Among a group of middle-aged men and women，who were discussing bringing about quality education(素质教育)，was a young man dressed in a white shirt．Within minutes, he was called onto the dais(讲台)．Twenty-two-year-old Babar Ali was surrounded by educators from across India．He was popularly known as the world's youngest head teacher．

    The school that Babar started in poor Bhabta village has completely changed．When he was nine years old, he had only eight students in his school．Now the school has 300 students and 10 teachers. The school is called Ananda  Siksha  Niketan. It is recognized by the West Bengal government．

    Today Babar is a student in the morning．He is learning English literature at Berhampore Krishanath College．But he comes home in the afternoon to teach his students．

    Baber was discussing education at the National Summit on Quality in Education(NSQE)．The meeting was held in Bangalore，capital of Karnataka State in southern India．

"It all started as a game when I used to teach my sister, my first student, in my backyard．Later, some children from the village often came to my classes and that was how the school was born," he said．

    His biggest achievement is that six of his students have now started teaching in his school after their college hours．

    In another month, Babar's dream of a school building will soon come true．Many people, a large part of whom are from Karnataka，have helped him realize the dream．They have given his school a lot of money．   

Although he has received so much attention and recognition(认可)，he is still not fulfilled ． "There are people in my village who do not go to school．And there is a long way to go as so many children still need to receive an education，"he says．

    A billionaire has recently made one of the biggest charitable（慈善的）donations to a university in China's history. Chen Tianqiao donated $115 million to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to help advanced brain research. The donation will be spent deepening the understanding of how the brain works. Chen has been interested in brain research, believing it can shape the industries such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality. However, this huge donation has caused heated discussions among Chinese scholars and internet users alike.

    Many criticized him for choosing to give money to a foreign university rather than home institutes for brain research, which are developing fast and are on track to catch up with the US in just a few years. Rao Yi, a biologist at Peking University, even said the donation was a typical mistake.

    Others, however, support his choice. They believe Caltech is a more reasonable choice compared with Chinese research institutions. Caltech has a long history and has taken a leading position in biology, and therefore it produces more efficient results. In addition, the results of the research benefit not only the American people, but also the rest of the world.

    A similar controversial case started two years ago when Pan Shiyi, chairman of SOHO China, donated $15 million to Harvard University to help disadvantaged Chinese students.

    Many believe that China is still behind in the management and use of donated money, and that as a result, Chinese charity donators are looking abroad. In comparison, Western countries like the US, which have a long history of donating money, have well-developed systems that use money efficiently. They can also provide full access for donors who want to track the use of the money. To get more donations, Chinese universities should be braver and more honest. They need self-reflection, rather than envy.

    The islands of Malta and Gozo are brilliant for a family holiday, packed with fun places to visit whatever your children's ages. The islands' small size means everywhere is within easy reach.

    Sandy beaches and swimming spots

    One of Malta's best beaches for families is soft-sanded, sheltered Golden Bay. Older children can try activities such as stand-up paddle boarding, sailing or windsurfing, while the gentle slope of the beach makes it easy for younger kids to safely paddle in the sea.

    Eating out

    Children are welcome at most restaurants, though more upmarket places often only accept older kids. There are often kids' menus that tend to offer pizza, but you can always ask for a half portion of a starter dish (portions are huge in Maltese restaurants). With a wide range of cuisines on offer, children are bound to find something they'll like, Maltese food is strongly influenced by Italian cuisine, so there's pizza and pasta galore, and some kids will love the national dish-fried rabbit

    Accommodation

    Try to schedule at least a few days on Gozo as there are lots of self-catering farmhouses with pools to rent and it's even easier to get around than Malta. Smaller hotels in Valletta usually only accept older children.

    Transport and other tips

    The easiest way to get around Malta and Gozo is to drive, but the local bus service is reliable, easy to use, and fairly inexpensive. Buses are frequent between major towns, but only roughly hourly to and from smaller places. Ferries run between Malta and Gozo, and you can take tourist boats over to Comino.

    My husband and I recently went to Disney World with our three children. We had a wonderful time. Besides, I experienced something that left a deep impression on me.

    Our children were excited about the attraction where children could drive the cars. They were so delighted that I decided to stand beside the track to get pictures of everyone as they drove past on the track.

    As I waited for them to drive by, I noticed a car with a father and his son who was about 7 years old. They rolled down the hill at the beginning, but suddenly the car stopped. The young driver looked nervous, "I can't do it." His father quietly said, "Yes, you can."

    "No. I can't!"

    "Yes, you can, son."

    The little guy was almost in tears, "I can't!" With deep patience, the father said, "Son, you can do this. I'm going to help you." A moment later, with the father helping his son, the two went smoothly (顺利地) on their way down the track.

    The scene brought tears to my eyes and it reminded (使想起) me of my dear father. Just like that little boy's dad, my father used to say the same words to me. Every time things got hard or when I experienced setbacks along the way, he would say, "Michelle, you can do this. I'm going to help you."

    Time and time again the words greatly encouraged me on the journey. I'm aware that I can't do things under my own power, but the words "Yes, you can" come beside me and give me wisdom and strength. As I benefited (受益) a lot from them, I often tell my children never to say "I can't" easily when they meet something difficult.

    The annual World Economic Forum (经济论坛) took place in Davos, Switzerland, in Jan. 23-26, 2018. What did Chinese entrepreneurs (企业家) speak in the forum? Are there some quotable quotes for you?

    Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group

    "I think globalization cannot be stopped — no one can stop globalization, no one can stop trade. If trade stops, the world stops. Trade is the way to dissolve (溶解，结束) the war not cause the war," said Ma in Davos, "Google, Facebook, Amazon and Alibaba — we are the luckiest companies of this century. But we have the responsibility to have a good heart, and do something good."

★Richard Liu, founder and chief executive officer of JD

    "Business is not only a way to make money but also a way to contribute yourself, to help people," Liu said in a speech in Davos. "How can we face the fractured (分化的)world? That's the topics of the Davos this year. I think a very important thing in business is cooperation. If we can unite, work together, if we work very closely, I think we can bring more hope to the people and we can build more trust between the people, countries and companies and partners," he said.

    Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip

    "Tourism is a sunrise industry. Since I entered Ctrip, every year there are new comers, which, first of all, shows that tourism is booming." Sun told Sina.com in Davos. "We invested heavily in ABC. A refers to AI, B is big data, and C is cloud computing. As we continue to expand overseas, these three will be very good weapons for us. So we think those mean opportunity," she said.

★Hu Xiaoming, president of Aliyun

    "In 2018, people will see the development in various countries more closely connected with cloud computing. More manufacturing enterprises and financial institutions will start to use „cloud', and cloud computing will increase the efficiency of technology and finance," Hu told Xinhua in Davos.

An Edinburgh inventor has created a fully biodegradable bottle that is made from paper and a secret combination of plant materials, and it could help save the planet's oceans from plastic pollution and can also be eaten by sea creatures.

The Edinburgh-based Durham University chemistry graduate James Longcroft started a non-profit bottled water company two years ago. He wanted to put all his profits into a charity that provided clean drinking water to countries in Africa.

However, after concerns about the environmental impact of plastic bottles, Mr. Longcroft decided the Edinburgh and London-based company, Choose Water, should go plastic-free. So he came up with a new type of water bottle—a waterproof paper bottle.

"The outside is made from recycled paper, but the inside has to be waterproof, and provides strength so the bottle would keep its structure, and keep the water fresh," Mr. Longcroft said.

When the bottle is thrown in the ocean the degrading process begins within hours leaving the bottle totally degraded (分解)within weeks. The steel cap breaks down within a year.

Mr. Longcroft now believes these novel bottles could revolutionise the industry and says the cost of producing the bottle is around 5 pence more than one made from single-use plastic.

"The main difficulty we face is breaking into a saturated (饱和的)market and competing with an old industry," he said. "Changing an industry will be a big uphill battle, but with the support from the public, we will change the way we look at bottled water."

Researchers warn that eight million tonnes of plastics currently find their way into the ocean every year which will stay in the environment for centuries.

"We really want to get our bottles on shelves and into people's hands as soon as possible—if we can stop even one plastic bottle ending up in the environment it will be worth it," said Mr Longcroft.