As the audience got larger, thetechnology got better. Television sets became more reliable through the 1960s. The reception (接收效果)improved. The picture improved. The major networks started broadcastingprograms in color.

    Even greater improvements were comingaccording to Sanford Brown, who wrote an article for the Post in 1967.Surprisingly, just about every prediction he made in the article became areality. For example: All sets in the not-distant future will be colorinstruments. He also predicted that TV sets would become smaller, simpler, morereliable and less expensive and may forever put the TV repairman out of work.Smaller sets do not, of course, mean smaller screens. TV engineers expectscreens to get much bigger. However, today's 3-D TV is even farther away, if it's coming at all. There is some doubt whether the public would be eager topay for it, in view of people's cold reception given to 3-D movies.

    But the technology with the greatestpotential, according to Brown, was cable television (有线电视), whichwas still in its early stages then. As he predicted, the future of cabletelevision was highly interactive (互动的). It wasn't cable television that gaveAmericans their electronic connection to the world, however. It was theInternet. He even foresaw the future office: using picture phones, big-screentelevisions for conferences, and computers providing information at the touchof a button.

    Brown ever said, “The future oftelevision is no longer a question of what we can invent. It's a question ofwhat we want.”

    Science has a lot of uses. It can uncover laws of nature, cure diseases, make bombs, and help bridges to stand up. Indeed science is so good at what it does that there's always a temptation(诱惑) to drag it into problems where it may not be helpful. David Brooks, author of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement, appears to be the latest in a long line of writers who have failed to resist the temptation.

    Brooks gained fame for several books. His latest book The Social Animal, however, is more ambitious and serious than his earlier books. It is an attempt to deal with a set of weighty topics. The book focuses on big questions: What has science revealed about human nature? What are the sources of character? And why are some people happy and successful while others aren't?

    To answer these questions, Brooks surveys a wide range of disciplines（学科）.Considering this, you might expect the book to be a dry recitation of facts. But Brooks has structured his book in an unorthodox(非常规的), and perhaps unfortunate, way. Instead of introducing scientific theories, he tells a story, within which he tries to make his points, perhaps in order to keep the reader's attention. So as Harold and Erica, the hero and heroine in his story, live through childhood, we hear about the science of child development and as they begin to date we hear about the theory of sexual attraction. Brooks carries this through to the death of one of his characters.

    On the whole, Brooks's story is acceptable if uninspired. As one would expect, his writing is mostly clear and, to be fair, some chapters stand out above the rest. I enjoyed, for instance, the chapter in which Harold discovers how to think on his own. While Harold and Erica are certainly not strong or memorable characters, the more serious problems with The Social Animal lie elsewhere. These problems partly involve Brooks's attempt to translate his tale into science.

    Tu Youyou, an 84-year-old female（女性）scientist, became the first Chinese to win a Nobel Prize in science on Oct 5. Before that, she ever won the 2011 Lasker Award for finding out artemisinin (Qinghaosu), which saved millions of lives. She was grateful（感激的）for the Lasker prize, but said, “It is just a scientist' duty. I will go on fighting for the health of all humans.”

    Tu kept her work in the 1960s and 1970s. In that age, Malaria (疟疾) could took away people's health. Scientists all over the world had already tried over 240, 000 times but failed. Tu Youyou, a member of the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, began to study Chinese herbs.

    Before 2011, people didn't know Tu very much. Many friends played jokes with her “the Professor of Three None's” : no degree（学位）, no study experience abroad, not a member of any Chinese national colleges. But she is hard-working. She read a lot of traditional Chinese medicine books and did a lot of researches on the disease.

    In February, 2012, Tu was named National Outstanding Females (One of the Ten) Tu is now a model of Chinese medical workers.

    Children start out as natural scientists, eager to look into the world around them. Helping them enjoy science can be easy; there's no need for a lot of scientific terms or expensive lab equipment. You only have to share your children's curiosity. Firstly, listen to their questions. I once visited a classroom of seven-year-olds to talk about science as a job. The children asked me “textbook questions” about schooling, salary and whether I liked my job. When I finished answering, we sat facing one another in silence. Finally I said, “Now that we're finished with your lists, do you have questions of your own about science?”

    After a long pause, a boy raised his hand, “Have you ever seen a grasshopper （蚱蜢）eat? When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache. Why?”

    This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours.

    Secondly, give them time to think. Studies over the past 30 years have shown that, after asking a question, adults typically wait only one second or less for an answer, no time for a child to think. When adults increase their “wait time” to three seconds or more, children give more logical, complete and creative answers.

    Thirdly, watch your language. Once you have a child involved in a science discussion, don't jump in with “That's right” or “Very good”. These words work well when it comes to encouraging good behavior. But in talking about science, quick praise can signal that discussion is over. Instead, keep things going by saying “That's interesting” or “I'd never thought of it that way before”, or coming up with more questions or ideas.

    Never push a child to “Think”. It doesn't make sense, children are always thinking, without your telling them to. What's more, this can turn a conversation into a performance. The child will try to find the answer you want, in as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target for your disagreement.

    Lastly, show; don't tell. Real-life impressions of nature are far more impressive than any lesson children can learn from a book or a television program. Let children look at their fingertips through a magnifying glass（放大镜）, and they'll understand why you want them to wash before dinner. Rather than saying that water evaporates（蒸发）, set a pot of water to boil and let them watch the water level drop.

    At times my mom has been uncomfortable seeing these qualities in me. For example, when I was 12, I went to Puerto Rico all by myself to stay with my grandmother for the summer. My mom was extremely nervous about it. She kept telling me how things were different in Puerto Rico, to always put on sunscreen, not to wander away from my grandmother, and other warnings. She helped me pack and did not leave the airport until she saw my plane take off.

    But despite her worries, she let me go on my own. As I moved into my teens, she continued to give me space to grow and learn even when it might have been difficult for her. When I reached my senior year, I decided to move away for college. Once again I found that I differed from my peers: while many of them wanted to stay close to home, I couldn't wait to be out in the world on my own. While my mom may not have been happy at the thought of me going away, she was supportive and excited for me.

    One big thing I realized during my senior year, as my mom granted me more freedom, was that she actually believes in me and trusts me. That means a lot. Most of my life, and especially when I was little, the main person I tried to impress in my schoolwork or other things was my mother. I knew she expected nothing but the best from me. Sometimes it was hard to live up to her standards; getting a single B on my report card would make me feel bad because I knew she wanted me to have all A's.

    I know that her high standards have helped me stay focused on what's important, like education, and made me who I am. I am thankful for her support and involvement in my life. Most of all I respect her. She is the strongest woman I know and that's why I have turned out so strong and independent.

Be careful on January 8^th — It's officially the most dangerous day of the year. The insurance company Hyperion has studied accident statistics(统计数字) and has found that there are more accidents on January 8^th than on any other day.

    Accidents are certainly more likely to happen at particular times of the year. One general rule is that more accidents happen in winter months, because risk increases in bad weather. In 2004 and 2005 Hyperion found that the worst day was January 8^th, with 298 accidents reported to them. March 3^rd was the safest day, with only 89 reports. Six of the ten worst days for driving were in January.

    It's clear that icy and snowy conditions are dangerous, but some other statistics are puzzling. A British Medical Journal report in 2001, for example, found that hospital admissions(住院) were always higher than usual on Friday the 13^th.

But it is not only when Friday falls on the 13^th that it is a dangerous day. Four of the top ten worst days for accidents last year were Fridays — perhaps because everyone is rushing home for the weekend — while Thursdays are the safest day of the week.

At what time of the day is an accident most likely to happen? The Health and Safety Authority found that people are most likely to have an accident at 11.00 a.m., while the safest time of day is between 4.00 and 5.00 a.m. — probably because most people are in bed!

    Finally, good news for Harry Potter fans. Doctors at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford noted that fewer children were in hospital on the weekend when Harry Potter books were available to the public. Casualties(伤亡人员) fell by over 50% when the last two books went on sale. So if you want to be really safe, you should read a Harry Potter book in bed, at around 5.00 on a Thursday morning, in summer.