It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.

    Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog's legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other place.

    This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future.

    But the dream didn't last long. The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.

    The villagers decided that they couldn't just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides(杀虫剂) and medicines. Soon there was no money left.

    Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn't been useless. They had been doing an important job—eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.

    Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.

    In business, there's a speed difference: It's the difference between how important a firm's leaders say speed is to their competitive strategy and how fast the company actually moves. The difference is important regardless of industry and company size. Companies fearful of losing their competitive advantage spend much time and money looking for ways to pick up the speed.

In our study of 343 businesses, the companies that chose to go, go, go to try to gain an edge ended up with lower sales and operating incomes than those that paused at key moments to make sure they were on the right track. What's more, the firms that “slowed down to speed up” improved their top and bottom lines, averaging 40% higher sales and 52% higher operating incomes over a three-year period.

    How did they disobey the laws of business physics, taking more time than competitors yet performing better? They thought differently about what “slower” and “faster” mean. Firms sometimes fail to understand the difference between operational speed (moving quickly) and strategic speed (reducing the time it takes to deliver value). Simply increasing the speed of production, for example, may be one way to try to reduce the speed difference. But that often leads to reduced value over time, in the form of lower-quality products and services.

    In our study, higher-companies with strategic speed always made changes when necessary. They became more open to ideas and discussion. They encouraged new ways of thinking. And they allowed time to look back and learn. By contrast, performance suffered at firms that moved fast all the time, paid too much attention to improving efficiency, stuck to tested methods, didn't develop team spirit among their employees, and had little time thinking about changes.

    Strategic speed serves as a kind of leadership. Teams that regularly take time to get things right, rather than plough ahead full bore, are more successful in meeting their business goals. That kind of strategy must come from the top.

    Have you ever lost your temper? Did you yell and scream or want to hit someone? If so, you are angry.

    Everyone gets angry. Maybe you “lose your cool” or “hit the roof.” Anger can even be a good thing. When kids are treated unfairly, anger can help them stand up for themselves. The hard part is learning what to do with these strong feelings.

    Don't lose control if you get angry. Taking it out on others never solves anything. Instead, admit to yourself that you are angry and try to figure out why. What can you do to keep the situation from happening again?

    It helps to talk about your anger with an adult, such as a parent, teacher, or relative. Once you talk about anger, those bad feelings usually start to go away.

Here are some other things you can do when you start to feel angry.

Talk to a friend you can trust

    Count to 10

    Get or give a hug

    Do jumping jacks or another exercise

    Draw a picture of your anger

    Play a video game

    Run around the outside of the house five times as fast as you can

Sing along with the stereo

    Pull weeds in the garden

    Think good thoughts (maybe about a fun vacation or your favorite sport)

    Take a bike ride, go skateboarding, play basketball —do something active!

    Never getting angry is impossible. Instead, remember that how you act when you are angry can make the situation better or worse. Don't let anger be the boss of you. Take charge of it!

China' Forbidden City—-traditionally off-limit at night for anyone except emperors and visiting dignitaries (显要人物)—- was decorated with lanterns as China celebrated the end of the Chinese New Year holiday. The complex, home to Chinese emperors for five centuries, was opened at night for the first time since it was reopened as the Palace Museum 94 years ago.

    The complex and palace walls were illuminated with red lanterns and a light show, designed to recreate the feelings of the royal court, while the China National Traditional Orchestra and the Peking Opera performed. An image of a treasured scroll called A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains was cast onto the palace roof.

    Most of China's 1.3 billion people, however, had to watch the show on television. Only 3,000 people were allowed in: 2,500 invited guests and 500 people who booked their tickets online. "The 3,000 visitors can show off for the whole year," one person said on Weibo. When booking for the second day opened at midnight, the booking system crashed for more than an hour due to great demand. The free tickets were quickly taken when it reopened. A lively secondary market soon appeared. Scalpers were selling tickets for as much as 9,999 yuan on online trading sites.

    The Palace Museum is now on a campaign to attract more visitors, with its former curator Shan Jixiang saying he wants to make traditional Chinese culture more accessible to the general public. More than 80 percent of the palace is now accessible to visitors, up from 30 percent in 2012. Shan has set a target of 85 percent by 2020 to mark the palace's 600^th anniversary. Creativity today has made the Palace Museum younger and drawn traditional culture closer to the public.

Sea, Sun, Sand and South Africa: Readers' Favorite Beaches

    The Wild Coast five-day hike from Kei Mouth to Coffee Bay in South Africa is surely the best experience for beach lovers.

    Robben Island beaches

    On a visit to the prison museum here, be sure to leave time to explore the island's beaches. Few visitors realize that the island's shores are the natural habitat of sizable penguins: enjoy watching them with far fewer tourists here. Bird life is plentiful and includes oystercatchers, ibis, egrets and cormorants. Sharks and dolphins can often be spotted offshore too.

    Sand, sea and sculpture, Durban

    There's more to Durban's Golden Mile than sunbathing and surfing. Not only is there a gallery of sand sculptures(雕像) and drawings, but Lucas, one of the best local artists, offers lessons. His amazing rhino(犀牛) is the only permanent item in a frequently changing exhibition. Lucas charges a modest R50 (£3) for a fun and surprisingly physical hour of creativity. Or, you could ask him to create a personalized sculpture for a special occasion.

    Paternoster, Western Cape

    Paternoster is a small beach community about 150 km north of Cape Town. The town has a number of rentals(租赁), all the Cape Dutch architecture you could want for a weekend away and some great food. Long walks on the beach, eating and drinking and watching the fishing boats make for a peaceful break. And, unlike in Cape Town, you can dip your toes in the sea without your legs freezing solid.

Each morning at 6 a.m., Kamaljeet Singh, 57, is up and out of the house. He starts by spending three hours helping 1 food to nearly two dozen drop-off locations across Delhi, India, then 2 the numerous facilities run by the volunteer organization he leads with his brother, Premjit. The organization, Veerji Ka Dera, was founded in 1989 by their father, Trilokchan Singh.

"He was a very 3 man," says Kamaljeet of his father, who died in 2010. In the 1980s, Trilokchan began organizing volunteers to help him clean temples. Then they began 4 one of India's most underserved groups（弱势群体）: the migrant workers who came to Delhi from rural areas. It started with a free breakfast, and eventually the group was also providing basic first aid for minor, often job-related,5 . 

After his death, Kamaljeet and Premjit, inspired by their father's lifetime of service, 6 the organization. "We are continuing helping the poor," says Premjit, 61, "Our aim is that no one goes hungry and 7 for in Delhi."

Veerji Ka Dera now 8 about 2,500 daily wage workers and homeless people a day, in addition to offering basic medical care to as many as 500 people. It's all made9 by the roughly 250 families who 10 their time to cook, drive, nurse, farm and clean. During the Covid-19 pandemic, with special 11 from the government, it 12 down to feed 5,000 people a day and offer medical care to those 13 .

In 2023, the award -the Real Heroes of Rising India - was 14 to them by India's Health Minister for their 15 act.