The kids in this village wear dirty, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They have no school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can make words.

    The key to their success : 20 tablet computers(平板电脑) dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a U.S. group called One Laptop Per Child.

    The goal is to find out whether kids using today's new technology can teach themselves to read in places where no schools or teachers exist. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they're already amazed. “What I think has already happened is that the kids have already learned more than they would have in one year of kindergarten,” said Matt Keller, who runs the Ethiopia program.

    The fastest learner—and the first to turn on one of the tablets—is 8-year-old Kelbesa Negusse. The device's camera was disabled to save memory, yet within weeks Kelbesa had figured out its workings and made the camera work. He called himself a lion, a marker of accomplishment in Ethiopia.

    With his tablet, Kelbasa rearranged the letters HSROE into one of the many English animal names he knows. Then he spelled words on his own. “Seven months ago he didn't know any English. That's unbelievable,” said Keller.

    The project aims to get kids to a stage called “deep reading,” where they can read to learn. It won't be in Amharic, Ethiopia's first language, but in English, which is widely seen as the ticket to higher paying jobs.

    Unlike most other holidays, the history of April Fools' Day. Sometimes called All Fools' Day, is not as the totally clear. The only point in time that can be agreed on as the beginning of this tradition was 1582,in France. Before that year, the New Year was celebrated for eight days, beginning  on March 25.The reform of the calendar celetxration reached the highest point on April l_With the riform of the calendar under Charles 1X,the Gregorian calendar (公历, 阳历）was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1.

    However, because in those days communications were not as developed as they are today, many people did not receive the news for several years. Some people refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the New Year on April, These backward people were considered “foots” by other peopk. They were often sent on “fools” errands (徒劳无益的工作)or were made the taragets of jokes.

    This developed, over time, into a tradition of playing a trick on someone on the first day of April. The tradition eventully spread to England and Scotland in the eightreenth century. It was later introduced to the American colonies of both the Britain and Francc.April Fools' Day thus developed into an  international fun feast,so to speak,with different nationalities specializing in their own kind of humor at the expense of their friends and families.

    I know what you're thinking: pizza (比萨饼)? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can have last night's leftovers in the a. m. if you want to.

    I know lots of women who skip breakfast (不吃早餐), and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it. Some say they don't have time, others think they're “saving” calories (卡路里), still others just don't like breakfast food.

But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you're trying to lose weight. “Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all,” says Katherine Brooking, R, D, who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year's “SELF CHALLENGE”. And even pizza can be healthy if it's loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece.

    Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories. Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southern California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal.

    So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice. I say, try heating up last night's leftovers-it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself, “You can always cat it tomorrow,” I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it...you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories. And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects.

    I returned home the other night, tired. My husband asked me how my evening was, “Great.” I told him. I had spent 90 minutes in a gym with 10 Ping-Pong tables and all kinds of players, all playing a little ball over the net. By 9 pm, I was excited, tired, satisfied. I had beaten two young men half my age and lost battles against other competitors. To an observer, the night was common. To me, it was a lucky thing that I hadn't expected.

    I had taken up Ping-Pong during college, and in my 30s took more advanced lessons. However, a serious accident hurt my leg, which made me unable to take exercise. Months later, I tried to play Ping-Pong but my leg pained for a week. I put the game out of my mind.

When I was 53, one day my bad leg was working a little bit better. Could Ping-Pong be possible for me, now—in my condition, at my age? I tried to play Ping-Pong again

    Ping-Pong is a sport which requires endurance(耐力). Players need quick foot work and upper body movements to return balls, requiring faster response time than tennis.

    Playing Ping-Pong offers benefits for the brain. A study of 164 women aged 60 and older showed that Ping-Pong improved cognitive(认知)function more than dancing, walking or gymnastics. “The great thing about our sport is that it can be played by anyone,” said Jimmy Butler, a four-time national USA Table Tennis Association winner. “I see 90-year-olds and 10-year-olds.”

    Years passed and my endurance improved. People started to praise my shots. I won a game. Then I won agin. These days, I feel wonderful, I believe this sport is the fountain (源泉)of youth.

    The weather outside might be freezing at home, but that doesn't mean you have to spend the winter shivering. Instead, grab your bathing suit and sunscreen and head to these sunny spots that offer the best warm-weather getaways for every interest.

    The best city beaches: San Juan, Puerto Rico

    Being able to relax on a warm sandy beach in the middle of the winter is obviously a dream getaway, but not everyone wants their sand and surf to be hidden in a remote comer of an island. Instead, head to the sizzling（炎热的）city nightlife of San Juan, where the streets of chic Condado back right into the palm trees and lapping waves of the Atlantic beaches. Top chefs, stylish hotels, bars ， clubs, and shops are all just steps away from the tropical beaches. And since Puerto Rico is a United States Commonwealth, it's one of the easiest islands in the Caribbean to visit since you won't need a passport, have to change money, or even worry about your cell phone working. Puerto Rico is also one of the best tropical vacations you can take without leaving the United States.

    The best swimming holes: Riviera Maya, Mexico

    What's better than diving into the salty sea? Submerging in the crystal clear and salt-free waters of the naturally occurring limestone cenotes of the Riviera Maya and Yucatan Peninsula. Spend a sunny day exploring these natural cave pools filled cool filtered water that springs from the ground below and the lush palm forests that surround them. Then head back to the perfectly located Fairmont Mayakoba for comfortable rooms and modem Mexican cuisine.

    The best girlfriend getaways: New Orleans

    New Orleans vibrant nightlife and live-music scenes make the “Big Easy” a great girl's trip winter getaway (check out the Girl's Trip movie if you don't believe us). And even if your crew isn't one to seek out the boozy Bourbon Street crawl, there's plenty of amazing food to be discovered in the French Quarter, plenty of shopping and strolling in the Garden District, and warm weather cruises along the bayou, too. Check out these other great weekend getaways for girls trips.

    The best aquatic movie star-spotting: Clearwater, Florida

    If you want to meet a real movie star while also soaking up the sun, head to the Gulf shores of Clearwater, Florida. Here you can meet the stars of Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2, Winter and Hope, who are in residence full-time at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The amazing dolphins will probably make you want to hit the waves yourself, which won't be a problem since the beautiful white sand beaches here boast 361 days of sunshine per year. Next, don't miss these destinations that are even better in the winter.

    Carrots are grown on farms and in family gardens throughout the world. Carrots are easy to raise and easy to harvest. They taste good.

    When people think of carrots, they usually picture in their minds a vegetable that is long, thin and orange in colour. But carrots come in many different sizes and shapes. And not all carrots are orange. For the best results, carrots should be grown in sandy soil that does not hold water for a long time. The soil also should have no rocks. To prepare your carrot garden, dig up the soil, loosen it and turn it over. Then, mix in some plant material or animal fertilizer. Weather, soil conditions and age will affect the way carrots taste. Experts say warm days, cool nights and a medium soil temperature are the best conditions for growing carrots that taste great.

    Carrots need time to develop their full sugar content. This gives them their taste. But carrots loose their sweetness if you wait too long to remove them from the ground. The best way to judge if a carrot is ready to be harvested is by its colour. Usually, the brighter the colour, the better the taste.

    Carrots are prepared and eaten in many different ways. They are cut in thin pieces and added to other vegetables. They are cooked by themselves or added to stews. Or, once they are washed, they are eaten just as they come out of the ground.