London has many beautiful parks and gardens, but Kew Gardens and Richmond Park are your best choices.

    Kew Gardens is a Botanical Research Center and it possesses the largest plant collection in the world. With its beautiful lawns（草坪）, formal gardens and greenhouses, it is such a tourist attraction for anybody visiting the capital. Probably the Chinese Pagoda is the most recognizable structure, but the Alpine house, Chokushi-Mon, Kew Palace, Queen Charlotte's Cottage or Shirley Sherwood Gallery are beautiful and interesting attractions as well. Richmond Park is an area of natural beauty and wild life. Like Kew Gardens（just 2 miles away）, Richmond Park has a wonderful variety of plant and animal life.

    If you are planning to visit either of the two parks, you will be thrilled to know that the area has six main car parks, all costing small fees. The disabled, providing a disabled badge（残疾证）, though, can park for free.

    Kew Gardens is open 9:30 am to 3:45 pm during the winter months, and 9:30 to 5:00 pm in the summer months. Richmond Park, however, is open from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm in summer while 7:30 am to 4:00 pm in winter.

    Richmond Park is free of charge, while you need to pay to get into Kew Gardens. The price is fairly small though, with children under the age of 17（when accompanied by an adult）visiting for free.

    More information about Kew Gardens:

    Address: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Rd, London

    E-mail: info@kew.org

    Phone: +44 020 8332 5655

    Website: http://www.kew.org/visit-kew-gardens/

    Price: £11.50

    Note: Kew Gardens is one of the most popular visitor attractions in London area and can therefore be extremely crowded during summer months, particularly on summer weekends.

    One night about nine o'clock, Dr. Eyck, a surgeon, had a phone call from Dr. Haydon at the hospital in Clens Falls. The surgeon was asked to go there at once to operate on a very sick boy who shot himself while playing with a gun.

    The doctor was soon on his way to Clens Falls. It was 60 miles away. And it was snowing heavily in the city. The surgeon thought he could get there before 12 o'clock.

    A few minutes later, the doctor was stopped by a man in an old black coat. Gun in hand, the man ordered the doctor to get out. Then the man drove the car down the road, leaving the doctor in the falling snow.

    It was after 2 o'clock in the morning when the doctor arrived at the hospital in Clens Falls. Dr. Haydon told him that the boy had died an hour before. The two doctors walked by the door of the hospital waiting room. There sat the man in the old black coat with his head in his hands“Mr. Cuninghan,”said Dr. Haydon to the man, “This is Dr. Eyck. He is the surgeon who walked all the way from Albany to save your boy.”

    Navarathri, which is celebrated throughout India, falls in September or October. On the first three days, people pray (祈祷) to the goddess Durga, the protector who destroys all evil. The next three days they pray to Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Then, also for three days, they look to Saraswathi, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge. The tenth and final day of the festival is for the goddess Durga. On this day many years ago, Durga killed the evil buffalo-headed monster, Mahishasura.

    My daughter and I took out the models of the gods and goddesses that we had stored away last year. Soon the room was littered with all kinds of dolls. We usually buy at least one new doll every year. On the tenth day, the dolls are carefully put away. If a doll is too damaged to be shown, it is never thrown away. Instead, it is put deep into the seas.

    In our hallway six long wooden steps are set up. First, we spread a thick white cloth over the steps. Now it's time to put the dolls on the steps carefully. Every year, the gollu is different. Sometimes — as the collection grows — there is no space to fit all of the dolls on the steps. Smaller dolls can also be placed on the floor.

    Every night there are prayers, music, dancing, and a large meal for many people. In northern India, the children sing songs while doing the dandiya raas, a traditional dance. Every dancer also has two wooden sticks — called dandiya — that he or she uses to make a sound in time to the lovely music. Dancing the dandiya raas helps people think of the true meaning of Navarathri — togetherness, laughter, and fun!

    When returning to south-western Germany, where my parents live, it is compulsory for me to go on a hike to connect with nature and reconnect with myself. So, that is exactly what I did the first sunny Sunday back in the beautiful Black Forest. The Huzenbacher See is a tarn in the middle of the northern Black Forest with abundant nature surrounding it. Approaching it after a good hour walk, I saw fascinating blue dragonflies in quantity that attracted us by the way they flew around. They didn't stand still for a photo, as they landed on leaves for a split second. We were also surprised at the yellow water lilies that can be seen floating on its surface between June and July.

    Sitting down at one of the benches surrounding the lake for a picnic was satisfying in two ways. I was aware of the world's beauty that gave me the energy to continue up the mountain to reach the most amazing view looking over the lake. The other was to really fill myself up in order to continue the adventure adequately, full up on some snacks and refreshing water from the well.

    The hike up wasn't as hard as expected and a good path was provided with dirty rocks and slippery stones all under the shade of the tall trees. This took about an hour and a half until reaching the beautiful view of the lake and land below. Once we had taken in the astonishing views, the walk back down took another hour or so, making the hike a 3-to4-hour round trip, which was well worth it!

    Simply being back in the Black Forest and having such pleasant hikes is definitely good for the soul and I highly recommend getting yourself outside, be it in the Black Forest or anywhere outdoors. Get your intake of vitamin D and, most importantly, take in the moments that nature has to offer.

    Your house may have an effect on your figure. Experts say the way you design your home could play a role in whether you pack on the pounds or keep them off. You can make your environment work for you instead of against you. Here are some ways to turn your home into part of your diet plan.

    Open the curtains and turn up the lights. Dark environments are more likely to encourage overeating, for people are often less self­conscious (难为情) when they're in poorly lit places—and so more likely to eat lots of food. If your home doesn't have enough window light, get more lamps and flood the place with brightness.

    Mind the colors. Research suggests warm colors fuel our appetites. In one study, people who ate meals in a blue room consumed 33 percent less than those in a yellow or red room. Warm colors like yellow make food appear more appetizing, while cold colors make us feel less hungry. So when it's time to repaint, go blue.

    Don't forget the clock—or the radio. People who eat slowly tend to consume about 70 fewer calories (卡路里) per meal than those who rush through their meals. Begin keeping track of the time, and try to make dinner last at least 30 minutes. And while you're at it, actually sit down to eat. If you need some help slowing down, turn on relaxing music. It makes you less likely to rush through a meal.

    Downsize the dishes. Big serving bowls and plates can easily make us fat. We eat about 22 percent more when using a 12­inch plate instead of a 10­inch plate. When we choose a large spoon over a smaller one, total intake (摄入) jumps by 14 percent. And we'll pour about 30 percent more liquid into a short, wide glass than a tall, skinny glass.

When we are kids, we are constantly being compared to others. Our parents may compare us to our siblings (兄弟姐妹). Our teachers probably compared us to other students. Kids compared us to other kids.

Those comparisons created either a sense of humiliation or a sense of pride. Either way, it has become second-nature. Everything we'd done has been followed by looking around and seeking validation (确认感).

Midway through my psychology PhD program at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, I felt that I lacked whatever magical ability is required to finish and publish a project. It seemed as though other graduate students were authoring several papers in the time it took me to complete a single experiment. I worked as hard as I could, but my progress seemed to be incremental (渐进式增加的) compared with theirs. When I shared these concerns with my adviser, she had a different take on the situation. "You're not doing anything wrong," she assured me, "you're just pursuing a different kind of research."

Comparing yourself to others is not necessarily a bad thing.

When you catch yourself comparing yourself to others, get curious about the feeling that is being triggered (引起). Is it jealousy? Is it obsession? Is it admiration? Is it love? Is it inspiration? Your triggered feelings will give you a clue as to what is going on within you.

Most likely, you are jealous because you wish you had what it takes to achieve what the other has achieved or to have what they have. Get curious and figure out why you still don't have it and what would it take to get there. It is never a good idea to make yourself wrong for comparing yourself to others or to make yourself wrong for not getting where you wish to be.

But if all this comparison mounts to is bitter jealousy, then your problem is bigger than a simple comparison. Always bear in mind that your only competition is the one in the mirror and—believe me—it is the toughest competition of all.