Have you ever thought of getting in touch with your inner child from time to time? Obviously some people are willing to pay big money for the chance to do so in a proper environment．A Brooklyn-based adult preschool is charging customers between $333 and $999 for the chance to act like a kid again．

    At Preschool Mastermind in New York adults get to participate in show-and-tell，arts-and-crafts such as finger paint，games like musical chairs and even take naps．The month-long course also has class picture day where the adults are expected to have a field trip and a parent day．

    30-year-old Michelle Joni Lapidos，the brain behind the adult preschool，studied childhood education and has always wanted to be a preschool teacher．She's always on the lookout for new ways to get people in touch with the freedom of childhood．A friend encouraged her to start the mastermind course instead．

    According to Candice，her blogger friend，Preschool Mastermind gives adults a chance to relearn and master the things that they failed to understand as children．“I realized all the significances of what we learn in preschool，”said founder Michelle Joni，“People come here and get in touch with their inner child．It's magical．We are bringing ourselves back to another place，another time with ourselves when we are more believing in ourselves，more confident and ready to take on the world．”

    “One person's here because they want to learn not to be so serious．”Michelle said．“Another's here to learn to be more confident．”She explained that most of the classes were planned．However，Joni added that while the planned activities were fun，it was often the spontaneous(自发的)moments that attracted students．“It's the things you don't plan for，the sharing between friends and learning from each other．''

Get a Better Night's Sleep

    You're trying to get a good night's sleep, but why do you still find yourself staring at the ceiling? It's time to listen to what some unexpected experts have to say.

Get the Basic Equipment Right.

    There's really good study on the basic equipment for sleep. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Firstly, most people prefer a mattress （床垫）that is not too hard and not too soft. Secondly, if your mattress is eight to ten years old, you should get a new one. Seventy-two percent of people said they slept better on their new mattress than they did on their old one.

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    Watching TV at night may seem relaxing. However, it beams light into your eyes, which is a “warning” signal for the brain.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Besides, the cooler white and blue light from a computer screen encourages brain activity and makes your brain difficult to calm down. Download the software at stereopsis.com /flux. It gradually makes your screen less bright at sunset, turning its colors a warmer red one.

Keep you Cool.

    One of the best signals from the body to go to sleep is a decrease in body temperature. I suggest sleeping in a very cool environment, about 19℃. A hot bath will increase your skin temperature, which finally decreases your main body temperature. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Make Sleeping Pets Lie.

    Sometimes your dogs might need the noise of machines. Many dogs are sensitive to noises outside, like other dogs barking or neighbors coming home late. A noisy machine will drown out the noises that are keeping your pet up, which keep your pet from waking you. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you keep them awake during the day, they're more likely to sleep at night.

 A. Read a book before bed instead.

 B. Take a bath a half-hour or so before bedtime.

 C. You also learn dogs sleep when they're bored.

 D. The dog is very loyal to his master.

 E. It proved two theories.

 F. You don't need a really beautiful mattress.

 G. Switch off the Box.

    Americans with small families own a small car or a large one. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. When the family is large, one of the cars is sold and they will buy a van (住房汽车).

    A small car can hold four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded. A van hold seven persons easily, so a family with three children could ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel. They could all travel together.

    Mr. Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. This made them sell their second car and buy a van. In the van, the sixth and seventh seat are used to put other things, for a family of five must carry many suitcases when they travel. When they arrive at their grandparents' home, the suitcases are removed from the two seats which can then carry the grandparents.

    Americans call vans motor homes. A motor home is always used for holidays. When a family are traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular. In America there are many parks for motor homes.

    We are lucky to live in a world that is full of incredible technology. Our living rooms are packed with computers, LCD TVs, video game systems, and Blue-ray players that help us enjoy the latest entertainment. Although these items bring us joy and convenience, they also create a lot of junk. Each device needs its own plug and adaptor to keep its batteries recharged, and over time these wires get tangled (缠绕在一起的). Thankfully, something has come along to help rid our homes of this mess while still supplying these devices with the power they need. It's called wireless charging and this trend is just starting.

    Wireless charging has a lot of potential for smartphones and other electronic devices. Electronic devices can absorb the electricity once they're placed on a special charging mat. There are several advantages that wireless charging offers over traditional methods. For starters, cords (电线) have a tendency to wear out with use. Wireless charging users never have to worry about buying replacement cords. Wireless charging is also far more convenient for medical implants, as patients won't need to recharge their devices through the skin using cords. In turn, this cuts down on the risks of infection. Wireless charging can also bring safety benefits, as wired charging devices that come in contact with water can increase the chances of getting an electric shock. Wireless charging gets rid of that danger completely.

    Still, there are a few drawbacks to wireless charging. The first is speed. It takes a bit longer to charge devices wirelessly than it does if the device is plugged in. The process also requires more heat, so devices tend to get a bit hotter, which could create other safety issues. Also, since devices must be left on a special pad while charging, it is harder to operate them while they are powering up. This limitation may be gotten rid of in the future, as researchers are developing transmitters (发射器) that can charge several different devices in a room without the need to connect to a charging pad. Although wireless-charging technology may be far from perfect, it seems like a step in the right direction as we move towards a less-tangled future.

    Breathing dirty air comes at a high price. Air pollution lowers the average life spans (寿命) by a year worldwide and in more polluted parts of Asia and Africa, dirty air shortens lives up to twice that much. Scientists shared their new findings in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The study used data gathered in 2016 as part of a project known as the Global Burden of Disease and was the first major country-by-country look at the connection between the length of life and what's known as fine PM.

    Air pollution has been linked to many health problems. Most earlier studies had looked at how tiny air pollutants affected rates of illness or death. Joshua Apte is an environmental scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. By looking at life expectancy (预期寿命), his team had hoped to make the threat easier to understand. PM2.5 is what scientists call tiny particles (颗粒) of pollution in the air. Higher levels of PM2.5 can cause health problems and cut months, if not years, from the average length of life. This analysis shows how pollution affects life expectancy in different parts of the world.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting PM2.5 to 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Apte's group calculated how holding pollution to this low level would help people. In countries with very dirty air, meeting this standard would lengthen people's lives. However, in countries whose air already meets this standard, the study shows no gain in life expectancy. In other words, meeting the WHO standard won't reduce health costs resulting from dirty air because even below 10 micrograms per cubic meter, pollution still causes serious risks. Meanwhile, the scientists compared how other threats including smoking and cancer shorten the length of life across the globe.

    "What kind of rubbish are you?" This question might normally cause anger, but in Shanghai it has aroused complaints over the past week. On July 1st the city introduced strict rubbish-sorting regulations as a model for the country. Residents must divide their waste into four separate categories and throw it into specific public bins. They must do so at scheduled times, when monitors are present to ask the nature of one's rubbish, otherwise, they will face fines or worse.

    Shanghai authorities are responding to an obvious environmental problem. It generates 9 million tonnes of garbage a year, more than London's annual output and rises quickly. But like other cities in China, it lacks a recycling system. Individuals who fail to recycle could be fined up to 200 yuan (＄29). For repeat, the city can add black marks to their credit records, making it harder for them to obtain bank loans or even buy train tickets.

    Some object to this. Peng Feng of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences warns that the use of the credit system is overkill, raising a risk that officials will abuse their power. But others say a tough campaign is necessary. "Slowly people will get used to it," says Li Changjun of Fudan University.

    Many residents support recycling but are frustrated by the details. Rubbish must be divided according to whether it is food, recyclable, dry or harmful, the distinctions among which can be confusing, though there are apps to help work it out. Some have complained about the rules surrounding food waste. They must put it straight in the requisite public bin, forcing them to tear open plastic bags and toss (撕开) it by hand. Most upsetting are the short windows for throwing rubbish, typically a couple of hours, morning and evening. Along with the monitors at the bins, this means that people go at around the same time and can keep an eye on what is being thrown out; no one wants to look bad.