Does Fame Drive You Crazy?

    "Bill, you never miss!" Joe said admiringly. "Unless I'm in a real game," Bill complained. "Then I miss all the time." Joe knew that Bill was right. Bill performed much better when he was having fun with Joe in the school yard than he did when he was playing for the school team in front of a large crowd. "Maybe you just need to practice more," Joe suggested. "But I practice all the time with you!" Bill objected. He shook his head. "I just can't play well when people are watching me." "You play well when I'm watching," Joe pointed out.  "That's because I've known you since we were five years old," Bill said with a smile. "I'm just not comfortable playing when other people are around." Joe nodded and understood, but he also had an idea.

    The next day Joe and Bill met in the school yard again to practice. After a few minutes, Joe excused himself. "Practice without me," Joe said to his friend. "I'll be back in a minute."

    Joe hurried through the school building, gathering together whomever he could find—two students, a math teacher, two secretaries, and a janitor. When Joe explained why he needed them, everyone was happy to help. Joe reminded the group to stay quiet as they all went toward the school's basketball court. As Joe had hoped, Bill was still practicing basketball. He made five baskets in a row without noticing the silent people standing behind him.

    "Hey, Bill!" Joe called out finally. Bill turned. A look of surprise came over his face. "I just wanted to show you that you could play well with people watching you," Joe said. "Now you'll have nothing to worry about for the next game!"

    If you are looking for something fun and educational to do in Maryland, why not visit the Maryland Science Center? It is located at 601 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21230.The ticket prices vary depending on ages, groups and the exhibits you choose.

    Introduction

    The Maryland Science Center is basically a museum, but it gives everyone a chance to learn through experience and play, rather than just glance at an exhibit.

    Activities

    You can learn about various topics, including outer space, the human body, dinosaurs, electricity, marine（海洋的）biology, energy, and much more. You can also take part in the interactive activities, such as racing bubbles, digging for dinosaur fossils, using puzzle pieces to construct cars, and so much more.

    The Davis Planetarium（天文馆）

    At the Davis Planetarium, you can lie back in a chair and look at the stars while still inside the Science Center. The stars will appear on the ceiling of the theatre as you watch them.

    There are different shows to catch at the Davis Planetarium. You can learn about the galaxy and astronomy during the Dark Matters show. Learn about the stars and planets during the Sky Live show. The One World One Sky show allows children to explore the stars. The Live from the Sun show will teach you all about the hot sun.

    The Kids Room

    For children, they can't miss the Kids Room. They will be able to play in a water area, construct dams and water towers, push buttons, ring doorbells, build with blocks, and more, and definitely they will learn a lot. In addition, there is also an area for kids of two years old and under, where they can crawl, walk and explore safely with soft toys.

     “Sugar, alcohol and tobacco,” economist Adam Smith once wrote, “are commodities which are nowhere necessaries of life, which have become objects of almost universal consumption, and which are, therefore, extremely popular subjects of taxation.”

    Two and a half centuries on, most countries impose (征税) sort of tax on alcohol and tobacco. With obesity levels putting increasing pressure on public health systems, governments around the world have begun to toy with the idea of taxing sugar as well.

    Whether such taxes work is a matter of debate. A preliminary review of Mexico's taxation found a fall in purchases of taxed drinks as well as a rise in sales of untaxed and healthier drinks. By contrast, a Danish tax on foods high in fats was abandoned a year after its introduction, during claims that consumers were avoiding it by crossing the border to Germany to satisfy their desire for cheaper, fattier foods.

    The food industry has, in general, been firmly opposed to such direct government action. Nonetheless, the renewed focus on waistlines means that industry groups are under pressure to demonstrate their products are healthy as well as tasty.

    Over the past three decades, the industry has made some efforts to improve the quality of its offerings. For example, some drink manufactures have cut the amount of sugar in their beverages (饮料).

    Many of the reductions over the past 30 years have been achieved either by reducing the amount of sugar, salt or fat in a product, or by finding an alternative ingredient. More recently, however, some companies have been investing money in a more ambitious undertaking: learning how to adjust the fundamental make-up of the food they sell. For example, having salt on the outside, but none on the inside, reduces the salt content without changing the taste.

    While reformulating (再制定) recipes is one way to improve public health, it should be part of a multisided (多边的) approach. The key is to remember that there is not just one solution. To deal with obesity, a mixture of approaches, which include reformulation, taxation and adjusting portion sizes, will be needed. There is no silver bullet.

    Growing up, I wanted to be just like my mom. She was kind. People always seemed to feel comfortable in her presence. For years, she was a volunteer in our community. I loved going to the local nursing home with her where she taught a ceramics(制陶技术) class.

    On one summer day, Mama told me to get changed and meet her at the car.

I had planned to spend the day at the lake with friends. Why did she have to ruin everything? I imagined the cool lake water. Irritated，I climbed into the car and slammed the door shut. We sat in silence. I was too upset to make conversation.

    "Tasha, would you like to know where we are going?" Mama asked calmly.

    "No," I said.

    "We are going to volunteer at a children's shelter today. I have been there before and I think it would benefit you," she explained.

    When we reached the shelter, Mama rang the doorbell. Moments later, we were greeted by a woman. She led us to the front room where all of the children were playing. I noticed a baby whose body was scarred with iron marks. I was told it was because she wouldn't stop crying. The majority of the children had noticeable physical scars. Others hid their emotional wounds.

    As I took in my surroundings, I felt a gentle pull on my shirt. I looked down to see a little girl looking up at me. "Hi. You want to play dolls with me?" she asked. I looked over at Mama for reinforcement. She smiled and nodded. I turned back and said, "Sure." Her tiny hand reached up and held mine, as if to comfort me.

    My mom taught me a valuable lesson that summer. I returned to the shelter with her several times. During those visits, some of the children shared their troubled pasts with me and I learned to be grateful for what I had. Today as I try to instill (逐渐灌输) these values in my own child, I reflect back to that experience. It was a time that I will never forget.

    Going to university is supposed to be a mind-broadening experience.

    That assumption is possibly made in contrast to training for work straight after school. But is it actually true? Jessika Golle of the University of Tubingen, Germany, thought she would try to find out.

    Her result, however, is not quite what might be expected. It shows that those who have been to university do indeed seem to leave with broader and more inquiring minds than those who have spent their immediate post-school years in vocational training for work. However, it is not the case that university broadens minds. Rather, work seems to narrow them.

    After studying the early career of 2095 German youngsters, Dr. Golle reached the conclusion.

    During the period under investigation, Germany had three tracks in its schools: a low one for pupils who would most probably leave school early and enter vocational training; a high one for those almost certain to enter university; and an intermediate one, from which there was a choice between the academic and vocational routes.

    The team used two standardized tests to assess their volunteers. One was of personality traits and the other of attitudes. They administered both tests twice once towards the end of each volunteer's time at school, and then again six years later.

    Of the original group, 382 were on the intermediate track, and it was on these that the researchers focused. Of them, 212 went to university and the remaining 170 chosen for vocational training and a job.

    When it came to the second round of tests, Dr Golle found that the personalities of those who had gone to university had not apparently changed. Those who had undergone vocational training and then got jobs were not that much changed in personality, either except in one crucial respect they had become more responsible.

    That sounds like a good thing, compared with the common public image of undergraduates as a bunch of pampered layabouts(娇生惯养的闲人). But changes in attitude the researchers recorded were more worrying. In the university group, again, none were detectable. But those who had chosen the vocational route showed marked drops in interest in tasks that are investigative and enterprising in nature.

    And that might restrict their choice of careers. Some investigative and enterprising jobs, such as scientific research, are, indeed off limits to the degreeless.

    But many, particularly in Germany, with its tradition of vocational training, are not. The researchers mention, for example, computer programmers, finance-sector workers and entrepreneurs as careers requiring these attributes.

    If Dr Golle is correct, and changes in attitude brought about by the very training Germany prides itself on are narrowing people's choices, that is indeed a matter of concern.