【推荐2】Best Gifts for Children

How to Code a Rollercoaster

This is a picture book about coding (编程). This book does a good job of introducing and explaining what code is, how computers understand it, and introducing common coding terms. The book is part of the popular “Girls Who Code” series, but it is intended for younger readers. (Penguin Random House, $17.99)

Marble Circuit

With brightly colored pieces, Marble Circuit doesn’t present as a difficult logic (逻辑) game — but don’t be too confident. After deciding on a card, players must put pieces and allow the right number of glass balls to run into each space at the bottom of the board. Because it requires greater ability to reason correctly than some other kinds of puzzles do, Marble Circuit is suggested for the over-8 crowd. (MindWare, $24.95)

Babu Set of 3 - Roller, Stacker, Rocker

As a classic block-building toy, Babu requires players to balance the blocks on a curved (弯曲的) base, try out different styles of towers or make special cars. (MindWare, $59.95)

Botzees

Kids can follow directions or use their imaginations to build a robot out of the 130 blocks, and then command it to dance, sing, drum and light up with an app on a smart device. Though the robot attracts younger testers, kids aged 5 and up enjoy the toy’s advanced features better. (Pai Technology, $99.99)

【推荐1】If there may be any errors when using the juicer, please confirm the following points before contacting the customer service for support.

The product is not covered by the warranty if it breaks down or is damaged under any of the following circumstances.

1. The products used are obtained through other channels than the company’s sales channels.

2. Products whose warranty card is lost and cannot provide relevant supporting materials.

3. Damage caused by disassembly or repair of the product by any individual other than the special repair designated (指定)by the company.

4. Product damage judged to be man-made.

If any repairs occur, the relevant fees will be charged.

【推荐2】NPR’s Student Podcast (播客) Challenge is back — for a fifth year! This year’s competition will open for entries on January 6, 2023 and close on April 28.

As in past years, our judges will choose winners in two categories: grades five through eight and grades nine through twelve. Entries must be submitted by an educator or a student leader who’s 18 years old or older. Another important rule is that the maximum length of your podcast is within eight minutes, and longer entries will be disqualified.

Our judges will use the following criteria to narrow down and choose the winners:

Information and structure, 40 percent

Does the podcast tell a good story or teach us something new and important? Is it structured in a way that keeps listeners engaged? Can we easily follow the story you’re telling or the information you’re explaining? Have you spent time cutting out unnecessary information to make sure the main ideas come through clearly?

Personality and creativity, 40 percent

Does it have personality, or does it sound like you’re reading from a script (脚本)? Does it make us laugh or cry or leave us deep in thought?

Production, 20 percent

We’re not judging you on how fancy your equipment is and we don’t expect you to be an expert on recording and editing sound, but we hope you’ll try.

Some podcasts may use a narration (讲述) format. Others may be more of an interview format. If you use sound apart from interviews and narration, make sure it is clear and smooth.

【推荐3】Baseball is known as the national entertainment in America. As children, many Americans play baseball in Little League teams. Later, some go on to play in Major League Baseball teams.     1    

The game itself is fairly easy to play. There are two teams of nine players each.     2       These bases are about 30 meters apart and are known as first base, second base, third base and home. The part of the field closest to the bases is called the infield. The part further away is the outfield.

During the game, a pitcher ( 投手) from one team throws a ball to a batter (the person holding a baseball bat) from the opposing team. The batter, who is standing on the home plate, tries to hit the ball and run around the bases.     3     The main objective is to score more runs than the opposing team.

The first recorded game was played in 1846 in Hoboken, New Jersey. And since then, baseball has grown in popularity.     4     Some of the most famous players from the past include Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Hank Greenberg, and Jackie Robinson.

Famous modern players include Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter who play for the New York Yankees, Manny Ramirez who plays for the Tampa Bay Rays, Joe Mauer who plays for the Minnesota Twins, and Albert Pujols who plays for the St Louis Cardinals. A player doesn’t have to be from the state he plays for, so baseball teams are very diverse.     5     Every year, the teams trade players.