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　　Most schools forbid chewing gum, but in a few years they might consider changing that rule．Why? Scientists are finding evidence that gum chewing may be good for your health．It may even help improve your test scores．

　　This exciting research is just beginning．And in the meantime, companies are also experimenting with adding vitamins, minerals, medicines, and other substances that could give gum the power to cure headaches and fight everything from serious diseases to bad breath．

　　Other researchers are finding that gum might work better than a pill to deliver medicines and other substances into the bloodstream．That’s because the lining(膜)of our cheeks can absorb certain substances more quickly than our stomachs and intestines(肠)can．

　　That discovery could help other researchers develop medicine-containing gums that fight colds, ease headaches, battle nervousness, and more．Scientists might even create antimicrobial(抗菌的)gums that cure bad breath．

　　Those projects may take years, but gum scientists have already had at least one recent success：They’ve created a gum that could help us stay awake．

　　Researchers have produced a gum called Stay Alert．Each stick has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee．It can take an hour for the caffeine in coffee to have its full effect, but the caffeine in Stay Alert hits in just a few minutes．

　　The gum is easy to transport and it’s stable in cold and hot climates．Unlike a pill, it doesn’t require water to swallow．Those qualities make it easy for soldiers to use．

　　For now, Stay Alert is available only to the military(军队)．The manufacturer may one day offer it for sale to the public．People who work at night, such as truck drivers and medical personnel who ride in ambulances, might benefit from a product like Stay Alert．

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　　The ＄11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like “I never do anything right” into positive ones like “I can succeed．” But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?

　　Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect：it can simply highlight how unhappy they are．

　　The study’s authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is very positive, they actually feel worse, not better．If you tell your stupid friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, you’re just underlining his faults．In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled．When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written．

　　In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students’ self-esteem．The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes．Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell．When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, “I am lovable．”

　　Those with low self-esteem didn’t feel better after the forced self-affirmation．In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren’t urged to think positive thoughts．

　　The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy(心理治疗)that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them．In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse．Meditation techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective．Call it the power of negative thinking．

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　　With the development of society and economy, animals and their habitats are getting pushed aside as households decrease in size and increase in number．

　　Small numbers of people per household on average use more energy and goods per person．Greater numbers of households require more natural resources for construction．The possible result of this problem may be insufficient natural resources to meet consumer demand without endangering habitats important to biodiversity．

　　Personal freedom and social choice may come at huge environmental cost．Direct costs include visible damage to animal habitats and plant life．Indirect costs include the release of more greenhouse gases．

　　The effects of such “personal freedom and social choice” have already surfaced in south-west China’s Wolong Nature Reserve．In Wolong, they found that a reduced average household size was directly tied to an increase in homes, and thus an increase in the amount of firewood consumed for cooking and heating．The rise in wood fuel use has contributed to disappearance of forests and to the loss of habitats for giant pandas．

　　Curious about whether other parts of the world were experiencing similar phenomena, they got the support of a team of researchers including Stanford’s Paul Ehrlich, well-known for his population studies, to find out the household dynamics in 141 countries between 1985 and 2000．Their study proved that the difficult choice of Wolong is part of a global trend．

　　In the 76 countries considered biodiversity “hotspots”, such as the United States, Brazil, Australia, and Kenya, the number of households grew by 3.1％ every year, while the population increased just 1.8％．Meanwhile, the number of people per home dropped from 4.7 to 4.0．The decline in household size has resulted in 155 million additional households in hotspot countries, almost always limiting biodiversity．

　　In the 10 non-hotspot countries－those without high-density areas of animal and plant species－similar results were found, though on a lesser scale．Even in countries experiencing population decline, such as New Zealand, the number of households still increased because of a reduction in household size．

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　　Recently, online high schools in America have sparked(激发)a debate about whether or not taxpayers’ money should be used to support online education．Online schools receive the same amount of funding as all other public schools, even though they don’t have to pay for rent or school equipment．States should use their educational funds to improve education at real schools, not to support online programs．

　　Some students only use online classes to supplement their school work．They benefit from the social experience of a traditional high school, while still taking online courses．

　　However, about 90 thousand students in America receive their education only from online schools．50 thousand of these students take courses at Florida Virtual School, the largest online school in the country．While this method of schooling helps students who live in remote regions, most school systems are upset that they are losing more students each year to these online programs．

　　Although online learning allows children to work at their own pace, these online schools have only one teacher per several hundred students．Often, teachers can’t give struggling students the help they need as they are unable to talk face-to-face with them, to find exactly what they’re having difficulty with．

　　Additionally, even though online schooling accommodates(顾及)students who live in more remote states, students in online programs may suffer in social situations because they will not learn valuable communication skills from their schooling．Similar to students who are home schooled, those who take only online classes won’t learn social etiquette(礼节), and will be treated differently by their peers．

　　Online schooling might be useful for places where there are not enough students for a real school, such as agricultural regions, but states should only spend taxpayers’ money on online schools in extreme cases．

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　　Ibrahim became disabled after contracting polio(小儿麻痹症)when he was three years old．At first his parents, like many other parents of disabled children in Niger, did not want to send him to school．They were worried he would be laughed at by his classmates．

　　Despite his disability, and his parents’ doubts, Ibrahim was determined to go to school．“When I was eight,” Ibrahim says, “other kids of my age were going to school while I stayed at home．I did not like that．So, I pestered(缠着)my parents until they finally let me go to school．”

　　Ibrahim’s parents sent him to a private school nearby．Although the journey to and from school was a short one, it still wasn’t easy for Ibrahim．He had to use his hands to help him move along, protecting them with plastic slippers．But at least he was getting an education．

　　However, after only a year in school, Ibrahim’s education was interrupted when his parents separated．His mother did not have the means to continue paying for his tuition．

　　In 2007, Ibrahim received some money to be fitted with a leg brace(支架), corrective shoes and his first pair of crutches(拐杖)．Now that he was more mobile than before, the most important thing for him was to find a way to go back to school．

　　“I wanted to start school again last October,” Ibrahim says．“After my mother told me she could not afford it, I went to visit some of my relatives for support．And I collected 5,000 francs CFA(US ＄8)to pay my tuition for half a year．I will find the rest of the money somehow．”

　　Ibrahim attends a school in which he is the only disabled student．According to his teacher, he is among the top five students in a class of 55．

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　　Though I have traveled in hundreds of trains, few unusual things have ever happened to me．But one day in a train something did happen．I do not mean that I was hurt：no one was hurt．

　　I do my work in a hot country far away from England．Every September I go there to do my business, and every July I come back to England to have a rest．So every September I go to Paris and take a train from the great French city to Mendova, and at Mendova I catch my ship．

　　There is one very fast train from Paris to Mendova, and it suits me well．It goes as far as Endoran, but it stops at Mendova for a few minutes to let travelers get out or in．It is called The Flying Bluebird．It reaches Mendova at seven minutes past nine in the morning, and it is never late．

　　A ship leaves Mendova at half past eleven, and so you will understand that The Flying Bluebird suits me very well．I always travel by it, and I have nearly two and a half hours at Mendova to go from the station to the ship．That is more than enough time．

　　Well, one September night, I took my place in The Flying Bluebird as usual．The train leaves Paris at nine o’clock every night, and I was in my place soon after half past eight．There were three or four people there with me, but very soon a lot of others got into the train．When no more people could sit down, they began to stand up near us and also in the corridor(走廊)．In a short time the corridor was full too, and it was impossible for any more travelers to get into the train．

　　I could see a lot of other people outside the corridor windows, but they could not get in, and the train left Paris without them．The man sitting next to me started to ask all kinds of questions：“Where do you work? How long does it take you to get there? Are you married? How many children do you have? How much money do they pay you every year? How much do you have in the bank? How much do you spend every month?”

　　He asked questions for about twenty minutes but I did not give him any clear answers, and at last he stopped and began to read the paper．

　　I usually sleep quite well in the train, but this time I slept only a little．There were too many people, and there were too many things：small bags, large bags, coats, hats, boxes, newspapers and food．As usual, we got angry about the window．Most people wanted it shut, and two of us wanted it open．But that always happens．It was shut all night, as usual．

　　When I awoke in the early morning I felt hot and dirty, and glad that the journey was reaching its end．At seven minutes past nine The Flying Bluebird stopped．We were at Mendova, and I stood up thankfully．I took my two suitcases, held one in each hand, and tried to move towards the door into the corridor．In order to get out of the train, I had to pass down the corridor to the door at the far end．There was no other way out．

　　I could not even into the corridor．There was a suitcase on the floor by my feet, and three men were standing in my way．I felt a touch of fear．I had to get out, you see; I had to catch my ship, which left at half past eleven．And the train did not stop again until it reached Endoran, two hundred miles away．

　　“I must get out!” I cried．Everyone there understood me, but no one could move．

　　At last I was able to put one foot over the suitcase on the floor, and I nearly reached the door into the corridor．But then, very slowly, the train began to move．It was taking me away!

　　“Stop!” I cried．“I want to get out!” But no one outside the train could hear me, and the people inside did not care much．The train moved a little faster．What could I do? I was not even in the corridor．

　　Fear made me think quickly．In front of my eyes, just, above the door, was a notice that told everyone how to stop the train．I had to pull an iron thing near the notice．I did not waste time．I pulled it．

　　Well, a noise started above our heads．That was to show everyone that there was something wrong．It was not a small sound．Possibly the men in my ship two miles away could hear it．Then the train stopped．

　　No one likes to stop a train if there is no need．But I had to catch my ship．That was the only thought in my mind：to get out and catch my ship．

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　　Going to school means learning new skills and facts in different subjects．Teachers teach and students learn, and many scientists are interested in finding ways to improve both teaching and learning processes．

　　Sian Beilock and Susan Leving, two psychologists at the University of Chicago, are trying to learn about learning．In a new study about the way kids learn math in elementary school, Beilock and Levine found a surprising relationship between what female teachers think and what female students learn：If a female teacher is uncomfortable with her own math skills, then her female students are more likely to believe that boys are better than girls at math．“If these girls keep getting math-anxious female teachers in later grades, it may create a snowball effect on their math achievement,” Levine told Science News．The study suggests that if these girls grow up believing that boys are better at math than girls are, then these girls may not do as well as they would have if they were more confident．

　　Just as students find certain subjects to be difficult, teachers can find certain subjects to be difficult to learn－and teach．The subject of math can be particularly difficult for everyone．

　　The new study involved 65 girls, 52 boys and 17 first-and second-grade teachers in elementary schools in the Midwest．The students took math achievement tests at the beginning and end of the school year, and the researchers compared the scores．

　　The researchers also gave the students tests to tell whether the students believed a math superstar had to be a boy．Then the researchers turned to the teachers：To find out which teachers were anxious about math, the researchers asked the teachers how they felt at times when they came across math, such as when reading a sales receipt．A teacher who got nervous looking at the numbers on a sales receipt, for example, was probably anxious about math．

　　Boys, on average, were unaffected by a teacher’s anxiety．On average, girls with math-anxious teachers scored lower on the end-of-the-year math tests than other girls in the study did．Plus, on the test showing whether someone thought a math superstar had to be a boy, 20 girls showed feeling that boys would be better at math－and all of these girls had been taught by female teachers with math anxiety．

　　According to surveys done before this one, college students who want to become elementary school teachers have the highest levels of anxiety about math．Plus, nine of every 10 elementary teachers are women, Levine said．

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　　Soft Police Jumbo Set

　　Model No．：1530

　　Product Specifications：

　　This soft play set features soft toys that will not hurt your precious babies．It does not include any small parts or accessories(附件)that can be easily swallowed．It boosts your children’s imagination and creativity．The colorful appearance of the items can surely attract kids．Suitable for children aged over 1．

　　Baby Toys

　　Model No．：MSM-12LL1

　　Product Specifications：

　　This set of soft toys is suitable for children of all ages．It features two sleeping mice, lying on each other, creating a warm and intimate image．One of the pieces is designed in a circular shape, which can serve as a baby’s neck rest．Can be your children’s bedside companion．Safe for children．Comfortable and soft to touch．

　　Hanging Decoration for Babies

　　Product Specifications：

　　The featured item is a hanging decoration for babies．It is usually hung on ceilings or above baby cots．Comes in separate pieces．Easy assembling．Rotating(旋转的)umbrella with music．Decorations consist of several stuffed toys．For babies of 0-12 months．

　　Baby Pulling Toys

　　Product Specifications：

　　This is a series of baby pulling to toys．They are decorated with stuffed mini dolls like bears, sheep and rabbits．When the babies pull strings, the toy is wound．When the pulling toy is released, the toy contracts back and produces different sounds．Made of polyester(涤沦)．Suitable for children of 1,2,3,4, or above．

　　Hello Kitty Doll with Swing Chair

　　Model No．：62558

　　Product Specifications：

　　38cm doll with swing chair．This foldable swing chair with the cutest Hello Kitty is perfect for all lovely infants under one．It has adorable printing that can surely appeal to babies．It is also strongly constructed and designed to ensure maximum safety．Made of high quality material．

　　Soft Dinosaur 5pcs Set

　　Model No．：1801

　　Product Specifications：

　　The soft and smooth texture offers a pleasure touch．Absence of small parts makes it safe for kids．Attractive to kids with the colorful appearance．Suitable for children aged over 1．An excellent and playful household decoration．

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　　Last Sunday I made a visit to some new neighbors down the block．No specific purpose in mind, just an opportunity to sit at the kitchen table, have some tea and chat．As I did so, it occurred to me how rare the Sunday visit has become．

　　When I was a kid in the New Jersey of the 1960s, Sunday visits were routine．Most stores were closed and almost nobody worked．My family normally traveled eight city blocks to the home of my grandmother, where adults would sit on the front porch and chat while we children played hide-and-seek．

　　The Sunday visit was something to desire strongly．It was the repetition to church, our reward for and hour of devotion, and opportunity to take advantage of the fact that Dad was not at work, we were not in school, and there were no chores that couldn’t wait until Monday．Sunday was, indeed, which means that there was one day when everyone seemed to have time for everybody else．

　　Sunday as a day of rest is, or was, so deeply rooted in the culture that it’s surprising to consider that, in a short span of time, it has almost entirely lost this association．^① In my childhood, it was assumed that everyone would either be home or visit someone else’s home on Sunday．But now the question is, “What do you plan to Do this Sunday?” The answer can range from going to the mall to participating in a road to jetting to Montreal for lunch．If one were to respond, “I’m making a Sunday visit to family,” such and answer would feel strange, an echo from another era．

　　I suppose I should be grateful to live in Maine, a state of small towns, abundant land tight relationships．Even though folks work as hard here as they do anywhere else, the state’s powerfully rural cast(特质)still harbors at least remnants(剩余部分)of the ethic of yesterday’s America, where people had to depend on one another in the face of economic vagaries(反复无常的情况)and a challenging environment．^②

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　　Our spiritual intelligence quotient(精神智商), or SQ, helps us understand ourselves, and live fuller, happier lives．

　　Though we're all born with SQ, most of us don’t even realize that we have it．Fortunately, you don't have to sign up for classes to learn how to improve your SQ．Here are some simple steps that can lead you to this new level of understanding．

　　Sit Quietly．The process of developing spiritual intelligence begins with solitude(独处)and silence．To tune in to your spirit, you have to turn down the volume(强度)in your busy, noisy, complicated life and force yourself to do nothing at all．Start small by creating islands for silence in your day．In the car, instead of listening to the music, use the time to think．At work, shut the door to your office between meetings, take a few breaths and let them out very, very slowly．Enjoy the stillness in your home after the kids are finally in bed．

　　Step Outside．For many people, nature sets their spirit free．Go outside to watch a beautiful sunset．If you are walking with the dog, take the time to admire flower in bloom; follow the light of a bird and watch clouds float overhead．

　　Ask Questions of Yourself．Ask open-ended questions, such as "What am I feeling? What are my choices? Where am I heading?"

　　But don't expect an answer to arrive through some supernatural form of e-mail．"Rarely do I get an immediate answer to my question," says Reverend Joan Carter, a Presbyterian minister in Sausalito, California．“But later that day I suddenly find myself thinking about a problem in a perspective(角度)I never considered before．”

　　Trust Your Spirit．While most of us rely on gut(本能的)feeling to realize danger, spiritual intelligence pushes us, not away from, but towards some action that will lead to a greater good．