You may not know a lot of people when you start high school. Maybe your friends from middle school are going to a different high school. Even if you know other freshmen(新生), you still feel nervous that you don't know any upper-classmen. How are you going to make friends among this sea of unknown faces?

    Most high schools hold a freshman orientation(训练) before school actually starts. These are helpful not only because you learn your way around the building and get to meet some of your teachers, but you also get to meet fellow freshmen. That way, when you show up on your first day of school, you may already recognize a few familiar faces.

    When you talk to people at orientation, you'll probably find that a lot of them are feeling just like you are. They're all new to the school and don't know what to expect. Talking about a common concern with your classmates can help you develop friendships.

    The work in high school is something freshmen are probably worried about. The work in high school builds on what you learned in middle school, giving you a more advanced knowledge of many subjects. So you may find you have more work to do or that it's a bit more challenging. If you ever find your work too difficult, teachers can give you extra help.

    High school also has more after-school activities than middle school did, such as clubs, music and theater groups and sports teams. This is a good time to explore your interests and try new things.

    Middle school taught you the basics of academics, time management, and social skills while providing you with a little extra support and guidance. High school gives you the chance to learn how to be more independent and responsible.

    I recently posted a picture on Facebook from the movie Mad Max, a film where two groups race through the desert in steam punk vehicles, and wrote, “Actual picture of my way to work today.” It was meant to be a joke because of the sandstorms in Beijing, but one of my friends from back home thought it was real.

    I couldn't imagine how they could think that is actually what China is like. China has so many more conveniences and advantages than the West, and many of my friends agree. “I don't know how I will be able to deal when I go back home,” said a friend who is about to end her gap year in Beijing. “I've become so spoiled in China.

    China seems to be leading the way in innovation and convenience for daily life. Back home I could never shop, pull out my phone and scan a QR code to pay.

    There have been rumors of starting bike sharing in my hometown for years with little success while bike sharing suddenly appeared in Beijing overnight. I just step outside and scan a code, and I am on my way.

    Going out to eat with a group of friends back home was troublesome for both the group and the servers. Splitting checks and swiping (刷) 10 different cards or making change for each person in the group can be a pain. But with China's WeChat, you can quickly send your friends your part of the bill.

The list goes on...

    When I first arrived in Beijing, I was dead set on leaving in a month. That month has come and gone. Now, when someone asks me when I'm coming back, I think to myself, “Who knows?”

    While my friends think I'm riding through the desert on a motorbike, I am actually taking a “Didi” for what is the equivalent of $5 in the US.

    With all the conveniences and technology here, I may never want too go back.

    A parent might place his daughter's drawing on the fridge out of a love for his child rather than for the wonderful image, but for many people, that children art is actually quite amazing. In fact, adult artists were often inspired by children's drawing. For the museum-goers out there who tend to point to a piece of modern art and say, “My kid could have made that !”It's worth remembering that often, that's actually just what the artist had in mind.

    For many kids, drawing is exciting not because of the final product it leads to, but because they can live completely in the world of their drawing for a few minutes. Even children are scribbling(涂鸦), they're representing through action, not through pictures. Liane Alves, a prekindergarten teacher, recalled a student who presented her with a drawing featuring a single straight line across the page. Alves assumed the child hadn't given too much thought to the drawing until he explained that the line was one of the stems (茎) from The Princess and the Pea, one of the fairy tales they read in class.

    Maureen Ingram, who's a preschool teacher at the same school,said her students often tell different stories about a given piece of art depending on the day, perhaps because they weren't sure what they intended to draw when they started the picture. “We as adults will often say, 'I'm going to draw a horse, 'and we set out. . . and get frustrated when we can't do it, ”Ingram said. “Children seem to take a different approach, where they just draw, and then they realize, 'it is a horse. '”

    And what about those odd or scary-looking drawings? Does that mean kids are telling themselves stories that are odd or scary? It's hard to say, but it's rarely a good idea to over-interpret it. Ellen Winner, a psychology professor, pointed to parents who worry when their kid draws a child bigger than the adults. What's most important to remember is that“children's art has its own logic,” Winner said. “Children are not being crazy. ”

    You're sitting on the sofa, and there's your dog, right at your feet. You stand up? He stands up. But then you head to the bathroom, and guess who comes with? Why, your dog, of course. But why? Why does your dog follow you like a shadow, no matter where you go?

    Ever get the feeling you're being followed? As for why your companion follows you everywhere you go, read on!

    "When dogs follow their owners, there can be several scientific explanations, depending on the dog and the individual situation," according to Mary Burch, Ph.D., an animal behaviorist(行为学家).

    These explanations include:

    Positive reinforcement(正面强化): When your dog follows you, good things happen. Think dog food, a hot bath and taking a walk around the neighborhood. Your dog's no dummy. And one of his many talents is learning from experience, that is "reinforcement."

    Natural instinct(本能) to be part of a pack: In fact, a study out of Princeton University that was published in the journal, Science Advances, shows that your dog's drive (驱动力)to follow you around (as well as watch you attentively and seek physical contact (身体接触) from you) lies in his genes(基因).

    Feel good chemicals(化学物质): Your presence causes your dog's brain to release "feel good" chemicals, Dr. Primm explains, citing this study. Considering how much we as humans enjoy those feel-good chemicals, it's no surprise your dog likes them too—and will follow you around to get some!

    Sense of responsibility : As you move about your home, your dog might feel that you are patrolling your territory (巡视领地) and take on the duty to assist you.

    Children who spend more time reading with their parents have a greater chance of becoming better readers than those who don't. With the help from their parents, children can learn techniques to improve their reading skills.

    "A lot of parents think after their child learns to read, they should stop reading to them," Donna George said. "They are sadly mistaken."

    George offers her services to parents at the Title I Learning Centers. She said reading aloud to children may be the most valuable thing parents can do. "It is better for children to hear things at a higher level than where they are," George said. "Parents are their child's first teacher." Parents help their children build listening, phonics, comprehension and vocabulary skills when they read aloud to them.

    Before parents can identify reading problems, they should escape the enemy —television and limit the time their children spend watching television. George suggested not allowing kids to have a TV in their bedrooms, setting a schedule of when kids can watch or keeping a list of how many programs children watch. Louise Joines said while her 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son enjoy reading, the television sometimes becomes a distraction. So she tries to build the situation by suggesting books the entire family will enjoy reading together, like the Harry Potter series.

    Parents who do not read themselves should not count on their children being interested in it. If parents would read to their children at least 15 minutes every day, children would not have so many problems in school. It is the parents' job to help build that desire in their children, and of course to know what kind of books to read is also important.

    Some colors people see late at night could cause signs of clinical (临床的) depression. That was the finding of a study that builds on earlier study findings. They show that individuals who live or work in low levels of light overnight can develop clinical depression. Doctors use the word "clinical depression" to describe severe form of depression. Signs may include loss of interest or pleasure in most activities, low energy levels and thoughts of death or suicide.

    In the new study American investigators designed an experiment that exposed hamsters (仓鼠) to different colors. The researchers chose hamsters because they are nocturnal which means they sleep during the day and are active at night.

    The animals were divided into four groups. One group of hamsters was kept in the dark during their night-time period. Another group was placed in front of a blue light a third group slept in front of a white light while a fourth was put in front of a red light.

    After four weeks the researchers noted how much sugary water the hamsters drank. They found that the most depressed animals drank the least amount of water.

    Randy Nelson heads the Department of Neuroscience at Ohio State University. He says animals that slept in blue and white light appeared to be the most depressed. "What we saw is that these animals didn't show any sleep uneasiness at all but they did mess up biological clock genes and they did show depressive sign while if they were in the dim (微弱) red light they did not."

    He notes that photosensitive (感光) cells in the eyes have little to do with eyesight. He says these cells send signals to the area of the brain that controls what has been called the natural sleep-wake cycle.

    He says there's a lot of blue in white light. This explains why the blue light and white light hamsters appear to be more depressed than the hamsters seeing red light or darkness.