Many teens in high school want to try out for sports. A lot of them try out because they think it will make them popular or get them more dates. While this may seem like a silly reason, there are lots of other benefits to sports that your children may fail to notice.

    With TV, movies, computers and video games becoming more and more popular, it has become so much easier for teens to be by themselves rather than going out with friends. Kids used to go hang out at the mall or drive around town; now they just sit at home. Getting your teens into a sport gives them a chance to go out and spend time with other people socially. While they may not find a new best friend, they will learn how to communicate with one another and work as a team and they'll find something useful later in life.

    More and more kids are becoming overweight. Joining a team sport will help teens get out and get some exercise without feeling pressured to lose weight or get in shape. What's more, if your teens see that their physical condition is causing them to under-perform, they may be encouraged to do other activities to get healthy. By the time your children reach their teenager year, part of good parenting will be providing them with direction and encouragement and continuing to help them develop a healthy style of living.

    These days, it's becoming harder to show your teenagers that you love and support them. A great way to do this is by showing up to their game, helping them practice, and helping with team fundraisers. These are also great ways to spend time with your kids and talk to them.

    You may think “but my teen isn't good enough to make their school team”. There are plenty of other places besides school to play team sports. You can always check out “for-fun” teams. You could look into more unknown sports that you may not have thought of, did you know that bowling is a NCAA team sports If you do a little research, you're sure to find something your teen will enjoy.

    Team sports are a great way for teens to get out of the house, get moving, make friends, and even get a scholarship to college. So why not talk to them about getting into sports today

                                            Robot Surgeon (外科医生) Succeeds without Help from Human Doctors

         Humans make mistakes. Even surgeons with years of experience are not infallible. But what if these doctors could pool their knowledge and experience together and create a surgical standard of care, to be carried out by machines?

    That's the idea behind surgical robots, which may soon perform most surgeries, from sewing up tiny wounds to performing heart procedures. Many of these operations are, in fact, already completed with the assistance of robots. But a recent test suggests that robots in the operating room may soon go a step further, performing on soft tissue completely on their own, from start to finish.

    The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR), successfully completed surgeries on pigs. “We're the first group to develop autonomous robotic surgery with soft-tissue surgery, and when compared to standard operation, it's better, ”says Peter Kim, professor of surgery. “The idea is not to replace surgeons; it will make the surgeons better and make the procedures safer.”

    A recent Mayo Clinic study found that major surgical errors-including operating on the wrong site or side of the body, or even leaving tools or objects inside the patient-occur every one out of 22, 000procedures. That's rare, but robots like STAR would aim to lower the number even further.

    In the da Vinci surgical system, surgeons place their arms inside instruments and use their hands to control the movement of robotic tools on the operating table from afar. The robot's every major move is controlled by surgeons, and thus its results may vary based on the surgeon's training or experience.

    STAR, on the other hand, is entirely autonomous. It's not only able to work on its own and perform surgeries with a more flexible “hand”, but it's able to react to the unexpected incidents. Cutting into hard tissue like bones is one thing, but operating on moving soft tissue is far more complex. STAR reacts to a changing environment, similar to how self-driving cars are programmed to not only drive on the highway, but also react to another driver making a mistake and getting in your way.

    Downloading music over the Internet is pretty common among high school and college students. However, when students download and share copyrighted music without permission, they are against the law.

    A survey of young people's music ownership has found that teenagers and college students have an average of more than 800 illegally copied songs each on their digital music players. Half of those surveyed share all the music on their hard drive (硬盘), enabling others to copy hundreds of songs at any one time. Some students were found to have randomly linked their personal blogs to music sites, so as to allow free trial listening of copyrighted songs for blog visitors, or adopted some of the songs as the background music for their blogs. Such practices may be easy and free, but there are consequences.

    Sandra Dowd, a student of Central Michigan University, was fined US $7,500 for downloading 501 files from Lime Wire, a peer-to-peer file sharing program. Sandra claimed that she was unaware that her downloads were illegal until she was contacted by authorities. Similarly, Mike Lewinski paid US $4,000 to settle a lawsuit（起诉）against him for copyright violation (违反). Mike expressed shock and couldn't believe that this was happening to him. “I just wanted to save some money and I always thought the threat was just a scare tactic(战术).” “You know, everyone does it,” added Mike.

    The RIAA （Recording Industry Association of America）, the organization that files lawsuits against illegal downloaders, states that suing (控告) students was by no means their first choice. Unfortunately, without the threat of consequences, students are just not changing their behavior. Education alone is not enough to stop the extraordinary growth of the illegal downloading practice.

    Christmas is a time for eating great food, giving and receiving presents, and most importantly spending time with your family watching some classic Christmas movies.

The Grinch (2000)

    This is a Christmas must-watch and one of Jim Carrey's best performances. It was also originally a nursery tale book written by Dr Seuss. It's the story of a green monster who wants to ruin Christmas but who in the end discovers the power of love and generosity. I promise it's a great film with plenty of laughs along the way.

    Love Actually (2003)

    While this is not a personal favourite of mine, people in the UK absolutely love this film. It has many featuring actors and actresses. It might be a little difficult to follow as there are complex plots, so I recommend watching a translated version or enabling subtitles (字幕) in your native language. However, the heart-warming elements of the film make it worth watching.

    Home Alone (1990)

    This amusing masterwork is one of my favourite films of all time. It tells the story of a boy, Kevin, who is left alone in his house when his large family forgets to take him on vacation with them. While the families are away, burglars try to rob the house and Kevin must protect his home by setting traps. The trips, falls and traps will have you laughing out loud as you watch a 10-year-old boy beat two grown men.

    Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

    You can't have Christmas in an English-speaking country without watching this movie. It's not funny like Home Alone or The Grinch, but it is incredibly touching. It's about a man who claims to be Santa, but nobody believes him except a lawyer and a little girl. The story-line may seem a little childish but you can enjoy it at any age.

    Grown-ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced ever since. A man who has not had a chance to go swimming for years can still swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after many years and still ride away. He can play catch and hit a ball as well as his son. A mother who has not thought about the words for remember the story of Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

    One explanation is the law of overlearning, which can be stated as follows: Once we have learned something, additional learning trials increase the length of time we will remember it.

    In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, bicycle riding, and playing baseball long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and remind ourselves of words such as "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and childhood tales such as Cinderella and Goldilocks. We not only learn but overlearn.

    The multiplication tables(乘法口诀表)are an exception to the general rule that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school, because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood.

    The law of overlearning explains why cramming (突击学习)for an examination, though it may result in a passing grade, is not a satisfactory way to learn a college course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little overlearning, on the other hand, is really necessary for one's future development.

Best Tours of France 2024

If you're planning a visit to France, we've picked the best tours in France where the experience is built around the things YOU want to see and do. 

Loire Valley Bike Tours—the very best way to travel

One of the best ways to visit the castles, vineyards, pretty little villages, historic towns and beautiful gardens of the Loire Valley is on two wheels. . . Loire Brakes guided tour s are relaxing（e-bikes provided）, and you'll stay in a comfortable and cosy farmhouse and visit the very best of the Loire Valley with local guides Denise and Kevin. A superb slow travel experience for those who like to discover real France and enjoy the most delicious food and wine. loirebrakes. com

Tours for those who love the authentic（真实性）

Discover southern France—from attractive Carcassonne to the postcard-pretty blooming lovely lavender fields of Provence, as well as Normandy, Bordeaux and Dordogne. On these luxury, small group tours you'll get to experience France like a local, experience the best cuisine and wine, and discover the beauty and culture of France. www. tripusafrance. com

Tailor-made tours

Osprey Boutique Travel creates unique and authentic travel experiences. Their tailor-made tours are particularly made to each client's preferences, based on personally tested experiences and native French special knowledge. With Osprey, expect access to wonderful experiences at famous wineries and Michelin-starred restaurants, creating a lifetime journey. Find out more: ospreybt. com

Culture & cookery tours in Provence

Cooking classes with chefs in their homes where you'll cook authentic French dishes. Shop at fascinating street markets with chefs, and dine at the most delicious restaurants in beautiful towns of Provence on this fully accompanied, small-group, delicious and cultural trip of a lifetime. goutetvoyage. com