1 . One minute, Peggy Lewis and her husband, Harris Lee, were watching the trees blow in the wind. The next, they were surrounded by flying pieces of glass from the house’s broken windows. The roof was torn off. The walls caved in (塌陷). After the 152-mph tornado (龙卷风) had passed, it took a team of neighbors to pull the couple from the rubble (碎砖) and take them to the hospital.

When the pair returned to their house three days later, it was clear that what remained of the house would need to be torn down, but before Peggy would let that happen, she wanted one thing first—her family Bible.

Peggy had bought the Bible 35 years earlier, at the start of her marriage. Like many people, she’d used it to hold her family’s history — old photos, and a handkerchief from her great-grandmother.

The Bible was the first thing Peggy looked for when she returned to the house. When two volunteers showed up, Peggy had one task for them.

After an hour of searching, one of the volunteers ran up to her. Peggy had tears running down her face. The young woman had found the book while looking through rubble. Surprisingly, while many other books inside the house had been destroyed beyond recognition, the Bible was still complete, even though it had sat in the rain for days. “I completely broke down,” says Peggy. “I thought it was gone forever.” She was extremely grateful.

Peggy and her family were living at a friend’s house until they got back on their feet. But the book already has its well-deserved place of honor, in Peggy’ borrowed dresser. She knows that while every good book tells stories of disastrous (灾难性的) weather and unlikely survival, this one actually lived it.

2 . When Americans think of the lunch menu at their childhood school dining halls, they probably imagine the shapeless, tasteless meat — plus some brown mush (糊状物) to match. But for children in Japan, school lunches are a rich experience where the students learn about culture and nutrition (营养) of foods.

“Japan’s opinion is that school lunches are a part of education, not a break from it,” Masahiro Oji, a government director of school health education in Japan said. The food offered at schools in Japan is affordable, fresh, and made by the students themselves. And Japanese children don’t just eat the food they prepare; they learn about the nutrition and culture of their meals, too. The food is grown locally and includes a balanced menu of rice, vegetables, fish, and soups. Even better, each meal only costs just $2.50.

“Parents hear their kids talking about what they had for lunch,” Tatsuji Shino, the headmaster at Umejima Elementary School in Tokyo said, “and kids ask them to re-create the meals at home.” Japanese students also learn cooperation (合作) and etiquette skills as they serve and clean up after each other.

Considering the fact that Japan has one of the world’s lowest childhood obesity rates (肥胖), the US probably has a lot to learn from this country’s school lunches. A recent study found that American students who regularly ate the school lunch — where choices include pizza, chicken, and French fries — were 29 percent more likely to be obese than those who brought lunch from home.

For American parents who want to be a little more like the Japanese, try sending your children to school with these great school lunches for kids who hate sandwiches.

4 . This is news on the hour, Ed Wilson reporting. The President and First Lady will visit Africa on a goodwill tour in May. They plan to visit eight African countries.

Reports from China say the Chinese want closer ties between China and the U. S. and Western Europe. A group of top Chinese scientists start their ten-nation tour next month.

Here in Miami, the mayor is still meeting with the leaders of the Teachers’ Union to try to find a way to end the strike (罢工). City schools are still closed after two weeks.

In the news about health. Scientists in California report findings of a relationship (关系) between the drinking of coffee and the increase of heart disease among women. According to the report in the American Medical Journal (杂志), the five-year study shows this. Women who drink more than two cups of coffee a day have greater chance of having heart disease than women who do not.

In sports, the Chargers lost again last night. The BBs beat them 1 to nothing. The Wingers had better results. They beat the Rifles 7 to 3. It was their first win in their last five matches.

That’s the news of the hour. And now back to more easy listening with Jan Singer.

6 . Children are starting on digital devices at ever younger ages, and opinions on the effects of children’s digital-media habits are deeply polarized (两极分化的).

Jean Twenge, a psychology professor, thinks excessive (过度的) use of the internet and social media makes children lonely and depressed and poses serious risks to their physical and particularly their mental health, sometimes to the point of driving them to suicide.

However, Daniel Kardefelt-Winther of the Innocent research office of Unicef examined various evidence and found less cause for alarm than is often suggested. Most of the studies he examined seem to show that the technology helps children stay in touch with their friends and make new ones.

The relationship between the use of digital technology and children’s mental health, broadly speaking, appears to be u-shaped. Researchers have found that moderate use is beneficial, whereas either no use at all or extreme use could be harmful.

What worries some experts more is that screens are becoming part of the middle-class armory(武器) for perpetuating (巩固) social advantage. Children from well-off homes are enrolled in private classes to learn skills like “How to be a YouTuber”, which poorer parents cannot afford.

9 . Some of us like to spend money as soon as we have it, while others like to hold on to money and spend it carefully. But for people who are very smart about their cash, there are a number of interesting ways to invest (投资) it and, if things go well, make a big financial profit (经济收益).

Buying stamps, wine, coins and books are all different ways of investing your money. It comes with risks but can be thrilling as, hopefully, you watch the value of your investment rise. However, you need to know what you’re doing and making a lot of money is not guaranteed (保证).

If you’re happy to take a risk, then one of the most well-known ways of investing is by buying artwork. By buying a painting and holding on to it, its value can increase greatly, but of course, only when you sell it do you feel the profit. Some people get quite lucky particularly when they don’t expect to make any money. There are stories of people buying a painting at an exhibition for peanuts only to find out it’s actually worth thousands of dollars.

Of course, investing in artwork is not a guarantee to make you a millionaire. Patrick Connolly, a financial adviser, says investing in art is too risky and he advises his customers not to invest in it because the downside is greater than the upside.

But if you’re still interested in it, there are art fairs (博览会), such as The Affordable Art Fair, and websites provide buyers with their affordable artwork. Patrick Connolly says the best way here is to buy something you like and can afford and “if it goes up in value, that should be just an added award.”

If this has destroyed your plans for your investment, maybe there’s more chance of winning big money by buying a lottery ticket (彩票)!