Tips for making family movie night a success

    We say this a lot, but we think it's worth repeating: It's important to get involved in your kids' media lives - and your kids will love it too.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} what's a good way to stay involved with your kids' media picks and create an opportunity to discuss them? Host a family movie night! Some tips for making it work:

    Schedule it.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Turn off cell phones and avoid multitasking during the show.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you've pot little kids, pre-select a group to choose from. Avoid watching the same movie over and over again. If you've got teens, tell them you'll watch anything they choose as long as they return the favor when it's your turn. Obey a “no complaining” rule.

    Choose a location (场所). Hang a sheet in the backyard, prepare the necessary equipment, and sit on beach chairs to enjoy a classic like The Wizard of Oz.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Talk about it. The next day, make time to chat about what you watched. Kids might be interested in learning more about Hollywood's history.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Talking with kids about how movie characters handled fictional situations can be a way to form your family's values or get kids to open up about their lives.

A. Make it a theme night.

B. Take turns choosing the movie.

C. This can be simple or complicated.

D. Make it a regular date and time and don't break it.

E. Visit the library to follow up on interests excited by the movie.

F. But helping them become wise media consumers can be easier said than done.

G. Or spend the family movie night on the road during vacations or at the grandparents' house.

    For a long time, I have been thinking about the idea of going abroad to do something worthwhile(值得做的), such as doing some voluntary work, working with kids or animals. However, I had been stopped for different choices with the kind of things I could do and different countries where I could do them.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} And I had been puzzling over how I was able to afford the flights, costs and everything.

    I thought I couldn't wait to do something.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} So I just got up off my bed and went downstairs. I started making sandwiches, and then put some crisps, some biscuits and an apple into about six little picnic bags. I called a couple of friends and told them my idea that I was going into the city to give these foods out to the homeless.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    While we were buying some other things in the supermarket, we saw a whole cooked chicken that was on sale, so we bought it. We gave it to the first homeless man we came across.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} What a feeling like no other!

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But I was very sad because I knew I had only helped one person out of thousands. Actually, it made me cry. But still at least I felt good to have helped others and the excitement got me satisfied, so I just had to keep doing that!

    I think we don't need to look too hard or travel too far for the things that are always on our own doorsteps.

A. He was really shocked and grateful.

B. He seemed glad to share the story with others.

C. They don't need to travel far for voluntary work.

D. Besides, it's very expensive to prepare for that.

E. I said to myself, “I have to do something worthwhile NOW！”

F. My friends loved my idea so much that they decided to join me.

G. I felt very happy because I did something making someone's day.

    It should come as no surprise that the more stressed parents are at work, the greater the burden on their family is. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} After all, the more time parents spend working, the less time and energy they have to plan and prepare healthful meals. Previously, most studies have focused on the role of working mothers while fathers were ignored. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It adds a new wrinkle to the relationship between work stress and family nutrition. Mom's work related stress is still a central factor in how well families eat because they typically do most of the food shopping and cooking. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    The study finds that when mom or dad experience high levels of work related stress, their families are eating one-and-a-half fewer family meals per week, and the parents themselves report eating fewer fruits and vegetables, more fast food, and are less likely to eat breakfast regularly.

    It's worth noting that the study looks mainly at low income families who belong to ethnic or minority groups. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} But the implications are wide-ranging.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Teaching kids, especially teenagers, to help with grocery shopping and to cook actual meals, instead of just putting a frozen pizza in the microwave, could be an important piece of the puzzle in helping families improve their eating habits.

A. But dad's work related stress has a large impact, too.

B. As to family nutrition, the entire family plays a role, even kids.

C. Yet, the kid's stress may affect the families' nutrition, too.

D. So the findings don't necessarily apply directly to other types of families.

E. It's also probably not a surprise that this can negatively affect a family's nutrition.

F. Now, a study looks at the family as a whole and at the role of fathers in particular.

G. It is parents who give their kids a good model to develop a good eating habit.

    Each year there is an increasing number of cars on roads and streets as millions of new cars and trucks are produced. One out of every six Americans work at putting together the parts of cars, driving trucks, building roads or filling cars and trucks with gas. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Because most Americans find they are using their cars in almost every aspect of their life. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The polluted air becomes poisonous and dangerous to health.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} That's what several of the large car factories have been trying to do. But to build a clean car is easier said than done. Progress in this field has been slow.

Another way is to take the place of the car engine by something else.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Many makers believe that it will take years to develop a practical model that pleases man.

To prevent the world from being polluted by cars, we'll have to make some changes in the way many of us live. Americans, for example, have to cut down on the number of their total cars. They are encouraged to travel and go to work by bicycle. Bicycling is thought to help keep the air clean. But this change does not come easily. A large number of workers may find themselves without jobs if a car factory closes down.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Although cars have led us to a better life, they have also brought us new problems.

A. Americans know cars very well.

B. Americans won't live without cars!

C. Inventors are now working on steam cars as well as electric cars.

D. However, the number of vehicles has continued to increase in recent years.

E. One way to get rid of the polluted air is to build a car that does not pollute.

F. Thus the problem of air pollution would become less important than that of unemployment.

G. However, some have realized the serious problems of the air pollution that is caused by cars.

Children's Games in Ancient China

    Unlike the children nowadays, the children during ancient times didn't have smart phone, iPad or computer to entertain(娱乐) themselves. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Let's take a look.

    Flying kites

    Kites have quite a long history. The earliest kites were made of wood, instead of paper. Nowadays, the three most famous kites are the Beijing kite, Tianjin kite and Weifang kite. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} For example, the swallow-shaped kite is a well-known Beijing style.

    Playing hide-and-seek

    Hide-and-seek is a traditional game for children, popular around the nation. Even nowadays, many children like playing it. There are two ways to play. One way is covering a child's eyes while other kids run around to tease(戏弄) him. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The closest thing to watching a film or television for entertainment during ancient times was going to see a shadow play. Folk artists manipulate puppets behind the screen, narrating stories and accompanied by music.

    Setting off firecrackers(鞭炮)

    Firecrackers have a history of more than 2,000 years. It is said that there was a beast (野兽)named Nian in ancient China. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} After gunpowder was invented, it gradually replaced the bamboo joint cracker. Crackers are still set off during Spring Festival to symbolize auspiciousness(吉利).

A. Watching shadow plays

B. Each of them has special features.

C. Different materials are used to make the kite.

D. Shadow plays were the popular entertaining form in ancient times.

E. And to scare off the beast, people burnt bamboo joints to make it blast.

F. More commonly, participants hide and one child must try to find them.

G. Instead, they came up with(想出) interesting games to play in their childhood.

Walking has been considered as one kind of rewarding exercise. For many people, daily walking offers massive and long-term physical and mental benefits. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} A Stanford University study found that participants were more creative when walking as opposed to sitting. 

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} You've probably heard the phrase "exercise your creativity". Our creative mindset is stirred up by physical movement, which is exactly why walking with your dog, a friend, or alone feeds creative thinking. 

But the scenery is almost as important as the sweat. Just by going outside, you are stepping out of your habitual surroundings and your comfort zone, which is necessary if you want to open your mind to new possibilities. You can walk through a tree-filled neighborhood. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Even when you walk down a busy street, you can't help but get distracted by the sweet smells from a food cart or the child pointing to a building you haven't even noticed before. 

Walking outside develops our ability to collect new ideas and take in new sights, sounds, smells, and flavors. Shinrin-yoku, a common form of relaxation in Japan, suggests that being in the forest and walking among the trees there can lower your stress levels. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Research has shown that getting close to nature around your neighborhood or taking a break from multimedia increases performance on a creative problem-solving task. 

So instead of setting a fitness goal, why not set a creativity goal that starts with walking outdoors? {#blank#}5{#/blank#} For example, you can turn off your phone and give yourself the chance to be present in the world, to hear conversations and natural sounds, and to notice the way people move and the way the sun reflects in a lake. 

Walk not just for exercise. Walk for wonder.

A.Unfortunately, you often fail to do it.

B.Expose yourself more to your surroundings.

C.The movement during walking is obviously key.

D.Without enough energy, you cannot wonder or create.

E.But to receive the benefits, you do not have to live in a forest.

F.This habit, however, not only benefits well-being but also contributes to innovation.

G.Wandering around a park and observing people relaxing or birds singing is also a choice.