Do you want to make a difference in your community? The Verizon App Challenge can get you started. The first step is to think of a problem in your community. The next step is to create an app that can solve the problem.

    Group of five to seven students in middle school or high school, led by a teacher, can enter the contest. First, teams will compete on a local level. Teams that make it to the next round receive $ 5,000 for their schools. Finalists present their app ideas to judges in a live web conference. Next, the judges pick national winners. The top eight teams receive an additional $ 15,000 for their schools, and each team member receives a Samsung tablet. Plus, the winning teams get the chance to bring their app to life.

    A group of six girls from Los Frenos, Texas won the second annual Verizon App Challenge. They came up with the Hello Navi app concept, short for “hello navigation”. The app was designed to help visually impaired (受损的) students navigate (导航) their school. Do you have an app idea that could help solve a local issue? The deadline to register (登记) is November 24. Find more information and register your team at verizonfoundation.org/appchallenge.

Here are some tips from the Verizon Foundation to get you started:

    Get your team together for a brainstorming meeting. Write out all the ideas that conic to mind. Don't ignore challenges. Accept the idea that you can solve a problem that exists in your community. Ask family, friends and people in your community to share their thoughts about problems that they want to see solved.

    Surfing the Internet for fun will make you a better employee, according to an Australian study.

    The University of Melbourne study shows that people who use the Internet for their own reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive(具有创造性的) than those who do not. Study author Brent Coker said, “Surfing the Internet at times helps increase workers' attention.”

    “People need to relax for a bit to get back their attention,” Coker said on the university's website. “Having a short break, such as a quick surfing of the Internet, helps the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total Internet attention for a day's work, and as a result, increases productivity (生产效率),” he said.

    According to the study of 300 workers, 70 percent of people who use the Internet at work surf the Internet for their own reasons during office hours. Among the most popular surfing activities are searching for information about products, reading online news, playing online games and watching videos. “Firms spend a lot of money on software to block their workers from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online,” said Coker. “That's not always a good idea.”

    However, Coker said the study looked at people who surfed the Internet in moderation(适度), or were on the Internet for less than 20 percent of their total time in the office. “Those who spend too much time surfing the Internet will have a lower productivity than those without.” he said.

    Traffic Light Reading is one of students' favorites! And it's so simple. Here's what to do: Take three pens in different colors, most suitably red, orange and green. But it's not too important as long as teachers and students are both clear on the colour code they're going to use.

    Students read a text, not worrying too much about how much they understand. Teachers can ask them to re-read when students are paying attention to vocabulary. Start by underlining the words that they understand completely (including names, numbers etc) in green.

    Then students re-read the text and underline the words that look familiar-they maybe know them but aren't too sure about them. You guessed it: in orange.

    Finally, students read the text a third time underlining the words they clearly don't understand in red. Sometimes teachers might want to set students a limit for how many red words they underline, telling them only to underline the words that they believe are seriously blocking their understanding of the text as a whole. Generally, however, students are pleasantly surprised by how few words are red and how many are green. Seeing their ability laid out in a visual way really helps to increase confidence.

    Once the whole text is underlined, teachers can give students a limit of 5, 10 or 15 words, depending on the length of the text, and tell them they're only allowed to look these words up in a dictionary. This helps them to recognize words that are actually getting in the way of their understanding of the text and words that they don't know but actually don't impact their whole understanding of the text.

    This is a useful activity that can be done with a printed text, in a Google Doc, on RealtimeBoard, or set as a homework task for some independent study.

    Perhaps there is no sport in the world more{#blank#}1{#/blank#} (connect) to sneakers(运动鞋) than basketball. Now, thanks to a new policy, the NBA will{#blank#}2{#/blank#} (strong) its status as the most stylish sports league in the world. When the 2018﹣2019NBA season kicked{#blank#}3{#/blank#} in October, the NBA lifted its color restrictions (限制) on players' sneakers. It is the first time in the league's 72-year history that it{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(allow) shoes to be of any color a player likes, as long as no reflective material{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(include).

    This landmark rule change is part of the NBA's collective effort to support players' "statements" on and off the court. "{#blank#}6{#/blank#} increasing number of people have come to realize that restrictions on the color of players' shoes actually limit{#blank#}7{#/blank#} (they) personal expression and storytelling," CNN News noted. Kobe Bryant brought the low﹣top style of sneaker with a Mamba print to the forefront in 2008to symbolize the spirit of perseverance(毅力) and{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (brave). Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics wears probably the{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (well-known) signature sneakers. Inspired by his mother, who died when he was four, he has a rose on one side of his shoe to represent her.

    There is no end to the stories about sneakers in basketball. It's certain that they will remain a platform{#blank#}10{#/blank#} players express their ideas and personalities.

5 Lifestyle Choices You Will Feel in Your Bones

    YOU SPEND TOO LITTLE TIME ON THE MOVE

    "Bone is a living tissue," says Jonathan Lee, a physician at Montefiore Health System in New York City. "The more you use it, the more it will adapt and strengthen. Likewise, if it is not subjected to loading, it will waste away. "The solution? Weight-bearing exercise-even just walking. Strength training Counts too

    YOU EAT SALTY SNACKS

    A study from Japan showed that women over fifty who had high sodium (钠) intakes were more than four times as likely to have a fracture (break of. bones)As those with low sodium intakes. That's because as the kidneys(肾) excrete(排出) the sodium, calcium is reducing from the bloodstream too.

    YOU SHUT SUNLIGHTAWAY

    "Vitamin D is required for the body to successfully absorb and use calcium," Dr. Lee says. "Most Americans do not get enough sun exposure to generate enough natural vitamin D, and thus supplementation is essential." According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, adults under 50 need 400 to 800 IU of vitamin D daily and adults 50. And older need 800 to 1,000 IU. Talk to your doctor about your specific needs based on where you live, what time of year it is, and which vitamin D-rich foods you eat.

    YOU'RE CASUAL WITH WINE

    Low levels of alcohol consumption may be good for your bones, according to a study from Oregon State University, but more than a couple of drinks a day has the opposite effect. "Too much alcohol can make it harder to absorb calcium," says Dr. Lee. Furthermore, "In women in particular, higher alcohol consumption can decrease estrogen (雌激素) levels, and this can also lead to osteoporosis(骨质疏松), "Dr. Lee says.

    YOU LIVE INANAREA WITH DIRTYAIR

    In a study recently published in the Lancet Planetary Health, researchers dealt with hospital data for 9.2 million Medicare participants in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic between 2003And 2010. They found that even a small increase in levels of pollutants in the air--may lead to an increase in bone fractures and osteoporosis in older adults. If you live in a smoggy area, use an air purifier filter at home, avoid exercising outdoors when the air quality is bad, and get screened for osteoporosis.