For students at the Farm School in Hamilton, Virginia, the classroom is outside every day. Jaclyn Jenkins is the founder of the school. “The No. 1 question we get immediately from parents is 'What happens if it rains?' And we say, 'Bring an extra set of clothes!'” Jenkins adds, “We still educate them. Their brains are working when they're moving. So, our goal is to always be outside.” The Farm School is a preschool, a place for 3- and 4-year-olds to learn and play.

    Alison Huff has taught at other schools. She says the Farm School gives its students more of a hands-on learning experience. For example, children use pumpkins to learn about colors and counting. They learn about measurement by planting seeds 30 centimeters apart. Huff adds, “We can use everything a regular preschool uses, but out in the garden.” In addition to planting vegetables and fruits, children help prepare food and clean up afterwards. The school teaches the children to cook using the food they have grown. “They can see the benefits of what they have in the garden and taste it then instead of going to the grocery store and buying it,” says Huff.

    The preschoolers also learn words in languages other than English. Huff speaks in both English and Spanish. Her assistant speaks French and Arabic. A 3-year-old in her class speaks four different languages.

    Farm animals are also an important part of the education program. Jenkins says the children learn about a different animal every month. Two months ago, she says, that animal was a cow. “We do actually have a cow that we bring to the school. They get to see what the cow is like, an learn what cows eat. They use little gloves and pretend to actually milk a cow. They make butter and yogurt.” The children spent another month with a large bird — a turkey.

    The idea for a school like this started after Jenkins and her husband bought a farm in Hamilton, with a late 18th-century house. They called it “One Day Farm” because years earlier they had hoped that “one day” they would have a farm. “That's when it started, the spark of a farm school,” said Jenkins.

    Lots of people like a good fright at Halloween. Yet, the most frightening thing of all about the night is that twice as many children are killed while out and about on Hallween compared to any other day of the year, according to a study by Safe Kids Worldwide. It can also be a worrying time for others, especially elderly people living alone. Bu many people think it's just harmless fun.

    But is it harmless fun?

    Police forces across Britain are giving warnings about Halloween night. They are asking all those wishing to celebrate Halloween this year to respect those who don't want to join in.

    Some forces, like West Mercia Police, have produced “Sorry, No Trick or Treat” posters which can be downloaded from their website, and put up in windows. They want people to send them to the old or anyone who may be frightened by ghosts(鬼)knocking on their doors.

    A spokesman said: “Children should not call on houses where the posters are put up, neither should they call on strangers, as this can put young people at risk and also make some house owners anxious, especially those who are elderly or living alone.”

    The police want all trick or treaters to remember that disturbing other people or throwing objects at their homes or cars are all criminal offences(刑事罪). “What may start off as a bit of fun could end up with someone getting a criminal record,” they warn. “Parents may want to consider having a Halloween party at home, instead.”

Kent Police are warning young people never to go into the home of someone they don't know—and to remember not to frighten people.

    Warwickshire Police are also warning that tricks may seem like harmless fun but can cause trouble to others. They say behaviour such as throwing eggs can quickly cross the line between being anti-social and causing criminal damage. This can result in fines of ￡2,500 for small offences.

    Everyone looks forward to progress, whether in one's personal life or in the general society. Progress indicates a person's ability to change the way he is living at the moment. Progress must lead a better way of doing things. All these, however, remain true only in so far as people want to accept technology and move forward by finding new and more efficient ways of doing things.

    However, at the back of the minds of many people, especially those who missed the “good old days”, efficiency comes with a price. When communication becomes efficient, people are able to contact one another no matter where they are and at whatever time they wish to. The click of a button allows people miles apart to talk or to see each other without even leaving their homes. With the communication gadgets, such as mobile phones and ipads, people often do not take the effect to visit one another personally. A personal visit carries with it the additional feature of having to be in the person's presence for as long as the visit lasts. We cannot unnecessarily excuse ourselves or turn the other person off.

    With efficiency also comes mass production. Such is the nature of factories and the success of industrialization today. Factories have improved efficiency. Unskillful tasks are left to machines and products are better made and produced with greater accuracy than any human hand could ever have done. However, with the improvements in efficiency also comes the loss of the personal touch when making these products. For example, many handcrafts are now produced in a factory. Although this means that supply is better able to increase demand, now that the supply is quick and efficient, the demand might fall because mass production lowers the quality of the handicraft and it is difficult to find unique designs on each item.

    Nevertheless, we must not commit the mistake of analyzing progress only from one point of view. In fact, progress has allowed tradition to keep up. It is only with progress and the invention of new technology that many old products can be brought back to their old state. New technology is required for old products to stay old.

    It is people's attitude towards progress that causes the type of influence that technology has on society. Technology is flexible. There is no fixed way of making use of it. Everything depends on people's attitude. The worst effects of progress will fall on those who are unable to think again about their attitudes and views of society. When we accept progress and adapt it to suit our needs, a new “past” is created.

    The obsession(痴迷) with perfection among young people has risen by more than 30 percent over the last three decades, a study has found.

    Many of them believe that their environment is extremely demanding and that others judge them strictly, according to analysis of data from more than 40，000 British, Canadian and American university students from 1989 to 2017.

    The research, carried out by the University of Bath and York St John University, found that the degree to which young people attach an unreasonable importance to being perfect, hold unrealistic expectations of themselves and are highly self­critical has increased by 10 percent when compared to previous generations. The authors suggested their findings point to the influence of three decades of neoliberalism(新自由主义) forcing young people to compete against one another.

    Lead author Dr Thomas Curran from the University of Bath's Department for Health said he hoped organisations responsible for safeguarding the welfare of young people, such as schools, universities, and policymakers who shape the environments in which these organisations operate, would “resist the promotion of competitiveness at the expense of young people's psychological health”.

    He said, “Rising rates of perfectionism highlighted in this study is in line with three decades of neoliberalism, which has forced young people to compete against each other within increasingly demanding social and economic aspects.”

    The researches defined perfectionism as a combination of extremely high personal standards and overly strict self­criticism, leading to psychological difficulties.

    Co­author Dr Andrew Hill of York St John University added, “The increase in mental health difficulties among young people makes for a convincing background for our findings. The higher level of perfectionism may be a key contributing aspect to such difficulties. Young people are trying to find ways to deal with increasing demands being placed on them and they are responding by becoming more perfectionistic towards themselves and others.”

    Last year I ruined my summer vacation by bringing along a modern convenience that was too convenient for my own good: the iPad. Instead of looking at nature, I checked my email. Instead of paddling a small boat, I followed my Twitter feed (推特简讯). Instead of reading great novels, I stuck to reading four newspapers each morning. I was behaving as if I were still in the office. My body was on vacation but my head wasn't.

    So this year I made up my mind to try something different: withdrawal (退出) from the Internet. I knew it wouldn't be easy, since I'm bad at self-control. But I was determined. I started by giving the iPad to my wife.

    The cellphone signal at our house was worse than in the past, making my attempts at cheating a frustrating experience. I was trapped, forced to go through with my plan. Largely cut off from e-mail, Twitter and my favorite newspaper websites, I had few ways to connect to the world except for radio and how much radio can one listen to, really? I had to do what I had planned to all along: read books.

    This experience has had a happy ending. With determination and the strong support of my wife, I won in my vacation struggle against the Internet, realizing finally that it was I, not the iPad, that was the problem. I knew I had won when we passed a Starbucks and my wife asked if I wanted to stop to use the Wi-Fi. “I don't need it,” I said.

    However, as we return to post -vacation life, a harder test begins: Can I continue when I'm back at work? There are times when the need to know what's being said right now is great. And I have no intention of giving up my convenience completely. But I hope to resist the temptation (诱惑) to check my e-mail every five minutes, which leads to checking my Twitter feed and a website or two.

    I think a vacation is supposed to help you reset your brain to become more productive. Here I hope this one worked.

The Big Ben is located in the tower at the eastern end of the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, Greater London. It was designed by Edmund Beckett and Baron Grimthorpe.

The Big Ben is very famous throughout the world, but nobody really knows why it is called Big Ben. There are two hearsays about this. Some people say that it was named after Benjamin Caunt, a boxer, who was called Big Ben. More people believe it was called after Welshman, Sir Benjamin Hall. He was the commissioner(特派员)of the work at the time of its installation in 1859. A story was told that during a debate in the Commons on what to call the bell, Sir Benjamin was about to give his ideas when a MP who sat behind the front bench shouted, "Let's call it Big Ben!" Then this name came into being.

The bell hasn't gone through a smooth road since the beginning of its design. Because there was great disagreement about the design of the clock. It took fifteen years to build. In 1857, the bell was completed and tested on the ground, but a four-foot crack appeared and the bell had to be cast again. Finally, the clock started ticking on 31 May, 1859, and struck its first chime(报时)on 11, July. Then in September, the bell cracked again. It was silent for four years but was eventually turned a quarter of a revolution(旋转). In this way, the crack was not under the striking hammer. Craftsmen made a square above the crack to stop it growing longer and it can still be seen today.

The Big Ben is famous not only for its 13-ton weight, but also for its accuracy(准确性) which is a result of its precise mechanism(机械装置). Even one extra penny's weight on the balance will cause a gain of two fifths of a second in twenty-four hours. Although there have been several problems, the bell is still striking today. Its chimes can be heard all over the world on the B. B. C.