【推荐2】

As college sports continue to be hugely popular and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) brings in large amounts of money, people have restarted the discussion on whether college athletes should get paid.

Supporters of the idea believe that, because college athletes are bringing in audiences, they should receive some sort of compensation (补偿). In fact, the NCAA brings in about $1 billion income a year, but college athletes don’t receive any of that money in the form of a paycheck. Additionally, people who believe college athletes should be paid state that paying college athletes will actually encourage them to remain in college longer and not turn professionals as quickly, either by giving them a way to begin earning money in college or requiring them to sign a contract (合同) saying they’ll stay at the university for a certain number of years while making an agreed-upon salary.

People who argue against the idea of paying college athletes believe the practice could be disastrous for college sports. Paying athletes would turn college sports into a bidding (竞拍)war, where only the richest schools could afford top athletes, and most schools would be shut out from developing a talented team. It could also harm the friendship within many college teams if players become unhappy that certain teammates are making more money than they are.

Those against paying college athletes also believe that the athletes are receiving enough benefits already. The top athletes receive scholarships that are worth tens of thousands per year. They receive free food and textbooks, get travel bonuses and free equipment, and can use their time in college as a way to attract the attention of professional coaches. No other college students receive anywhere near as much from their schools.

While both sides have good points, it’s clear that the negatives of paying college athletes far outweigh the positives. College athletes have been compensated enough. Adding a salary would result in a college athletic system where only a few athletes are paid by some schools who enter bidding wars to sign them up, while most student athletics and college athletic programs suffer or even shut down for lack of money. Continuing to offer the present benefits to student athletes makes it possible for as many people to benefit from and enjoy college sports as possible.

【推荐3】The Winter Olympics is also called the White Olympics. At this time, many colorful stamps are published to mark the great Games. The first stamps marking the opening came out on January 25, 1932 in the United States for the 3rd White Olympics. From then on, publishing stamps during the White Olympics became a rule. During the 4th Winter Olympic Games a group of stamps were published in Germany in November 1936. The five rings of Olympics were drawn on the front of the sportswear. It was the first time that the rings appeared on the stamps of the White Olympics. In the 1950’s, the stamps of this kind became more colorful.

When the White Olympics came, the host countries(东道国) as well as the non﹣host countries published stamps to mark those Games. China also published four stamps in February 1980, when the Chinese sports men began to take part in the White Olympics. Japan is the only Asian country that has ever held the White Olympics. Altogether 14,500 million stamps were sold to raise money for this sports meet. Different kinds of sports were drawn on these small stamps. People can enjoy the beauty of the wonderful movements of some sportsmen.

【推荐1】A culture’s values can be mirrored by its humor. Humor has been evaluated by many great minds such as Thomas Hobbes, who, in “On Nature”, disliked humor, “Laughter is nothing else but sudden glory arising from sudden thought of feeling far better than others.” He thought humor to be a negative quality of human narrow-mindedness.

However, Mordechai Gordon, Ph. D of Education, insists, “Humor allows us to view the world from an angle that is amusing rather than serious.” I agree with Gordon. Learning to look at the world through humor is important.

In the United States, every four years an election occurs. Without humor as a way to express their feelings, how else would Americans keep from clawing their eyes out (伤心欲绝) and going the way of lemming (盲目跟从) ? Television shows a joke “The Daily Show” have become important parts of American culture. They are mothering the masses by metaphorically (隐喻地) airplane-ing (用鼻子吸食大麻) politics into our mouths. They make politics fun.

Of course, politics is only one type of humor. Social humor helps people through the twists and turns of the human condition. American pop culture promotes an unhealthy self-image. On the topic of self-image, Hari Kondabolu stands out. He has a joke about the popular musical group “The Pussycat Dolls”, describing their hit song “Don’t Cha” as a negative representation of women. He points out an obvious offence in American culture.

A study from Loyola University of Maryland has shown that humor is one determining factor for selecting a mating partner. Amongst other things, mates look for an outstanding funny bone in a potential partner.

Of course, humor is not always used for good purposes. Humor can be linked to vulgarity (粗俗) and racism, but, like everything else, it has potential to unite human beings by allowing us to laugh at ourselves, our failures and our connection with one another.

Though life may seem tough and depressing at times, all I have to do is look in the mirror at my increased wrinkles to know that there is a comedy out there that even Chaplin wasn’t aware of.

With that in mind, remember to laugh with humanity and sometimes at humanity.

【推荐2】As people hold different views on almost anything, we live in a judgmental world where people are quick to point out the faults and imperfections of others, yet seem unaware of their own. Some misguided souls believe they have a duty to help you to be a better person by telling you what a failure you really are first and then offering suggestions as to how you can improve.

So what is the possible solution to criticism?

If you are the one forcing others to feel ashamed of themselves, STOP. Make a conscious decision rather than focus on the negative aspect of a person’s performance or attitudes. You are more likely to offer helpful suggestions from the beginning. If you are on the receiving end of criticism, the “OK” response is a perfect solution. When someone comments negatively on a task you are doing or a personality issue of yours, a natural response is to defend and attack. However, this approach is rarely effective as it puts both parties on the defensive. Instead, simply reply with “OK”. This brief one-word response acknowledges the other person’s comment without agreeing with it or feeling necessary to engage in a debate about it.

It is important to remain emotionally attached to what the other person is saying, to listen without feeling, to be an objective observer. In fact, there is much that one can learn from a negative review. You can ask yourself: Did I make a mistake? Could I have done better? Did I give 100% of myself to the task at hand? If so, how can I improve myself? As for chronic(习惯性的) criticizers: It is important to set strict boundary with them. Remove yourself from their presence when necessary.

In any case, one can learn to be “OK” with criticism and not allow it to negatively impact your life or relationship with the other party.

【推荐3】Smoking in your own home in Thailand may now be considered a crime , if the smoke is considered harmful to other people in the house.

The new law , Family Protection and Development Promotion Act , was initiated(启动) by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and was announced in the Royal Gazette on May 22 ,2019.

The law aims at curbing smoking at home which might be hazardous for others' health residing under the same roof. In that case, it will be considered as “domestic violence". The new law came into force on August 20.

According to the center for research and knowledge management for tobacco control , at the Faculty of Medical Science of Mahidol University , there are about 4.9 million households where one or more family members smoke.

An average of 10. 3 million people have unwittingly (不知不觉地) become passive smokers because they've been breathing in smoke at home. Scientific studies show that passive smokers are al greater risk of being affected by cancer.

Of 75 child patients from houses where smoking is practiced ,76% of them were found to have nicotine traces in their urine , with 43% of them having nicotine content exceeding permissible levels.

Smoking at home also “may lead to physical or emotional violence” because of aggressiveness when there is a . lack of smoking, and might as well ruin relationships between smokers and non-smoker family members.

According to the new law , anyone who thinks they are affected by domestic smoking can report to officials concerned so that inspectors will be sent to investigate and take legal action against the smokers.

Once convicted , the court may order a person to receive treatment to quit smoking in an attempt to protect the person's family.

In February in 2019 ,Thailand had banned smoking at six of its airports along with a ban in public places.

【推荐1】Share your poems, get feedback (反馈) for your poetry, and enter poetry contests (竞 赛). Choose from the following poetry contests that you can enter. Get feedback for every poem that you write including your contest entries.

How It Works

As a member, you will get feedback for everything you write. You can enter poetry contests with cash prizes. You will be ranked ( 分等级). Write and see how the feedback you receive influences your rank. Since the year 2000 we have been helping writers improve their writing skills.

Poetry Contests in May

Friendship across cultures

Write a story about a friend that opened your world to another culture.

Deadline: Today!

Technology wars

Write a story on the topic provided in the announcement.

Deadline: Today!

Lyrics make the song

Poetry Contests in June

Pen your newest, and best, song lyric masterpieces and enter them into this contest.

NO POETRY ALLOWED FOR THIS CONTEST!

Must be song lyrics only.

Deadline: June 1st

Unexpected romance

Write a story that brings two people together, two people who don't necessarily realize that they belong together but the audience is rooting for them. Write a story for a cash prize.

Deadline: June 15th

*Click the following link to get more information: https://www.poetrylovers.cn/

【推荐2】If you're planning to go on a diet, or if you suffer from serious conditions like diabetes (糖尿病), knowing exactly what and how much you're eating is essential. In this day and age, we have calorie and nutritional calculators even on our smartphones, but they act only as guides, whereas Panasonic's revolutionary new device, CaloRieco, actually analyzes the food on your plate and provides accurate information about in just a few seconds.

You've probably used calorie calculators before, and you know that they only offer general information. For example, a calculator will tell you the average number of calories in a hamburger, but it can't tell you exactly how many calories are in the hamburger. The same goes for nutrients like protein or fats. And this is what makes the new CaloRieco so special.

Displayed at a recent tech show, CaloRieco is a high tech device that uses light reflection technology to determine the nutritional values of almost any food and also provide accurate calorie estimates. All you have to do is put your plate in the box-shaped device and wait between 10 and 20 seconds for it to analyze all the food on there.

Once it's done analyzing the various ingredients in your meal, CaloRieco displays the number of calories, as well as the nutritional content on an LED display. According to Panasonic, the device is able to recognize the vast majority of foods, except soups and very dark dishes.

CaloRieco can also connect to your smartphone via an app, and send all the data about analyzed foods to your handheld, so you can access it whenever you need.

Panasonic said that its outstanding invention is aimed at dieters and diabetes sufferers, both of which make up a sizable market. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait a bit longer to get your hands on your very own CaloRieco, as the device presented at the show is just a prototype (样品) which needs to be improved. It's scheduled to hit the market sometime in the next few years, but the price remains a mystery.

【推荐3】Earthquakes are something that people fear. There are some places that have few or no earthquakes. Some places in the world, however, have them regularly. Countries that have a lot of earthquakes are usually quite mountainous.

The most talked about earthquake in the United States was in San Francisco in 1906. Over 700 people died in it. The strongest one in North America was in1964. It happened in Alaska.

Strong earthquakes are not always the ones that kill the most people. In 1755, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded was felt in Portugal. Around 2,000 people died.

In 1923, a very strong earthquake hit Tokyo, Yokohama area of Japan. A hundred and forty thousand people died. Most of them died in fires which followed the earthquake.

One of the worst earthquakes ever was in China in 1976. It killed a large number of people. The worst earthquake ever reported was also in China, in which 830, 000 people were killed. This earthquake happened in 1556.

Earthquakes worry people a lot. The reason is that we often do not know when they are coming. People cannot prepare for them.