【推荐1】A new study has found that a child’s reading speed can be improved by simply increasing the space between letters within a piece of text. The research, led by Dr Steven Stagg of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), examined the benefits of letter spacing and coloured overlays (颜色标注) among children.

Two groups of children, dyslexic (有阅读障碍的) and non-dyslexic children, were asked to read four texts with either standard or extra-large letter spacing, both with and without a coloured overlay. They were instructed to read the text out loud while being recorded. The recording was used to measure the number of errors they made — specifically missed words, added words, wrong words, and pronunciation — as well as the participants’ reading time.

The study discovered that text with increased space between letters provided a benefit for both groups. On average, the dyslexia group showed a 13% increase in reading speed, while the group of non-dyslexic children showed a 5% increase. In addition to improving reading speed, it also resulted in a significant decline in the number of words missed by the children with dyslexia. However, the study found that coloured overlays had no significant impact on reading speed or the reduction of errors for either group.

Dr Stagg, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at ARU, said, “We believe extra-large letter spacing works by reducing what is known as the ‘crowding effect’, which can hamper the recognition of letters and reduce reading speed.”

“Our findings strongly suggest that teachers can be confident that all children would be helped by increased letter spacing in reading materials.” Dr Stagg added. While we found that coloured overlays provided little benefit, we suggest children should be encouraged to use overlays if they find these help their reading. Coloured overlays may not increase reading speeds, but they may extend reading stamina (持久力). Previous research suggests their benefits may not become apparent if reading time is less than 10 minutes and the short reading duration of the tests in our study may have put coloured overlays at a disadvantage.

【推荐1】For many creatures, the ocean is a terrifying place. Several marine animals have declined as a result of overfishing and pollution. But cephalopods(头足动物) — a type of invertebrate(无脊椎动物) that includes octopuses, cuttlefish, and squid, have seen a dramatic increase in their numbers over the past 60 years.

Zoe Doubleday, a scientist at the University of Adelaide, in Australia, conducted a study of cephalopods recently. She points out that their population rise is due to the animals’ unique traits.

The creatures can change their color and body shape. They are fast-growing and live for only one or two years. "This allows them to adapt to changing environmental conditions more quickly than other marine species," Doubleday says.

"Rising sea temperatures may be speeding up the animals’ life cycle. They may be growing faster and producing more young. "

Cephalopods live in all of the world’s oceans. They can be found in waters from the freezing polar regions to the warm tropic regions. Because they adapt so easily to their environment, the animals are called "the weed of the sea" .

Will octopuses, cuttlefish, and squid take over the world one day? Some people may wonder. According to Doubleday, that is unlikely. The rise in cephalopod populations could slow down if the animals run out of prey(被捕食的动物) and start feeding on one another. Overfishing could also have an impact on their numbers.

For now, the cephalopod population boom is good news for them and some other sea creatures. "Increases in cephalopod populations could benefit predators(捕食性动物) such as marine mammals and seabirds, which rely on cephalopods for food," Doubleday says.

【推荐2】Environmentally Friendly Denmark

What Are They Doing and

How Is It Helping?

THEY PREFER TO CYCLE On average, Danes living in Copenhagen cycle almost 2 miles a day. Danes are far more likely to own a bike than they are a car, in fact 40% of Danes own a car and 90% a bike. Source: Cycling Embassy of Denmark

THEY DON’T WASTE FOOD Danes are very good at avoiding wasting food. Supermarkets offer 80% reductions at the end of the day to try to minimize waste. An app called “TooGoodToGo” also allows restaurants to give away unwanted food at closing time.

THEY ARE AWARE Danes are mindful about knowing where their food has come from. It is not uncommon for children to be taken to witness killing and dissections of animals at zoos so they understand where the food on their plate began its life. Source: New Yorker

THEY EAT ORGANIC Danes eat more organic food than any other country in the world. This is because organic food is not significantly more expensive than other options, making it a good choice for everyone. Source : The Local

THEY USE CLEAN ENERGY By 2050, Denmark wishes to become independent of fossil fuels. This is far from unreachable as earlier this year the country ran entirely on wind energy for a whole day.    Source: The Danish Ecological Council

【推荐1】Many scholars agree that a meaningful existence comes down to three factors: the coherence of one’s life, the possession of clear long-term goals and the belief that one’s life matters. But we believe there is another element to consider.

Imagine the first butterfly you stop to admire after a long winter or the scenery atop a hill after a fresh hike. Sometimes existence delivers us small moments of beauty. When people are open to appreciating such experiences, these moments may enhance how they view their life. We call this element experiential appreciation, an ability to detect and admire life’s inner beauty as events happen.

To better understand this appreciation, we conducted a series of studies involving over 3,000 participants. Initially, we had participants rate their coping strategies to relieve their stress. Those managing stress by focusing on their appreciation for life’s beauty reported experiencing life as highly meaningful. In the follow-ups, we asked them to rate the extent to which they agreed with various statements, such as “I have a great appreciation for the beauty of life” and other statements related to coherence, purpose, existential mattering. Our results showed that the more people indicated that they were “appreciating life”, the more they felt their existence valuable. In the subsequent experiment, we further explored the phenomenon by asking participants to watch an awe-inspiring video, they also reported having a greater sense of experiential appreciation and meaning in life in these moments, compared with those watching more neutral videos.

The final results confirmed our original theory: appreciating small things can make life feel more meaningful. But applying that insight can be difficult. Our modern, fast-paced, project-oriented lifestyles fill the day with targets. We are on the go, attempting to maximize our output. This makes it easy to miss what is happening right now. Yet life happens in the present moment. We should slow down, let life surprise us and embrace the significance every day.

【推荐2】Have you noticed that many people can spend a lot of time comparing prices while shopping online, but always make careless decisions in the critical moments of their life? Maybe you are one of them?

Take choosing college major for example. Many people choose their current major simply because they “liked” it, or because they had heard that it is a promising industry in this era. However, few people consider carefully what they do in college, what they will be doing after graduation, and how much they get paid. You can probably imagine that they will be completely overwhelmed after four years in college.

To explore this issue, we must first understand three concepts: strategy, tactics, and guideline.

If you can’t figure out the difference among them, then it’s not surprising that you’ve messed up your life. Simply put, the “strategy” is “what to do”, that is, to choose a direction. The “tactics” have to be lower than “strategy”, which means that they decide “how to do it” after the “strategy” has been established. The “guideline” is even lower, referring to doing things the way other people have done it. It is sad that the current education system seems to focus only on the “guideline” level.

From primary school to high school, all knowledge is well-defined, the direction of effort is certain, and we do not need to make choices. When it comes to the university, such lifestyle of certainty suddenly collapses. Many people find that they lack the ability to choose. When no one helped them make a decision, they could achieve nothing. They are just like those who spend a lot of energy comparing product parameters (参数) when shopping online but don’t consider whether they really need those things. They are using tactical and guideline diligence to hide their strategic laziness.

Strategy is a ruler’s learning. For each person himself, whether to consider strategic issues determines whether you are the master of your own life.

【推荐3】The aviation (航空) industry is currently responsible for about 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. This figure is set to grow as air travel becomes increasingly popular. However, efforts to reduce the effects of aviation are moving at a very slow pace. Electric and solar-powered airliners are reportedly in development at Wright Electric and Airbus among others, but battery technology still falls behind jet fuels.

The surprising effects of aviation are why a number of people are choosing to quit, or hugely restrict, flying. While “staying grounded”, as activists call it, might not make the biggest difference to your carbon footprint—a study last summer found that cutting meat, eggs and dairy was the best thing people can do for the planet—it can still make a huge difference.

Zoe Hatch, who lives in Maidenhead, stopped flying in 2015 after reading up on climate change. Her husband and their two children, 11 and 15, joined her in a family decision to switch to slow travel. Hatch hasn’t found it inconvenient or expensive, she says. She uses apps to find affordable train tickets. Being connected to continental Europe by the Eurostar train makes it relatively easy to travel abroad without needing to fly.

Steve Melia, Ph.D, an expert in sustainable transportation, stopped flying in 2005. He agrees that individual change, in itself, won’t prevent climate crisis. “The sort of rapid change we need to avoid the collapse of the ecosystem through climate change—that’s not going to come about by people voluntarily choosing to change their behavior,” he added.

Melia adds that it’s important that people who feel the need to quit don’t talk themselves out of it. “If we are going to achieve the sort of rapid change that is necessary, some people have to initiate (倡议) that change, and if all of the people who might be initiating change are themselves flying and convincing themselves that they can’t live without flying, then where’s the initiative for change going to come from?” he asked.

【推荐1】A report revealed that about 85% of the working mothers surveyed felt that their parenthood had affected their career “in a significant way”. Over 30% of them said that they went through a “long period of mental distress” before announcing their pregnancy at work, and 35% said their bosses immediately started looking for their replacements after learning about their pregnancy.

While Chinese women may no longer sacrifice their careers for their husbands, they are still expected to do so for their children. The study found that nearly half of the mothers left the labor force for at least one year after giving birth, among whom roughly 20% ended up becoming stay-at-home moms. When asked about the impact of motherhood on their identities and life goals, nearly 35% said that the most profound change was how they started to balance between family and work.

The adjustment, however, is not always by choice. Responding to a question about the distribution of child¬care labor in their home, almost 40% of the working mothers said that their husbands basically spent no time on parenting.” Moreover, over half of the husbands didn't use up their paternity leave(陪产假), whereas about 21 percent never took it at all.

Another key finding from the survey was that although it's illegal for Chinese companies to ask a woman about family plans, many employers still do. The unlawful yet prevalent practice has been a main factor influencing women's decisions about timing of motherhood. The survey showed that about 40% of the childless respondents delayed parenthood because of “the time it would take,” which they thought would                                        have a negative impact on their promotion opportunities.

In theory, there has never been a better time than now for working mothers in China to shine. Faced with an aging population and shrinking workforce, Chinese officials encourage Chinese women to have babies while working at the same time.

【推荐2】I lay in the hospital bed with my six-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, holding her in my arm “Mommy, will you stay with me the whole time?” she asked, looking up. “You know I can’t be in the operating room,” I said carefully, not wanting to frighten her. “But Daddy and I will be waiting right outside.” Elizabeth nodded, but her eyes looked troubled.

Elizabeth had broken her right leg in July. Seven months later, it still hadn’t healed (康复). In fact, it had gotten worse. She was here in the hospital for surgery (手术).

I wanted to tell her that everything would be okay and promise that this would be the last time she’d have to go through this. But what if something went wrong again? How could I comfort my daughter when I needed comfort myself?

There was a knock at the door. A nurse? I thought. Time to say goodbye already? But the woman who came in wasn’t a nurse. “Hi,” the woman said. “I’m a volunteer here, and I’ve got something for Elizabeth.” She handed a bright­blue box to my daughter.

Elizabeth sat up and took the box. She opened it and started pulling out goodies one by one candies, stickers, a lovely toy in the shape of a star. She hugged the star, perking up for the first time since she entered the hospital. “Thank you,” she said. “I love them.” There was a big smile on her face. It had been so long since I saw that big smile. The gift was a great comfort not only to my daughter, but also to me.

【推荐3】As a child, I was really afraid of the dark and of getting lost. These fears were very real and caused me some uncomfortable moments. Maybe it was the strange way things looked and sounded in my own room at night that scared me so much. There was never complete darkness, but always a streetlight or passing car lights, which made clothes on the back of a chair take on the shape of a wild animal. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the curtains seem to move when there was no wind. A very low sound in the floor would seem a hundred times louder than in the day. My imagination would run wild, and my heart would beat fast. I would lie very still so that the “enemy” would not discover me.

Another of my childhood fears was that I would get lost, especially on the way home from school. Every morning I got on the school bus right near my home. That was no problem. After school, though, when all the buses were lined up along the street, I was afraid that I would get in the wrong one and be taken to some other strange places. On school or family trips to a park or a museum, I wouldn’t let the leaders out of my sight.

Perhaps one of the worst fears of all I had as a child was that of not being liked or accepted by others. Being popular was so important to me then, and the fear of not being liked was a serious one.

One of the processes growing up is being able to realize and overcome our fears. Understanding the things that scared us as children helps us achieve greater success later in life.