Parents who help their children with homework may actually be bringing down their school grades. Other forms of prenatal involvement, including volunteering at school and observing a child's class, also fail to help, according to the most recent study on the topic.
The findings challenge a key principle of modern parenting(养育子女) where schools except them to act as partners in their children's education. Previous generations concentrated on getting children to 
school on time, fed, dressed and ready to learn.
       Kaith Robinson, the author of the study, said, "I really don't know if the public is ready for this but there are some ways parents can be 
involved in their kids' education that leads to declines in their academic performance. One of the things that was consistently negative was
 parents' help with homework." Robinson suggested that may be because parents themselves struggle to understand the task." They may 
either not remember the material their kids are studying now, or in some cases never learnt it themselves, but they're still offering advice."
       Robinson assessed parental involvement performance and found one of the most damaging things a parent could do was to punish their children for poor marks. In general, about 20% of parental involvement was positive, about 45% negative and the rest statistically
 insignificant.
      Common sense suggests it was a good thing for parents to get involved because "children with good academic success do have involved
 parents ", admitted Robinson. But he argued that this did not prove parental involvement was the root cause of that success." A big 
surprise was that Asian-American parents whose kids are doing so well in school hardly involved. They took a more reasonable approach, conveying to their children how success at school could improve their lives."

    One form of social prejudice against older people is the belief that they cannot understand or use modern technology. Activities like playing computer games, going on the Net and downloading MP3s are only for the youngsters. Isn't it unfair that older people enjoying a computer game should be frowned(皱眉) upon by their children and grandchildren?

    Nowadays older people have more control over their lives and they play a full part in society. Moreover, better health care has left more people in their sixties and seventies feeling fit and active after retirement. Mental activity, as well as physical exercise, can contribute to better health. Playing computer games is a very effective way of exercising the brain.

    When personal computers were first introduced, most older people didn't believe they would ever familiarize themselves with it. Now computers have been around for a few generations and retired people have gradually become more relaxed about using them for fun. Gamers over 65 prefer playing puzzle games and card games. Kate Stevens, aged 72, says: “I find it very relaxing. It's not very demanding, but you still need to concentrate.”

    Another development that has favored “grey games” is a change in the type of videogames available on the market. There's a greater variety of games to choose from, including more intellectual and complex strategy(策略) and simulation(模拟) games. Internet Chess and Train Simulator are among the most popular of these. Train Simulator is based on real-world rail activities. Players can choose from a variety of challenges, such as keeping to a strict-timetable and using helper engines during a winter storm.

    Some people argue that “grey gamers” simply don't have the skills required for computer games, and that teenagers are better. This couldn't be further from the truth. Most computer games require the kind of analytical thinking that improves with practice, which means that the “grey gamers” may well be far better than gamers half a century younger than them. In games where speed is the main consideration, older people would be at a disadvantage because they may have slower reaction times. On the other hand, “grey gamers” have a preference for slower paced, mind challenging games.

    Because of the financial crisis in the US and UK, college students are beginning to struggle to find ways to pay their tuition fees and accommodations.

    Recently, two major US student loan (贷款) lenders, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase, announced they were leaving the student loan industry altogether. Because banks currently have a lack of credit, they are reluctant to offer students low-interest loans that need a several-year wait for any return of interest.

    In the US, many undergraduates fill up their financial needs with a private loan, although the majority can get government-funded loans. In the 2015-2016 academic year, $ 17 billion in private student loans was used to finance higher education. The lack of private funding has yet to be covered and will hit many US students hard.

    Across the Atlantic, UK students have been less troubled by the crisis. Most undergraduates in the UK cover their university expenses with government-funded loans and grants. Their biggest concern is a sudden increase in student rent.

    Most young professionals now rent houses, since 80 percent of UK mortgage schemes (按揭计划) have disappeared—a direct result of the credit crisis. This has boosted the house rent market.

    In large cities, UK students are paying almost 6.5 percent more in rent than the previous year. Figures from the UK organization Accommodation for Student show students in big cities such as London paying an average weekly rent of $ 203.

    Yet, despite students' suffering, the number of this year's university applications is expected to grow. During economic slumps, people regard further education as a way to survive tough job market.

    Have you eaten too much over the holidays? You should try fidgeting for a while. Those around you might not like it, but scratching (moving your nails (指甲) against a part of your body) and twitching (moving suddenly and quickly when you don't want to) is an important way of burning up calories (卡路里).

    American researchers have found that some people's squirming (continuously turn your body when nervous) and wigging (move in small movements, especially from side to side) equals (等于) several miles of slow running each day.

    The scientists, based at the National Institute of Health's laboratory in Phenix, Arizona, are studying why some people get fat and other stay slim.

    In one study 177 people each spent 24 hours in a room in the institute where the amount (量) of energy is measured by their oxygen and carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) levels. By the end of the day, some people had burned up 800 calories in toe-tapping, (moving the front part of your foot up and down) finger-drumming (hitting your fingers continuously and lightly against something hard) and other nervous habits. However, others had burned up only 100 calories.

    The researchers found that slim（苗条的）women fidget more than fat women, but there was no significant difference in men. Heavy people burn up more energy when they fidget than do thin people.

    Being crazy about perfection(完美) among young people has risen by more than 30 per-cent over the last three decades, a study has found.

    Many of them believe that their environment is very demanding and that others judge them strictly, according to analysis of data from more than 40,000 British, Canadian and American university students from 1989 t0 2018.

    The research, carried out by the University of Bath and York St John University, found that the extent to which young people attach an irrational importance on being perfect, hold unrealistic expectations of themselves and are highly self-critical has increased by 10 percent when compared to previous generations. The authors suggested their findings point to the impact of three decades of neoliberalism (新自由主义) forcing young people to compete against one another.

    Lead author Dr Thomas Curran from the University of Bath's Department for Health said he hoped organizations responsible for guarding the welfare of young people, such as schools, universities, and policymakers who shape the environments in which these organizations operate, would resist the promotion of competitiveness at the expense of young people's psycho-logical health.

    He said, "Rising rates of perfectionism highlighted in this study correspond to three decades of neoliberalism, which has forced young people to compete against each other in an in-creasingly demanding social and economic environment." The study also found the extent to which young people impose (迫使) unrealistic standards on those around them and evaluate others critically has increased by 16 percent.

    The researches defined perfectionism as a combination of extremely high personal standards and overly harsh self-criticism, leading to psychological difficulties.

    Co-author Dr Andrew Hill of York St John University added, "The increase in mental health difficulties among young people makes for a setting for our findings. The higher level of perfectionism may be a key contributing factor to such difficulties. Young people are trying to find ways to cope with increasing demands being placed on them and they are responding by becoming more perfect towards themselves and others."