It's no surprise that sports can greatly benefit a child physically, psychologically, and socially. A 2008 Women's Sports Foundation Research Report concluded that children's athletic participation is also associated with increased levels of family satisfaction, great achievement in study, and an overall better quality of life for children. And a study published in last month's American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that kids who are active at age 5 wind up with less body fat at ages 8 and 11.

    But one hotly debated discussion focuses on the kinds of sports kids should play, with parents mistakenly thinking, "Lizzie is so quiet, we should let her join in basketball and soccer to try to get her to open up." But increasingly, experts are suggesting the healthier instinct (直觉) might be, "Lizzie is so quiet. Maybe we should see if she likes playing with a big team like softball or if she likes ballet or swimming, where she can work more on her own terms."

    “Participation in any sport is going to provide kids with life skills—the ability to focus and to concentrate, the ability to handle pressure in tough situations, the ability to stay calm when things aren't going just right,'' explains Orlando-based youth sports psychology expert Patrick Cohn. Those lessons will carry over into future, non-sports attempts.

    Team sports certainly offer benefits not as easily obtained via individual activities, as players leant how to communicate and work with others, and there's the potential to develop leadership abilities. Team sports also help kids develop their social identity. Our sense of worth is developed through what we achieve and a sense of belonging.

    Individual sports offer unique advantages, too, like developing a child's sense of independence. “Hero, you don't depend upon teammates," says Cohn. "You take full responsibility, whether you do well or perform poorly." Many of Cohn's young clients complain about pressure from team mates or coaches to make zero mistakes or carry more of the team than they may want to; these kids may enjoy a solo sport like tennis or gymnastics.

    Individual activities keep kids away from comparing themselves to the best players on the team, a habit that does little to help confidence levels. Instead, it encourages them to compare their skills to their own past performances. With individual sports like swimming or track, it's easier for the child to participate on his own, at his leisure(闲暇), without having to round up a bunch of like-minded peers.

    Above all, while some children enjoy the excitement of competition, others are more likely to benefit from the freedom of individual sports, and finding the right balance can be necessary for children's enjoyment. What parents think is encouragement, children often consider as pressure. So try to understand what they want from sports.

    Man has been to the moon. It has been the first step towards future exploration in space. When compared with the distances between Earth and the other planets, the distance between the Moon and Earth is very short indeed. Mars, the nearest planet to Earth is millions of miles away! Traveling to the planets will be man's next step. Such travels will be more challenging than the trip to the moon and certainly more exciting and dangerous. Recently, two American spaceships, Viking 1 and 2, landed on Mars trying to discover whether that planet has any life on it. So far the signs of life on Mars has neither been confirmed nor ruled out (排除). Russians have discovered that the surface of Venus is so hot that it is almost certain that there is no life there. Also the atmosphere of Venus is extremely dense and the pressure is nearly a hundred times greater than that of the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists believe man may find planets which have the same conditions as those we have on Earth, but man should realize Earth will be his only home for a long time and begin to love and care for it.

    Why is pink or purple a color for girls and blue or brown for boys?

    The answer depends largely on cultural values as well as personal experiences. To the Egyptians, green was a color that represented the hope and joy of spring, while for Muslims, it means heaven. Red is a symbol of good luck in many cultures. In China, children are given money in a red envelope to bring good fortune in the New Year. For many nations, blue is a symbol of protection and religious beliefs. Greek people often wear a blue necklace hoping to protect themselves against evils(灾祸).

    People's choice of colors is also influenced by their bodies' reactions toward them. Green is said to be the most restful color. It has the ability to reduce pain and relax people both mentally and physically. People who work in green environments have been found to have fewer stomachaches.

    Red can cause a person's blood pressure to rise and increase people's appetites(食欲). Many decorators will include different shades of red in the restaurant. Similarly, many commercial websites will have a red “Buy Now” button because red is a color that easily catches a person's eye.

    Blue is another calming color. Unlike red, blue can cause people to lose appetite. So if you want to eat less, some suggest that eating from blue plates can help.

    The next time you are deciding on what to wear or what color to decorate your room, think about the color carefully.

    Our society is generally becoming one of giant enterprises directed by a bureaucratic management in which man becomes a small, well-oiled cog in the machinery. The oiling is done with higher wages, Nell-ventilated factories and piped music, and by psychologists and "human-relations" experts; yet all this oiling does not alter the fact that man has become powerless, that he is bored with it. In fact, the blue and the white-collar workers have become economic puppets who dance to the tune of automated machines and bureaucratic management.

    The worker and employee are anxious, not only because they might find themselves out of a job; they are anxious also because they are unable to acquire any real satisfaction of interesting life. They live and die without ever having confronted the fundamental realities of human existence as emotionally and intellectually independent and productive human beings.

    Those higher up on the social ladder are no less anxious. Their lives are no less empty than those of their subordinates. They are even more insecure in some respects. They are in a highly competitive race. To be promoted or to fall behind is not a matter of salary but even more a matter of self-respect. When they apply for their first job, they are tested for intelligence as well as for the right mixture of obedience and independence. From the moment on they are tested again and again—by the psychologists, for whom testing is a big business, and by their superiors, who judge their behavior, sociability, capacity to get along, etc. This constant need to prove that one is as good as or better than one's fellow competitor creates constant anxiety and stress, the very causes of unhappiness and illness.

    Am I suggesting that we should return to the preindustrial mode of production or to nineteenth-century "free enterprise" capitalism? Certainly not. Problems are never solved by returning to a stage which one has already outgrown. I suggest transforming our social system form a bureaucratically managed industrialism in which maximal production and consumption ends in a humanist industrialism in which man and full development of his potentialities – those of all love and of reason—are the aims of social arrangements. Production and consumption should serve only as means to this end, and should be prevented from ruling man.

Most of Bangladesh is at or below sea level. Rising seawater linked to climate change has severely affected the country. High water from storms in coastal areas also adds salt to soil. The land is becoming salty. Crops are less productive and many areas of cropland in the country are becoming unfit for farming. These are big problems for the small country. More than 155 million people live in Bangladesh. Growing crops is the most common way Bangladeshis support themselves.

To find a way out，farmers in the country are learning to grow vegetables in so-called "vertical gardens". The soil in these gardens is better because heavy rains have removed much of the salt.

A vertical garden is easy to make. Villagers fill containers with good soil and natural fertilizers. They put the containers on bricks so they are off the ground. They add pieces of the bricks to the soil to help water flow and drain (排水).

The farmers cut small holes into the sides of the containers. This permits vegetables with short roots a place to grow. Vegetables with long roots grow on top of the container. One bag of soil can produce up to eight kilograms of vegetables in one season.

The farmers also grow vegetables in containers made from large, thin pieces of plastic supported by bamboo. This "vertical tower" measures more than a meter wide. Each of these towers can produce more than 100 kilograms of vegetables. It costs about $12—$13 to build.