Growing Up in Australia

    Since 2004, Australia has been holding its largest study of children's health ever. This project, “Growing Up in Australia,” is following two groups of children from early childhood until they become adults. The project is being supported by the Australian government and involves hundreds of researchers visiting the homes of 10,000 children. Researchers hope to find a relationship between the children's future behavior and their health, education, and family environments.

    When the study began, the first group of children was aged 0-1, while the second group was aged 4-5. In order to make sure that children from every kind of environment and background were chosen, the study found volunteers from each area. Some volunteers are in the countryside, while others are in big cities. The volunteers for both groups were chosen from a variety of different social and ethnic (种族) backgrounds.

    The researchers visit the participants' (参与者) homes every two years to gather information. They interview the parents about parenting styles and the child's daily activities. They also take measurements of the children's health and how well the children perform in school. The researchers also collect information such as the income of the child's family, the school the child attends, and the kind of community (社区) in which the child lives. They plan to use the information to improve children's lives.

    Researchers have already begun to publish some interesting results. For instance, after examining information from the second group of children when they were 10-11 years old, researchers found that children who spend a lot of time doing organized activities, such as music lessons or sports, have good control of their emotions and behavior. The study also found that they are able to complete their homework without their parents around. On the other hand, it found that children who watch a lot of television get upset easily and have worse behavior. The Australian government is now using this information to make better educational and health policies for Australian children.

    Superfast double­decker (双层) trains will be taking passengers from London to six big cities in the UK by 2033. The first phase (阶段) linking London to the West Midlands with a connection to HS1 is expected to open in 2026, and the second  phase to Manchester and Leeds in 2032.

    The government set out a plan for the high­speed rail network in 2012. When the project is finished, it will take less time to get to London from major cities like Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Traveling at a speed of up to 250 mph, passengers will be able to come and go from Birmingham to London in 49 minutes, reducing the journey time by almost half from one hour and 24 minutes.

    A journey from Birmingham to Leeds will be reduced from two hours to 57 minutes and a journey from Manchester to London will be reduced from two hours and 8 minutes to one hour and 8 minutes.

    “HS2  is an  important  part of transport's  low­carbon future,” Transport  Secretary Justine Greening said. Some people aren't happy about the plan, though. HS2 will cost around ￡33 billion. It will also be built near some towns and villages, disturbing the people that live there.

    But the Chancellor of the Exchequer (财政大臣) George Osborne thinks it will help build the future for Britain. “It's a long­term decision，” he said.

    HS2 is designed for everything around the needs of the passengers. It will provide a new and exciting travel experience. There will be plenty of room, intelligent ticketing, a good service and high quality comfort and access to trains. This is a transport network for the new century and beyond.

    Have you ever run out of coffee or tea? Found no eggs in the fridge? No bread for the sandwich and the nearest shop is too far away? Well, all that can change in the future.

    If all goes well, the intelligent future kitchen will soon help solve all your problems. In the future, all kitchen units will be connected to the Internet. The intelligent future kitchen will give wise advice on planning your menu for the day. Worried about your weight? — It will tell you the right diet and what is good for your health. It will even keep in mind your likes and dislikes!

    Designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, this smart kitchen promises to pay attention to all your needs. The computer's system will help keep an “eye” on the fridge. If the fridge is empty, the kitchen will automatically call and place an order at the local supermarket. So you don't have to worry about it at all.

    You get home late, and don't know what to make from the collection of ingredients (原料) in your fridge. A while back you might have ordered a take-out but now, instead of worrying about eating a collection of this and that, you're excited. You can pull out each vegetable, and pass each one in front of a web camera next to your fridge. A few moments later, a screen on your fridge would display a tasty recipe.

    After dinner, you take your plates to a box next to the sink. You don't have to clean them, your machine does. It produces new plates every time you need to eat. Later in the evening, you phone your other half, who is on a business trip half-way around the world. As you drink your cup of hot coffee, it makes your other half's cup change color on the other side of the world, another special way to keep in touch.

    How much weight a baby gains during its first month could determine its IQ, new research found. The study found that children who gain more weight, and whose heads grow quickly during the first month of life, tend to have a higher IQ when they start school.

    Researchers at the University of Adelaide, in Australia studied 13, 800 children who were born at full-term. They found that those who put on 40% of their birth weight in the first four weeks had an IQ 1.5 points higher than those who only put on 15% of their birth weight. Those who experienced the biggest growth in head circumference(头围) also had the highest IQs by the age of six.

    "Head circumference is an indicator of brain volume, so a greater increase in head circumference in a newly-born baby suggests more rapid brain growth, "says the author of the study, Dr. Lisa Smithers. She added, "Overall, newly-born children who grew faster in the first four weeks had higher IQ scores later in life. Those children who gained the most weight scored especially high on the verbal IQ at age 6. This may be because neural (神经的) structures for the verbal IQ develop earlier in life, which means the rapid weight gain during the first month could be having a direct cognitive benefit for the children."

    Previous studies have shown the association between early postnatal (产后的) diet and the IQ, but this is the first study of its kind to focus on the IQ benefits of rapid weight gain in the first month of life. Dr. Lisa Smithers says the study further highlights the need for successful feeding of newly-born babies." We know that many mothers have difficulty establishing breastfeeding in the first week of their babies' life,” Dr. Lisa Smithers said.

    "The findings of our study suggest that if babies are having feeding problems, there needs to be early intervention(干预) in the management of that feeding."

    We offer a full range of services to make your IKEA experience more complete:

Old Kitchen Removing Service

    Are you going to buy a brand-new kitchen in IKEA? So how to deal with your old kitchen at home?

    Don't worry! IKEA is now providing professional dismantling and removing service for old kitchen to you.

    By this service you can have your new kitchen at home easily. (For service detail and charge please go to the staff of kitchen department.)

    Transport Service

    Need a way to get your new home-furnishings home? You can rent a transport or hire us to deliver it for you. Just talk to our Customer Service department for details.

    Return Policy

    As long as the items are undamaged, unassembled(未组装的)and unused, you could return them in their original package within 60 days (IKEA FAMILY member within 180 days) together with your original receipt/invoice (bank card POS receipt is needed if you have paid this way), we will refund you the same way as you have paid. Sorry, we cannot accept exchange or return of food, plants, liquid bathing products, AS-IS products, customized products, kitchen electrical appliance and all products that have already been cut, sewed or painted.“The exchange and return policy above applies only to the products purchased from IKEA stores in mainland China”

    IKEA Restaurant/Café

    The restaurant/café serves both classic Swedish dishes and local favorites, and is one of the most popular areas of the whole IKEA store. Shopping at IKEA is fun and offers great value, but can also be hard work, so stop by and treat yourself to a refreshing drink and a bite to eat.

The first time you make a speech is truly a special moment, and I will surely never forget the one I gave.

As a kid, I was extremely1 and seldom said anything2 to stay quiet most of the time. When I was about to graduate from3 school I remember that my teacher pulled me aside and offered to make a4 with me. She told me how I was getting As in all of my subjects5 handwriting, in which I had only managed to receive a C. She said if I were to 6 the welcome speech at graduation, I would get an A in handwriting.

My first thought was that giving a speech doesn't sound like much7 .But who was I to complain if I could get an A so8 ? The speech I wrote was9 boring. It started with something as lifeless and10 as "Good afternoon parents, teachers, and students. Welcome to the graduation ceremony."

As you can see, my speech was nothing fancy and I am sure nobody 11 it either. But the important lesson is that I12 it and I realized the earlier you can standup and speak, the better it is. The next year in junior high school, I found it had given me more13 when I started14 the student council(学生会). Giving a speech 15 its quality was an important first step that I took and hopefully you can too.