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Building blocks(积木) are still one of the most popular traditional toys today．Their interesting design and easy use attract children of all ages．Most traditional toys, like building blocks, were first made of wood．Today, wooden building blocks are still used, but now there are several other types of building blocks to choose from, like plastic building blocks．
①Children build all kinds of things that they see in everyday life _________ building blocks． This gives them the ________ to learn new things and life skills．
②Building blocks can help children to practice their language skills ． Most children talk to each other as they build things with these traditional toys． This type of toy also helps develop the skills that children need in life． As they begin to join groups playing with building blocks, they learn to take turns, to share, and to solve problems with others． However, these are not the only advantages of playing with building blocks． The building blocks also help develop children's skills in math and science． They allow children to work according to the steps of scientific discovery, which are first to watch and think, and then to test． Traditional toy building blocks also come in different shapes, colors and sizes． These types of building blocks encourage children to develop skills in dividing things． Playing with building blocks is not just fun but also very helpful． So people around the world like them．
回答下列问题：What were traditional toy building blocks made of?
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It is both fun and helpful to play with building blocks.
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    What is the most popular fast food today? Potato chips? Hamburgers? Or Sandwiches?Walk into almost any supermarket or corner store in America and you will see potato chips．Americans are the biggest eaters of potato chips and people in many other parts of the world enjoy them too．Do you know where this very popular fast food comes from?

    One day, almost 150 years ago, a cook in an expensive restaurant in New York State was preparing popular food—French fries．A customer in the restaurant didn't like the French fries, and complained(抱怨)because they were too thick．The cook cut some potatoes into thinner pieces and fried them．The waiter brought them to the customer．The customer tasted them, and asked to see the cook because he was still not satisfied ．

    The cook went to speak to the customer．The customer complained loudly about the chips again．The cook became very angry because the customer was so rude．He decided to play a trick(戏弄)on the customer．He cut some potatoes so thin that the customer wouldn't be able to pick them up．To the cook's surprise, the customer loved the new chips, and soon other customers wanted them too．People went home to tell their friends about this new food．The chips became so popular that the cook opened his own restaurant．

Using iPads to Make Learning Fun

    Paper, pencil, whiteboard, textbook are the tools you need if you want to go to school. But recently, you can add another one to the list: an iPad.

    Because the popular Apple tablet is not only useful for searching the Internet and watching videos, but it is also being used to make learning fun.

    Scientists now know that we learn better when we are enjoying ourselves, so recently software developers have made iPad applications(应用程序) that look like video games, but have strong educational content. One of the best examples of this new form of teaching application is Futaba, game in which up to four children try to recognize a spinning旋转的）object, and then identify what it is. The game can be used to teach English, math, foreign languages, or just about anything, and students love it. Teachers can even make their own questions. The important thing is that children enjoy the game, and don't even realize how much they are learning!

    So the next time you have to choose between making your child study or letting them play game, just remember——they could do both at the same time!

    People have understood that kindness is good for the person who receives help. For example, when we give food to a hungry person, he is lucky. However, scientists have recently begun to study the effect(影响)of the kindness on the person giving it. What they have found is that doing good is good for the doer(行为者).Acts of kindness can improve health, help a person reach goals and even add years to a person's life.

    The first study to show the connection between doing good and living a long life was a study on aging(衰老). Beginning in 1956, scientists studied a group of married mothers for 30 years. They thought the women with the most children would die first. But the number of children a woman had did not matter. Wealth did not matter. Education did not matter. What did matter was whether they volunteered. Women that volunteered had fewer diseases during their life.

    Many other studies have found the same positive(积极的)effects. Helping other people improves long-term health. The gains are the same for men, women, old people and the young. Those who volunteered had fewer serious diseases than those who did not volunteer. This included diseases such as heart attack, cancer and stroke.

    Scientists are studying many possible causes. One possible cause is an increase in antibodies(抗体)，which help fight against disease. One study showed the body produces more antibodies after an act of kindness.

    Another one is an increase in Oxytocin(催生素)，it is a chemical that fights the effects of stress from life. Scientists have found a link between being kind to people and an increase in the chemical oxytocin.

No one knows when the first kite was made. The first record of a kite was more than 2,000 years ago in China. Han Xin, the leader of an army, wanted to bring down a king. He decided to dig a tunnel (隧道)into the king's palace. He flew a kite over the wall of the palace to make sure the length (长度)of its string (线).In this way, he could determine how long the tunnel should be. His men in the tunnel took the kite string with them. When they reached the end of the string, they knew to dig up.

    Kites have been flown in Japan for hundreds of years. In the 1700s, kites were flown in autumn to give thanks for a good harvest. They were also flown to send good wishes to couples who had their first son. Today in Japan, kites are often flown as part of a celebration, such as the beginning of a new year. And kite festivals are held each year in many parts of the country.

    Kites have been used for scientific purposes in the western world. In 1752，Benjamin Franklin tied a key to a kite and flew it in a storm to find out that lightening was a form of electricity. In the 1890s, Lawrence Hargrave invented the box kite to test ideas about flight. From 1898 until 1933, the United States Weather Bureau (气象局) used box kites to collect weather data. The Wright brothers also experimented (试验)with kites. What they learned helped them make the first airplane flight in 1903.

    If you're ever apart from your children, a new study says just talking on the phone will help just as much as a hug(拥抱).

    If you're a parent who spends long hours on the job, you probably feel sorry for spending so much time away from your kids. But the results of a new study show that a mother's voice alone can be just as comforting to an anxious child as physical contact(接触).

    In an experiment, researchers from the University of Wisconsin Madison asked a group of girls between the ages of 7 and 12 to solve math problems in front of judges—a stressful situation for anyone. Before the girls were set to give their answers, the researchers measured their levels of two hormones(荷尔蒙): cortisol, which goes up during stressful periods, and oxytocin, the "love" hormone, which goes down at the same time.

    After the girls finished the problems, some of them got to meet up with their mothers right away. The moms came in and hugged the girls. Another group of the girls didn't see their mothers, but received phone calls from them, in which their mothers told them how well they'd done. The final group had no contact with their mothers, but instead watched an animal movie, March of the Penguins.

    Finally, the girls' hormone levels were measured again. Although the movie was interesting, it did nothing to reduce the children's anxiety—but, surprisingly, both the physical contact and phone calls from their mothers had the same effect on reducing the girls' stress levels.

    So, no matter how old you are, if you're feeling stressed about something in your life, a phone call to Mom might be just the key to help you feel better.