1 In Chin a it is relatively usual to ask people their age, but in the West this question is generally regarded as impolite. This is particularly true 11 women, and even more so if the inquire r is a man. However, it is very 12 to ask children their age, and some adults may not mind being asked either. In fact, some elderly people are quite happy to 13 their age, especially if they feel they look young for their age. Nevertheless, it is not very wise to ask a direct question like "How old are you?" . If elderly people want to talk about theira ge, they may easi ly 14 the topic themselves,and ask the other person to guess how old they are. They normally expect to be complimented on their youthfulness , though rather than 15 that they look very old. Even though Westerners do not usually ask people directly how old they are, this does not 16 that they are not interested to know how old other people are. They may ask 17 for the information, or else they may try to 18 the topic indirectly. Sometimes discussions about educational 19 and the number of years of working experience may provide some clues, but this is not always the 20 .

Parents can have a great impact on the development of their children ' s creativity in art. But first, they have to know how. They may find the following advice interesting and instructive. Encourage free drawing ra ther than coloring books. Coloring books stop the possibility of self-expression.A child may just enjoy colorful picture s and never learn how to express himself. As an art teacher says, "Children have a very powerful ins tinct to draw free ly and roughly. Such practice makes them learn language easily." In fact, a child expresses himself in rough drawing. This is the beginning of literacy and creativity. Also, parents should not teach their kids “how” to draw and they should not make their kids draw realistic pictures to entertain themselves. Experience tells us that such teaching from the parents will di scourage children, making them think they can' t do it the "right" way. Competition and rewards should also be avoided in the process of artistic creation. A child' s natural instinct to create will disappear if he or she thinks about prize while drawing. Parents should be role models for their kids. They should not say things like, " I can' t draw a straight line." Instead, they sh ould learn to say, "I love to create". This teaches children that the process of creation is more important than the product. If children see their parents drawing, cooking or build ing creatively, they wi11 do the same. Buy a notebook for your child to use every day. This can be a journal for making up stories, writing ideas and drawing pictures. Even the youngest child can use it to draw freely and roughly, expressing himself.Take your child to places that promote ideas and creativity. Art museums , science centers, libraries and children's museums all are great places to see other people' s creativity. That will inspire children to make their own creations and inventions. Give children choiçes and free time. Some of the best ideas come from daydreaming and imagining. In short, parents should all ow their kids to have the free dom to invent for themselves. That means not always teaching and commanding.

In a family where the roles of men and women are not sharply separated and where many household tasks are shared to a greater or lesser extent,notions of male superiority are hard to maintain. The pattern of sharing in tasks and in decisions makes for equality, and this in turn leads to further sharing. In such a home, the growing boy and girl learn to accept that equality more easily than did their parents and to prepare more fully for participation in a world characterized by cooperation ra ther than by the "battle of sexes." If the process goes too far and man' s role is regarded as less important that has happened in some cases----we are as badly off as before, only in reverse. It is time to reassess the role of the man in the American family. We are getting a little tired of "Momism"----but we don' t want to exchange it for a "neo-Popism." What we need, rather, is the recognition that bringing up children involves a partnership of equals. There are signs that psychiatrists, psychologists , social workers, and specialists on the family are becoming more aware of the part men play and that they have decided that women should not receive all the credit----nor all the blame. We have almost given up saying that a woman’ s place is in the home. We are beginning, however, to analyze man’ s place in the home and to insist that he does have a place in it. Nor is that place irrelevant to the healthy development of the child. The family is a co-operative enterprise for which it is difficult to la y down rules. because each family needs to work out its own ways for solving its o wn problems. Excessive authoritarianism has unhappy consequences, whether it wears skirts or trousers, and the idea l of equal rights and equal responsibilities is pertinent not only to a healthy democracy, but also to a healthy family.

Believe it or not, optical illusion (错觉) can cut highway crashes. Japan is a case in point. It has reduced automobile crashes on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical Illusion. Bent stripes, called chevrons (人字形), painted on the roads make drivers think that they are driving faster than they really are, and thus drivers slow down. Now the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington D. C. is planning to repeat Japan's success. Starting next year, the foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns of stripes on selected roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway crashes. Excessive speed plays a major role in as much as one fift h of all fatal traffic accidents,according to the foundation. To help red uce those accidents, the foundation will conduct its tests in areas where speed-related hazards are the greatest-curves, exit slopes, traffic circles, and bridges. Some studies suggest that straight, horizontal bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half. However, traffic of ten returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bars.Chevrons, scientists say, not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane appear to be narrower. The result is a longer lasting reduction in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents.