One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap(包装).

    On September 11th, 1958, mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my arms, saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is.” What an honor! I became four years old a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told stories. I told it again and again how much I loved it!

    One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept(哭泣) and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard mum and dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”and “dying”, and all these words sounded ominous.

    Christmas was coming. “Don't expect any presents this year,” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living rooms. “If your baby brother lives, that'll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I had never seen him cry before.

    The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He's all right?”He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!”

    “Thank God!” I heard mum cry.

    From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty：they were filled with love!

    Washington—Wild applause broke out at the Parent Teacher Association national offices when several government spokespeople announced a decision to return the subject of civics(公民学) to high school curricula nationwide.

The decision is symbolic of the new agenda to restore(恢复) the United States Constitution to its pre-Bush-era status. In a joint statement, Senators Harry Reid, Republican of Kentucky, said that the decision proves the two parties can work together on an issue of national importance.

    The announcement came following a series of school strikes organized by parents angered by a recent study by the National Opinion Research Center. The findings showed a total ignorance of government structure and citizens rights by graduating high school seniors.

    Some of the fallacious opinion and beliefs mentioned in this cross-country study included: the president has the power to interpret treaties(条约); the president is not bound（约束） by law; the vice president is independent of all three branches of government; torture（刑讯） is not a punishment and therefore cannot be considered “cruel and unusual”.

    The study noted that many students' political consciousness dated back only three years — in other words, their awareness of constitution rights had been entirely formed during the Bush administration.

    The study also found that students were growing incapable of telling the difference between living figures, historical figures, and corporate-licensed figures such as cartoon characters.

    The revived civics courses will teach students about the structure and function of each branch of government, the theory of checks and balances, theories of the role of government, and constitutional(宪法的) law.

    "We have so much work in front of us." said Los Angeles area high school teacher Roberta Morales. "Trying to develop students' sense of citizenry and the public good and undo so many self-centered individualistic messages will take great effort."

    With the coming of winter, it's the perfect time to get out of town and escape the seasonal mood（心情）disorder. Here are vacation ideas to adopt now.

    Costa Rica

    Costa Rica, located in the Valle del General, is well-known for its coffee, pineapples and sugar cane plantations as well as its rich forests. What's more, you can enjoy horseback riding, spend afternoons at the spa or tour a nearby wildlife shelter to look out for colorful birds, sloths and other animals.

    Los Cabos, Mexico

    If you love wine, travel to Los Cabos, a beautiful vacation destination at the southern edge of the Baja Peninsula. During your getaway, you can enjoy special wine tastings and dinner cooked by Los Cabos's Michelin-starred chef. There are wild-viewing opportunities, too. From December through May, you can spot whales, manta rays and more wildlife.

    Petit St Vincent, the Grenadines

    This private Caribbean island was spared（使幸免）the anger of hurricanes Irma and Maria. What's more, the whole island is only 115 acres and has 22 cottages（小屋）. Each cottage is located in a quiet place, and you can expect to unplug and recharge phones with no wireless connections, television or telephones in the cottage. Even better, you can spend your days admiring fascinating marine（海洋的）life at the Jean-Michel Cousteau Diving Caribbean center.

    The Exumas, Bahamas

    On Fowl Cay's 50-acre private island, you can enjoy a carefree escape. Days can be spent fishing, boating and diving before wandering along white sands. The resort features large one, two-and three-bedroom houses. Best of all, if you're planning a group getaway or multigenerational trip, you rent the entire island for a unique island escape.

    Exhibitions in the British Museum

    Hokusai: beyond the Great Wave

    Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) is widely regarded as one of Japan's most famous and influential artists.He produced works of astonishing quality right up until his death at the age of 90.This new exhibition will lead you on an artistic journey through the last 30 years of Hokusai's life—a time when he produced some of his most memorable masterpieces.

    25 May—13 August 2017

    Room 35

    Adults￡12,Members/under 16s free

    Places of the mind: British watercolour landscapes 1850-1950

    Drawn from the British Museum's rich collection,this is the first exhibition devoted to landscape drawings and watercolours by British artists in the Victorian and modern eras—two halves of very different centuries.

    23 February—27 August 2017

    Room 90

    Free, just drop in

    Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia

    This major exhibition explores the story of the Scythians—nomadic tribes and masters of mounted warfare, who flourished between 900 and 200 BC. Their encounters with the Greeks, Assyrians and Persians were written into history but for centuries all trace of their culture was lost—buried beneath the ice.

    14 September 2017—14 January 2018

    Room 30

    Adults￡16.50,Members/under 16s free

    Politics and paradise: Indian popular prints from the Moscatelli Gift

    This display is part of the Museum's contribution to the India-UK Year of Culture 2017.It looks at the popular print culture of India from the 1880s until the 1950s.

    19 July—3 September 2017

    Room 90a

    Free,just drop in

    When Peng Liyuan stepped off the plane in Moscow, the whole world wanted to know who dressed the elegant first lady. The reporter released the secret—Ma Ke.

    Peng Liyuan has been wearing Ma Ke's designs for more than a decade, a fact that was only highlighted recently when she was on her first state visit, accompanying her husband President Xi Jinping. The elegant and attractive Peng, formerly a popular singer, has been compared with the US' first lady Michelle Obama and France's Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, since stepping off the airplane in Moscow on March 22. Suddenly, everyone was curious to know more about the first lady's wardrobe.

    Even so, Ma prefers a low-key approach. "If you eat a tasty egg why would you want to see the hen?" she says of all the media attention.

    Ma's relationship with Peng began 10 years ago after a concert in Guangzhou when a reporter told Peng she knew the designer behind the label Exception de Mixmind. Peng asked for an introduction because she was a fan of Ma's designs and had been wearing them for years.

    The two naturally became friends. Ma says: "The painting reflects the painter, and clothes reflect both the designer and the wearer. Someone desires fame and wealth, or love and sympathy; what you have in your heart is reflected in the design. Those who don't share my philosophy won't buy my clothes. Peng is a caring person, devoted to charity and environmental protection, which is exactly what I'm doing now."

    However, regardless of the brand, Peng's support of Chinese labels has surprised millions of Chinese who favor foreign fashion brands.

    "Instead she presented a vision of Chinese fashion, desiring to bring Chinese designers to the world stage," says a western designer.

    The first lady's double-breasted coat and her black leather handbag aren't available at any of Exception's shops, though Exception's physical stores do have seen a rising number of visitors.

    A survey said the average Asian dad spent one minute a day with his children. I was shocked. I mean, a whole minute? Every day? Get real. Once a week maybe. The fact is, many Asian males are terrible at kid-related things. In fact, I am one of them.

    Child-rearing (养育) doesn't come naturally to guys. My mother knew the names of our teachers, best friends and crushes. My dad was only vaguely aware there were short people sharing the apartment. My mother bought healthy fresh food at the market every day. My dad would only go shopping when there was nothing in the fridge except a jar of butter. Then he'd buy beer. My mother always knew the right questions to ask our teachers. My dad would ask my English teacher if she could get us a discount on school fees. My mother served kid food to kids. My dad added chili sauce to everything, including our baby food.

    The truth is, mothers have superpowers. My son fell off a wall once and hurt himself all over. I demanded someone bring me a computer so I could google what to do. My wife ignored me and did some sort of chanting (咏诵) phrase such as" Mummy kiss it better," and cured 17 separate injuries in less than 15 seconds.

    Yes, mothers are incredible people, but they are not always correct. Yet honesty forces me to record the fact that mothers only know best 99.99 percent of the time. Here are some famous slip-ups.

    The mother of Bill Gates:" If you're going to drop out of college and hang out with your stupid friends, don't come running to me when you find yourself penniless." The mother of Albert Einstein:" When you grow up, you'll find that sitting around thinking about the nature of time and space won't pay the grocery bills." The mother of George W. Bush: "You'll never be like your dad, who became President of the United States and started his own war."