My arms shook. The bow was almost as tall as I was, and it was equipped with an arrow, ready to be shot. Never had a more ill-suited person handled a weapon. But my editor had sent me on a mission: to find my inner Katniss Ever deen at one of Beijing's indoor archery clubs.

    The brilliant archer Everdeen is the lead character in The Hunger Games movies, the final of which was just released in cinemas. Her arrows can hit almost anything: sword-swinging enemies, fierce animals, even aircraft some-how. Me? I can't throw a paper ball into a trashcan with any precision. And I was warned that archery would require a great deal of upper body strength, though I hadn't seen the inside of a gym in years.

    News outlets like the New York Times and NPR have reported an increase of interest in archery, thanks to movies like The Hunger Games, Brave and The Avengers. Archery clubs have showed up in many major cities. In Jian Club, an archery-themed bar, we paid 120 yuan for an hour's worth of target practice and prepared our bows and arrows.

    We were told to stand sideways, with one shoulder facing the bull's eye. Your weaker arm would hold the bow, while the other would pull the bowstring back until the arrow was right next to your face. Then it was meters away.

    Well, sort of. Instead of sending the arrows whistling through the air, my first few simply dropped onto the ground.

    The failure was a good reminder that archery is a demanding, Olympic-level sport. It worked muscles in my back and arms that I just didn't have yet. An hour came and went, and I found myself leaving with a couple pierced (刺穿的)bull's eyes and sore shoulders. Was I ready to shoot down aircraft with a swift arrow? Not quite. But I was definitely ready for a return trip.

    In 1812, the year Charles Dickens was born, there were 66 novels published in Britain. People had been writing novels for a century—most experts date the first novel to Robinson Crusoe in 1719—but nobody wanted to do it professionally. The steam-powered printing press was still in its early stages; the literacy（识字） rate in England was under 50%. Many works of fiction appeared without the names of the authors, often with something like “By a lady.”Novels, for the most part, were looked upon as silly, immoral, or just plain bad.

    In 1870, when Dickens died, the world mourned him as its first professional writer and publisher, famous and beloved, who had led an explosion in both the publication of novels and their readership and whose characters — from Oliver Twist to Tiny Tim— were held up as moral touchstones. Today Dickens' greatness is unchallenged. Removing him from the pantheon（名人堂） of English literature would make about as much sense as the Louvre selling off the Mona Lisa.

    How did Dickens get to the top? For all the feelings readers attach to stories, literature is a numbers game, and the test of time is extremely difficult to pass. Some 60,000 novels were published during the Victorian age, from 1837 to1901; today a casual reader might be able to name a half-dozen of them. It's partly true that Dickens' style of writing attracted audiences from all walks of life. It's partly that his writings rode a wave of social, political and scientific progress. But it's also that he rewrote the culture of literature and put himself at the center. No one will ever know what mix of talent, ambition, energy and luck made Dickens such a singular writer. But as the 200th anniversary of his birth approaches, it is possible — and important for our own culture—to understand how he made himself a lasting one.

    Living next to the Spellmans, our new neighbors, almost drove my mother crazy. If shewasn't shaming them for not attending church, or complaining to her sister Jackie about theway the Spellman girls dressed, then she was shoeing the Spellman's dogs out of our yard or filing noise complaints with the police, My mother had never been so busy.All she ever spoke of any more were the Spellmans and their wrongdoings.

    One Sunday afternoon after church service, my mother was driving old Ms Parker home to her house on the hill when we got a flat tire. As far as changing the tire, let's just say that we were at the mercy of the good Lord. Since old Ms. Parker lived so far up that hill, not a lot of traffic drove by us. It had been about fifteen minutes since the last car passed when we heard the rattling and puttering of an old pickup truck as it pulled over to assist us.

    The Spellman boys ran up on our car like a NASCAR pit crew. Before my mother could even protest, they had taken the tire off. "Her spare is flat," said the middle one to the big one. " Give her ours” replied the big one, barely acknowledging the sacrifice. My mother was stunned. "I don, t know what to say, "she stammered. The big one said, "Well, the Lord said love your neighbor, and we are neighbors, right?

    The next day when the Spellman's dogs went through my mother's flower garden, she put out a bowl of water for them. When she saw the Spellman girls walking out with nothing but a halter on, she lectured them about being upright ladies and offered them sweaters. And when she heard the Spellman's music through our walls, she tried to dance a little bit. She even invited the Spellmans to be part of the good neighbors committee. Now the neighborhood was a better place.

    A new high tech mirror, designed specifically for cancer patients, will only become reflective when a user smiles into it. The plug-in device, which exactly looks like a tablet, comes equipped with a mirror, a built-in camera, and a smart material triggered(触发)by some software. Facial recognition technology captures the face and instructs the surface of the mirror to change when a smile is detected. It can hang on a wall or sit on a table, much like a conventional mirror. Unlike a regular mirror, however, the price is currently standing at a surprising $2000—$3000.

    After witnessing a close family member struggle through cancer treatments, Turkish industrial designer Berk Ilhan decided to focus his work primarily on products that would cultivate joy and benefit cancer patients directly.

    “She told me in the first days after her diagnosis, it was difficult for her to look in the mirror and acknowledge she had cancer.” he said.“ Our facial expressions affect how we feel. If we flex(绷紧)our facial muscles to smile, our brains think that something good happened and as a result, we feel happiness.”

    After earning his master's degree at the School of Visual Arts in New York, Ilhan spent several weeks visiting cancer hospitals in Turkey, speaking to both patients and doctors. He spent two years designing and developing the mirror. The idea behind it is that smiling, even when forced, can make us feel better, according to research known as the facial feedback hypothesis. Laughter is linked to improved immune system function, and some researchers claim it can even increase our lifespans.

Ilhan is currently producing the mirror in limited quantities at the previously mentioned price. The product, however, will soon be launching a campaign in which Ilhan hopes to raise enough funds to bring the price down to $500.He also intends to donate the mirror to hospitals when it is financially possible to do so.

    The Honors Program (美国大学荣誉课程) in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (HPBMB) is offered to high school seniors with strong academic ability and achievement who seek careers in biological or biomedical science. Students can earn both a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.) in approximately 6 years.

    Applicants to the Honors Program in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology must be in their last year of high school.

    Undergraduates will have the opportunity to work with top-level research scientists in Biochemistry& Molecular Biology and also in clinical laboratories with scientists that are associated with the department. They will conduct intensive laboratory work in the areas of biochemistry, molecular biology or nutritional biochemistry starting in the summer before their first fall semester starts. By spring of their junior year, students will prepare an undergraduate thesis (本科毕业论文) as preparation for their entry into graduate school (研究生院). At that time they will start taking graduate courses and continue to do research with a graduate faculty member.

    To be considered students must:

     have a combined SAT I score of 1400 (combined Math and Critical Reading scores)

    meet the SAT II score requirement of at least 600 in Math, and one science (Biology, Chemistry or Physics)

    have completed eight semesters of English and mathematics and two semesters each of biology and chemistry by the time they graduate from high school

    complete all components of your Common Application for undergraduate admission by November 1 of your senior year

    complete a supplemental application form for the Honors Program in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

    include a counselor (辅导老师) recommendation, three letters of recommendation from teachers in support of your application to the Honors Program and a personal statement

    Send all Dual Admission Honors Program application materials to:

    Dual Admission Honors Programs

    Office of Admission

    University of Miami

    P.O. Box 248025

    Coral Gables, FL 33124-4616 

    Fax number: (513) 529-7592 (513) 529-1950 

    For more information on the HPBMB, contact:

    Dr. Thomas K. Harris

    Director, Undergraduate and Medical Education

    Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

    Office: Gautier Building, Room 111

    Phone: 305-243-3358

    E-Mail: tkharris@miami.edu 

Since 1912, The Nederlander Organization has continued the tradition pf operating historic theatres, producing and presenting the best theatrical and concert events. The following are a few of its Broadway, theatres.

GERSHWIN THEATRE: 222 W SIST ST,NEW YORK, NY 10019

Home of the Broadway smash-hit musical Wicked, Gershwin Theatre was named in honor of one of America's greatest composers, George Gershwin. The theatre's circular hall was designed to display the names and photographs of Broadway's own "Theater Hall of Fame, Opened in 1972 with 1,900 seats, it is one of the Nederlander Organization's. nine Broadway theatres.

DURHAMPERFORMING ARTS CENTER: 123 VVIAN STREET, DURHAM, NC 27701

Since its opening in 2008, DPAC has become the center for entertainment in North Carolina With 2,700 scats, DPAC truly has "something for everyone," and hosts more' than 200performances yearly. DPAC welcomes all guests and events in an open, friendly, and respectful setting. It stands committed against all forms of discrimination.

DOLBY THEATRE:6801 HOLLYWOOD BLVD, HOLLYWOCD, CALIFORNIA 90028

Dolby Theatre, built in 2001, delivers the most natural, lifelike sensory experience with the latest innovations in "Dolby entertainment technology," including: DolbyAtmos^TM, a breakthrough audio technology: Its cutting edge technologies attract, many world's biggest movie premieres, notable television awards events, and, performances. With 3,400 seats, it is one of two Broadway theatres in Los Angeles.

WINTER GARDEN THEATRE: 1634 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY 10019

The playhouse occupies the second American Horse Exchange, built by William K. Vanderbilt in 1896, when Longacre (now Times Square) was the center of the horse and carriage trade, By 1911, it had been rented out, as horses had given way to automobiles. The Winter Garden was converted into a theatre in 1911. It served as a movie house from 1928 to1933 when Warner Brothers rented it, Winter Garden Theatre. has l,600 seats and is one of Broadway theatres, The sound of music: the classic musical is now playing, at the Winter Garden Theatre.