It was at least two months before Christmas when nine-year-old Rose told her father and me that she wanted a new bicycle.
As Christmas drew nearer, her desire for a bicycle seemed to fade—or so we thought, as she didn't mention it again. We bought the latest fashionable Baby Sitter's Club dolls, a holiday dress and some beautiful story books. Then, much to our surprise, on December 23rd, she proudly announced that she "really wanted a bike more than anything else."
It was just too late, what with all the details of preparing Christmas dinner and buying last-minute gifts. We could only think of the bicycle and the disappointment of our child. "What if I make a little bicycle out of clay and write a note that she could trade the clay model in for a real bike?" Her dad asked. The theory, of course, being that since that is a high-ticket item and she is "such a big girl", it would be much better for her to pick it out. So he spent the next five hours painstakingly working with clay to make a tiny bike.
Three hours later, on Christmas morning, we were excited for Rose to open the little heart-shaped package with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note. Finally, she opened it and read the note aloud.
She looked at me and then at her dad and said, "so does this mean that I trade in this bike that Daddy made me for a real one?"
Beaming, I said, "Yes."
Rose had tears in her eyes when she replied, "I could never trade in this beautiful bicycle that Daddy made me. I'd rather keep this than get a real bike."
At that moment, we would have moved heaven and earth to buy her every bicycle on the planet!
Nobel prize winners sometimes display as much uniqueness when deciding how to spend their prize money as they did on the work that won them the award in the first place.
When Sir Paul Nurse won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2001, he decided to upgrade his motorbike. A fellow winner in 1993, Richard Roberts, installed a croquet lawn in front of his house. Austrian author Elfriede Jelinek, who won in 2004, said the prize meant "financial independence."
Lars Heikensten, executive director of the Nobel Foundation, said there were no obvious shopping trends among winners.
"I think it depends a lot on which country they come from, their personal finances... what kind of incomes they have when they get the prize," he said.
Real estate, however, is a popular option, at least among those willing to reveal what they spend the money on. Phillip Sharp, the American co-winner of the 1993 medicine prize, decided to splash out on a 100-year-old Federal style house. "I took that money and bought a little bit bigger house... It's a beautiful old place," he told AFP(法新社), adding that "The money is a nice part of the process", but "the important thing about the prize is the recognition."
For winners of the peace prize the decision is often more clear-cut, as the honor tends to go to politicians, organizations and activists who are under more public supervision. Many, like US President Barack Obama in 2009 and the European Union in 2012, donate to charities.
Literature winners tend to be more private about how they use the money, but the choice is often equally straightforward. "Even if Nobel-winning authors are quite well known, many of them will not have made much money from writing," said Anna Gunder, a Nobel literature expert at Uppsala University. While the prize might keep the wolf from the door for some years, giving them freedom to write, it can also briefly have the opposite effect. "It really changes their careers… During the first year after they've won they often write less, but they generally continue after a year or two," said Gunder.
Closeness and independence are both important in our life. Though all humans need both of them, women tend to focus on the first and men on the second. It is as if their lifeblood ran in different directions.
These differences can give women and men differing views of the same situation, as they did in the case of couple I will call Tracy and Brian. When Brian's old high school friend called him at work and announced he'd be in town on business the following month, Brian invited him to stay for the weekend. That evening he informed Tracy that they were going to have a houseguest, and that he and his friend would go out together the first night to chat like old times. Tracy was upset. She was going to be away on business the week before, and the Friday night when Brian would be out with his friend would be her first night home. But what upset her the most was that Brian had made these plans on his own and informed her of them, rather then discussing them with her before extending the invitation.
Tracy would never make plans, for a weekend or an evening, without first checking with Brian. She can't understand why he doesn't show her the same courtesy and consideration that she shows him. But when she protests, Brian says, "I can't say to my friend, 'I have to ask my wife for permission'!"
To Brian, checking with his wife means seeking permission, which implies that he is not independent, not free to act on his own. To Tracy, checking with her husband makes her feel good to know and show that she is involved with someone, that her life is bound up with someone else's.
Tracy and Brian both felt upset by this incident because it cut to the core of their primary concerns. Tracy was hurt because she sensed a failure of closeness in their relationship: He didn't care about her as much as she cared about him. And he was hurt because he felt she was trying to control him and limit his freedom.
Many of us tend to compare ourselves to other people. When you compare yourself to your friend or coworker occasionally, there's nothing wrong with it, as such a comparison helps you become better and stay motivated to reach your goals. However, if you are constantly comparing yourself to others, it's a red flag.
If you compare yourself to a previous time in your life and you believe that your past was better than your present, it's a sure sign you unconsciously compare yourself to others. Focus on your present and enjoy new happy and bad moments in your life instead of past ones.
Do you want to make more money because your friend has a higher paycheck than you? You think that your neighbors, friends, and coworkers have a better life because they can afford to buy a new car. But, are you sure that they really can afford all those things? After all, they might have lots of debts and financial problems.
Probably you often say something like 'Your hair is more beautiful than mine' or 'You're so slim and I'm so plump since I can't drop those extra pounds.' You should never ever say such things. You are special and you are absolutely beautiful no matter your age, weight and height.
Many of us are trying to stop comparing ourselves to others, but at the same time many of us don't even know that we have such a bad habit. Remember, no one is perfect. Stay grateful, love yourself and enjoy your present life.
A. When you compare, you find your strengths and weaknesses.
B. Learn how to love your body, accept yourself and love yourself.
C. People who are constantly comparing themselves to others are more likely to succeed.
D. Your past was not as good as you may think now.
E. Comparing yourself to others has its advantages and disadvantages.
F. Comparing brings insecurity and makes us miserable.
G. Moreover, money will never make you happy, remember it.
I learned something really early from my family: Even the biggest challenges are less 1 when you solve them as a community.
My brother, sister and cousins were my first group. 2 we got more and more fights at home, we never 3 that outside our house, if you messed with one of us, you got 4 of us.
From school to sports, I was 5 in a class project, club, team or group. From speech and debate to field hockey, when I was in a community, I felt 6 to try for things that seemed 7. I grew because others pushed me. 8 didn't seem so scary because we were taking risks together.
When a drunk driver killed my father, it was our community that 9. It was our family friends, our community theater and our sports teams that stood 10 us. My father had been a high school history teacher, and his colleagues—now my teachers—began to keep a 11 eye on us because he 12 could.
I don't 13 a parent's death as the way to learn about the 14 of small communities, but it did make me 15 that. If I looked for bigger challenges with the support of a group, I was going to 16 broader goals and build deeper relationships 17 the journey.
As I sit here tonight with my team of five, I'm 18 of how much I love these moments – building 19 we believe in, that we'll learn from and that we'll do together.
If you are going to do something that terrifies you, first find a 20.
Two ladies living in opposite apartments say "hello" when they meet each other in the corridor. One of them says, "I moved here five years ago, I never met you before. Could I ask your name please?" The other says, "I (be) here for six years. How should I call you?"
It seems very ridiculous people living so near don't know each other for such a long time. However, you can find this kind of story (perform) everywhere. It is the exact (reflect) of interpersonal relationships in the modern world. In the modern world most people live in apartments. They close their doors and never go out as soon as they get home from work. If they live alone, they will kill their time watching TV or reading magazines. They don't have any connections even with their (close) neighbors, who seem no different from people they meet every day in street.
This phenomenon is no good to us, nor to our society. People will feel more and more lonely. The world becomes so indifferent. It's time that we (take) some measures to improve it. People living in the same place can (organize) to have some activities. We should call on people to be friendly to each other.
"Helicopter parents" is a description of parents who are hovering over their children in a state of extreme concern. They always show up to solve their children's problems, protect them from real or imagined harm, resolve stressful situation, offer advice and get them out of trouble, even if they misbehaved. Although out of love and concern, it can have harmful effect on their children's emotional development and future autonomy.
Children learn through their mistakes. But if you intervene (介入) at first sign of struggle and finish your child's homework, he'll miss out on valuable learning opportunities. You're sending him the message that he needs to be perfect and failure is not an option, otherwise you wouldn't always take over for him.
By constantly rescuing your child from stressful situation, you're sending him a message that you don't believe he's capable of taking care of himself. Children develop self-esteem by learning how to complete challenge on their own. If you are always intervening, he's denied this vital stage in his growth. As a result, your child may lack the confidence necessary to do well in school, pursue hobbies and interests, and develop friendships.
If you're always taking care of everything for your child, it'll be more difficult for him to become independent. As an adult, he might find it hard to take care of himself, because he's never developed coping skills to deal with life's challenges. He might suffer from irrational fears, anxiety and depression, which could lead him to drop out of college or frequently change jobs, according to Dr. Michele Borba. Instead of developing healthy relationships, he might seek a partner who will take care of him or controlling, as his parents were.
You can help your child become more independent by allowing him to complete tasks and challenges on his own without your intervention. Even if he fails at first 
don't interfere—encourage him to start again. Show that you have faith in his abilities to succeed without your help. Allow him to learn natural consequences. Even small things can help him become more independent—making his own bed, preparing his own lunch, shopping for his own clothes and doing homework without your help.
