A couple of weeks ago,my 12-year-old daughter Ella,threatened to take my phone and break it."At night you'll always have your phone out and you'll just type,"Ella says,"I'm ready to go to bed,and try to get you to read stories for me and you're just standing there reading your texts and texting other people,"she adds.I came to realize that I was ignoring her as a father.

    Ella isn't the only kid who feels this way about her parent's relationship with devices.Catherine Steiner-Adair,a psychologist at Harvard,wrote The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age.For her book,Steiner-Adair interviewed more than 1,000 kids from the ages of 4 to 18.She talked to hundreds of teachers and parents.

    "One of the many things that knocked my socks off,"she says,"was the consistency（一致性）with which children—whether they were 4 or 8 or 18—talked about feeling exhausted and frustrated or mad trying to get their parents' attention,competing with computer screens or iPhone screens or any kind of technology."

    A couple of years ago,my daughter got a laptop for school.And because she was becoming more independent, we got her a phone.We set up rules for when she could use the device and when she'd need to put it away.We created a charging station,outside her bedroom,where she had to plug in these devices every night.Basically,except for homework,she has to put it all away when she comes home.

    Steiner-Adair says most adults don't set up similar limits in their own lives."We've lost the boundaries that protect work and family life,"she says."So it is very hard to manage yourself and be present in the moments your children need you."

    After my daughter's little intervention（介入）,I made myself a promise to create my own charging station.To plug my phone in—somewhere far away—when I am done working for the day.I've been trying to leave it there untouched for most of the weekend.

    Are you content with the shape of your nose? If not, the climate may be to blame, not your parents.

This is according to a recent study carried out by scientists from Pennsylvania State University, US. They found that climate played a key role in shaping our noses. The findings were based on an examination of the size and shape of noses of 476 people from four regions—West Africa, East Asia, South Asia and Northern Europe, using 3-D facial imaging technology.

     “People have thought for a long time the difference in nose shape among humans across the world may have arisen as a result of natural selection because of climate,” Arslan Zaidi, one of the lead authors of the study, told The Guardian. But while previous studies were based on measurements from human skulls, Zaidi and his team looked at nose shape itself.

    The result showed that wider noses are more common in warm and humid climates, while narrower noses are more common in cold and dry climates. That, Zaidi said, could be because narrower nasal passages help to increase the moisture (潮湿) content of air and warm it，which is easier on our lungs. This, in turn, led to a gradual decrease in nose width in populations living far away from the equator.

    More study is still needed to test the link between climate and nose shape, but Zaidi believes the current findings are valuable in understanding potential health issue. “As we become more of a global community, we are going to come across climates that we are not adapt to,” he told the Guardian. This means moving to a very different climate might increase the risk of breathing problems.

    However, he added, “This may not be necessarily true for various reasons such as of modern medicine and the fact that our current climate is very different from what it used to be.”

    Sharpshooters refer to those who are skilled at firing a gun and accurately hitting what they are aiming at. However, some fish are also called amazing sharpshooters. People wonder how they hit their targets without using tools? By spitting! The fish shoot so accurately that they rarely miss their target.

    These amazing fish are archerfish (印度射水鱼).There are several different types of archerfish living in Southeast Asia. They spit at their dinner to catch it. To catch dinner, a fish first sets itself in a certain place, for example just below the surface of the water. It puts the tip of its mouth so it barely breaks through the water. Then, the fish waits for an unsuspecting insect to land on a leaf or branch hanging over the water.

    When an unsuspecting, or unknowing insect lands, the fish attacks. The fish squeezes its gill (腮)covers very rapidly, which forces water into the fish's mouth. In the roof of its mouth the fish has a groove (槽）. The fish forms the small groove and its tongue into a narrow tube by pressing its tongue up against its groove. The water forced into the fish's mouth is forcefully pushed out of the fish's mouth through the tube. Archerfish have been known to send a stream up to 5 meters (16 feet). However, archerfish can only shoot insects up to 1-2 meters (3-6 feet) away due to their limited accuracy.

    When the unsuspecting insect is hit with a sudden stream of water, it is knocked into or falls into the water. Once in the water, the insect becomes dinner. Archerfish learn how to spit when they are young. They get more accurate with practice. Adult archerfish rarely miss.

    Within a meter, archerfish will often spring out of the water and grab an insect in their mouths.

    A Harvard study of their graduates over thirty years found that there were only a small percentage (3%) of them who actually wrote down their goals-and these were the most successful! You can be certain that every one of those students had repeatedly heard the value of goal setting. Yet only 3% actually wrote down their goals consistently. Imagine what you can do if you both write down your goals and, then, focus on them consistently, until they are accomplished!

    What is it that causes the "New Year's Resolution Syndrome"? People make resolutions, work hard at them for a few weeks, maybe even a few months, and then forget them. Next year, they make the same New Year's resolutions. That is the syndrome. So why do so many people do it?

    They may be making goals that are too global, and too unrealistic. The elephant analogy (比喻) is still the best one I know of to illustrate good goal setting. "How do you eat an elephant? One spoonful at a time." So it is with goals. Make spoon size goals and accomplish them easily. Once you've mastered this, get a bigger spoon!

    You may have too many people in your life who consciously or subconsciously are unwilling or unable to support you to reach your goals. Surround yourself with people who want you to have what you want for yourself. Support each other and you'll all achieve your highest goals.

    We must be careful not to confuse busyness with progress. Be selective about how you use your time and what you focus on. Success often comes when you know what to leave out, rather than what to include in your life.

    Goal setting is like the pig and chicken who were out for a walk in town early one morning. The chicken became really excited when she saw a sign that said "Ham & Eggs, $2. 99". She said to the pig, "Look, we've got double billing again." The pig grunted and said, "That's all right for you to say. For you, it's all in a day's work. For me, it's total commitment." Goal setting is all in a day's work. Goal achievement is total commitment.

    "I really wrote it for me. It was what I found funny and what I liked". Those are the words of J K Rowling, author of the enormously popular "Harry Potter" books. The quote refers to the first in a series of novels featuring a young character who has carved out a permanent place for his creator in the world of children's literature.

    Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born in England in 1965, and wrote her first story at the age of six. She was in her mid-20s when the idea for the Harry Potter novels came to her, during a long train ride. By the end of that journey, she says, the character of Harry and the school for wizards which he attends were more or less fully formed in her mind.

    It would be several years, however, before the novel was completed. By that time, Rowling had been through a failed marriage. Living on welfare as a single parent, she wrote about Harry Potter while sitting in an Edinburgh café with her daughter asleep beside her. She could not have dreamed of the fame and success which Harry would bring her in the years to come.

    Harry Potter is not your average superhero. He is 12 years old, skinny, wears glasses, and tends to worry a lot. Yet, he has captured the imagination of children and adults the world over, and has introduced millions to the joys of reading.

    Harry's appeal stems from his role as a very ordinary boy who finds himself in extraordinary situations. Orphaned as a baby, Harry spends the next 10 years being mistreated by the awful relatives with whom he lives. On his 11th birthday, he learns that he possesses magical powers and is admitted for training at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

    The adventures of Harry and his friends at the school are superbly narrated by J. K. Rowling. She manages to lead her millions of readers deep into the world of the supernatural, while at the same time dealing with the fears and emotions of the ordinary human world. Many feel that this is the real magic of Harry Potter.

I didn't go to Santiago,Chile to look for friendship.In fact,Chile was not even on my wish list.

A mid-life crisis woman,I got a chance to study abroad.I only wanted to learn about global business,taste South American  cuisine,and  check"study  abroad"off my  wish  list.

On the fifth day,I joined a group for a neighborhood work project aided by the anti-poverty(扶贫)organization. Our tasks were to build a water tower and paint the community center.Upon arrival,I couldn't believe my eyes.It was like a scene out of a horrible film.That moment redefined poverty for me because I had never seen such terrible living conditions.As advised,I showed no signs of the emotional battle going on inside me.

Just as I was about to start work on painting,a request came through for a few volunteers to help Nadia,a local resident who volunteered to cook for us.I raised my hand to help because I wanted to spend time with the people of the neighborhood despite my shortage of Spanish speaking skills.  Nadia had a sincere smile but not overly friendly.Even without speaking each other's language,we started to learn about one another.We chatted about our children,our upbringing,shared pictures of our family,struggled to instruct each other to communicate in the other's language,and laughed many times.

After we fed everybody and the dishes were washed,my day was over.But I found myself hesitant to leave.It was as if I had known her my entire life.I had not predicted the unselfishness of heart I would encounter,and it was moving.

As we were waiting for the car to pick us up,Nadia showed me her plants that are well-maintained.I could see that despite the hard conditions she was passionate about life.She made me long to be a stronger person.She showed me that poverty was external,but happiness was internal.I was seeking to give 100 percent for a well-intentioned cause,but I left receiving 200 percent from her.