My friend BJ Gallagher told me a great story recently, about her own experience with resentment (愤恨). She once worked as the training manager for a large newspaper, where she found the corporate culture extremely frustrating. The company was a hundred years old and their past success ha d blinded them to the need for change. Finally, after butting heads with several senior executives (主管) many times, she left the company. But she found that she hadn't left her resentment, frustration, and anger behind when she resigned.

    “I finally decided to write about my experiences and my feelings at the newspaper. I wanted to be rid of that company and those people, once and for all. So I wrote and I wrote. It wasn't just a story that poured out; it was a whole book! We called it A peacock in the Land of Penguins. I was the peacock and those newspaper executives were the penguins.”

    “It took me several more years to finally get over my negative emotions. Through a lot of soul-searching and reflection, I finally was able to let go of my resentment. I came to see that there was nothing personal in the way they treated me, and they were good people doing what they thought best for the company. I was the one who had made it personal. I thought they were making my life miserable on purpose.”

    “Finally, the time came when I decided to make amends (弥补) for the sharp, angry things I had said about the company. I invited my former boss to dinner and made my apology. It was a great healing process for me. I finally felt free of the resentment that had been eating me up.”

    “What was the final outcome?” I asked her.

    “Gratitude,” she replied. “Not only wasn't I resentful any more, I was grateful to the company. If I hadn't had those painful experiences, I would never have written a book. And the book became hugely successful – now published in 21 languages; it transformed my business.”

    Keeping the kids busy over the school holidays can be discouraging and cost parents a lot. But we've found some cheap and cheerful ways to enjoy family time this Easter from free days out to fun-filled theme parks which won't cost you much. We've done the homework so you can get started on having a great time.

    Theme Parks

    Save from 10% to 25% off the price of tickets for Legoland in Windor by booking in advance online. A family of four can save up to £ 45.90 on a one-day ticket, paying £ 137.70.

    Book seven days in advance and save £ 43 off the price of a family of four ticket for Drayton Manor Theme Park. Cali 0844-472-1950 or book online and you'll pay £ 65 on the day.

    You can pick up a family of four ticket for a day at Alton Towers in Staffordshire for £ 43.80 off the day price.

    Save £ 16 off the price for a family trip to The Making of Harry Potter by buying a family ticket (two adults and two children) online. Family of four £ 101, compared to £ 117.

    Activities

    Students looking for a cut-price trip to see the animals can save 15% off the ticket price at Bristol Zoo and pay £ 12.71 rather than the full adult price £ 14.53. Teens should show their identity as students.

    Freebies

    Let your kids discover what it's like to be an animal on the African Plain or in the ocean. Or, they can learn to love leaf beetles or become a scientist for the day at the Natural History Museum in London.

    These days having a best friend seems so important to girls. However I have learned that having one best friend is not the way to go. It's so much better to have many great friends.

    As I was coming into Middle School, I was really excited because my friend Jennifer was going to be in the same Middle School! At first things were great, she introduced me to her friend Amy and we had lots of fun together. Then things started to change. Jennifer was very controlling: I couldn't make new friends, and pretty soon being Jennifer's friend was a struggle.

    Jennifer wanted to be the "leader" of our little group. Amy and I were never partners with each other in class projects or gym; it was always, "Who gets the privilege（特权） of being Jennifer's partner." Amy and I both wanted to be Jennifer's number one.

    I always waited for Jennifer and Amy after classes. They chatted by Jennifer's desk as Jennifer packed her books up and I waited by the door. Sometimes when they left, they'd walk right past me. No "Thanks for waiting." No "Sorry we took so long." It was as if they couldn't even see me.

    After months of living through school this way, I had really changed. I was moody, depressed, lonely. I spent lots of days trying not to cry, I felt so left out.

    Finally, near the very end of the school year, I was so incredibly sick of having to battle for friendship. I stopped sitting with Jennifer at lunch and stopped waiting for her after class.

    It was tough at first, but now, I have tons of friends. We have fun and happy times together and I love them all to bits. It amazes me how easy our friendship is. There's no struggling to be on top. I wish Jennifer could understand. Maybe one day she'll look back at what happened and she'll change, but even though I lost a friend, I am a happier person.

    Bullying(霸凌) can take a variety of forms, from the verbal to the physical as well as indirect forms, such as being excluded from social groups. Bullying is clearly unpleasant, and can make the child experiencing it feel unworthy and depressed. In extreme cases it can even lead to suicide, though this is thankfully rare.

    Until recently, not much was known about the topic, and little help was available to teachers to deal with bullying. Perhaps as a consequence, schools would often deny the problem. There is no bullying at this school' has been a common answer if asked, almost certainly untrue. Fortunately more schools are now saying: “There is not much bullying here, but when it occurs we have a clear policy for dealing with it.” Three factors are involved in this change. First is an awareness of the severity of the problem. Second, a number of resources to help tackle bullying have become available in Britain. For example, the Scottish Council for Research in Education produced a package of materials, Action Against Bullying, circulated to all schools in England and Wales as well as in Scotland. In Ireland, Guidelines on Countering Bullying Behaviour in Post-Primary Schools was published, too. Third, there is evidence that these materials work, and that schools can achieve something.

    Evidence suggests that a key step is to develop a policy on bullying, saying clearly what bullying means, and giving explicit guidelines on what will be done if it occurs, what records will be kept, who will be informed and what punishments will be employed. The policy should be developed through consultation over a period of time. Pupils, parents and staff should feel they have been involved in the policy. Other actions can be taken to back up the policy. There are ways of dealing with the topic through the curriculum, using video, drama and literature. But curriculum work alone may only have short-term effects; it should be an addition to policy work. There are also ways of working with individual pupils, or in small groups. Work in the playground is important, too. One helpful step is to train lunchtime supervisors to distinguish bullying from playful fighting, and help them break up conflicts. Another possibility is to improve the playground environment, so that pupils are less likely to be led into bullying from boredom or frustration.

    With these developments, schools can expect that at least the most serious kinds of bullying can largely be prevented. The more effort is put in and the wider the whole school is involved, the more substantial the results are likely to be. The reduction in bullying and the consequent improvement in pupil happiness is surely a worthwhile objective.

    LEGO(乐高) recently announced that they will start producing pieces from sustainable (可持续的) sugar cane. The toys, which will be closely similar to classic ones, will also feature "botanical elements" like leaves, bushes, and trees.

    The pieces will be included in LEGO'S box sets from this year onwards. The move is part of the Danish company's campaign to use sustainable materials in its products by 2030.

    However, Tim Brooks, the firm's vice-president, said, "We want to make a positive influence on the world around us, and are working hard to make great play products for children using sustainable materials. This is a great first step in our goal to make all LEGO pieces using sustainable materials."

    The new line of production has reportedly already started with pieces being produced from polyethylene, which is a soft and durable plastic (耐用的塑料). LEGO says that we needn't worry about the quality of the new products, as they've tested the plant-based plastic to ensure that it meets the high standards for quality and safety that consumers (消费者) expect from the company.

    "LEGO products have always been about providing high quality play experiences and giving every child the chance to shape their own world through inventive play. Children and parents will not notice any difference in the quality or appearance of the new pieces, because plant-based polyethylene has the same qualities as traditional polyethylene," said Tim Brooks.

    "It is important that companies in each industry find ways to help ensure a future where people, nature, and the economy grow healthily," said Alix Grabowski, an officer at WWF. "The LEGO Group's decision to use sustainable plastics represents a great opportunity to reduce dependence on finite (有限的) resources, and their work with the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance will allow them to connect with other companies to continue to think creatively about sustainability."

    You don't need to get in a time-traveling machine to see how technology will reshape our lives, such as the way we shop. Several new technologies that are to change your buying habits already exist. Let's see what's waiting for your future shopping.

    Try it on, virtually(虚拟的). Want to shop online for a new pair of eyeglasses? You don't need to guess which pair looks best on you. Go and see the eBay Fashion iPhone app to try a pair of eyewear you're checking out on a picture of your face. But what if you want to buy something bigger? Thanks to Microsoft Kinect's motion tracking camera, you can cover clothes on your screen body. You can even choose the background of your virtual fitting room to enrich your shopping experience.

    Get a perfect, custom fit. Everyone's body is shaped differently. To get a perfect fit, you sometimes have to get your clothes changed. But by using 3D scanning(扫描) technology, all the clothes you buy will fit your body perfectly. Some companies scan your body using High-tech to get the most exact sizes, so they can make special clothes just for you.

    Experience high-tech shopping carts and checkout counters. High-tech shopping carts could, in time, be a common sight in malls and supermarkets. Microsoft Kinect-enabled carts are under test at present. The cart can follow you along the aisles (通道), controlled only by your movement and your voice. In China, a supermarket chain(连锁超市) introduced tablet-equipped carts that guide shoppers around the stores' aisles.

    In the United States, several supermarkets use a device(装置) called Scan It that gives buyers the freedom to scan goods on their own while they shop. While it's great not having to line up at a checkout counter, we wouldn't mind it if the store used Toshiba's new Object Recognition Scanner. The machine identifies(辨认) a product as soon as it's placed in front of a camera just by its shape and color, even if it has no bar code(条形码).