A new study says electronic toys are not helping babies learn.

    "Even if companies are marketing them as educational, they're not teaching the babies anything at this time," said Anna Sosa the study's author.

    Researchers listened to audio(声音的) recordings of parents playing with their babies aged 10 months to 16 months. The researchers compared the experiences when the children played with electronic toys, traditional toys such as blocks, or when the children looked at books. What they found is that parents talked less with their babies when the babies played with electronic toys.

    Why is this important? Research shows that how quickly children develop language is often based on what they hear from parents. When the infants played with electronic toys, parents said little to their children. But with traditional toys, such as blocks, parents shared the names and descriptions of the animals, colors and shapes as their children played. There was even more information given by parents as their babies looked at the pictures in books.

    Of course, there is no need for parents to throw out electronic toys, but they should look at their infants' play with such toys as entertainment, not a learning experience.

    Toy Industry Association spokeswoman Adrienne Appell responded to the study. She said it is important that parents make time to play with their children. "Playing is a way that kids can learn so much, not only cognitive(认知的) skills, but social and developmental skills," she said. She added that play should be balanced, including time for just "make believe" activities, as well as traditional and electronic toys.

    Some people make you feel comfortable when they are around. You spend an hour with them and feel as if you have known them half your life.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Here are several skills that good talkers have. If you follow the skills, they'll help you put people at their ease, and make friends with them quickly.

    First of all, good talkers ask questions. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}One well-known businesswoman says, "At business lunches, I always ask people what they did that morning. It's a common question, but it will get things going." From there you can move on to other matters—sometimes to really personal questions. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Second, once good talkers have asked questions, they listen to the answers. This point seems clear, but it isn't. Your questions should have a point and help to tell what sort of person you are talking to. And to find out, you really have to listen carefully and attentively.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If someone sticks to one topic, you can take it as a fact that he's really interested in it. Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to tones of voice. If the voice sounds dull, then, it's time for you to change the subject. Finally, good talkers know well how to deal with the occasion of parting. If you're saying goodbye, you may give him a firm handshake and say, "I've really enjoyed meeting you."{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Let people know what you feel, and they may walk away feeling as if they've known you half their life.

A. Real listening at least means some things.

B. You can become a popular person.

C. Almost anyone, no matter how shy he is, will answer a question.

D. And how he answers will let you know how far you can go.

E. If you want to see that person again, don't keep it a secret.

F. It's polite to listen to others with a smile.

G. These people have something in common.

    Researchers define self-control or self-discipline as "ability to control or change one's inner responses". {#blank#}1{#/blank#} However, some people think that as an immediate consequence of leading lives of constant self-control, they aren't likely to gain a lot of pleasure from life.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} To start, 414 adults completed on online survey. In the survey, they rated their self-control by indicating how much they agreed with 14 statements, such as "I indeed do certain things that are bad for me, if they are fun."

    In their study, 205 adults were given smart phones and required to report their emotions at random moments throughout the week. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If so, they had to report how hard they tried to resist them, and whether they eventually ended up acting on them.

    The researchers found that the more self-control people had，the more satisfied they were with their lives in the long run. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} In fact, such people's increased happiness to a large extent accounted for the increased life satisfaction.

    These researchers also figured out that people high in self-control are simply less likely to find themselves in situations where that's even an issue. They don't waste time fighting inner battles over whether or not to eat a second piece of cake. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And that, it would seem, makes them happier……even if occasionally a little bit sad.

A. In a word, they are not bothered about such little desires.

B. Researchers checked these general ideas through a survey and study.

C. It is generally believed that in the long run self-control can make people happier.

D. Meanwhile, they were also asked to report whether they were experiencing any desires.

E. However, people with more self-control were also more likely to be happy in the short run.

F. But they are still uncertain why some people are more able to control their inner responses.

G. Most adults reported they failed to control their desire to play video games before an exam.

    Will it matter if you don't take your breakfast? A short time ago, a test was given in the United States. People of different ages, from 12 to 83, were asked to have a test. During the test, these people were given all kinds of breakfast, and sometimes they got no breakfast at all. Scientists wanted to see how well their bodies worked when they had eaten different kinds of breakfast.

    The results show that if a person eats a right breakfast, he or she will work better than if he or she has no breakfast. If a student has fruit, egg, bread and milk before going to school, he or she will learn more quickly and listen more carefully.

    The result is opposite to what some people think. Having no breakfast will not help you lose weight. This is because people become so hungry at noon that they eat too much for lunch. They will gain weight (增加体重) instead of losing it. You will lose more weight if you decrease your other meals.

    Words have great power. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Many of us have been offended by words and know how badly words hurt. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Trust me if you are not careful in this area, your emotions will soon be controlled by the words of the people around you.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    If someone tells you "You are a fool.", don't believe it in your mind. People who hurt you can never really harm you unless you allow yourself to be defined by these words. You are a child of God. You are very valuable in the sight of God, so never allow yourself to feel inferior just by the words of other people.

    Turn those words into positive thoughts within you.

    If there is something wrong with your actions, and others are trying to correct you, it can sometimes hurt your feelings if their words are hurtful. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Think like this in your mind, "Yes, I'm wrong, but I'll find out ways to improve. Now I have hope because I know I can change."

    Respond softly.

    If someone speaks in a hurtful way, take a deep breath first and try to speak softly and kindly in response. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. On the contrary, an angry answer is like a sword, which will bring harm instead of healing.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. It's none of your business. We need not respond to every personal comment from people. It's not your problem that they keep on hurting you on purpose. So simply leave it

A. A soft answer turns away anger

B. Don't worry about what others say

C. It is wise to correct others' mistake by soft words

D. Never let negative words of others define who you are

E. In that case change those words into positive thoughts

F. If someone is purposefully hurting you for no reason, simply be silent and ignore it

G. Today I will share a few tips on how to handle the effect of negative words spoken to you

    Idioms are one of the hardest parts of learning a language. For those of you who don't know, an idiom is a phrase which has a meaning, but the meaning is not clear from the words themselves. If you translate an idiom word for word, it sometimes makes no sense at all. They are like puzzles and even native speakers can get confused when someone uses a phrase that they've never heard of.

With that in mind, here are five common English idioms that you can use in a variety of Situations.

⒈Get your act together (Meaning: you need to improve your behaviour/work)

    This might be something your teacher says to you if you score badly in an exam or if you misbehave in class. You can also use it to talk about people in general. For example, if your friend is being mean or nasty for no reason, then you can tell them that they need to get their act together.

⒉Pull yourself together (Meaning: calm down)

    This is a somewhat impolite way of telling someone that they are overreacting and that they need to relax. Only use this if you think the person you are speaking to is getting upset over something insignificant. If your friend tells you that their close relative has died, it is NOT the time to tell them to pull themselves together.

⒊I'm feeling under the weather (Meaning: I'm sick)

    Yes, it's longer and more difficult to say than 'I'm sick', but if your English teacher asks you why you haven't done your homework, he or she is more likely to forgive you if you say that you were feeling under the weather. You may not have done your English homework, but your teacher might be impressed that you know how to make eloquent excuses in a foreign language.

⒋It's a piece of cake (Meaning: it's easy)

    I don't know why this means what it does, but sometimes you just have to accept that English people use weird phrases.

⒌Break a leg (Meaning: good luck!)

    This is perhaps one of the most confusing yet well-known English idioms. If someone says this to you, do not take offence or think they are threatening you; they are just wishing you luck. It is most often used for people wishing success to actors and actresses before they perform on the stage, but it can be said in other situations, too.

    All in all, learning a new language can be challenging. It's definitely not a piece of cake, especially when there are so many confusing idioms. However, with enough hard work and interest, you will succeed in no time. Break a leg!