I now work 40 hours a week at a weather company and I love it Compared to when I became a mom, I don't feel bad about being away from my three kids. When I had my first child, I was a busy manager. My husband had a part-time job and cared for her the rest of the time. Once I became pregnant with my second kid, I quit my job to focus fully on writing.

    At first I felt like I was living the dream. I was a work-from-home mom who never had to be away from my children. But working from home can end up being more stressful than working full-time or being a stay-at-home mom.because you're frequently exhausted between work, keeping house and telling sweet faces you don't have time to play. Ever tried writing an article with a baby screaming? It was awful.

    I was so stressed that I eventually started taking my kids to 8 day care center a couple of days a week. The whole reason I worked so hard to be able to write for a living was to be at home with my kids and here I was taking them to a day care center.I thought I was a failure then.

    Over the past five years of being a freelancer(自由作家), I've realized a couple of things. As I wrote six months  ago, "I though I felt bad leaving my daughter for ten hours a day but now she is old enough to ask me to read her a story .Try telling your kid no, 20 times a day. It's cruel. You end up feeling worse for having to ignore them." I also realize not socializing with people weren't good for my mental well-being.

    Not only that, but I can now show my kids that Mom is important and has a job at a flashy office building, something they didn't realize when1 sat around in yoga pants typing on my computer all day long.

    A great woman once said, “Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be a challenge to others. “These are the words of US pilot Amelia Earhart（1897- 1937）, a pioneer in aviation（航空领域）, who was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean

    Her story ended in mystery when she disappeared without a trace（踪迹）during a flight over the Pacific Ocean. Theories about what happened to Earhart were proposed, but nothing was ever confirmed—until now. A study published in March conducted by Richard Jantz from the University of Tennessee, US, determined that bones found in 1940 on a remote Pacific island belonged to Earhart. Following the discovery, the world's memories of the legendary female pilot were brought back to life.

    Earhart was born in 1897. When she was young, she was very interested in stories about women who were successful in male-dominated（男性为主的）professions, such as engineering and law. But in 1920, Earhart's life changed after her first experience of being a plane passenger. As soon as the plane left the ground, Earhart knew that she loved flying, so she found herself a teacher and started to learn how to fly for herself. To pay for the lessons and buy a plane of her own, she took all sorts of jobs.

    In 1932, Earhart flew solo（独自地）across the Atlantic, becoming the first woman ever to do so. She also designed a flying suit for women and went on to design other clothes for women who led active lives. When she was nearly 40, Earhart was ready for a final challenge—to be the first woman to fly around the world. Her first attempt was unsuccessful but she tried again in 1937 with her navigator（领航员）Fred Noonan. But one month later, they disappeared in bad weather in mid-flight.

    Even though it's still not clear how she ended up on the island, we're one step closer to finding the answer. And no matter what, Earhart will be forever remembered as a brave pioneer, both as a pilot and as a woman.

    Experts like to say the best form of exercise is whatever kind you'll actually do. But that may not always be the case; new research finds that people who combine exercise with their social lives may be at an advantage over solitary（独自） exercisers. Tennis, badminton and soccer are all better for longevity(长寿) than cycling, swimming, jogging or gym exercise, according to the research.

    The study was based on data from about 8,500 adults who were part of the Copenhagen City Heart Study. They completed a health and lifestyle questionnaire, which included questions about type and frequency of physical activity, and were monitored by the researchers for around 25 years, a period during which about 4,500 of the subjects died.

    Tennis came out on top in the research. Compared with people sitting all day, those who reported playing tennis as their main form of exercise could expect to add 9.7 years to their life time, followed by badminton (6.2 years), soccer (4.7 years), cycling (3.7 years), swimming (3.4 years), jogging (3.2 years) and health-club activities (1.5 years).

    Tennis likely took the top spot because "it's very interactive," says study co-author Dr. James O'Keefe, a physician at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute. "At every point you're talking. It's just a very natural way to emotionally bond with people, besides getting your exercise." But he adds that the study may not have been able to fully account for the fact that wealthier, better-educated people—who tend to be healthier to begin with—may be more likely to play tennis.

    Activities like running and weight lifting still extend your life and offer plenty of other health benefits. But for the best possible benefits, O'Keefe says gym-goers may want to consider combining those workouts with activities that foster social connection.

    O'Keefe, whose exercise typically includes running and weight lifting, says he's even changed his own behavior because of the study: he and his family have taken up badminton.

    "You can't play badminton without feeling like a kid again," he says. "It's just pure fun."

    More and more people in America are celebrating the Indian holiday Diwali. Diwali is Hindi for "row of lights". It is the most important holiday in India.

    Many people around the world are beginning to celebrate it as well. The United States is one of the places where the festival is becoming more common. Diwali celebrations can now be found at American landmarks like Disneyland in California and New York City's Times Square. They are also held in many parks and museums.

    Neeta Bhasin created the Times Square event. She said Indian immigrants have found great success in America. But, she said, many Americans still do not know much about India. So, she decided to act." I felt it's about time that we should take India to mainstream America and show India's rich culture, heritage, arts and variety to the world," she said, "and I couldn't find a better place than Times Square."

    Bhasin came to the United States from India 40 years ago. She is president of ASB Communications, the marketing firm behind Diwali at Times Square. Tens of thousands of people attend the event, now in its fourth year.

    In India, Diwali is a five-day harvest festival held just before the Hindu New Year. The exact dates change from year to year but Diwali is always in the fall. Celebrations include lighting oil lamps or candles called "diyas".

    A Diwali celebration will light up Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim this year. Visitors can watch performances of traditional Indian dances and take part in a Bollywood dance party. The event is part of a Festival of Holidays program at the theme park to show cultural traditions from around the world. The program takes place on November 10th through January 7th.

    San Antonio, Texas, also holds a Diwali celebration. And it is one of the nation's largest celebrations, with more than 15,000 people in attendance each year. Visitors can enjoy Indian dance，food and fireworks. Organizers also plan to float hundreds of lighted candles in the San Antonio River, along the city's famous River Walk.

    English is a very interesting language. It has borrowed words from many other languages. Immigrants (移民) coming into the United States have contributed many words to the language, which have kept their original pronunciation. "Coolie" and "kowtow" were taken from the Chinese language, "kamikaze" from the Japanese, "shampoo" from India, "blitz" from German, "amigo" and "Los Angeles" from Spanish and so on.

    Many students have studied English for years, some as many as eight. However, some students still have difficulty in speaking fluent English. Some know many words, but are unable to discern them when native speakers use them. In our oral English classes we will focus on speaking and listening to native English speakers. For this reason, because we are trying to train your ears to hear English and your mouths to speak intelligible (易理解的) English, we will have a rule that ONLY ENGLISH will be spoken in our English classes. Anyone speaking Chinese in class will be required to pay a fine (罚款) in order to encourage the speaking and understanding of English. If teachers enter a classroom and discover that anyone is speaking Chinese, they will require everyone in the room to pay the fine. It is everyone's job to enforce the English­Only rule. It is for your benefit. It is because we want to accustom (使习惯于) your ears to hearing English.

    Other subjects may be learned only from books but the only way to learn a foreign language is to SPEAK IT! Students are often nervous about speaking in class at first but we hope to make the classes fun, so you will forget your nervousness and learn to speak out. Enjoy your classes.

I was asked by a reader recently why so many animals seem to have pink ears，when their bodies are all different colours? The truth is that most animals actually don't have pink ears. Let us explain.

Near the equator (赤道), where the climate is hot, animals are likely to have darker skin, including on their ears. Think of the African elephant, which has quite dark ears. In colder climates, skin colour is usually lighter and often pink.

Why is skin colour different in different climates? Skin pigmentation, which is what gives skin its colour, can protect against sunburn and skin cancer. When animals live in colder parts of the world, they don't need it as much to survive. Light-coloured skin also helps animals stay warmer because it reduces heat loss, which is useful if you're in a colder climate.

For most animals, the colour of their fur or other body covering has generally developed as camouflage. That allows animals to mix into the background and avoid being eaten, or for predators (捕食者) to remain hidden during hunting. One example is the sandy-coloured coat of the desert fennec fox, which uses camouflage for both hunting and hiding.

By the way, in many animals, ears come in many different shapes and sizes. For example, in bats, the serval (a type of African wildcat) and the fennec fox, the ears are large compared to their body size—this helps them hear better because it allows them to sense more sound waves. Naked mole-rats have tiny ears because they need to dig a lot. Big ears would get in the way. The other downside of big ears is that you can lose a lot of body heat. That's why animals that live in really cold places, like the Arctic fox, have quite small ears.