Ways to Have an Amazing Day

    I am a big believer in the Law of the Harvest: we harvest what we sow. If we plant the seeds of success every day, we will get a successful harvest. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Try new things

    So many of life's great experience wait just on the other side of our fears or our comfort zone. When the opportunity to try something new comes up, ask yourself, “Why not?” {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Don't miss out on the great moments that are waiting all around you every day!

Keep learning

    When we were kids it seemed that every day had something new that we had not experienced before. That is why young children will ask their parents “Why?” about a thousand times a week. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} A lifetime of learning leads to a love for life.

Be kind

    It has been said that you can measure a person by how he treats the people who can do nothing for him. How often do you stop to talk to the people you meet with every day？One great way to get more out of your day is to fill it with people you know. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} And take a moment to learn a little about them.

Find a purpose

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It may be to run a marathon, write a book, start a business, develop a product, or learn a new hobby or profession.

A. Have one or more big “life goals”.

B. If we don't plant enough, we cannot have a good harvest.

C. We are learning and growing.

D. You have to make the most of every day in life.

E. Provide meaningful services for other people in any situation.

F. Many of the great moments in life are linked to new experiences.

G. The best way to know more people is to be kind to everyone you meet.

"Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton(骨骼) in the closet?" Jessica asked. "A skeleton in the closet?" her mother paused thoughtfully. "Well, it's something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad's family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a skeleton in his family's closet'. He really wouldn't want any neighbor to know about it."

"Why pick on my family?" Jessica's father said with anger. "Your family history isn't so good. You know. Wasn't your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was sent to Australia for his crimes?" "Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners." "Gosh, sorry I asked, I think I understand now," Jessica cut in before things grew worse.

    After dinner, the house was very quiet. Jessica's parents were still quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica's closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Jessica's mother sank into a faint(晕倒), waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.

"What happened？Where am I?" she asked. "You just destroyed the school's skeleton, Mum," explained Jessica. "I brought it home to help me with my health project, I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad." Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. "They're both crazy," she thought.

    A black hole is created when a large star burns out. Like our sun, stars are unbelievably hot furnaces(熔炉) that burn their own matter as fuel. When most of the fuel is used up, the star begins to die.

    The death of a star is not a quiet event. First there is a huge explosion. As its outer layer is blasted off into space, the dying star shines as brightly as a billion suns.

    After the explosion, gravity pulls in what's left of the star. As the outside of the star sinks toward the center, the star gets smaller and smaller. The material the star is made of becomes tightly packed together. A star is so solid that a teaspoon of matter from it weighs billion of pounds.

    The more the star shrinks(收缩), the stronger the gravity inside it becomes. Soon the star is very tiny, and the gravity pulling it in is unbelievably strong. In fact, the gravity is so strong that it even pulls light into the star! Since all the light is pulled in, none can go out. The star becomes black when there is no light. Then a black hole is born!

    That's what we know about black holes. What we don't know is this: What happens inside a black hole after the star has been squeezed into a tiny ball? Does it keep getting smaller and smaller forever? Such a possibility is hard to imagine.

    But if the black hole doesn't keep shrinking, what happens to it? Some scientists think black holes are like doorways to another world. They say that as the star disappears from our universe, it goes into another universe. In other words a black hole in our universe could turn into a "white hole" in a different universe. As the black hole swallows(吞噬) light, the white hole shines brightly--somewhere else. But where? A different place, perhaps, or a different time--many years in the past or future.

    Could you travel through a black hole? Right now, no. Nothing we know of could go into a black hole without being crushed(挤压). So far the time being, black hole must remain a mystery.

    Black holes are a mystery--but that hasn't stopped scientists from dreaming about them. One scientist suggested that in the future we might make use of the power of black holes. They would supply all of Earth's energy needs, with plenty to spare. Another scientist wondered if a black hole could some day be used to swallow earthly waste--a sort of huge waste disposal(处理) in the sky!

    Our family loves the snow and cheers at the first good storm of the season. While others may think of Florida, we dream of a cabin vacation in New York's Allegany State Park.

    One particular trip, I recall, was just a bit more memorable than the rest. What we now refer to as the snow pants incident began accidentally enough. My husband, Bernie, and our 2-year-old daughter, Faith, were building a snow fort while I sledded down a nearby slope.

On the way back up from one trip, I saw a small stone tumbling down the track I had just made. I was puzzled, since all the other rocks were buried under several feet of snow, as I stood and wondered about the stone—it jumped! This was no stone. This was a mouse.

    Now, I love nature, but that doesn't include mice. I loudly protested the invader, and Bernie, coming to my rescue, assured me that this was not a mouse but a mole, as if that mattered. A mouse or a mole I still didn't like it.

    Bernie and I stood for a few minutes watching the creature disappear from the path into the furry white and come back out again. But soon it disappeared and I headed up the hill again.

    Shortly after I left, my husband screamed out, saying that the mole had gone up the leg of his snow pants. You have to understand Bernie can be quite a joker, and I smelled a rat. Not wanting to be a sucker and fall for another one of his jokes, I laughed it off. When he started running for the cabin, though, I stopped laughing and decided maybe this was for real.

    “Don't you dare take that thing into the house!” I yelled. But like a flash, Bernie was already dashing through the cabin's front door, with his snow pants, the mole and all. If it were me, I'd have been down to my long underwear right there in the snow without a second thought.

A few minutes later Bernie appeared. We relished the rest of our winter vacation, drinking lots of hot chocolate, sitting beside the fireplace and admiring nature—from a safe distance.

    When I was growing up, Mother's Day was as important as Christmas.

    The energy around the house was always positive（积极的）, mostly thanks to my father who made sure that his kids appreciated their mother, We would clean the house, and Mum got breakfast in bed in the morning and didn't have to lift a finger all day. And in the evening, we went to a restaurant for a traditional Mother's Day dinner.

    What I learned from my father over the years, was that no matter what, he always put my mother before himself. He absolutely loved her and never let her forget that. And from my parents, I learned a thing or two about how to love.

    I maintain（保持） my father's Mother's Day tradition with my wife. Growing up, I learned that showing affection to the woman you love or who gave birth to you is an important part of life. You see, it goes both ways, and the love you have for your mother comes back to you again and again.

    Believing that and feeling it when you can may keep you from being lonely, even if your mum isn't close by or has passed away. There are a number of us who no longer have a mother in our lives, and truth be told, there are often times when I wish my mum were still here to comfort me. So instead, I remember the times she did just that. It makes me smile, and somehow, those memories of a more simple and loving life give me the comfort I'm looking for.

    My wife's mother is still around, however, and it's great to have that "mother energy" in my life still. Having this relationship with my mother-in-law is nice because it gives me someone to be there for on Mother's Day, and any other day of the year.

    If you are mum-less, you too should find a deserving woman in your life and celebrate Mother's Day with her. If you don't know anyone, there are plenty of lonely mums in rest homes who would enjoy your company for a couple of hours. The visit will make both of your days, and perhaps your lives, a little bit better.

If you really want a taste of the everyday swing of Dutch life, a bike tour through Amsterdam is the way to go.

What is included in an Amsterdam bike tour

The bicycle is of course provided and included in the price of the tour. Some tours offer coffee and tea after the tour finishes. Every tour especially has its own theme and route. You can compare them by visiting webpages dedicated to a particular tour.

A tour itself is a beautiful experience. Amsterdam's architecture, markets, bridges, plazas and street atmosphere are memorable and comfortable to see from a bike seat. See them like most citizens of Amsterdam do.

Amsterdam bicycle tour basics

These tours are usually between one and two hours long. They are guided by friendly and knowledgeable tour guides who are well capable in Amsterdam information. What's more, the tour guides usually know many languages and are used to overcoming language barriers(障碍).

Important during the bicycle tour of Amsterdam

Please don't become so Dutch that you ignore( 忽视) the traffic laws. It is a fact that some Amsterdammers often cross a street or a bridge when they feel like doing it. That is why staying alert (警惕的) and a little bit of biking experience can help you to go through the small city streets during an Amsterdam bike tour. Also, unless you are 100% sure that the weather will be sunny, you'd better bring a jacket. When you start moving on the bike, the wet Amsterdam's air can get quite cold.