Hello. I'm Jan from Mrs. Lake's class. My class wants to work together to help the public. We think we have found a great way to do this. Last month we did a class project on the highways near our town. We learned about the Adopt-a-Highway Program. This program brings people together to pick up litter along the roads. We think it would be a great idea for all students in our school to join the program and adopt（收养） a highway.

    Adopting a highway is not like adopting a pet. When a highway is adopted, only part of the highway is cared for by a group of people. The group agrees to work every week to keep its part of the highway clean. Each group gets its own sign that has the name of the group printed on it. The sign is put up at the side of the road. This sign lets drivers know who is keeping that area of the road clean.

    The Adopt-a-Highway Program is a great way for people to help their environment look nicer. Also, the government does not have to send out as many road workers. This saves money. Finally, people may try harder to keep roads clean if they see people, especially teenagers like us, cleaning them up.

    We will need helpers to care for our adopted highway. If you want to feel great and keep our roads clean，please come with your parents to the meeting next week. We will meet in Mrs. Lake's room on Wednesday at 6:00 P.M. At the meeting, we will talk about which roads are the dirtiest as a result of people's unkind acts. Then we'll try to pick an area to adopt and clean.

    I look forward to seeing you at the meeting. Remember to keep our roads clean!

    Long Beach, a 28-mile area of beach, lies in southwestern Washington, and is generally called Long Beach Peninsula. Communities there take you back to old days of a simple life. Here, visitors can relax and enjoy the good of a total rest.

    Bird watching

    There are different kinds of birds on Long Beach. It's best if you watch them from a distance and don't try to frighten them. The Southwest Loop Route Map can be got through the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Office by calling 1-800-451-2542.

    Horses

    A popular activity on Long Beach is horseback riding. Two businesses in the city of Long Beach offer guided horseback tours along the beach: Black Country Wilderness Outfitters and Skipper's Equestrian Center. You may also bring your own horse. Among the adventures offered with horses is a wagon（四轮马车）ride along the beach, a carriage ride through Seaview or Long Beach, a back country pack trip, or a sunset ride by horseback on the beach.

    Camping

    RV（活动房屋式旅游车）and tent camping aren't allowed on the beach. Camp fires are allowed within 100 feet off the beach, but must be away from the dry grass.

    Swimming and other activities

    Swimming is allowed, but you must be careful. The waters are very cold and dangerous. Surfing（冲浪）is advised only for experienced surfers. Beach driving is allowed at certain areas on the beach. The speed limit is 25 mph. Building sand castles, digging sand to find something, riding bicycles and flying kites are also popular activities in the area.

    Enjoy your trip to Long Beach, Washington!

    Do you want to make a difference in your community? The Verizon App Challenge can get you started. The first step is to think of a problem in your community. The next step is to create an app that can solve the problem.

    Group of five to seven students in middle school or high school, led by a teacher, can enter the contest. First, teams will compete on a local level. Teams that make it to the next round receive $ 5,000 for their schools. Finalists present their app ideas to judges in a live web conference. Next, the judges pick national winners. The top eight teams receive an additional $ 15,000 for their schools, and each team member receives a Samsung tablet. Plus, the winning teams get the chance to bring their app to life.

    A group of six girls from Los Frenos, Texas won the second annual Verizon App Challenge. They came up with the Hello Navi app concept, short for “hello navigation”. The app was designed to help visually impaired (受损的) students navigate (导航) their school. Do you have an app idea that could help solve a local issue? The deadline to register (登记) is November 24. Find more information and register your team at verizonfoundation.org/appchallenge.

Here are some tips from the Verizon Foundation to get you started:

    Get your team together for a brainstorming meeting. Write out all the ideas that conic to mind. Don't ignore challenges. Accept the idea that you can solve a problem that exists in your community. Ask family, friends and people in your community to share their thoughts about problems that they want to see solved.

    Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family's last vacation. It was my six-year-old son's winter break from school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a week long trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York. So I had to get back. But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.

    The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged—okay, ordered—them to wait at the airport, to “earn” more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?

    Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.

    I've made a living looking for the best deals and exposing (揭露) the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.

    I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money's worth, I'm also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn't hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps its shape longer, and it's the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.

    One of the many great lines in the movie Apollo 13 came from Ed Harris, who played NASA Director of Operations, Gene Kranz. The famous line was, “Gentleman, failure is not an option.” He said the words because he had a clear purpose that the three astronauts trapped in space must be sent home safely. The driving force behind their seeking of a solution was motivated by a true purpose.

    Here is the simple principle. If you have a big enough 'why' in life, you will always figure out the 'how.' A person without a purpose in life is like a boat without a rudder, floating aimlessly without a direction and going nowhere. In all walks of life, when referring to someone's success, we often hear the words “focus and determination”. But Merriam Webster defines the word “purpose” as the reason why something is done, a feeling of being determined to achieve an outcome. There are many talented and intelligent people in the world that are unsuccessful because they lack direction. I believe that our life depends on our purpose. Whether you're single or in a team, having a purpose allows you to start, evaluate, and improve your talents or abilities helps you find your path in life and achieve your success finally.

    A friend of mine once told me that the most motivating speech he had ever heard was just three short words. It came from his wife when she said, “Honey I'm pregnant.” He said those few words instantly motivated him because he now had a big “why” in his life, a purpose to work hard to support his family. In fact, when your “why” gets bigger, you get better because you stop holding back and you'll go all out. It's why you often hear about some great people perform superhuman actions when failure is not an option!

    Does your older brother think he's cleverer than you? Well, he's probably right. According to a new research published in the journal Intelligence, the oldest children in families are likely to have the highest IQs and the youngest the lowest.

    A number of studies have suggested that IQ scores decline with birth order. In the most recent study, at Vrije University, Amsterdam, researchers looked at men and women whose IQ had been tested at the ages of 5, 12, and 18.

    The results, which show a trend for the oldest to score better than the youngest in each test, involved about 200,000 people. That showed that first-borns had a three-point IQ advantage over the second-born, who was a point ahead of the next in line.

    The order of birth can also affect personality, achievement, and career, with first-borns being more academically successful and more likely to win Nobel prizes. However, eldest children are less likely to be radical(不同凡响的) and pioneering. Charles Darwin, for example, was the fifth child of six.

    Exactly why there should be such differences is not clear, and there are a number of theories on environmental influences on the child.

    The so-called dilution(稀释法) theory suggests that as family resources, both emotional and physical, as well as economic, are limited, it follows that, as a result , as more children come along, the levels of parental attention and encouragement will drop. Another theory is that the intellectual environment in the family favors the first-born who has, at least for some time, the benefit of individual care and help.

    The theory which enjoys the most support is that the extra time and patience that the earlier-borned get from their parents, compared with those arriving later, gives them an advantage.