Forgive the accidental. A sudden fall is humorous not because we like to see people fall, but because it surprises. Froma spilled（溢出）water glass in a meeting to Aunt Rae's teeth coming off in the Thanksgiving turkey, the embarrassment of accidents can be relieved by humor and a helping hand. After making sure that nobody's hurt, forgive accidents with a chuckle（咯咯地笑）rather than a scolding.

    Look for the unexpected. The kid whoused to look at you with his eyes closed during a test had the idea. Parents who serve green eggs and ham to their children on graduation day get the idea. Unexpected actions lighten an atmosphere and relax people.

    Learn to laugh with your kids. Most of what children say and do is funny. Help them learn that accidents are sometimes funny and sometimes occasions for joining in and helping another human being. By sharing laughs and attempting to explain humor, you develop your sense of humor, as well as help kids develop their own sense of humor.

    Since many of you are planning to study at a college or university in the future, you may be curious to know what your future study will be like. This is the question I want to discuss with you today.

    First, let's talk about what your weekly timetable will look like. No matter what your major may be, you can expect to spend between four and six hours a week for each class attending lecture. Lectures are usually in very large rooms because some courses such as Introduction to Sociology or Economics often have as many as two or three hundred students, especially at large universities. In lectures, it's very important for you to take notes on what the professor says because the information in a lecture is often different from that in your textbooks. Also, you can expect to have exam questions based on the lectures. So it isn't enough to just read your textbooks; you have to attend lectures as well. In a typical week, you will also have a couple of hours of discussion for every class you take. The discussion part is a small group meeting usually with fewer than thirty students where you can ask questions about the lectures, the reading, and the homework. In large universities, graduate students called teaching assistants, usually direct discussion parts

    If your major is chemistry, or physics, or another science, you'll also have to spend several hours a week in the lab doing experiments. This means that science majors spend more time in the classroom than non-science majors do. On the other hand, people who major in subjects like literature or history usually have to read and write more than science majors do.

    One evening in February 2007, a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote road in Wales. She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path. That's when she heard the whistle sounded by the driver of a train. Her Renault Clio was parked across a railway line. Seconds later, she watched the train drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks.

    Ceely's near miss made the news because she blamed it on her GPS device. She had never driver the route before. It was dark and raining heavily. Ceely was relying on her GPS, but it made no mention of the crossing. "I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train," she told the BBC.

    Who is to blame here? Rick Stevenson, who tells Ceely's story in his book When Machines Fail Us, points the finger at the limitations of technology. We put our faith in digital devices, he says, but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job. They are filled with small problems. And it's not just GPS devices: Stevenson takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless keyboards.

    The problem with his argument in the book is that it's not clear why he only focuses on digital technology, while there may be a number of other possible causes. A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper map. Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention. Perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for poor signaling system. Or maybe someone has studied the relative dangers and worked out that there really is something specific wrong with the GPS equipment. But Stevenson doesn't say.

    It's a problem that runs through the book. In a section on cars, Stevenson gives an account of the advanced techniques that criminals use to defeat computer-based locking systems for cars. He offers two independent sets of figures on car theft; both show a small rise in some parts of the country. He says that once again not all new locks have proved reliable, Perhaps, but maybe it's also due to the shortage of policemen on the streets. Or changing social circumstances. Or some combination of these factors.

    The game between humans and their smart devices is amusing and complex. It is shaped by economics and psychology and the cultures we live in. Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be a way for a wiser use of technology.

    If there is such a way, it should involve more than just an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines. After all, we have lived with them for thousands of years. They have probably been fooling us for just a. s long.

    Many people, some even at a very young age, set the goal of graduating from college. One American woman in Texas waited a long time for her chance to reach that goal.

    The woman, 85-year-old Janet Fein, received her bachelor's degree (学士学位) from the University of Texas in December, 2018.

    Fein has had a full life. She raised five children and then had a career as a secretary (秘书) until she retired at age 77. But even then, she was not ready to take it easy and rest during a well-earned retirement. She decided to major in sociology (社会学).

    Fein grew up in the Bronx area of New York City. In high school, she just wanted to finish and get a job. After graduating early, at the age of 16, she went to work as a secretary.

    After getting married, she spent 18 years staying home with her children. She held several jobs throughout her life, including being a secretary at a Dallas hospital. That is the job she retired from in 2011. She received an associate degree (专科学位) in 1995. But she also wanted to earn a bachelor's degree. Fein took part in a state program that lets people who are 65 and older take free classes at public universities in Texas.

    She kept going to class even as her health condition worsened. During her studies, it became necessary for her to use a walker to get around and she needed oxygen (氧气) too. She also developed knee problems. So, Fein took online classes to finish the last part of her degree requirements.

    Renee Brown is one of Fein's care-givers. She says Fein has also inspired her. At 53, she plans to begin nursing school to further her career. Brown says Fein told her, "Renee, you can do it. If I can do it you also can do it, and you will feel so good about it. "

Welcome to Holker Hall & Gardens

    Visitor Information

    How to Get to Holker

By Car: Follow brown signs on A590 from J36, M6. Approximate travel times: Windermere—--20 minutes, Kendal—--25 minutes, Lancaster—-45 minutes, Manchester—--1 hour 30 minutes.

    By Rail: The nearest station is Cark-in-Carmel with trains to Carnforth, Lancaster and Preston for connections to major cities & airports.

    Opening Times

Sunday—Friday (closed on Saturday) 11:00am —4:00pm, 30th March –2nd November. Admission Charges

    Special Events

    Producers' Market 13th April

    Join us to taste a variety of fresh local food and drinks. Meet the producers and get some excellent recipe ideas.

    Holker Garden Festival 30th May

    The event celebrates its 22nd anniversary with a great show of the very best of gardening, making it one of the most popular events in gardening.

    National Garden Day 28th August

    Holker once again opens its gardens in aid of the disadvantaged. For just a small donation you can take a tour with our garden guide.

    Winter Market 8th November

    This is an event for all the family. Wander among a variety of shops selling gifts while enjoying a live music show and nice street entertainment.

This year's Easter eggs will be much more expensive than last year's. The reason is climate change. Extreme weather patterns have made growing cocoa more{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(challenge). 

Cocoa beans are used to make chocolate. Around 70 percent of the world's cocoa beans {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(grow) in West Africa. 

Recent heatwaves, droughts and heavy rain in Ghana and the Ivory Coast have greatly reduced the amount of cocoa beans grown. Temperatures have been four degrees higher {#blank#}3{#/blank#}normal. 

The Reuters news agency said cocoa prices have more than doubled {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(compare) to this time last year. 

Amber Sawyer, an energy and climate analyst, said {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(farmer) in West Africa were, "struggling in the face of both extreme heat and rainfall".

Chocolate eggs are given as gifts for the Christian holiday of Easter, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. 

Traditionally, people dyed and painted chicken eggs. 

Wikipedia says chocolate eggs first appeared at the court of Louis XIV in France in 1725. In 1873, the English chocolate company J.S. Fry {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(produce) the first hollow chocolate egg, similar {#blank#}8{#/blank#} the ones people give today. 

Wikipedia says: "In Western cultures, the giving of chocolate eggs is now commonplace, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} 80 million Easter eggs sold in the UK alone." 

However, climate change is making {#blank#}10{#/blank#} more difficult to grow the cocoa beans. Climate analysts say we need to do more to reduce fossil fuel emissions if we want a steady supply of cocoa and chocolate.