【推荐2】Vacation in the U. S. usually means slower days, and no school teachers know, however, that vacation means students will likely fall behind, and forget things they learned during the year. Simon Vanderpool, a special education teacher in Lexington, Kentucky, decided to do something about it.

He started a program called Books and Barbers. Children go to the barber, choose a book and read out loud while the barber cuts their hair. The child gets a sticker and can take the book home. And there is an added bonus： money. The kids get paid to read.

Vanderpool says barber shops are places where kids can feel comfortable. “Once a student feels comfortable, that's whenever the brain opens up, and that they are able to start focusing on nothing but learning. ” Amir Shalash owns a barber shop. But he is doing more than cutting children's hair. He is listening to them read, and helping them with their reading.

Most of the children getting haircuts at barber shops are boys. Vanderpool's idea was to do more than just help them with reading and money. The teacher wants to help kids who are growing up in a home without a father liike he did. Also, I created the program in order to provide a positive mentor(指导者）for the kids that go into the barber shop, and are able to have someone that they can rely on and they can trust in, and just build a bond between the two of them. ” Shalash says he and his fellow barbers like being mentors.

“The biggest thing is that we try to influence as many kids as we can, and that was my whole intention of it. ”

【推荐3】Magazine Articles: More Valuable Than You May Think

Parents are often surprised when teachers suggest their children read magazines. Read on to learn about the benefits that reading magazines offers to young readers and how to introduce your children to the medium.

Magazine Benefits

Magazine articles can provide reluctant readers with a lively, breezy writing style that can inspire them to read more.

The articles in magazines are generally short, which allows a child to finish reading a feature article without losing interest due to a short attention span. The writing in magazines also tends to be easy to read, especially if it is a children's publication.

By allowing your child to read magazines at an early age, you are encouraging development of a useful skill.    1    Getting into the habit of reading periodicals as a child will foster the habit of reading news articles that may continue into adulthood.

    2     Magazine articles challenge students to think about issues they may have never considered or cause them to rethink their world view. Information is available in a wide variety of reading levels because magazines are written for every audience imaginable. Many publications cover the same material in different writing styles that might make it easier for your child to comprehend.

Magazine Activities

Reading magazines as a family can be used to introduce each other to the various interests that each family member possesses. When your children are finished with their magazines, encourage them to pass their issue on to a sibling or other family member.

Once each family member has finished reading each magazine, you can use them for art and writing projects. These projects are for family members of all ages:

1. Cut out pictures to help your preschool and kindergarten children learn their alphabet, numbers, and colors.

2.    3     Paste the picture at the top of a page and have them write a story about what is happening or what the picture represents.

3. Clip pictures to create a collage. Many teenagers love using their artistic talents to collage.

    4    The skills that students utilize and strengthen when reading magazines can be applied to higher level reading and other academic subjects. Encouraging your child to read by giving them a magazine subscription could cause them to take the leap from being a reluctant N reader to a voracious page-turner.

【推荐1】Frequently Asked Questions for Yellowstone National Park

【推荐2】When you go to St. Petersburg, the number of attractions can seem overwhelming. If you’re short on time, or just want to make sure to hit the highlights, these are the top must-see sights in St. Petersburg.

The Hermitage Museum

The Hermitage Museum is one of the most important sights to see for any visitor to St. Petersburg. There you can see lots of different paintings of old masters inside the Hermitage. Prepare to come face-to-face with classic Western artists.

The Russian Museum

The Russian Museum holds one of the largest collections of Russian art in the world. View Russian art creations through the ages, from Byzantine (拜占庭)-style icons to the Socialist Realism of Stalin’s times.

Kizhi Island

Kizhi Island is an open-air museum of wooden buildings from the Karelia Region of Russia. These impressive structures are made without any nails (钉子) — the wood fits together with joints and grooves (沟槽).

Peterhof

Peterhof is as beautiful as it is fun. You’ll be charged for admission (门票), but go to Peterhof when the fountains (喷泉) are working — during the day in the summer. They are shut off in winter as well as in the evenings.

The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood

Love it or hate it, the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood is an attractive must-see sight. The beautiful look may make your eyes brighten, and the paintings inside the church will make you say “Wow!”

The Bronze Horseman Statue

The Bronze Horseman is a part of Russian Culture and a symbol of St. Petersburg. Made famous by Alexander Pushkin (普希金), this statue of Peter the Great sitting on his horse can truly show Peter the Great’s influence on the Russian idea of greatness.

【推荐3】I am here with students at Wakefield High School in Virginia. And we’ve got students listening from all across America, from kindergarten to 12th grade. I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now — with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could stay in bed.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my mother didn’t have the money to send me where most American kids went to study, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an American education. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself. But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do it was at 4:30 in the morning. Now, as you might imagine, I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. But whenever I complained, my mother would just give me one of those looks and she’d say, “This is no picnic for me either.” So I know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school.

But I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year. Now, I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked about responsibility a lot. I’ve talked about teachers’ responsibility for encouraging students and pushing you to learn. I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done. I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working, where students aren’t getting the opportunities that they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world — and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill (履行) your responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. That’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a great writer but you might not know it until you write that English paper. Maybe you could be an inventor but you might not know it until you do your project for your science class. And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of America depends on you. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future. That’s why today I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education and do everything you can to meet them.

【推荐1】TOM RACHMAN’S latest novel records the life and legend of Bear Bavinsky, a painter of enormous appetites and all-consuming ego (自我), largely through the eyes of his son, Charles (known as Pinch). Pinch shrinks, unable to escape the giant’s shadow, hoping only to avoid being stepped underfoot.

Pinch is far from the only victim of the Bavinsky legend. Speaking to Natty, his current wife—Pinch’s mother, and a potter whose insecurities provide the ripe target for his bossy (专横的) personality—Bavinsky states,“You are a talent, my Natty, if you want to be. All it takes is a bit more charm.” Bear charms and bullies (霸凌), occupying physical and psychic space. Even his encouragement turns out to be another way to exercise control, proving how far those close to him have fallen short of his own achievement.

“The Italian Teacher” unfolds a story over more than 60 years and across two continents. One of Mr Rachman’s gifts is his ability to describe a time and place in a few skillful strokes. He describes the social and economic shifts of Italy in the 1950s through the Bavinskys’ downstairs neighbors, “a family of workers who, for generations, carved traditional decorations but whose sons are now selling West German electrical devices”.

Though Bear features in the novel, it is Pinch who commands the readers’ respect. Admittedly, he is wanting in confidence, filled with self-hatred, incapable of standing up to his bullying father. Like Natty, he is all damage and insecurity, a victim of Bear’s endless needs. Yet he turns out to be far more than the sum of his failures. He is compensated by his integrity and intelligence. His struggle to find meaning in the mess holds readers’ interest to the end. For all his faults, Pinch is gifted with wisdom, as is the author of this sad, funny and moving novel.

【推荐2】Jane Eyre was published in 1847. It is not just a romance novel, but an educational story. Women can learn so much from this great Victorian heroine. This is not to suggest that Jane didn’t have shortcomings.     1    

You can overcome your past, however bad it is. Jane Eyre is made miserable (悲惨的) as a child by her horrible relatives.     2     He constantly reminds her that she’s an orphan (孤儿). But she learns a lot about letting go when she is sent to a boarding school and makes friends with Helen.

    3     Jane notes, “The world is a varied field of hopes and excitement waiting for those who have the courage to go forth.” If Jane hadn’t been brave, she might have returned to the cruel woman who raised her.

Don’t be afraid to speak out your mind. She is not scared to voice her opinions when necessary. It is much better to talk about your feelings rather than hide unspoken anger.     4    

Be positive. When Jane is younger, she has a tendency to feel sorry for herself.     5     But as she gets older, she learns to be happy despite her past.

【推荐3】Despite their popularity, only three of Jin Yong’s martial arts novels have been translated into English. But fans will soon get more from the writer as his most popular trilogy, named after the first of the three books, Legends of the Condor Heroes, is scheduled to hit bookstores in February.

Jin Yong is the pen name of Louis Cha. And the author, who lives in Hong Kong, is one of the best-selling Chinese authors alive. With regard to Jin Yong’s works this latest translation project is the most ambitious. The trilogy, written by Jin Yong in the 1950s and 60s, covers the Song Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty, and features hundreds of characters.

According to the publishing house, Maclehose Press, the translated work will come in 12 volumes, including Legends of the Condor Heroes; Divine Condor, Errant Knight; and Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre.

Speaking of the project which she took up in 2012, Holmwood, a self-employed translator focusing on Chinese-English literary translations, says in an email interview: “It had to be Jin Yong then. It was the obvious place to start, not only because of the quality of his writing, but also because of his standing and reputation in Asia.”

Having studied history at the University of Oxford, Holmwood was determined to learn Chinese due to her previous trip to China. She then went to Taiwan Normal University for language training in 2,009. In a bookshop there, she saw a whole shelf dedicated to Jin Yong. She bought a copy of Jin Yong’s work—Lu Ding Ji (The Deer and the Cauldron), the longest of his novels. “What is a bigger challenge for the translator is making the original pace and excitement into English. It’s all about whether the English reader will be lured by the emotions and characters.”

It took five years for Holmwood to finish the translation of the first volume. As for why his works need to be translated, she says: “Many have considered Jin Yong’s world too foreign, too Chinese for an English-speaking readership.Impossible to translate.” “And yet this story of love, loyalty, honor and the power of the individual against successive corrupt (腐败的) governments and invading forces is as universal as any story could hope to be.” “The greatest loss that can occur in translation can only come from not translating it at all.”