The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the St. Louis Outlet Mall is expanding its restrictions on unaccompanied teenagers. In 2006, a parental-escort (陪同)policy was established: on Fridays and Saturdays starting at 6 p.m., anyone under 17 that isn't accompanied by a guardian who is at least 21 years old will be kicked out of the mall. It was around this time that other malls around the U.S. likewise banned unaccompanied teens during certain evening hours.

Starting from this Friday, the St. Louis Outlet Mall is pushing its parental-escort rule back to 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Similarly, the Mall of America expanded its parental-escort policy during the recent holiday shopping season. Normally, the policy bans kids under 16 without guardians(监护人) from 4 p.m. until closing time just on Fridays and Saturdays. But because of a fight in the mall involving dozens of young people that took place on Dec. 18, 2012—- a weekday, the policy was broadened to include peak 2013 holiday shopping hours, including Thanksgiving Day and all of the Christmas week.

    Teen disturbances in other malls may cause more shopping centers to introduce or expand parental-escort policies. The Indianapolis Star noted that two incidents in 2013 in area shopping centers raised the possibility that Indianapolis malls might need to consider banning unaccompanied teenagers.

   Obviously, such bans are aimed at stopping violence and other outbursts involving teenagers. More importantly, from a purely business perspective, these bans aim to attract shoppers who might otherwise be hesitant to go to the mall because of concerns about violence and outbursts involving teenagers. The restrictions allow mall security officers to systematically kick out a group of people that are considered to be loud, thuggish and bad for business overall. But they attract much criticism from online communities. Some argue that teens have the right to shop without a guardian. “Not all teens are disrespectful and troublemakers,” Pamela Chapman wrote. “In fact, it's been my experience that most are good kids.”

Again, the biggest influence on stricter mall policies for teens seems to be that they're just plain good for business. Malls reported strong sales growth after they first carried out the policies six years ago. “We've had some success with the parental-escort policy, and families like shopping out here together,” the manager of the St. Louis Outlet Mall told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch . If there's one rule in retail, it's this—- if a small initiative proves successful in boosting sales, then it's all but guaranteed that a larger initiative will follow.

    Many cities and towns have laws that require people to recycle paper and plastics. Now some state and local governments have passed laws that require citizens to recycle their food waste as well. California and Vermont have statewide laws about recycling food waste that apply to businesses and homes. The process of recycling food waste and turning it into usable soil is called composting(堆制肥料).

    Food waste that can be composted includes fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, tea bags, and eggshells. Garden waste such as stems and leaves can also be composted. Meat, fish, and dairy food waste cannot be recycled.

According to environmental groups, composting reduces the amount of trash going into landfills(垃圾填埋池), and composted waste holds a wide range of nutrients. When compost is added to the soil in gardens and fields, it helps crops grow.

    Reducing the amount of waste that goes into landfills is one reason why cities and states are passing food-waste recycling laws. “Our landfills are far from enough for the creation of new ones is shrinking.” Renee Crowley, a project manager said.

    Officials in Seattle, Washington, say that food waste makes up 30% of the trash going into landfills, and they are looking to reduce that percentage. That city has a law requiring people to recycle food waste. It is banned from all garbage. There is a fine for people who put it into regular garbage.

    Crowley points out that even in cities where food recycling is not a law, there are often places where citizens can drop off their food waste for composting. Many schools and colleges have also started composting programs.

    Those who are against food-recycling laws say that the composting process is costly. In addition, it can be difficult for people who live in apartments to store their waste because they don't have access to outside storage bins. Patti Ferguson from Orange County, California, told her local newspaper that she thought an indoor container containing food waste would get smelly.

Like many Czechs (捷克人), Lukáš Berný, 38, enjoys going out to the pub with his friends for conversation and a few beers. "I don't drink every day," he says. "I think about three times a week. When I go out, I usually have five to six beers at a time, about the same as my friends." The beers are half-liters, or 500ml each.

    If a half-liter of four-percent beer contains 16g of pure alcohol（酒精）, Berný and his friends are drinking 80 to 96 grams of pure alcohol on each outing. The Czech Republic's National Institute of Public Health, however, suggests that men take in fewer than 24g of pure alcohol per day; women, fewer than 16g.

Medical experts in over 40 countries around the world have agreed that drinking "too much" can cause harm. What they can't seem to agree upon is just how much is "too much." National safety levels are quite different, from a limit of 10g a day in the Netherlands to Denmark's 60g.

There are a number of reasons for this. Dr. Larry Altshuler, a medicine expert for the Cancer Treatment Centers in Tulsa, explains that while everything is based on research, "Every group, race, and gender responds to alcohol differently."

Also, researchers aren't using the same models or methods. He adds, "It can be like apples and oranges. How do you measure alcohol? Units, drinks, bottles or cans? What's the alcohol content（含量）? Is it light or heavy?" While a half-liter of four percent beer contains 16g of pure alcohol, a half-liter of five percent lager contains 20g.

Constance Scharff, a director of Addiction Research at Cliffside Malibu Treatment Center in California, says she believes the reason "is largely cultural." "But the evidence is clear that the more you drink, the more likely you are to develop alcohol-related health problems."

    A strange object was found in a small city called Carlos Spegazzini, just a short drive from the capital city of Buenos Aires.

    When farmer Jose first found an odd scene in his farmland, he began to dig at the object. However, he quickly found himself running to tell his wife. Jose needed more support if he was going to investigate this strange thing.

    Even the dog was hesitant to investigate. Unfamiliar with the object, man's best friend was not about to jump at it with little concern. Therefore, they chose to call in somebody who has a better idea of what to do.

    When the police first showed up, they were just as stumped as Jose. They knew this object was something out of the ordinary. It might even be something extraordinary, so more questions appeared.

    It quickly became apparent, it was time to call in the big guys. That's right; when you find something that appears to be out-of-this-world, it's time to call in those who study the mysteries of the old world.

    Authorities called in archaeologists who jumped at the chance to study the object. They quickly determined one thing was for certain: the ancient big one that left this behind was absolutely massive! The group was unable to move the shell, as it weighed nearly two tons!

    Clearly, this massive beast was not the only of its kind existing in the modem-day world. Similar fossils had been found in the surrounding areas and had even made their way to museums. But what was the ancient beast?

Adult Education Courses

    Cropping (修剪) an Image With the Snap Shot Program

    Welcome to the world of photo-editing!

    Cropping an image allows you to zero in on (对准，聚焦) just the portion that is important to your project. For example, you may want to insert an image of a covered train in a report but may not want to include the whole train. Cropping the image allows you to select only the small area you wish to retain (保留) and eliminate all other portions of the original picture.

    Option 1: Cropping by Placing the Image in a Shape

    Screen Shot 1

    Using one of Snap Shot's standard shapes as a photo-editing tool requires no special abilities to crop an image with a standard shape:

    a. Click Cropping & Orientation from the Effects menu.

    b. Click to select one of the six shapes to frame your image.

    c. Use the mouse pointer to draw a frame around the portion of the image you wish to retain. Re-size the frame by dragging the shape's sizing handles. When you are satisfied with the results, click Cut It.

    d. Snap Shot will automatically return to the project that is open. (You may also copy or cut the cropped image and paste it into another application.)

    Option 2: Freehand Cropping of an Image

    Screen Shot 2

    If you want to trace the shape of an object in order to crop out everything else, freehand cropping is the way to go. To crop an image freehand:

    a. Click Freehand Crop from the Cropping & Orientation option on the Effects menu.

    b. Using the mouse pointer, trace around the shape you want to crop. Be sure to completely enclose the image by ending at the same place you began outlining.

    c. Click Cut It. Snap Shot will automatically return to the project that is open.