BEIJING — China's education authority will tighten the widely criticized policy of “extra credits” for the national college entrance examination to ensure a fairer chance for all exam-takers.

    Under the policy, high school students who win awards in national Olympic competitions could get "extra credits', up to 20 points for the national college entrance exam. Students with talent in sports and students who are from ethnic groups can also benefit from this policy. The extra credits have increased these students' chances of being admitted by famous universities. Some parents were found to have helped their children fabricate(伪造)award experiences or falsify qualifications to get extra credits.

    “It has harmed education equality，” the ministry said.

    Xiong Bingqi, vice-chief of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said the policy is designed to help students who have special talents but may be weak in academic performance to have a chance to receive higher education. It will still be needed but it is time to make the rules fairer," he said.

    The ministry said it will reduce the range of competitions whose winners can get extra credits, and limit the winners, privileges.

    The new policy will apply to students who begin high school in 2011, it said.

    Chen Lei, a mother of a 10-year-old girl, said she welcomed the ministry's policy adjustment as she does not want her daughter to become an Olympic competition geek.

    But not all the Chinese parents welcomed the new policy. “It is like a thunderbolt for me. My 13-year-old son has spent so much time studying Olympic math, and participated in so many technological competitions during vacations. It is useless now,” said Dong Wen, a 43-year-old mother.

    A student said, “Many students have changed the current study plan, and they can abandon the competition. I will be interested in learning the courses which can improve my abilities.”

    Yuan Guiren, minister of education, told China Daily that the reform is an attempt to consider the overall quality of an applicant. “But the country will not stop the national college entrance  examination as it is still the most objective way to evaluate talent in China,” he said.

    The computer keyboard helped kill shorthand—a system of rapid handwriting, and now it's threatening to finish off handwriting as a whole. When handwritten essays were introduced on the SAT exams for the class of 2012, just 15% of the most1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive(手写体). The rest? Block letters.

    And those college hopefuls are just the first edge of a wave of US students who no longer get much handwriting instructions in the primary grades, frequently 10 minutes a day or less. As a result, more and more students struggle to read and write cursive.

    There are those who say the culture is at a crossing, turning from the written word to the typed one. If handwriting becomes a lost form of communication, does it matter?

    It was at University Virginia that researchers recently discovered a previously unknown poem by Robert, written in his unique script. Handwritten documents are more valuable to researchers, historians say, because their authenticity can be confirmed. Students also find them more fascinating.

    The loss of handwriting also may be  a cognitive(认知的) opportunity missed. Several academic studies have found that good handwriting skills at a young age can help children express their thoughts better—a lifelong benefit.

    It doesn't take much to teach better handwriting skills. At some schools in Prince George's County, elementary school students use a program called Handwriting Without Tears for 15 minutes a day. They learn the correct formation of manuscript (手写的)letters through second grade, and cursive letters in third grade.

    A mechanical bicycle lock, like a U-lock, should be attached to a solid and immobile object like a rack (架子) to ensure safety. However, these racks are quite rare and popular, thus often occupied and although a bicycle lock prevents the bike from being carried away, as it fixes single parts like the frame or the wheels, other parts can be dismounted. Therefore an electronic system, consisting of several sensors, can extend the range of protection with only few components and less effort.

    The ‘FID Bikealarm' is a motion sensitive electronic alarm system that is attached to the rails of a bike saddle (座椅). Featuring omnidirectional (全方位) movement sensing to detect tiny movements or speeding-up and a small whistle emitting >120dB alarm sound to scare off potential thieves by arousing attention.

    The internal microcontroller uses a complex computer program to distinguish between a serious theft and harmless shaking movement as it senses and adapts to the environment. The usage is quite simple: identify yourself by holding the RFID tag close to the case to lock or unlock the alarm system signaled by feedback sounds. The RFID-technology is predestined for achieving this simple and secure interaction because it doesn't require any complex system, interaction or other devices—just a small tag.

    The ‘RFID Bikcalarm' is meant to be a useful add-on to mechanical bicycle locks as it massively extends the range of protection with few components. It is low-cost, durable and easy to use. The internal battery can be charged by USB.

    I was waiting for my train and on the subway station's floor was a man just sitting there. I looked around and nobody stopped so I just went my way. After a few steps, I turned and asked him whether he needed help. He told me his house was one station further and he would only need to take the train there. So I reached for his hand to help him stand up.

    He wanted to take the stairs but I feared that he would hurt himself since he seemed too weak to walk, so I asked him to take the elevator. Even though my mind was trying to turn the danger lights on, I put the thought that I should not go alone with a drunken man out of my mind and accompanied him on the elevator.

    We arrived on the platform with no incidents. The man's knees seemed to soften, so I asked him to rest on a bench. While sitting there, he thanked me, telling me that I saved him. No, I said, I really did nothing; he saved himself as he walked on his own feet.

    At the next station, we said our goodbyes. Before I knew it, he left 100 dollars and dashed out of the train. There was no way to give him back his money. I wanted to leave it on the seat, but a young woman who thought it belonged to me ran after me and gave me the note.

    My initial reaction to getting that money was of shame and I even felt offended. Then I thought he just wanted to thank me, the best way he knew how. Now, my question is — what act of kindness shall I do with these 100 dollars?

    Children have their own rules in playing games. They seldom need a referee (裁判) and rarely trouble to keep scores. They don't care much about who wins or loses, and it doesn't seem to worry them if the game is not finished. Yet, they like games that depend a lot on luck, so that their personal abilities cannot be directly compared. They also enjoyed games that move in stages, in which each stage, the choosing of leaders, the picking-up of sides, or the determining of which side shall start, is almost a game in itself.

    Grown-ups can hardly find children's game exciting, and they often feel puzzled at why their kids play such simple game again and again. However, it is found that a child plays games for very important reasons. He can be a good player without having to think whether he is a popular person, and he can find himself being a useful partner to someone of whom he is ordinary afraid. He becomes a leader when it comes to his turn. He can be confident, too, in particular games, that it is his place to give orders, to pretend to be dead, to throw a ball actually at someone, or to kiss someone he has caught.

    It appears to us that when children play a game they imagine a situation under their control. Everyone knows the rules, and more importantly, everyone plays according to the rules. Those rules may be childish, but they make sure that every child has a chance to win.

    A growing number of Chinese tourists are helping to save a dying town, after a like-known tourist attraction was featured on a number of Chinese travel blogs.

    The residents of Sea Lake, a town of just 600 people, barely see travelers stop at their gas station while driving by, but the sudden influx of Chinese tourists is helping keep the town's economy alive.

    The tourists come to see Lake Tyrrel—a shallow, salt crusted and often dry lake just out of town. According to a local teacher, Rachel Pearce, the extremely beautiful nightscape combined with the mysterious appearance of stars reflected on the salt lake gives people the impression of walking among the stars. Besides, the town is so far away that no light pollution ruins the particularly attractive views, and as it is situated in a barren(寸草不生的), dry part of the country, there are rarely any clouds to spoil the night sky.

    The attraction's growing sought-after status has resulted in the town's motel rooms being full almost every night, and while local farmers are suffering in a two-year drought, tourism is keeping the town's agricultural-based economy stable.

    Despite the popularity of the town and its attraction, locals are still confused as to why their little town deserves so much attention. Sea Lake's population has fallen from around 1, 200a decade ago to 600 today. "We're still unsure why Lake Tyrrel is such a big, big tourist attraction," one local says. "It's quite a shock."