【推荐2】In 1909 an English newspaper offered £ 1,000 to the first man to fly across the English Channel in an aeroplane. Today, modern jets cross it in minutes. But at that time it still seemed a good distance. The race to win the money soon became a race between two men. Both were very colourful.

One was Louis Bleriot. He owned a factory in France that made motor car lamps. He was already well known as a pilot (飞行员) because he had had accidents several times. Some people laughed at him. One man said, “He may not be the first to fly across the Channel but he will certainly be the first to die in an accident!” But Bleriot was really a good and brave pilot. He also had many good ideas about aeroplane design.

The other man was Hubert Latham. He was half French and half English. He took up flying when his doctors told him he had only a year to live. “Oh, well,” he said, “if I’ m going to die soon, I think I shall have a dangerous and interesting life now.” Latham was the first to try the flight (飞行) across the Channel. Ten kilometres from the French coast, his plane had some trouble. It fell down into the water and began to sink under the water. A boat reached Latham just in time. He was sitting calmly on the wing and was coolly lighting a cigarette (香烟). Bleriot took off six days later. He flew into some very bad weather and very low cloud. He somehow got to the English side and landed in a farmer’s field. When he did so, a customs (海关) officer rushed up to his plane. Planes have changed since then, but customs officers have not. “Have you anything to declare?” The officer demanded.

【推荐1】With a continuous 1,300 kilometer-long coastline and beautiful beaches, Wales is a popular holiday destination in the United Kingdom. Most Welsh people live in south Wales in the capital city, Cardiff, and two other big cities: Swansea and Newport.

Language

The official languages of Wales are English and Welsh, and “Wenglish" is a Welsh-English dialect. Everyone speaks English, but if you go to school in Wales you have to learn Welsh until you are 16. Street signs are written in Welsh and English, and villages, towns and cities have an English name and a Welsh name. The Welsh language is one of the oldest languages in Europe and around 20 percent of people in Wales speak Welsh.

Sports

The Welsh enjoy watching and playing sports, especially rugby and football. The modern Millennium Stadium in Cardiff can hold 74,500 people and is where you go if you want to watch a football or rugby match or a concert.

Water sports are popular in Wales. You can go surfing or wakeboarding. If you like unusual sports, visit the small town of Llanwrtyd Wells. Every year in this town there is a man versus horse marathon and a bog snorkeling competition.

Food

There are lots of sheep in Wales, so people eat a lot of lamb. Typical Welsh dishes include “cawl”, which is lamb stew, sausages and “rarebit”, which is a type of cheese on toast. There are also Welsh cakes, which are small, sweet, round cakes with dried raisins inside.

Symbols

If you ever go to Wales, you will see dragons everywhere; red dragons are a symbol of Wales. Other symbols include the leek (a long, green vegetable) and the daffodil.

【推荐3】What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through adolescence and adulthood Symptoms include difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and over activity.

ADHD has three sub-types:

1. Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive

● Most symptoms (six or more) are in the hyperactivity-impulsivity categories and fewer than six symptoms of inattention are present, although inattention may still be present to some degree.

2. Predominantly inattentive

● The majority of symptoms (six or more) are in the inattention categories and fewer than six symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity are present, although hyperactivity-impulsivity may still be present to some degree.

3. Combined hyperactivity-impulsive and inattentive

● Six or more symptoms of inattention and six or more symptoms of hyperactivity - impulsivity are present.

● Most children have the combined type of ADHD.

Possible causes:

1. Genes. Results from several international studies of twins show that ADHD often runs in families. Researchers are looking at several genes that may make people more likely to develop the disorder. Knowing the genes involved may one day help researchers prevent the disorder before symptoms develop. Learning about specific genes could also lead to better treatments.

2. Environmental factors. Studies suggest a potential link between smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy and ADHD in children. In addition, preschoolers are exposed to high levels of lead may have a higher risk of developing ADHD.

3. Food additives. Recent British research indicates a possible link between an increase in activity and consumption of certain food additives like artificial colors or preservatives. Research is under way to confirm the findings and to learn more about how food additives may affect hyperactivity.

Signs & symptoms:

Inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity are the key behaviors of ADHD. To be diagnosed with the disorder, a child must have symptoms for six or more months and to a degree that is greater than other children of the same age.

Children who have symptoms of inattentive may:

● Be easily distracted, miss details, forget things and frequently switch from one activity to another.

● Become bored with a task after only a few minutes, unless they are doing something enjoyable.

● Have difficulty focusing attention on completing a task or learning something new.

● Not seem to listen when spoken to.

Children who have symptoms of hyperactivity may:

● Talk nonstop.

● Dash around, touching or playing with anything and everything in sight.

● Have trouble sitting still during dinner school and story time.

● Have difficulty doing quiet tasks or activities.

Children who have symptoms of impulsivity may:

● Be very impatient.

● Act without regard for consequences.

● Have difficulty waiting for things they want.

● Often interrupt conversations or others’ activities.

ADHD can be mistaken for other problems

Parents and teachers can miss the fact that children with symptoms of inattention have the disorder because they are often quiet and less likely to act out. They may get along well with other children, compared with those with the other sub-types, who tend to have social problems. But children with the inattentive kind of ADHD are not the only ones whose disorders can be missed. For example adults may think that children with the hyperactive and impulsive sub-types just have emotional or disciplinary problems.