Recently, we've been talking about how we need better teachers. There's no doubt that great teacher can help in a student's learning but here's what some new studies are also showing: We need better parents.

    Every three years, the organization called O.E.C.D. organizes exams as part of the Program for International Student Assessment(评估), or PISA, which tests 15-year-olds on their abilities to deal with real problems. America's 15-year-olds have not done as well as students in Singapore, Finland and Shanghai in the PISA exams.

    To better understand the reasons, the PISA team, starting with four countries in 2006, and then adding 14 more in 2009, went to the parents of 5,000 students. They interviewed them about how they raised their kids and then compared it with the test results for each of those years. Two weeks ago, the PISA team published the main finding of its study.

    Fifteen-year-olds whose parents often read books with them during their first year of primary school get much higher scores in PISA 2009 than students whose parents don't often read with them or not at all. Parents' concern for their children is strongly connected with better results in PISA.

    According to Schleicher, the leader of the team, just asking your children how their school    day was and showing great interest in their learning can help a lot. It is something every parent can do, no matter what their education level is.

    The study found that getting parents concerned about their children's learning at home is more powerful than parents attending parent-teacher meetings, volunteering in classrooms,   taking part in money-raising, and showing up at back-to-back nights.

    To be sure, nothing can replace a good teacher. But let's stop putting the whole duty on teachers. We also need better parents. Better parents can make teaching more beneficial.

    Time for an adventure?

    Are you a hit bored with your nine - to - five routine? Have a look at our exciting range of holidays and decide what type of adventure you'd like.

    Activity holidays

    Our activity holidays are for everyone, people who love danger or who just like sports. We have a huge variety of water, snow or desert holidays. We'll take you SCBA diving in the Red Sea or kayaking and white water rafting in Canada. If you prefer snow, you can try skiing or snowboarding in the Alps or even igloo — building. For those who like warmer weather, we also have sandboarding (the desert version of skateboarding) or camel safaris.

    Polar expeditions

    Take a cringe to Antarctica or the northern Arctic; explore a Land of white natural beauty and wonderful wildlife. Our experts will explain everything about the two poles as you watch the penguins in Antarctica or whales and polar in the Arctic, There's no greater adventure than travelling to the ends of the earth. A once-in-a-lifetime experience.

   ultural journeys

    Our cultural journeys will help you discover ancient civilizations: India, Thailand, Egypt and many more. Visit temple, palaces and ancient ruins ~just remember to bring your camera! Get to know local ways of life by exploring markets, trying exotic foods and meeting local people.

    Wildlife holidays

    We organize small - group tours to gel closer to nature in Africa, Asia or South America. Go on safari in Africa and watch lions and giraffes. Meet the famous turtles off the Galapagos Islands. Look for tigers in India, or take an elephant safari in Sri Lanka. We use local guides and stay in a range of accommodation, from tents to trees houses.

    On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released two proposals to improve food safety. The regulations are a response to a series of recent foodborne illnesses. The FDA hopes these new rules will prevent problems of food in the earliest period of production, before the contaminated（受污染的）food causes consumers to get sick.

    Over the past decade, foodborne illnesses have caused many people to get sick. Food like spinach（菠菜）, ground beef and cantaloupes（甜瓜）has been sent back to producers, because it is bound to contain germs and bacteria that cause illnesses.

    Among the most common problems are dangerous bacteria that cause stomach pains and food poisoning. Often these illnesses occur when food is undercooked or improperly prepared. While not all illnesses are reported, the FDA estimates that nearly 130,000 Americans a year are hospitalized for food-related problems.

    The two new rules proposed by the FDA are called Preventive Controls for Human Food and Standards for Produce Safety. Each rule is described in detail on the FDA's website. Readers can submit comments, which the FDA will use as feedback to mike future adjustments to the proposals.

    The first rule demands manufacturers should have formal plans for preventing contamination and for fixing problems when contamination occurs. This regulation is applied to food produced in the US and overseas.

    The second rule k specific to food that is eaten raw. It requires strict standards of growing harvesting, and packing fruit and vegetables. Workers must make sure the materials used in soil are safe and free of contamination.

    The FDA believes these new rules will not just improve Americans' health but also make a positive economic impact. The regulations can lead to major savings in medical costs for people who get sick because of the contamination food.

    If manufacturers are able to fix problems at source, they will prevent future issuer However, putting the proposals into action will lake lime and money.

    When Huang Lizhi took her first class in African sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa in February, her professor asked her and her classmates what impresses them most when it comes to Africa.

    Unexpectedly, Huang, 31, found that words like "poverty" and "safari" – negative words that were often associated with the continent in media reports – were the kind of terms her African classmates didn't want to hear. Instead, they preferred to hear the question answered in this way: "Africa is the cradle of humankind" and "Africans are passionate and generous".

    Apparently, there are some misunderstandings between us. It's true that with incidents like the Ebola outbreak in Western Africa and the emergence (出现) of pirates off the coast of Somalia hitting the news, it's easy for us to keep forgetting that Africa has one of the world's oldest civilizations – Egypt, born by the world's longest river, the Nile. The proof is in the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Great Sphinx of Giza, which are both popular among tourists. And the tombs of ancient Egypt have also become endless sources for the literature and film industries.

    When it comes to the natural environment of Africa, our misunderstandings are only bigger. But the truth is that instead of being extremely hot all year and covered by desert, the continent has large areas of savannas (稀树草原) where lions, giraffes and zebras live, the snowcapped Kilimanjaro – the highest mountain in Africa – and even thick forest on the island of Madagascar. These misunderstandings are one of the reasons why the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held on Sept 3 and 4 – to understand each other better.

    Indeed, only by visiting Africa herself did Huang see the convenient living conditions, the amazing natural beauty and the friendly people. In her eyes, her classmates were as hopeful about the future of their own countries as they were about Africa as a whole, and they were quick to demonstrate both their strong will and activity. "At that moment, I knew exactly what they wanted – they wanted their culture to be respected."

    Essentially, everyone has two ages: a chronological(按时间计算的)age, how old the calendar says you are, and a biological age, basically the age at which your body functions as it compares to average fitness or health levels.

    "Chronological age isn't how old we really are. It's merely a number," said Professor David Sinclair at Harvard University. "It is biological age that determines our health and ultimately our lifespan. We all age biologically at different rates according to our genes, what we eat, how much we exercise, and what environment we live in. Biological age is the number of candles we really should be blowing out. In the future, with advances in our ability to control biological age, we may have even fewer candles on our birthday cake than the previous one."

    To calculate biological age, Professor Levine at  ale University identified nine biomarker(生物标志)that seemed to be the most influential on lifespan by a simple blood test. The numbers of those markers, such as blood sugar and immune(免疫的)measures, can be put into the computer, and the algorithm(算式;算法)does the rest.

    Perhaps what's most important here is that these measures can be changed. Doctors can take this information and help patients make changes to lifestyle, and hopefully take steps to improve their biological conditions. "I think the most exciting thing about this research is that these things aren't set in stone," Levine said. "People can be given the information earlier and take steps to improve their health before it's too late."

    Levine even entered her own numbers into the algorithm. She was surprised by the results. "I always considered myself a very healthy person. I'm physically active; I eat what I consider a fairly healthy diet. But I did not find my results to be as good as I had hoped they would be. It was a wake-up call," she said.

    Levine is working with a group to provide access to the algorithm online so that anyone can calculate their biological age, identify potential risks and take steps to improve their own health in the long run. "No one wants to live an extremely long life with a lot of chronic(慢性的)diseases," Levine said. "By delaying the development of mental and physical functioning problems, people can still be engaged in society in their senior years. That is the ideal we should be pursuing."

We all love eating out.But,is it bothering you because you are on a diet and have to dine with a friend?Sure,you will be concerned about the amount of calories,fat or salt in a restaurant's menu items. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Choose the right place.

Always plan ahead when you know that you have to dine out.Look for the restaurants that serve delicious meals that are low in fat.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} You're more likely to overeat there.Once you've decided the place,get familiar with their food menu.Decide what you're going to order before you go.

Start with a soup.

One easy approach to stick to your diet when eating out is starting with a soup.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} This will keep you from sitting hungry and filling you up.A soup is the first course that you order when eating out.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

Salt improves food's flavour and is often used heavily in restaurant meals.When you dine out,ask the attendant to prepare food without added salt.Ask about the ingredients to see if there are items that may be higher in salt.Moreover,it is better to limit the use of condiments(调料)such as mustard,ketchup,pickle and sauces as they may contain salt that you don't need.Instead of salty appetisers(开胃小吃),choose fruit and vegetable salad.

Don't eat it all.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} To avoid overeating,you can split a meal with a companion or put half the meal in a plate and leave the rest.

Sticking to a healthy diet doesn't mean you have to turn down everyone's offer when asked to eat out.

A.You have to be very particular about serving sizes when dining out.

B.Just make sure you make healthier choices.

C.Avoid eating at places that offer all-you-can-eat buffets(自助餐).

D.Here are four tips for eating out while you are on a diet.

E.Cut the salt intake.

F.Avoid eating too much.

G.Order vegetable or bean-based but avoid cream-based soups.