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　　Almost every child is scared of something, from monsters in the cupboard to dogs in the park．But the fact that such fears are common and normal doesn’t mean they can be taken lightly．Kids experience fears and phobias(恐惧症)much more strongly than adults．And the influence of the fear can be physical as well as psychological(心理的)．It can build up so they almost seem scared of everything-a kind of childhood anxiety．Dr．Creswell says：“Your child may always seem to expect the worst to happen and lack confidence in his or her ability to deal with any challenge．”So don’t make the same old mistake of treating them as if they’re silly for boing a“scaredy cat”．Handing the fears is essential．

　　Children can be born nervous and, if you have such a baby, you’ll tend to prevent them from getting worried．So if they fear dogs, You’ll keep them away from dogs, but in fact that can just confirm to the child that dogs are scary．What is worse, keeping your child away from what they fear can turn that feeling into a phobia．Instead, you should encourage them to get in touch with the thing they fear, in a safe and supportive environment．Dr．Andy Field, a researcher of childhood fears, says：“You should’t force, for example, a dog anxious child to go up to a dog．But you can approach it yourself, show them there is nothing to be afraid of, stroke(抚摸)it, and talk about the dog being friendly．Once your child dares to stroke a dog-one that’s good with children, of course-then you should encourage them to carry on until they feel calmer, and reward them for‘being brave’．”

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　　How can a creature weighing over 5 tons and normally taking 150 kilograms of food and 120 liters of water per day survive in a desert environment?

In the southwest African country of Namibia, and the Sahara lands of Mali further north, the desert elephant does just that．

　　Although not regarded as a separate species from the African elephant, the desert cousin differs in many ways．Their bodies are smaller, to absorb less heat, and their feet are larger for easier walking across sandy surfaces．They are taller, to reach higher branches．They have shorter tusks(象牙)， and most importantly, longer trunks to dig for water in riverbeds．

　　Desert clephants can travel over 70 kilometers in search for feeding grounds and waterholes, and have a larger group of families, They drink only every 3-4 days, and can store water in a “bag” at the back of their throat, which is only used when badly needed．Desert elephants are careful feeders-they seldom root up trees and break fewer branches, and thus maintain what little food sources are available．Yong elephants may even eat the dung(粪便)of the female leader of a group when facing food shortage．

　　During drought they are unlikely to give birth to their young but with good rains the birthrate will increase greatly．Desert elephants have sand baths, sometimes adding their own urine(尿液)to make them muddy!

　　As we continue to overheat our weak planet, it can only be hoped that other animal species will adapt as extraordinarily well to change as the desert elephant．

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　　Karen, grown up in a very traditional family in the western United States, maintained high moral(道德的)standars throughout her youth．．In 1984, at the age of 23, she married Bill．They were blessed with two children, a boy and a girl．

By 1991 their love had deepened, and they were happy．Later that year, Bill developed a white spot on his tongue．He visited a doctor．

　　One day shortly after that, Bill called Karen to sit beside him．He said with tears in his eyes that he loved her and wanted to live forever with her．The doctor suspected that he had been infected with HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS．

　　The family was tested．Bill and Karen’s results were positive．Bill had become infected before he met Katen;then he passed the virns on to Karen．The children’s results were negative．Within three years, Bill was dead．“I don’t know how to express what it is like to watch the once handsome man you love and intend to live with forever dying slowly．I cried many nights．He died three months short of ten years of our marriage, ”says Karen．Though a doctor told Karen that she would soon follow her husband into death, she is still alive．The infection has progressed to the early stages of AIDS．

　　Karen is but one of about 30 million people now living with HIV/AIDS, a figure larger than the combined populations of Australia．Ireland and Paraguay．According to one UN report, Africa has 21 million of these victims．By the turn of the century that number could reach 40 million and the disease will bring on the greatest disaster in human history．Of the wold’s sexually active adults aged 15 to 49, 1 in 100 has already been infected with HIV．Of these, only 1 in 10 realizes that he or she is infected．In some parts of Africa, 25 percent of the adults are infected．

　　Since the beginning of the spread of AIDS in 1981, about 11.7 million people have died of it．It is roughly calculated that in 1997 alone, about 2, 3 million people died of it．Nevertheless, there are fresh reasons for optimism in the battle against AIDS．During the past few years, there has been a drop in new AIDS cases in wealthy nations．In addition, promising drugs hold out hope of better health and longer life．

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　　Anyone who cares about what schools and colleges teach and how their students learn will be interested in the memoir(回忆录)of Ralph W．Tyler, who is one of the most famous men in American education．

　　Born in Chicago in 1902, brought up and schooled in Nebraska, the 19-year-old college graduate Ralph Tyler became hooked on teaching while teaching as a science teacher in South Dakota and changed his major from medicine to education．

　　Graduate work at the University of Chicago found him connected with honorable educators Charles Judd and W．W．Charters, whose ideas of teaching and testing had an effect on his later work．In 1927, he became a teacher of Ohio State University where he further developed a new method of testing．

　　Tyler became well-known nationality in 1938, when he carried his work with the Eight-Year Study from Ohio State University to the University of Chicago at the invitation of Robert Hutchins．

　　Tyler was the first director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, a position he held for fourteen years．There, he firmly believed that researchers should be free to seek an independent(独立的)spirit in their work．

Although Tyler officially retired in 1967, he never actually retired．He served on a long list of educational organizations in the United States and abroad．Even in his 80s he traveled across the country to advise teachers and management people on how to set objectives(目标)that develop the best teaching and learning within their schools．

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　　Our “Mommy and Me” time began two years ago．My next-door neighbor and fellow mother, Christie, and I were out in our front yards, watching seven children of age 6 and under ride their bikes up and down．“I wish I could take one of my children out alone,” said Christie．

　　Then we worked out a plan： When Christie takes one of her children out, I’ll watch her other three．And when she watches two of mine, I’ll take someone out．

The children were extremely quick to accept the idea of “Mommy and Me” time．Christie’s daughter, McKenzie, went first．When she returned, the other children showered her with tons of questions．McKenzie was smiling broadly．Christie looked refreshed and happy．“She’s like a different child when there’s no one else around,” Christie shared with me quickly．With her mother all to herself, McKenzie didn’t have to make an effort to gain attention．

　　Just as Christie had noticed changes in McKenzie, I also discovered something different in each of my children during our alone times．For example, I am always surprised when my daughter, who is seldom close to me, holds my hand frequently．My stuttering(口吃的)son, Tom, doesn’t stutter once during our activities since he doesn’t have to struggle for a chance to speak．And the other son, Sam, who’s always a follower when around other children shines as a leader during our times together．

　　The “Mommy and Me” time allows us to be simply alone and away with each child－talking, sharing, and laughing, which has been the biggest gain．Every child deserves(应得到)to be an only child at least once in a while．

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　　Many animals recognize their food because they see it．So do humans．When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat．You can also use other senses when you choose your food．You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good．You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice．Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food．A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense．

　　Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type．The giant panda(大熊猫)eats only one particular type of bamboo(竹子)．Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice．A kind of white butterfly(蝴蝶)will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden．However, most animals have a more varied diet(多样化饮食)．The bear eats fruits and fish．The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits．The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season．

　　Humans have a very varied diet．We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us．In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar．This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health．Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health．Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life．

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　　It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005．While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work．On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does．After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone．

　　The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport．Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family．And the bike was also used to get groceries(食品杂货)，saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live．

　　I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story．Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help．One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up．Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job．It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before．

　　People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so．This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity(人性)as a whole．And it has influenced(影响)us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others．No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares．And the results can be everlasting．

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　　Dogs wag(摇摆) their tails in different directions depending on whether they are excited and wanting to move forward or threatened and thinking of moving back, a study has found．

　　Researchers in Italy　examined the tail wagging behaviour of 30 dogs, catching their responses to a range of stimuli(刺激物) with video camems．To conduct the study they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones aged between one and six years．The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them to take part in the experiment at Bari Umversity．The dogs were placed in a large wooden box with an opening at the front to allow for them to view various stimuli．They were tested one at a time．

　　The researchers led by Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the dogs were shown their owners－a positive expenence－their tails wagged energetically to the right side．When they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to the right, but with somewhat less enthusiasm．The appears of a cat again caused a right-hand side wag, although with less intensity again．The appearance of a large unfamiliar dog, similar to a German shepherd, changed the direction of tail wagging to the left．Research ers supposed the dog was thinking of moving back．When the dogs were not shown any stimuli they tended to wag their tails to the left, suggesting they preferred company．While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video, it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood)心情) of dogs．Computer and video systems, for example, could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach．

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　　Scientists have found what look like caves on Mars(火星), and say they could be protecting life from the planet’s terrible environment．

　　The first caves discovered beyond the Earth appear as seven anysterious black dots on the pictures sent back by NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter．Each as large as a football field, they may be openings into natural caves below the Martian suface．

　　“If there is life on Mars, there is a good chance you’d find it in caves,” said Jut Wynne,one of the reseachers who noticed the features while working on a US Geological Survey Mars Cave Detection Program．

　　Jonathan Clarke, a geologist with the Mars Society of Australia, yesterday described the discovery as exciting．

　　One photo taken at night by an infrared imager(红外线成像器) showed one hole to be unusualy warm, suggesting hot air trapped during the day is flowing out．

　　“I said：‘Wow, that’s a cave’” Dr．Clarke said excitedly．“People have been looking for these for a long time; now we have found them．”

He agreed such caves would be perfect places to hunt for life escaping from the bitterly cold,radiatiion-soaked(充满辐射的), dry surface．

　　“Tiny drops of water could collect inside,” he said．“If there are gases coming out, they could provide energy for a whole range of bacteria．A cave is also a protection from radiation; the surface of Mars is exposed to high levels of space radiation．”

　　The caves probably formed when tube-shaped lave flows(管状岩浆流) spread across the planet long ago．The outside of the tubes cooled, forming solid walls, while something hotter inside allowed the remaining have to flow out, forming caves．

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