It can be hard to keep kids busy sometimes, especially when school is out. Whether your kid is in pre-school or high school, there are fun, educational, and even some free apps on this list for them.
ABCmouse.com
ABCmouse.com is available both as an app and a website. It uses fun storyline-based videos, quizzes, and activities — there's even a virtual map outlining your child's learning path to keep kids engaged.
Ages: 4-8
Cost: One-month free trial, then $ 10 /month subscription (订阅).
EPIC!
Epic! is an app for kids with an e-book library that contains over 35,000 children's books. This app is a perfect way to take reading wherever your device goes, and it's great for families with kids of various ages.
Ages: 2-12
Cost: one-month free trial, then $ 8 /month.
QUICK MATH
Kids know that math can be boring, but this app transforms numbers into something more creative and interactive (互动的). Quick Math Jr. is an app for kids with 12 different math games that feature fundamental math skills and concepts.
Ages: 4-8
Cost: free
BrainPOP Jr. Movie of the Week
For 20 years, BrainPOP has been providing kids all over the world with in-depth, yet easy to understand educational videos on everything ranging from Mozart to food allergies. BrainPOP Jr. Movie of the Week is an app that helps younger kids get these videos, plus short quizzes on them.
Ages: 6-9
Cost: free, optional subscription is $ 6.99 /month.
Social media are a powerful tool, and the go-green movement is becoming popular in the social media world. A new Facebook app is exercising this power to help people get back to work or even land their dream job — Hire My Friend.
With an unemployment rate of 9.7 percent in January 2010, there were nearly 15 million Americans out of work, of whom 6.3 million had been jobless for 27 or more weeks. It is likely that these people have used the most traditional methods to find a job. But now it's time to get creative, and Hire My Friend can help people do that.
However, as you can see, the name of the app is Hire My Friend, not Hire Me, so it is designed for you to help a friend get a job. One of the most important parts of getting a job is who you know. Reach out to your network of friends and you will find more opportunities than applying for a job in a newspaper advertisement. As a writer, I know that networking is the key to opening doors and getting new opportunities.
When you place the Hire My Friend app on your Facebook page, you can present your friend's job-related facts and then this information is shown through a live feed post (实时发布). Then your entire network of Facebook friends can see what your friend has to offer. In addition to the app itself, the Hire My Friend Facebook page has lots of useful resources for those who want to find a job. One tab (标签) has the latest jobs that are being posted on Twitter, another powerful social media tool. Another tab has a list of job searching blogs and major job search sites for the jobless. The developer of the app encourages people never to give up. If you know of someone who is out of work, I encourage you to try the Hire My Friend app.
Home to large numbers of elephants, India has some of the strictest elephant protection laws in Asia. Elephants have been granted (给予) the highest level of legal protection for wildlife. Strict bans exist on poaching (偷猎), and trading them, with heavy fines and prison sentences of up to seven years.
China had been making efforts to protect its small population of elephants since the 1980s. Local authorities in areas with elephants such as Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, have not only made efforts to move human populations away from elephant habitats but have also worked with private insurance companies to insure farmers' crops against damage caused by the animals. According to one report, the population of elephants in China nearly doubled between the 1980s and 2021.
While both India and China have made efforts to protect the elephant and some success had been achieved, danger still appears as conservation laws are often either flouted (轻视) or not implemented. Strengthening domestic (国内的) laws is not enough. The animals now face the much more dangerous threat of climate change which calls for united action by these two leading economies.
There are many opportunities for cooperation between New Delhi and Beijing on elephant protection. These could potentially include: formation of a cooperative institute for research on elephant conservation; joint efforts on reforestation to ensure the expansion of buffer zones (缓冲区) between animal populations and human settlements; the training of local populations that live near elephant habitats and have traditional knowledge of harmonious living with elephants; formation of a joint resource fund for building care facilities and to achieve set targets to increase the population of elephants through careful breeding.
By doing so, India and China would promote economic growth through an ecological path and responsible ecotourism in not just the two nations but in Asia at large. Such joint efforts would also lead to better relations between the two countries.
When snack-food businessmen started selling fat-free products back in the 80s, they really achieved success. Consumers were interested in avoiding fat because it caused heart problems and made them fat. So the nonfat foods were a dieter's dream! Fat-free chips and dairy products flew off the shelves. However, as it turned out, not many people became slim and healthy from going on fat-free diets. In fact, not eating fat seemed to cause more health problems instead.
There are many naturally fat-free foods. Fruits and vegetables are on the top of the list. They're usually low in calories (卡路里) and are filled with beneficial vitamins. That's not the case with processed fat-free food.
The problem with fat-free packaged food is that fat makes food taste good. With all the fat taken away, it tastes like cardboard. So, the producers have to add into all kinds of things to keep the taste — like sugar, salt and artificial flavors (人造香精). Therefore, processed fat-free foods can actually end up containing more calories than the full-fat foods. Fruit can be high in calories and sugar, too, but you're getting other nutrients (营养物) along with it. Processed fat-free foods don't have a lot of other things.
We know now that all fat is not evil. Fat helps control your nervous system and encourages bone health. Fat-free salad can actually make you lose your ability to process all the good nutrients in it.
When you buy a fat-free product in the store, take a second to check the nutrient information on the package. If it contains sugar, salt or artificial favors — or has more calories than the full-fat version — put it back on the shelf. Most of the time, you'd be better eating the full-fat version, which tastes better and will satisfy you sooner — as long as you don't eat the whole box!
When I first came to UK from China at 6, I entered the first grade. . I saw children throw their left over food into the large trash cans — from half-eaten pizzas to untouched burgers. I watched them pour their milk into a white bucket. In China, this was a huge no-no in school. We had to finish everything.
One day, my first grade teacher announced that we would be having a party and everyone was told to bring something from their country. . My mom stayed up after her long day of work and made many dumplings. She put them in the fridge and woke up early in the morning to steam them and fry them so they would taste extra fresh when I brought them to school. They smelled great and looked golden brown after they were cooked.
I was so excited to share these with my class and teachers. It was placed in the corner of the table next to all the other delicious food. . One or two kids bravely took a piece and knew what they were because they had it with their parents at a Chinese restaurant. At the end of the party, it was cleanup. My teacher walked up to me and asked, pointing to the dumplings, "Would you like to take these home?" I carefully replied, "No…" . I thought she was going to share it with other teachers, but immediately after I said that, she threw all the dumplings into the trash and continued cleaning. I was confused; what just happened?
. And today I still witness this frequently in my English fiends. Please eat all your food or take it to go or share it or just get enough so you don't have to throw it away. Thank you.
A. In China, "no" usually means "yes"
B. I got super excited and told my parents
C. It was very impolite to take your gift home
D. This was the biggest culture shock I have experienced
E. When I got home, I shared the experience with my parents
F. Many kids had the cookies and juices and were hesitant to try the dumplings
G. I didn't understand why kids were getting their lunch food and not finishing it
We had just completed a unit on heroes, and I had given my kindergarten class a task to 1 their favorite hero. Each child was 2 with the task, creating colorful masterpieces.
However, one little boy was having 3 with the task. Cameron was with autism (自闭症), but that didn't matter to me or his classmates. We all 4 him just the way he was. I sat and watched as Austin, a friendly little boy, 5 with Cameron. Within a few minutes, Cameron quickly began drawing and then coloring his paper.
Finally, it was time for everybody to share their pictures. I listened as each student 6 stood in front of the class, picture held high, and 7 his or her hero. It was finally Cameron's 8. He stood up and anxiously placed his drawing in front of his 9 to avoid eye contact. We all fixed our eyes on the picture, 10 to know who it was. He then said it was a picture of me. He added that I helped him learn things and then 11 sat down. Tears began to form in my eyes, but nothing could have 12me for what happened next.
When Austin stood up, he proudly held up a picture of Cameron. Austin shared that Cameron was his hero because Cameron had this 13 that made it really hard to learn, but he was like Superman and was really smart.
Cameron immediately stood up, and put his arms up in the air as if he were going to 14, yelling out, "I'm Superman!" The entire class began striking Superman poses, too. Within minutes, we were all laughing as though we had truly discovered the secret of becoming 15.
Food serves social needs as well as physical and emotional . People often combine eating with the company of friends and family both experiences are pleasurable. In some families, meal time is the only time of day that the whole family can be together. Food also plays a significant role maintaining social traditions. Many social occasions are associated with foods — birthday cakes, Thanks giving turkeys, or Fourth of July cookouts. Wedding receptions and religious holidays may be celebrated with special foods. These traditions provide between food and social activities.
Jan has started taking online classes to learn more about how the Internet to make society better. She believes that it is highly important to bridge the digital divide and make sure that everyone has access to the lnternet and knows how to use new technology. Her next goal is to start charity website to raise money for children in poor countries. Jan's life has been improved by the Internet. "When you go through tough times, you meet others are facing similar challenges," Jan says. about other people's situations inspired me to offer help.
