Your school asked parents about the social development in children in the last Parents' Meeting. Here are some opinions. Read the following information and answer the questions.

    Popular music in America is what every student likes. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class, and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music loudly as they drive on the street.

    Adult(成年人) drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, and the life of American people. Most of the radio programmers（节目）are music.

    Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in many places. Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people buy his or her tapes. Some of the money from these tapes goes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her. Now the singer has become a national star.

    There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans. One is called folk music. It tells stories about the common life of Americans. Another is called western or country music. This is started by cowboys（牛仔）who would sing at night to the cows they were watching. Today, any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl is called western or country music.

    Phantom Gourmet Food Festival

    Saturday, September 24, noon - 4 pm

    Lansdowne & Ipswich Streets

    617-635-2120

    Ages 21+

    $40/ in advance; $50, day of event

    The Phantom Gourmet presents a giant afternoon Food Festival to take place in the streets, bars, and clubs around Fenway Park. Ticket holders will have access to several food samplings, entrance to the streets and bars, and admission to nightclub parties. Drinks are not included with tickets. Also, if you want to fit in, Phantom Gourmet suggests wearing something purple.

      The 4th annual Fashion Show

      Saturday, September 24，8 pm

    Cyclorama at Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St., Boston 02 116

    617-426- 5000

    $50- $175

    As part of Boston Fashion week 2011, the event presents the 4th annual Fashion Show, which will show some of the best designers in the fashion industry. Contestants, Jery Tam, Maya Luz, and Keith Lissner (The Fashion Show, Bravo TV) also plan to be present.

    Regent Theatre's 95th Anniversary Celebration

    Sunday, September 25, 4 pm

    The Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St. , Arlington 02476

    781-646-4849

    All ages

    $10/ in advance, $15 / day of show, $5 / kids under 12

    The Regent Theatre presents a show in honor of their 9Sth anniversary. Entertainment for the evening will include musicians, local singers, dancers, storytellers, comedians and famous bands. The show will be hosted by Dan Foley of the Airborne Comedians.

    An Evening with Donald Rumsfeld

    Monday, September 26, 7 pm

    The Historic Old South Meeting House, 310 Washington St., Boston 02108 617-482- 6439

    $50

    WRKO AM680 presents An Evening with Donald Rumsfeld, featuring a talk by the former US Secretary of Defense. Rumsfeld will discuss details of his book Known and Unknown , including the events surrounding the September 11attacks and other topics involving the United States government. Tickets are $50 and include an autographed (签名的) copy of Known and Unknown.

The young boy saw me, or rather, he saw the car and quickly ran up to me, eager to sell his bunches of bananas and bags of peanuts. Though he appeared to be about twelve, he seemed to have already known the bitterness of life. "Bananas 300 naira. Peanuts 200 naira." He said in a low voice. I bargained him down to 200 for the fruit and nuts. When he agreed, I handed him a 500 naira bill. He didn't have change. So I told him not to worry. He said thanks and smiled a row of perfect teeth.

    When, two weeks later, I saw the boy again, I was more aware of my position in a society where it's not that uncommon to see a little boy who should be in school standing on the corner selling fruit in the burning sun. My parents had raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the responsibility it brought to us.

I pulled over and rolled down my window. He had a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts ready. I waved them away. "What's up?" asked him. "I…I don't have money to buy books for school." I reached into my pocket and handed him two fresh 500 naira bills. "Will this help?" I asked. He looked around nervously before taking the money. One thousand naira was a lot of money to someone whose family probably made about 5,000 naira or less each year. "Thank you, sir." he said. "Thank you very much!"

    When driving home, I wondered if my little friend actually used the money for schoolbooks. What if he's a cheat? And then I wondered why I did it. Did I do it to make myself feel better? Was I using him? I didn't know his name or the least bit about him, nor did I think to ask.

    Over the next six months, I was busy working in a news agency in northern Nigeria. Sometime after I returned, I went out for a drive. When I was about to pull over, the boy suddenly appeared by my window with a big smile ready on his face.

"Oh, gosh! Long time."

"Are you in school now?" I asked.

    He nodded.

"That's good," I said. A silence fell as we looked at each other, and then I realized what he wanted. "Here," I held out a 500 naira bill. "Take this." He shook his head and stepped back as if hurt. "What's wrong?" I asked. "It's a gift."

He shook his head again and brought his hand from behind his back. His face shone with sweat. He dropped a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts in the front seat before he said, "I've been waiting to give these to you."

    Crossing your legs is an extremely common habit; most people don't even notice that they're doing it when they sit down. While you may find it comfortable to sit with one knee crossed over the other, it might be causing health problems that you are not aware of.

    A study published in Blood Pressure Monitoring stated that sitting with your legs crossed can increase your blood pressure. The reason this happens is because the blood in your legs has to work against gravity to be pumped back to your heart, crossing one leg over the other increases resistance, making it even harder for the blood to circulate. This causes your body to increase your blood pressure to push the blood back to the heart. You won't feel any immediate effects, but if you sit for long periods of time it's important that you take note of how long you have your legs crossed for. You shouldn't have your legs crossed for more than 15 minutes, and it's important that you get up and walk around at least once every hour.

    Crossing your legs can also lead to neck and back pain. Ideally, it's best for our bodies to sit with our feet planted flat, hip width apart, on the floor, but it's not easy to maintain perfect posture all day at the office.

    You also might notice that when you sit with your legs crossed for long periods of time your feet and legs get tingly(刺痛的) or have the feeling of being asleep. While the feeling of discomfort may only last a minute or two, repeatedly crossing your legs until they feel numb can cause permanent nerve damage.

    So next time you sit down, try to get yourself in the habit of sitting with both of your feet on the floor. Not only will it help your posture and stability, but it will also save your health in the long run.