Baby girls make their way to dolls as soon as they can crawl, while boys will head for the toy cars,  a study has shown. The findings, the first to show consistent differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences.

    Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 babies aged nine months to 36 months. They were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were boys' toys - a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy.  The rest were girls' toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.

    Of the youngest children (nine to 14 months), girls spent much longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents' view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children's choice.

    Dr Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go' while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby.”

    Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.

What to Expect

    The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.

Accommodation Zones

    Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and 4 of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential(居住的). Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less crowded area. It is very convenient to travel in London by Underground.

Meal Plans Available

◇ Continental Breakfast

◇ Breakfast and Dinner

◇ Breakfast,  Packed Lunch and Dinner

    It's important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal, bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by dessert, fruit and coffee.

Friends

    If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host's permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.

Self-Catering (自助的)Accommodation in Private Homes

    Accommodation on a room only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long stay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practice English at home quite as much.

    STA Travel, the world's largest students and youth travel agency, beats any price! Every day we're working with our partners around the globe to get you (students, teachers and anyone under 26) the cheapest and most comfortable flights and top-rated accommodations. This part of www.statravel.com provides great tips for green travel — how to pack, how to leave your house or apartment, and how to plan for your trips. You'll also find a great selection of green travel adventure trips to all corners of the world.

    Green travel means responsible (负责任的) travel! Leave as little influence as possible on the places you visit and protect the environment both at home and during your trip. Think “Green” when you pack and when you travel. You'll help prevent long-term effects on the communities you leave and visit! Here's some advice on how to do that.

    Before you leave

    Turn your water heater to its lowest setting.

    Turn off your water from the outside.

    While you travel

    Pack suitable clothes in your luggage, none of which is to harm the environment.

    Try products made from recycled materials.

    Don't buy souvenirs produced from endangered species.

    Carry a reusable bottle for water and refill it as you go.

    Use the bathroom in the airport, NOT on the plane. The fuel used for a single flush (冲洗) could run a car for six miles.

    Can small, organic agriculture really feed the world? Won't we need science to produce enough food as the world population is growing to 9 billion by 2050? The answer to both questions is YES—but that science may look different than you think.

    We've been told that the only way we'll be able to feed the growing population is through the science of GM(转基因) crops and chemicals. But the latest scientific studies are saying just the opposite. In study after study, the message about agriculture is: To feed the world, we need to support sustainable (可持续的) agriculture on different, local, family farms that work with nature.

    In 2008, an international study found that sustainable agriculture, not GM crops, shows more hope of ending hunger. The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development (known as the IAASTD), calls for a change of the world's food and farming systems.

    The Assessment said that industrial agriculture has greatly destroyed the world's soils and other natural resources, and now is doing harm to water, energy, and weather safety. The report warns that expensive, short-term ways—including GM crops—are not likely to cut down long-term hunger, and could even make environmental and social problems worse in many places.

    A recent report by the UN Environment Program shows that food problems will become more serious because of environmental problems and strongly supports sustainable agriculture on small family farms. It also showed that a worldwide change to organics could actually increase the world's food production by as much as 50%—enough to feed a population of 9 billion people with the land we have now. GM crops, once popular, are now being questioned worldwide.

    Anyone watching the autumn sky knows that migrating birds fly in a V formation, but scientists have long debated why. A new study finds that these big－winged birds carefully position their wingtips and flap(拍动) at the same rate, probably to catch the upward movement of air and save energy during flight.

    There are two reasons birds might fly in a V formation: It may make flight easier, or they're simply following the leader. Squadrons(中 队) of planes can save fuel by flying in a V formation, and many scientists suspect that migrating birds do the same. Models that treated flapping birds like fixed－wing airplanes show that they probably save energy by drafting off each other, but currents created by airplanes are far more stable than those coming off of birds.

    Just as aerodynamic(气动力) calculations would predict, the birds positioned themselves to fly just behind and to the side of the bird in front, timing their wing flaps to catch the uplifting eddies(涡流). When a bird flew directly behind another, the timing of the flapping reversed(相反) so that it could minimize the effects of the downdraft coming off the back of the bird's body. “We didn't think this was possible,” Usherwood says, considering that the difficult achievement requires careful flight and incredible awareness of one's neighbors. “Perhaps these big V formation birds can be thought of quite like an airplane with wings that go up and down.”

    The findings likely apply to other long－winged birds, such as pelicans and geese, Usherwood says. Smaller birds create more complex wakes(尾波) that would make drafting too difficult. The researchers did not attempt to calculate the birds' energy savings because the necessary physiological measurements would be too invasive for an endangered species. Previous studies show that birds can use 20% to 30% less energy while flying in a V.

    Scientists do not know how the birds find that aerodynamic sweet spot, but they suspect that the animals line themselves up either by sight or by sensing air currents through their feathers. In future studies, the researchers will switch to more common birds, such as pigeons or geese. They plan to investigate how the animals decide who sets the course and the pace, and whether a mistake made by the leader can ripple through the rest of the flock to cause traffic jams.

Unbelievable Stories of Animals Acting Just Like Humans

    ◆Horses are picky eaters

    Horses have an even better sense of smell than humans do. When horses raise their noses and open their nostrils (鼻孔) , their nervous system allows them to sense smells we can't sense. This might explain why they refuse dirty water and carefully move around meadows, eating only the tastiest grasses, experts say.

    ◆Whale says thanks

    In 2011, a whale expert spotted a humpback whale trapped in a fishing net and spent an hour freeing it. Afterward, in an hour-long display of thanks, the whale swam near their boat and leaped into the air about 40 times.

    ◆Pandas like to be naughty

    Is there anything more lovely than a baby panda, except maybe a human baby? In fact, baby pandas sometimes behave like human babies. They sleep in the same positions and value their thumbs. Pandas are shy by nature for its shy behaviors such as covering its face with a paw of ducking its head when confronted by a stranger.

    ◆A cat honors its owner

    Paper towels, and a plastic cup are just a few of the gifts that Toldo, a devoted three-year-old gray-and-white cat, has placed on his former owner Iozzelli Renzo's grave every day since the man died in September 2011. Renzo adopted Toldo from a shelter when the cat was three months old, and the two formed an inseparable bond. After Renzo passed away, Toldo followed the coffin to the cemetery, and now "stands guard" at the grave for hours at a time.