【推荐1】Many kids help their parents to do chores, such as washing the dishes, cleaning the floors and taking out the rubbish in the house. And some kids get money or other rewards from their parents, such as playing computer games for 20 minutes.

But some people do not think that kids should get rewards for doing chores. One of them is Susie Walton, a parenting educator. She believes that if kids get rewards, they will think that work isn’t worth doing unless they can get something. For example, kids won’t sweep the floor if they see it is dirty. But they will clean the floor if their parents reward them for it. Susie said, “A home is a living place for everyone in the family. It’s important for kids to see that it’s all families’ job to keep their homes clean.”

Other people have different opinions. They believe that money or other rewards can encourage kids to do more chores. It also teaches them real world lessons that we need to work to make money. Now, there are also apps that encourage kids to do chores. The apps give kids points and gifts that can be used either online or in the real world. With the ChoreMonster app, kids get points after doing chores. Kids can exchange their points for real rewards, such as time to play video games or a trip to the mall.

What do you think? Should kids be rewarded for doing chores? Or should kids help out around their homes without getting anything?

【推荐2】Reyes Guana, 42, grows up in a poor Mexican family. He has seven brothers and sisters. His parents always have two jobs to make ends meet (维持生计).

As a boy, Guana had a good relationship (关系) with the school cleaner. He called her “Nike” because she wore Nike shoes. The boy admired (崇拜) how Nike made everything clean. He told her he wanted to be a cleaner, too. “Well, it’s good if you want to be a cleaner,” Nike told little Guana. “But make sure you go to college.”

Guana also looked up to the principal (校长) of his school. The school leader told the boy that his job was to help students and teachers. “Wow, when I grow up, I want to do what you’re doing,” Guana told him. “Well, if you follow your dream, you will,” the principal replied.

Guana really got there. But it was quite a long journey for him. Twenty-three years ago, he followed Nike’s footsteps and cleaned schools. He worked at three schools to pay for his college education. He had that job for four years and then worked his way up to being a school safety monitor (安全监督员). After that, he worked as a teacher for a few years.

Now, as a principal, Guana never forgets where he came from. He helps students from poor families and shows respect (尊重) for every school member. He always invites everyone to school parties, including those who clean the floors and those who drive the school buses.

【推荐3】①   “A Love for Dilemma (《小舍得》),” a family TV play about three families’ different attitudes (态度) toward children’s education, leads to a popular discussion online these days. Nowadays, many parents still send their children to take various after-school training classes to learn different skills in order to make kids ready for every competition. Why are Chinese parents worried about their child’s education? What is education for? What is good education? Readers share their opinions.

②   I think sometimes Chinese parents transfer (传递) their own wishes to their children. Then, there is no end for their children to keep on learning. But parents need to understand that each child’s talents are different from one another. Perhaps all parents need to know what their kids really good at and let them be what they want to be. —Justin

③   I’m a student and I know my parents care about me a lot. It is the traditional thinking that they want to decide what’s best for their children. In their opinion, they know more than their kids and kids should always listen to them. In fact, those kids lose the ability (能力) to make mistakes and learn from mistakes. Once they meet trouble in their future, it might be very hard for them to solve it by themselves. —Lisa

④   Nowadays, lots of pupils go to extra classes after school. They often come home at 8 pm or later. And then they have to finish the homework from school. They look so tired every day. I think education should help develop their interests instead of taking away their happiness. The burden on their shoulders is now too much for their age. Parents should not push their children too hard and we should know that good grades aren’t everything. _____▲_____—Emma

【推荐1】Scientists at the University of Florida (UF) have grown plants in soil that came from the Moom. The plants didn’t grow as well as those grew in soil from Earth, but the experiment marks an important step towards growing plants on the Moon.

The Moon’s soil is called“regolith (风化层)”, and there’s not a lot of it on Earth. NASA (美国国家航空航天局) has most of it, which was collected over 50 years ago. Because the regolith is so valuable, it took the UF scientists 11 years to persuade NASA to allow them to use it.

NASA didn’t give them much soil. The regolith came from three different NASA space flights —Apollo 11,12 and 17. The soil from Apollo 11 was taken from the top layer(层) of the Moon’s surface. The rest came from deeper layers of the Moon’s soil.

The scientists chose a special plant for their experiment. It’s a small plant related to broccoli (西兰花) that can grow in very little soil. Scientists know a lot about the DNA of this plant, which helps them understand how it grows in the soil it’s planted in.

By studying changes in the DNA of the plants growing in the Moon’s soil, scientists may one day find out new ways to help plants grow better in the Moon’s soil.

“The ability to take plants successfully with us to the Moon is how we’ll grow our own food.” said Dr. Rober Ferl, one of the researchers. “Showing that plants will grow in the Moon’s soil is actually a huge step in that direction.”

【推荐2】Do you find that you learn things faster than your parents sometimes? Congratulations, you could be right!

Scientists find that school-aged children learn new knowledge and skills faster than grown-ups. This has something to do with a chemical (化学物质) called GABA in our brains. It reduces brain noise so that we can learn things more easily. It also makes new knowledge stay longer in our heads.

The scientists scans (扫描) the brains of children (8-11 years old) and adults (18-35 years old) before, during, and after doing a learning task. It turns out that when children learn new things, the amount of GABA rises quickly. But there’s little change in adults’ brains. This tells us why children are better learners than adults.

The finding, the scientists said, should encourage teachers and parents to let children learn anything from riding a bike to playing an instrument to learning times tables(乘法表) in their childhood. People could also use it to help adults learn faster by increasing the amount of GABA in their brains.