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　　World leaders burdened with resolving conflicts(冲突)between nations have my sympathy．When my three children were young, most days it was hard keeping my house from becoming a war zone．And that was before breakfast．

　　It got worse as they grew older．Three years aw, Zack, then 16, couldn’t make it through a day without playing tricks on his sisters, Alex and Taryn, then 11 and 9．

　　My husband and I tried to be understanding of his adolescent moodiness(喜怒无常)．We begged, reasoned, punished, and left heartfelt notes on his bed about how his behavior was hurting our family．His response was a shrug and“I say it because it’s true．”

　　I even tried telling the girls to fight back．Bad idea．Now I had three kids at war．At wit’s end．I poured my heart out to my sister in an e-mail．She wrote back,“Don’t e-mail me．E-mail him．”

　　Our son was online every day, mailing and instant messaging his friends．So what if I was within shouting distance?Maybe he would actually hear me this way．There’d be no yelling or door slamming．Zack wouldn’t feel under attack．And with a few simple keystrokes, he could respond．Or not．Zack didn’t reply for days．When he finally did, his entire message was four measly(少得可怜的)words．I expected the worst, but then smiled when I read them：“You’re right．I’m sorry,”The kids still fought, of course, but Zack scaled back the abuse．Best of all, I now have an effective way to communicate with not one but three easily annoyed teens．I like that they don’t tune me out as much．They like not having to listen to me nag(指责，唠叨)．Or as Alex says,“You’re so much nicer online．”

　　All I know is that the house is quiet, but we’re talking, in fact, Taryn just instant-messaged me from upstairs．It’s time to take her to softball practice．

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　　It was a great hit．Yet for Peek－the real-life“savant”on whom Dustin Hoffman’s character in the film Rain Man is based－such recall only gives a glimpse of his powers．He knows 9,000 books off by heart; he can direct people around US cities from maps he has memorized years ago; and he has total recall of the dates of all major world events．

　　Now studies of Peek’s abilities are being used by scientists to shed light on the human mind, and to open the way for men and women to exploit far more of their intellectual potential, as the latest issue of Scientific American reveals．

　　“Kin’s story tells us that the human brain is far more flexible(灵活的)than we had thought,”said Darold Treffert, a psychiatrist of the Scientific American Paper told The Observer．

　　“Like many other savants, he has suffered disability in one area of his brain, but ahs been rewarded by acquiring remarkable new abilities in other areas．This shows we all have considerable hidden intellectual potential．By studying Kim and other savants, we can learn how to tap those powers．”

　　Kim, now 54, was born with a malformed cerebellum(畸形的小脑)，and at the base of his brain, lacks a corpus callosum(数据储存区)，the thick bundle of nerves that normally connects the brain’s two hemispheres．In 1988 he was given an IQ rating of 87, well below the average．

　　Kin has poor physical condition, cannot button his shirts but has remarkable memory power and has started to develop as an accomplished pianist in the last two years．This latest development－in a man in his 50s with large chunks of his brain missing－is particularly significant, added Treffert．“His brain is still adapting to his condition, even in mid-life．”

　　Kim displays little personal interest in people outside the arithmetical details of their lives．When I talked to him by phone on his home in Salt Lake City last week, he asked for my birthday．I told him．“Ah you were born on a Sunday, and you are scheduled to retire on a Thursday,”he replied correctly．

　　“He remembers 98 per cent of what he reads,”said his father Fran．“It’s like down loading data on to a hard disk－－except his never crashes．”

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　　As more people work longer hours in the office, they have less time to hit the gym for some desperately needed exercise．Whole days spent facing a computer and looming(可怕的)deadlines can leave you with backaches, backaches, headaches, and just about any other kind of ache imaginable．Stress accumulates(增加)quietly, boiling over at the worst moment when you didn’t even realize it was there．Below are some ways to help prevent this from happening by stretching and relaxing your body during the lunch．hour．You don’t even have to get out of you chair．

　　1．Hang your head, holding the sides of your chair with your hands try to lift the chair up．

　　2．At the same time, slightly bend your chest, using the muscles of your lower belly to support you．

　　3．Keep the pose for three－five seconds, breathing slowly throughout Repeat for five times．

　　1．Sit in your chair with your back tight against the chair back．

　　2．Put one foot on the chair and clasp and clasp your knee with two hands．Breathe in．

　　3．Breathe out and make your knee touch your chest．Hold this position for five seconds．

　　4．Change to the other foot．Perform the stretch for each leg five times．

　　Navel－gazing(凝视肚脐)

　　1．Sit a bit forward in your chair．Put your hands on your waist and hump your back a little．

　　2．Hang your head and watch your belly button for 10－15 seconds．

　　3．Return to the starting position．Repeat for five times．

　　1．Put your hands on your lower belly．

　　2．Bend your chest supporting your lower belly, and hold your breath for three to five seconds．Breathe out slowly．Repeat five times．

　　1．Fold your arms across your chest, set your legs slightly wider than shoulder-width, knees bent at right angles．Breathe in．

　　2．Breathe out slowly and raise your upper body, hold for five seconds, then relax．Repeat for five times．

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　　There are many people who could be Olympic Champions, all Americans who have never tried．I’d estimate(估计)that five million people could have beaten me in the pole vault(撑杆跳高)on the years I won it, at least five million．Men who were stronger, bigger, and faster than I could have done it, but they never picked up a pole, never made the efforts to vault their legs off the ground to try to get over the bar．

　　Greatness is all around us．It’s easy to be great because great people will help you．What fantastic about all the conventions(大会)I went to was that the greatest in the business would come and share their ideas ,their methods and their techniques with everyone else．I have seen the greatest salesmen opening up and showing young salesmen exactly how they did it．They didn’t hold back．I have also found it true in the world of sports．

　　I’ll never forget the time I was trying to break Dutch Warmer Dam’s record．I was about a foot below his record, so I called on the phone．I said,“Dutch ,can you help me?I seem to have leveled off．I can’t get any higher．”

　　He said,“Sure, Bob, come on up to visit me and I’ll give you all I got．”I spent days with the master, the greatest pole－vaulter in the world．For three days, Dutch gave me everything that he’d seen．There were things that I was doing wring and he corrected them．To make a long story short, I went up eight inches．That great guy gave me the best that he had．

　　Great people will share．Great people will tell you their secrets．Look for them, call them on the phone or buy their books．Go where they are, get around them, and talk to them．It is easy to be great when you get around great people．

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　　Cellular phones with camera are a popular way to capture a moment in time．A Texas school district had worried that students found another use－capturing tests as a way to cheat．

　　The Magnolia Independent School District in Montgomery County has added camera phones to a list of electronic devices(电子设备)students are banned from having at school．The ban was added during a review of the 2004－2005 Student Handbook．School officials said the move was made as a preventative measure to stop potential test cheaters, since students could use the phones to snap pictures of test questions．Another concern was that students might take inappropriate of classmates to share or post on a Web site．

　　Cellular phones without camera are allowed on campus, but must be turned off．Camera cell phones will be confiscated(没收)if found on campus, and disciplinary(惩戒性的)action will be taken, officials said．Some students were disheartened to hear about the ban．“I’d be lost without my phone,”said Kendall Paul, a Magnolia High School student．“All my numbers are in it, I’ve never used it to cheat and I don’t know anyone who has at our school, so I think it’s a kind of stupid．”

　　But other students said they saw it all the time at their school．“You would take a picture of(the test)and then you would just scroll down and take another picture of it and then scroll down and take another picture and you would send all three pages to the next person taking the next person taking the text,”said Melissa Sparks, a student．“They would text(send)the question and the answer, or just the number of the question and the answer, It’s quicker that way,”another student said．

　　Parents often provide their children with cell phones for use in emergencies and to keep better track of them．“My mom wants me to give my phone with me at all times, for emergency purposes．So, it goes with me wherever I go,”Paul said．

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　　While research has suggested that pets can offer people health benefits, a new study from Finland finds that pet owners tend to be heavier, less active and in poorer health than those without a pet．Researchers at the University of Turku in Finland report the findings in an online journal published by the Public Library of Science．

　　Using survey data from more than 21,000 young to middle-aged Finnish adults, researchers found that pet owners were generally more likely to be overweight and to view their own health as poor．This was largely because pet owners tended to be middle-aged, have less education and more health-risk factors, explained Dr．Lena, the study’s lead author．

　　“Despite taking dogs for walks, pet owners typically got little exercise．This is likely because they were home-owners who could simply put the dog in the yard,”said Lena．

　　The fact that pet owners were in poorer health does not mean keeping pets isn’t healthy．“In my opinion,”said Lena,“Pets provide us all with a vast potential for health promotion．”

　　Pet owners, according to the reasearchers, may just need to make more of an effort-such as walking and playing with the dog instead of showing him in the yard．

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　　Like many lovers of books, Mary and her husband Richard Goldman, seldom walked past a bookstore without stopping to look inside．They often talked of opening their own store one day．

　　When Mary was hospitalized with heart trouble in 1989, they decided it was time to get serious．Richard, who worked for a business company, was eager to work for himself, and Mary needed to slow down from her demanding job．

　　They started by talking to bookstore owners and researching the industry．“We knew it had to be a specialty store because we couldn’t match the big chains dollar for dollar,”said Mary．One figure caught her attention：She’d read somewhere that roughly 20 percent of books sold were mysteries, and many buyers spent more $ 300 a year on books．She and Richard were themselves mystery readers．

　　On Halloween 1992, they opened the Mystery Lovers Bookshop and a coffee bar near their home．With three children in college, the couple could not spend all the family’s money to start a shop．To cover the $ 100,000 cost, they drew some of their savings, borrowed from relatives and from a bank．

　　The store merely broke even in its first year, with only $ 120,000 in sales．But Mary was always coming up with new ways to attract customers．The shop had a coffee bar and it offered gifts to mystery lovers and served dinners for book clubs that met in the store．She also invited dozens of writers to discuss their stories．

　　Today, Mystery Lovers makes sales of about $ 420,000 a year．After paying taxes, business costs and the six part-time sales clerks, Richard and Mary together earn about $ 34,000．

　　“The job you love may not go hand in hand with a million-dollar income,”says Richard,“This has always been about an enjoyable life for ourselves, not about making a lot of money．”

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　　To what degree can a computer achieve intelligence?The answer to his question may lie in a newly-developed US computer program called Smarter Child and the Internet．

　　If you ran into Smarter Child online, you would be surprised at this kid’s huge memory．It can recite many facts．For example, Smarter Child knows every baseball player in every team this season．

　　He knows every word in the dictionary and the weather in every major city areas across the US．However, if you ask Smarter Child other questions, you get strange answers．A question about Smarter Child’s age returns．“One year, 11 days, 16 hours, 7 minutes, and 47 seconds!”Asking where he lives gets,“In a clean room in a high-tech building in California．”

　　Smarter Child uses the vast information on the World Wide Web as his memory bank．To answer questions about spelling, for instance, Smarter Child goes to American Heritage Dictionary online．For the weather, he visits www.intellicast.com．

　　Some scientists believe that by joining the many systems of the Internet, an artificial being with the combined knowledge of, say, Allbert Einstein, Richard Nixon and Britney Spears could be born．However, if Smarter Child wants to think and learn on his own like the boy-computer David in the movie A．I．Artificial Intelligence, he must overcome two problems．

　　The first is that computers find it difficult to read web pages because the files are labeled in different ways．That’s why programmers need to tell Smarter Child where to look for the weather．It would be a much more difficult task to let him find it himself．

　　Another problem is that while Smarter Child can process(处理)information more exactly and faster than any human, he lacks common sense－a basic grounding of knowledge that is obvious to any young child．

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　　I lie there, listening to my four brothers．James, the youngest, laughs in his sleep．His dreams are comical．Sometimes he wakes himself up laughing, but he never remembers the joke．The light comes in through the window．A bird begins its song．

　　“How can you live in that place, all together like olives(橄榄)in a jar?”This is Max talking．He’s an only child．He knows only space and light and science．But we don’t complain．No one gets lonely．The window can’t hurt us with all that body heart．

　　A month ago, six relatives came．I didn’t even know their names．I slept in the bathtub with a towel for a sheet．In the summer, when my distant cousins arrived, I slept in the yard, in an old tent．The air was cool, and the tent full of holes, so I could see the stars．They stayed a month, like a traveling circus, all shouts and action and fighting until the sun went down．When they left, it felt like a storm passing over the hills．I returned to my bed, my sleepless nights, and James’ laughter．

　　The bird sings louder now．It’s finding its voice．

　　My mother is a window．She’s raising us alone．You could say I’m the man of the house．That’s why I take care of the boys．She cleans all day in a rich man’s apartment, comes home and carries on cleaning．There’s always one of us with blood on his knees or a face full of dirt．If she had six pairs of hands, it wouldn’t be enough．I work after school, with my friend Max and his father-in-law．We move furniture from house to house：tables, chairs, pianos as big as cars．They say I’m a good worker．I take after my mother．

　　Suddenly the light hits me in the face and someone says,“Get up, sleepyhead．”The bird’s song is lost in the sound of running water and yawns and bodies moving．James laughs．A new day begins．

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