 or 9 years old when I first read Beverly Cleary," Kinney recalls. "The book that really grabbed me was Ramona Quimby, Age 8. She looked feral. I needed to get to know this character."

    "Most kids have parents, teachers, bullies（欺凌） — we all experience these things,"Kinney says. "And Beverly Cleary tapped into that. Her work is still as relevant today as when it first came out."

    Now, generations of children have been fortunate enough to enjoy her stories of Klickitat Street.

Dear Rose,

    My brother is often in a bad mood, which makes me in a bad mood. What should I do?

Jenny,

    It can be hard to be around someone who is in a bad mood. Since you can't change another person's mood, try to focus on what you can control: your own mood and reaction.

    You might find it easier to stay in a good mood if you leave your brother alone when he feels grumpy (脾气暴躁的). The next time he is in a bad mood, go to a quiet place in your house. Read, exercise, draw, listen to music — do something that makes you feel happy.

    Your parents might have some good suggestions for you, too.

Dear Rose,

   I play soccer, but sometimes I play badly. How can I do better? Jarom,

    To be good at anything, determination and practice are important. Listen closely to your coach, watch other players, then practice, practice, practice! Professional athletes continue to practice their sports each day, knowing that if they start to get lazy, they won't keep or develop their skills.

    In addition to practicing with teammates, you can work on drills on your own.

    Learning more about the sport may help too. Your coach can likely direct you to some good resources on skills development.

Dear Rose,

    I was moved up a grade a few years ago. Now, almost everyone in my previous grade asks me why. It wouldn't be a problem, except some boys ask over and over just to be annoying. What do I do?

Allison (by email)

    If you're sure that they are trying to be annoying, you might respond with something humorous. For example, you could say something like "They told me that the lunch lines would be shorter." Use the situation to turn annoying questions into something to laugh about.

    Your DNS cache (域名存储器) stores the locations (IP addresses) of web servers that contain web pages which you have recently viewed. If the location of the web server changes before the entry in your DNS cache updates, you can no longer access the site.

    If you encounter a large number of HTML 404 error codes, you may need to clear your DNS cache. After you clear your DNS cache, your computer will query(询问) nameservers (域名服务器) for the new DNS information. The following methods allow you to remove old and inaccurate DNSinformation that may result in 404 errors.

    Windows 7

    To clear your DNS cache if you use Windows 7, perform the following steps:

    Click Start.

    Enter cmd in the Start menu search text box.

    Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.

    Run the following command:

    Ipconfig/flushdns

    If the command succeeds, the system returns the following message: Windows IP configuration successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

    Windows® 8

    To clear your DNS cache if you use Windows 8, perform the following steps:

    On your keyboard press Win+X to open the WinX Menu.

    Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.

    Run the following command:

    Ipconfig/flushdns

    If the command succeeds, the system returns the following message: Windows IP configuration successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

    Windows XP, 2000, or Vista®

    To clear your DNS cache if you use Windows XP, 2000, or Vista®, perform the following steps:

    Click Start.

    On the Start menu, click Run.

    If you do not see the Run command in Vista, enter run in the Search bar.

    Run the following command: ipconfig/flushdns

    If the command succeeds, the system returns the following message: Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

    MacOS® 10.10.4 and above

    To clear your DNS cache if you use MacOS X version 10.10.4 or above, perform the following steps:

    Click Applications.

    Click Utilities.

    Click Terminal.

    Run the following command:

    sudo killall-HUP mDNSResponde

    If the command succeeds, the system does not return any output(输出信息).

Warning:

    To run this command, you must know the computer's administrator account password.

    Have you ever thought of taking a train and having an adventure(奇遇)?Riding the train can be a real adventure. That is how I feel every time I take Amtrak. I often take a four－hour trip to visit my children. Every time I take this trip I never know what will happen.

    Last week when I was on the train and over an hour into the train ride, there was a man sitting by himself in the back of the train carrying on a mobile phone conversation－in another language. It was loud and disturbed most of the people on the train. I think it was annoying.

    Fortunately I sat next to a wonderful old lady who was taking a two－day trip by train. She said her two daughters were distraught at the thought of her driving for three days to reach her home, although she had no trouble driving. The train ride was the only choice for her. She loved to look out of the window and watch the world go by on the train.

    She was fun to talk to and asked me when my children started being parents. That is a very good question. Both of us are old and have children. She asked that same question from time to time.

    There are always many people on the train from all walks of life, different countries, and many languages. Riding the train is a great way to increase your knowledge and take in all kinds of cultures. If you get hungry, you can buy food in the food car at any time. If you need to use the restroom there is always one available.

It sure beats driving the car, which has to stop for food and restrooms. And it is better than taking the bus.

Target Car Seat Trade-in Event

Frequently Asked Questions:

·What is the car seat trade-in program?

Guests who trade in their old car seats will receive a 20 percent off coupon toward a new car seat.

·What type of car seat qualifies for a trade-in?

Target will accept and recycle all types of car seats, including: baby car seats, car seat bases, as well as car seats that are damaged. Guests will receive a 20 percent off coupon for trading in any one of these items.

·Where do I bring my old car seat to trade in?

Car seats can be traded in at any of the Target stores. Target will have drop-off boxes for guests' unwanted car seats located near Guest Services.

·How do I redeem(兑现) the coupon offer?

Coupons can be applied to both in-store and online purchases and are valid(有效的) until May 31.

·What does Target do with the car seats that are traded in?

Materials from the old car seats will be recycled by Target's partner, Waste Management, to create new products such as plastic plates, plastic buckets and construction materials such as steel beams and carpet padding.

·Is this the first time Target has had car seat trade-in program?

Target introduced its first car seat trade-in program in April 2016. Since the program launched, more than 789, 000 car seats, or 11. 98 million pounds of car seats, have been recycled.

She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last forever. However, at over 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona____Lisa. 

The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse year by year, according to the Louvre Museum where it is housed. 

"The thin, wooden panel(嵌板) on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago," the museum said. Visitors have noticed the changes but repairing the world's most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state.

 Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, and many are attracted by the mystery of her smile. "It is very interesting that when you're not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops," said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University. "It's because direct vision is excellent at picking up details, but less suitable to look at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows."

 However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France's King Francis Ⅰ in 1519.

 In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum and hid it in his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back to France two years later.

 During World War Ⅱ, the French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.

 Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell.