A long-term American study shows the importance of early education for poor children. The study is known as the Abecedarian Project. It involved more than one-hundred young children from poor families in North Carolina.

    Half of the children attended an all-day program at a high-quality child-care center. The center offered educational, health and social programs. Children took part in games and activities to increase their thinking and language skills and social and emotional development. The program also included health foods for the children.

    The children attended the program from when they were a few weeks old until the age of five years. The other group of children did not attend the child-care center. After the age of five, both groups attended public school.

    Researchers compared the two groups of children. When they were babies, both groups had similar results in tests for mental and physical skills. However, from the age of eighteen months, the children in the educational child-care program did much better in tests.

    The researchers tested the children again when they were twelve and fifteen years old. The tests found that the children who had been in the child-care center continued to have higher average test results. These children did much better on tests of reading and mathematics.

    A few years ago, organizers of the Abecedarian Project tested the students again. At the time, each student was twenty-one years old. They were tested for thinking and educational ability, employment, parenting and social skills. The researchers found that the young adults who had the early education still did better in reading and mathematics tests. They were more than two times as likely to be attending college or to have completed college. In addition, the children who received early education were older on average, when their first child was born.

    The study offers more evidence that learning during the first months and years of life is important for all later development.

    The researchers of the Abecedarian Project believe their study shows a need for lawmakers to spend money on public early education. They believe these kinds of programs could reduce the number of children who do not complete school and are unemployed.

    Kyle is my big brother. For eighteen years, I felt that Kyle was my enemy. In fact, I found it ridiculous that people thought older brothers looked out for their sisters, protected them and fought off their sisters，bullies. Huh? My brother was the bully (恃强凌弱者).
    When we were little, his fights with others caused my only black eye, cuts in my lips and even a nosebleed or two. I often wished I were an only child!

    Time flew. We ended up attending colleges two thousand miles apart, yet strangely, that's when we began communicating. Through e-mail, we kept in constant touch. Mostly I complained about serious homesickness, impossible roommates difficult classes, and... dating. I felt I lost myself. At a particularly low time, I cried to Kyle about my injured confidence, my broken heart, and the particular jerk (蠢人) who broke it.

    And that's when the package arrived.

    “What's this?” I thought as I tore into it. The box revealed a sweatshirt. “Phi Delta Theta? Thai's Kyle's frat (兄弟会).” Kyle was the president of the frat house. Why would he send this? I put it aside and dug deeper. A pile of letters. And they were all addressed to me. I opened the one on top.

    “Katrina,” it said, “your brother showed me your picture and I think you're awesome and beautiful.” I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, sure.” I opened another letter. And another. Eighteen in all.

    Each one was from a different guy. They complimented (恭维) me. They invited me on dates. And they tried to convince me to make a trip out to Knox College and meet them.

    I loved it. I didn't care about the motive. And mostly, I loved the idea that my big brother had pulled it off. I picked up the phone.

    “Kyle, the box came and I can't believe what you did.” But Kyle wasn't accepting compliments. “Oh”, he said，“I was just tired of reading your complaints.”

    Big brothers, I decided, really did protect their sisters. And mine fought off the biggest bully I'd ever met. Now I return to my true self，full of confidence.

    Like all big cities, Paris has a traffic problem: lots of cars, lots of traffic jams and lots of pollution from exhaust fumes (废气). So the city began a project to improve the situation.

    Under the Velib project ('Velib' comes from velo liberty, or 'bicycle freedom') people can take a bicycle, use it for as long as they want, and then leave it at the same or another bicycle station. The first half-hour on the bike is free, but if you don't return it after 30 minutes, you have to pay. But it's only €1 a day or €29 a year! The bicycles are heavy (25 kg), and they are all gray and have baskets. There are about 20,000 of them in the city, and around 1,450 bicycle stations. So there are a lot more Velib stations than the 298 subway stations!

    Paris is not the first city to have a project like this. But not everybody thinks it's a great idea. One Parisian said, “These bicycles are only for short journeys. If people want to travel across the city, they won't use a bicycle - they'll still use their cars.”

    A city spokesman said, “The bicycle project won't solve all our traffic problems, of course. But it might help reduce air pollution. Traffic, together with factory fumes, is a big problem. There aren't any simple answers to traffic problems and pollution in cities. But unless we do something now, there will be more traffic jams and temperatures will continue to rise, so the problems in our environment will get worse. The bikes might help people to lead a healthier life, too.”

Our Annual Cultural Events

    A Night in Rio

    We are proud to bring the energy and enthusiasm of Brazilian Carnival to Charlotte with A Night in

    Rio! Get a taste of Carnival through dancing, live music, authentic food, drinks and marketplace. Put on your green and yellow, and join us for the unforgettable experience of Brazilian Carnival!

    Date: Saturday, February 24, 2018

    TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLY AT THE DOOR

    Location: Neighborhood Theatre, Charlotte

    Time: 7 PM

    Ritmo & Sabor

    We are thrilled to bring the annual celebration Ritmo & Sabor Festival! Featuring dance performances and FREE dance lessons and delicious, authentic Latin cuisine, this festival will be a fantastic celebration for the entire family to enjoy! Food and beer will be available for purchase. Come out to enjoy a great summer evening of Ritmo & Sabor!

    Date: Saturday July 2, 2018

    Location: International & Cultural Center, Charlotte

    Time: 5-11 PM

    FREE ADMISSION

    Las Américas

    Join us in the annual celebration LAS AMÉRICAS! We display our history and identity of Latin America through musical performances, story-telling and poetry. Enjoy yourself with local artists, shop your way through a market of arts and crafts and join in some of the finest Latin American cuisine.

    Date: August 18, 2018

    Location: Midwood International & Culture Center, Charlotte

    Time: 2-7 PM

    Admission is FREE.

    Latin American Festival

    Festival Latinoamericano returns for its 28th year, with musical artists and dance performances, a diverse authentic selection of Latin American food, visual artists, and a street festival environment with activities for the whole family.

    Location: Symphony Park at South Park Mall, Charlotte

    Date: Saturday Sept. 29 (1-8pm)

    Admission: $10; Children aged 8 & under are free.

    Dave Merry and his tools have been through a lot together. The tools helped Dave, now 80, repair his home in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he and his wife, Annette Merry, lived for 46 years and raised three children. The table saw, the jointer plane, the drill press, and the dozens of other power and hand tools had pride of place in his carefully organized workshop. "I had a whole setup, and it was beautiful," says Dave, a retired engineer.

    But then Annette experienced a stroke (中风) that left her relying on a walker to get around, and the Merrys decided to move into assisted living. Dave's workshop was obviously a minor consideration given Annette's condition, but the family knew that giving it up, on top of everything else, would hurt.

    It was the Merrys' daughter who came up with a possible solution. She'd heard about some people who were setting up a tool library—a nonprofit facility that would lend out tools just as a regular library lends books. Might Dad be interested in donating his?

    "I said yes," Dave says.

    The people creating the St. Paul Tool Library were thrilled. They had expected it would take a year to collect enough tools to make their facility fully functional. Instead it took one day: the day Dave donated his.

    The library's founders drove over to the Merrys' house and picked everything up themselves. The library is housed in the basement of the American Can Factory. Members pay an annual fee (from $20 to $120) for unlimited tool use and a varying number of visits to the workshop. And they get an extra benefit: Dave Merry. "Almost every time we're open, Dave's here," says one of the founders, Peter Hoh. "It means a lot to me to be able to go and use my tools," Dave says. "But it means just as much to help DIYers use the tools properly."

    As Hoh puts it, "This is his workshop now."