Being stuck at home doesn't mean that learning stops. In fact, it's just the opposite. Here are some activities and resources to foster kids' imagination and build their curiosity at home.
Let's Get Down to the Science
The science lab at school may be closed, but you can still put on goggles and a white lab coat and learn at home. This Test Tube Experiment Kit will make you feel like a genius in no time. Kids will get the chance to learn about basic chemistry, physics, and more by creating pop-resistant bubbles, bouncy balls, and other objects.
To Infinity (无穷) and Beyond
Earth is a part of the Milky Way galaxy, but did you know there are around 100 million galaxies in the universe? There are so many fun and fascinating things to learn about space that the possibilities truly go to infinity and beyond. A great way start your child's educational space adventure is with this Real Life Sticker and Activity Book.
Take a Walk on the Wild Side
Biology class is in session! Here's your chance to get up close and personal with a great white shark without putting on a wetsuit. This 4D Great White Shark Anatomy Kit allows you to get an inside look at what makes these predators of the deep so powerful. And then take an even deeper dive into a shark's world with I Am Shark.
Take advantage of this time at home and find new ways to keep exploring the world around you.
The morning after an evening struggle to care for my three-year-old daughter, I couldn't wait to get her to school. I, as a mother, was tired of the anger and her inability to communicate because of her abnormal language development.
As I accompanied her into the car, I was in deep despair. Nothing was right with our world. She'd been born around the same time when the nation was witnessing the birth of another Great Recession. My job and my house had been victims. Then this happened. Since my child's language delay was identified, I had been pessimistic but doctors struggled to properly help her. I felt as if we both needed to be rescued.
I returned that afternoon as disenchanted with the little girl I loved as when I left home. Walking slowly toward the school's playground gate, I found her preschool teacher racing to greet me.
"Madame, you should have seen her today!" His breathy words were supported by excitement. I didn't interrupt. "See that climber," he pointed to a wooden piece of playground equipment that looked like a rock wall. I nodded. "Well, every day since she started school, she's tried and failed to make it to the top," he took a breath. "And today she did it!"
He expressed his joy just as he'd seen her conquering (战胜，征服) Mount Everest! "She cheered and celebrated! I wish I'd recorded it!" His words comforted me. My daughter had conquered her mountain.
As she ran toward me, I recognized something I hadn't before. I saw her perseverance. I saw her strength. I saw a hero.
Everyday greatness celebrates ordinary people who do unusual things in big and small ways, showing courage, kindness, love and selflessness. We encourage you to click these brief accounts and invite you to share your own story.
China is recognized as a world leader in the development of artificial intelligence (人工智能) and facial recognition systems. A Chinese company, the Beijing-based Hanwang Technology Ltd.. says it has created a new facial recognition system that can identify people even if they are wearing masks(口罩). Engineers at the company say their system is the first to be created to effectively identify people wearing face masks.
The company told a news agency that a team of 20 people built the system in about a month. The system is based on existing technologies developed over the past 10 years. The process involved adding a collection of about 6 million unmasked faces and a much smaller collection of masked faces, the company said.
The company is now selling two main kinds of products that use the new technology. One performs "single channel" recognition, which is designed to be used at the entrances(入口) to buildings.
The other product is a "multi-channel" recognition system that uses groups of surveillance (监视) cameras. It can identify individuals in a crowd of up to 30 people within a second.
"When people are wearing a mask that covers the mouth and the nose, the recognition rate can reach about 95%, which can ensure that most people can be identified." said Huang, vice president of the company. He added that the system's success rate for people not wearing a mask is about 99.5%.
However, the new system struggles to identify people wearing both a mask and sunglasses. "In this situation, all of the key facial information is lost. In such cases recognition is tough," Huang said
People were reacting differently to the new technology. While some citizens have been against using such tools, the majority have accepted the technology as an effective way to decrease crime and catch criminals.
Electric cars are supposed to help the world go green and stop hurting the planet. Engineers at Brown University and the University of Maryland are taking that goal to another other level, with a new idea for batteries made from trees, according to new findings published in Nature.
Lithium-ion batteries (锂电池) have become the new form of rechargeable batteries thanks to their extraordinarily long charge. You're probably reading this story from a device powered by such a battery. Most electric cars like ones made by Tesla use lithium-ion batteries. These batteries use a liquid solution that conducts lithium ions from the battery's cathode and anode (阴极和阳极), but the liquid is not what helps ensure electrical power goes from the battery to the device it's powering. The problem is that this liquid is made of harmful materials that are sometimes unstable. They sometimes have explosive results. A solid conducting structure would prevent this from happening, but it could be likely to crack and break, making the battery useless.
An ideal material for solid state lithium-ion batteries would be thin and flexible to resist structural stresses, and it is wood from a tree. The team in charge of the new research developed a mixed material made of copper (铜) and fibers coming from wood. They tested it out as a model for conducting ions back and forth in a lithium-ion battery, and found it works 10 to 100 times better than other solid-state conductors-a record high.
The new findings are just based on basic model tests, and a rechargeable battery made of trees is still quite a way off. But if it passes test as a practical form of energy, it can very well replace rechargeable batteries. It is not hard to imagine electric cars having better sales for their real green, but saying that their batteries are just made from trees is beyond our imagination.
If you tend mostly toward optimistic thinking, you can get better at seeing what's good. Here are some things to try.
Notice good things as they happen. At the end of the day, take 10 minutes to run through your day and come up with things that you're grateful for. Write them down in a journal or keep tracking using a motivational app on your phone or tablet.
Get into the habit of telling yourself specific things you can do to succeed. For example: "If I study, I can get a better grade." "If I practice, I'll perform well." "If I go on that volunteer trip, I'll meet new friends."
Don't blame yourself when things go wrong. Instead of thinking "I failed that math test because I'm terrible at math," tell yourself, "I failed that test because I didn't study hard enough. I won't let that happen next time!"
Remind yourself that setbacks (挫折) are temporary. And then come up with a plan for your future success. For example: "My SAT results aren't what I hoped, but I can study much harder and take the test again."
Optimism is a thinking style that can be learned, which means that pessimism can be unlearned! Just keep telling yourself, "I can be more optimistic and I'm going to keep practicing!"
A. It might take a little while for you to become positive.
B. Focus on success you have achieved to build up your confidence.
C. Think of the strengths you used and how they helped you succeed.
D. When something goes wrong, tell yourself that it will pass quickly.
E. They may range from having a good meal to meeting an old friend.
F. What should your inner voice say when things don't go as planned?
G. Train your mind to believe you can make good things happen in your life.
When I was a child my father taught me five words: stand porter to your mind. I've used it all my life—in my acting career, as a mother, and in my 1 activities. Nowadays this phrase might seem old-fashioned, but it still 2.
A porter is a gatekeeper, someone who stands at a door letting people in or out. Dad would get me to picture myself stopping 3 things—such as fear—at the door, but saying "Come in" to faith, love and 4.
As an actress, before I went on camera, I'd make sure anxiety stayed out and confidence in my ability 5. And as a mother, when I was anxious about my children, I would try not to let worry in but would fill my mind with 6 in them.
Of course, there were always times when I'd 7 those words. I remember one time 8. In 1972 my husband and I opened our own hotel. This was a new business venture (企业) for us, and it was more 9 than we had figured. Something was 10 going wrong. Once, a flu epidemic (流感) suddenly left us with no maids. Then there was the energy crisis. The price of gasoline doubled, and tourism in California 11. How could we fill our beds? What if we kept 12 money? Here I was at the front desk of the hotel, and those old uninvited guests, fear and worry, were sneaking in. But I 13 them just in time. I stood porter. I stood in the door of my mind and sent fear packing.
These days at the hotel, whenever fear tries to 14, I just smile and point to the 15 that reads No Vacancy (空房).
As teenagers, there are some troubles bothering us when we grow up, but we can get rid of them correctly and(wise). First, some of us are upset their images and looks. This is unnecessary and they needn't care about them. It is one's inner beauty matters. Second, we sometimes seem to (misunderstand) by our teachers, parents and classmates. (face) with this, we can find proper time to have a heart-to-heart talk with them, (try) to remove the misunderstanding. Third, some of us have fewer friends. I think being open-minded and friendly will do you good. Fourth, we may fall behind others, makes us stressed. Actually we can encourage ourselves to work efficiently, full of (determine). At last, some of us don't have much pocket money, so they feel unhappy. Isn't it strange? As long as we have some, that's enough. And we can learn how (spend) money.
It was a Saturday afternoon. The color of the sky was changing, first light gray, then dark gray, and finally dark and dense. The wind was blowing heavily, and the trees were swaying in the strong wind. It began to rain cats and dogs. Soon, the road was filled with puddles from the rain.
On such a stormy afternoon, my mother took my five-year-old brother, Christopher, and me to a new big toy store she had read about in the newspaper. "So many toys," the advertisement had shouted in full and flashy color, "that we had to get a huge closet to fit them all!"
Christopher and I couldn't have been more excited. We ran across the parking lot, through the cold and biting rain, as fast as our little legs could carry us. We left our mother outside to battle with the frustrating umbrella, which never worked when she wanted it to. "Christine! Take care of your young brother!" Mother shouted at the top of her voice.
"Christine! I'm going to find the Lego section (乐高积木区)! There's a new pirate ship (海盗船) I want, and I have four dollars! Maybe I can buy it!" Christopher exclaimed and ran off excitedly. I only half heard him. I took a right turn and, to my wide-eyed delight, found myself in the midst of the Barbie (芭比) World.
I was studying a Barbie and doing some simple math in my head when an earthshaking clap of thunder roared（吼叫）from the storm outside. I jumped at the noise, dropping the doll to the floor. The lights sparkled once and died, covering everything in a blanket of blackness. Thunder continued to shake the sky and lightning lit the store for seconds, casting frightening shadows on my mind.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
Paragraph 1:
"Oh no," I thought, "where's Christopher?"
Paragraph 2:
"Christine, I'm here."
