Peter loved to shop used articles（物品）. Almost a month ago, he bought popular word game that used little pieces of wood with different letters on them. As he was purchasing it, the salesgirl said, “Uh, look, the game box hasn't even been opened yet. That might be worth some money. ”    

    Peter examined the box, and, sure enough, it was completely covered in factory-sealed plastic. And he saw a date of 1973 on the back of the box.       

    “You should put that up for auction (拍卖) on the Internet, and see what happens.” the salesgirl said.       

    “Yes, you're right. People like something rare.” Peter agreed, “I can't imagine there being very many unopened boxes of this game still around 40 years later.”       

    “Don't forget to tell me if you sell it.” the salesgirl smiled.      

    “No problem.” Peter said.       

    After he got home, Peter went online to several auction websites looking for his game. But he couldn't find it. Then he typed in the name of the word game and hit Search. The search result was 543 websites containing information about the changes of the game. Over the years, the game had been produced using letters in different sizes and game boards in different colors. He also found some lists of game fans looking for various versions of the game. Peter emailed some of them, telling them what he had.      

    Two weeks later, Peter went back to the shop.       

    “Hello. Do you still remember the unopened word game?”      

    The salesgirl looked at him for a second, then recognized him and said, “Oh, hi!”

    “I've got something for you,” Peter said. “I sold the game and made $1,000. Thank you for your suggestion.” He handed her three $ 100 bills.       

    “Wow!” the salesgirl cried out. “Thank you, I never expected it.”      

    How much weight a baby gains during its first month could determine its IQ, as a new research suggests. 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 led 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 verbal (言语) IQ at age 6. This may be because the neural (神经的) structures for 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 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. 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. 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.”

    Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination and physical, cognitive（认知的）, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles. Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, and to resolve conflicts.

    Ideally, much of play involves adults, but when play is controlled by adults, children acquiesce（顺从）to adult rules and concerns and lose some of the benefits play offers them, particularly in developing creativity, leadership, and group skills. In contrast to passive entertainment, play builds active, healthy bodies. In fact, it has been suggested that encouraging unstructured play may be an exceptional way to increase physical activity levels in children, which is one important strategy in the resolution of the obesity problem.

    Children's development is critically influenced by appropriate, affective relationships with loving and consistent caregivers as they relate to children through play. When parents observe their children in play or join with them in child-driven play, they are given a unique opportunity to see the world from their children's vantage point as the child navigates a world perfectly created just to fit his or her needs. The interactions that occur through play tell children that parents are fully paying attention to them and help to build enduring relationships. Parents who have the opportunity to look at their children's world learn to communicate more effectively with their children aid are given another setting to offer guidance. Less verbal children may be able to express their views, giving their parents an opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of their perspective. Quite simply, play offers parents a wonderful opportunity to engage fully with their children.

    Play is essential to the academic environment. It ensures that the school setting attends to the social and emotional development of children as well as their cognitive development. It has been shown to help children adjust to the school setting and even to strengthen children's learning willingness. Social-emotional learning is best integrated（融合）with academic learning; it is concerning if some of the forces that enhance children's ability to learn are improved at the expense of others. Play and unscheduled time that allow for peer interactions are important components of social-emotional learning.

    If you have a long holiday to spend, where can you go?

    Nikoi Island, Indonesia

    Less than 85 km-but somehow a whole world away-from Singapore's shining skyline lies Nikoi Island. Surrounded by white sandy shorelines and vivid coral reefs, Nikoi's centre is hidden in rainforest, resulting in amazing biodiversity seen in its native plants, animals and bird life. Marrying traditional Indonesian craftsmanship with contemporary design, Nikoi boasts just 15 stilted（建于支柱上的）beach houses, all with breathtaking sea views, guaranteeing privacy and total escape from the daily routine.

    Amanpulo, Philippines

    The only property on Pamalican Island, the luxurious Amanpulo resort offers extremely impressive accommodation, with only access to over five kilometres of clean coral sand beach. Designed to resemble local Bahay Kubo homes, Amanpulo's beachside, treetop and hillside villas all feature comfortable decks（木质平台）with hammocks（吊床）from which to enjoy the spectacular views of the greenish-blue sea below. Fill your schedule with Amanpulo's signature adventures (including diving, windsurfing and sailing), recharge in the award-winning spa or feast on locally caught seafood-the choice is yours.

    Song Saa, Cambodia

    Song Saa's incredible ocean views, and breathtaking sunsets are a very typical example of pure paradise. Its 24 villas—each with their own sea-view private plunge pool-are designed to reflect the natural beauty of Cambodia's coastline; built from recycled wood with straw roofs and driftwood furnishings, these presences are stylish proof of Song Saa's admirable commitment to sustainability and conservation. You can choose to do as much or as little as you want here. With rainforest tours, island safaris and reef snorkeling（徒手潜水）, it just offers some of the activities that show this spectacular destination.

    Last month, the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, held an underwater meeting. The purpose of the ocean floor conference is to highlight the effects of global warming on his island nation.

    The Maldives, located in the Indian Ocean, is the lowest-lying country on Earth. Melting glaciers and polar ice are causing sea levels to rise, putting the Maldives and other low-lying areas at risk of being swallowed by the sea within the next 100 years.

    What can be done? Scientists and leaders from 190 nations will try to figure that out at the United Nations climate change conference next month. The main goal of the meeting is to come up with a new climate agreement for 2012 and beyond. That is when the existing plan, the Kyoto Protocol will expire. The agreement was created in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997. Since then, it has been ratified(正式批准) by 190 nations. The countries promised to limit the amount of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, which they produced each year.

    The debate over who should cut greenhouse emissions has been going on for years. The US has been hesitant to reduce emissions unless fast-growing nations such as China and India also reduce their use of fossil fuels. In recent months, China has taken steps to be greener. But India has been unwilling to change. It argues that it is unfair for rich nations to ask poorer countries to cut down on emissions.

    While world leaders work on a plan in Copenhagen, there are many things you can do to help the planet. You can save fuel by walking or biking instead of riding in a car. You can start a recycling program in your community. You can plant trees. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and give off oxygen.

    Bottled water is a booming industry in New Zealand, but it's terrible for the environment —each bottle thrown away adding to the 190,000 tons of plastic New Zealanders throw into landfills each year.

    But now one company has created water storage that they hope will prove to be just as convenient as a plastic bottle—but contains no actual plastic.

    Skipping Rock Labs make Oohos, flexible membranes filled with water that are constructed using a seaweed extract—meaning they, re totally edible and biodegradable, wrapping and all.

    There aren't any known side effects from digesting the membranes, which are tasteless—though Ooho! says flavors can be added to make them more appetizing.

    The company took to crowdfunding site CrowdCube with the idea, and it has since gone viral— with more than 900 investors bagging them A£ 751,700 to develop and launch the Ooho! balls ( $ 1.35 million).

    Skipping Rock Labs create the balls by dipping ice into brown algae and calcium chloride, with the membrane taking shape around the ice—and while that may sound complicated, the company says it, s more cost-effective than producing a plastic bottle.

    A layer atop the membrane can be peeled off just before drinking, for hygiene purposes. Skipping Rock Labs are hoping their new product takes off—and that it starts to put a dent into the plastic packaging industry.