When Justin Tong was a child, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him doing lots of housework such as carrying out the rubbish and sending newspapers. But when he grew up, he was better off than his childhood friends and lived a happier and healthier life.

This is the finding of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 children in London. It showed that the children who had worked hard in childhood had a richer and a happier future. "Children who worked in the home or community gained competence(能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society," said Daniel Brown, the psychologist(心理学家) who made the discovery. "And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them."

Brown's study followed these children in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Brown, the researchers compared the children's mental-health scores with their childhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

    Working at any age is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence — the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this.

    Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, "One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work."

Every school has its own rules.The rules change from one school to another.There are also some rules that look strange or funny to us.Here are some funny school rules.

Japan：Most schools demand（要求） that students wear uniforms，such as sports suits or skirts.They also demand that girls' white socks should be folded（折叠）（某种） way and boys' heads should be shared（剃）.

The US：At some US schools，students must have a pair of indoor shoes to change into every day.Chewing gum（口香糖） is not allowed（允许），because it is difficult to clean up.

Britain：Strange hairstyles（奇怪的发型）are not allowed at some British schools.But they might（可能）allow students to wear certain hairstyles during the World Cup.

Have you ever noticed how，on a rainy night，all other sounds seem to disappear? The sound of the rain drowns （淹没） them out. And even though the sound of the rain goes on all night，it doesn't keep you awake. Rain is a kind of white noise﹣a steady and unchanging sound. 

White noise is made up of sounds from all the frequencies （频率） a human ear can hear，with the sound at each frequency having the same power. It's called "white" because it is like that of white light，which is a mixture of all the light we can see. 

You might think that a mixture of all possible sound frequencies would be terrible，but it's not ﹣ quite the opposite. The reason for this is that white noise covers other sounds. Think of it like the rain：the sound of one drop falling，like from a leaky tap （漏水的龙头），would be very different and hateful. Two drops would be the same. You could even tell three drops apart. But if there were 5 or 10 or 1，000，you couldn't pick out each drop. They'd all mix into a kind of quiet sound and probably lead you to sleep. 

According to a scientific study，white noise can help treat different problems. It can help worried people sleep and help those who have headaches sleep through their pain. It can be very useful for people with attention problems，who have trouble telling background noise and can't focus on something well. White noise can help them pay attention to something. It can even cover the sound of conversations by doctors and others who want to keep privacy. Who would have thought that mixing lots of sounds together would actually turn out to develop peace and quiet? 

Chinese Week Helpers Needed

 Student helpers are needed for the following activities:

Chinese Hand-writing Competition

● 2nd—3rd August 9:00 a. m.—11:00 a. m.

● Room 3 of the 5th floor in the teaching building

● Prepare things for hand-writing

● Ca ll Miss White at 13536001235 to be a helper

● Helpers get training on 28th July in Room 3

Chinese Dance Competition

● 3^rd — 4^th August 2:30 p. m.—5:00 p. m.

●  Room 5 of the 3^rd floor in the art building

●  Keep time and score

● To become a helper, call Mrs. Brown at 13635120053 or Mr. Green at 13637122054

● Helpers get training on 30^th July in Room 5

Chinese Song Singing Competition

● 4^th — 6^th August 9:30 a. m.—11:30 a. m. 2:30 p. m.—5:30 p. m.

● Room 2 of the 4^th floor in the art building

● Lead students to the stage(舞台)

● Call Mr. Black at 13562033523

● Helpers get training on 31^st July in Room2

Join us now!

Do you love sunflowers? This article will walk you through how to plant your sunflower seeds and care for them. Start it with the best temperatures: 18℃-33℃. 

 Part 1 Germinating (使发芽) Sunflower Seeds

1.Choose one kind you like.

2.Put the seeds in a plastic (塑料的) bag.Cover the seeds with wet paper towels. Put them in plastic bags. Once the seeds germinate, plant them. 

 Part 2 ____

1.Choose a sunny place.Sunflowers grow best with six to eight hours of sunlight a day. 

2.Plant the seeds in holes.Plant seeds 2. 5 cm deep and 30 cm apart. Cover the seeds with soil after planting. 

 Part 3 Caring for Sunflower Plants

1.Water plants weekly.Water plants once a week. 

2.Fertilize a little or not at all.

If you are growing sunflowers for your own enjoyment, there is no need to fertilize. 

3.Harvest (收获) the seeds.

Sunflowers usually take 80 to 120 days to mature (成熟) and produce new seeds. 

Tips:

◆ Protect the young plants from pests (害虫). Cover the plants with nets. 

◆ Support plants over 90 cm with sticks.