PICKS OF THE DAY

Music: Crossfire Hurricane, BBC 4, 9 p.m.

It is a documentary that traces the eventful first 20 years of one of Britain’s most successful rock bands, The Rolling Stones. Featuring never-before-seen interviews, this 2012 film records the group’s early years through to 1981. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor recollect key moments, including the infamous Altamont concert and the recording of cassis album Exile On Main Street.

Film: The Girl In The Spider’s Web, Film 4, 9 p.m.

Swedish hacker Lisbeth Salander is hired by computer genius Frans Balder to retrieve (找回) Firefall, a programme capable of accessing the world’s nuclear codes, which he developed for the National Security Agency. Though Salander manages to find Firefall, problems arise when Russian criminals steal her laptop. It’s not long before Salander is fighting for her life against enemies. Thriller, starring Claire Foy, Sylvia Hoeks and Stephen Merchant.

Travel: Kate Humble’s Coastal Britain, C5, 8 p.m.

Kate Humble’s starting point for the latest leg of her journey is the picturesque village of Alnmouth, once a leading grain port in the 18th century. Today, it’s known for its colourful houses and a sweep of sandy beach where Kate meets a former GP, Claire, who uses the sand to create temporary large-scale artworks and portraits, which are visible for only a few hours before the tide (潮水) sweeps them away.

Gardening: Monty Don’s Adriatic Gardens, BBC 2, 8 p.m.

The presenter begins the latest leg in the city of Trieste, near Italy’s border with Croatia. He visits a public garden created by an obsessive royal plantsman more than 150 years ago, which is now being carefully restored. Monty then heads down the Adriatic coast through Croatia to pick up the trail that the Venetians followed. The green-fingered expert ends his journey on the island of Lopud, near Dubrovnik.

I received my autoimmune disease diagnosis (自身免疫疾病诊断) in 2009, and for the first few months, I was in a very bad place. I was suffering from severe anxiety and panic attacks on a daily basis. I was no longer able to function as a “normal” person. During that time, all I could do at best was to move about the house trying to accomplish a few chores, and prepare meals.

After a few months on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol, my intense tiredness improved and I slowly regained some energy. That is when I tried to follow my doctor’s advice to exercise.

I clearly remember my first attempt. I was still weak, but somehow, I thought that if I could push through and pretend I had a normal life that things would get better. So, I went out and started running in the little neighborhood park. Unfortunately, I didn’t last even five minutes and came back home, totally crashed. It took me several days to recover. After that first brush with exercise, I understood that I would have to start slow. I began going on daily walks with my husband around the block. Slowly, we went further and further, and my strength came back progressively.

After walking, I started to attend yoga classes. I remember barely making it through my first class. My muscles were weak and trembling by the time I rolled up my mat. But I was also so happy to be able to get out of the house, mix with other people and have a social life!

After yoga, I ventured into activities a little bit more strenuous, but still gentle on the joints. I was going to the swimming pool to do laps and riding my bike. Recently, after almost four years on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol, I was finally able to really up my game and start exercising regularly with a personal trainer.

A Spanish project is attempting to use 3D-printed coral reefs to provide habitat for fish and protection for beaches and coastal communities at risk from rising seas and other damage.

Coral reefs are decreasing globally, and some scientists say we could lose 70% - 90% of our reefs due to warming ocean waters. That has all kinds of serious influences because a quarter of the world’s fish live in and around reefs. Reefs are important protectors of coastal communities threatened by high waves, and they support the biodiversity (生物多样性). That led Nadia Fani and her co-founder Astrid Kramer to start Coastruction, a non-profit organization.

“Even if you start on a small scale (规模)... a square kilometer already, it could have a great impact,” Fani says. “It could really protect a coast, a beach, or an area where there is a community and it needs protection because the sea level is rising.”

Being able to use 3D printing is important, because you can match individual sites. Every location is different with different coral species. “It’s like everybody has a different house,” Fani says. “You can take into account habitat requirements of not just the coral but also the fish that live nearby. ”

Their present technology can print various shapes. The result can be an amazingly natural-looking man-made rock with plenty of corners for both coral and fish to attach themselves and make homes.

The Coastruction founders don’t think they can possibly meet the global demand, so their goal is to provide the tools — like the 3D printer — for local people and develop the technology to create the artificial (人造的) coral reefs by using cheap and locally-available materials. No high temperatures or chemical additives are required, and any loose powder or sand material not used in one print will be used in the next. The 3D printer works on-site, so there’s no transport of finished blocks required.

Fragile. Oversensitive. Glued to their phones. Is this what comes to mind when we think of the teens of this generation? While there may be a grain of truth to these stereotypical (刻板印象的) characteristics, there might be more to this generation of teens than what is generally regarded.

Never before have the lives of any generation of teens been as strongly affected by mobile technology and social media as the teens of this generation. It follows then that there will be unique mental and emotional problems due to this new age of technology. As compared to their parents or grandparents who were likely less connected and more isolated, these teens are constantly exposed to their social circles and beyond. It is no wonder then that the mental health of this generation’s teens have been badly affected.

Moreover, as many of the older generations complain, the teens today are more individualistic in contrast to the more community-centered attitude of their parents and grandparents. Gone is the closeness among neighbors who are friendly with one another and quick to offer a helping hand when they see another in need. In its place, we have teens who may not even have a clue as to who lives in the unit next to theirs, much less offer a friendly no d or wave when they happen to cross paths with a neighbour.

However, the effects of technology on this generation of teens are not all bad. Actually, the very connectedness that social media brings about has led to an opening of minds and a flowering of dialogue among people of diverse cultures and backgrounds. In comparison, the parents or grandparents of this generation of teens probably did not have the same opportunity to get to know people outside of their social circles at their age, and are thus more likely to have fixed stereotypical opinions of people different from them.

To conclude, the teens of this generation differ in many ways from their past generations, in some ways more positive than others. Every generation is a product of the cultural, political and economic events of their time.