Imagination Stage is a children's theater in the state of Maryland. A special performance is put on for children with autism (自闭症) each day. People with autism have difficulty communcating and socializing with other people. Children in the theater are allowed to move around during the performance. It's OK if they shout out or hold their ears when the music is too loud. These special performances are sometimes the only thing that a family can go to the theater together to see if a child has autism.

    That is the same idea with Autism on the Seas. This company organizes vacations for families of children with autism, especially vacations on cruise ships. Jamie Grover is director of group development in Autism on the Seas. He said, “With our staff on board, parents know that they are going to be able to relax, enjoy their vacation, and participate in ship activities. They know that their children are well taken care of.”

    The benefit of such vacations organized by Autism on the Seas is not waiting in huge lines on departure day. The company has staff to help in the ports. Waiting in long lines or being in the middle of big crowds can cause problem behavior in children with autism. Autism on the Seas helps families avoid situations like that.

    Autism on the Seas works with the help of cruise companies like Royal Caribbean. Special times or places are arranged for families to play video games, go skating or rock climbing, or eat dinner. Autism on the Seas also directs families to organizations that can help them pay for these vacations.

    Bambi Van Woert from the state of Michigan went on a cruise with her 7-year-old Ben, who has autism. She said, “I would never do something like this myself. I cannot take Ben shopping by myself at this point, so for me to try to do a cruise without help would be absurd.”

    Music is magic! Music speaks louder than words and it is a "language" that the whole world can understand. A piece of music can produce a response in the heart and mind. Like feeling an electrical current or receiving a personal radio signal, music has a spiritual effect on a person. Different kinds of music influence people in different ways.

    I have listened to music all my life. When I was twelve years old, the Beatles came to America and my whole world opened up. Maybe young people today cannot understand the influence of the Beatles when they exploded across America. Their influence changed the way we dressed, looked, acted and spoke, even our culture. The Beatles arrived in America from the UK just three months after the assassination(暗杀) of President John Kennedy, which had put America into a great depression. And the freshness and lively spirit of the Beatles was exactly what the country needed to refresh itself.

    Music links the heart of the hearer with that of the composer. This means that it mixes the spirit of the composer with your spirit when you listen to it. And the music can take your spirit out of your body and transport you into another world. Music has a great way of touching people. Music can make you laugh, cry or shout. It's also a great source of inspiration.

    Try this one day and notice what happens: make yourself a cup of tea, sit on your sofa and play one of your favorite songs. Close your eyes, and soon you'll find yourself creating vivid mental images matching the music that you are listening to.

    Have you ever run into a careless cell phone user on the street? Perhaps they were busy talking, texting or checking updates on We Chat without looking at what was going on around them. As the number of this new “species” of human has kept rising, they have been given a new name—phubbers (低头族).

    Recently, a cartoon created by students from China Central Academy of Fine Arts put this group of people under the spotlight. In the short film, phubbers with various social identities bury themselves in their phones, a doctor plays with his cell phone while letting his patient die, a pretty woman takes selfe in front of a car accident site, and a father loses his child without knowing about it while using his mobile phone, a chain of similar events eventually leads to a series of destruction.

    Although the ending sounds overstated, the damage phubbing can bring is real.

    Your health is the first to bear the consequence (后果) of it. “Constantly bending your head to check your cell phone could damage your neck,” Guangming Daily quoted doctors as saying. “The neck is like a rope that breaks after long-term stretching.” Also, staring at cell phones for long periods of time will damage your eyesight gradually, according to the report.

    But that's not all. Being a phubber could also damage your social skills and drive you away from your friends and family. At reunions with family or friends, many people tend to stick to their cell phones while others are chatting happily with each other and this creates a strange atmosphere, Qilu Evening News reported.

    It can also cost you your life. There have been lots of reports on phubbers who fell to their death, suffered accidents, and were robbed of their cell phones in broad daylight.

    You can either travel or read, but either your body or soul must be on the way. The popular saying has inspired many people to read or go sightseeing. Traveling, just like reading, is a refreshing journey from the busy world. Books, brain food, can keep you company on your travel.

    ⒈On the Road, 1957, by Jack Kerouac

    The book is a globally popular spiritual guide book about youth. The main character in the book drives across the US continent with several young people and finally reaches Mexico. After the exhausting and exciting trip, the characters in the book begin to realize the meaning of life. The book can be a good partner with you to explore the United States.

    ⒉Life is Elsewhere, 1975, by Milan Kundera

    Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said, “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” The book tells a young artist's romantic but miserable life, about how he reads, dreams and has a relationship. Experience the artist's passionate life in the book during a trip to Central Europe. The book invites you to deeply reflect on your current life.

    ⒊The Stories of the Sahara, 1967, by Sanmao

    The book narrates the author's simple but adventurous life in the Sahara Desert, which seems a desolate and dull place. The fancy natural scenery and life there, along with the author's romantic and intensive emotions will inspire you to explore the mysterious land. Reading the book is like participating in a dialogue with the author, who is sincere and humorous.

    ⒋Lotus, 2006, by Annbaby

    This novel set in Tibet, tells three people's stories, each with their unique characteristics. It reveals modern people's emotions and inner life, their confusion about love, and exploration of Buddhism. The book is a good partner to bring you to the scared land Tibet.

The Secret to Happiness

    A new report makes it clear that when it comes to the life satisfaction of UK citizens, the ball is in the government's court. For some time, sensible people have been arguing that governments need to focus less on economic growth and more on the wellbeing（幸福）of citizens. Be careful what you wish for.

    In response to this demand, from 2011 David Cameron instructed the Office for National Statistics to gather data on people's self-reported happiness and life satisfaction. Little practical good has come from this so far, but a new report by George Bangham for the Resolution Foundation is one of the best attempts to make useful sense of the data. He concludes: "The best prospects for policymakers targeting future increases in national wellbeing lie in raising job quality, raising incomes, particularly at the lower end, and policies to improve security in the housing market."

    The age correlation（相关）turns out to be certainly linked to politics, despite the fact that no political party can make a difference to your date of birth. The happiness of pensioners is not just a function of their age, but of policy. On average, 70-year-old boomers today are the most affluent retirees in history, often owning their own homes and in receipt of generous pensions. People of 70 are not going to be as content in 30 or 40 years' time if they are unable to retire, don't own their homes and have small incomes.

    However, there is one respect in which teens and recent retirees are remarkably similar. Compared to other age groups, they tend to inhabit a sweet spot of having high degrees of freedom. The typical 16-year-old has new freedoms without ever having had any serious responsibilities. The typical 70-year-old, having experienced a lifetime of work and family duties, has a very different kind of freedom, one born from relief.

    Besides, it should not surprise us to find that people tend to be happier when they have fewer worries. But this, too, has important political implications. If the government is really interested in raising overall national happiness, it has to make sure as many citizens as possible feel secure in their health, their housing and their incomes. Different states' records in achieving this is one important reason why Nordic countries repeatedly score highly in international life satisfaction surveys and North America underperforms relative to its GDP.

    Whichever way you look at it, there is no escaping the conclusion that increasing wellbeing across society requires joined-up, long-term policy efforts. This is exactly what the Resolution Foundation recommends.

    What's your feeling when you step into senior high school? It is a completely new experience, but you shouldn't worry. We've got some tips to help you.

    You're not alone

    Remember that everybody else in your grade is in the same boat. You may not notice it, but they're just as nervous as you are.

    Moving up to senior high school is a chance, not a problem. Things are different, and all you need to do is to be polite and learn the new rules.

    The teachers will help you

    If you don't know what to do or are worried about something, then ask for help. Teachers are probably the best people to turn to because they have experience in helping new students. Pay attention to what your teachers say.

    Everything changes

    There are lots of differences between junior high school and senior high school. You will you're your lessons with different teachers in different schools. You will have homework for different subjects on different days, so make sure you get organized.

    Other points

    If you've got an elder brother or sister at senior high school, then ask them for advice. Be yourself! It sounds simple, but things will become much better if you just act naturally.

    Going to bed early makes a difference. You'll also find it easier to get up in the morning!