TEEN ZONE

    ANNOUNCEMENTS

    At the Newton Public Library

    REGISTER FOR A SUMMER OF STORIES

    Sign up and receive your reading log at the Circulation Desk. Record books you read over the summer and have a parent sign next to each title. The top five readers will receive prizes such as gift cards, magazine subscriptions, and movie tickets.

    TEEN ZONE RESOURCES

Look to the Teen Zone's “Ready Reference” comer for all the help you need to locate information on the Internet. Ms. Frye, the librarian, will share tips on keyword searches to find interesting information about certain books. You must have a signed parent permission slip before using the computers. Access is limited to 30 minutes and is on a first-come, first-served basis.

    EVENTS

    Poetry Session                Monday, June 16                6:00-8:00 P.M.

    Teen poets can be literary celebrities for a night by reading their original work at this special event. Friends and family members are encouraged to attend and show their support. A few original poems may be selected for publication in the next library newsletter. Food and drinks will be provided

Learn Origami                Wednesday, June 4                3:00-4:00 P.M.

    This class provides books and instruction in the ancient Japanese art of folding colourful squares of paper into shapes, such as birds, insects, or flowers.

Eco Crafts with Jasleen        Wednesday, June 11            3:00-4:00 P.M.

    Make earth-friendly crafts from recyclable materials. With guidance from a talented teacher and books, you will make new creations from everyday items. Start recycling today, and bring items to share with the group.

Magazine and Book Art        Wednesday, June 18            3:00-4:00 P.M.

    The library needs to beautify the walls of the Teen Zone. We will be transforming artwork from old books and magazines into unique masterpieces to frame and hang on the walls. Put your creative spin on some photographs, and help ensure that the Teen Zone remains the highlight of the library.

    Note: Registration is required for all the events. Register at the Circulation Desk or by calling 1-800-290-5992. Space is limited, so reserve your spot soon!

    Traffic jam and cities, it seems go hand in hand. Everyone complains about being stuck in traffic, but, like the weather, no one seems to do anything about it. In particular, traffic engineers, transportation planners, and public officials responsible for transportation systems in large cities are frequently criticized for failing to solve traffic jam.

    But is traffic jam a sign of failure? Long lines at restaurants or theater's box offices are seen as signs of success. Should transportation systems be viewed any differently? I think we should recognize that traffic jam is an unpreventable by-product of successful cities and view the “traffic problem” in a different light.

    Traffic jam occurs where there are lots of people but limited spaces. Culturally and economically successful cities have the worst traffic problems, while decaying cities don't have much traffic. New York and Los Angeles are America's most crowded cities. But if you want access to major brokerage houses（经济行）, you will find them easier to reach in crowded New York than in any other large cities. And if your company needs access to post-production film editors or satellite-guidance engineers, you will reach them more quickly through the crowded freeways of LA than through less crowded roads elsewhere.

    Despite traffic jam, a larger number and wider variety of social communications and economic dealings can be made perfect in large, crowded cities than elsewhere. Seen in this light, traffic jam is an unfortunate result of success, not a cause of economic decline and urban decay.

    So while we can consider traffic jam as increasing costs on the areas of big cities, the costs of inaccessibility in uncrowded places are almost certainly greater.

    There is no doubt that traffic jam brings the terrible economic and environmental damage in places like Bangkok, Jakarta, and Lagos. But mobility（移动性）is far higher and traffic jam levels are far lower here in the US, even in our most crowded cities. That's why, for now, we don't see people and capital streaming out of San Francisco and Chicago, heading for other cities in California, and Illinois.

Having Breakfast or Not

    Will it matter if you don't take your breakfast? A short time ago, a test (试验) was given in the United States. People of different ages, from 12 to 83, were asked to have a test. During the test, these people were given all kinds of breakfast, and sometimes they got no breakfast at all. Scientists (科学家) wanted to see how well their bodies worked when they had eaten different kinds of breakfast.

    The results show that if a person eats a right breakfast, he or she will work better than if he or she has no breakfast. If a student has fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, he or she will learn more quickly and listen more carefully in class. The result is opposite to what some people think. Having no breakfast will not help you lose weight (减轻体重). This is because people become so hungry at noon that they eat too much for lunch. They will gain weight (增加体重) instead of losing it. You will lose more weight if you reduce your other meals.

    When you're in high school, it can be difficult to find a job. You may not have much, or any, formal work experience and there aren't many jobs available for teenagers. However, if you're looking for a job, there are things you can do to help get your application noticed and help yourself get hired. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Don't be shy.

    Tell everyone you know you are looking for a job. Many jobs aren't advertised and you may be able to get a good job lead from a friend or family member.

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    One good way to get experience is to start by working for friends and neighbors. Babysitting, garden work, doing cleaning, and pet sitting all can be included on your resume (简历).

Keep an open mind.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This is a tough market and you may not be able to find a job doing what you want to do. The more flexibility you have, the more opportunities you'll be able to apply for. Plus, even if the job isn't your first choice, it may turn out to be better than you expected.

    Check the rules.

    There are only certain jobs you can do and hours you can work. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The minimum age you can work at paid non-agricultural employment is 14.

    Write a resume.

    A resume may not be required by employers. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Even though you may not have much information to include, a resume shows that you're serious about your job search.

A. Start close to home.

B. Be always optimistic.

C. You can count on the following chance.

D. Don't limit yourself to certain types of jobs.

E. But it can help you stand out from the competition.

F. These job search tips will help you get your job search started.

G. Check the Child Labor Law regulations to see how they apply to you.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} I say this a lot because it's important: you need to walk more. There are a few main reasons why I'm so fond of walking, also known as moving frequently at a slow pace.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Walking might not be as effective as other forms of exercise, but frequent walking will help anyone with two functioning legs that allow movement who would otherwise meld into the couch lose some body fat.

    It's good for your brain.

    Walking does much more than work the area underneath your neck. The farther an older person can walk in six minutes, the better he or she performs on memory and logic tests. Folks who perform poorly on the walking test tend to have reduced grey matter volume in certain sections of their brains.

    It reduces stress.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Go for a walk, preferably in a natural setting. For me, it's the beach of the Malibu hills. For others, it might be the woods or even a park.

It prevents falls in the elderly.

    Walking on uneven, natural ground like hiking trails， improves balance and reduces falls in the elderly. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The earlier you start habitually walking, the better your ability to navigate the land without falling will be.

    It gives you a chance to think.

    When we walk, we think. And because walking is a low-difficulty effort, we can direct our executive functioning to more internal matters. We work through problems, come up with ideas, replay conversations, scheme, and discover solutions. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. It modestly reduces body fat.

B. It lowers blood pressure, especially after meals.

C. Don't wait until you're already at risk of falling, though.

D. What do I do when I need to get away from a particularly stressful day?

E. Try to keep the walk as close to the meal as possible to aid in weight loss.

F. Even though some of you may be tired of me saying this, it needs saying.

G. Or maybe we just think about that funny dog we saw on the way to work the other day.

    Next time you raise an eyebrow at the views of your partner, friend, sibling （兄弟姐妹） or colleague, remember they could be helping to make you smarter. New research shows that intelligence is not fixed but can be improved throughout adulthood by family members, bright mates and intellectually challenging careers. The study challenges the commonly held belief that intelligence is fixed by the age of about 18.

    Scientific consensus suggests that intelligence is controlled by genes, with environmental factors such as schooling and nutrition playing a partial role up to this age. After this point, IQ scores become steady（稳定的）. But James Flynn, professor of political studies and psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, argues that people can "upgrade" their own intelligence throughout their lives. He believes intellectual stimulation（刺激）from others is important as the "brain seems to be rather like a muscle - the more you use it, the stronger it gets". However, the opposite is also true - so people sharing a home or workplace with those who are intellectually challenged risk seeing their IQ levels nosedive as a result.

    Professor Flynn analyzed US intelligence tests from the last 65 years and created new IQ "age tables". He found a bright ten-year-old with brothers and sisters of average intelligence will suffer a five to ten point IQ disadvantage compared to a similar child with equally bright brothers and sisters and special educational treatment to help pull them up.

    Professor Flynn also concluded that although genetics and early life experiences determine about 80% of intelligence, the remaining 20% is linked to lifestyle. This means that people can raise their IQ, or allow it to fall, by ten points or more. He suggested the best way to improve IQ levels is to mix with bright friends, find an intellectually challenging job and marry someone cleverer.