【推荐1】I live in an area where most parents would rather cut back on personal hobbies for themselves than stop paying for their children’s activities.

Music lessons,horseback riding,summer camps,sports teams﹣the list goes on and on. Often,so do the costs. And even if the money is not there,some parents find a way. I know people who have borrowed from family and run up their credit cards to pay for all the stuff they believe their children just cannot miss.

“The experiences we thought kids had to have before high school has moved down to junior high and now elementary,” said William Doherty,a professor of family studies and director of the marriage and family therapy program at the University of Minnesota. Soon,we’ll be talking about leadership opportunities for babies.”

Somehow,not offering our children every possible opportunity”feels like bad parenting,”said Wendy Mogel,a clinical psychologist.

But in an effort to give their children everything. some parents end up not just using up financial resources,but also their own emotional energy.“A lot of parents are exhausted by their own overparenting,”said Bryan Caplan,an economics professor at George Mason University.”They make so many sacrifices and are so stressed out by driving around so much that they explode at kids for changing the radio station.”

“It’s easy to take a look at the more successful kids and assume that all the activities are why they are more successful,”Professor Caplan said. But research doesn’t bear that out. On a recent National Public Radio program,Steven D. Levitt,a professor of economics at the University of Chicago,said he and another economist could find no evidence that that sort of parental choices could be correlated at all with academic success.

【推荐2】According to the Study Abroad Trend Report for 2018, conducted by Chinese education website Eol. cn, the number of Chinese students who study abroad to gain a bachelor’s degree or below is rising, and the current group of Chinese overseas students is younger than those in the past years.

Du Xiying, a Beijing-based study-abroad agent, has first-hand experience working with this younger crop of students. “When I started this job some 10 years ago, almost all cases were filed by college graduates trying to apply for a master's degree in the US, UK, Australia and Canada,” said Du. “Now quite a number of my clients are high school graduates, and my company even transferred some experienced consultants to cover the increasing need of college-bound Chinese students.” However, in the eyes of Du, most of them are not ready to put themselves in a completely different context at such a young age. Although there are no statistics available, according to Du’s observations, college-bound high school graduates from China fall into two groups. There is a group of students from well-off families, with good grades and excellent command of English, and there is another group who did not do very well in their college entrance exams, so they seek to study abroad as a solution to their troubles. “In recent years, with the financial ability of Chinese families growing with the country's development, buying into college is very common,” said Du.

Complaints come from both destination schools in the US and parents of students. Going abroad at a young age needs a great deal of discipline(自律),and college students don't usually live at home-stays so they are free from management. A considerable quantity of students have ended with being dismissed(开除).

As to the dismissal issue, Du said it’s inevitable due to the large number of students crowding abroach.   It’s just not easy to ensure quality. But she does think both students and parents should be responsible for their own investment of both time and money. “The worst case is that a family throws out 1 million yuan for their child to come home with nothing, not even fluent English,”said Du.

【推荐3】About three decades ago, China was known as the "Bicycle Kingdom". But later on, bikes were replaced by their fuel-powered competitors.

But recent months have seen a recovery of the humble bike across China, with an increasing number of people choosing cycling instead of driving to schools, to workplaces or to do sightseeing. The introduction of bike-sharing schemes, pioneered by start-ups like Ofo and Mobike, has brought the trend to a new level.

People can unlock the shared bikes by simply using their smartphone. The bikes are equipped with GPS and can be left anywhere in public for the next user. They're popular among many Chinese people as they provide an effective solution to the "last mile" problem,which refers to the final leg of a person's journey.

" In places where the subway doesn't extend, where it's difficult to change from one kind of transport to another, it's so easy to get where you want to go with Mobike," Hu Hong,29,told AFP. She pedals(骑车)to her Shanghai real-estate job.

However, the schemes have also led to problems such as illegal parking, vandalism(故意毁坏) and theft. Last month，two nurses in Beijing were placed under administrative punishment for five days for putting locks on two shared bikes. And in December, a man who stole a shared bike was sentenced to a 3-month detention(拘留)，and fined 1 ,000 yuan by the Shanghai Minhang People's Court.

" Bike-sharing is a greener method of transportation and provides a user-friendly experience，"said Liu Xiaoming，vice-minister of transport.

" But it's a combination of online and offline business. Operators are usually strong in online services, but lack offline business experience, which causes problems."

Now, Chinese service operators are trying to solve the problems. For example, a bike- sharing company called Mobike sets a 100-point credit score for each user, with points taken in the case of bad behavior. Once a score drops below 80，bike rental is increased to 100 yuan per 30 minutes, up from 0.5 - 1 yuan.

【推荐1】Growing up in one of the poorest communities with most crimes in Los Angeles, US, being raised by a poorly-educated single mother and attending the worst-quality public school, not many people expected much of me, so I chose to expect something of myself.

On my 12th birthday, I bought a poster of Harvard University to hang in my room. Being at Harvard became my dream: I saw myself attending class in Sanders Theater, studying in Widener Library and eating in Annenberg Hall. Driven by this dream, I kept studying hard. I’d begin my day by asking myself these two questions: “What do I want in my life?” and “Are the things I am doing today going to get me closer to that life?”

Asking myself the questions gave me the courage to ask over 50 Harvard, students for advice on my application essays; it gave me the energy to study just one more hour on my SATs when others were asleep; and it gave me the determination to apply for just one more scholarship when already refused many times. Moreover, reminding myself of my goal each day made it easy to say no to the same choices my friends made, because they would never get me closer to my goal. I found that even being poor could not take away my power to decide what I choose to do with my life.

Every day I could feel myself getting closer and closer to my goal as my writing got better, my SAT score increased, and my scholarship offers started coming in. On March 31st, 2011, an email arrived from Harvard. The first word was “Congratulations!”. Tears of joy filled my eyes.

Who you are today is the result of the decisions you made yesterday, and who you will be tomorrow will be the result of the choices you make today. Who do you want to be tomorrow?

【推荐3】What is an accent? An accent is a flavoring to you that influences the sounds of words and sentences. In Birmingham you might hear “lake” sounding close to “like”, and in Ireland you might hear “this” sounding close to “diss”.

Accents are related to social group. Everyone has an accent, and for every accent there are groups of people who react badly to it. These reactions are the result of prejudice — an unreasoned jumping to conclusions.

Everybody has prejudices about accents. I certainly do. I have held prejudices about other people's accents. But over the years，my experience of working with people from all kinds of backgrounds has led me to give up these prejudices. However, I still have prejudices that I find difficult to control.

Studies tell us that no accent is better than any other. But the reality is that many people judge others according to accents. Jacob, Member of Parliament, remembers when he first stood unsuccessfully for election in Fife, Scotland, “I gradually realized that whatever I happened to be speaking about, the number of voters in my favor dropped as soon as I opened my mouth.”

And sonic people change their accents to sound more refined when talking to people outside their circle of family and friends.

Sky News ran a report recently in which an 18-year-old woman was trying to sound less posh, that is speaking non-standard English, because she didn’t like the strangers telling her that she must be rich and from a famous family.

Lastly, it's worth being reminded that people can have an accent and still be recognized.

【推荐1】As the Camp Fire continued, killing at least 85 people and displacing thousands more in Northern California, Madison waited there.

Gaylord, the Anatolian shepherd mix’s owner, was not able to get to her home in Paradise, when the fire began to spread, meaning Madison was left behind. For weeks, all Gaylord could do was pray for Madison’s safety, according to California-based animal rescue organization Paw Print Rescue.

Sullivan, a volunteer with the organization, had already helped locate Madison’s brother Miguel in a different city. But Madison was even more difficult to find. Sullivan spotted Madison a few times in a canyon (峡谷), apparently guarding his land, and put out fresh food and water regularly in hopes that the dog would turn up, according to a Facebook post by Sullivan. She even placed an article of clothing that smelled like Gaylord near the home “to keep Madison’s hope alive until his people could return,” Sullivan wrote.

When the evacuation (疏散) order was lifted last week and Gaylord went back to her home—which had been ruined by the fire—her prayers were answered: Madison was there, seemingly protecting what little remained of his family’s home. “Well, I’m so happy to report that Gaylord was allowed to return to her home today and THERE MADISON WAS!!!! He had stayed to protect what was left of his home, and never gave up on his people!” Sullivan wrote in the comment on her Facebook post. “I’m so happy I’m crying as I write this! He didn’t give up through the storms or the fire!” she added.

Soon afterward, Madison was reunited with Miguel for the first time since the fire broke out. An emotional Gaylord said in an interview with the network that she was overcome with joy to see Madison waiting for her. She also expressed how grateful she was to Sullivan. Gaylord said fighting through tears, “You could never ask for better animals. He is the best dog.”

【推荐2】There’s been lots of concern recently about the potential dangers of microwave popcorn (爆米花), but is this concern founded, or just overmuch fear-spreading? The answer is that many of the chemicals that caused worry in earlier decades have been removed from microwave popcorn, but some critics still are not satisfied.

“You may consider popcorn to be a low-calorie, high-fiber snack, but microwave popcorn isn’t a healthy choice,” explains nutrition expert Dan DeFigio. That’s because microwave popcorn bags were coated with perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) to prevent oil substance from leaking out. One particular type of PFC, known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), has been linked to certain cancers, but the American Cancer Society says the evidence is unsure and more research is being done about this.

Nevertheless, in response to concerns about PFCs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) worked with popcorn makers back in 2011 to remove PFOA from their packaging. Three more PFCs were banned in the next five years. So today’s microwave popcorn doesn’t have these chemicals, but critics say that the alternatives could cause problems as the old ones, but less is known about them.

That’s not the only problem, however. The chemical that for decades lent buttery deliciousness to popcorn has also been connected in rare cases with major lung damage. Known as diacetyl (二乙酰), it’s long been a documented problem with workers in popcorn making facilities, but also can be risky for people who just eat the snack a lot. A 2007 study published in the journal Critical Reviews found that more than 80 percent of chemical release happened when the bag was opened post-popping. Although diacetyl has been removed from most products, some critics claim that the alternative to diacetyl is also harmful.

Most of the exposure (接触) to diacetyl came from inbreathing rather than eating popcorn. Therefore, experts recommend at least waiting for the bag to cool before you open it to reduce potentially harmful chemical exposure. Better yet, make your own fresh at home with an air popper. If you like to flavor it, add organic butter or some cheese.

【推荐3】As anyone who freelances (做自由职业) knows，there are lots of advantages of working at home alone. But there are drawbacks too，like the potential loneliness. No wonder co­working spaces are becoming so popular：they permit self­employed individuals to feel like they are part of all office environment，while making them get some work done too. But renting a co­working space does cost money.

Now a Swedish project is aiming to change that by turning people’s underused homes into temporary co­working spaces，available to freelancers for free. Hoffice was started by freelancers Christofer Gradin Franzen and Johline Zandra about a year ago in Stockholm when they invited a few people into their home office to work together. It was a great success，and the project has since spread to a number of cities in Europe，North and South America，Australia，India and Japan. Anyone can sign up and offer their home space as a free co­working space，or go to find a Hoffice near them.

On a Hoffice day，everyone arrives and starts work at a certain hour. After 45 minutes，everyone gets up to take a break，stretch，do qigong or yoga for 10 to 15 minutes. Afterwards，people can gather around again，and restate their intentions and goals for the rest of the work day，as a way to motivate each other. Meals can be eaten together at a certain hour，potluck­style (家常饭) or by bringing your own lunch.

This process creates an encouraging and supportive work environment. As some freelancers describe，“By working at Hoffice，we give ourselves and each other the gift to spend our days in a social working environment，where we are extremely productive without ignoring our other human needs. We also make sure to give us and each other what we need to feel calm，happy，inspired and creative during the working day.”

So Hoffice is not just about sharing space；it’s also about a free exchange of ideas. And perhaps the best thing is that Hoffices are free to use.

【推荐1】It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp(军营). It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.

Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn't work and a young officer, Mr. Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry.

"I'm sorry, sir," said the first soldier. "I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back."

And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier's turn. He said, "I'm sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but…"

Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, "If you say something was wrong with your bus, I'll punish you at once!"

"No, no, sir," said the young man. "My bus was all right, but the dead horse were in its way!"

【推荐2】Have you noticed the number of plastic bags in your house? I just realised that my cupboards in the kitchen are full of them, and without even realising it, they are taking over my home! Actually, this is just one example of how plastic-this useful material -is almost everywhere in our life. Convenient as it is, however, it's unfortunately not the easiest thing to break down and recycle, causing serious environmental problems.

Nowadays, most of our plastic waste is buried and left to break down for years. But some of it blows away, blighting the countryside and causing damage to the natural environment and the wildlife.The situation is most severe in our oceans.

Some biologists and marine scientists have claimed that the plastic waste is now impacting most islands in the world as well as the majority of species in the ocean in various ways.

This highlights the negative effect of the disposable (一次性的) culture. When we throw a plastic item away, it doesn't just disappear. Instead, it goes somewhere and could somehow end in the ocean.Due to its durable nature, it takes a long time to break down and causes great damage to the ocean's ecology. Some recent research also mentions that 90 per cent of all seabirds have swallowed plastic.And what's worse, the plastic item can be broken down into tiny pieces over a long period of time by the wind and the waves. It later becomes the food of the sea creatures at the bottom of the food chain. These creatures are then eaten by the fish that eventually ends in our stomach.

We could solve this problem by using less plastic. Several countries now charge for using plastic bags, and some products now use natural and recyclable materials. But it still seems unlikely to stop using plastic once and for all, and plastic will continue to be a necessary part in many of the things that we demand.

So next time you use a plastic bag, take some time to think about the animals on the remote islands as well as in the oceans.

【推荐3】Whether paired with a bottle of nice red wine or a burger, cheese can be a delicious treat. But it is not perhaps, the ideal material to use in printing — unless you are a team of nutritional scientists. One group of researchers used 3D printing to create a cheese. And the cheese could provide a valuable insight for engineers who are still developing materials for 3D printing.

A team from the school of food and nutritional sciences at University College Cork (UCC) conducted a series of tests evaluating the 3D-printed cheese. 3D printing materials need to be fluid (液态) enough to flow but also capable of setting into a definite shape or structure.

After melting the cheese at 75°C (167°F) for 12 minutes, the UCC team then ran it through a modified commercial 3D printer. The machine, which usually prints with plastic, was fitted with a syringe (注射器) to allow it to print with the melted cheese.

The UCC team used several techniques to examine the effects of the 3D printing process on their cheese. They compared the 3D-printed results to processed cheese that had been melted and then cooled, as well as another sample that was left untouched. Cheese that was 3D printed was 45% to 49% softer than the processed cheese, the researchers said. They also discovered that 3D-printed cheese was a little darker in colour and more fluid when melted, though it melted at about the same temperature as processed cheese.

Dr Kelly and his colleagues are now testing other types of dairy products which can be 3D-printed. Dr Kelly said, “We are using mixtures of milk proteins at present to build a product, perhaps a high-protein snack, and designing recipes which might work best for a 3D printer. ”