【推荐2】It is breakfast time. Just when you reach for the delicious piece of fruit on your counter, you see something that makes you much less hungry: a swarm of fruit flies!

Fruit flies are tiny insects that are attracted by ripe or rotting fruits and vegetables. The flies not only eat the fruit, but also lay their eggs there.     1     Most people want to get rid of these bugs as quickly as possible. Some people use pesticide sprays on the fruit flies.     2     Luckily, there is a safe way for you to get rid of fruit flies in your house.

    3     Clean up any spilled juice or bits of food that might be on the floor. Doing all of these things will stop new fruit flies finding food or places to lay their eggs.

    4     First, fill a small bowl with a few spoons of vinegar. Then, put a piece of very ripe or rotting fruit into the vinegar. Cover the bowl very tightly with a sheet of plastic wrap and poke a few very small holes in the wrap with a fork.

If all goes according to plan, the flies will enter the trap through the holes.     5     You can either kill these flies or release them outdoors.

【推荐2】If sticking with an exercise habit is a challenge for you, there may be an app for that. In a University of Pennsylvania trial, smartphone games helped subjects become more active.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of three versions of a game that recorded how many steps they took each week. The first version placed them in direct competition with others. In the second version, they worked as a group to gain points. In the third, players earned points on their own but were asked to choose a friend or family member to be their supporter. This person received an e-mail each week reporting on the player's performance in order to help cheer her or him on.

On average, all three groups took more steps than usual. That said, certain versions of the game worked better for people with different personality traits. For instance, players who were more outgoing and more motivated to persevere with their goals tended to accumulate more steps in the competitive mode. In contrast, quiet players responded well to the game whether it was competitive, cooperative, or supportive. A third type, made up of those who were prone to take risks with their health and safety (by not wearing a seat belt, for example), was not helped by the game at all.

So though not all of us benefit, exercise gamification can work—and work especially well when you keep your personality in mind as you choose from among the many available apps.

【推荐3】There are always times when your children get bored with studying. There are also moments when you are looking for something educational (教育的) ，yet funny and easy to do with your family. With few things and even less preparation, you can easily entertain (娱乐) and educate your children.

Do you read any magazines with pictures? Keep them. They can make a funny family game. Sit with your children and look at the pictures You can cut out interesting pictures and ask your children to lay them out. Use as many pictures or words as possible. For example, if it is a picture of a book, cut it out. Even if it is an action, such as washing clothes, cut it out. Try to get as many different pictures as possible.

In this game, you are going to use the pictures to let your children make up their own stories. Then take any kind of table, even the kitchen table, and let your children lay out the pictures any way they wish. They don't need to use all of them, just as many as they want.

After they have laid out the pictures, let them tell a story. If some pictures don't match their stories, don't use them. If they find a different picture to put another part to their story, let them do it. The more pictures you have, the more creativity(创造力) will come from your children.