There are many idioms in English. An idiom is a phrase that we can’t understand from the meaning of each word. The following are some of them.

As the crow flies

When a bird flies from place to place, it takes the most direct route. But when people drive, they have to follow roads and often go farther. When people give a distance “as the crow flies”, they mean the shortest distance between the two points, not the distance you would have to travel by following roads.

As Dan and his mum drove along the river, they could see the beach on the opposite side, Dan asked, “How far is it to the beach?”

“It’s only about a quarter of a mile as the crow flies,” his mother said.

Blow hot and cold

In one of Aesop’s Fables, a man blows on his fingers to warm them up and then blows on his soup to cool it down. In both cases, the man is opening his mouth, but what comes out is different. If a person says one thing and later says the opposite, we say that the person is blowing hot and cold.

“Is Felicia going to try out for the soccer team this year?” Stacy asked.

“I don’t know,” Tricia replied. “Last week she was saying yes, but this week she’s saying no. She’s really blowing hot and cold.”

Break the ice

Nowadays people use the phrase to refer to ending an awkward silence by beginning a conversation.

It was the first day of summer camp. The four girls began to make their beds in silence. None of the girls knew each other, and no one knew what to say. Finally, one of them broke the ice by saying “Hey, where’s everybody from?”

Bury the hatchet

In native American culture, when two nations agreed to end their war, they buried the hatchet. So to bury the hatchet is to make peace with someone else.

Colin could not excuse his sister for breaking his tennis racket. Finally, his sister said, “Colin, can’t we bury the hatchet?”

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a frequent topic of conversation for most of us over the past year. As we dreamt of indoor dining, vacations, and hugging our friends again, my friend Ana texted that her mother, living in Brazil, had been infected by the coronavirus. I won’t go into details here, but the disruption to life in Brazil have been especially upsetting considering their social and cultural norms (规范).

Ana is Brazilian, and I’m from the US. While living in New York City, we became fast friends despite the few awkward cultural differences I learned to deal with. She was comfortable with intimacy; I preferred to keep my distance. She liked the company of many; I liked the friendship of few. It was awkward for me to lean in for a quick hug, only to be embraced then kissed on the cheeks. To this day, I’m not an excellent cheek kisser, but I try. She is one of many people over the years who have educated me, in a way, about delighting in cultural difference.

I called Ana to check on her mother and I was primarily curious about how social and cultural norms have been affected. It’s difficult, said Ana, because the necessary health regulations are opposite to “what we believe and everything we know about living in a community and displaying feelings of love”, but she hasn’t given up hope. I asked if the shifts made during the pandemic will change cultural norms. “Absolutely not,” said Ana. This is who Brazilians are in nature and change doesn’t happen overnight. They spend a lot of time and energy investing in relationships, and the deeply rooted social conventions won’t change quickly.

Over the years, Ana has shared many stories that emphasize the differences in our upbringing. I delight in our differences, even if kissing on the cheek makes me uncomfortable. We find our commonalities, like talking with our hands, being expressive, and valuing community. And we learn from our differences. COVID disrupted many things, but through all of this, Ana said, we must constantly be adjusting, understanding, and doing what’s best for our communities and the people we love.

Whether you’re interested in green agriculture and rainforest conservation or supporting sustainable sources, organizations worldwide are investing time and effort into various environmental protection projects. Volunteers are always needed to help with the different initiatives to protect the environment.

The past years has been bothered by an endless report of natural disasters occurring in geographically weak locations. Floods are affecting the places that previously never faced this problem while heat waves, droughts and earthquakes are becoming the norm. Important wildlife and plant species are disappearing and threatening the planet’s biodiversity. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), there are other problems: deforestation, pollution, water scarcity, illegal fishing and wildlife trade.

The ongoing industrialization and the lack of awareness are taking its toll (毁坏) and it’s time for that to change. Most people remain inactive, believing small changes won’t make a difference. However, there are many ways to help. Small changes carried out by some people do make a difference.

Excellent examples of this are organizations that believe small initiatives have a significant impact. These projects arc growing steadily and positively affecting the environmental conservation and influencing the local community. They are creating awareness among others and helping them understand the importance of environmental conservation while creating volunteer opportunities to help the environment.

The organizations will learn valuable skills about environmental conservations but most importantly, they are moving towards change. There are enough environmental volunteer opportunities that need your help and there’s no time to waste! Continue reading about environmental volunteer programs abroad and take steps toward environmental conservation.

There are plenty of options once you decide to become an environmental volunteer. The tasks will depend on the project you have decided to volunteer with and can vary greatly. With over 130 projects focusing on the environment, you’ll find projects that match both your skill set and travel preference.

For some people, higher education is not just a goal in life, but also an expectation. In the United States, if your parents attended a college or university, there is a good chance that you will, too. Even if your parents did not go to college, you still have a good chance of completing higher education if your family is wealthy.

But your chances are reduced if you come from a needy family, a community with limited educational resources or you simply have no one to follow as an example.

Helping those in need is one of the main ideas behind a strategy of behavioral science called nudge theory or nudging. Nudging is a way of changing people’s behavior through indirect suggestions and by supporting positive actions.

A growing number of U.S. colleges and universities look to nudging as a way to support poor, minority and first-generation students. They are also using it to increase overall graduation rates. Two common forms of nudging are emails to students and text messages to their mobile phones. Schools and other educational organizations keep in contact with students this way, offering advice and help when needed.

However, Alejandra Acosta—a higher education policy expert at New America—notes that there are several qualities a nudge campaign must possess in order to be successfu1.

Acosta says messages must be timely, meaning they reach college students well before the date by which a student is required to take action. Additionally, nudges should be written clearly and provide as much information as possible. If students start to struggle in class, school officials should not just message them, saying they should seek academic support. The message should give information about what kinds of support the college or university offers and exactly how the student can make use of them. That is why nudges should possess interactive qualities, Acosta says. For example, students should be able to ask questions of school officials or be directed to a website for more information. In addition, colleges and universities must ensure their support services are in place and working as best as they can.

When nudges work, they can do a lot of good. In 2018, a nonprofit group launched a nudging campaign at four U.S. community colleges. They worked with nearly 10,000 first-year students at three such colleges in Ohio and one in Virginia. A recent study found that older and minority students who agreed to receive these nudges were 16 to 20 percent more likely to continue into their second year than those who did not.