It is quite apparent that competition surrounds every aspect of human life whether in the United States or the Amazon Rain Forest. Without it we would not have grown into primates(灵长类动物). Or we would probably still be struggling to sharpen a bronze tool while crawling around on four legs in search of meat. Without competition, Columbus wouldn't have discovered America and Edison would never have invented the light bulb.

    Friendship, like all relationship between two people, involves competition. It isn't competition in a traditional sense because there are no goals to be scored and no prize. Perhaps the ecological definition—the simultaneous (同时的)demand by two or more organisms for limited environmental resources, such as nutrients， living space, or light- better explain it.

    As in nature, high school life is governed by a set of laws, similar to a shortened version of Darwin's theory of evolution, overpopulation, and competition. There is an abundance of high school students and to distinguish them, ranking and categorizing(分类)take place. In high school, friendships learn to co-exist with competition even though at times the relationship is rough. In fact, in some circumstances, competition is too much of a burden for a friendship to bear, causing it to fall apart. College admission is the final high school objective. Four years of hard work is to achieve good grades, and a student's fate is determined not only by these achievements, but by the records of thousands of other seniors trying to achieve a similar recognition.

    Nevertheless, by necessity, competition between students exists in all aspects of high school life. It sets and improves the standards in everything from sports to school work. A healthy, friendly competition can have only benefits, but when it becomes too fierce, jealousy can tear friendships apart. Yet, despite all this, without competition, we would be lost.

    Years ago, the American writer Kurt Vonnegut often said there was one story that would always make a million dollars: Cinderella.

    Cinderella made more like $ 70 million in ticket sales when it opened last weekend. But the movie got a mixed reaction. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised the movie and said, "Anyone will find something to enjoy in it." Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer called the movie "a winning re-do". Richard Corliss of Time magazine wrote that "Disney finally got Cinderella right." Other people were not as happy with the movie. Sara Stewart of the New York Post wrote, "This Cinderella is all dressed up with nowhere very interesting to go."

    Although different people think differently towards the movie, what is clear, however, is the movie's business success. It is not only popular in the theaters but also in sales. And Disney has widened its usual market for Cinderella products.

    There are products connected to the Disney movie targeted (面向) not only at little girls, but women, too. For example, the famous shoe designer Jimmy Choo worked with Disney to create Cinderella's shoes". You can buy them for about $ 5,000. At that price, you would not want to lose one at the party, even if that is the way you get your prince (王子).

    The make-up (化妆品) company MAC quickly sold all its products connected to Cinderella. HSN is a popular website selling clothing and objects for the home. The marketer is now also selling Cinderella products.

    So, is there anything left for the children, those people we think of as the traditional audience (观众) for the age-old tale? Yes, you can find toys and other children's products at the American store JCPenney. Of course, you can also visit a Disney store.

    Jane Austen, a famous English writer, was born at Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, and died on July 18, 1817. She began writing early in life, although the prejudices of her times forced her to have her books published anonymously (匿名).

    But Jane Austen is perhaps the best known and best loved of Bath's many famous local people and visitors. She paid two long visits here during the last five years of the eighteenth century and from 1801 to 1806, Bath was her home. Her deep knowledge of the city is fully seen in two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which are largely set in Bath. The city is still very much as Jane Austen knew it, keeping in its streets and public buildings the well-ordered world that she described so well in her novels. Now the pleasure of learning Jane Austen's Bath can be enhanced (增强)by visiting the Jane Austen Centre in Gay Street. Here, in a Georgian town house in the heart of the city, you can find out more about Bath in Jane Austen's time and the importance of Bath in her life and work.

    The Centre has been set up with the help and guidance of members of the Jane Austen Society. After your visit to the Centre, you can look round the attractive shop, which offers a huge collection of Jane Austen related books, cards and many specially designed gifts. Jane Austen quizzes are offered to keep the children busy.

    You can also have walking tours of Jane Austen's Bath, which is a great way to find out more about Jane Austen and discover the wonderful Georgian city of Bath. The tour lasts about one and a half hours. The experienced guides will take you to the places where Jane lived, walked and shopped.

    My first term at MIT（麻省理工学院）was awesome—I got all A's, and I declared math as my major. My parents were expecting me to become a doctor like them so I was trying to satisfy them. But I was desperately running away from them. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. My third term, I ended up with a D in math. I didn't do that well in my other classes, either. It seemed like all my friends were doing so well, getting opportunities over the summers.

    My fifth term, I realized that I was awful at higher-level math. I had lost all confidence in myself. I went to a few classes at the beginning of the term, but after by midterm, I had totally stopped. My only relief was the dance team I was on. I would sleep all day, and then go to dance practice, and then go back to sleep. As expected, I failed in all of my classes and had to withdraw from MIT.

    I had no choice but to tell my parents. Instead of yelling or hitting me, though, they just held me and cried. The next day, my dad took a day off from work and took me to a nearby, small arts college.

    I had lost all confidence in myself. Before my first biology test, I didn't think I could pass. I did pass. Since I had so much free time, I decided to join a biology lab. I realized that was what I wanted to do! I wanted to be a scientist!

    This past May, I graduated with the highest honors, and now I have my PhD in biology. Though it ended up taking me 5 years to graduate from college, I can say now that dropping out of MIT was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I've realized that a person is not their grades. I've realized how much my parents loved me. I've finally discovered my passion（热情）in life!

    Smart Kids is a collection of one hundred events scheduled in October. This year, it is experimenting with Pay What You Decide (PWYD). That is, you can decide to pay what you want to or can afford, after you have attended an event. You can pre-book events without paying for a ticket in advance. Here are some of the director's picks.

    Walk on the Wild Side

    Not ticketed, Free

Join storyteller Sarah Law to hear science stories about animals. Along the way you'll meet all sorts of beautiful creatures and discover life cycles and food chains. Best suited to children aged 5-9. Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult.

    Introduction to Waves

    Pre-book, PWYD

    Subjects range from sound waves to gravity waves, and from waves of light to crashing waves on the ocean. Mike Goldsmith explores the fundamental features shared by all waves in the natural world.

Science in the Field

    Not ticketed, Free

This storytelling night features a scientist sharing his favourite memories of gathering first-hand data on various field trips. Come along for inspiring and informative stories straight from the scientist's mouth. Join Mark Samuels to find out more in this fun-filled workshop.

    Festival Dinner

Pre-book, £25 per person

Whether you want to explore more about food, or just fancy a talk over a meal, join us to mark the first science festival in London. Which foods should you eat to trick your brain into thinking that you are full? Find out more from Tom Crawford.

    The doctor made it sound easy. Just walk. It was easy for him to say. I couldn't walk to the end of the road to pick up my mail. I tried to stand up, but soon got breathless and just stopped. My mailbox seemed to be so far away. It was hard for me, though I am only 39 years old!

    A month ago, my wife Stephanie and I were in Colorado Springs with our friends when I woke up at 12 o'clock at night and didn't feel very well. Stephanie and I drove to the hospital, and my 10­day vacation turned into a 10­day hospital stay. I got a scar (伤疤) on my body. It was really tough to walk around then and I needed practice.

    Stephanie had to go to work so she encouraged me to try to take a few walks. Minutes later, she came back with a puppy. "Where did you get that?" I asked. "In our mailbox," she replied. What a wonder! The puppy was dirty, with big pleading (恳求的) eyes. Stephanie was late for work. I was not very happy. I couldn't take care of myself. How could I look after this puppy? "He's going to the pound (动物收容所)," I thought. However, wherever I went, the puppy would closely follow me. I tried walking. The puppy ran ahead, looked back and repeated it again and again. He seemed to say "come on". I took a deep breath, and then tried stepping; the puppy was right at my side. I succeeded at last. I didn't take the puppy to the pound. Instead, we walked toward the mailbox.

    We named him Cheyenne. Before long, I was walking with Cheyenne every day. Pretty soon, I was strong enough to work on the farm again. Now I wonder who put a puppy in a mailbox. Nobody is so crazy after all, Cheyenne was maybe what the doctor ordered.