Few parents can hear the words "What can I do to help?" from their kids. Teenagers spend more time on video games, computers and mobile phones, so they help less with housework.

Students at a primary school in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province were required to clean the school toilets to help them develop good habits. But some parents are strongly against the idea. They can't see the advantages of students doing such chores. They think that the school should provide students with a proper education, not the chance to be school cleaners.

In fact, parents, schools and society play an equally (同等地) important role in developing the character of students. It is good for schools to give students such tasks, because few of the students will do them at home. Their parents want them to do homework only.

In recent years, some parents will make mountains out of molehills when students are asked to do some chores in schools. Some will complain the teachers if their kids get hurt in schools; some will even challenge the schools' teaching methods and management. As a result, many primary schools, especially those in big cities, do not let students join in outdoor activities during breaks, fearing that they might get hurt. This is bad for the development of students' best qualities.

What the primary school in Fuzhou doing is worth praising. Doing chores can put a sense of responsibility (责任感) into students' minds and teach them the spirit of rules as well as teamwork. Also, it can make students' in-school experiences more meaningful.

Until the beginning of July, there has been no rain in northern Italy for over 100 days. Add to that the high temperatures, and the locals get very dry conditions. This is the most serious dry spell（干旱期）for that area in the past 70 years. Because of this situation, the country's longest river, the Po, is drying up!

This is bad news for several different reasons. The fresh water of the Po provides drinking water for northern Italy. Besides, farmers in this area need the water of the Po to keep their crops growing. What's more, the flowing river water is used to create about half of the hydroelectric power（水力发电）for Italy. Its drying up means that more natural gas（天然气） will be used, which is bad for the environment.

There have been some interesting discoveries from this lack of rain, however. Between Florence and Milan, a long ship sunk （沉没）in 1943 appeared because of the low water levels of the river. Now many tourists and locals come to see this ship. A German tank has also appeared out of water near Mantua. At other places along the river, people can even walk on the sandy river bed. Although this may be interesting, people in Italy and around the world are hoping for the return of rain to refill the Po!

Could getting a good night's sleep avoid (避免) putting on weight for children?

According to a new study, putting preschoolers in bed by 8 p. m. could reduce their chances of becoming overweight or obese (肥胖) later in life by half. Preschoolers are children around the age of 4 or 5. 

The researchers from Ohio State University wrote their findings in the Journal of Pediatrics. They have found that young children who go to bed after 9 p. m. are twice as likely to be obese later in life. The lead author of the study is Sarah Anderson. She says that it's very important for parents to create a bedtime routine for their children. 

How was the research conducted (进行)? Researchers chose 977 children for it. These children are part of a larger project called the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. The project follows healthy babies in ten America cities. In order to have a clearer picture of the results, researchers then divided the children into three groups:

* those who went to bed by 8 p. m. or earlier

* those who went to bed between 8 p. m. and9 p. m. 

* those whose bedtimes were after 9 p. m. 

When these children turned 15 years old, the researchers looked at the results of the study. Of those with the earliest bedtimes, only one out of ten was obese. Of those who went to bed between 8 and 9 at night, 16 percent of the children became obese. And out of those with the latest bedtimes, 23 percent of the children became obese. 

"Having a usual bedtime routine can lower children's risk of becoming overweight. Besides, as usual, early bedtime is also likely to have positive (积极的) effects on behaviour and social development, " said Professor Anderson. 

There are about 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs(瓢虫) in the world. They come in many different colors. Their bright colors warn other animals or insects not to eat them. Ladybugs taste bad. A bird or a frog that eats a ladybug will remember the bright colors and it will not eat another ladybug with the same colors again. When ladybugs are in danger, they will give out a fluid(液体) that tastes terrible.

In many cultures, the ladybug is considered to be a symbol of good luck. Most ladybugs are kind to humans. They eat other insects which des troy crops. One ladybug can eat up to 5,000 insects in its lifetime.

Ladybugs have six short legs. They live in many different places, including green lands, forests, cities, the countryside and along rivers. Different ladybugs have different spots(点). Some of them don't have spots at all. The most common kind in North America is the 7- spotted ladybug. The 7- spotted ladybugs are the most active from spring to autumn. When the weather turns cold, they look for a warm place to sleep, such as under stones or in houses.

Chinese is getting mare and more popular, so the UK government plans to invest（投资） 10 million pounds to help more kids lean Chinese Do you think it is necessary for the UK pupils to learn Chinese? 

Seneca （Canada）

I studied French for 2 years in high school, and German for 4 years in college and got good marks. I studied Chinese for about 4 months before moving to China. For any language, if you don't use it, it will be easy to lose it I've forgotten the French l leaned except for a few phrases. I speak Chinese every day. My writing, reading and listening are quite good, but far from fluent. I think it's necessary to learn Chinese. 

Tony（the UK）

Learning any language can be valuable, but it is not suitable for everyone. Chinese is a difficult language to learn, and teachers in the UK are not good at teaching foreign languages. However, China is a big and developing market for English businesspeople. For them, Chinese is worth learning. 

Bill（the US）

I don't think Chinese will replace（取代）English. Chinese is difficult to learn. To learn Chinese, you have to learn how to write and read it carefully. In the future, Chinese will become more popular, so I think learning Chinese is a good thing. 

The key to learning a new skill isn't necessarily how many hours you spend practising, but the way you practise. Scientists have found that by simply changing your training method, you can keep your 1 more active in the learning process and spend less time reaching the required standard. People think simply 2 a skill—for example, practising the same piece of music on the piano or playing the same level in your game over and over again—is the best way to learn it. Instead, it turns out that there might be a 3 way to level up. 

Recently, researchers got 86 volunteers to learn a new 4 —moving a cursor(光标) on a computer screen by pressing a small device, 5 using a mouse. The volunteers were divided into three groups, and 6 spent 45 minutes practising the skill. Six hours later, one of the groups was asked to repeat the same training exercise again, 7 another group to perform a different version(版本) that required a different pressing8 to move the cursor. The third group was 9 asked to complete the first training, acting as a control(对照组). 

In the end, everyone was 10 on how they could perform the new skill. As a result, the group that had repeated the original(原来的) training did 11 on the test compared to the one that had had mixed training and trained in new areas—in fact, the group that had 12 their training method did twice as well as the group that had repeated the original training. 

So how does that work? The researchers believe it's due to something called reconsolidation(重新合并), which is a process: 13 are recalled and changed with new knowledge. "Our results are important 14 little was known before about how reconsolidation works in relation to skill development. This shows simple training method changes can 15 more rapid and better skill gains, " said Celnik.