Finding time to red is an important part of developing literacy skills for all kids. And there are many easy and convenient ways to make reading a part of each day-even when it's tough to find time to sit down with a book.

Reading opportunities are everywhere you go. While riding in the car, for example, encourage kids to spot words and letters (on billboards, store signs, etc.), turning it into a game (“Who'll be the first to find a letter B?”). While shopping, ask your preschooler to “read” pictures on boxes and tell you about them. Point out the difference between the words and the pictures on the boxes. Encourage older kids to tell you what's on the shopping list.

    Even daily tasks like cooking can provide reading moments. You can read recipes aloud to younger kids, and older kids can assist you as your cook by telling you how much flour to measure. Give your child a catalog to read while you sort through the mail. Ask relatives to send your child letters, e-mails, or text messages, and read them together. Help your child create letters or messages to send back to the relatives. These types of activities help kids see the purpose of reading and of print.

Even when you're trying to get things done, you can encourage reading. While cleaning, for instance, you might ask your child to read a favorite book to you while you work. Younger kids can talk to you about the pictures in the favorite books.

    Make sure kids get some time to spend quietly with books, even if it means cutting back on other activities, like watching TV or playing video games.

    Most importantly, be a reader yourself. Kids who see their parents reading are likely to resemble them and become readers, too!

    Look to many of history's cultural symbols, and there you'll find an ancestor of Frosty, the snowman in the movie Frozen. It appeared on some of the first postcards, starred in some of the earliest silent movies, and was the subject of a couple of the earliest photos, dating all the way back to the 1800s. I discovered even more about one of humanity's earliest forms of life art during several years of research around the world.

    For example, snowmen were a phenomenon in the Middle Ages, built with great skill and thought. At a time of limited means of expression, snow was like free art supplies dropped from the sky. It was a popular activity for couples to leisurely walk through town to view the temporary works of chilly art. Some were created by famous artists, including a 19-year-old Michelangelo, who in 1494 was appointed by the ruler of Florence, Italy, to build a snowman in his mansion's courtyard.

    The Miracle of 1511 took place during six freezing works called the Winter of Death. The city of Brussels was covered in snowmen—an impressive scene that told stories on every street corner. Some were political in nature, criticizing the church and government. Some were a reflection of people's imagination. For the people of Brussels, this was a defining moment of defining freedom. At least until spring arrived, by which time they were dealing with damaging floods.

    If you fear the heyday of the snowman has passed, don't worry: I've learned that some explosive snowman history is still being made today. Every year since 1818, the people of Zurich, Switzerland, celebrate the beginning of spring by blowing up a snowman. On the third Monday of April, the holiday Sechselauten is kicked off when a cotton snowman called the Boogg is stuffed with explosive and paraded through town by bakers and other tradesmen who throw bread to the crowds. The parade ends with the Boogg being placed on a 40-foot pile of firewood. After the bells of the Church of St. Peter have rung six times, representing the passing of winter, the pile is lit. When the snowman explodes, winter is considered officially over—the quicker it is burnt down, the longer summer is said to be.

    The American newspaper has been around for about three hundred years. In 1721, the printer James Franklin, Benjamin's older brother, started the New England Courant, and that was what we might recognize today as a real newspaper. He filled his paper with stories of adventure, articles on art, on famous people, and on all sorts of political subjects.

    Three centuries after the appearance of Franklin's Courant, few believe that newspapers in their present printed form will remain alive for long, Newspaper companies are losing advertisers, readers, market value, and in some cases, their sense of purpose at a speed that would not have been imaginable just several years ago. The chief editor of the Times said recently, “At places where they gather, editors ask one another, 'How are you?', as if they have just come out of the hospital or a lost law case.” An article about the newspaper appealed on the website of the Guardian, under the headline “NOT DEAD YET.”

    Perhaps not, but the rise of the Internet, which has made the daily newspaper look slow and out of step with the world, has brought about a real sense of death, Some American newspapers have lost 42% of their market value in the past three years. The New York Times Company has seen its stock（股票）drop by 54% since the end of 2004, with much of the loss coming in the past year. A manager at Deutsche Bank suggested that stock - holders sell off their Times stock. The Washington Post Company has prevented the trouble only by changing part of its business to education; its testing and test — preparation service now brings in at least half the company's income,

    Kendrick Lamar hasn't had much luck when it comes to winning a Grammy. But that's OK： The US rapper(说唱歌手) has just won a Pulitzer Prize for his music.

    In 2014, in 2016, and again this year. Lamar was nominated (提名)for an album of the year Grammy. Each time, he was beaten out, first by Taylor Swift, next by Daft Punk, and most recently by Bruno Mars.

    But the Pulitzer Prize committee was inspired enough by Lamar's 2017 album, Damn, to award the 30-year-old its Pulitzer Prize in music on April 16. It's an amazing album that documents the real life of modem African-Americans in South Los Angeles with wildly accomplished beats and rhythms.

    Lamar's win is considered to be historical. 'The Pulitzers have long displayed their preference toward high art rather than the pop culture of the masses. So it's not just that no rapper has ever won a Pulitzer: no pop music maker has ever won one in the award's 75-year history.

    But Lamar is not just a singer—he's clever at using language. Like the best writers, his music describes small moments that illustrate (阐明) larger points. His songs are about his experience as a black man who grew up in California, struggled, got into trouble, and found his way out by working hard and making sense of the history and reality of racial problems in the US.

    “He's an artist who challenges idea,” said Ryan Coogler, director of the blockbuster(大片) hit Black Panther, for which Lamar created music. "One big theme in our film of,' What does it mean to be African?' Kendrick in his music is very exactly and directly challenging that question."

    Good artists entertain us, great artists make us think, and exceptional artists help us empathize (感同身受) .

    There are a lot of good, great, even exceptional artists in rock, pop, country, and hip-hop. But only Lamar has a Pulitzer Prize.

    As free as they make us, mobile phones still need to stay close to a power source. Soon that may change with "green" power.

    Three Chilean students got the idea for a plant-powered device(装置) to charge（使……充电） their cellphones, while sitting in their school's outdoor courtyard during a break from exams, with dead mobile phones. Then, one of them had an "aha" moment.

    “It occurred to Camila to say about plants,” said inventor Evelyn Aravena. “'Why don't you have a socket, if there are so many plants? 'After that, we thought, 'why don't they have a charging outlet（插座）? Because there are so many plants and living things that have the potential to produce energy, why not?'”

    Their invention—a small biological circuit called E-Kaia—uses the energy plants to produce during photosynthesis(光合作用). A plant uses only a small part of that energy and the rest goes into the soil, and that's where the E-Kaia collects it. The device plugs into the ground and then into your phone.

    "It's the most amazing project I've ever seen in my life, plain and simple. They brought this original model, and it worked — and that's when it all changed, at least from my personal point of view and I began to support them." said Mauricio Cifuentes.

    The device solved two problems for the engineering students — they needed an idea for a class project, and an outlet to plug in their phones.

    "Looking for a place to charge the notebook, which had no power, and the mobile phones, we weren't able to find anything because all the other students were in the same state of madness trying to find a place to charge their devices," said Aravena.

    But plants are everywhere, and the bio－circuit makes good use of their excess(过多的) power.

    The E-Kaia doesn't carry much charge but it's powerful enough to completely recharge a mobile phone in less than two hours.

    The student inventors have applied for patents（专利） on their technology, and expect the E-Kaia to go on sale in the near future.

One of the most important things in the world is friendship. In order to have friends, you have to be a friend. But how can you be a good friend at school?

Listen — Listen when they are talking. Don't say anything unless they ask you a question. Sometimes it's not necessary for you to have anything to say; they just need someone to talk to about their feelings.

Help them — If your friend is ever in need of something, be there to help them. You should try to put them first, but make sure you don't do everything they want you to do. Try to take an extra (额外的) pencil or pen with you to classes in case (以防) they forget one. Have a little extra money in your pocket in case they forget something they need.

Be there for them — Try to make something for your friend to help make them feel better in hard times. Making cards and encouraging them are among the nicest things you can do for a friend. Marilyn Monroe, a famous U.S. actor, once said, "I often make mistakes. Sometimes I am out of control. But if you can't stay with me at my worst, you are sure not to deserve (值得) to be with me at my best." Always remember this! If you don't want to stay with your friends when they're in hard times, then you don't deserve to be with them when they're having a good time!

______ — Try to make plans with your friends. Go shopping, go for ice cream, have a party, go to a movie and so on. Take time to know each other even better by doing something you both enjoy. By planning things together, you both can have a good time. And you'll remember these things when you're all old!