I suspect that the most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention, and especially if it's given from the heart. When people are talking, there's no need to do anything but listen to them. Just take them Just listen to what they're saying and care about it. Most times caring about it is even more important than understanding it. Most of us don't value ourselves or our love enough to know this. It has taken me a long time to believe in the power of the simply saying "I'm so sorry" when someone is in pain, and meaning it.

    One of my patients told me that when she tried to tell her story, people often interrupted to tell her that they had once had something just like that happen to them. Eventually she stopped talking to most people. She was just too lonely. We connect through listening. When we interrupt what someone is saying to let them know that we understand, we move the focus of attention to ourselves. When we listen, they know that we care. Many people with cancer can talk about the relief of having someone just listen.

    I have ever learned to respond to someone crying by just listening. In the old days I used to reach for the tissues(纸巾), until I realized that passing a person a tissue may be just another way to shut them down, to take them out of their experience of sadness and grief. Now I just listen. When they have cried all they need to cry, they find me there with them.

    Science Museum, London

    Runs: Until 5 May

    Price: £7

    Exhibition about the Large Hadron Collider which uses theatre and video, as well as handmade works to recreate the experience of the real place and show the work behind the discovery of the Higgs 、 boson. Well worth it for anyone studying physics or simply interested.

    Weston Park Museum, Sheffield

    Runs: Until 5 May Price: Free for students

    Underneath the 1960s-built Castle Market in Sheffield, there are the remains of a historical castle. Now that the market is being moved, there has been a sudden growth in interest in the old castle.

    Seacity Museum, Southampton

    Runs: Continued

    Price: Entrance to the museum is £4.50 for students

    Explores the Titanic disaster and its effect on Southampton, where more than five-hundred families lost a family member to the disaster. The exhibition recreates the sights and sounds of 1912 Southampton and ends ill the Disaster Room, where a series of events from the moment of the Titanic hit the iceberg are explored using powerful oral description from survivors.

    The Guildhall, Leicester

    Runs: Until 1 June

    Price: Free

    This exhibition tells the history of King Richard III and of the search for his lost remains, eventually found underneath a car park two years ago. The exhibition can give visitors a rounded view of the life of the king and how he was discovered. Great for history students.

    An upset little boy wanted to meet God. He thought it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey.

    When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman sitting on a park bench alone. The boy sat next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to drink his root beer when he thought that the old lady might be hungry, so he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling.

    As dusk fell, the boy got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

    When the boy opened the door to his own house, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God”

    Meanwhile, the old woman, also returned to her home with joy. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, “Mom, what did you do today that made you so happy?” She replied, “I ate potato chips with God.”

    Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

A researching team analyzed data from long-running studies conducted in Brazil and South Africa to assess whether children exposed to early adversities (逆境), such as extreme poverty, low birth weight, and pre-term birth, could reach their full learning potential by experiencing responsive caregiving and opportunities to learn in their home. They found that early life adversities matter throughout life. Teenagers who had been exposed to multiple adversities early in life had lower IQ scores, were more likely to have difficulties adjusting socially and psychologically, and achieved a lower physical height compared to teenagers exposed to fewer adversities. They also found that being raised in a nurturing (培育) environment could significantly counteract the negative effect of early adversities on IQ and help children achieve their full potential of intelligence.

Globally, more than 250 million children younger than 5 years are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential because of adversities that co-occur early in life and worsen with age. In the US, almost one in five children are raised in poverty and 15 percent do not complete high school. Exposing these children to a nurturing environment, whether at home or in daycare or pre-school settings, can lead to cognitive (认知的) benefits that last into teenage and beyond.

Parents should provide nurturing environments, which include interacting with young children in a positive way such as reading children's books from the library, singing songs together, and playing games with numbers and letters. Children who join in age-matched housework like picking up toys and clearing the table gain skills and feel good about helping. Get children involved in friendly activities as much as possible rather than park them in front of a screen. Children love to learn and in a nurturing environment, they can grow into teenagers and adults with the abilities to care for themselves, their families, and their communities.

It was a typical weekend for Mitch White and his friends. They were out celebrating a bachelor party, sailing the peaceful waters of the Minnesota River. They never expected that this single party would transform from a relaxed canoe trip into a painful rescue mission. With the sun setting, an unexpected bark changed everything.

Led by Mitch White, the soon-to-be-married man, they searched for the source of the sound along the banks of the river. Suddenly, a weak cry for help came from the mud. They were surprised to find that the head of a 13-year-old St. Bernard named Ed was barely visible in the thick mud. Mitch said, "The dog wasn't moving on its own, so we should feed it and give it water. " The dog looked like i had used all its strength.

The men took up their oars（桨） and began digging, their festive mood giving way to a focused rescue mission. It took them more than half an hour to free the trapped dog as it was already breathing very feebly after possibly being trapped for 24 hours. When they got the poor fellow out of the mud, he couldn't walk, so they carried him back to the house. Back home with his owner, George Niskanen, Ed began his slow restoration-a happy ending to a dangerous adventure. George was thankful to the bachelor party heroes.

Now, the people of Carver, Minnesota, have new heroes to cheer for. Indeed, this incredible act of bravery and compassion redefined the meaning of a bachelor party. It became a heroic tale of humanity, friendship, and the instinct（本能）to do what's right.