If you live in the U.S., you're probably used to throwing banana peel into the trash. But people in other countries, including India, have been taking advantages of their nutritional benefits for many years.

    While the flesh of a banana is soft and sweet, the skin is thick, hard and slightly bitter. To eat the peel, you can fry, bake, or boil it for at least 10 minutes. Also, the riper bananas get, the thinner and sweeter banana peel will become. That's because of a natural plant hormone(激素) called ethylene(乙烯) that fruits release as they ripen. Ethylene interacts with the sugars and fiber in the banana skin, changing complex sugars into simple sugars and breaking down pectin, a form of fiber in bananas that keeps them stiff. That's why the older your banana is, the flimsier(不结实的) it feels.

    The sweet flesh of a medium-sized banana contains great percentages of your daily recommended intake of various nutrients, such as:

·12% of your daily fiber, which helps with digestion and may help lower your risk of diabetes(糖尿病)

·17% of your vitamin C, which is important for your immune system as well as your growth

·20% of your vitamin B6, which aids the body's ability to turn food into energy

·12% of your potassium, which helps with the development of cells, tissues, and organs throughout the body

    If you eat the skin along with the flesh, you will get an even bigger increase in these same nutrients.

    Eating the peel is not only good for your body but also better for the earth. The average American ate 11.4 pounds of bananas in 2014. Since a medium-sized banana weighs about 0.3 pounds, that equates to about 38 bananas per person, or about 12 billion for the whole of the U.S. And since most of us throw away the peel, that also means a lot of organic waste.

    Aunt Karen always had a special place in my heart. When I was growing up, I knew I could count on her to have room for me on her lap and words of love and encouragement when I needed to hear them. When she died five years ago, I was devastated. The whole family was still in shock when her husband, Uncle Ronnie, died a week later. I longed to have a small item of Aunt Karen's to remember her by, but seeing her children and grandchildren overcome by the grief of this double loss made me shy away from asking.

    A few months after Aunt Karen's death, I was on my way to work when I saw Rescued Treasures, a local second-hand store. I only had a couple of dollars on me and didn't really intend to buy anything, but I stopped anyway just to look inside. I had been shopping around for a few minutes when a small, black handbag caught my eye. It wasn't fancy or special. I didn't really need a handbag and continued to look around the store, but something kept drawing me back to that handbag. Finally, I checked the price tag (标签). It was just one dollar.

    The handbag stayed in the back of my car for weeks until I came upon it during a car clean-up. I opened it up. I couldn't believe it. They hadn't even cleaned it out. It was still full of junk, old candy wrappers, old receipts (收据) and used paper. Usually the store emptied things inside, so there wouldn't be any surprises for a new owner.

    I threw away some wastes, and sorted through the receipts, when I found one item in the small inside pocket. It was an insurance card with the name “Karen Stair” written on it. I began to cry. My beloved Aunt Karen. This was her handbag.

    Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes that will give them a head start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter.

    However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap. Parents can see that their children's skills vary, skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today's children lack self-respect and self-confidence. The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents are not teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever.

    Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.

    Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self-confidence.

    Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. These activities are not only teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.

    TheChristianScienceMonitor is seeking editorial interns (实习生)with good journalism skills to write and edit in the Monitor's various columns and online platforms. Applicants must be self－starters(做事主动的人), and have great analytical skills, a basic understanding of world events, and an ability to write and edit with clarity and precision.

    Duties will include making presentations, reporting, and writing stories with angles that could bring understanding to various topics, show new creative approaches to a wide range of problems, and highlight areas of progress.

    Attention to detail is important in this job. Interns will stand out from their experience as excellent writers who are able to notice and analyze trends in addition to earning valuable day-to-day experience by working with first-rate editors in a dynamic newsroom.

    Work Schedule: Paid and academic interns will work Monday through Friday, between 35 to 40 hours a week. The workplace is in Boston, Mass.

    Spring internships run from January to the beginning of May. The application deadline is October 15.

    Summer internships run from the end of May to mid August. The application deadline is January 15.

    Fall internships run from September to December. The application deadline is July 15.

    To apply, please contact the Internship Manager, and send a resume, a cover letter, and at least three writing clips(片段)(If emailing, please attach clips as separate, printable documents and not as links) to：

    Kendra Nordin Beato

    Internship Manager

    TheChristianScienceMonitor

    210 Massachusetts Avenue, P02-20

    Boston, MA02115

    nordink@csmonitor.com

    Years ago, I volunteered at a homeless shelter in Los Angeles, handing out food. Once I got talking with Albert, a tall and skinny young guy in line. He said he liked my socks. "Want to see mine?" he joked, lifting his leg. He was barefoot. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

    The next day, after work, I stopped at Ross and filled up my truck with socks. The following early morning, I drove over to Santa Monica's Palisades Park, which is a common destination for homeless people.

    I took one of the bags from my trunk. It was still dark out. I headed for a group of three men, standing around a tree, probably using it as a windbreaker. Two were asleep under heavy blankets, and the third was digging through his collection. As I walked toward him, he watched me, perhaps questioning my motives. "I thought you guys might need some fresh new socks," I said, handing him a pair. He looked confused at first but took them and said, "Thank you." I gave him two more pairs for his friends.

    I moved on. An hour later, I had given out all the socks. Most people were sleeping, and I felt like Santa. I knew that when they wake up they would find a very meaningful present.

    That was nine years ago. Every week I'll hand out as many socks as I can. If I'm on vacation or on a business trip for more than a week, I bring a bag of socks with me and hand them out to the homeless on the streets in other states and countries.

    It's extremely satisfying to operate "under the radar(雷达)" to help make some people's lives a little bit easier. Part of me hopes to see Albert out there one of these days, but even if I don't, I like to think one of the pairs will find him.

Before traveling to Lake Tahoe, make sure your plans are in order. Here are several vacation packages to the area offered online. Easily find the perfect route or simply build your own to experience the wonders of Lake Tahoe.

Get Outdoors in Lake Tahoe Package

Get outdoors and explore! With this fun vacation package, you can stay in the Lake Tahoe area for three nights and have a few adventures along the way. This package also features Lake Tahoe Sport Fishing, allowing guests to get out and fish!

Package includes: 3 nights' lodging（住宿）in your choice of over 33 hotels.

Lake Tahoe Romantic Getaway Package

Lake Tahoe Romantic Getaway Package is perfect for people who want to have a romantic time. It also includes the Lake Tahoe Emerald Bay Sunset Cruise on the Bleu Wave, which allows you the chance to see the beautiful surroundings of Lake Tahoe.

Package includes: 4 nights' lodging in your choice of over 11 hotels.

Lake Tahoe Family Vacation Package

Due to the amazing sights, there are lots of activities in this package to take part in. If your next trip happens to be in the Lake Tahoe area, then consider booking the Lake Tahoe Family Vacation Package. Everyone is suitable to visit.

Package includes: 3 nights' lodging in your choice of over 11 hotels.

Lake Tahoe Weekend Getaway Package

Lake Tahoe Weekend Getaway Package is great for people of all ages, so this is a great choice for families. It also includes a Lake Tahoe Emerald Bay Cruise, which takes place aboard the Bleu Wave.

Package includes: 2 nights' lodging in your choice of over 22 hotels.