Ways to Have an Amazing Day

    I am a big believer in the Law of the Harvest: we harvest what we sow. If we plant the seeds of success every day, we will get a successful harvest. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Try new things

    So many of life's great experience wait just on the other side of our fears or our comfort zone. When the opportunity to try something new comes up, ask yourself, “Why not?” {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Don't miss out on the great moments that are waiting all around you every day!

Keep learning

    When we were kids it seemed that every day had something new that we had not experienced before. That is why young children will ask their parents “Why?” about a thousand times a week. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} A lifetime of learning leads to a love for life.

Be kind

    It has been said that you can measure a person by how he treats the people who can do nothing for him. How often do you stop to talk to the people you meet with every day？One great way to get more out of your day is to fill it with people you know. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} And take a moment to learn a little about them.

Find a purpose

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} It may be to run a marathon, write a book, start a business, develop a product, or learn a new hobby or profession.

A. Have one or more big “life goals”.

B. If we don't plant enough, we cannot have a good harvest.

C. We are learning and growing.

D. You have to make the most of every day in life.

E. Provide meaningful services for other people in any situation.

F. Many of the great moments in life are linked to new experiences.

G. The best way to know more people is to be kind to everyone you meet.

    I was very disappointed not to be able to go to the concert last Friday. The advertisement in the paper said you could buy tickets at the theatre box any day between 10:00 and 4:00. Since I work from 9:00 to 5:30, the only time I could go to the theatre was during my 45-minute lunch break. Unfortunately, the theatre is on the other side of the town, and the bus service between my office and the theatre is not good. But if you are lucky, you can make the round trip in 45 minutes. Last Monday, I stood at the bus stop for 15 minutes. By the time I saw one come, there was not enough time left to make the trip. So I gave up and went back to the office. The same thing happened on Tuesday, and again next day. On Thursday, my luck changed. I got on a bus right away and arrived at the theatre in 20 minutes. When I got there, however, I found a long line at the box office, and I heard one man say he had been waiting for over an hour. Realizing I would not have enough time to wait in line, I caught the next bus and headed back. By Friday I realized my only hope was to make the trip by taxi. It was expensive, but it would be worth it to hear the concert. The trip by taxi only took 10 minutes, but felt like an hour to me. When I got to the theatre, I was relieved to see that nobody was waiting in line. The reason, however, I quickly discovered, was that they had already sold all the tickets.

    Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation?

    UBC Professor Simard explains how trees are much more complex than most of us ever imagined. Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard shows just how wrong he was. In fact, the opposite is true: trees survive through their cooperation and support, passing around necessary nutrition “depending on who needs it”.

    Nitrogen (氮) and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi (真菌) networks, making sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This hidden system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons (神经元) in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it affects all.
     Simard talks about “mother trees”, usually the largest and oldest plants on which all other trees depend. She explains how dying trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important minerals to young trees so they may continue to grow. When humans cut down “mother trees” with no awareness of these highly complex “tree societies” or the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances of survival for the entire forest
   “We didn't take any notice of it.” Simard says sadly. “Dying trees move nutrition into the young trees before dying, but we never give them chance.” If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.

    There was once an 11-year-old boy who went fishing every time he went to an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake.

    On the day before bass (巴斯鱼) season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching other fish with worms. Then he tied on a small silver lure(鱼饵) and put it into the lake. Suddenly the boy felt something very big pulling on the lure. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully brought the fish beside the bank. Finally he lifted the tired fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass.

    The boy and his father looked at the big fish. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 pm — two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy. “You'll have to put it back, son,” he said.

    “Dad!” cried the boy. “There will be other fish,” said his father. “Not as big as this one,” cried the boy. He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats could be seen in the moonlight. He looked again at his father.

    Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he had caught the fish, the boy could tell from his father's voice that the decision couldn't be changed. He threw the huge bass into the black water.

    The big fish disappeared. The boy thought that he would never again see such a big fish.

    That was 34 years ago. Today the boy is a successful architect in New York City. He often takes his own son and daughters to fish at the same place.

    And he was right. He has never again caught such a large fish as the one he got that night long ago. But he does see that same fish ... again and again ... every time he has an ethical (道德的) decision to make. For, as his father had taught him, ethics are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult.

    The United States estimates that about one out of every 10 people on the planet today is at least 60 years old. By 2050, it's projected to be one out of 5. This means that not only will there be more old people, but there will be relatively fewer young people to support them.

    Professor Richard Lee of the University of California at Berkeley says this aging of the world has a great effect on economics. "Population aging increases the concentration of population in the older ages and therefore it is expensive," he said.

    Aging populations consume (消耗) more and produce less. With more people living longer, it could gel expensive. But Mr. Lee says with continuing increases in worker productivity and wise planning, it can be manageable.

    Societies have different methods for caring for the elderly，but each carries a cost Generally, there are three types of support Seniors can live off the wealth they gained when they were younger. They can rely on their family to take care of them, or they can rely on the movement.

    In industrialized nations, governments created publicly-funded (公共资助的) support systems. These worked relatively well until recent years, when aging population growth in places like the United States and Western Europe began to gradually weaken the systems' finances(资金). These nations now face some tough choices. Mr. Lee says the elderly in some of these countries must either receive less money, retire later or increase taxes to make the system continuable.

    Most developing nations haven't built this type of government-funded support, but have instead relied on families to care for their elderly. These nations also generally have a much younger population, which means their situation is not as urgent as more developed nations. But Mr. Lee says that doesn't mean they can pay no attention to the issue. "Third World countries should give very careful thought to this process, to population aging and how it may affect their economies — now, before population aging even becomes a problem," he explained.

Guided Tour of Harry Potter London Locations

If you are a fan of Harry Potter, the Wizards London Walk is a perfect way to spend a couple of hours in London. You will get to see more than 10 filming locations from the Harry Potter movies. 

The tour features Harry Potter London film locations Meanwhile, you also have a chance to explore famous London landmarks and attractions like St Paul's Cathedral and Millennium Bridge and Big Ben. Along the way you'll have plenty of chances to take lots of pictures and see the filming locations up close. 

Come and explore Harry Potter London filming locations on our magical tour

Please also note:

This tour is not accessible for wheelchair users or for parents with prams 

Anyone who is 17 years old or younger must be accompanied by adults on all tours.