Kids and food: advice for parents

    It is important for parents to know how to help their kids eat healthy. Here are a few easy ways.

    Parents control the supply lines.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Though kids may keep asking for less nutritious foods, parents should decide which foods are regularly provided in the house. Kids won't go hungry. They'll eat what's available in the fridge at home.

    Say goodbye to “clean-plate club”.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Lots of parents grew up under the clean-plate rule, but that way doesn't help kids listen to their own bodies when they are full. When kids feel full, they're likely to overeat.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Food preferences are developed early in life, so try to offer different kinds of food. Likes and dislikes begin forming even when kids are babies. Parents may need to serve a new food on several different occasions(时机) for a child to accept it.

    Food is not love.

    Find better ways to say “I love you.” When foods are used to reward kids and show love, they may start to turn to food when feeling worried or unhappy. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Kids do as you do.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When trying to teach good eating habits, try to set the best example. Choose nutritious food, eat at the table, and don't forget breakfast.

A. Start them young.

B. Rewrite the kids' menu.

C. Be a role model and eat healthy yourself.

D. Offer praise and attention instead of food treats.

E. Let kids stop eating when they feel they've had enough.

F. You decide which foods to buy and when to serve them.

G. Let kids choose what to eat and how much of it they want.

    Scientists have recreated a 1985 study of birds in Peru that shows climate change is pushing them from their natural environment. Thirty years ago, researchers studied over 400 kinds of birds living on a mountainside in Peru. In 2017, researchers looked again at the bird populations. They found that almost all had moved to higher places in the mountain. Almost all had decreased in size. And, the scientists say at least eight bird groups that started at the higher elevations (高地) had died out completely.

    The researchers say the birds might have moved up the mountain because of temperature changes. Or changes to food sources may have forced them to go higher. The findings were published in a science journal. The 1985 research has documented birds and other animals moving up in elevation (高地) in reaction to warming temperatures. Mark Urban, a biologist at a university, said this recent study was the first to prove that rising temperatures and moving to avoid them can lead to extinction.

    In 2016, Fitzpatrick, director and a co-writer of the study passed his notes, photos and other records to Benjamin Freeman. Freeman has been researching tropical birds for more than 10 years. He set out in August and September of 2017 to copy Fitzpatrick's study. His team used the same methods, searching the same places in the same time of year.

    Freeman's team wanted to see how things had changed for the bird groups since 1985. The average temperatures on the mountain had risen 0.42 degrees Celsius. His team placed 20 sound recording devices on the mountain to record the sounds of birds that might not easily be seen.

    Freeman said that the birds moved an average of 98 meters further up the mountain. He believes that temperature is the main cause of the birds' movement. Fitzpatrick noted that birds used to living in areas with little temperature change may be especially at risk because of climate change. He said, “We should expect that what's happening on this mountain top is happening more generally in the Andes, and other tropical mountain ranges.”

    It has taken an extremely long time－161 years－but the National Portrait Gallery finally has the Duke(公爵)of Wellington in its collection after a fundraising campaign reached its ￡1. 3m target.

    The gallery announced on Thursday that it had acquired Sir Thomas Lawrence's unfinished final painting of a man regarded as Britain's greatest soldier after a successful appeal.

    Nicholas Cullinan, the gallery's director, said the NPG had been looking for a suitable painting of the Duke of Wellington since the gallery was founded in 1856.

    He called it "a remarkable painting", while Lucy Peltz, the gallery's senior manager of 18th­century paintings, said the work was "an inspiring and powerful image of one of the most influential men of the 18th and 19th centuries".

    The NPG announced last November that it needed to raise ￡300,000, the final piece of a funding jigsaw(拼图). The Art Fund had already contributed ￡350,000 and the appeal reached its target thanks to ￡200,000 from the G&K Boyes charitable trust and ￡180,000 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. A further ￡570,000 came from a public appeal and the gallery's own funds.

    It was painted in 1829 when Wellington was prime minister, however, Lawrence died in 1830 leaving the portrait unfinished. The gallery believes it is a more attractive work because of that, with the viewer focusing more on the man himself rather than any clothes of power.

    Dan Snow, the historian and broadcaster, said Wellington was a "Titanic figure" in British history, the only field greatest prime minister, a man of genius on and off the battlefield. He added:" This arresting portrait must sit in the national collection and now, following an outpouring of donation, it will do. The artist has caught the Duke's legendary features. Among his many contributions to British life he formed the culture of unbending spirit in the face of difficulty."

    The painting was lent to the NPG in 2015 for an exhibition marking the Battle of Waterloo.

    Learning is so complex that there are many different psychological theories to explain how people learn. A psychologist named Albert Bandura suggested a social learning theory which shows that observation, imitation (模仿), and modeling play a primary role in this process.

    In Albert Bandura's opinion, people can learn through observation. Observational learning doesn't even necessarily require watching another person join in an activity. We can also learn by reading, hearing, or watching the actions of characters in books and films. However, just observing someone else's actions isn't always enough to lead to learning. Your own mental state also plays an important role in determining whether a behavior is learned or not. In addition, though in many cases, learning can be seen immediately when the new behavior is displayed, yet sometimes we can learn things even though that learning might not be immediately obvious, which means people can learn new information without showing new behaviors.

    Not all observed behaviors are effectively learned. Certain requirements need to be related to the observational learning process. For example, you need to be paying attention. Also your retention is an important part of observational learning as you need to pull up information later and act on it during the process. Once you've paid attention to the model and kept the information, it's time to actually perform the behavior you observed. Further practice of the learned behavior leads to improvement. Finally, you have to be motivated to imitate the behavior that has been modeled.

    Social learning theory have many real-world applications. For example, researchers employ it to look into and understand ways that positive role models can be used to encourage desirable behaviors. Besides, it's also applied in the field of education, and today, both teachers and parents recognize how important it is to model appropriate behaviors.

This winter, the U. S. state of California received unusually large amounts of rain and snow. Now, people worry that some areas will flood as the snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains melts (融化).

Ron Caetano lives about half-way between the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. He is preparing to leave in case his community, called the Island District, floods.

More than 100 years ago, the Island District area was under a large lake named Tulare Lake. At one time, Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. But reservoirs (水库) and watering systems for agriculture caused it to disappear. However, in very rainy years, farmland can still get covered with water.

Experts say reservoirs near the area will likely receive three times more water than they can hold this year. That means officials must increase the amount of water they release (释放) from the reservoirs. If too much water is released, the area might flood.

The Island District has organized a community network to help prepare for floods. People are placing sandbags close to elderly neighbors' houses to block possible flooding. And they are looking at reports from water officials, county officials, and from each other.

California has had very dry weather in recent years. Both cities and farm communities acclaimed this year's winter rains. If the weather gets warmer slowly, the snow will not melt quickly and there may be little or no flooding. But if the weather gets hot quickly, that will bring trouble from too much melting snow.

Officials announced plans to close parts of Yosemite National Park because of threats of flooding. The park is about 270 kilometers east of San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Nicholas Pinter is with the University of California, Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. He said the lake's size has always changed because of California's weather. He described the surrounding area this way. "It has been an engineering problem all along," he said. "This is a bathtub (浴缸) with no way out."

If you're always comparing yourself to your peers，you might be low in confidence and unsure of yourself.Here are some tips on how to stop comparing yourself to others.

Write down your positive traits.When you ignore your abilities，it becomes easier to compare yourself to others.You might focus on their strengths and ignore your own completely. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}By being aware of your best qualities，you can learn to love yourself and build up your self﹣confidence.

Keep a gratitude journal.A gratitude journal helps you recognize the things you may take for granted so you can fully appreciate them.To start journaling，reflect on the little things that bring you joy. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Explain how they influence your life in detail.For example，if you jog in the park every day，you might express how you're grateful for your health and how jogging helps you overcome stress at work.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Instead of focusing on your "weaknesses"，reflect on the areas you can improve.Take advantage of all chances to improve your skills and techniques.Don't be afraid to ask other people for help along the way.Only by making efforts to improve your abilities can you make yourself happy.

Compete against yourself. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Instead，use comparison to become an improved version of yourself.Set goals for yourself and try to improve your own personal best.When you set a goal for yourself，track your progress so that you can see how you are moving toward that goal.That way

Overcoming comparison is a continuous process，but it is possible! {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A.Take control over your life.

B.Work on improving your abilities.

C.Don't compare your life to other people's.

D.Write down why you're grateful for them.

E.With time and practice，you can become the best version of yourself.

F.Appreciate others and use their success to motivate you to work hard.

G.To avoid this negative behavior，make a list of your strengths and talents.