Seal(海豹) seizes raft

    This seal really rocked the boat when he found himself an unusual place to hang out. After the seal came across a boat in the harbor where he lives, he fell inside and wouldn't budge for four days.

“One morning the seal just pulled himself aboard,” says Ed Stubbings, who owns the boat-turned-bed. Probably thinking the boat was a rock, the seal made himself at home. The seal didn't move an inch—--not even to eat or drink.

    Stubbings was a little worried that the 500-pound animal might sink it. Luckily on the fifth day, the seal fell back into the water and swam off.

Alligator(短吻鳄)gets new tail

When Mr. Stubbs the alligator swims through his pool at the Phoenix Herpetological Society, he looks like any other gator—--except that his tail is made of rubber. Mr. Stubbs is the first alligator known to wear an artificial tail.

    Mr. Stubbs was brought to the society nine years ago. “His tail was missing when he arrived,” says President Russ Johnson. Mr. Stubbs couldn't walk or swim properly. “We showed him how to swim in the water,” Johnson says. “But that hurt his back.” Later, the scientists used rubber to build an artificial tail attached to Mr. Stubbs's back legs. “Once we put the tail on him, he walked with ease,” Johnson says.

Dog delivers papers

    Morgan started her “paper route” when she was young. One day as Morgan and her owner Bill set out on a walk, she spotted a rolled-up paper. To Bill's surprise, Morgan grabbed the object in her mouth, walked back to the house, and dropped it on the doorstep. Morgan enjoyed the activity so much that she wanted to deliver every paper she saw on her walks.

Now three-year-old Morgan brings the paper to her owner and neighbors, even in bad weather. “Morgan has a natural instinct(本能) to carry things with her mouth,” dog behaviorist Pat Miller says. “And she feels rewarded by the activity, so she keeps it up.”

    If we were asked exactly what we were doing a year ago，we should probably have to say that we could not remember. But if we had kept a book and had written in it an account of what we did each day, we should be able to give an answer to the question．

    It 1s the same in history．Many things have been forgotten because we do not have any written account of them. Sometimes men did keep a record of the most important happenings in their country, but often it was destroyed by fire or in a war．Sometimes there was never any written record at all because the people of that time and place did not know how to write．For example，we know a good deal about the people who lived in China 4,000 years ago，because they could write and leave written records for those who lived after them．But we know almost nothing about the people who lived even 200 years ago in Central Africa，because they had not learned to write．

    Sometimes，of coures，even if the people cannot write，they may know something of the past．They have heard about it from older people，and often songs, dances and stories have been made about the most important happenings, and these have been sung，acted and told for many generations，for most people are proud to tell what their fathers did in the past．This we may call”remembered history”．Some of it had been written down. It is not so exact or so valuable to us as written history is，because words are much more easily changed when used again and again in speech than when copied in writing．But where there are no written records，such spoken stories are often very helpful．

    With the wide, application of the Internet, Uber, a new approach to your destination instead of taking an ordinary taxi, has become more popular recently. However, benefits won't come without its fair share of drawbacks. The ride-sharing experience is about to get awkward.

    Uber drivers are a part of the so-called sharing economy: They use their own vehicles, receive customer reviews via the app's five-star rating system and make their own hours and choices. Unlike other services, Uber claimed that drivers all over the country could dearly alert customers that tipping is not included. Those drivers that expect to be tipped can make their wishes known. But the company is holding to its official no-tip-required line. “Once you arrive at your destination, your fare is automatically charged to your credit card on file－there's no need to tip.” Although drivers value the freedom to push a button rather than punch a clock like ordinary taxi drivers, lack of a clear policy leaves Uber drivers m a vulnerable (脆弱的) and awkward position: If they ask a customer for a tip or put up a sign, that customer could give the driver a low star-rating, and the driver could finally be removed from the app.

    But has the company done a good job working with customers? Some observers say that this new grey area for tipping will create awkwardness about whether they should tip or not. Providing an option to tip on an app sends a clear message to customers to reach into their pockets. According to Guinn's 2015 survey of roughly 500 people, merely 30% people would be more likely to leave a tip if they were presented with a “no tip” button.

    If the service is twice as expensive during a rain storm or public transport delay, the customer has the right not to tip, However, if the driver is extra helpful or avoids traffic to reach your destination in a more timely manner, you could give an extra tip, says Uber, who will leave tipping options in the hands of the consumer rather than the app.

    Reintroducing beavers (海狸) to Britain could help clean up rivers, prevent flooding and minimise soil loss, an expert has claimed.

    Professor Richard Brazier, a researcher at the University of Exeter, said unpublished results from a trial area in Devon showed muddy water entering an area where beavers were living was three times cleaner when it left. "Our trial has shown that the beavers are able to dam our streams in a way that keeps soil in the headwaters of our catchment (流域) so it doesn't block up rivers downstream and pollute our drinking and bathing waters. If we bring beavers back it's just one tool we need to solve Britain's crisis of soil loss and agricultural pollution of waterways, but it's a useful tool," he said.

    Prof Brazier's claims were disputed by the National Farmers' Union (NFU), which warned that the reintroduction of beavers to Scotland had led to fields and forests becoming damaged. Spokesman Mark Pope said: "The knowledge of the impacts beavers have had on farmland, riverbanks and flood defences in Scotland is concerning. We await the results of the Devon trial and will analyse the outcomes then."

    Prof Brazier, an expert in Earth Surface Processes, insisted the animals could even play a useful role in preventing flooding. He told BBC News: "The public is currently paying people to build leaky dams to keep storm waters in the uplands. The beavers can do it free of charge and even build their own homes."

    However, Professor Jane Rickson, a soil specialist from Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, joined the NFU in sounding a note of caution. She agreed that in some places in the UK there was evidence of worrying soil loss, and said new policies were urgently needed. Beavers may in fact reduce the river channel and remove vegetation, exposing banks to greater erosion (侵蚀) and increasing, rather than decreasing, the risk of flooding, she warned. And she said beaver dams should be "leaky" to avoid build-ups of large volumes of water.

    With all the wars, fighting and sadness in the world today, it's not only necessary, but also essential to have a good sense of humor just to help us get through each and every day of our lives. Putting a smile on someone's face when you know they are feeling down in the dump, makes me feel good and warms my heart.

    How would you feel if you could not joke around with your wife, husband, child, co-worker, neighbor, close friends, or even just someone that you are standing in line with at your corner store? I am always saying things that make others smile or laugh, even if I don't know the person I'm joking around with. My Grandma always found humor in everything she did, even if it was the hardest job anyone could imagine. This not only relieves stress in any situation, but also is common courtesy(礼貌)to speak to others that are around you.

    I know of a few people that don't have a funny bone in their bodies, as they say. Everyone around them could be rolling on the floor after hearing a great joke and they would sit there without the slightest smile on their face. They don't get the joke that makes others laugh. I am busting a gut while they just sit there, looking at me as if I were from outer space. How can people not get a really funny joke?

    Laughing is essential to keep your stress levels under control. Without humor we would find ourselves with a lot of psychological problems, or on a lot of medications to keep us from going crazy. There is too much sadness in this present world. It drives people crazy. We all need to find a way to ignore the sadness and bring a little light into our lives. So, I believe our best medicine is to get together and tell some jokes and have some fun laughing together.

    It's school time again! You're probably feeling excited and maybe a little sad for the vacation is over. Some kids feel nervous on the first day of school because of all the new things: new teachers, new friends, and maybe even a new school. Luckily, these "new" worries only stick around for a little while. Let's find out more about going back to school.

    Most teachers kick off the school year by introducing themselves and talking about what you'll be doing that year. Some teachers give students a chance to tell something about themselves to the rest of the class.

    When teachers do the talking on the first day, they often go over classroom rules so you'll know what's allowed and what's not. Pay close attention so you'll know if you need to raise your hand to ask a question and what the rules are about visiting the restroom.

    You might already know a lot of people in your class on the first day. But it's a great day to make new friends, so try to say "hello" to the kids you know and new ones that you don't. Make the first move and you'll be glad about what you did and so will your new friends!

    Most teachers let you pick your own seat on the first day, but by the second or third morning, they'll have mapped out a seating plan. It's a good idea to write down where your seat is in your notebook so you don't forget.

    Here are a few final tips for a fantastic(奇异的) first day: Get enough sleep. Have a healthy breakfast. Try your best. Develop good work habits, like writing down your assignments(作业) and handing in your homework on time. Take your time with schoolwork. If you don't understand something, ask the teacher.