【推荐1】Suppose you become a leader in an organization. It’s very likely that you’ll want to have volunteers to help with the organization’s activities. To do so, it should help to understand why people undertake volunteer work and what keeps their interest in the work.

Let’s begin with the question of why people volunteer. Researchers have identified several factors that motivate people to get involved. For example, people volunteer to express personal values related to unselfishness, to create various experiences, and to strengthen social relationships. Therefore, to select volunteers, you may need to understand the motivations of the people you wish to attract.

A few people also volunteer because they are required to do so. To increase levels of community service, some schools have launched compulsory volunteer programs. Unfortunately, these programs can shift people’s wish of participation from an internal factor (e.g., “I volunteer because it’s important to me”) to an external factor (e.g., “I volunteer because I’m required to do so”). When that happens, people become less likely to volunteer in the future.

Once people begin to volunteer, what leads them to remain in their positions over time? After following 238 volunteers in Florida over a year, one study found that one of the most important factors influencing their satisfaction as volunteers was the amount of suffering they experienced in their volunteer positions. The result leads to important practical advice – attention should be given to “training that would prepare volunteers for troublesome situations or provide them with strategies for coping with the problems they do experience”.

Another study of 302 volunteers at hospitals in Chicago focused on individual differences in the degree to which people view “volunteer” as an important social role. It was assumed that those people for whom the role of volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work. The assumption was supported by the result, which once again leads to concrete advice: “Once an individual begins volunteering, continued efforts might focus on developing a volunteer role identity...Items like T-shirts that allow volunteers to be recognized publicly for their contributions can help strengthen role identity.”

【推荐2】Back in freshman year，I found myself wondering whether it should really be called “volunteering” if students only do it because they have to.

I ended up volunteering at Weyrich Health Center，helping elderly patients with daily tasks. The more I did these tasks，the more disconnected I felt from the seniors. Though I felt bad for them，I did not want to interact with them.

Then one rainy day，I met Colonel Hemsworth. He invited me to his table and asked for some company. I regarded this as another boring task. However，when I listened to his stories，I learned that he was a brilliant war veteran(老兵)，and I found his tales interesting.

After my brief talk with the Colonel，I realized that I shared common characters with all the seniors. I_felt_like_an_oxygen_molecule(分子)－ready_to_form_a_relationship－rather_than_an_isolated_gas.

I met with many learned senior citizens who shared their experiences and wisdom. No longer did I walk aimlessly down the hallways. I found myself enjoying talking with these people as I learned their histories. Why hadn't I realized sooner that volunteer work could enlighten me?

Some people argue that volunteering and working for change does not help. However，they fail to realize that the world is constantly changing and humans must adapt. My experience at Weyrich Health Center has taught me that refusing to change one's views and accept new ones leads to short－term goals that finally disappear. Communication with others is an important part of life. Volunteering is not just a requirement or a way to improve your resume，it is a time for service and personal growth.

Now I enjoy volunteering my time surrounded by seniors who bring history alive for me. By communicating with them，I have developed into a more dynamic person.

【推荐3】Twenty-five young musicians from around the world have come to California to train and perform this month.   They will take part in an international program called iPalpiti. The name comes from the Italian word for heartbeats.

Eduard Schmieder is the program's conductor and musical director, Schmieder and his wife started the program in 1997 with help from violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin.

This year, the musicians come from 19 countries, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Israel and Italy.   Schmieder notes some of the musicians are from countries that are at war with each other.

And they are sitting next to each other, and they become friends, He says through their music and friendship, they are making the world more peaceful.

The musicians taking part in the program range in age from their late teens to their 30s.

Schmieder said they include winners of major music competitions. Peter Rainer is a violin player from Germany. He serves as concertmaster, the link between the musicians and conductor. "lt’s so great that you have so many sensitive musicians. They all are very alert and awake and listen to each other and it's a lot of fun. " Turkish viola player Can Sakul says the international group works we’ll together. "The experience is a cultural as well as a musical exchange," said Russian violinist SemyonPromoe.   " Everyone has their own opinion of music, how to play every composition.   It's very interesting to interact with everybody, to play together and to create one opinion for everybody. "

This year, the festival focuses on music from the 1600s to the 1900s. But cello player Franciaco Vila of Ecuador said the music has no geographic boundaries Vila added that the musicians get to know more about each other as they perform great music.

"It's interesting to see where we intersect(交集) , how many things we have in common. And also the music world is quite small, so you're only one person away from knowing everyone else" Can Sakul said the musicians who have taken part in the training and festival make up a big family. He added that he is proud to be a part of it.

【推荐2】“A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots (靴子) on.” said Mark Twain. In today’s Internet world of “fake (假的) news,” lies spread even faster and the truth is having trouble finding its boots.

To make matters worse, most young people get news from social media sites where facts are mixed with rumors (谣言), half-truths and complete lies. This has led to young people becoming confused. In the latest PISA, which tested 15-year-olds worldwide on academic subjects, fewer than one in ten of the examinees were reported to be able to recognize fact from opinion. A Stanford University study showed that students at all levels of education could not tell teal news from fake news. In one instance, 80 percent thought that a paid advertisement was a real news story.

Fake news is spread by people who have a prejudice (偏见). They want to influence public opinion either for or against something or someone. It is important, then, for young people to recognize when they are being used and to be doubtful about online information.

Traditional media, such as newspapers and television, are still the more credible sources of information. Reporters are professional trained to look for facts, and editors have the job of making sure those facts are correct. However, if you are getting most of your information online, you have to be your own editor. In that case, the first thing to do is to look at the writer of a post. Is this person known to be objective? Does the site where you read the post have a prejudice? Next, look for other sources from mainstream media to make sure the information. In other words, by putting on your truth boots you won’t be fooled into chasing lies.

【推荐3】You can’t see it with your own eyes，but your smart-phone is likely to be covered with bacteria- perhaps even more so than your toilet seat. That's a lot of dangerous microbes（微生物）floating around, and yes, it is terribly dirty.

In this age of global travel and trade, it’s more important than ever to cut down on possible routes of infection and to stop bacteria and viruses spreading from person to person. Part of that means making sure your phone isn’t sending anything more than data.

And besides the potential health risks of a dirty phone, there's also the simple annoyance of looking at a screen that’s covered in fingerprints and other oily spots that are part of life with a smart-phone.

In short, you’ve got plenty of reasons to regularly give your phone a thorough clean. Not just during a pandemic（大流行病），either-we should be thinking about keeping our phones bacteria free all the time, says microbiologist Paul Turner, a professor at Yale University.

After all, we touch our phones all the time and many of us are relatively careless about cleaning them. “It sets the stage for kind of concern,” Turner says. “People could be handling phones and picking up any bacteria or virus that can attach to a surface and survive for a period of time.”

Take SARS-CoV-2, the corona- virus（冠状病毒）that causes the COVID-19, for example. Scientists are still trying to get solid evidence, but early research suggests that it can survive on plastic or stainless steel（不锈钢）surfaces for two or three days. That means you could be washing your hands perfectly well, but immediately picking the virus up again as soon as you reach for your phone.

You could be doing everything right（like washing your hands and staying away from people），but