Maddie Messe, 13, has always loved Temple Run, a mobile game that sends her racing through swamps (沼泽) and forests to outrun a pack of crazed monkeys. What she didn't love was being forced to play as a boy — unless she was willing to buy a female version. “I felt like l was being cheated or misrepresented,” Maddie explains．“Girls are just as capable (有能力的) of running away from monkeys as boys are.”

    So last winter, Maddie researched 50 of the most popular iPhone games. What she found was infuriating：90 percent offered free male characters, but only 15 percent let you play as a female for free.

    Armed with those statistics, Maddie drafted a spirited article and fired it off to several major newspapers. The Washington Post agreed to run the piece, which attracted millions of readers around the globe — including the makers of Temple Run! “We realized she had a point,” says Natalia Luckyanova, the game's co-creator. “It was the kick in the pants we needed to say, ' We should fix it．' So we did.”

    Now you can play Temple Run with a female character for free, but Maddie hopes her campaign inspires something deeper.“If you don't see characters that look like you on TV or in movies or games, speak up! Just do your research first,”says Maddie. “One well-supported argument is much more effective than a million angry complaints.”

    Last week I was riding my special motorbike and then stopped at a convenience store.As I was getting my wheelchair off the back,a man watched me from his car and I noticed a wheelchair in his back seat.We spoke for a moment and I asked him about the wheelchair.He answered that it was for his daughter.“Well,do you think she would like to go for a ride on my motorbike with me?”I asked.He seemed shocked that a total stranger would ask him this.He thought about it for a second and said,“OK,as long as I can follow you.”

    He introduced me to Amy and he sat her on my back seat.Her father followed me for a few miles and she talked non-stop about what she wanted for Christmas.

    As we came back to the convenience store,she said,“This ride is the best Christmas present I could ever receive. I have been in a wheelchair my whole life and didn't know I could do this.”I told her about some of the other things I do (ski,travel the world by myself,etc.).As her father was taking her off my bike,she turned to him and said,“Oh Daddy,I'm going to be OK.Mr.Bryant does all kinds of things,and I win too.” Her father turned away as a tear of joy rolled down his cheek.He hugged me and said,“I was sitting here praying for a gift for Amy that would encourage her.She often felt that her life was dull compared to other children.God answered my prayer just now.Now I pray that God will bless you for your gift to Amy today.” I believed what he said.Being kind and thoughtful to others,we can be an answer to prayer.

    Some people were eating and drinking in a coffee house. A young woman was sitting alone at a table. She was wearing a beautiful diamond necklace. There was an ugly man at a table not far from her. He was looking at her necklace all the time.

    Suddenly the lights went out. The coffee house was in darkness. The woman started to shout. She was very frightened. A few minutes later the lights came on again. The woman was crying. Her necklace was missing.

    The manager quickly closed all the doors. He telephoned the police. No one could get out of the coffee house. The policemen soon came. The police inspector told his men to search everyone. The necklace was not on anyone. They then searched the whole coffee house. The necklace couldn't be found.

The police inspector then looked at the faces of all the people in the coffee house. He saw the ugly man and looked at the man carefully. He went up to the man and picked up the bowl of soup that was on his table. He then poured the soup into a glass. The necklace fell out. The policemen caught hold of the man and took him away. The young woman was happy to get back her necklace.

    It was once common to regard Britain as a society with class distinction. Each class had unique characteristics.

    In recent years, many writers have begun to speak the 'decline of class' and 'classless society' in Britain. And in modern day consumer society everyone is considered to be middle class.

    But pronouncing the death of class is too early. A recent wide-ranging society of public opinion found 90 percent of people still placing themselves in particular class; 73 percent agreed that class was still a vital part of British society; and 52 percent thought there were still sharp class differences. Thus, class may not be culturally and politically obvious, yet it remains an important part of British society. Britain seems to have a love of stratification.

    One unchanging aspect of a British person's class position is accent. The words a person speaks tell her or his class. A study of British accents during 1970s found that a voice sounding like a BBC newsreader was viewed as the most attractive voice, Most people said this accent sounded 'educated' and 'soft'. The accents placed at the bottom in this study, on the other hand, were regional city accents. These accents were seen as 'common' and 'ugly'. However, a similar study of British accents in the US turned these results upside down and placed some regional accents as the most attractive and BBC English as the least. This suggests that British attitudes towards accent have deep roots and are based on class prejudice.

    In recent years, however, young upper middle-class people in London, have begun to adopt some regional accents, in order to hide their class origins. This is an indication of class becoming unnoticed. However, the 1995 pop song 'Common People' puts forward the view that though a middle-class person may 'want to live like common people' they can never appreciate the reality of a working-class life.

    There are excellent reasons for anyone to seek out the optimistic. Optimists experience better health outcomes, live longer and are more satisfied with their relationships. Optimism enables people to hold on in the face of difficulty, while pessimism leaves them depressed and even expecting failure.

    I want that hopeful, optimistic outlook for my children. But many times we may feel pessimistic. The result of negativity makes me worry that my kids' future will be uncertain. Fortunately, research suggests ways to help our children grow up with an optimistic attitude and maintain a happier outlook ourselves.

    Humanity has improved by many measures, but that success has become the water in which we swim, and like fish, we take the water for granted. While we fail to notice the positive, our brains naturally emphasize on the negative. With practice, we can help our brains to give the good stuff equal weight. Dr. Hanson's advice: when you hear a great story or achieve something in your own life, deliberately rest your mind on that experience and stay with it. Sink into that feeling as it sinks into you. Describe what you're doing to your kids, and encourage them to dwell on their joys and pleasures as well.

    Following the "big scary" news can leave us feeling helpless. Find something in your area that makes you feel hopeful, and make it a part of your family life. Researchers found that when people with a pessimistic outlook use positive language to describe situations they find upsetting, their feelings about the situation become more positive. That's something we can try at home.

    Raising optimistic kids is hard because it demands that parents abandon the pessimistic perspective that's the easiest response to pessimistic times. Put your energy into making sure you and your family are a part of the world around you. That might mean simply joining and being part of local clubs that feed our natural human need for connection (not of the digital kind).

    People living in the country enjoy several advantages that people living in the city cannot enjoy.

    They are in close contact (接触)with nature. They make friends with trees and stones. They breathe fresh air. They fight with strong winds. They listen to the song of birds. This contact with nature is good for health. There are many diseases that are common in the city, but are not to be found in the country. For example, near­sightedness is almost unknown to country people. Because of the absence of cars, one can walk more freely in the country than in the city. There are no rules of the road nor traffic signs to obey. People living in the country can easily get fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and fresh milk, and they get them at lower prices than in the city. Country life is economical (节俭的)in other ways, too. There are practically no temptations to waste money.

    Country people are mostly honest. They say what they mean, and make and keep promises with sincerity (诚意). They do not put on air (摆架子). They do not pretend to have those ridiculous (荒谬的)manners which are necessary in what we call polite society.