Wealth starts with a goal saving a dollar at a time. Call it the piggy bank strategy(策略). There are lessons in that time-honored coin-saving container.

    Any huge task seems easier when reduced to baby steps. I f you wished to climb a 12,000-foot mountain, and could do it a day at a time, you would only have to climb 33 feet daily to reach the top in a year. If you want to take a really nice trip in 10 years for a special occasion, to collect the $15,000 cost, you have to save $3.93 a day. If you drop that into a piggy bank and then once a year put $1,434 in a savings account at 1% interest rate after-tax, you will have your trip money.

    When I was a child, my parents gave me a piggy bank to teach me that, if I wanted something, I should save money to buy it. We associate piggy banks with children, but in many countries, the little containers are also popular with adults. Europeans see a piggy bank as a sign of good fortune and wealth. Around the world, many believe a gift of a piggy bank on New Year's Day brings good luck and financial success. Ah, but you have to putsomethingin it.

    Why is a pig used as a symbol of saving? Why not an elephant bank, which is bigger and holds more coins? In the Middle Ages, before modern banking and credit instruments, people saved money at home, a few coins at a time dropped into a jar or dish. Potters(制陶工) made these inexpensive containers from an orange-colored clay(黏土) called “pygg,” and folks saved coins in pygg jars.The Middle English word

    for pig was “pigge”. While the Saxons pronounced pygg, referring to the clay, as “pug”, eventually the two words changed into the same pronunciation, sounding the “i” as in pig or piggy. As the word became less associated with the orange clay and more with the animal, a clever potter fashioned a pygg jar in the shape of a pig, delighting children and adults. The piggy bank was born.

Originally you had to break the bank to get to the money, bringing in a sense of seriousness into savings. While piggy banks teach children the wisdom of saving, adults often need to relearn childhood lessons. Think about the things in life that require large amounts of money— college education, weddings, cars, medical care, starting a business, buying a home, and fun stuff like great trips. So when you have money, take off the top 10%, put it aside, save and invest wisely.

    In a research carried out in the UK, it was found that only four out of every five employees were happy at work. Surprisingly, it wasn't the pay or the love for the work that made people happy. Instead, friendly, supportive colleagues and a good manager have been found to be the primary causes of happiness at work. So how do you develop a sense of joy on the job? Here are some suggestions.

    Happiness is a state of mind, so staying happy at work is completely based on a positive attitude towards your job. Focus on the bright side of the work rather than keep talking about what makes you unhappy.

    Challenge yourself and take charge of your own growth in your career. Boredom is one of the primary factors that cause people to change jobs. Find new challenges and it's a great feeling to take control over what you do and see a task through.

    Having co­workers you like and enjoy working with is a feature of happiness in the workplace. Talk to people, get to know them and try to get along well with them in the workplace. Meeting new people and getting fresh views can help you to keep yourself interested in your work.

    Complete your tasks, no matter how disagreeable or tough they might be. This gives you a sense of achievement and encourages you to work towards your goals in future.

    Sitting and staring at your screen all day long isn't going to help you. Instead, take breaks and go outside for some time. For example, go out for a few minutes to feel the breeze (微风). Eat your lunch outside or work for a few minutes during that hour, which helps you stay happy at work.

    I used to think education was the most important thing in my life. Recently my attitude has begun to change, although I still hold that it is essential for everyone in the world today. As a top junior student in my college, I was asked to make a speech on how to learn English well. Standing in front of the audience and facing so many freshmen, I was trembling. I didn't remember any word that I had prepared. I ran out of the conference room without finishing my speech, leaving everyone puzzled. I cried that night in my room, feeling that I was a loser. Studying takes up so much of my time that I feel unable to really develop myself. I am just storing knowledge, yet I fail to communicate with others. I have received many awards in school, but they don't necessarily reflect anything about me. I don't know how to socialize. When I leave school I fear I will be of no use to society.

    I realize that everyone has his own way of living. I want to change my lifestyle. Of course I will keep studying. Yet I plan to look for a part-time job, which might turn out to be a good chance to get to know society. I still believe that working my hardest makes me happy. I will still stay on in college. But I will not allow it to shelter me from the real world.

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    In the summer of 1848, in Guatemala, a man called Ambrosio Tut went out into the jungle, as he did almost every day. Tut was a gum collector, looking for gum in the jungle. To do this, he had to climb the trees. One day, he got to the top of one tree and something caught his eye. He looked out across the trees and saw the tops of some old buildings.

    Tut didn't really know what he had seen but he knew it was something special. He ran to tell the local governor excitedly, and together they walked into the jungle. There they found Tikal, the city that the Mayans had built, many hundreds of years before. The two men saw pyramids, squares and houses.

    For a long time before that day, local people had known that somewhere in the jungle there was an old Mayan city. But no one had seen it for centuries. Between 200 and 900 AD, the city of Tikal had ben the centre of Mayan civilisation in the area, but then the Mayas let it—nobody knows why! After 1000 AD, the jungle began to cover it. And then people forgot that it was there.

    Seven years before Tut found Tikal, two British explorers had gone to Guatemala and had written a report about Mayan treasures in the jungle—but they hadn't mentioned Tikal. Even earlier than this, local Indians had told people about a great city hidden in the trees, but no one had listened to them. So they lost the chance to find the treasure. Now the lost city had been found again, and people went there immediately to see it.

    Welcome to Holker Hall & Gardens

    Visitor Information

    How to Get to Holker

By Car: Follow brown signs an A590 from JB6, M6.Approximale travel times: Windermere-20 minutes, Kendal-25 minutes, Lancaster-45 minutes, Manchester—-1 hour 30 minutes.

    By Rail: The nearest station is Cark-in-Cartmel with trains to Carnforth, Lancaster Preston for connections to major cities & airports.

    Opening Times

    Sunday-Friday (closed on Saturday)11:00 am-4:00pm,30 March-2nd November.

    Admission Charges

    Special Events

    Producers: Market 13th April

    Join us to taste a variety of fresh local food and drinks. Meet the producers and get some excellent recipe ideas.

    Holker Garden Festival 30th May

    The event celebrate its 22nd anniversary with a great show of the very best of gardening, making it one of the most popular events in gardening.

    National Garden Day 28th August

    Holker once again opens is gardens in aid of the disadvantaged. For just a small donation you can take a tour with our garden guide.

    Winter Market 8th November

    This is an event for all the family. Wander among a variety of shops selling gifs while enjoying a live music show and nice street entertainment.

    Whenever we see a button, we are eager to press it because we know something will happen. This is true in most cases, for example on a doorbell and on the "on/off" button on the TV. But some buttons are actually fake, like the "close" button on a lift.

    Many people are in the habit of pressing the "close" button because they don't have the patience to wait for the lift doors to shut. But lifts "close" buttons are a complete scam, at least in the US-the doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you press.

    It started in the 199os when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in the US, making sure that all lifts stayed open long enough so that people with disabilities could enter. Only US firefighters and repairmen can use the buttons to speed up the door-closing process if they have a code or special keys.

    But to normal lift riders, the buttons aren't completely useless. According to psychologists, fake buttons can actually make you feel better by offering you a sense of control." Perceived（能够感知的）control is very important. It reduces stress and increases well-being," Ellen J. Langer, a psychology professor, said," Having a lack of control is associated with depression."

    Experts have revealed that a lot of buttons that don't do anything exist in our lives for this same purpose. For example, many offices in the US have fake thermostats（温度调节器）because people tend to feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace.

    But psychologists found it interesting that even when people are aware of these little" white lies", they still continue to push fake buttons because as long as the doors eventually close, it is considered to be worth the effort.

   "That habit is here to stay," John Kounios, a psychology professor, said," Even though I have real doubts about the traffic light buttons, I always press them. After all, I've got nothing else to do while waiting.  So why not press the button in the hope that this one will work?"