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There are many commonly held beliefs about eyeglasses and eyesight that are not proved facts．For example, some people believe that wearing glasses too soon weaken the eyes．But there is nothing to show that the structure(结构)of eyes is changed by wearing galsses at a young age．Wearing the wrong galsses, however, can prove harmful．Studies show that only children can develop loss of sihgt if they have the wrong glasses．We have all heard some of the common myths(荒诞的说法)about how eyesight get bad．Too little light makes the eyes work harder, so they do get tired and strained(过劳)．Eyestrain also resulsts from reading a lot, reading in bed, and watching too much television．But, although eyestrain may cause some pain or headaches, it does not harm eyesight all the time．Another myth about eyes is that they can be replaced from one person to another．It is quite difficult to connect aneyeball to a new brain．And it is impossible to replace a whole eyeball to a new person．Only certain parts of the eye can be replaced now．But if we keep clearing up the myths and learning more about the eyes, some day it may be possible to replace a full eyeball．

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　　Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers(青少年)．But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son．Suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents．"The door to his room is always shut," Joanna noted．

　　Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter．"She used to cuddle up(蜷伏)with me on the sofa and talk," said Mark．"Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something．Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady．The problem is figuring out which time is which．"

　　Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what's on their minds．"In fact, parents are first on the list," said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers．"This completely changes during the teen years," Riera explained．"They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last．"

　　Parents who know what's going on in their teenagers' lives are in the best position to help them．To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them．And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young．Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them．．

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475 Riverside Drive

　　New York N．Y．10027

　　Jan．15, 2011

　　Dear John,

　　I'm sorry you didn't get the part you tried out for in that play．I know how much you wanted to be in the play．Now you feel that maybe acting isn't the right future for you．I think you're wrong．You're a good actor．Do you remember when you played Caesar in your summer theatre group's play? You were excellent．People clapped(鼓掌)every time you walked on stage(舞台)．Even the other actors loved you．

　　All actors have to get used to being turned down for a job．It's part of an actor's life．Even famouse actors don't get every part they want．I think you should give acting another chance．You love it so much, and you're good at it．Don't be discouraged because you lose one part in the play．Wait a bit, and try for another one．After all, you can always give up some other time．

Love,

Jane

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　　To be a good teacher, you need some of the gifts of a good actor; you must be able to hold the attention and interest of your audience; you must be a clear speaker, with a good, strong, pleasing voice which is fully under your control; and you must be able to act what you are teaching, in order to make its meaning clear．

　　Watch a good teacher, and you will see that he does not sit still before his class：he stands the whole time he is teaching; he walks about, using his arms, hands and fingers to help him in his explanations, and his face to express feelings．Listen to him, and you will hear the loudness, the quality and the musical note of his voice always changing according to what he is talking about．

　　The fact that a good teacher has some of the gifts of a good actor doesn’t mean that he will indeed be able to act well on the stage, for there are very important differences between the teacher’s work and the actor’s．The actor has to speak words which he has learnt by heart; he has to repeat exactly the same words each time he plays a certain part, even his movements and the ways in which he uses his voice are usually fixed beforehand．What he has to do is to make all these carefully learnt words and actions seem natural on the stage．

　　A good teacher works in quite a different way．His audience takes an active part in his play：they ask and answer questions, they obey orders, and if they don’t understand something, they say so．The teacher therefore has to meet the needs of his audience, which is his class．He cannot learn his part by heart, but must invent it as he goes along．

　　I have known many teachers who were fine actors in class but were unable to take part in a stage-play because they could not keep strictly to what another had written．

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　　"I didn't hear them call my name, " explained Shelley Hennig to Active Teens(AT)as she talked about that exciting moment on national television when she won the honor of Miss Teen USA 2004．"Are you ready?" is what she heard．Then she said, "I shook my head no, and then they said ‘yes’ and it was announced again．"

　　It was four days after that life changing moment for the seventeen-year-old high school student from Destrehan, Louisiana－she was still on cloud nine．

　　"I was so shocked! I never believed that it could actually really happen．" Present in the audience(观众)that day were：her mother and father, older brother, her friends, and her dance teacher．

　　Understanding why members of her family and her friends would be there, AT asked why her

　　dance teacher had traveled so far to see her compete(比赛)．"She's always been my role model．I've danced with her since I was six．She's been through so many difficulties and came through them all．I've learned to get over bad life's experiences and learned how to move on because of her．"

　　One of those bad life's experiences for Shelley happened three years ago when her brother Brad was killed in a drunk driving accident．He was 18．She found writing helped her get through the rough days．She said, "I write a lot about my brother．I write a lot, a lot, a lot…”

　　As Miss Louisiana Teen, she traveled around the state speaking to teens(青少年)about the dangers of drinking and driving．In her role as Miss Teen USA, Sheiley will continue to speak to youth about safe driving, in addition to many other things to help the youth．

　　When AT asked Miss Teen USA if she had any advice for our readers, she said, "Don't let anyone change you．Hang out with people that make you feel good about yourself．That way, it is easy to be yourself．"

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The way we do things round here

　　Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank．I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that started, "Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us．" That "quite" saddened me．I thought he was saying "we're kind of pleased you decided to join us although I wish we had hired someone else．" Then I discovered that in American English "quite" sometimes means "very", while in British English it means "fairly"．

　　So the first lesson about working in other countries is to learn the language and by that I don't just mean the words people speak．It is body language, dress, manners, ideas and so on．The way people do things highlights many of the differences we see between cultures(文化)．

　　Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while others may be deeper and take longer to deal with．Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the differences and accepting them, like the climate(气候)，while getting on with business．

　　Some of the differences may be an improvement．People are more polite; the service is better; you ask for something to be done and it happens without having to ask again．However, other differences can be troubling, like punctuality(准时)．If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock your guests will consider it polite to turn up exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the

　　American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some time in the evening in Greece．I prefer not to use the word "late" because there is nothing wrong with the times people arrive．It is simply the accepted thing to do in their own country．

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Student Membership－Cambridge Arts Cinema

Cambridge Arts Cinema is one of the art houses in Britain and home of the internationally celebrated Cambridge Film Festival．Since 1947 generations of students have discovered the wealth of world cinema．Now you too can make most of it and save money．

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　　For those who study the development of intelligence(智力)in the animal world, self-awareness is an important measurement．An animal that is aware(意识)of itself has a high level of intelligence．

　　Awareness can be tested by studying whether the animal recognizes itself in the mirror, that is, its own reflected image(反射出的影像)．Many animals fail this exercise bitterly, paying evry little attention to the reflected image．Only humans, and some intelligent animals like apes and dolphins, have shown to recognize that the image in the mirror is of themselves．

　　Now another animal has joined the club．In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report that an Asian elephant has passed the mirror self-reflection test．

　　“We thought that elephants were the next important animal, ” said Dinana Reiss of the Wildlife Conservation Society, an author of the study with Joshua M．Plotnik and Fans B．M．de Waal of Emory University．With their large brains, Reiss said, elephants “seemed like cousins to apes and dolphins．”

　　The researchers tested Happy, Maxine and Patty, three elephants at the Bronx Zoo．They put an 8-foot-square mirror on a wall of the animals’ play area(out of the sight of zoo visitors)and recorded what happened with cameras, including one built in the mirror．

　　The elephants used their long noses to find what was behind it, and to examine parts of their bodies．

　　Of the three, Happy then passed the test, in which a clear mark was painted on one side of her face．She could tell the mark was there by looking in the mirror, and she used the mirror to touch the mark with her long nose．

　　Diana Reiss said, "We knew elephants were intelligent, but now we can talk about their intelligence in a better way．"

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　　Since 1984, Philadelphia has been cleaning up its act．One by one, graffiti-covered walls are being changed into outdoor art．So far, more than 1, 800 murals(壁画)have been painted．Philadelphia now has more murals than any other American city．

　　The walls that were once ugly with graffiti(涂鸦)are now covered with beautiful pictures of historical heroes and modern art, thanks to the Mural Arts Program(MAP)．Its work makes schools and public places attractive, and its citizens very proud．The program began as part of Philadelphia's Anti-Graffiti Network．Jane Golden is the MAP's artistic director．"When people ask me what our program is about, " she says, "I answer them with one word：hope．" Each year, the MAP offers youth art programs and workshops．Some one-time graffiti writers even help paint MAP murals．

　　The MAP's work, says Golden, is all about developing a sense of community(社区)．When a neighborhood requests a mural, the MAP works with the people there to develop a message．Some messages have been "Safe Streets, " "Love and Care, " and "Peace Walk．"

　　The MAP receives up to 50 requests for murals each week．Last year, the workers painted 140 murals．

　　"The making of a mural enters people's collective memory as an extraordinary, pleasant moment in neighborhood history" says Golden, who began as a muralist in Los Angeles．

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A letter to Edward, a columnist

　　Dear Mr．Expert,

　　I grew up in an unhappy and abusive home．I always promised myself that I’d get out as soon as possible．Now, at the age of 20, I have a good job and a nice house, and I’m really proud of the independence I’ve achieved．

　　Here’s the problem：several of my friends who still live with their parents wish they had places like mine－so much so that they make mine theirs．

　　It started out with a couple of them spending the weekends with me．But now they seem to take it for granted that they can show up any time they like．They bring boyfriends over, talk on the phone and stay out forever．

　　I enjoy having my friends here sometimes－it makes the place feel comfortable and warm－but this is my home, not a party house．I was old enough to move out on my own, so why can’t I seem to ask my friends to respect my privacy(隐私)?

Joan Edward’s reply to Joan

　　Dear Joan,

　　If your family didn’t pay attention to your needs when you were a child, you probably have trouble letting others know your needs now．

　　And if you’ve gathered your friends around you to rebuild a happy family atmosphere, you may fear that saying no will bring back the kind of conflict you grew up with－or destroy the nice atmosphere you now enjoy．You need to understand that in true friendship it’s Okay to put your own needs first from time to time．

　　Be clear about the message you want to send．For example, “I really love your company but I also need some privacy．So please call before you come over．”

Edward

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