There is a growing number of kidults—or adults who wear themask of maturity but prefer to pander(迎合) to their inner child.

    They feel ill equipped for parenthood, because they don't see what values or lessons they could honestly pass on to their young, besides self-centeredness and a passion for the good things in life. They are trying to live by not acting their age.

    As Ms Jane put it in her letter: I'm married, in my late 20s and enjoy a lifestyle other married graduate couples enjoy: winning and dining, tasteful clothes, travel and a career. Why give up all these for a baby?

    It is reported that when asked whether they were adults, most people in their 20s answered they were not sure. This reflected a global economy in which people chased more papers to get better jobs that would comfortably support middle class living.

    Being a kidult is not all about being selfish, though. With the untold uncertainties of war, fluctuating(波动) markets, disease and terrorism, many see this world as a poor place to live in—let alone bring kids up in. This seems especially so in urban living. All anyone wants after a long, hard day at work is some peace and quiet.

    My classmate, Jenny, mused(沉思) recently howour friends living in small Malaysian towns were onto their second or third kids. Maybe they just loved having children around. Or maybe, in their own way, they wanted to leave the world a better place than they found it.

    That's how you, I and everyone know we have the chance tobreathe air, touch grass and see sky. I think out parents understand that just being alive is an experience worth passing on.

    Reading can be a social activity. Think of the people who belong to book groups. They choose books to read and then meet to discuss them. Now the website BookCrossing.com turns the page on the traditional idea of a book group.

    Members go on the site and register the books they own and would like to share. BookCrossing provides an identification number to stick inside the book. Then the person leaves it in a public place, hoping that the book will have an adventure, traveling far and wide with each new reader who finds it.

Bruce Pederson, the managing director of BookCrossing, says, “The two things that change your life are the people you meet and books you read. BookCrossing combines both.”

    Members leave books on park benches and buses, in train stations and coffee shops. Whoever finds their book will go to the site and record where they found it.

    People who find a book can also leave a journal entry describing what they thought of it. E-mails are then sent to the BookCrossers to keep them updated about where their books have been found. Bruce Peterson says the idea is for people not to be selfish by keeping a book to gather dust on a shelf at home.

BookCrossing is part of a trend among people who want to get back to the “real” and not the virtual(虚拟). The site now has more than one million members in more than one hundred thirty-five countries.

    Do you often dream at night? How do you feel when you dream? Is it useful to our health? “Dreams may be more important than sleep, and we all need to dream,” some scientists say.

    Dreams take up about one quarter of our sleeping time. People have several dreams each night. Dreams are like short films. They are usually in colour. Some dreams are like old films. They come to us over and over again. That may be because the dreamer is worrying about something. Dreaming may be a way of trying to find an answer. Some people get new ideas about their work from dreams. They may have been thinking about their work all day. These thoughts can carry over into dreams.

    Sometimes we wake up with a good feeling from a dream. But often we can't remember the dream. Dreams can disappear quickly from memory.

    Too much dreaming can be harmful. The more we sleep, the longer we dream. The mind is at work when we dream. That is why we may have a long sleep and still wake up tired.

    Every summer, the Serengeti plains (平原) of Africa are worth visiting. Millions of wild animals begin their 1,800-mile journey northwards on their annual migratory (迁移的) route.

    In the month of November, polar bears in their thousands cross the Canadian Arctic, as they head towards the ice sheets of Hudson Bay. The sea ice that forms every winter is the key to the bear's managing to exist, for here they hunt for seals (海豹).

    The Great Bustard, one of the heaviest flying birds, migrates each year across Europe and Asia to its wintering grounds. Unluckily, these and other migratory animals are in danger from human activity.

    We have written several articles on climate change and the effect of rising ocean temperatures. Since 1979, ice sheets in the Arctic have gone down by 30 percent. What does this mean for polar bears? They are forced to stay on land for longer periods of time, which delays their search for food. As a result, bears today are 60 pounds lighter than what they were. Besides, smaller bears also produce weaker babies, and their chances of survival are at risk. In the plains of Africa, migratory animals like gazelles are traveling long distances for food, just to avoid falling prey (牺牲品) to humans who hunt them.

    In an unusual step, experts from 120 countries have agreed to protect 31 migratory mammals, fish and birds. The United Nation's 11th annual Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) was held in Quito, Ecuador. For the first time, 900 experts attended the conference, and the enthusiastic support shows the world is united in conservation (保护) efforts.

    What does getting on a protected list mean? Countries that have signed the agreement will be required to pass laws locally and work with other countries that fall within the animal's migratory path. Only one animal did not make the list. The African lion was rejected (拒绝) for lack of information of the countries where it lives.

    Summer Camps

    Make your summer magical with a one-of-a-kind summer camp experience!

Half-day, week-long camps are held from 9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4pm.

    Daily snacks will be provided and even become part of the hands-on fun!

Session 1—Ocean Commotion（暴动）

    Set sail for fun and adventure on the deep blue sea! Campers explore uncharted land at The Magic House and discover something fishy as they come into the exciting world of sea creatures.

    June 6-10

    June 13-17

    June 20-24

Session 2—Super kids Explore Earth

    Campers become superheroes to the earth as they learn about the environment and discover how to use their super powers to protect it! During this action-packed week, campers will explore the earth from the sky to the sea and participate in fun, earth-friendly activities such as turning trash into treasure.

    June 27-July 1

    July 11-15

    July 18-22

Session 3—Once Upon A Time

    At this unique fairy tale-themed camp, campers have a magical, make-believe adventure through the pages of some of their favorite storybooks. Campers experience gaint-sized fun as they use their imaginations to travel to places found only in fairy tales.

    July 25-29

    August 1-5

    August 8-12(am sessions only)

    All campers must be registered in advance.

Father's Day is celebrated today in 75 countries around the world. In my personal world, it's a day I like to think of my father's father.

I learned a lot in my later life from my dad. But I learned something else, as a kid not even yet in school, from my grandfather. I learned to be curious. Little things fathers and grandfathers do can change the life of a child forever. In my case, this change came from necessity：My mom needed someone to look after little Allen, barely 4 years old, during the school day. My grandmother volunteered, and my grandfather came up with a way I could be watched while he worked in his clockmaker's shop.

He seated me on a chair every day while I was there, right in front of his big workbench.  He told me stories. He had a great sense of humor and a funny way of making a "buh﹣buh﹣buh" sound when he sensed my attention was weakening, and he encouraged me to ask questions about anything he was doing.

Naturally, I was usually asking questions about clocks﹣what made the hands move, what the pendulum (钟摆) did, why you had to stop winding just before the weight hit the stop.  Sometimes I just asked about which shiny parts went where.

Most of all, he showed me how clocks worked. He treated me as if I were a sort of small grown﹣up. He never talked down to me, never told me I was "too young to understand".

And so my grandfather granted me two things: A love of clocks, and an everlasting curiosity.

As a journalist, I turned that fascination into explanations of why computers and software do what they do﹣﹣and, perhaps even more importantly, why they fail at that task. I haven't been afraid of opening up the innards and looking for what is wrong with the computer.