When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, clothes and cars.

    A true friendship carries a long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected. It is a treasure we should protect. Unfortunately, the better friends you are, the more probably you'll have disagreements. And the result can be what you don't want—an end to the relationship.

    The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended. First, don't let your pride get in your way. Most of us can forgive each other when differences are brought out in the open. Second, apologize when you're wrong — even if you've been wronged. Over the course of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes. Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person takes the lead and apologizes. When you apologize, give your friend a chance to admit(承认) that he has been wrong. Third, see things from your friend's point of view. And finally, accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyle change. Making friends can sometimes seem easy. The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships. My suggestion: consider friendship as an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure and nurture(培养).

    The future of Australia's solar industry is looking bright after a record 3.5m panels(嵌板)were installed on rooftops last year, giving the equal output of a medium-sized coal-fired power station. The record 1,057 MW of capacity (产能) in small scale systems installed across the country broke the previous record set in 2012, figures from the Clean Energy Regulator showed on Tuesday.

    Australia's solar power prosperity could almost double capacity in a year, The data also revealed that the average system size has also doubled since then from three to six kilowatts as average prices continued to fall. A fully installed 5KW system costs an average of $5,930 in Australia, according to the energy broker Solar choice.net.au. Its records show that the price has roughly halved in many capital cities since 2012.

    The regulator's executive general manager, Mark Williamson, said there was increasing interest in renewals as a way to take control of electricity bills. But more importantly, he said it was also good news for reducing carbon emissions.

    “We are seeing a wide cross section of Australians—households, community centers, schools, and small businesses—receiving rewards under the small scale renewable energy scheme,” Williamson said, “Our data shows consumers are embracing renewable energy to take control of their electricity bills. ”

    In 2017, there was a 41% increase in installing renewable energy capacity across all states and territories compared to 2016. Queensland led the way with installed capacity at 295MW, with the Australian Capital Territory taking top place for the biggest annual increase by 57 %. “I he data collected by the Clean Energy Regulator in 2017 reflects the industry is going from strength to strength, It looks like 2018 will be another big year for the solar industry.”

    The total of installed capacity for last year is expected to rise to 1,070MW when all the data is collected. A large coal-fired power station such as Loyd Yang A in Victoria's Latrobe Valley has a capacity of 2, 200MW.

    "Mom, what is that?" asked my son. "The Bride of Chucky?"

    The old doll I was holding was pretty scary. Her glass eyes were especially horrible, closing when she stood upright and flying open when she lay flat. Once she had been loved, but she had been stored in an attic (阁楼) for decades, where the extremes of heat and cold can be hard on a girl's looks. Throw her in the waste bin? Maybe. But first, let's check eBay.

    I clicked, supplied the required information about condition, including defects (i.e., "Only a miracle could save this doll"), and uploaded its photos. I sold it for $5.

    The buyer was happy: "As described!" he wrote on my feedback page. "Super seller!" The doll found a home and, I hope, a new life. Maybe she was used to repair other dolls. Perhaps those strange eyes got fixed and once again can inspire a child's love. It's a win-win, if you ask me.

    I also sold lots of other stuff. None of them brought in a lot of money, though I have been surprised at the occasional bidding war, like, for example, the one over an old swimsuit that would have made Brigitte Bardot look bad. And some customers, let's face it, are strange. Recently I had a hard time convincing an Australian would-be buyer of an Irish souvenir bell that I don't shop internationally; it's just too much trouble. He could have flown to Ireland and bought his own bell for the price he was willing to pay. Another time, a buyer complained that the electric wire on an old radio was dirty. Really? Dirty? The wire was black. But I aim to please, so I offered a refund.

    So why bother with the dealing and small profits? Because I don't like abandoning the past. All these treasures once had stories. They meant something. But the people who gave them that meaning are gone, and I simply cannot rescue everything. I can't even sew. So I find it satisfying that a new owner, discovered via eBay, will continue the story in his or her own way.

    "Hope has proved a powerful predictor of outcome in every study we've done so far," said Dr. Snyder, a psychologist.

    In research with 3,920 college students, Dr. Snyder found that the level of hope among freshmen at the beginning of their first term was a more accurate predictor of their college grades than were their S.A.T. scores or their grade point averages in high school. "Students with high hope set themselves higher goals and know how to work to attain them," Dr. Snyder said. "When you compare students with equal learning ability and past school achievements, what sets them apart is hope."

    In seeking a way to assess hope scientifically, Dr. Snyder went beyond the usual belief that hope is merely the sense that everything will turn out all right. "This idea is not concrete enough; it fails to clarify two key components of hope," Dr. Snyder said.

    "Having hope means believing you have both the will and the way to accomplish your goals, whatever they may be."

    Despite the wisdom in the old saying "where there's a will there's a way," Dr. Snyder has found that the two are not necessarily connected. In a study of people from 18 to 70 years old, Dr. Snyder discovered: only about 40% of people are hopeful in the technical sense of believing they typically have the energy and means to accomplish their goals; about 20% of the people believed in their ability to find the means to attain their goals, but said they had little will to do so; another 20% have the opposite pattern, saying they had the energy to motivate themselves but little confidence that they would find the means; the rest had little hope at all, reporting that they typically had neither the will nor the way.

    "It's not enough just to have the wish for something," said Dr. Snyder. "You need the means, too. On the other hand, all the skills to solve a problem won't help without the willpower to do it."

For nearly two decades, a thin, sun-burnt postal worker could frequently be seen carrying packages along a dangcrous mountain trail in the Taihang Mountains.

The 10-kilometer-long route, which is between 20 centimeters and 1 meter wide, is known as the "cat road" by locals, meaning that it is so dangerous that only cats could walk on it. Whereas, Zhao Yuefang, a postal worker in Ewu township in Huguan county, Shanxi province, had to walk the route every day to deliver mail.

Every day at the crack of dawn, he would start his journey along the "cat road". From picking up the day's post to delivering it to villagers and returning along the same route, it took Zhao four days. During rainy and snowy seasons, the mountain road, part of which hugs the cliffs, would become slippery and dangerous. One day in the winter of 2003, the "cat road" was covered in thick snow and he slipped off the trail. Fortunately, he was able to stop his sharp descent by grabbing a tree branch and slowly managed to climb to safety.

By 2012, Zhao had walked more than 300,000 km and delivered over 800,000 pieces of mail. Born and raised in the deep mountains, Zhao truly understands the significance of mail deliveries to villagers. "They depend on the mail to keep in touch with the outside world," he said. "Their sheer joy written on their face while receiving any post struck me," he added.

In 2012, a 67-km-long tourist highway was built and gone were those days when Zhao risked his life to walk on the "cat road". But Zhao was even busier than before. "The number of packages I handle daily now exceeds the number I used to deal with in the past," said Zhao, adding that villagers are turning to online shopping and ordering more and more goods by post.

A person should eat right, and get some exercise, or he or she will look terrible in 25 years. And what if the person drinks and smokes? Even

1 . That's the message from the insurance company. The instrument, called "Future You", uses a digital camera and computer to compare a person's current image with his or her future 2 without changes in bad habits. 

"Smoking can 3 your skin," said Anna, a creative operation manager. "You can see what the results of the toxins(毒素) and the chemicals in 4 are." Along with the potentially 5 sight of one's older self, "Future You" offers science-based advice on what to eat, how much to exercise and other ways to 6 your health. But will it work? Too 7 to tell was the verdict(意见) of Anna. "I want to see some data!" she said. Generally, Anna said, men show 8 concern about their appearance than women. "Women say, 'That looks like my

9 on the screen,'" she said. "Men are more likely to say, 'Yeah, go ahead. Put it on the blog.'" The project was raised more than a year ago to improve the overall health of the people who are 10 of this company. In addition, the growth in the ranks of 11 customers would bring down the overall cost of health care. In coming weeks, two new ones will be 12 in locations such as the American Tobacco Campus and the Museum of Natural Science. If users agree, their information will be stored as secrets without names to create a database of good and bad 13 . 

The process is free and the response is not bad, at least according to Valencia Robertson, one of a line of people who waited to 14 the instrument on Thursday. "I'm good," Robertson said after 15 her future image. "It's not going to be a big difference."