Welcome to the Kids' Science Challenge!

    Do you like science projects and winning some awesome gifts? This is the challenge for you. What's even better is that you don't have to build anything--simply come up with an original idea or design that relates to one of three topics given below.

Wonderful Sounds

    Ready for Wonderful Sounds? Click on Science Secrets to meet our sound specialist. And be sure to download fun activities with crazy new sounds and musical instruments in the Dig In section! Now what kind of new musical instrument can you invent?

Super Material for Sports

    Ready for Super Material for Sports? You'll discover the amazing world of Materials Science, where scientists and engineers develop new materials for everyday functions--like sports! Click on Science Secrets for information about our scientist. And don't forget to download the fun activities in the Dig In section! Now can you come up with a new sports material that would help you play your favorite sport?

Magical Microbes

    Ready to discover Magical Microbes, the tiniest living things on earth? Click on Science Secrets for information about our scientists. And be sure to download all the fun activities in the Dig In section! Now can you think of a brand new way that microbes can help people?

    Being mistreated at work can out their negative emotions on loved ones at home. But a new study suggests that getting more exercise and sleep may help people better pope with them by, leaving them at work where they belong.

    Previous research shows that employees who are looked down on or insulted by colleagues are likely, go express their frustrations and behave angrily toward people outside of work, says study co-author Shannon Taylor, a management professor at the University of Central Florida's College of Business.

    The new study backs up this idea, but offers a bit of good news as well: Employees who averaged more than 10.500, steps a day or burned at least 2, 100 calories were less likely to mistreat their cohabitants than those who averaged fewer steps of burned fewer calories.

    The findings also revealed that when employees felt they had a bad night's sleep because of work issues, they, were more likely to be grouchy at home. “When you're tired, you're either less able or less motivated to regulate yourself” says co-author Larissa Barber, a professor of psychology at Northern Illinois University.

    Physical activity seems to counterbalance poor sleepy, Barber says, because it promotes healthy brain functions needed to properly regulate emotions and behaviors. “This study suggests that high amounts of exercise can be at least one way to improve the situations brought by sleep troubles that lead to negative behaviors at home,” she says.

    Barber acknowledges that finding time to work out and get a full night's sleep can be difficult when work pressure is mounting, and that often, job stress can be directly related to sleep quality. But, she says, making the effort to burn some extra calories and blow off some steam can be worth it. It's not only good for you, says Taylor,/ but it can benefit the people you live with as well.

    The "Boomerang Kids" — young adults who leave to go to college, get married or just show off their independence — are moving back in with mom and dad. Boomerang Kids can be a mixed blessing for parents, both emotionally and financially.

    Especially during hard economic times, adult children head for home. According to a survey, about 40 percent of 2017 graduates still live with their parents. Moreover, 42 percent of the 2015 graduates surveyed said they are still living at home.

    The reasons are many, the first being economics. While the recession(衰退) has touched Americans of all ages, it has been very hard for young adults. This has sent many kids back home. Plus, there is the matter of debt, especially college loans. For many recent graduates, it makes smart economic sense to move back in with their parents where life is comfortable and rent is either low or nonexistent. Then, of course, some return for personal reasons, such as recovering from a divorce or an illness.

    Parents are often glad to help out, both emotionally and financially. As a result, the arrangement often works to everyone's satisfaction. However, there are risks, especially for the parents. These include not only family tension and misunderstandings, but also money. The return to the family can become a financial burden that can affect the parents' plans and their financial future, especially their retirement, as they try to do too much for their children.

    Can creativity be taught? That's a question without a simple yes or no answer. Creativity may not be able to be taught directly, but what you can get better at is frequently targeting at the circumstances of life which bring up the greatest chances for true creative expression. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, but more like something which manifests （显现） itself inside those who learn to develop it and create the right conditions for it.

Limit your selection of tools to only the most vital. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. You'll be sharper than someone who merely fights with a larger set of tools.

    Learn how to be resourceful. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Creativity is not just about creating something new but making old things work better as well. Think of crazy possibilities as well as practical ones. You might find inspiration for a workable solution in one of your ideas.

    Don't listen to feedback （反馈） and keep following your own path. The problem of asking for feedback is that the feedback will be given according to the person's past experience. Others will unconsciously push you in a direction that they see as best. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Just don't let criticism （even the constructing type） destroy your creativity during the creative process.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Routines are positive if they strengthen a healthy creative consciousness and negative if they destroy that. The key is to discover a creative routine that puts you in a more creative mindset.

A. Creativity is not like a lightning strike

B. Having a routine is actually not a bad idea

C. You can literally do anything you like with them

D. Resourcefulness is about making the most of what you have to work with

E. The more limited your set of tools is, the more creative the output will be

F. This is done with good intentions, but it actually hurts your natural creativity

G. While breaking your routine once in a while to force new ways of thinking is good

Much meaning can be conveyed clearly in our eyes, so it is often said that eyes can speak.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} On a bus you may look at a stranger, but not for too long. And if he senses that you are staring at him, he may feel uncomfortable.

The same is true in our dailylife. If you are stared at for more than necessary, you will look at yourself up and down to see if there is anything wrong with you.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Eyes do speak, right?

Looking too long at someone may seem to be rude and aggressive. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If a man stares at a woman for more than 10 seconds and refuses to look away from her, his intentions are obvious. He wishes to attract her attention, and let her know that he is admiring her.

However, when two persons are engaged in a conversation, the speaker will only look into the listener's eyes from time to time to make sure that the listener does pay attention to what the former is speaking. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If a speaker looks at you continuously when speaking as if he's trying to control you, you will feel awkward. A poor liar usually exposes himself by looking too long at the victim. He wrongly believes that looking straight in the eye is a sign of honest communication. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Actually, eye contact should be made based on a specific relationship and situation.

A. On the contrary, it will give him away.

B. Do you have such a kind of experience?

C. That's what normal eye contact is all about.

D. Actually, continuous eye contact is limited to lovers only.

E. After all, everybody likes to be stared at for quite a long time.

F. But things are different when it comes to staring at the opposite sex.

G. If nothing goes wrong, you will feel annoyed at being stared at that way.

    The world's insects are going down the path of extinction, threatening a "catastrophic collapse of nature's ecosystems", according to the first global scientific review. More than 40％of insect species are declining and third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles.

    "It should be of huge concern to all of us, for insects are at the heart of every food web. They pollinate (授粉) the large majority of plant species, keep the soil healthy, recycle nutrients, control pests, and much more. Love them or 1oathe them, we humans cannot survive without insects, "said Prof Dave Goulson at the University of Sussex in the UK.

    The analysis, published in the journal Biological Conservation, says intensive (集约型) agriculture is the main driver of the declines, particularly the heavy use of pesticides. Urbanisation and climate change are also significant factors.

    "If insect species losses cannot be stopped, this will have catastrophic consequences for both the planet's ecosystems and for the survival of mankind. It is very rapid. In 10 years you will have a quarter less, in 50 years only half left and in 100 years you will have none," said review author Francisco Sánchez-Bayo, at the University of Sydney, Australia.

    One of the biggest impacts of insect loss is on many birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish that eat insects. "If this food source is taken away, all these animals starve to death," he said. Such effects have already been seen in Puerto Rico, where a recent study revealed a 98％fall in ground insects over 35 years.

    Matt Shardlow, at the conservation charity Buglife, said: "It is thoughtful to see this evidence that shows the pitiful state of the world's insect populations. It is increasingly obvious that the planet's ecology is breaking and there is a need for a strong and global effort to prevent and change these terrible trends."