A dog can keep us company. Sweetie is a big dog who spends every Friday of the month in the Children's Area of our local library. Earlier today, I was so lucky to be nearby when she was partnering with a boy who was reading a mystery of Magic Tree House. Every time Sweetie listened to the boy reading the most challenging words, she would softly lick（舔）his hand which was holding the book. With his mom in the background, Sweetie and the young boy shared a 10-minute happy partnership, and he was rewarded by Sweetie's great attention to his every word.

    Next Sweetie had an appointment with the twins who took turns reading poetry. With each girl giggling over the funny words, Sweetie was also smiling with her tongue dropping a bit as they each read. After the 10-minute interaction was done, each girl gave Sweetie a gentle hug and were rewarded by Sweetie's foreleg bow.

    In speaking with Sweetie's owner and transportation “captain”, I learned that Sweetie had been specially trained to work as a service dog. She has retired（退休）after a career of wonderful service, and now she is “in her sunset years” in her service at the library.

    Sweetie has a special resting carpet behind the scenes in the Children's Area, so that she can refresh herself with fresh water and some food when she is tired and hungry. This is Sweetie's third summer that she has been the “regular” partner. Oh Fridays from 2 pm~4 pm, Sweetie is ready to listen and act as a devoted partner.

    Many people trying to sell homes find that an increase in home prices has turned the market in their favor. But sellers can still get the short end of the deal if they aren't careful. Here are a few tips for you:

    Don't test your luck. Of course you think anyone who moves into your lovely home should be willing to pay top dollars, especially if you've recently invested in some improvements. But listing a home at a price that's too high above the market price could turn away some buyers.

    Buyers noticing that the home still hasn't sold may begin to assume there's something wrong with the house and use that as a reasonable excuse for offering a lower price. And if a home hasn't received any offers after two weeks, it might be time to reset the price.

    A price that's too low can bring about an undesired outcome. Listing your home at or slightly below the market price can have the effect of drawing in a large group of buyers and increase the chances that a home will receive multiple offers. But setting the price too low comes with several risks. One possibility is that buyers will get skeptical of the home that is listed for $ 15,000 to $ 20,000 less than similar homes in the area, especially if it's not properly marketed. Once again, people might assume there is something wrong with the home and may not bother to look at it.

    Spy on the competition. Going to other people's open houses can give you a better sense of how your home compares to others on the market. Check out the decoration in their kitchens, the size of their backyards and use the information to figure out where your home should fit in the range of the price. But don't set your pricing just on what you see elsewhere.

    Hiring a self-drive car really adds to the enjoyment of your holiday. There are so many places of interest to visit. And if you enjoy seeing more than just the city centre, there's no better way to explore than by car.

    Conditions of Hire

    ⒈The shortest rental period at these especially low prices is three days. For prices and for periods of one or two days you only see our representative at the hotel.

    ⒉Car hire must be booked six weeks or more before arrival in London to guarantee a car. But if you have been unable to make a booking in advance, please see our representative at the hotel who may still be ab le to help you.

    ⒊The car types on the sheet are examples of the types of cars in each price range, but a particular car cannot be guaranteed.

    ⒋Upon delivery the driver(s) will be asked to sign the car hire company's Conditions of Hire.

    ⒌If you decide to hire a car, just fill in the Booking Form and return it to us. A booking fee of ￡12 as part of the car hire cost is required.

    ⒍Should you be forced to cancel your car hire booking after payment in full (two weeks before date of hire), a cancellation charge of ￡12 will be made.

    The next time your brain refuses to recall a simple fact or name, be thankful. That could be a sign that your brain is getting rid of unnecessary information so that it can operate more efficiently, and help you make better decisions.

The researchers say there are numerous neurobiological(神经生物学的)studies conducted on how the brain stores information, a process called persistence (暂留). However, scientists also assumed that our occasional inability to recall facts was due to a are an the brain. In 2013, scientists discovered that as new neurons combine with the hippocampus(海马区)—a region of the brain that plays a significant role in learning and remembering—they overwrite old memories, making them harder to access. There is also evidence that the brain weakens or removes connections between neurons, in which memories are encoded.

    The scientists have a theory on why the brain spends so much energy erasing memories. They say what the brain decides to forget is determined by our daily life. An example is that our brains remember phone numbers according to the need. Instead of storing this irrelevant information that our phones can store for us, our brains are freed up to store the memories that actually do matter for us. They also believe that memorizing too much detail could prevent us from making good decisions.

    So the next time you are unable to recall a seemingly important fact, don't be hard on yourself. Just throw it to your brain's “rubbish can” to make room for information that can contribute to making you smarter! Remember, even Albert Einstein was absent-minded!

    In 1973, I was teaching elementary school. Each day, 27 kids entered "The Thinking Laboratory." That was the name students voted for after deciding that "Room 104" was too dull.

    Freddy was an average student, but not an average person. He had the rare balance of fun and compassion(同情). He would laugh the loudest over fun and be the saddest over anyone's misfortune.

    Before the school year ended, I gave the kids a special gift, T-shirts with the words "Verbs Are Your friends" on them. I had advised the kids that while verbs may seem dull, most of the fun things they do throughout their lives will be verbs.

     Through the years, Pd run into former students who would provide updates on old classmates. I learned that Freddy did several jobs after his graduation from high school and remained the same caring person I met forty years before. Once, while working overnight at a store, he let a homeless man sleep in his truck. Another time, he lent a friend money to buy a house.

    Just last year, I was conducting a workshop when someone knocked at the classroom door. A woman excused the interruption and handed me an envelope. I stopped teaching and opened it up. Inside were the "Verbs" shirt and a note from Freddy's mother. "Freddy passed away on Thanksgiving. He wanted you to have this."

    I told the story to the class. As sad as it was, I couldn't help smiling. Although Freddy was taken from us, we all took something from Freddy.

The Beauty of Creative Friendships

I recently walked through an incredible exhibition in Venice. It 1 about 75 art works that a Dutch-American artist created during the time he spent in Italy in 1959 and 1969. The pieces on show included his ink-on-paper drawings, some gestural drawings, landscapes and sculptures.

Born in 1904, de Kooning spent the majority of his artistic career as a (n) 2 but in 1969, while visiting Rome, he 3 an old friend, the sculptor Herzl Emanuel, who invited him to his studio and 4 him to try working with 5 .

At age 65, de Kooning 6 his first sculptural works, 13 small clay items. It was the 7 of a new artistic era for him and, over the next 15 years, sculpture became a (n) 8 and inseparable part of his career.

Later, after I left the exhibition, I was 9 by how beautiful it was that de Kooning began making sculpture because of the initial 10 and encouragement of his 11 . It got me thinking about the often unacknowledged role that some friendships play in the creative process of 12 across all types.

We often think about those friendships that journey deeply with us in our private lives, 13 us through emotional ups and downs. But friendships that develop our professional selves are also 14 .In offering courage, insight and clarity on the work that we produce, these friendships 15 the overall quality of our lives.