Like many sensitive souls, I never truly felt like a child. I was the oldest child of three and one of my nicknames as a child was "Little Mother" because I got great joy from taking care of my younger siblings (兄弟姊妹). I truly believe that the adults around me thought that I was a child that didn't seem to need physical affection. There was generally a lot of verbal affection but very little hugging pulling me onto their lap, rubbing my back when I couldn't sleep and other forms of physical comfort. I used to have a strong desire for that touch so very much but did not have the confidence to say so. Even though I had truly wonderful parents, family and friends, I remember a distinct hunger for human touch from a very early age.

When my first child was born, I remember never wanting to put him down. Grandparents, friends and even strangers at the grocery store would warn me about "spoiling him by holding him too much," I would smile and nod but ignore this advice, as well-intentioned as it was. I held each of my three children as often as I could, enjoying the quickly-passing experiences of breastfeeding them, snuggling (依偎) their little heads into the crook of my neck and rocking them gently to sleep. There was joy in work of motherhood, the like of which I had never experienced before. There was joy even in the bleary-eyed (睡眼惺松的）nights, in the crying fits of late evening, in the ever-present bouts of illness that rocked this house as it spread person to person. The joy was in the togetherness, the love, the snuggles amidst the struggles of life that did not always have joy outside of these precious moments.

When I was in nursing school, an instructor once told me about the importance of non-contingent touch—touch that isn't secondary to something like an assessment or treatment. She reminded us that not everyone has love in their lives and that love is essential for healing and growth. The easiest way to show love is often with a simple hand on the shoulder, holding hands with a frightened client, sitting next to them on their bed while chatting with them so they can see that you are not hurried and are present in the moment.

    I believe that non-contingent touch is just as important, or maybe even more important, in parenting. We touch our children when helping them bathe, dress and many other ways during our busy days. However, we mustn't forget the importance of hugs, snuggles, pats on the backs, the rubbing of hair throughout the day. Touch is one of the most important languages of love.

    One of the most important surprises of parenthood for me was that the physical time spent with my children satiated not only their need for love but also my own hunger for human touch. In loving them, I was loved. In holding them, I was held. In raising them, I rose up.

    We have become a disconnected society. We often connect more with others via social media、e-mail and text than face-to-face. Our younger generation seems lost in the technological void and they often struggle with even the simplest of in-person communication. We must teach our children the powers of touch, kindness of words and connection with ourselves that cannot happen if we have a blue screen perpetually in front of our face.

    We are powerful beings, we humans. As parents we can provide power for our children with our words and with our touch. May we teach our children the significance of small kind gestures, simple human touch and connecting with humanity on a personal level. May we reach out to another person as often as we reach out for the smartphone in our pockets.

    In an effort to inform our citizens to clear the street snow, the city adopts a snow removal plan.

    Routes used by City Emergency Services come first. Secondly, connector streets will be cleared which allow citizens the greatest access to public roads. And thirdly, roads within neighborhoods will be cleared.

    Snow removal and ice control will start when:

    Snow accumulates 4 inches or more.

    Weather conditions do not endanger the safety of road crew.

    Snow falls during peak traffic periods of heavy use of main streets.

    Snow and ice removal will be delayed or cancelled when:

    There is severe cold, significant wind and limited visibility.

    The snowfall occurs on the weekend or a holiday and is not considered a threat to public safety. In that case, snow and ice removal may take place on the next normal weekday.

    Snow and ice may be left on roadways if melting is obvious.

    Your cooperation is requested during snow removal and these suggestions may apply:

    Limit travel during storms. Travel is possible once roads have been cleared or salted by the road crew

    Avoid removing snow from your driveway into the road. Pile the snow in your yard.

    Park your vehicles in your driveways and off the road or walks.

    Keep public sidewalks next to your house clear of snow and ice.

    Be responsible for removing this snow which is thrown by the snow plough(犁) from your driveways. Hopefully, you can understand this inconvenience.

    High school biology teacher Kelly Chavis knew smart phones were a problem in her class. But not even the students realized how much of a problem the devices were until Chavis did an in­class experiment.

    For one class period, students used a whiteboard to count every Snapchat, Instagram, text, call that appeared on their phones. Chavis is among a growing number of teachers, parents and health experts who believe that smart phones are now partly to blame for increasing the levels of student anxiety. "One girl, just during the one hour, got close to 150 Snapchat notifications. 150!" she said.

    Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University in California, said it is not a coincidence that youth mental health issues have risen with the number of phones. "This use of phones has led to a loss of sleep and face­to­face interactions necessary for their growth," she said.

    Researchers are still not sure whether phones cause student depression or depression causes phone use. But nearly 60 percent of parents said they worry about the influence of social media on their child's physical and mental health.

    Both schools and parents are starting to take steps to deal with the problem. Many public schools pay outside companies to watch students' social media activity for signs of anxiety. Other schools invite in yoga teachers and comfort dogs to help calm students.

Plants may tell us when they're in trouble.Thirsty tomato and tobacco plants make clicking sounds,researchers have found.The sounds are ultrasonic (超声波的),meaning they are too high-pitched for human ears to hear.But when the sounds are transformed to lower pitches,they sound like popping bubbles (爆破的泡泡).Plants also make clicks when their stems (茎) are cut.

"It's not like the plants are screaming," says Lilach Hadany,an evolutionary biologist working at Tel Aviv University in Israel."Plants may not mean to make these noises.We've shown only that plants create informative sounds."

Hadany and her colleagues first heard the clicks when they set microphones next to plants on tables in a lab.The microphones caught some noises.But the researchers needed to make sure that the clicking was coming from the plants.So,the scientists placed plants inside soundproof boxes in the basement,far from the noise of the lab.There,microphones picked up ultrasonic pops from thirsty tomato plants.Though it was outside humans' hearing range,the clicking made by plants was about as loud as a normal conversation.

Cut tomato plants and dry or cut tobacco plants clicked,too.But plants that had enough water or hadn't been cut stayed mostly quiet.Wheat,corn and grapevines also made sounds when stressed out.

The researchers don't yet know why plants click.Bubbles forming and then popping inside plant tissues that transport water might make the noises.But however they happen,pops from crops could help farmers,the researchers suggest.Microphones,for example,could monitor fields or greenhouses to detect when plants need to be irrigated (灌溉).

Hadany wonders whether other plants and insects already tune into plant pops.Other studies have suggested that plants respond to sounds.And animals from pests (害虫),moths to mice can hear in the range of the ultrasonic clicks.Sounds made by plants could be heard from around five meters away.Hadany's team is now studying what the living things near the plants will do after hearing the sounds.

It is often a complex and tiring task to live a healthy life, but that isnˈt always the case. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Itˈs time to change the classroom environment for the health of the children.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Itˈs not surprising that sitting for long as a child is associated with health problems as an adult. Fortunately, thereˈs a simple, overlooked solution to these problems—standing desks.

Over the last few years, a number of studies have shown that the benefits of the increased range of movement students experience when using standing desks are surprisingly broad. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Besides, standing desks encourage higher levels of teamwork and participation among students. Standing desks also help to reduce the risk of some diseases. They can help to prevent fatness, heart disease and low spirits. Sedentary（久坐的）lifestyles are a major reason why teenagers suffer from poor mental health, while higher activity levels reduce the chances of a child experiencing such an illness.

The benefits of bringing standing desks into classrooms are obvious. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Otherwise they will likely hurt their muscles when standing for a long time. Standing desks usually offer a full range of motion, which includes the option to sit or lean（倾斜身体）without losing eye-level of the rest of the class, and that full range of motion is important.

Sitting isnˈt horrible. It isnˈt a thing we should never do. The problem is that we do it too much, and so do our children, which makes children less likely to succeed and keep healthy. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A．It is time for us to stand up to stay healthy.

B．But it is important for children to use them gradually.

C．Children spend most of their school day sitting at desks.

D．Thus itˈs necessary to break up the sitting with standing desks.

E．Something as cheap as a desk could be making a major difference.

F．Right now there is something we can do easily to keep our children healthy.

G．For example, they help students keep fit and avoid putting on too much weight.