【推荐1】There you are in your favorite clothing store. You don’t really need to buy anything, but everything is so cheap and stylish! Before you know it, you leave the store with bags and bags of new clothes.

On the surface, this doesn’t seem so bad. However, there are a lot of hidden costs behind the cheap price tags put forward by fast fashion brands.

To put it plainly, the fashion industry is terrible for the planet. Not only does it use up a lot of resources, but it also heavily pollutes the environment with chemicals, microplastics and unwanted waste. Fashion is one of the least sustainable (可持续发展的) industries on the planet, commented Michael Stanley-Jones, a program management officer with the United Nations Environment Program. “We’ve all become our own waste managers, hoarding fashion waste in our closets,” he noted. It doesn’t just take up space in our closets, though. It also ends up in landfills, too. In fact, three out of every five garments end up either being incinerated (焚毁) or sent to landfills.

But, thankfully, the fashion trend tides are changing.

People are increasingly examining their own consumption and what changes they can make to become sustainable, Jane Fellner, founder and CEO of sustainable fashion retailer Loopster, told the Guardian. In particular, with its typically lower prices and rare fashion finds, shopping secondhand has become an increasingly popular and eco-friendly option.

According to online reseller ThredUp, the secondhand market is predicted to reach $80 billion (about 518 billion yuan) by 2029. And, although fast fashion will continue to grow 20 percent over the next 10 years, secondhand fashion is expected to grow an unbelievable 185 percent in that same amount of time.

Fellner continued: “Secondhand has become more socially acceptable and, for some, cool. Thrifting (节约) is now massive on TikTok.”

The only true sustainable way to shop is to not shop at all, Rachel Kibbe, a brand consultant for ensuring sustainability in fashion, told Insider. Unless you’re buying clothes that already exist.

【推荐2】How was your day today? If it was just sort of OK, with nothing much happening, then Scott Shaffer wants to hear from you. Mr Shaffer is the editor of the Journal of Mundane Behaviour. "We can learn a lot about the way that society works by examining normal patterns of behavior,” he says. "All the ordinary decisions we make and ordinary things we do are society in action."

The idea that social scientists should “study the unmarked”，in Mr Shaffer's words, has also spread to historians. Traditionally, most history has been written as the story of greatness. It is all about great ideas, great people and great economic and social forces changing the way that millions of people live for ever. Albert Einstein's theory of relativity changed the way that we look at the universe. But has he been of more benefit to humanity than the unknown person who invented the first really comfortable shoe? Try thinking great thoughts when your feet hurt.

In recent years, books of micro-history have been a great success with the public. Most micro historians like to relate their subject to wider developments in society. According to historian Catherine Gallagher, the potato was once a matter of great argument. Supporters pointed out that it could grow cheaply and easily and help feed the poor. Opponents said that this would lead to the poor becoming more powerful, since they did not have to spend every hour working to feed themselves. It seems that European socialism started with an argument about vegetables. British historian Colin Jones wants us to look at pictures painted hundreds of years ago. He wants us to notice the fact that nobody smiles in these pictures. Compare that with today, when everyone smiles for the camera and refusing to smile is seen as an unfriendly act. It is all because of dentistry, he says. Once people were able to look after their teeth, they began to smile and the world became a happier place.

Whether stories like this are true or not, they put ordinary people at the center of history. Most of us are not going to change the world in a big way. But we might be able to do something that makes life a bit easier for other people. And maybe one day a historian will come along and write the story. It is something to get excited about, though perhaps not very excited.

【推荐3】Help Migrant Workers

There is nothing like going home. More so if it is for the Spring Festival family reunion. For a migrant worker it perhaps means even more. To be able to set out on a homeward journey with money from a year’s toil in his pocket is the best thing he can think of.       1    . They had to press hard for their defaulted payments, the salaries that were failed to pay up.

About 200 million migrant workers nationwide are something left behind by economic reforms and opening up due to their contributions in the past three decades. It is almost impossible to imagine life in these places without them. However, they still form a disadvantaged group. Their rights are violated in different forms. Among other things, unpaid salaries are the most painful of such violations that are likely to drive a migrant worker to desperate actions.     2    

    3    They have taken measures to prevent employers from holding back payments to them. Yet, as the financial crisis bites deep, some small enterprises that are struck the most try to reduce their economic losses by laying off migrant workers or refusing to pay them. So it is particularly important for governments at all levels to do an even better job in helping villager-turned-workers recover their unpaid salaries before the Spring Festival.

It is good news that quite a number of local governments have organized special task forces to conduct inspections in those labor-intensive enterprises to make sure they have paid their migrant workers in a timely and fair manner. Construction commissions in almost all provinces have published hotlines for farmer-turned-construction workers to lodge complaints against their employers for withholding their salaries.       4    . But we need to look for solutions that will work at all times. We need to put in place a mechanism that will effectively prevent employers from holding back salaries to workers.

【推荐3】Time magazine’s tradition —“Person of the Year” originated in 1927, when it honored 25-year-old pilot Charles Lindbergh for the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean Though the magazine has recognized several young people for their global influence, it has never given the important honor to a teenager. But its 2019’s “Person of The Year” is the 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg.

Thunberg’s rise to global reputation is even more surprising given that just over a year ago, she was a shy 15-year-old anxious about the increasing threat of climate change. In August 2018, tired of the “refusal” of world leaders to take action, the young girl started camping out in front of the Swedish Parliament every Friday with a sign that said: “School Strike for Climate.”

The teen’s act of protest soon drew public attention, inspiring kids and adults worldwide to take action. By September 2018, her weekly strike became a global climate change movement called “Fridays for the Future”, with tens of thousands of students skipping school on this day to protest the inaction of the leaders of their respective countries. Her appeal for progress in environment protection also encouraged other young activists to begin their own climate change movements.

Varshini Prakash, co-founder of the US Youth-Led Sunrise Movement, says Thunberg “symbolizes the suffering, the frustration, the desperation, the anger — at some level, the hope — of many young people who won’t even be of age to vote by the time their futures are doomed.”

The teenager, who has single-handedly helped bring climate change to the forefront of the global conversation, owes her success to her Asperger’s syndrome (阿斯佩各综合征). She says, “I see the world in black and white, and I don’t like compromising. If I were like everyone else, I would have continued on and not seen this crisis. Right now, we have entered a new decade — a decade that will define our future. And I’ve seen hope, but it does not come from the governments or companies. It comes from the people.”

【推荐1】If you visit Uluwatu temple in Bali, be cautious. The long-tailed temple monkeys there are well-known thieves. Since a long time ago, they have made a living by robbing visitors of their possessions and then holding those objects until a ransom in the form of food is paid. But Jean-Baptiste Leca of the University of Lethbridge, in Canada, wondered whether these monkeys are cleverer still. Sometimes, they do not accept the first offer and hold out for more. He therefore asked himself whether they are able to assess how valuable an object is to its owner, and factor that into their negotiations.

Dr. Leca and his colleagues conducted their experiment by wandering around the temple with video cameras, recording the activities of the monkeys. Every time they saw a monkey show interest in a particular tourist? they recorded the interaction. To work out what was going on, they had first to establish the relative values of food rewards to monkeys, and of stealable objects to people.

To confirm which stealable objects are most valued by people, they divided them into six classes: empty containers, such as phone cases and plastic bottles; accessories (搭配物) such as hairpins and key rings; hats and shoes; spectacles and sunglasses; and electronics and wallets. They then observed how often victims bothered to bargain with the thief for the return of property belonging to different classes, and thus classified objects into low value, medium value and high value.

They found that monkeys do, indeed, have a complicated sense of what they are doing — at least, adults and sub-adults do. These animals have a preference for stealing high-value items, and will often hold out either for more rewards, or for better ones, if they are in possession of such items. But this is something that they have to learn how to do as they grow up. Young monkeys make no such distinctions, and sub-adults are less good at doing so than adults.

【推荐2】Schools are under constant pressure to make budget cuts, and music programs are often first on the chopping block. However, a recent study from the University of British Columbia in Canada has shown that students who took music lessons in high school performed better in subjects such as English, science, and math.

The researchers collected data from over 100,000 students at public high schools across the province of British Columbia. Some of them took music lessons during high school while others never attended them. Checking the test scores of students who took music classes with those of their peers, the study found that the musicians got higher grades in a range of different school subjects.

Research like this has been done before, but as for the number of respondents, this study is much larger, and it took into account other factors that may have affected the results. For example, perhaps students who took music classes were encouraged to do so because they already had good grades. This UBC study rules out a number of other factors that could explain why music students performed better academically, and the researchers still find a clear effect of music lessons on academic performance.

Not only did music students perform better than non-musicians, but students who played an instrument did even better than those who sang. “Learning to play a musical instrument and playing in an ensemble(乐团) is very rewarding,” says Martin Guhn, one of the researchers, “A student can learn to read music notes, achieve eye-hand-mind coordination, develop keen listening skills and establish interpersonal relationships.”

What this study doesn't tell us, though, is why music makes these students perform better academically, but the research paper mentions a few possible explanations. Music practice is linked with neurological(神经系统的) changes that improves certain brain functions, affecting memory and planning skills. Besides, there is a possible motivational factor. Students who take music lessons see a tangible result from practice—they get better—and they might apply that to their other work. And the non-competitive team aspect of making music together could strengthen students' social development, which would also help them in other alias.

【推荐3】Massive changes in all of the world’s deeply cherished sporting habits are underway. Whether it’s one of London’s parks full of people playing softball, and Russians taking up rugby, or the Superbowl rivaling the British Football Cup Final as a televised spectator event in Britain, the patterns of players and spectators are changing beyond recognition. We are witnessing a globalization of our sporting culture.

That annual bicycle race, the Tour de France, much loved by the French, is a good case in point. Just a few years back it was a strictly continental affair with France, Belgium and Holland, Spain and Italy taking part in. But in recent years it has been dominated by Colombian mountain climbers, and American and Irish riders.

The people who really matter welcome the shift toward globalization. Peugeot, Michelin and Panasonic are multi-national corporations that want worldwide returns for the millions they invest in teams. So it does them literally a world of good to see this unofficial world championship become just that.

This is undoubtedly an economic-based revolution we are witnessing here, one made possible by communications technology, but made to happen because of marketing considerations. Sell the game and you can sell Coca Cola or Budweiser as well.

The skillful way in which American football has been sold to Europe is a good example of how all sports will develop. The aim of course is not really to spread the sport for its own sake, but to increase the number of people interested in the major money-making events. The economics of the Superbowl are already astronomical. With seats at US ＄125, gate receipts alone were a staggering ＄10,000,000. The most important statistic of the clay, however, was the ＄10,000,000 in TV advertising fees. Imagine how much that becomes when the eyes of the world are watching. Economic help to the development of world sports

So it came as a terrible shock, but not really as a surprise, to learn that some people are now suggesting that soccer change from being a game of two 45-minute halves, to one of four 25-minute quarters. The idea is unashamedly to capture more advertising revenue, without giving any thought for the integrity of a sport which relies for its essence on the flowing nature of the action.

Moreover, as sports expand into world markets, and as our choice of sports as consumers also grows, we will demand to see them played at a higher and higher level. In boxing we have already seen numerous, dubious world title categories because people will not pay to see anything less than a "World Title" fight, and this means that the title fights have to be held in different countries around the world!

【推荐1】Myth was born in childhood of human being. It is a product of ancient imagination, which can conquer nature, dominate nature and make the power of nature have its own image. It is a cultural phenomenon in civilized society.

China and Greece are birthplaces of Orient and Western civilizations. Prime Minister Constantine Caramanlis of Greece once pointed out: '' The civilization of China brought light to the Far East and the whole of Asia, as Greece thought, the cornerstone of European civilization, brought light to the West. '' However, for some reasons, there are many differences between Chinese and Greek myth, which show their own unique national spirits and moral principles.

The ancestors of Chinese nation lived on land before one million and seven hundred thousand years. After long uncivilized times, ancient Chinese gradually created civilization. In prehistory, ancient Chinese lived and struggled. Most ancestors’ achievements of tribes have been passed down orally. This is old myth. According to some archaeological materials, single myth, which has the meaning of totem(图腾), had appeared in the Late Palaeolithic Age. As the mental belief, totem is the holiest and the most beautiful symbol in ancient tribes’ mind. It is their aesthetic conception(审美观). On the contrary, the history of Greece is shorter, and Greek myth produced later than Chinese myth. It produced in about eleventh century BC, and it was far from the age of totem worship. That was the Age of Heroes. Human wisdom had been more and more important and totem worship had tended to disappear. So ancient Greeks thought that human being was the most beautiful in the world. They gave their deities(神灵) the most beautiful images. Those are images of human beings.

China lies in an isolated pocket in East Asia, surrounded by impassable mountains, deserts, seas and valleys. This environment develops a continental culture where people are only looking inward, a farming culture centers on soil, discouraging any adventurous seefaring people. In addition, Chinese myth produced in the Yellow River and the Yangtze River Valley. In both zones, the volume of rain is abundant all the year round. Because the soil is fertile and the resources are rich, both areas are suitable for agriculture. It became the typical continental agriculture. They would not like to take their own lives to struggle with terrifying waves, but would rather work hard in gentle land. Just the ancient Chinese who lived in this continent created this unique myth, ancient Chinese myth.

Contrary to China, Greece is a poor country, barren and dry. Unlike the rich river valleys Yellow River and Yangtze River, its rivers are too small to be navigable, and they dry up in the heat of the mostly rainless summers. The Greek landscape is dominated by high mountains, which occupy about three quarters of the land. As rich land was limited in Greece, to survive, ancient Greeks had to look outward. Sea is the greatest Greek natural resource. It plays a central role in the life of Greeks. The Chinese seas don’t look navigable, but the Greek seas look like swimming pools. The Chinese sailor, if he happens to be, sails for days without any land in sight. In fact, he can easily get drowned before he has a chance to get anywhere. The Greek sailor, who is always fortunate, can spot islands in all directions on clear days. With these steppingstones, he can reach any part of the Mediterranean to trade, to stay, to conquer and to colonize. They like to learn advanced technique and cultures from other countries. This provided living space for independence of Greek myth. Frankly speaking, marine civilization created the great Greek myth.

【推荐2】Staying positive through the cold season could be your best defense against getting ill,a new American study suggests.

In an experiment that exposed healthy volunteers to a cold or flu virus,researchers found that people with a generally sunny character were less likely to fail ill.The findings,published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, build on evidence that a “positive emotional style” can help ward off the common cold and other illness.

Researchers believe the reasons may be both objective―as in happiness improving immune function―and subjective―as in happy people being less troubled by a sore throat or runny nose.“People with a positive emotional style may have different immune responses to the virus,” explained lead study author Dr Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.“And when they do get a cold,they may interpret their illness as being less severe.”

Cohen and his colleagues has found in a previous study that happier people seemed less likely to catch a cold, but some questions remained as to whether the emotional quality itself had the effect.

For the new study,the researchers had 193 healthy adults complete standard measures of personality qualities, physicals health,and emotional “style”.Those who tended to be happy,energetic and easy –going were judged as having a positive emotional style,while those who were often unhappy,tense,and hostile had a negative style.

Afterwards,the researchers gave them nose drops containing either a cold virus or a particular flu virus.Over the next six days,the volunteers reported on any aches,pains,sneezing they had,while the researchers collected objective data.Cohen and his colleagues found that happy people were less likely to develop a cold.

What’s more,when happy folks did develop a cold,their symptoms were less severe than expected based on objective measures.

On the contrary,people with negative characters were not at increased risk of developing a cold based on objective measures,though they did tend to get down about their symptoms.

“We find that it’s really positive emotions that have the big effect,” Cohen said,“not the negative ones.”

So can a bad-tempered person fight a cold by deciding to be happy?

【推荐3】Facebook lets friends connect. They can give each other updates, share photos and post comments. But that’s not all. Facebook might also stress users out.

In a new study, 88 volunteers how much time they spent on Facebook and the types of Facebook posts and comments that they made. In addition, they answered questions about their feelings and state of mind. They also offered saliva. Researchers tested it for cortisol. This chemical is a stress hormone. Levels of it vary throughout the day.

In this study, people with the most Facebook friends, more than 300, had somewhat higher cortisol levels. Additionally, the more Facebook friends that users had, the more likely they were to feel anxious. On the other hand, youths who gave lots of ''likes'' and supportive comments on Facebook had lower cortisol levels. ''The more social support you give to others, the lower your stress hormone levels will be, '' says Lupien.

''This research decidedly combines the social science approach and the medical science approach on an important question in our social-media age, '' says Wenhong Chen, a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin. ''It's ready pleasantly new to see Lupien’s team study cortisol levels-along with questionnaire data. ''

One finding from Lupien's work surprised Chen. Teens who felt they got a lot of support from others also had higher cortisol levels. Usually, she says, those feelings should protect people from stress. ''There are many potential dangers of social media use among young people, '' Chen notes. So, she says, enjoy Facebook, but be aware of the risks.

Lupien suggests that teen Facebook users share information with and support their friends on the site. They shouldn’t just stay silent. ''if anyone is more stressed, it's the watchers, not the sharers, '' she says. Also, she recommends that people who use social media heavily should find time to take active walks, to run or to do other activities. Cortisol increases a person's energy. “The best way to reduce stress hormones is to use the energy, '' she says.