The researchers created a long-termstudy in which they invited families in 16 school districts in central Pennsylvania to participate. In each family, a teenager, a younger sibling, their mother and their father were interviewed at home and then asked about their activities and self-worth five times over a period of seven years.

    The study authors were surprised to discover that when fathers spent more time alone with their teenagers, the kids reported they felt better about themselves. Something about the father's role in the family seemed to improve self-esteem among the teenagers in the study, said study author Susan McHale, a professor of human development at Pennsylvania State University.

  “Time spent with Dad often involves joking, teasing and other playful interactions. Fathers, as compared to mothers, were more involved in leisure activities and had more friend-like interactions with their children, which is crucial for youth social development,” the study showed.

    But Marta Flaum, a psychologist in Chappaqua , New York, said, “How these findings reflect the real world is areal question. The sample in the study is so small and so unrepresentative of more families in the country today that I'm not sure how much we cangeneralizing from it. In my community, in Westchester County, I don't see parents and teenagers spending much time together at all. Parents are often working so hard and have less time to be together with their kids.”

    However, Flaum encourages parents to make time for their kids no matter how much work they have to do. “Research like this reminds us of how important it is. The time we have with themis so short, ” she said.

    Mom noticed that something was wrong when I started getting so thirsty. I'd have a lot to drink before bed, which was unusual for me. One time, I opened a big container of apple juice and kept refilling my glass. Before I knew it, I'd drunk the entire container! My mom called my doctor. I then had a few blood tests, and the results were certain — I had diabetes (糖尿病), which meant that the amount of sugar in my blood was very high. That can be dangerous, so I had to learn how to control my blood-sugar level.

    My eating habits had to change in a big way. With diabetes, I can't eat a lot of sugar or carbohydrates (碳水化合物). I have to figure out exactly how much sugar I plan to eat, and then I get an injection of insulin (注射胰岛素) before the meal to help my body process the food. Also, I test my blood-sugar level often. I'm always trying to keep my blood sugar at a healthy level. The level can drop when I exercise, but that doesn't keep me out of gym class or off the basketball court — I just keep some juice boxes around to boost my blood sugar if I need to.

    It's a lot of work and not a lot of fun to keep track of everything, but I've gotten used to my new habits. I was a little scared at first because I wasn't sure how my life would change. Once I knew what I needed to do, though, it wasn't a big deal. My life is different now from what it was before, but it has become completely regular to me.

    Go to NYU Precollege Summer Program

    Make the most of your summer vacation with this six-week academic summer camp for high school juniors and seniors. Earn college credits, explore New York City(NYC), and experience academic and student life at New York University(NYU), Scholarships are available.

    Participants

    NYU Precollege summer camp offers rising high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to experience academic and student life at New York University. Teens take college-level courses for academic credits which may be applied to a future degree. Residential（住校的）and non-residential choices are available.

    What to do

    Participants take credit-bearing（学分计的）courses with current college students. Courses are available in over 36 subjects. Students can explore the archeological（考古学的）history of New York City, visit major New York sports equipment, learn the business of sports management, begin to master the Chinese language, practice the art of news reporting, or dig into the service industry while going behind the scenes at Manhattan hotels and restaurants.

    Additionally, students have the opportunity to participate in free noncredit seminars taught by NYU's distinguished writing experts. The seminars offer students an opportunity to improve writing skills and focus on college-level writing.

    Harvest Outside the classroom, NYU Precollege offers seminars regarding the college admissions and application process, as well as a variety of on-and-off-campus social event and activities. NYU Precollege summer camp allows outstanding teens to get a taste of college while still having time to work or volunteer outside of school, and enjoy the summer vacation.

    In this Pennsylvania city, Pittsburgh is shrinking but getting wealthier. Since 2000, its population has declined by 95,000 while its income per capita (人均) has shot up 24 percent. The trend is taking hold in many other cities, like Buffalo in New York, Providence in Rhode Island and New Orleans.

    Some of these areas have created more high-paying jobs in energy, health care or education. Others have managed to reshape their producing industry for a new economy. Higher-paying jobs have a greater effect because they create demand for additional services. "The story in Pittsburgh is very positive, and other areas are looking at it as an example of the transformation that might be possible,” said Guhan Venkatu, who wrote an economic history of the area called “Rust and Renewal” for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

    Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have helped bring tech jobs and innovation(革新) to the area by sponsoring tech centers that help graduates start companies without moving to Silicon Valley or San Francisco. This has helped keep Pittsburgh's educated young population growing even as the entire population in the city has dropped.

    Pittsburgh has more STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) jobs than other shrinking cities, about 80, 000 or 7% of all jobs. STEM jobs add productivity and income growth to the area. Manufacturers of high-tech medical equipment in the Pittsburgh area also have doubled employment in the last 10 years.

    However, some experts question whether growing income per capita can really make up for a declining population. According to Patrick Adler, a researcher at the University of Toronto, population loss does matter if it means lower-skilled workers have fled because of a lack of opportunity. What's more, high-paying jobs in education and health care can disappear if the population declines too greatly. So it'd be wise to find ways to increase the population.

    Throughout my educational years, despite the kind teachers I had met, I never felt interest in writing until I met her, Mrs Kelley. At first, I believed that writing would still be my worst class. Gradually, my fondness increased. She taught the lesson in such a lively way and her word choice impressed me. But that was not what made her my favorite. Unlike other teachers, after instructions, she gave an enormous amount of freedom in what we wrote, allowing us to create our own stories using our imagination. And that mattered most.

    There was one really revolutionary event: the historical fiction unit. We were to invent out own stories using the period we were given. World War II was mine. At that point, I was just looking for a good grade. Rather than creating a mundane (平淡的) story, I wanted to make a story that I felt was meaningful. As I progressed, I was pulled further and further into the reality that I had made. Grammar no longer existed, as my hands gained acceleration. When I typed the final word, my hands trembled with excitement. Briefly, I read it over and then submitted the draft.

    In the midst of anxiousness, Mrs Kelley responded. She pointed out some mistakes and gave some suggestions. Sadly, there were no comments of recognition. I fixed the errors and moved on. But when waiting for the final grade, I erased all the unrealistic thoughts that wandered in my mind.

    In the next class, surprisingly, after handing back my paper, Mrs Kelley mentioned that my story was very good. I looked at her in confusion. Soon excitement stirred inside me. I found a “+5” attached to the score. She had given an extra point in "Plot", adding an "Excellent!" No other teacher had done this. On that day, I felt what it means to be a writer. Mrs Kelley introduced me to the beauty of literature and made writing so enjoyable.

    A scientist once said: "I have concluded that the earth is being visited by intelligently controlled vehicles from outer space."

    If we take this as a reasonable explanation for UFOs (unidentified flying objects), questions immediately come up.

    "Why don't they get in touch with us, then? Why don't they land right on the White House lawn and declare themselves?" people asked.

In reply, scientists say that, while this may be what we want, it may not necessarily be what they want.

    "The most likely explanation, it seems to me," said Dr. Mead, "is that they are simply watching what we are up to—that responsible society outside our solar system is keeping an eye on us to see that we don't cause a chain reaction that might have unexpected effects for the outside of our solar system."

    Opinions from other scientists might go like this: "Why should they want to get in touch with us? We may feel we're more important than we really are! They may want to observe us only and not interfere(干涉) with the development of our civilization. They may not care if we see them but they also may not care to say 'hello'."

    Some scientists have also suggested that Earth is a kind of zoo or wildlife reserve. Just as we set aside wilderness areas and wildlife reserves to allow animals and growing things to develop naturally while we observe them. So perhaps Earth was set aside ages ago for the same purpose.

    Are we being observed by intelligent beings from other civilizations in the universe? Are they watching our progress in space travel? Do we live in a huge "zoo" observed by our "keepers," but having no communication with them?

    Never before in our history have we had to face ideas bravely like these. The simple fact is that we, who have always regarded ourselves as supreme in the universe, may not be so. Now we have to recognize that, among the stars in the heavens, there may very well be worlds lived by beings who are to us as we are to ants.