In the library, I found my way into the “Children's Room.” I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.

       There on the book's cover was a beagle which looked identical（相同的） to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.

Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.

       My mother's call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.

       I never told my mother about my “miraculous” (奇迹般地) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.

    Lights out, phones on. Many teenagers reach for their smartphones or tablets at bedtime, but it may be a good idea to switch off before you hit the pillow.

    According to a study by researchers at Murdoch and Griffith Universities in Australia, using mobile devices late at night could harm teenagers' sleep and lead to an increased risk of mental health problems.

    The study was carried out on more than 1,000 Australian high school students aged between 13 and 16. It lasted four years as student participants moved from Year 8 to Year 11.

    During the study, students were asked what time of the night they received or sent text messages and phone calls, and how well they slept.

    The results are impressive. When the study started in Year 8, more than 85 percent of the students had a mobile pone and around one-third of these students never used phones after lights out. In contrast, 93 percent of Year 11 students had a mobile phone and only 22 percent of then had no late night mobile use when the study concluded four years later.

    As the levels of mobile phone use increased, there was a growth in poor sleep behavior among the students. Meanwhile, mental health problems also increased. Students in Year 8 who were more likely to use phones at night were found to have higher levels of depression (抑郁) and lower self-esteem (自尊心) one year later.

    Lynette Vernon, lead author of the study, explained that phones affect our sleep patterns because of the unnatural blue light they produce. This light could affect the level of hormones (荷尔蒙) in the body, disrupting (打乱) its balance.

     “The more you sit in bed and watch TV, play with your tablet, and play with your phone at three o'clock in the morning, the more these things affect the slow waves of your sleep pattern and give your poor quality sleep,” Mark Levi, a Sydney-based sleep doctor said.

    Based on the findings, the researchers suggested parents should focus on guiding their children's use of mobile devices.

    According to Vernon, the solution is not simply to ban teenagers from using their devices, but teach them better ways of using them

     “Back when they're aged 7 to 10, you have to be a role model. If you put your phone away at night and it doesn't go into your bedroom, it becomes normalizedin the household and you have a much easier job,” he told The Guardian.

    Antarctica's ice white environment is going green and facing other unexpected threats. Scientists say that as temperatures go up in the polar area, invading (入侵) plants and insects, including the flies, cause a major threat.

More and more of these invaders, in the form of larvae(幼虫) or seeds, are surviving in coastal areas around the South Pole, where the temperature has risen by more than 3℃ over the past three decades. Glaciers have melted, exposing more land which has been occupied by mosses that have been found to be growing more quickly and thickly than ever before—providing potential green homes for invaders.

    “The common house flies are a perfect example of the problem the Antarctic now faces from invading species,” said Dominic Hodgson of the British Antarctic Survey. “It comes in on ships, where it exists in kitchens and then at bases on the continent. It now has an increasing chance of surviving in the Antarctic as it warms up, and that is a worry. Insects like the house flies carry bacteria that could have a deadly effect on native lifeforms.”

    The Antarctic has several native species of insects. Together with its native mosses these are now coming under increased threat from three major sources: visiting scientists increasing numbers of tourists and global warming. However, it is global warming that is the main driver of the greening of Antarctica.

    In 2015, more than 38, 000 tourists visited Antarctica. “These tourists are often very careful about not leaving waste or having mud. But they could carry seeds or larvae on their boots when they set foot on the Antarctic, “ said Hodgson.

    More and more invasive insects and plants have been found on the Antarctic and have required removal. “The insects and plants that are native to Antarctica have survived there for thousands of years,” said Hodgson, “We have got to act now if we want to save the environment.”

    A mixture of deep sorrow and anger has swept Brazilians across the country — particularly in the city of Rio de Janeiro — with the burning of their beloved Museu Nacional, or National Museum.

    By Monday morning, when I visited the site, the firemen were busy trying to enter the huge, early 19th-century neoclassical building. For all we know, everything may have been burned to ashes. Fortunately, no one, not even the four security guards who witnessed the beginning of the fire, has been injured.

    Nobody yet knows the cause of the fire, but it is the officials' irresponsibility and the funding shortages in particular, which are being blamed for this tragedy.

    Some of the museum's researchers told the press that they had been able to save some things from the exhibition rooms before the fire moved in. However, we Brazilians have lost much of the material memory of our short past. A good part of our 518 years of history, or that which had been transformed into storable objects, disappeared in just a few hours.

    The people of Rio de Janeiro were fond of taking their children  or grandchildren to the museum to show off their knowledge of the odd-looking mummies brought in from Egypt by the Emperor Dom Pedro II, a huge skeleton of a humpback whale, or the brightly coloured feathers of a headdress of the Kayapo tribe.

    When I think that I can no longer take my youngest daughter to the Museu Nacional — that is what gets me emotional. It is this feeling that has penetrated (穿透) our souls and may leave Brazilians feeling empty for a long time to come.

    It is never too early, or too late, to encourage a child to read. With the chill (寒冷)of winter upon us, the following is a list of wonderful stories with winter and or snow themes.

    Waiting for Winter

    It was written by Sebastian Meschenmoser. A little squirrel(松鼠), who has never seen snow, is determined that he will not miss it this year. He gets the help of his good friends, a bear and a hedgehog, trying to stay a- wake until they can all see the first snowfall of winter. This book is a wonderful story to read aloud to young children or for older children to read by themselves.

    The Snowy Day

    The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is a short read, but since its first publication it has been loved by millions. It tells about a beautiful story about the magic and possibility of the first snowfall of winter, which appeals to young and older children.

    The Polar Express

    Popularized by the 2004 Warner Brothers all-digital film, The Polar Express was first published in 1985. The hero of this story is a boy who is given the opportunity to receive a gift from Santa himself. A magical train appears outside his bedroom window» taking him away on a fantastic journey to the North Pole.

    Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree

    It was written by Robert E. Barry. Mr Willowby orders a lovely new Christmas tree, and when it is delivered to his home he finds it far too tall. He has the top of the tree cut off in order to make it just the right height. This book follows the treetop on its journey through the forest, where it brings the joy of the holidays for some woodland creatures. This book teaches us a valuable lesson about the joy of giving, and happiness that it can bring to the hearts of recipients (接受者).

Thanks to the evolution of technology, the learning-centred mobile apps can help maintain learning even outside the classrooms and make the learning activities more efficient.

Study Blue

With Study Blue, teachers can create flashcards and interactive sessions. Meanwhile, you can view the study materials anywhere anytime and share flashcards with your teacher & classmates in real time.

App Features

• Unlimited access to over 500 million study materials.

• Quizzes to track your study process.

• Set reminders on bookmarked contents.

Ratings: 4.4/5 Users: 1,000,000+ Download: Android, iOS

TED

TED helps educators to bring out a colorful classroom and prepare unique lecture presentations. Thousands of sessions by experts can help you to get knowledge & topics to discuss in classrooms.

App Features

• TED talk videos with subtitles (字幕).

• Discover interesting lectures.

• Playing is possible with no Internet connection.

Ratings: 4.6/5 Users: 10,000,000+ Download: Android, iOS

Quizzes

Quizzes make your study more interesting. There are millions of teacher-created quizzes on Quizizz and you can compete with friends online. Teachers can make the whole class play together and assign individual homework.

App Features

• Customized games for individuals.

• Track & get timely progress reports.

• Teachers are the quiz masters.

Ratings: 4.8/5 Users: 1,000,000+ Download: Android, iOS

Pocket

Pocket is a solution to learning lectures on the go. You can instantly save articles or video content for improving your classroom studies. Teachers can communicate with students and parents virtually.

App Features

• Dark-colored themes for night use.

• Multi-language support.

• Access to saved articles without the Internet.

Ratings: 4.6/5 Users: 10,000,000+ Download: Android, iOS