Dear Mr. Steve Carter, Congratulations on the 60th graduation ceremony of Yuoralis High School. As a former student, I am extremely proud that the school has become one of the best schools in the local community. I felt honored when I received your kind invitation to deliver a speech at the ceremony. However, I am deeply sorry to say that I will not be able to give a speech because I have a very important overseas business trip scheduled during that time. I would have loved to speak to the graduating students, but I must decline your invitation to this meaningful celebration. I wish you a memorable graduation ceremony. Sincerely, Jane Whittmore

On her way to school, Katie thought of the argument she had with Sarah the day before and wiped tears from her eyes. "I can't believe I fought with my best friend," she cried. "I just want things to go back to normal." It seemed that nothing could help her overcome this painful moment. As she walked into her classroom, she heard a familiar voice. Sarah was calling her name. "Katie, I'm sorry for the things I said yesterday." A big smile spread across Katie's face. "I'm sorry, too. Let's never fight again." Katie and Sarah hugged each other tightly and laughed the way they always did before.

Current social changes driven by technological advancements demand a fundamental rethinking in our approach to education. In particular, lifelong learning is no longer optional; it is essential. We must recognize that the rapidly evolving socioeconomic ecology requires individuals to engage in constant upskilling and self-transformation. If we can enhance lifelong learning initiatives, we will not only promote personal growth and well-being but also sustain national productivity and global competitiveness. Furthermore, our efforts will support social integration by providing opportunities for people from various backgrounds to connect and move on together. Investing in lifelong education thus is not simply an extra expense; we must consider it a necessity for survival and success as we encounter significant changes in the years ahead. By prioritizing lifelong education, we will be able to navigate this changing world with confidence and a sense of fulfillment.

Social media companies are working to keep you on site or attempting to deliver results useful to you. You can see this personalization reflected in the results of search engines, which try to maximize relevance: searching for "bakery" in New York should return different results than searching in Paris. Features like the little predictive-text cues of autocomplete also look to maximize relevance by suggesting refinements: typing in "cats" might prompt the user with "cats movie" or "cats that don't shed." Autocomplete suggestions offer a look into the algorithm's understanding of accumulated user behavior — an immensely important part of how key social media algorithms work. The outputs are personalized, but the data sets are massive, and the platforms are mining for similarities across vast quantities of user information. If a whole lot of users near you or similar to you complete the search that you've begun with specific words, the autocomplete algorithm takes that into account and may be more likely to suggest them to you. Since the results are derived from data related to millions of searches, autocomplete is, in a sense, holding a mirror up to society.

Studies show that people who sit in the front row learn and retain more than others in the audience, partially because those in the front row are more eager to learn, and they show more attention to the speaker in order to avoid being called on. Those in the middle sections are the next most attentive and ask the most questions, as the middle section is considered a safe area, surrounded by others. The side areas and back are the least responsive and attentive. In one experiment we conducted, we placed name cards on participants' seats so they could not take their usual positions. We intentionally sat enthusiastic people to the sides and rear of the room, and well-known back-row hermits sat in the front. We found that this strategy not only increased the participation and recall of the normally negative participants who sat up front, it also decreased the participation and recall of the usually positive participants who had been sent to the back.

Popular culture loves to label dopamine as the "pleasure molecule," yet science reveals a richer, more nuanced reality. Dopamine's true role is found not simply in the thrill of reward, but in the dance of anticipation, striving, and imagining what could be. The rush of motivation that energizes you at the start of a new day, the focus that allows you to solve complex problems, and the curiosity that fuels ambition are all orchestrated by dopamine. Dopamine doesn't give contentment; it delivers possibility. It sets the stage for new challenges, frames future goals as attainable, and propels you to ask "What if?" about new opportunities, relationships, or aspirations. The anticipation of a meaningful conversation, the excitement for a fresh project, and even just the temptation of a delicious meal are all sparked by dopamine's drive for future reward. Critically, dopamine rewards the process, not just the finished result. It's what sharpens focus and fills ordinary moments with potential.

The new views about and questions being asked about aging could be detected across society. "Something strange is happening in America," wrote Marj Jackson Levin for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1988, finding that what she called "the former boundaries of age" were being expanded or relaxed in many arenas. Whether it was fortysomething baseball players, midlife women having babies, or the oldest president in the nation's history, it did indeed appear that the preconceptions surrounding aging were weakening. As baby boomers entered midlife, the idea of oldness was being pushed back, and the expectations for what people should or should not be doing at a particular age broadened. Turning fifty had only recently been commonly viewed as the unofficial turning of the corner into one's senior years, for example, but now that number did not automatically mean one could not start a new career or family. In a good number of cases, at least, age was becoming less significant, a clear victory for those lobbying for a less age-centric society.

The above graph shows the percentages of U.K. respondents by age who self-reported their dietary choices as Meat-eater, Flexitarian, or Vegetarian, based on data released in 2026. The most common dietary choice among the respondents was Meat-eater in all age groups shown. With respect to the category of Vegetarian, Group A, the youngest age group, showed the highest percentage among the four age groups. When it comes to the percentage of Flexitarian in each age group, the highest was in Group C. For Group D, the oldest age group, less than five percent of the respondents reported Vegetarian as their dietary choice.

Chuck Jones was an influential director and artist whose work shaped animated films and cartoon production. He was born in Spokane, Washington, in 1912, though he grew up in Los Angeles. As a child, Jones had many opportunities to draw. He used the leftover pencils and paper that his father brought him from work. Jones began his career in animation in 1930 and was quickly promoted. In the 1940s, he created famous characters such as Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. He directed the famous cartoon film How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which is still enjoyed by many people today. Jones started his own company, Chuck Jones Enterprises, in 1970. For his contribution to the field of animation, he received an Honorary Academy Award in 1996. Late in his life, he established a non-profit organization supporting art education and other creative skills.

RCQ High School Food Waste Reduction↵
Competition↵
Our school is holding a food waste reduction competition↵
to promote sustainable living. This competition has been held↵
every year since 2023. Your effort makes a difference!↵
When: October 1 to October 31, 2026↵
Who: All classes of RCQ High School will participate.↵
How↵
∙Every lunch, we will give a point to each student who↵
doesn't leave food on their tray.↵
∙Students' points will be combined by class. Winning classes↵
will be decided by each class's points.↵
Prizes↵
Number of Winners Reward (per class)↵
1st prize 1 class Snacks worth $200↵
2nd prize 1 class Snacks worth $150↵
3rd prize 2 classes Snacks worth $100

Newstar Voice Acting Course↵
Do you dream of hearing your own voice in an animation↵
or movie? If so, our voice acting course is perfect for you.↵
When & Where↵
∙6 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Thursday↵
∙Room #223, Newstar Building↵
Course Content↵
Class Schedule Content↵
Week 1 Ways to Breathe and Vocalize↵
Week 2 Script Analysis↵
Week 3 Animation Dubbing↵
Week 4 Movie Dubbing↵
Registration↵
∙The registration fee is $170.↵
∙You can register only in the first week of every month.↵
∙To register, call 789-331-0234 or email us at n#star@v#ac.com.↵
Special Benefits↵
∙Video-recorded class lectures will be provided for no↵
additional fee.↵
∙You will have a chance to meet the famous voice actor↵
Richard Choi, who will share his know-how with you.

Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, but successful leaders tend to have one thing in common: the ability to share someone else's feelings, known as empathy. While empathy forms in everyone to some degree, effective leaders know how to develop this emotional guidance system to connect with others' feelings and perspectives. However, empathy in leaders is more than simply being kind to employees, clients, and customers. Empathetic people seem more approachable, focusing on the words of others. Listening to the needs of employees enables leaders to clearly identify what makes them feel heard. Utilized in this way, empathy can be considered a crucial part of maintaining employee satisfaction. Leaders who are unable to surround themselves with competent employees will not be successful. Indeed, a leader's failure to empathize with talented workers is one of the main situations that could lead them to leave an organization. In this case, the organization must spend precious time and money to find suitable replacements for them.

There is good news about pests and medicinal herbs: Most herbs either repel pests or attract beneficial insects that help keep pest populations in check. So the more herbs you grow, the more you will attract pollinators and "good" bugs that like to eat the more destructive pests, which will lead to a more successful garden! When it comes to managing pests in the garden, it's important to remember that you are altering the ecosystem of an area that existed on its own before you planted anything into it. So the first couple years in a new garden can feel like wave after wave of pests are overtaking your plants. This is normal. The goal of a long-term healthy garden is to work with the environment you are trying to cultivate to allow the plants, pollinators, and even the annoying pests to balance out. Immediately attempting to remove a new pest entirely from your garden will only further these initial imbalances and lengthen the process of helping your garden grow better on its own.

What stresses you out more than anything? Perhaps it's speaking in front of others. For many, this is so stressful it even has a name: glossophobia. The explanation for why it's uncomfortable to have everyone's eyes on you is probably that, for almost all of our evolution, it's been extremely important not to be excluded from the group. To prepare for what might happen if you are evaluated and socially shamed — and thus alienated from the group — your brain fires up the stress system and your heart begins to beat harder. Our natural sensitivity to being evaluated by other people is another example of our brain not being adapted to the modern world. If we give a bad presentation at work, we are unlikely to lose our job and thus risk starving to death. But in the world we long ago evolved for, exclusion from the group could be a matter of life and death. Belonging was not merely a matter of safety but also of survival. You simply couldn't make it on your own.

Not only are our sensory systems organized to detect change, but they are most tuned to stimuli that are unexpected and surprising. When you move your body and produce tactile sensations, these stimuli are less noticeable to you than are sensations produced by another individual. The sensations of your own legs touching one another when you cross your legs, for example, are generally less noticeable than a similar touch on your leg would be if someone sitting next to you brushed their leg against yours. Likewise, your reaction to your cat jumping onto your lap is likely to be much greater if you have your eyes closed when it happens. This differential response to surprising tactile stimuli appears to be a defense mechanism that has adaptive significance. It is probably also the reason why being tickled by someone else is more effective at producing an emotional reaction than trying to tickle yourself. Our enjoyment of being tickled generally diminishes as we age. This is likely due to the fact that adults are better at anticipating stimuli, and hence are more difficult to surprise, than are children.

While a picture transports the spectator almost instantly into a landscape, language can only describe it detail by detail, bringing it slowly into the reader's mind. How can a literary work capture the feel of a place in both its atmosphere and its topography without losing the reader in a descriptive forest? One solution, proposed by Balzac, is to tie description to a moving body. Balzac's novels open with detailed portrayals of the setting, but the descriptions never threaten the reader's sense of orientation because they trace a precise path through the fictional world. When the novel describes a house, the narrator inspects the building in a systematic manner, approaching it from the street, examining the garden and the front, entering through the main door, and walking from room to room, as would a real estate agent or a prospective resident. The reader ends up with a precise notion of the layout of the building, all the way down to the floor plan.

Surprise is the fundamental joke mechanism. Most punch lines rely on an element of surprise for their effect — that's why they're not funny the third time you hear them. The joke-teller's skill lies in judging exactly how much of a surprise the audience is prepared to take. He must make a series of assumptions about what they will understand, what their reference points are, and how relaxed they appear to be. Jerry Seinfeld once compared telling a joke to attempting to leap a metaphorical canyon, taking the audience with you. The setup to the joke is the near-side cliff, and the punch line is the far side. If they're too far apart, the listeners don't make it to the other side. And if they are too close together, the audience just steps across the gap and doesn't experience a thrilling leap of any kind. The joke-hearers get far more pleasure from the joke if they have to do a little work.

Tourists make intense and short-term use of a very limited number of historical assets and cultural attractions, including material and non-material ones. The reason is to be found in the fact that tourist experience in cities is measured in days and hours, even in minutes in the case of cultural attractions or seconds in particular sites. In addition, cultural tourists do not often repeat their visit to the same place, and therefore they are continuously looking for new attractions. As a result of this, a process of selection of cultural assets takes place since only a few buildings and only a small number of social representations are able to be adapted to the tourist visit. The main difference between the selection of cultural assets made for locals and the one made for tourists is that in the second case, only a small choice is made among the largest, most impressive and unique resources.

Our choices and actions send messages to others about our values. Consider a manager who communicates to her employees in a call center that "customer care is the most important thing for our company."That's a signal to others regarding values. Now, imagine that the manager sets the incentives such that employees are paid by the number of calls they answer. This incentive sends a very different signal about what the manager is looking for: it's about being fast, which comes at the expense of quality of care. Such mixed signals leave the employees confused about the manager's values and expectations. This mixed signals problem is channeled into a simple question: what should be rewarded? In many cases, performance is multidimensional, but compensation is only given to one aspect of performance, typically the one that is easiest to measure. Simple "one-aspect" compensation sends a clear message to the workers: concentrate on what we're paying you for and ignore everything else.

The initial selection of farmed Atlantic salmon took place from fish drawn from forty different river systems. Every salmon river has its own unique set of challenges to which fish must adapt. Some rivers are very long, like the Yukon, and require animals that can build up massive fat reserves in order to survive the extended journey. Others are very far north, with only a short season of warmer temperatures, and require a fish that can maximize growth, particularly during its younger phase. But whatever the manifestation of difference that occurred in different species of salmon, the first salmon farmers realized that crossing and recrossing the specific families from the original forty rivers would result in salmon that grew faster. And because salmon, unlike cattle and sheep, can produce many thousands of offspring in the course of their lives, once favorable individuals were found, just a few strong males and females could form the basis of a whole new race of highly productive fish. A domestic population could be created quickly that would be quite different from the initial wild ancestors.

The growth and success of citizen science and citizen engagement has been made possible by the Internet and mobile technology, encouraging and coordinating the efforts of millions of people throughout the world. Websites, smartphone apps, and social media have been instrumental in expanding the reach and impact of a diversity of citizen science projects across time and geographical zones. Citizen science involves local people helping scientists carry out a scientific project at scale. Currently, thousands of such projects have been set up all over the world, whereby volunteers help out in a number of research areas, including biodiversity, air quality, astronomy, and environmental issues. They do so by participating in scientific activities such as monitoring plants and wildlife, collecting air and water samples, categorizing galaxies, and analyzing DNA sequences. Citizen engagement involves people helping governments, rather than scientists, to improve public services and policies in their communities. Examples include setting up and managing a website that offers local services for community disasters and creating an emergency response team when a disaster occurs.

Regardless of musical style, an increase of focus on certain parameters in a musical passage should be accompanied by a decrease in focus on others. The human mind has an attention limit, beyond which music is most likely to be perceived as lacking order or direction. For instance, if the intention is to focus on melodic lines, then one should avoid making too many contrasting timbre variations while the melodies are unfolding; otherwise, the timbre may distract attention away from the pitch. However, melody alone would not normally keep the listener's attention for long because a piece of music needs some variety and contrasting elements from time to time. One of the most difficult issues in the practice of composition is to find the right balance between repetition and diversity: a well-balanced piece of music should unfold naturally to listeners. In most Western musical styles, this unfolding results from a network of relationships between musical attributes that combine in different ways to create situations where contrasts can take place. Such contrasts are normally preceded by a preparatory stage, which builds upon the listener's expectations.

Many designers would argue that the most important element of lighting is visibility. Some even refer to it as the primary function of lighting. Visibility simply refers to the principle of using light to reveal or illuminate objects. In the early days, the job of the designer was nothing more than to create enough light so that the audience or occupants of a space could see. In many ways, this philosophy of lighting was based on the premise that more was better, and many believed that the more footcandles or lumens placed on a stage or in a room, the better visibility that you had. Since the 1950s or '60s, theatrical designing moved toward a concept that we call selective visibility, which simply refers to revealing to an audience only what needs to be seen. Hence, a less-revealing image on stage might be more appropriate for the dramatic action than a fully illuminated stage. In selective visibility, areas of low intensity, shadows, silhouettes, and high contrast can become effective elements in a lighting designer's set of tools.

In a consumer research classic, Maloney proposed that the disbelief most people experience when encountering exaggerated product claims is often overwhelmed by a natural curiosity. When advertising information conflicts with existing beliefs, the resulting disagreement must be somehow resolved. This is often done by yielding to the message and trying out the product in an attempt to readjust personal attitudes toward the brand. In his study, a sample of housewives was exposed to advertisements for food products and then divided into two groups: those participants that found the ad claims to be believable and the others that thought they were hard to believe. The latter group was further divided into two groups, those who confidently disbelieved the claims and those who had what Maloney described as a curious nonbelief. The latter was tied into beliefs that actual product experience was necessary to fully judge the claims. Few consumers who clearly disbelieved the message were interested in trying the product (18%). However, Maloney's results showed that more consumers who were in the curious nonbelief group were ready to try the product (44%) than in the group that expressed no concerns about (i.e., believed) the advertising claims (34%). The results suggest that advertising that causes consumers not to believe the message claims but makes them curious may be the most effective form of new product advertising. Convincing consumers that the claims about a new product are true is not necessary to create interest in product trial

Tim adopted a dog a few months ago. When he met his dog for the first time, he named him after his favorite character, Mickey. Mickey was a healthy dog, but he soon seemed to lack energy. Tim thought that taking care of a dog was much harder than he had expected. So, he decided to sign up for a dog training course. At the training center, he met an instructor named Jack. He emphasized to Tim, "Be sure to walk your dog daily. Dogs need regular exercise to be happy and healthy." Being sure to follow Jack's advice, Tim took Mickey for a walk every day. However, this extra responsibility soon seemed like a burden, and Tim felt exhausted. One day, Tim got a call from Jack. "Hello, Tim. How's everything going with Mickey?" Tim replied, "Actually, it's pretty hard walking him every day. We've been taking the same route, and it has become a little boring." Jack offered him a new idea. "How about going to Happy Dog Park?" Tim said, "That's a great idea!" When Tim and Mickey arrived at the park Jack had recommended, dozens of dogs were already jumping and playing. Mickey looked nervous in the unfamiliar surroundings. Tim said, "Don't worry, Mickey. It'll be fun." Just then, Tim saw a boy about his age standing with a small dog. Gathering his courage, Tim walked over to him. "Hi, I'm Tim. Can I introduce my dog to yours?" The boy replied, "Sure. I'm Daniel. Oh, it looks like they like each other already!" Having something in common as dog owners, Tim and Daniel enjoyed talking to each other. They spent the next two hours pleasantly chatting and decided to walk their dogs together regularly. "See you soon," said Tim as he and Mickey left the park. Over the next few weeks, the boys and their dogs became great friends. After returning from a walk one day, Tim said to Mickey, "Walking you felt like a burden at first, but now I see doing things for you can be great for me, too!"