Among a group of middle-aged men and women，who were discussing bringing about quality education(素质教育)，was a young man dressed in a white shirt．Within minutes, he was called onto the dais(讲台)．Twenty-two-year-old Babar Ali was surrounded by educators from across India．He was popularly known as the world's youngest head teacher．

    The school that Babar started in poor Bhabta village has completely changed．When he was nine years old, he had only eight students in his school．Now the school has 300 students and 10 teachers. The school is called Ananda  Siksha  Niketan. It is recognized by the West Bengal government．

    Today Babar is a student in the morning．He is learning English literature at Berhampore Krishanath College．But he comes home in the afternoon to teach his students．

    Baber was discussing education at the National Summit on Quality in Education(NSQE)．The meeting was held in Bangalore，capital of Karnataka State in southern India．

"It all started as a game when I used to teach my sister, my first student, in my backyard．Later, some children from the village often came to my classes and that was how the school was born," he said．

    His biggest achievement is that six of his students have now started teaching in his school after their college hours．

    In another month, Babar's dream of a school building will soon come true．Many people, a large part of whom are from Karnataka，have helped him realize the dream．They have given his school a lot of money．   

Although he has received so much attention and recognition(认可)，he is still not fulfilled ． "There are people in my village who do not go to school．And there is a long way to go as so many children still need to receive an education，"he says．

    Best friends may be priceless but the cost of keeping the relationship alive is £23,870.

    According to a study, a BFF (best friends forever) does not come cheap with devoted friends spending £4,679 on birthday presents alone over a lifetime. And while it costs nothing to be a shoulder to cry on, big-hearted Britons go the extra mile and spend £168 on pick-me-ups(提神物品) to get their mate through a rocky patch (艰难时刻)like the breakup of a relationship.

    There's a further £242 spent on presents to show how much they mean from gifts bought on holiday to treats for no reason. And distance does not break up a close friendship as BFFs spend a whopping(巨大的) £18,000 on travel to see each other despite being miles apart because of university, jobs and marriage.

    The study by cashback site TopCashBack found on average BEFs who marry can expect £431 spent on them and a further £283 on gifts when they have children. And they can rely on their pals to help out when they move houses as they will obtain £127 worth of housewarming presents and takeaways(a kind of food).

    The survey based on a friendship lasting 40 years found more than eight in ten adults with a BFF felt their friendships were worth every penny.

    TopCashback spokesperson Natasha Smith said: “Those friendships which stand the test of time are often the most important in our lives. However, they come at a cost. From train tickets once a month to flights and a new dress for a wedding on the Italian coast, the price paid for having a best mate can soon add up. But when we asked people to compare their friendship with the financial investment(投资), only 14% thought their friendship was equal to their investment with the vast majority thinking it was worth more."

    On a Saturday morning earlier this September, the world got its first look at the Strati. This electric vehicle is unlike any other currently on the road. It rolls on four wheels, but its body and chassis(底盘) weren't built in a factory. Instead, Strati's designers used a technology called 3-D printing. It created those parts of the car in one piece, from the ground up.

    “Compared to a typical vehicle on the road, the Strati definitely looks different,” says Greg Schroeder, a senior research engineer at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. He did not work on the new car. His organization studies trends and changes in th e auto industry.

    It took 44 hours to print the new car at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. Over the next few days, the car's designers installed additional parts. These included the car's engine, brakes and tires. Then, early on September 13, Jay Rogers climbed into the car, started its engine and drove the vehicle onto the street. Rogers helped found Local Motors. It's the Arizona-based company behind the Strati. Two weeks later, his team printed a second Strati, and just as fast, at a fair in New York City.

    Justin Fishkin, a local Motors official, sees the Strati as a window into the future. Today, car buyers are limited in their choice of a vehicle. They can order only what car companies have already designed. But in the future, he says, you may be able to design your own car online and then get it printed to order.

    Manufacturing experts say 3-D printing has begun to revolutionize how they make things. The technology has been around for decades. But these machines used to be so expensive that only large companies could afford them. In the last few years, though, that has changed. Many of the machines are now inexpensive enough for small companies—or even individuals —to own. Some local libraries make them available to the public. High Schools are beginning to use them in classrooms. Wide access to these printers means people can now design and print a wide variety of new things.

    The car's printer is a one-of-a-kind device.

    The technology behind the 3-D printer used in Chicago is an example of additive manufacturing. This proce ss builds solid objects, slice by slice, from the bottom up. (“Strati” means layers, in Italian.) A mechanical arm moves a nozzle from one side to another, back and forth. As it moves, the nozzle deposits a liquid—often melted plastic or metal (but it could be food, concrete or even cells) —that quickly hardens or bonds to become solid or semi-solid. This creates a single, thin layer. Once a layer is complete, the printer starts depositing the next one.

     “There's a lot of interest in 3-D printing in the auto industry,” says Schroeder. Right now, the technology is particularly useful for building models of cars or car parts.

    To compete with current auto manufacturers, the 3-D printer would have to increase in a hurry, Schroeder says. By contrast, he notes, a Ford F-150 pickup truck rolls off an assembly line at a rate of roughly one per minute. To print as many Stratis would require many more printers. Schroeder says he doesn't see 3-D printing soon taking over for such high-volume manufacturing. But, he adds, “Who knows what will h appen in the long term?”

    Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee designed the 3-D printer used in Chicago. Lonnie Love, a research scientist at the lab, led the effort.

    Additive manufacturing often is slow and expensive. It also may produce materials that are unreliable, Love says. So for two years, his team searched for ways to make 3-D printing better. They built new machines and tested them over and over.

    All of that work paid off: their new machine is fast and uses less expensive material than earlier printers. In addition, it prints a plastic embedded with fibers of carbon to produce a stronger material. This helps ensure the material won't crack or break under pressure.

    The British economy is showing the greatest signs of stress since the Eurozone crisis and fears of a double-dip recession（衰退）six years ago, as worrying reports show the steepest fall in manufacturing（制造业）output and the greatest degrees of pessimism among employers since 2012. Concerns over Brexit（英国脱欧）and a slowdown for high street spending are among the major factors contributing towards 2018 being the worst time in six years for British firms planning to take on new staff, according to a closely watched survey conducted by the employment firm ManpowerGroup.

    Watched by the Bank of England and the government for early warnings of hiring increases or downturns, the quarterly poll（季度民意调查）of about 2,000 major employers from nine different industry sectors across the UK found a net balance of only 4% planning to hire more staff rather than cutting back.

    The weakest outlook from the survey was reserved for the banking and finance industry, which recorded the worst outlook since the depths of the financial crisis almost a decade ago, suggesting job cuts may be on the way over the summer.

    The barometer（晴雨表）of hiring sentiment comes as Britain's factories unexpectedly recorded the sharpest drop in output for more than five years in April. Pointing to fewer orders for steel used in infrastructure（基础设施）projects and a wider slowdown in demand for British goods at home and abroad, the Office for National Statistics said manufacturing output fell by 1.4% in April from the previous month. Economists had forecast modest growth of 0.3%.

    Although the situation does not appear to be as severe this year, forecasts issued by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research on Monday suggest the UK has done little to bounce back from heavy snowfall earlier in 2018. Putting the growth rate for GDP at only 0.2% in the three-month period to May, up from 0.1% in the same period ending in April, Niesr's head of UK macroeconomic forecasting, Amit Kara, said: “Economic growth has slowed materially since the start of this year and it continues to remain weak.”

    Application Workshop

    Join Citizens Committee for New York City and the NYC Department of Sanitation for a workshop on the Green Team Mini-Grant application on February 2, which lasts from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM!

    The workshop will cover

    Applying for the Green Team Mini-Grant

    How to use the Zero Waste schools website

    Creative Coding

    We are hosting a free design workshop just for girls on March 7 from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM, in support of International Women's Day! The focus of the workshop is on Creative Coding, with art and technology, but we'll also have a few female designers to share their unique work with the attendees.

    No experience necessary, this event is for girls between the ages of 9-12.

SAT & ACT Roadmap to Success

    In this free 1-hour workshop, parents will discover the road map to SAT & ACT success. Topics included: Review of "goal scores" for SAT/ACT college admissions, national trends in college admissions, how to determine whether the SAT or the ACT is the best test for your student, steps to prepare for the Sat or ACT, best time to take the Sat or ACT. Join us on March 23.

    Square School Family Information Night

    Join us for our Family Information Night on March 14! We'll gather at the future home for Square School for an introduction to the school model at 6:30pm.

    This event is intended for families with young people entering grades six or seven in 2019 that want to be a part of a school community that attaches importance to a lifestyle of learning. Join us for this Family Information Night to see if Square School is the right choice for your family.

    While most people have the idea that volcano eruptions are one of the most destructive disasters in nature, seeing a volcano erupt is a wonderful experience, and you can really feel the heat by climbing to the summit of Pacaya for a close-up view.

    There are guided tours every day up this highly active volcano from Antigua, giving travelers a chance to see Mother Nature at her most powerful. Pacaya is an easy drive from Antigua, a beautiful city with many colorful houses along its old streets that are turned into art-works during its Holy Week festival. No matter when you come to Antigua, you won't miss the Pacaya-tour companies.

    But climbing Pacaya is no easy job: it is 2,560 meters high, and reaching the summit takes two to three hours of seemingly one-step-forward and two-step-back movements. As you climb you hear the dull sounds of eruptions high above. Steaming, hot remains from recent eruptions begin to line the path as you near the active summit: the Mckenney Cone (火山锥). Just as though you were going to walk over to the edge of the cone, the road turns to the left and up to the relative safety of the old, inactive summit.

    Many tours are timed so that you arrive at the cone of the volcano in plenty of time for sunset and the full contrast between the erupting red lava(岩浆) and the darkening sky. On a good day the view from the summit is extremely exciting. The active mouth boils, sending red lava over its sides, and once in a while shoots hot steams up to 100 meters into the air. There is a strong bad smell in the air even if you take care to be upwind of the cone. As evening turns deeper into the night, the burning lava quietly falls down the side of the volcano. For you, too, it is time to get down.