This could be Micah Fitz, first spring without football practices. The 14-year-old has been playing since he was 3, but because he's home-schooled, he can't try out for the local team at Patriot High School in Prince William County, Virginia.

    “I can't play this half of the year and my friends are going to be playing five or six times a week,” he said. “They're going to be getting better and stronger playing with kids that are good.”

Micah and his family—along with many other home-schooling families across Virginia—are hoping the Virginia General Assemble will approve a bill this year that would allow kids like him to try out for sports on public school athletic teams. The bill, called the “Tebow bill”, is named after football player Tim Tebow, who was home-schooled but was allowed to play on a high school team before going to the University of Florida, where he led his team to two national championships.

    Many major statewide education organizations said the bill wouldn't be fair to public school students. Ken Tilley, the executive director of the Virginia High School League, said the bill would violate two of the league's most long-standing standards for qualification: enrollment (注册入学) and academic standing.

    Home-school advocates argue that they are required by the law to document academic progress. But many opponents say students always have the option of attending public high school. That might be what Sydney Bowman, a 12-year-old from Luchetts, will do to keep wrestling, although she would prefer to continue to be taught at home. In her case, girls' wrestling teams are rare enough that there aren't many options other than public school.

    But Micah' mom, Terri Fits, a former public school teacher, said that although they support the local schools and love to cheer on the teams, they like the flexibility of home-schooling.

    TO： ALL STUDENTS

    FROM ： John Keating

    SUBJECT ： Academic Honesty Policy

    As we start a new semester at City College, I would like to remind everyone of our commitment to academic honesty.

    Today, all students received a copy of our Academic Honesty Policy. I know everyone's mailbox can get very full at this time of year. However, this document is very important. It explains the rules that we expect all members of our academic community to follow. You are responsible for reading and understanding these rules. If you have any questions about the policy, please make an appointment to speak with your academic advisor.

    What is academic dishonesty?

    Often students can be unsure what we mean by academic dishonesty. The Academic Honesty Policy explains the types of behavior that are not allowed. Here are two examples of academic dishonesty：

    Cheating is breaking a rule to get a higher grade. Some examples of cheating include:

    Copying a classmate's answers during an exam.

    Looking at notes during an exam.

    Submitting homework that you borrowed from another student.

    Taking an exam for another student.

    Plagiarism is submitting the words or ideas of other people as your own work. Some examples of plagiarism include：

    Copying text from the Internet and submitting it as your own work.

    Copying text from a book, changing some of the words, and submitting it as your own work.

    Using another person's ideas and not giving that person credit.

    What happens if you are found guilty of academic dishonesty?

    If you are accused of academic dishonesty, the Student Honor Office will investigate your case. If you are found guilty of breaking the rules, the college will take disciplinary action. In serious cases, students can receive a failing grade. They may also be asked to leave school for good. For less serious cases, students could have to revise their work and receive a lower grade.

    Academic work can be difficult. At times, you may be tempted to use dishonesty to make the work easier. As you gather the knowledge and skills that will prepare you for your future career, remember this: It is our values that will help us achieve these goals. With every action, always remember to be honest, responsible and fair.

    Good luck with the new semester.

John Keating

President

City College

    A person's chances of falling ill from a new strain (菌株) of flu are at least partly determined by the first strain they ever met with, a study suggests.

    Research in Science Journal looked at the 18 strains of influenza A ( 甲型流感) and the hemagglutinin protein (红血球凝集素蛋白) on its surface. They say there are only two types of this protein and people are protected from the one their body meets first, but at risk from the other one. A UK expert said that could explain different patterns in flu pandemics (流行病).The researchers, from University of Arizona in Tucson and the University of California, Los Angeles, suggest their findings could explain why some flu outbreaks cause more deaths and serious illnesses in younger people. The first time a person's immune system meets a flu virus, it makes antibodies targeting hemagglutinin protein that sticks out of the surface of the virus — like a lollipop (棒棒糖).

    Even though there are 18 types of influenza A, there are only two versions of hemagglutinin. The researchers, led by Dr Michael Worobey, classed them as "blue" and "orange" lollipops. They said people born before the late 1960s were exposed to "blue lollipop" flu viruses — H1 or H2 — as children. In later life they rarely fell ill from another "blue lollipop" flu — H5N1 bird flu, but they died from "orange" H7N9. Those born in the late 1960s and exposed to "orange lollipop" flu — H3 — have the opposite pattern.

    His team looked at cases of H5N1 and H7N9 — two kinds of bird flu which have affected hundreds of people, but have not developed into pandemics. The researchers found a 75% protection rate against severe disease and 80% protection rate against death if patients had been exposed to a virus with the same protein version when they were children.

    Dr Worobey said the finding could explain the unusual effect of the 1918 "Spanish flu" pandemic, which was more deadly among young adults. "Those young adults were killed by an H1 virus and from blood analysed many decades later there is a pretty strong indication that those individuals had been exposed to a mismatched H3 as children and were therefore not protected against H1. The fact that we are seeing exactly the  same pattern with current H5N1 and H7N9 cases suggests that the same fundamental processes may govern both the historic 1918 pandemic and today's contenders (斗争者) for the next big flu pandemic."

    Jonathan Ball, professor of University of Nottingham, said, "This is a really neat piece of work and provides a reason why human populations have been sensitive to different strains of bird influenza over the past 100 years or so. The findings are based on analysis of patient records and they certainly need further proof in the laboratory, but nonetheless the results are pretty amazing and inspiring."

    Nelson Mandela is respected and admired around the world. To South Africa he is a superstar. He is a hero who shocked the world by fighting for peace between races, even though he spent 27 years in the prison of the South Africa's white, racist regime(政权).

    Mandela, who won the nation's first all­race elections after the fall of apartheid (种族隔离) in 1994, retired in 1999. But even now, he is as popular as ever.

    His popularity has inspired an entire national industry. His portrait (肖像) has appeared at many places, including on some goods. His face has appeared on a South African coin, a district of a city was named in his honor and some business leaders hope to build a giant statue that looks like him—the Statue of Freedom in celebration of his birthday. It would stand taller than New York's Statue of Liberty.

    His popularity is similar to that of John F. Kennedy in the US or Winston Churchill in Britain, but few politicians today have achieved his level of admiration, said Tom Lodge, head of the Political Science Department of the University of the Witwatersrand.

    "Sometimes it isn't completely appreciated what a skilled performer Mandela has been throughout his political career. He's a very, very clever man."

    However, he is far from perfect.

    Most articles about his birthday, which appeared in every major South African newspaper on the day, briefly mentioned that Mandela did have shortcomings.

    Then they returned to their following praises.

    "Through the ages, the human race has had its icons(偶像)—men and women who rose above ordinary people to inspire their generations," The Mail and Guardian Weekly said, "In our generation, the god brought us Nelson Mandela."

    Reader: For six years, I've run an office that has two employees: me and my boss. He used to be so appreciative that I didn't mind doing a little extra, but about two months ago, he started being rude and demanding. Now he even yells when I don't have time to bring his favorite wine to his home after work.

    This change started when we met a wealthy new customer, who is a huge jerk (古怪的人) — my boss's new behavior is just like his.

    My boss is a good man; he and his family have treated me like a little sister. Is there a good way to discuss this with him?

    Karla: Sounds like your new customer has set a bad example to your boss. You need to remind your boss that you're in his corner— but you're not his slave. My suggestions are as follows.

Start with a simple question in a calm moment: "Is everything okay?"

State the truth: "Until recently, I've felt like a valued teammate. But our relationship has become tense. Your expectations of me seem to have changed. Although I used to do occasional personal businesses for you as a favor, now it seems expected."

Draw your lines: "If you think my job description needs to change or my performance is not good enough, let's discuss that. Otherwise, I need you to stop yelling at me and to respect my personal time."

Ideally, you'll get an apology and a promise to do better. After that, it's a matter of reinforcement (加强) . If he starts yelling, look at him with a calm expression. After he cools down, restate his request and add, "Is that correct?" For the unreasonable request, such as fetching his favorite wine after work: "I'm afraid I can't take care of that for you." If he keeps acting like a jerk, there are bosses out there who will better respect your time and talent.

    Karla L. Miller is ready to hear your work dramas. Send your questions to wpmagazine@washpost.com.

Uggs(雪地靴) are certainly ugly, or at least inelegant. The shapeless boots, pulled on in a hurry, can make anyone look like a slob(懒惰的人), which has made them the target of disrespect. It hasn't been hard to find someone strongly condemning them." Ugg boot s are no sexy," The Independent declared in 2003," unless you' re Mrs. Bigfoot on a lo ne mission across Antarctic to find Mr. Bigfoot. When wearing the boots, a writer of The Gloss complained," There's nothing to indicate that you don't have square, horrible shoeboxes in place of human feet." In 2015, one coffee shop on Brick Lane in east London ever banned ugg- wearers.

And yet, over the years, plenty of strange and unattractive shoes have met with the approval of the fashion establishment. The problem with ugg' s wasn't that they were ugly; it's that they were common.

But a funny thing happened on the way to fashion's tomb: the universal ugg has not gone anywhere. Uggs have quietly stayed here since their best time. Once you start paying attention, you' ll be shocked to discover how many people are still wearing them. They are worn by mothers in town and in the country, by teenagers on Saturday shopping trip and by people in fashion.

Perhaps the secret of uggs's unstoppable success is that, if there is a dividing line between public appeal and private style, it might be a pair of cozy boots. They are certainly comfortable, soft and warm, as if your feet were in the hugging of someone who really loves you. At$150a pair, they are neither cheap nor entirely out of range. They are casual and indulgent(纵容的).

Somehow uggs, the boots that so many people hate, have managed to challenge the cruel logic of the fashion cycle and carry on whether you approve of them or not.