§ 1. If you've ever thought that talking to someone was a waste of breath, you might be comforted to know that in some cases you are right  — the words we utter have very little effect on people compared with how we say them and what we are doing when we say them.

§ 2. Recent research has shown that in a presentation before a group of people, 55 per cent of the effect on the audience is determined by the body language of the speaker, 38 per cent by their tone of voice and only 7 per cent by the actual content of what is being said. Body language speaks louder than words.

§ 3. So can performance and communication skills really be improved? It would appear so, according to Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, which was developed in the 1970s by therapist Richard Bandler and linguistics professor John Grinder. They asked: "What makes the difference between someone who is competent at something and someone who is excellent?" They examined the behaviour of people generally considered to be examples of excellence in their respective fields to identify what they were doing consciously (осо­знан­но) and unconsciously. Surprisingly, they discovered patterns of communication which all these high achievers were using to produce consistently positive results. They found that they were able to copy these strategies and achieve similar success, so they developed a way of teaching these skills to other people, a method they called Neuro-Linguistic Programming.

§ 4. They have discovered how people achieve mutual understanding, both consciously and unconsciously, by observing the body language and voice patterns of the person they are talking to. If you're dealing with someone who is painfully shy, you're not going to make a good connection by overwhelming them with your cheerfulness. By matching someone's behaviour we can gain their confidence, achieve a good relationship and improve the quality of communication  — in other words, we can get on someone's wavelength. NLP practitioners claim anyone can learn how to do this, and quite quickly. NLP is all about taking one's unconscious, not very highly developed skills and practising them consciously.

§ 5. Another powerful aspect of NLP is its use of positive thinking. We can become aware of the negative and turn it to the positive. Once it is framed in a positive way as a goal, the brain can begin to cope with it and then apply itself to achieving that outcome. To put it another way, if you don't know where you're going, it makes it harder to get there.

1.  Margherita Taylor is the only female presenter at Capital Radio, one of London's top music radio stations. She got into radio while she was a student in Birmingham. Along with hundreds of other hopefuls, she and a friend queued for hours in the rain to take part in a 'Search for a Star' competition held by a local radio station, BRMB. "I had to read a travel script and a weather script, talk about myself for a minute, then introduce a record." Within days the phone call came to say that her voice had earned her a regular show on BRMB. Truly the stuff dreams are made of. After working there for 18 months, she was offered a job with Capital.

2.  Margherita claims never to get nervous before a show. "You can't get nervous because then you make mistakes, she says. Of course, there has been the odd disaster. "For instance, when I did my first live concert show at BRMB, I'd only done one programme. In front of a crowd of 50,000, I went on stage to introduce a certain well-known singer. I said: "Please welcome our next performer. You know her best for hits like." Then I just went blank. There was this silence from the crowd, and for the life of me I couldn't think what she'd sung. That's one occasion that will stay with me for ever."

3.  Margherita says that her own musical tastes are varied. But she doesn't pick her own music for the show. The Capital computer selects the records in advance from a list approved by the station managers. "The station has a certain sound, and if we all picked our own music, it wouldn't sound like Capital," she says."But for someone who likes music, this is a dream job. I get to go to concerts and meet the bands you can hear on my show. It's great to hear the "behind the scenes"gossip."

4.  Most people would expect that a presenter's most important qualities are a nice voice and huge amounts of confidence, but Margherita says that basic maths is handy as well. "You have to make sure that you've got an eye on everything that's going on in the studio, but you've got to be able to add and subtract and think in minutes and seconds," she says. "You're dealing with timed records, and you have to be ready to switch to the news at exactly the right second. If you're going over to a live event, you need to be ready for that on time, not a second earlier or later."

5.  Margherita Taylor is very nice and very easy-going, but very much in control. She is so much a "Capital Radio girl" that you might think she is just doing a good job for the station's publicity department, although you know what she's saying really comes from the heart. She smiles a lot, laughs a lot and is generally a great advert for Capital.

§ 1. If you walk into any bookstore there is an entire shelf dedicated to books about people who decide to change their lives by relocating to another country. I used to laugh at those kinds of books and wonder why anyone would put themselves through the discomfort of going to live in a foreign country  — all in search of a simple lifel

§ 2. One day, instead of walking straight past this section, I selected a book to read on the train. It was about an accountant who realised one day how boring her life was, so she bought a ticket to Italy. After reading the book, the idea of moving abroad had lodged (за­се­ла) itself in my mind and was turning into a magnificent possibility.

§ 3. I resigned from the hospital where I worked, sold my apartment and moved to the region of Umbria in Italy. Once there, I rented an apartment and hired a little motorbike. I loved sampling the local cuisine and I signed up for a short cooking course. A very charming local man called Francesco ran the course. Each lesson not only did we learn how to prepare an authentic Umbrian dish, we were also rolling around the floor in fits of laughter, since Francesco was a natural storyteller and we enjoyed his talent for imitating people.

§ 4. I also took a three-month Italian language course. It is fair to say that my attempts at cooking were more successful than my attempts to acquire a new language. I tried hard, however, and after a few weeks of lessons I actually had a short conversation with a local  — OK, I only asked for directions to the train station. In my mind, though, this was a triumph of communication and I was satisfied with my modest progress.

§ 5. It was at one of these language classes that I heard a fellow student, John, mention that his neighbour, Sandro, was moving to Rome and selling his farmhouse very cheap. John said he wished he had the money to purchase it himself, as the property was sure to be snapped up soon. I couldn't believe that it cost less than half the amount that I had sold my tiny apartment for. Would I dare to copy the writers of all those books? I had to go and have a look, of course. The farmhouse was located on the top of a hill, and although it was very run-down, it possessed charm. I bought it straight away.

§ 6. The project wasn't without its difficulties, though. The farmhouse was collapsing in several places. My first priority, therefore, was to hire some local workers to add supports to the building. I also strengthened the foundations, installed a new kitchen and renovated the rest of the property. In the end, all the cost and effort were worthwhile, because I felt I belonged here as much as I did anywhere in the world, and I was determined to make it my home. I must say I sometimes look at my collection of books on Italy and think I'd like to have a goal writing one myself I'd like to share my experience and let other dreamers out there know that the difficulty is worth it. I didn't quite find the simple life, but I did find what the Italians call the sweet life  — la dolce vita.

§ 1. The moment for Olympic glory and gold occurs once every four years - a moment which becomes the focus for the lives of athletes from all over the world. This one event is their main goal and in order to achieve their dream they are prepared to make any sacrifice. All athletes are selected by their national Olympic Committee to represent their country, and once selected they face two major demands. The first is the mountain of form filling, paperwork and administration. The second is to finalise their preparation for the Games. Most athletes have highly-developed training schedules which enable them to reach the height of their performance for a particular event. However, the Olympics, creates its own timetable and pressures.

§ 2. When I was selected to represent Great Britain, I had approximately a hundred days to prepare. This included finalising training plans, raising nearly £16,000 towards the costs, seeing to travel arrangements and entry forms, and having discussions with my employer about extra time off work to allow me to prepare fully. Throughout my sailing career I had never had the opportunity to become a full-time athlete, so I needed to pursue my business career at the same time as my sporting objectives. However, any top-class athlete in any sport needs a level of business skills when competing at Olympic standard. They need the ability to plan and arrange for all the expenses effectively as well as work towards definite aims.

§ 3. Once you arrive, you stay in the Olympic "Village', which is really a small town housing 15,000 people from every imaginable culture and background. It is fascinating to watch athletes from tiny gymnasts to huge weightlifters and basketball players, and best of all is the excitement at being part of such a select gathering. There are training facilities, souvenir shops, launderettes, a bank and post office, as well as the Village restaurant which seats over 3,000 at one time.

§ 4. So what does it feel like to go to an Olympics? It can be summed up in many ways by the opening ceremony, where thousands of athletes and officials parade wearing their team kit. To most it is an event they will never forget and the honour of just being there is almost magical. And perhaps winning a medal is one of life's major experiences. For me it was the thoughts of family and friends who had all played a part on my road to success, and it felt wonderful. I feel that it is important to try and repay everyone's faith in me by putting something back into the community. I want the younger generation of athletes to benefit in the ways that I did.

§ 1. It is Saturday night at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York. In the galleries devoted to African art, children are playing hide-and-seek while the parents sip beer from plastic cups. Some teenage girls head through the sculpture exhibition to a temporary dance floor where a DJ is playing reggae music. Watching the scene is Bryan, a young teacher from a local school. What brings him out tonight? 'I'm here for the reggae, of course,' he says. When I heard they were playing that I thought, "I have to be there," and obviously a lot of people feel the same way.' Besides the DJ, the museum has laid on gallery talks, a Martin Scorsese film, a puppet show and a samba band.

§ 2. The Brooklyn Museum of Art wasn't always so trendy. For decades, it put on excellent exhibitions that few came to see. Had it been over in the city's fashionable Upper East Side, of course, the museum would have been packing them in. Even when they put on dull exhibitions, New York's top museums can count on a steady stream of visitors  — mostly tourists. But Brooklyn, one of New York's toughest districts, isn't on the standard tourist route. When the museum was built, it was in a wealthy suburb, but these days the surrounding streets are home to recent immigrants, mostly poor folk from the Caribbean.

§ 3. Two years ago, in an effort to revive itself, the museum appointed a new director, Arnold Lehman, who was born in Brooklyn. Lehman was convinced that the museum should forget about trying to attract visitors from the other side of town and try to appeal instead to people from the surrounding area.

§ 4. The free evening events, called 'First Saturdays', are Lehman's way of reaching out to people. The great thing for me is when you see teenage boys looking at art in the galleries without being handcuffed to their parents,' he says. What's more, the annual number of visitors to the museum has roughly doubled since the scheme was introduced. Similar institutions across the country are now calling, wanting to know how much it costs to throw a good party'. The answer, incidentally, is about $25,000 per event. 'And worth every penny,' says Lehman.

§ 5. The real achievement of First Saturdays is more significant and profound than the increased visitor numbers suggest. Most people visit art museums because they want to have a special 'artistic' experience. The Brooklyn Museum of Art has introduced thousands of people to the idea that museum-going can be a perfectly ordinary part of their lives.

Everyone, whatever their age, can share in the joy and fulfillment of learning, as June Weatherall found out.

§ 1. When I first retired, I thought I'd love spending more time on the gardening, needlework, and other creative activities I'd found so relaxing after my demanding job. But it didn't turn out that way. I found that I didn't want, or need, that kind of relaxation anymore, I wanted to stimulate my mind instead.

§ 2. So, with a couple of friends, I went along to an art appreciation evening class at our local regional college. It was wonderful, but only lasted a year. At the end, I asked my tutor, "What next?' He suggested I attend his history of art access course. "Whatever's that?' I asked. The college had an open evening coming up, so I went along to find out. A full-time access course takes one year and gives you access to university if, like me, you left school without any qualifications, and it's free if you do it full-time. I only wanted to do the art history bit.

§ 3. Lyn, who organises the courses for the college, was enthusiastic. "Why don't you do the whole course? You could start in the spring term with art history, do another module in the summer, then go full-time in the autumn and do all the subjects." It sounded wonderful, but wasn't I a bit old, at 63, to start being a student? A definite 'no'. One of the students that year was 82. That decided it. It must be worth having a go.

§ 4. The art history part of the course, which I've just completed, was stimulating. The tutors are enthusiasts and infect us all with their enjoyment of the subjects they teach. "Lively' would be the word to describe the classes. My fellow students, who are also doing subjects like psychology, maths, biology, etc., are good company. They're mainly people in their thirties with children, taking a second bite at the educational cherry.

§ 5. We have homework and have to do an essay each term for each subject, and sit exams. For art history, we had to produce a journal about all the painters we'd learnt about  — which was fun, but rather time-consuming. Occasionally, I envy the more typical mature students, who just do courses for fun and don't have to do exams or essays, but really I'm a very happy lady. There are drawbacks, however. The main one is you have to make a commitment. During term time, you can't just drop everything and go out for the day if the sun shines  — one of the supposed joys of retirement.

§ 6. Will I go on to university if I'm successful? I'll see how next year goes. Meanwhile, exercising my brain cells is working well for me. I feel alive. The garden's getting a bit out of control, but that's the least of my worries!

§ 1. While having lunch in an expensive restaurant, I tasted the wine I had ordered. I thought it might be spoiled, so I called the wine waiter. He was most unpleasant at the mere suggestion that something might be wrong. Unwillingly he tasted the wine  — and immediately apologized and brought another bottle. That's what I call power!' said my guest, but it helped that I knew I was right. As the customer, you have considerable rights.

§ 2. If a restaurant fails to provide a table you have booked, they will have broken their contract with you and you can politely threaten to take them to court for the cost of a spoiled evening. They will then usually find you a table. On the other hand, if you let them down, they can take you to court for lost business. In one case, a company booked a table for one o'clock for five people at a popular restaurant, then called to cancel at 1.35 p.m. on the day, saying their client did not want to eat. When the company refused to pay up, the restaurant owner took them to court and won: the judge decided that, since it was too late to re-book the table, the company should pay for the loss of profit on the meal.

§ 3. The menu is a vital legal document. The price should be included, together with the tax (налог), and the restaurant can be fined for not displaying it outside or immediately inside the door, so that customers know in advance what they are committing themselves to. It is illegal for any establishment to give a false description of their food. Everything must be what it claims to be: fresh fruit salad must consist only of fresh, not tinned, fruit; Welsh lamb must be an animal born or raised in Wales.

§ 4. You cannot rely on getting bread and butter free. A restaurant is allowed to make a cover charge  — which relates to linen, tableware, salt and pepper, Sauces and items like bread or olives  — provided it appears on the menu by the door.

§ 5. If the food is not cooked to your satisfaction, you can insist on the restaurant taking it back and supplying what you ordered. If it gives you food poisoning, the restaurant is obliged to pay for the suffering and inconvenience provided you have been to your doctor. If the food is not up to a reasonable standard for the money, you can either send it back or pay less than the bill demands. If you do not pay the full price, give your name, address and proof of identity so that you cannot be arrested for leaving without paying.

§ 1. Though he is, in many ways, unremarkable and we have never met before, and he hasn't given me any particular clues to help me pick him out, it's not hard to spot Steve Sires in the lobby of his hotel, simply because he's the only man here who looks exactly like Bill Gates, the computer millionaire and head of Microsoft. "I figured you'd recognise me," he says, rising from his chair to shake my hand, in his Bill Gates glasses, with his Bill Gates hair, Smiling his Bill Gates smile. Steve Sires is a civil engineering consultant who runs his own business and, twice a month or so, gets paid to jet across the continent and look like Bill Gates. He's hired for business functions mostly - product launches, industry seminars and conferences. He isn't the only professional Bill Gates lookalike in the world, but he is, by most accounts, the best.

§ 2. We walk over to a business-district restaurant. I'd made a reservation for two, under 'Gates'. I'm worried this might annoy Sires, but he just laughs and admits that it's something he's never tried himself. The hostess doesn't even blink when I drop the name. As she leads us to our table I imagine a few glances sent our way, but they're likely just that, my imagination. Sires assures me that he causes much more talk back in Seattle, where the real Gates is occasionally known to walk among the masses. "People have reported spotting Bill at Burger King or eating popcorn at a movie, Sires says. "I wonder how many times people see me and think "Why in the world would Bill Gates be shopping in a cheap supermarket?"'

§ 3. When Sires moved to the Seattle area he had no idea why people kept stopping him on the street or asking him for stockmarket tips in the checkout line. "I didn't know who this Gates guy was," he says. "Turns out I lived 20 minutes from his house.' Sires initially ignored the much-remarked-on resemblance. Then, his wife cut out a newspaper ad placed by a local agent who handles lookalikes. She'd called the agent. He got me a job at the grand opening of a performing arts centre. I did it for free. But my picture was picked up by Associated Press." Soon, Sires was travelling to events, his appearance fee running to several thousand dollars.

§ 4. So Steve Sires is famous. Actually, what he has is better than fame  — it's celebrity, without any of the complications of actually being Bill Gates. "I've got a great deal," he admits. "I get a little attention. It's fun to get a little attention. But at the end of the day, I can always go home to my real life."

§ 1. Catherine Cassidy has every reason to be proud. This summer she graduated with a degree in Zoology from Queen's University, Belfast. She has ambitions to be a scientific journalist. She is also completely deaf. She can lipread. I interviewed Catherine via e-mail. She told me getting to university was an achievement in itself. She says: 'You have to work much harder than your peers (сверст­ни­ки) and have to be prepared to commit yourself.'

§ 2. The Disability Discrimination Act insists that universities increase their intake of special needs students. But there are difficulties. First, there are no reliable figures on the numbers of disabled in the community, so universities are unsure of the percentages they should be aiming to recruit. Second, some students might require specially adapted computers, or online learning support. Of all the disabilities, deafness is probably the one that is hardest to cope with at university. Universities run on talk. Knowledge is communicated in lectures, seminars, talking to fellow students  — reading is only secondary. For deaf students, casual spontaneous discussions are out.

§ 3. Fortunately for Catherine, Queen's University is a centre of excellence for the teaching of deaf students. The Joint Universities Deaf Education centre (JUDE) organised a special phonic earpiece (слу­хо­вой ап­па­рат) that enabled Catherine to listen to lectures. JUDE has been extended to the other higher education institutions of Northern Ireland. JUDE is setting an example in what can be achieved. Sharon Easton, deaf student support officer, says: "We visit schools to make deaf people aware that higher education is a possibility. Another part of our role is to talk with employers. We're offering them deaf awareness training  — how to adapt to the needs of deaf employees, and where to apply for grants.'

§ 4. Catherine's skill in lip-reading made communicating with her seem so effortless that many people did not believe she had a problem. At times this experience has been painful. Catherine says: 'People have labelled me "not really deaf". It is like telling me I don't count. And this can be very disheartening, very demoralising.'

§ 5. Catherine believes that excellent and well-focused special needs support should be available to all disabled students at university whatever the cost. She says: 'You are accepted by a university on the basis of your ability to carry out mental tasks. You have a right to be there - people should not judge a person by any physical disability.'

§ 1. Cruising over the pack-ice with our heavy snowmobiles, my guide, Arne, and I looked out across the dazzling expanse of snow. We had come to the tiny, remote island of Svalbard northeast of Greenland, to photograph polar bears, but now we were exhausted with searching. The day had been particularly frustrating, as every bear we'd slowly approached had run away from us. Fed up and hungry, we decided to abandon our search for the afternoon and stop for a snack beside one of the many tall, blue icebergs.

§ 2. As always, a good meal was followed by an intense desire to sleep, and we decided to give in to it, even though the temperature was down to −30 °C. Sleeping at the same time would be unwise with our furry friends around, so we decided to take it in turns. As Arne slept, I scanned the Snow with my binoculars, looking for anything moving. An hour passed. I was just about to wake my companion, when I noticed a dot on the horizon. I wiped the lens, but it was still there. I began to make out the typical mayonnaise colour and the striding walk  — it was a polar bear and it was heading in our direction. I awoke Arne instantly. For the next thirty minutes, the bear continued on its direct course towards us, which was strange because the wind was blowing our scent straight towards him, so he must have been aware of our presence.

§ 3. When he was a couple of hundred metres away, I decided to lie down in the snow so as to get a better photograph. "You realise you look like seal like that, don't you?" warned Arne, for once sounding a bit worried. ave for dinner. Onwards the bear came, and by now I could hear the crunching Seals are what polar bears like to sound of his feet on the ice. It struck me that this was a big bear, travelling at some speed. I turned to speak to Arne, and saw him pulling a gun from his bag. Polar bears are incredibly unpredictable animals, and to be in their environment without protection is foolish. But Arne had strict instructions from me only to use the gun to frighten the bear away, and then only if necessary.

§ 4. By now the animal was only 25 metres away and the atmosphere had changed. Arne sat up on the snowmobile calmly awaiting the bear's next move, while struggled to change the film in my camera with my cold, shaking hands. Then, just as I was thinking that there was no escape, as I tensed myself for the inevitable attack, the bear veered off (из­ме­нил на­прав­ле­ние) to one side and then went straight past us. "Look!" whispered Arne. "Behind us!" I turned and saw a second creamy head with two black eyes peering around the corner of an iceberg a few hundred metres behind us. A female bear. Our friend's goal had clearly been in his sight the whole time, and we were the only thing between him and his beloved.

§ 1. My parents always said I was born to be a sportsman. They said that even when I was in nappies, I wasn't happy unless I was kicking or throwing a ball. My first memory is of Dad and me playing football in our back garden. I recall my mum sitting down on the grass cheering me on as I clumsily kicked a football into the goal net my dad was 'defending'. The sense of achievement when I scored my first goal stuck with me, and my life has revolved around football ever since. As I grew up, I dreamed of becoming a football player. During class, I tried to stay focused on my studies; I knew that few people became professional sportsmen and it was crucial to get a good education. But I devoted every spare second to my passion. I knew that if I wanted to become a success, I would have to put all my energy into the game.

§ 2. My big break came when I was 18. Leicester City FC offered me a place in the team. It was there that I learned the true value of teamwork. I played with a fantastic group of guys there and we worked toward one common goal  — to win! I learned that every person has their own individual talents, and a great team brings these talents together. We enjoyed great success at Leicester, and I was lucky enough to become one of the UK's top scorers I was transferred to Everton and, while I was sad to leave my fellow team-mates, I was excited about working with new people and making new friends. My time at Everton was an outstanding experience. While I was there, I scored 38 goals in 52 games. It wasn't long until I was on a new journey, this time across the sea to Spain to play for FC Barcelona. I was nervous at first, but it turned out that there was no reason to panic. I felt great pride when I stepped into the stadium and onto the pitch in Barcelona.

§ 3. As you can imagine, the proudest I felt was when I played for my country, England, in the World Cup. The tournament raises the level of competitiveness for every player. Not only do you have to be mentally prepared, but you have to be at the peak of physical fitness  — so, as you can imagine, it didn't help that I had to play the tournament with my left arm heavily strapped up! But I was determined not to let one injury stop me and played anyway! Because we were astrong team, we got to the quarter finals, and I scored six goals during the entire competition and won the 'Golden Boot' award

§ 4. Football has taken me around the world, from England to Spain to Japan! I have become fluent in two other languages and have experienced other cultures. My career provided me with many happy memories that I wouldn't change for the world.

§ 1. I was struggling to get by. I had just moved to Gloucester from London and had taken the first job that I was offered. I was barely earning enough to do my weekly shopping and I wished I had the money I used to make back in London. As I couldn't afford my own place, I had settled for my best friend's sofa, but the hard cushions and backaches had made me realise that, above all else, I longed for my old flat  — my little peaceful place! I soon began to wonder if moving had been the right decision. That's when I heard a radio advert that changed my life...

§ 2. "Looking for your own place but worrying about the cost? Worry no more! You could live free for a year in the 'Enviro-House', one of Britain's first environmentally friendly homes. We're looking for a resident to live rent-free! For more details, visit www..." My friend had heard about this house and he thought that it would be very difficult to stick to an energy conserving routine. I should have considered this, or at least have been concerned about how many "guests' would actually pass through. But, as I sat on the painfully uncomfortable sofa, the only thing in my head were the words... "Live free, live free."

§ 3. I visited the website and entered the competition to become an 'eco-housemate'. I was one of three lucky finalists who had to battle it out for a place in the house live on local television. The other finalists were keen environmentalists with a passion for the issue, unlike me. I had never really given it much attention to be honest, as it was insignificant to me. I joked with the audience that the only way I was going to learn was if they sent me to the house! They agreed. As I walked through the front door of the house, I had worrying visions of living in a futuristic house, full of high-tech gadgets. I certainly wouldn't have been surprised to see a number of complex-looking machines. However, I was shocked to see the house was completely normal. In fact, it looked just like any other house. This eased my mind a bit, as I rarely find modern technology easy to understand, I prefer the simple life. The heating system, water supply and electricity all worked in exactly the same way as they would in any other house in the UK. The only difference was that the house used renewable sources of energy. Solar panels and small wind turbines were used to provide the hot water and electricity.

§ 4. My experiences in the house made me look at the way I had lived my life in the past and how I should live it in the future. For example, it's neither difficult nor time-consuming to recycle, as long as you make it part of your daily routine. I also changed my perspective on which energy sources to use. It's very simple to make those all-important changes we just need the motivation to make them.

§ 1. I want to tell you about my old friend Bobbie Cardew. If you're a recent acquaintance of Bobbie's, you'll probably be surprised to hear that there was a time when he was known for having a weak memory. In the days when first knew him Bobbie Cardew was the most unreliable person you could ever imagine. If I invited him to come and have dinner with me, I had to go to all sorts of trouble. I used to post him a letter at the beginning of the week, and then the day before send him a telegram, and a phone call on the day itself.

§ 2. One day Bobbie did something I would never have expected. He fell in love, got married  — full of excitement, as if it were the greatest fun in the world  — and then began to find out things.

§ 3. Her name was Mary Anthony. She was a hospital nurse. When Bobbie Smashed himself up playing polo she was there in the hospital taking care of him. No sooner was he up and about again than they were busy making wedding plans. A real case of love at first sight They took a flat and settled down. I was in and out of the place a good deal. Everything appeared to be running along as Smoothly as you could want. Mary seemed to think Bobbie the greatest thing on earth and Bobbie seemed to think the same about her.

§ 4. But now we come to the incident of the Quiet Dinner, which is when things began to happen. I met Bobbie in the street one day and he asked me to come back to dinner at his flat. When we got there I was amazed at how lovely Mary looked. She had her red-gold hair piled up on her head with a diamond tiara in it and was wearing a really beautiful dress. No wonder, I thought, that Bobbie liked married life. "Hello, dear," he said. "I've brought Reggie home for a bit of dinner." Mary stared at him as if she had never seen him before. Then she turned scarlet. Then she turned white as a sheet of paper. Then she gave a little laugh, before finally recovering herself. After that she was all right. She talked a lot at dinner, teased Bobbie and played tunes for us on the piano afterwards, as if she hadn't a care in the world. But I had seen her face at the beginning, and I knew that she was working hard to keep herself in hand and not scream. At the very earliest moment I made my excuses and got away.

§ 5. When I met Bobbie at the club next day he seemed glad to have someone to talk to."Do you know how long I've been married?" he said "About a year, isn't it?" "Not about a year," he said sadly. "Yesterday was the anniversary of the wedding. I'd arranged to take Mary to the theatre. She particularly wanted to hear Caruso sing. I had a ticket for the box in my pocket. You know, all through dinner I had some vague idea that there was something I'd forgotten, but I couldn't think what."

§ 1. Holly Sinclair arrives at the north London restaurant where she and I are to have lunch. She looks exactly what she is: a 21-year-old who, thanks to three number-one hit songs, a millionaire husband and blossoming acting career, is having the time of her life. Once she opens her mouth, however, you realise that the person inside her body is actually a middle-aged woman.

§ 2. She has recently acted in three quite different roles that truly caught her imagination. Her three number-one hits have brought her a big measure of artistic freedom, and she intends to make full use of it. "I don't have to do things for the sake of them. It means I can wait a while, find the right things. I've got the time to go out and find out about life, observe people and dynamic situations that help me in my work. Ultimately, I'm only ever going to do the things that interest me, that I feel I can do something with. Even if I'm offered a blockbuster, it may not be right at the time, or benefit me."

§ 3. Naturally, Holly Sinclair knew what she wanted in life from an unusually early age  — and that, whether she cares to admit it or not, was fame and fortune. At 12, she left Swindon, where her father worked as a builder, and moved to London. Once there, she boarded with her great aunt and uncle while attending the Oldham Theatre School. Three years later, her debut single, "Like Me" became the first of her three number-one hits (she holds the record for being the youngest singer to achieve such a feat). It was not, she says, very hard to leave her parents and three young brothers. She wasn't even particularly homesick. "I wanted to study and I didn't want to stay where I was. I wanted more, I was just very ambitious. I don't know where it came from." After she became famous, most of the time she was rather alone. Her schedule left little time for being a teenager.

§ 4. Then she met her pop-star husband, Freddy Frinton. After their first date, Freddy sent her a silver Ferrari full of roses, in spite of the fact that Holly couldn't drive (the car has since been sold, because Sinclair prefers to drive herself around in a small family car). Then they got married in a Las Vegas wedding chapel, with no family and no rings.

§ 5. She spends her money on CDs and DVDs and going out. The only thing she really wants is a fast car. But then, she wonders whether she can't get another year or two out of her old car first. "Money's never been a big part of my life. Freddy and I never have conversations about money. Maybe we would if we were very poor." She still looks as composed as a waxwork model. Does she feel young or old for her age?"Not old exactly, but when I get together with friends, I see a difference in our personalities. Sometimes I get angry with myself that I've done too much, that I haven't saved anything. I mean, what could possibly make me excited?' Holly is smiling brightly, but it sounds assad and as empty as anything I have ever heard.

§ 1. Over the past four hundred years, 450 types of plants and trees around the world have become extinct as a result of the combined effects of global warming, population growth, flooding and the fact that deserts are advancing in some regions at a rate of nearly four miles a year. Scientists estimate a quarter of the world's remaining 270,000 plant species will be under threat of extinction by 2050.

§ 2. In 1997, in an attempt to try to prevent the loss of plants, volunteers all over Britain began collecting seeds (се­ме­на). The seeds collected are now housed in the Millennium Seed Bank, which is expected to become the world's biggest seed bank and, apart from preserving almost all the plant life in Britain, it also aims to have saved the seeds of almost a tenth of the world's flowering plants in the next twenty years. If they are successful, the Millennium Seed Bank Project will be one of the largest international conservation projects ever undertaken.

§ 3. In order to achieve this aim, the Millennium Seed Bank has a team of scientists who travel to distant corners of the world to find and collect seeds. They also help local botanists to set up their own seed banks. They Spend a great deal of time negotiating with governments to allow them to collect the seeds and bring them back to Britain for storage in the Millennium Seed Bank.

§ 4. When these seeds arrive at the seed bank, they are sorted, cleaned and dried and then X-rayed to make sure that they haven't been damaged in any way that might stop them from growing into healthy plants. Finally, they are placed in ordinary glass jars and stored in three underground vaults (хра­ни­ли­ще) at temperatures of −20 °C. Most plant Species have seeds that can be dried, frozen and stored for years and still grow into healthy plants. However, the seeds of Some Species cannot be dried, so they can't be stored in seed banks in the usual way. Roger Smith, head of the Millennium Seed Bank, explains that Scientists at the bank are already working on finding new ways of storing those seeds that cannot survive the drying and freezing process, and also on how to regenerate the seeds when they become extinct in their natural habitats. "At the moment, all we're doing is preserving these plants for the future. We won't have managed to conserve any species until we find the way to successfully regenerate them and grow new plants from them," points out Smith. "But at least this way, when the technology becomes available, and it will, we won't have lost everything."

§ 5. Dr Hugh Pritchard, head of research at the Millennium Seed Bank, says: "While it's true that many of the plants we preserve at the bank aren't useful at the moment, that doesn't mean they won't become useful in the future. Something like thirty per cent of the medicines we use today are based on products or chemicals which have been extracted from plants. So it's easy to see why we need to preserve the diversity of the earth's plant life for the future."

§ 1. I started as a paperboy when I was 11. The route covered the richest neighbourhood in town filled with grand mansions. This sounded like a desirable post, when it was presented to me by the route manager, Mr McTivity, but of course mansions have the longest driveways and widest lawns, so it took many minutes to deliver each paper. And papers weighed a ton back then.

§ 2. During my route, I would devote a good length of time to asking myself "what if"  — what I would do if I could make myself invisible or if I could hypnotise everyone in the world. Then I might move on to consider unanswerable questions. How do migrating birds know which bird to follow? And how could we be sure that we all saw the same colours?

§ 3. In those days, I was hardly worried by the problems of the real world, so the combination of long walks, fresh air and being alone on my route let me slip easily into my own private thoughts and fantasies. But there was a price to pay for my absent-mindedness. I would suddenly realise that I couldn't remember any of the last 47 houses I had visited. I didn't know if I had left a paper, or instead just walked up to the door, stood for a moment like a mechanical robot and turned round and walked away again. It is not easy to describe the sense of self-disappointment that comes with reaching the end of your route and finding that there are sixteen undelivered papers in your bag and you don't have the least idea to whom they should have gone. Mr McTivity would not be amused if he found out. There was only one way to find the solution to this. So I spent much of my early years first walking an enormous newspaper route and then revisiting large parts of it  — sometimes twice!

§ 4. As if delivering papers seven days a week weren't enough, you also had to collect the subscription (под­пис­ка) money. There wasn't a more unpleasant task than this. But in particular, the moment that filled me with dread was collecting from Mrs Vandermeister. Mrs Vandermeister was 70 years old, possibly 80. She was very small, forgetful and practically deaf.

§ 5. Getting money from her was a nightmare, if I rang the doorbell at 15-second intervals for an hour and 10 minutes, eventually she would realise someone was at the door. "Now who the heck is that?" she would shout to herself, and begin the long process of getting from her chair to the front door, which was just twenty-five feet away. When eventually she came to the door, it would take an extra half-hour to convince her that I was not a murderer. When she finally opened the door, she was always alarmed to find me standing there. "Oh, Billy, you gave me a start!" she'd say. "It's nice of you to pop by." After I reminded her why I was there, there would be another long pause while she went off to find her purse. She would return half an hour later to ask how much again. There would be another detour to kitchen, and finally the announcement that she didn't have that much cash and I'd have to call again another time.

§ 1. At the beginning of the 20th century mothering was thought to be an uncomplicated business. Working-class mothers knew their job: to feed, clothe, house their children and teach them to behave. The middle and upper classes paid some attention to childrearing fashions, but the task of motherhood was largely delegated to a nanny or a nursemaid or both. Mothers convinced themselves that nanny would do a better job as she would be less emotionally involved. "Nanny was my life. She was my authority,' explained Mary Lutyens. "Mother was a goddess. It was unthinkable that a goddess should bath me.'

§ 2. Mary was brought up by her much loved nanny, Louisa Seath. The children's world revolved around the nursery, tucked away on the top floor far from their parents. As a child, Mary was much closer to Nanny Seath than to her mother. Mary couldn't have borne the shame' if her mother had seen her without clothes and when at fifteen, she was sick in front of her, she was "terribly ashamed" and amazed that her mother could hold her head without appearing to be disgusted. Nanny had always been the one who comforted her and nursed her when she was ill. The best nannies compensated for a mother's shortcomings, provided an extra shoulder to cry on and gave the mother freedom to develop interests beyond her family circle. Although Mary's memory of her mother is far from the fairytale aproned and rosy-cheeked provider of meals, she worshipped her all the same. Mrs Lutyens inspired her children with her own love of literature and as they grew older they became closer. On the other hand, Helena Wright, the eminent gynaecologist, remained bitterly cynical of her mother who had been more bound up in her social life and charitable works than in her children. "To me you were merely a shadow, she writes to her mother, "a shadow with three characteristics: you were always "busy' and you were either ill or worried. Nurse Minter was our chief companion... Why didn't you get to know your children a little?'

§ 3. In working-class families there was no such division of labour: children were left entirely to mother. In the early years of the 20th century, there was no talk of stimulating play or entertaining or amusing children. Children were left to their own devices and by the age of six or seven were expected to look after themselves and, when not at school, run errands (быть на по­сыл­ках) for the family. Ideally, they kept out of the way, bothering grown-ups as little as possible.

§ 1. There used to be a general feeling that computer games were bad for you, and books were good. Now people are not so sure. Researchers have found that computer games, television and the Internet have become key factors in boosting children's IQs up to levels never reached by past generations.

§ 2. The idea that intelligence can be measured was first suggested about a century ago, but at that time it was hard to find tests that gave useful results. Over the past two decades, however, tests have become more complex and researchers have found that IQ scores can give a good indication of what children's future exam results will be. Some experts have even claimed that IQ scores can accurately predict what level of income and status young people will achieve in adult life.

§ 3. Why are today's youngsters doing so much better than their grandparents? Of course, better nutrition, higher standards of living and improved education all play their part in raising general levels of intelligence. But there seems to be more to it than that. Scientists are attributing the change in intelligence levels to the complexity of modern life.

§ 4. In today's fast-moving world, young people are required to interact constantly with electronic gadgets and equipment. This is developing youngsters' brains in ways that older generations never experienced. Computers are one of the major sources of stimulation, and activities such as playing games and using the Internet seem to be particularly important.

§ 5. There are still some things that remain unexplained, however. For example, the increase in children's lo scores varies according to the type of intelligence being tested. It appears that nowadays people are better at abstract thinking than their ancestors were  — but their verbal and mathematical abilities have remained the same as those of previous generations. No one knows why this is the case. Nevertheless, during the last few years there has certainly been a general upward trend, and it has been found that the present generation have IQs about 15 points above their parents.

§ 6. It has been claimed that, in moderation, computer gaming is positively good for youngsters. It requires positive qualities such as determination, fast thinking and rapid learning. However, it seems that improvements in IQ may not last very long without continuing stimulation. The brain seems to be like a muscle and requires repeated and vigorous exercise to stay fit and healthy. When it comes to IQ, it's a case of 'Use it or lose it'.

§ 1. The Alpine Club in London has all the atmosphere of a country pub, where the regulars have been coming for years to have a friendly chat over great climbs. Many mountaineers have spoken here before; this particular evening, the floor is given over to Alan Hinkes. He is speaking before he sets off on his attempt to become the first Briton to climb all 14 of the world's highest peaks over 8000 metres. While five men in the world have already achieved this feat, he will be the first to climb six within a year.

§ 2. It was during his first attempt at an "8000er" in the Himalayas in 1992 that he first thought about attempting "the 14", as the world's 14 highest peaks are known in mountaineering circles. Over the next 10 years, Hinkes gradually climbed another seven of the 8000ers. Then followed three years during which he made three attempts on the world's hardest mountain, Pakistan's K2. "K2 is not much lower than Everest," explains Hinkes, "so you have all the same altitude problems." It is also much more difficult to climb, he adds." In 2003 I had to retreat to help a guy down who was in a really bad way, then the next year I got very near the top but wasn't happy with the snow conditions."

§ 3. Hinkes' rule, which he repeats as much to remind himself as anyone else, is "No mountain is worth a life, the summit is a bonus." "It's always difficult to enjoy it on top of the mountain because you know you have to get back down," he says. Descending is always harder. "You're exhausted  — particularly if you burn uploads of calories celebrating the victory on the summit like some people do. You have to keep yourself under control for the descent."

§ 4. Hinkes celebrates his 43rd birthday on 23 April 2012, the day he intends to summit Lhotse. "I was as fit as a butcher's dog 20 years ago but it would have been difficult to force myself to go slow and the way to get fit on big mountains is to keep pushing slowly," he admits. Hinkes is very obviously looking forward to the task ahead. If he makes it  — and he refuses to be drawn into rating his own chances of success  — he is well aware that it will be largely down to his ability to keep mind, body and soul together in situations where the mountains have the final say. He is angry at any reference to the fact that he is "conquering" anything. "Mountaineers have never spoken about 'conquering mountains. It is the media and non-climbers who talk in this way. You never conquer a mountain; a mountain lets you move to the top and get back down. It lets you have a good time or a bad time on it, but it never allows you to conquer it."

§ 1. If you've ever thought that talking to someone was a waste of breath, you might be comforted to know that in some cases you are right  — the words we utter have very little effect on people compared with how we say them and what we are doing when we say them.

§ 2. Recent research has shown that in a presentation before a group of people, 55 per cent of the effect on the audience is determined by the body language of the speaker, 38 per cent by their tone of voice and only 7 per cent by the actual content of what is being said. Body language speaks louder than words.

§ 3. So can performance and communication skills really be improved? It would appear so, according to Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, which was developed in the 1970s by therapist Richard Bandler and linguistics professor John Grinder. They asked: "What makes the difference between someone who is competent at something and someone who is excellent?" They examined the behaviour of people generally considered to be examples of excellence in their respective fields to identify what they were doing consciously (осо­знан­но) and unconsciously. Surprisingly, they discovered patterns of communication which all these high achievers were using to produce consistently positive results. They found that they were able to copy these strategies and achieve similar success, so they developed a way of teaching these skills to other people, a method they called Neuro-Linguistic Programming.

§ 4. They have discovered how people achieve mutual understanding, both consciously and unconsciously, by observing the body language and voice patterns of the person they are talking to. If you're dealing with someone who is painfully shy, you're not going to make a good connection by overwhelming them with your cheerfulness. By matching someone's behaviour we can gain their confidence, achieve a good relationship and improve the quality of communication  — in other words, we can get on someone's wavelength. NLP practitioners claim anyone can learn how to do this, and quite quickly. NLP is all about taking one's unconscious, not very highly developed skills and practising them consciously.

§ 5. Another powerful aspect of NLP is its use of positive thinking. We can become aware of the negative and turn it to the positive. Once it is framed in a positive way as a goal, the brain can begin to cope with it and then apply itself to achieving that outcome. To put it another way, if you don't know where you're going, it makes it harder to get there.