2 . Americans are now allowed to get a COVID-19 vaccine (疫苗). But the process in America is not going as smoothly as some had hoped. Many people are still facing a wait for their first shot. Moreover, the vaccines aren't available to kids under 16 yet. That's because scientists have only tested if the vaccine works in adults.

The good news is that there are two companies, Moderna and Pfizer, making COVID-19 vaccines. They are now running clinical trials (临床实验)to test their vaccines in teens and kids. Volunteers are given a treatment plan and then evaluated after.

Clinical trials are designed with safety in mind and usually done in adults first. They work like this: volunteers get placed into one of two groups. One group receives the vaccine. The other group gets a placebo. This is a shot given in the same way as the vaccine but with no effect. Scientists can compare the effects of the real vaccine against the placebo to see if the vaccine works. Researchers want to know everything that a person experiences when they get the shot, so they can detect any harmful effects. If anything did happen, the trial would stop immediately.

Some teens are eager to volunteer because they want to help people. Maybe you're the right age to be part of a clinical trial for the COVID-19 vaccine. Why not volunteer For A Vaccine Trial? Interested kids should read about the trials because every trial has risks. They should talk to their doctor and weigh the benefits and risks. Every vaccine has rare side effects in a few patients.

If you want to participate in a trial, you can try to sign up online by just clicking here, clinical trials gov. which lists every clinical trial in the US, including COVID-19 vaccine trials.

3 . Eating out is such a pleasure—the food, the wine, the joy of having it all brought to you by someone else that it’s a pity to ruin the experience by sharing it with other people.

Well, I do like visiting restaurants with friends. But dining out alone has its own very special attractions. For a start you can give all your attention to the food. There’s nothing worse than having to invent and deliver an opinion on school league tables or Sanchez’s move to Manchester United, plus listen to everyone else’s opinions, when all you really want to do is enjoy each mouthful along the way.

A second great thing about eating out alone is the chance to combine food with one of life’s other true pleasures: reading. You have to plan this carefully: Indian or Chinese restaurants are the best—you need food you can eat with just one hand, leaving the other free to hold your reading material.

But perhaps the biggest attraction of a table for one is the chance it gives to people—watching. Restaurants and the different reasons for visiting them—the first date, business meeting or night out with friends—produce human behaviour of surprising richness and variety. Will the man selling his business idea get any joy out of his possible investor(投资者)? Will the married couple think of anything to say to each other before their main courses arrive?

This “human zoo” part of eating out alone is one of the reasons I’d hate to be famous: everyone would be watching you, so you wouldn’t be able to watch them. The snooker player Steve Davis says that this was one of the strangest consequences(后果) of becoming well-known: he got very worried about his eating in public, almost to the level of doubting whether he was doing it right.

So next time you’re considering your eating out choices, remember the advice of the businessman Nubar Gulbenkian: “The best number for a dinner party is two-myself and a super headwaiter.”

4 . The Internet can provide a wealth of educational resources for small children, if you know where to look.

Enchanted Learning

Enchanted learning is a great website for children, and I know several teachers who rely on it for materials for their classrooms. Most of the information is free, but for $ 20.00 per year, you can purchase a membership that allows you to have access to the site without the advertising. The pages here are great. There are colored pages and worksheets for toddlers(学步儿童) and school-age children.

Starfall

Starfall is another good educational website for small children. Teachers often use this website in classrooms. It emphasizes reading skills for early learners. The website is aimed at first-grade-leve1 learners, but it has tools that can help all children from pre-K to second grade. The website has reading activities, worksheets to download, and a store where you can purchase educational materials for your children.

Sesame Street Workshop

Kids love Sesame Street, and it is always educational. This is one of the funniest websites online for children because it is very well animated and has great sound effects. The website has games and stories for small kids, and they can create letters at the post office and mail them to their favorite characters.

Did you grow up in one culture, your parents came from another, and you are now living in a     1     (total) different country? If so, then you are a third-culture kid.

Yet many       5     (difficulty) may arise from this phenomenon. Third-culture kids may not be able to adapt themselves completely     6     their new surroundings. Also, they often find it hard     7     (develop) new friendship. Additionally, for a third-culture kid, it is often easier to move to a new country     8     to return to his homeland. For example, after living in Australia for many years, Louis finally returned to the country     9     she was born. She didn’t know anything about current TV shows     10     fashion trends. And she didn’t share the same values as other teens of her age.

6 . Scientists believe that one of our most important means of knowing what is going on around us is the sense of sound. We are warned of danger by sounds. Sounds serve to please us in music. Sound has a waste product, too, in the form of noise. Noise has been called unwanted sound. Noise is growing and it may get much worse before it gets any better.

In order to know how noise affects people and animals, scientists have been studying for several years. They are surprised by what they have learned. Peace and quiet are becoming harder to find. Noise pollution is a threat that should be looked at carefully.

Sounds is measured in units called decibels (分贝). At a level of 140 decibels people feel pain in their ears.

Trucks , buses , motorcycles, airplanes, boats, factories---all these things make noise. They trouble not only our ears, but minds and bodies as well.

There is a saying that it is so noisy that you can’t hear yourself think. Doctors who study noise believe that we must sometimes hear ourselves think. If we don’t, we may have headaches, other aches and pains, or even worse mental problems.

Noise adds more tension (紧张) to a society that has already faced enough stress.