Dear Parents, As you know, Sandy Brown, our after-school swimming coach for six years, retired from coaching last month. So, Virginia Smith, who swam for Bredard Community College and has won several awards in national competitions, has been named the school's new swimming coach. This is her first job as a coach, and she is going to start working from next week. She will teach her class in the afternoons, and continue with our summer program. By promoting the health benefits of swimming, she hopes that more students will get healthy through her instruction. Sincerely, Fred Wilson Principal, Riverband High School

Sunset was late in coming. It had been a hot sunny day and the air was heavy and still. I saw a large fountain in the middle of the town square but there was no water. The square was empty except for a black cat staring at me with a scary, sharp look. The shops were closed and there was no one about. I started to grow anxious as it got dark. I walked across to a cafe and sat down at a table, putting my bag on the seat beside me. The cafe was empty except for two rough-looking men at a table next to the window. They observed me threateningly and suddenly started to approach me. I really wanted to escape.

Strong negative feelings are part of being human. Problems occur when we try too hard to control or avoid these feelings. A helpful way of coping with strong negative feelings is to take them for what they are―messages from your mind and body intended to keep you safe. For instance, if you are afraid of a work presentation, trying to avoid your anxiety will likely reduce your confidence and increase your fear. Instead, try to accept your anxiety as a signal that you are probably nervous about public speaking―just like most other people. This helps you lower the level of your anxiety and stress, increasing your confidence and making the presentation much easier.

An interesting study about facial expressions was recently published by the American Psychological Association. Fifteen Chinese people and fifteen Scottish people took part in the study. They viewed emotion-neutral faces that were randomly changed on a computer screen and then categorized the facial expressions as happy, sad, surprised, fearful, or angry. The responses allowed researchers to identify the expressive facial features that participants associated with each emotion. The study found that the Chinese participants relied more on the eyes to tell facial expressions, while the Scottish participants relied on the eyebrows and mouth. People from different cultures perceive happy, sad, or angry facial expressions in different ways. That is, facial expressions are not the universal language of emotions.

When you face a severe source of stress, you may fight back, reacting immediately. While this served your ancestors well when they were attacked by a wild animal, it is less helpful today unless you are attacked physically. Technology makes it much easier to worsen a situation with a quick response. I know I have been guilty of responding too quickly to people, on email in particular, in a harsh tone that only made things worse. The more something causes your heart to race, the more important it is to step back before speaking or typing a single word. This will give you time to think things through and find a way to deal with the other person in a healthier manner.

On college campuses in the U.S. and around the world, some animals are helping students in need. With many students reporting depression and anxiety, school officials arrange pet therapy events to spread cheer and fight stress, especially during exams. These are not service animals trained to help people with disabilities; most are the pets of volunteers. Their visits are obviously beneficial: Research shows that contact with pets can decrease blood pressure and stress-hormone levels and increase so-called happiness hormones. Mary Callahan, a director at Pet Partners, considers pet visits on campus a great way to support students on their path to success.

This graph shows the number of Korean visitors to New Zealand according to their travel purpose in October of 2013, 2014, and 2015. Over the given period, the most popular purpose of visiting New Zealand was visiting friends and relatives. Visitors for the purpose of education declined from 2013 to 2014, but then increased in the following year. The number of Korean visitors with business interests in 2014 dropped compared with that in the previous year. Education was not the least popular travel purpose for all three years. The number of people visiting friends and relatives in 2013 was more than double the number of those visiting for business purposes in 2013.

Joshua trees are evergreen, with numerous, sharp-pointed leaves at the ends of their branches. The unique appearance of the Joshua tree makes it a very desirable decoration. Unfortunately, many Joshua trees have been dug up to be planted in urban areas, despite a very low rate of survival when removed and planted in other places. Native Americans roasted and ate their flower buds. Young seeds were eaten raw or cooked (and said to taste like bananas). Alcoholic drinks were made from their flowers, too. But Joshua trees are hard to eat by today's standards, and have little possibility of ever becoming a commercial food crop because they are protected by law.

《Museum of Art―Heywood》 The Museum of Art―Heywood is a community museum with five halls. The museum hosts many new exhibits and special events during the summer. GALLERY HOURS: • Tuesday-Saturday: 10:00a.m. - 4:00p.m. •Sunday: 1:00p.m. - 4:00p.m. STORE: • Open 7 days a week • 10% discount on purchases only for membership card holders ADMISSION: • Gallery Admission: $5 •S-Promo: $12 (Purchase one ticket for an unlimited number of visits within a three-day period) •Children 12 years old & under: No Charge

《The Summer Design Camp》 The Summer Design Camp is a series of experience-centered design programs for high school students. Activities: Instructors plan field trips and invite professionals to share their experience. The program ends with an exhibition of student works. Dates & Cost: • Dates: June 27-30, 2016 •Cost: $200 Requirements & Registration: • To participate, students are required to have previous experience in design projects. • Students must sign up for our program in advance through our website at www.designlab.org. For more info, e-mail us at Ruby@jsnty.com.

A lot of customers buy products only after they are made aware that the products are available in the market. Let's say a product, even if it has been out there for a while, is not advertised. Then what might happen? Not knowing that the product exists, customers would probably not buy it even if the product may have worked for them. Advertising also helps people find the best for themselves. When they are made aware of a whole range of goods, they are able to compare them and make purchases so that they get what they desire with their hard-earned money. Thus, advertising has become a necessity in everybody's daily life.

How soon is too soon to start kids on a computer? If your baby is less than a year old, the answer is clear. That is because a baby's vision has not developed enough to focus on the screen, and they can't even sit up on their own. But after their first birthday, people have different answers to the question. Some people disagree with the idea of exposing three-year-olds to computers. They insist that parents stimulate their children in the traditional ways through reading, sports, and play―instead of computers. Others argue that early exposure to computers is helpful in adapting to our digital world. They believe the earlier kids start to use computers, the more familiarity they will have when using other digital devices.

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his boss of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with his family. He would miss the paycheck each week, but he wanted to retire. The boss was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He used poor materials and didn't put much time or effort into his last work. It was an unfortunate way to end his lifelong career. When he finished his work, his boss came to check out the house. Then he handed the front-door key to the worker and said, This is your house, my gift to you.

Perhaps the biggest mistake that most investors make when they first begin investing is getting into a panic over losses. This is a major obstacle to making a strong and long-lasting plan. We work hard for our money, and we want to see it grow and work hard for us. But what most beginning investors don't understand is that investing in the stock market is a risk, and that with risk, you sometimes take losses. Although an investment may be falling in price, it doesn't mean you have to abandon it in a rush. The point is, as investors, we should not focus on short-term losses, but rather on long-term growth. Therefore, be patient when it comes to not only your stock portfolio but to personal investments as well.

People have changing values depending on the situation. For example, a person might buy a bottle of water, but after reading an article on possible risks of plastic bottles, that same person might avoid an identical bottle of water the next day. When a year later this same person flies to an anti-plastics conference and crashes in the desert, a plastic bottle of water might suddenly become one of the most valuable things in the universe―to that person, at that time, and in that place. This person shows a preference for one thing over another and demonstrates a ranking and ordering of values with every choice and every action.

In philosophy, the best way to understand the concept of an argument is to contrast it with an opinion. An opinion is simply a belief or attitude about someone or something. We express our opinions all the time: We love or hate certain films or different types of food. For the most part, people's opinions are based almost always upon their feelings. They don't feel they have to support their opinions with any kind of evidence. An argument is something a bit different from this. It is made to convince others that one's claims are true. Thus, it is an attempt to present reasons in support of one's claims. Arguments are the building blocks of philosophy, and the good philosopher is one who is able to create the best arguments based on a solid foundation.

Finding the perfect shoe fit may be difficult for some people. Most adults think they know their exact foot size, so they don't measure their feet when buying new shoes. Therefore, many people squeeze into the same shoe size for years, or even decades. While feet stop growing in length by age twenty, most feet gradually widen with age, and sometimes women's feet grow after the birth of a child. Besides, your feet can actually be different sizes at different times of the day, getting larger and returning to normal by the next morning. So, the next time you buy shoes, remember that your foot size can change.

The habit of reading books multiple times encourages people to engage with them emotionally. If they only read a book once, they tend to only focus on the events and stories in it. But with a second read-through, the repeated experience brings back the initial emotions caused by the book, and allows people to appreciate those emotions at their leisure. By enjoying the emotional effects of the book more deeply, people become more in touch with their own feelings. Despite their familarity with the stories, re-reading brings renewed understanding of both the book and themselves. The same effect can be seen with familiar holiday destinations. Re-visiting a place can also help people better understand both the place and themselves. Considering the immense benefits, don't hesitate to give re-consuming a try.

To rise, a fish must reduce its overall density, and most fish do this with a swim bladder. A fish fills its bladder with oxygen collected from the surrounding water. As it is filled, the bladder expands. Then, the fish has a greater volume, but its weight is not greatly increased. This means that its density has been decreasing, so the fish experiences a greater rising force. Finally, when the bladder is fully expanded, the fish is at its maximum volume and is pushed to the surface. Most fish rise using this method, but not all do. Some species don't need a swim bladder because they spend all their lives moving along the ocean floor. Other fish float and sink by propelling themselves forward.

The technique I use to train my puppy is called behavior capture which is different from the common training method. Normally you first give an order and reward your puppy only when he follows it. In behavior capture, however, you first have to wait until your dog performs the behavior you want him to. Simply watch your puppy's activities, waiting for a particular behavior to occur; when one happens, reward him. For example, if you want to train him to lie down whenever you say, Lie down, you just have to wait until he happens to do so. Then, as soon as your puppy lies down, you give him the order, Lie down, and give him a treat as a reward. Once the puppy knows that there is a reward waiting, he treats the experience as a pleasant game.

People sometimes say, 'Everything happens for a reason.' In one sense this is true. Everything does happen for a reason―which is to say that events have causes, and the cause always comes before the event. Tsunamis happen because of undersea earthquakes, and earthquakes happen because of shifts in the earth's plates. That is the true sense of 'everything happens for a reason,' and here 'reason' means 'past cause.' But people sometimes use reason in a different sense to mean something like 'purpose.' They will say something like, 'The reason for the tsunami was to punish us for our faults.' It is surprising how often people depend on this kind of nonsense.

In an experiment, when people were asked to count three minutes in their heads, 25-year-olds were quite accurate, but 65-year-olds went over on average by 40 seconds. Time seemed to pass faster for the older group. This may seem meaningless, but there are a lot of benefits to perceiving time like 65-year-olds. For example, if you have been working on a project for eight hours, but it only feels like six, you will have more energy to keep going. If you have been running for 20 minutes, and you perceive it to be only 13 minutes, you're more likely to have seven more minutes of energy. So, if you want to use your energy to work longer, just change your perception of how long you have been working.

In one study, researchers asked students to arrange ten posters in order of beauty. They promised that afterward the students could have one of the ten posters as a reward for their participation. However, when the students finished the task, the researchers said that the students were not allowed to keep the poster that they had rated as the third-most beautiful. Then, they asked the students to judge all ten posters again from the very beginning. What happened was that the poster they were unable to keep was suddenly ranked as the most beautiful. This is an example of the Romeo and Juliet effect: Just like Romeo and Juliet in the Shakespearean tragedy, people become more attached to each other when their love is prohibited.

Last year, Roberta Vinci had a tennis match with No.1-ranked Serena Williams in the US Open. No one thought Vinci would win, but she did. In an interview after the match, Vinci said she did not think it was possible, so she tried not to think about winning. In my mind I said, 'Hit the ball and run. Don't think, just run.' And then I won. Vinci's attitude stands strongly against today's culture where we emphasize positivity too much. If you are feeling like something is impossible, then you are told that you are just not thinking positively enough. However, if you really believe that something is impossible, or that you won't succeed, then trying to convince yourself otherwise can increase your anxiety, and actually doesn't help at all. Therefore, sometimes the best way to accomplish a difficult objective is to stop thinking that it is possible, and just take things one step at a time. Remember, focusing too much on the goal can prevent you from achieving the thing you want. Forget about it. Just hit the ball, and run.

A college student was struggling to pay his school fees. He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. He decided to host a music concert on campus to raise money for his education. He asked the great pianist Ignacy Paderewski to come and play. His manager demanded $2,000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck and the student began working to make the concert a success. The big day arrived. But unfortunately, he had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total amount collected was only $1,600. Disappointed, he went to Paderewski and explained his difficulty. Paderewski returned the $1,600 and told the student: Here's the $1,600. Keep the money you need for your fees. The student was surprised, and thanked him heartily. Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when World WarⅠ began, Poland was ravaged. There were more than 1.5 million people starving in his country, and there was no money to feed them. Paderewski did not know where to turn for help. Finally, he asked the US Food and Relief Administration for help. The head there was a man called Herbert Hoover―who later went on to become the US President. He agreed to supply tons of food to the starving Polish people. Paderewski was relieved. Later, when he began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly said, You shouldn't be thanking me, Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but many years ago, you helped a student make it through college. I was him.