A new study says electronic toys are not helping babies learn.

    "Even if companies are marketing them as educational, they're not teaching the babies anything at this time," said Anna Sosa the study's author.

    Researchers listened to audio(声音的) recordings of parents playing with their babies aged 10 months to 16 months. The researchers compared the experiences when the children played with electronic toys, traditional toys such as blocks, or when the children looked at books. What they found is that parents talked less with their babies when the babies played with electronic toys.

    Why is this important? Research shows that how quickly children develop language is often based on what they hear from parents. When the infants played with electronic toys, parents said little to their children. But with traditional toys, such as blocks, parents shared the names and descriptions of the animals, colors and shapes as their children played. There was even more information given by parents as their babies looked at the pictures in books.

    Of course, there is no need for parents to throw out electronic toys, but they should look at their infants' play with such toys as entertainment, not a learning experience.

    Toy Industry Association spokeswoman Adrienne Appell responded to the study. She said it is important that parents make time to play with their children. "Playing is a way that kids can learn so much, not only cognitive(认知的) skills, but social and developmental skills," she said. She added that play should be balanced, including time for just "make believe" activities, as well as traditional and electronic toys.

    Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is gaining global popularity. According to a government white paper, TCM has been introduced in 183 countries and regions around the world.

    Westerners' understanding of TCM, however, may be limited to acupuncture, cupping and massage(针灸，拔罐和按摩). For instance, the purple, injury-like marks left on U. S. swimmer Michael Phelps，back from cupping for the purpose of relaxing his muscles and reducing pain became the center of attention during the Rio Olympics in 2016.

    As a matter of fact, Chinese herbs play a more important role in getting rid of diseases and keeping the body in good condition in the TCM treatment system than physical treatment. It is therefore disheartening to know that while 103 World Health Organization member countries have given approval to the practice of acupuncture, not many recognize Chinese herbal medicine. TCM falls far behind Western medicine owing partly to the slow development of Chinese herbs.

    Herbs are made into pills, powder and soup, and the kind of herbs used, their quality and quantity, and the processing of the ingredients (原材料) jointly determine the effectiveness of the prescription. Compared with Western medicine, which has standardized drug production processes and treatment methods, TCM lacks standardization, with the chemical composition and functions of its medicines being unclear and their effects being unstable. Fortunately, standardization has improved in recent decades, with an increasing number of factories producing patented TCM drugs.

    Another factor that has prevented the development of TCM prescription drugs is the lack of creativity. While Western medicine-making companies come up with new products every year, TCM drug producers tend to make medicines according to prescriptions handed down from the past. Chinese chemist Tu Youyou's winning the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her research into malaria (疟疾) treatment may drive creativity to some extent in China's TCM industry. However, the current state of affairs cannot be changed within a short time.

    Last night, on my way home I stopped because of being attracted by some hamburgers at a fast food restaurant. On my way in, a homeless man approached me and asked, “Do you have any bottles lying around?” I knew he would recycle them for a few cents, but I didn't have any, so I said no. And again he asked, “Can you spare some change (零钱)?” I smiled, and said no again. He was very respectful; he smiled back and said, “OK, thank you.” Even though he didn't have anything, he was still in good spirits. From the way he spoke I could tell he was smart.

    Then I bought one hamburger and enjoyed my meal, but in the back of my mind I wondered whether the homeless man was hungry. After I finished my meal I decided to order another one for him. At this point I didn't know if he was still around, but I tried anyway.

    At the counter I ordered a hamburger and also a hot chocolate, because it was cold outside, and I thought it would help warm him up. They delivered me the hot chocolate first and as I waited for my hamburger, I noticed the homeless man was standing right beside me. I looked at him and smiled, “This hot chocolate is for you.”He replied like a gentleman,“Thank you so much. That's very kind of you.”

    I always believe no matter how hard up (缺钱) I am, there are always those who are worse off than I. When you help someone, it's not always about money, it's about love. The love you give today, someone might forget tomorrow. It doesn't matter. Love anyway, because the greatest thing you can give is love.

    The Poetry Foundation, recently named American poet Jack Prelutsky as the nation's first children's poet laureate (桂冠诗人). The group created the award as a way to increase children's love of poetry.

    As children's poet laureate, Jack Prelutsky will give two public readings in the next two years. He will also advise the Poetry Foundation about children's literature and take part in projects concerning children and poetry.

    Jack Prelutsky has been writing poetry for children for over forty years. He has written more than thirty five books of poems. His first book was called A Gopher in the Garden. It was published in 1967. His latest is called Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Other Poems.

    Jack Prelutsky is well known for creating new words by combining two words to create a new kind of creature. For example, he combined "radish" with "shark" to get "radishark". "Lion" and "broccoli" became "broccolion". He also created "umbrellaphant"， a mixture of the words "umbrella" and "elephant".

    Jack Prelutsky says that children like his poems because he writes about things they care about. Poetry researchers say that Jack Prelutsky's poems recognize children's feelings. An example of this is the poem My Sister Is a Werewolf which is about how it feels to be different.

    Jack Prelutsky also writes poems about American holidays. His poem It's Halloween is a very famous one about the holiday celebrated at the end of October.

    Have you ever thought of quitting your job when you feel exhausted? Maybe most of you would say "yes". After a particularly busy period at work, I decided to get away from it all by going on a hike in the mountains in southern France.

    Before I left, I read an interesting story in a magazine. It read, "Once, while I was riding on a crowded bus, the man sitting next to me threw his cell phone out of the window when his phone rang. I was surprised. He looked at me, shrugged (耸耸肩) and looked away. I had no idea whether it was his or stolen or whether he even knew what a cell phone was or not, but he clearly wanted to be free of it, because it clearly troubled him."

    Billions of people across the world use cell phones. Though cell phones are a wonderful way for communication, they often do the exact opposite. Using cell phones can increase stress within families and friends.

    So when I recently returned home, I got rid of my cell phone. Now I go outside without taking my phone with me. I've noticed things in my neighborhood I never noticed before, such as gardens. I've met new people, started conversations with neighbors I didn't speak to before and talked with some of my friends face to face instead of chatting over the phone.

    Instead of keeping me off from the world, stopping using my cell phone has helped me get even closer to my family and friends.

Harvard Pre-College Program

    Our summer program for high school students is designed to pave the way for a successful college experience.

    HERE YOU CAN:

    Learn without limits

    Pursue your interests in courses focusing on physics, law, writing, philosophy, and a dozen other subjects.

    Live at Harvard

    You will live in a historic undergraduate house near Harvard Square.

    Your plan covers three meals a day, seven days a week.

    Have fun outside the classroom

    You might enjoy a Cirque du Sileil performance, a Red Sox game at Fenway Park, or a trip to the Museum of Science.

    ELIGIBILITY (申请资格)

    Students are academically motivated and will graduate in 2020 or 2021.

    TO APPLY

    Complete an online application and provide the following materials: the $50 nonrefundable application fee; transcripts (成绩单) with fall 2018 grades; signed rules and regulations.

    INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

    Participants should apply for the B-2 tourist visa. If English is not your native language, submit scores from the TOEFLor IELTS language proficiency exam.

    APPLICATION TIPS

    No fee is required to start your application. You will be asked to pay the application fee only upon submitting the application.

    The scores of successful applicants are typically above 103 on the TOEFL with 25 on the written section or at least 7.5 on the IELTS with 7 on the written section.

    Use a desktop or laptop. You will be asked to write short essays as part of your application. This may be challenging to do on a mobile phone.

    You will receive an email informing you of the application status approximately three weeks after you have completed your application.