【推荐1】People like to post their selfies (自拍照) on social media. To know more about it, scientists at Syracuse University in New York recently did a research and came up with some surprising findings.

People who post selfies and use editing software to make themselves look better show behavior connected to narcissism (自恋), the researchers said. Makana Chock, a professor from Syracuse University, said because social media is mostly used by people to share unimportant information about their lives, it is a good place for people to “work towards satisfying their own vanity.” Those “likes” under their Facebook selfies make them feel good.

Besides, people who post group selfies show a need for popularity and a need to belong to a group, the research found. Some people feel “peer (同伴) pressure” to post selfies and some follow the popular belief that if there is no picture of an event or experience, it did not really happen. “Anyway, it shouldn’t be seen as negative. People get sense of satisfaction especially when they get likes. And it does no harm,” Chock said.

Other findings from the study include: There are no major differences on how often men and women post selfies and how often they use editing software. But men who post selfies show more of a need to be seen as popular than women who post selfies.

Chock said posting selfies on social media is not all that different from what people have done for many years. On trips and special events, our parents and grandparents used cameras instead of hones to take photos. They would bring back photos to show friends and family. You had no choice but to look at them. You probably commented about how nice everyone in the photos looked, especially children and the person showing the photos. They were happy to hear your comments. That was the old way of “clicking like”. On social media, however, people can decide not to look at photos-even if they click “like”.

【推荐3】There are many kinds of book clubs where members discuss a different book every month. What about dinner clubs, where people get together once a month or four times a year to make and eat dinner? In the dinner club that I joined, the hostess of the dinner club would prepare a big dinner first. Then the members would begin discussing the food.     1     .

There are two variations of a dinner club. One has a group of people who try a different restaurant once a month.     2     When they all meet, they order and share different dishes. This is a great idea, especially if you live in a big city where there are hundreds of different restaurants.

    3     One way is to have the hostess for the month decide on a type of food. The hostess is responsible for cooking the entrees. The other members make different courses at home, like salad and dessert, and bring them to the dinner club. For an even more exciting and interactive type of dinner clubs, the entire group comes together in the hostess’ kitchen.     4     In this way the members of the group not only learn about different types of food, but also different methods of cooking.

The great thing about a dinner club is that it serves in many different ways. You can make the dinner club even more special one month by inviting partners.     5     A stay-at-home mother can get a couple of other stay-at-home mothers together and start a children’s lunch club. If you have a group of friends that love to get together and experiment with different types of food, the possibilities are endless!

【推荐1】A name is more than just a word. It carries the weight of a person’s whole identity. A name can represent a person’s ethnicity (种族身份) and culture, or show respect for their ancestral roots. A self-given name may represent a person’s beliefs or chosen identity.

Everyone has the right to have their name pronounced correctly. It is a sign of respect for a person’s individuality. “A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language,” Dale Carnegie writes in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People. Behind each name is a story, and when a name is anglicized (英语化), mispronounced, or ignored, that story is dismissed.

A name mispronounced for a long time can negatively impact a person’s attitude toward their own identity. It can create feelings of shame or embarrassment because they are made to feel like a burden. In the long term, this might cause someone to distance themselves from their roots. They may begin shying away from their native language, culture, and family for the sake of fitting in.

In order to avoid this, many international students living in the U.S. choose English names. People shouldn’t have to ignore their identities for the sake of someone else’s convenience.

Everyone makes mistakes, and not everyone can get a name right on the first try. Mispronouncing a name repeatedly, however, shows a lack of effort. It is not okay to be comfortable with mispronouncing names, and being unfamiliar with a language is no excuse.

If you’re unsure whether you’re pronouncing a name correctly, just ask. Think of it as a way to expand and strengthen understanding, both personally and culturally. When meeting someone for the first time, make sure that you heard the name correctly. It doesn’t take a lot to simply repeat the name back. Spell it out. Write it down. Do whatever you have to do to get the name right. Making the effort to correctly pronounce someone’s name is an essential part of cultural competency (文化素养). Without this, we cannot expect to show respect and tolerance for our diverse community.

【推荐2】Avoid These Mistakes in Your Social Interaction

Breaking into an existing conversation

Timing is everything. If you see two or more people actively engaged in conversation, they’re probably not ready for you to cut in. First, wait for a rest.     1    , that’s your chance.

Starting talking without having something to say

If someone appears distant or lost in thought, moving into their personal space and saying “hello” is hardly a way to start a conversation. Try asking permission (e.g., “Excuse me, do you mind if I ask you something?”) and make sure you have a fully formed question or comment in mind (e.g., “Are you having a good time?”).     2    .

Bringing up controversial(有争议的) topics

If you’re talking to someone new, it’s generally best not to talk about weighty or of-putting topics.     3     Maybe it’s the music you’re both hearing, or the food you’re both tasting.

    4    

Once you’ve made a connection with each other, keep that connection going by making yourself easy to understand. If you speak different languages, for example, slow your speech and pronounce clearly. If they ask you what you do for work, don’t use a lot of technical expressions.

Talking too much about yourself - or about the other person

It’s often said that people love to talk about themselves, and that asking questions is the secret to good conversations.     5    . Nobody likes to feel interrogated(审问), so if you sense that questions aren’t welcome, back off.

【推荐1】I was in the garden with Augie, my grandson, watching the bees. “How do they make honey?” Augie asked. “Actually, Augie, I don’t know,” I replied. “But, Grandmom, you have your phone,” he said. For Augie, holding a smartphone almost means knowing everything.

During my childhood I was crazy about a powerful device（设备）that transports the user to an alternate reality. I spent most of my waking hours on it, unaware of the world around me. The device was, of course, the book. Over time, reading hijacked（控制）my brain, as large areas once processing the real world adapted to processing the printed word. As far as I can tell, this early immersion（沉浸）didn’t prevent my development, but it did leave me with some illusions（幻想）– my idea of romantic love surely came from novels.

Many parents worry that “screen time” will damage children’s development, but recent research suggests that most of the common fears about children and screens are unfounded. There is one exception: looking at screens before bed really disturbs sleep, in people of all ages. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) used to recommend strict restrictions（限制）on screen exposure（暴露）. Last year, the organization examined the relevant science more thoroughly and changed its recommendations. The new guidelines emphasize that what matters is content and context, what children watch and with whom.

New tools have always led to panicky（紧张不安的）guesses. The novel, the telephone, and the television were all declared to be the End of Civilization, particularly in the hands of the young. Part of the reason may be that adult brains require a lot of focus and effort to learn something new, while children’s brains are designed to master new environments naturally. New technologies always seem disturbing to the adults attempting to master them, and transparent and obvious – not really technology at all – to those children like Augie.

When Augie’s father got home, Augie rushed to meet him and said in excitement. “Daddy, Daddy, look,” he said, reaching for my phone. “Do you know how bees make honey? I’ll show you…”

【推荐2】Editor’s note: An increasing number of Chinese people, especially the young, are more willing to celebrate Western festivals. Should we celebrate foreign festivals? Forum readers share their opinions. You’re welcome to add yours.

Dinah (China)

I enjoy the happy atmosphere of both Chinese and Western festivals. As long as it is meaningful for me, I will celebrate it with my boyfriend, and my parents! I like Western festivals and often celebrate them without even knowing the origins of them. Why? Because what I really appreciate is just the happy atmosphere.

SharkMinnow (Canada)

Western Festivals are more like parties or games for some Chinese. Also, spending money = good for economy. Most Chinese don’t take Western festivals as seriously as their own. It’s like a game or party in my eyes. A way to blow off steam and have fun (and spend money).

Travis (UK)

As an Englishman teaching here in China for two years, my friends have got used to and enjoy celebrating my festivals. My school also likes it as well, although this year they asked me not to scare the teachers so much on Halloween. My Chinese friends enjoy taking part in my festivals, as they also learn more about my culture, and the history that goes with it…

Leesinchina (US)

Cherish your own festivals. It would be a pity if the Chinese accepted these Western days — first, because they have absolutely nothing to do with traditional Chinese culture. Second, they are a big trick by the big stores to get more money out of you. Stick to your own festivals — they actually mean something to you — rather than following western customs for no good reason.

【推荐1】Many curious children have lately asked “How do glasses help you see?” Actually, they asked this at a very good time because more and more people are needing to wear glasses and we don’t really know why.

Our eyes let us see because light enters each eye, and the eye then creates a message that goes to the brain. The eyeball itself doesn’t actually “see”—the brain sees. The eyeballs just take pictures, like two little cameras. To see properly, each eyeball needs to send the light that enters it into a very exact spot inside the eyeball, called the retina(视网膜). If the light falls onto the incorrect place, everything goes wrong.

Many people won’t need glasses and can see just fine. This is because their eyeballs are focusing light properly onto the retina. However, some people have eyeballs that are too long. They are called “shortsighted”. For these people, things far away can look blurry(模糊的). Other people have eyeballs that are too short. They are called “farsighted” and things close to them can look blurry. Both shortsighted and farsighted people need glasses to help them see clearly. They work by helping the eyeball to focus light onto the correct place, the retina. Only then can we see clearly.

Maybe you have a grandma or grandpa who wears whenever they are reading books or using their mobile phone. When people get older, they usually become a little bit farsighted because a part of their eye called the lens becomes stiff and doesn’t work properly.

More and more young people in the world are needing to wear glasses. we’re not sure why, but some scientists think that children who spend too much time inside are more likely to need glasses. Children who need glasses but don’t wear them don’t do as well as in school. Once you need glasses, you usually need them forever—your eyes won’t go back to normal on their own.

I hope that one day we can find out why people’s eyeballs become too long or too short and then we can stop people needing to wear glasses in the first place. Then people will never lose or forget their glasses ever again!

【推荐2】YORK HARBOUR, Newfoundland 一 A balloonist who tried to cross the Atlantic Ocean using hundreds of helium-filled balloons is heading home after landing in Newfoundland, far short of his goal.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday that it used a helicopter to collect US balloonist Jonathan Trappe from the remote area where he landed a night earlier.

“It’s not the destination I set out for, but it’s kind of the way with real adventure. Adventure isn’t what you planned on, it’s what you find，and that’s what we have today，’’he told the CBC.

Trappe landed safely near York Harbour after reporting that he was having trouble controlling his balloons Thursday evening, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Instead of using a conventional hot-air balloon, Trappe was using more than 300 colorful helium-filled balloons, like those used in the animated movie”Up “.

He lifted off on Thursday morning from Caribou, Maine，in hopes of becoming the first person to cross the Atlantic using a bunch of helium balloons. But he ran into trouble as he approached Newfoundland and was in communication with a search and rescue center in Halifax; Nova Scotia, said Lt. Steve Henley of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Stephenville. The balloonist's movements were tracked by radar by Canadian officials, he said.

He told CBC that his calculations indicated he wasn’t going to make it to Europe so he decided to set down on land before crossing over open ocean, where a water landing would have been more dangerous. He said the landing had its hairy moments because he was coming in fast.

“We set out on this expedition for the adventure, and we got the adventure.”Trappe said.

Trappe will likely have to meet with Canada Border Service Agency before being allowed to return to the U. S. , officials said.

The North Carolina native said he'd worked on the trans-Atlantic crossing for two years, and there was no stranger to use bunches of balloons. He’d once used them to lift a artifcial house, as in the Disney-Pixar movie, and he’d used them to cross the English Channel.

By Thursday afternoon, he was well on his way, heading toward Newfoundland. But a couple of hours later，he ended his adventure. “This doesn’t look like France,’’he posted on Facebook.

【推荐3】In my second year of high school, I took my first computer science course, which helped me realize I was interested in software. The idea of creating something from just lines of codes and logic was very fascinating. And I didn't put as much time into music as I used to, thinking practicing the piano was just a waste of time.

A year later, when I got back on the piano, I quickly noticed my musical ear was not as strong as it was before. I could no longer hear the difference between a perfect 4th and a perfect 5th or between a D and D flat. Then I had a firm decision to get my skills to where it used to be. After weeks of practicing, I didn't see much progress. I was extremely discouraged and felt that I would have to accept that I no longer will be able to play as well as I used to.

While watching hundreds of tutorials online on how to code in Swift I came up with an idea. What if I used the knowledge I gained from these tutorials to develop an app that would help train my musical ear. After hours of coding, I developed an app that would play a different series of notes, then the user would have to type in the corresponding notes to what they heard. When I was on the subway or had some extra time I could easily open up the app on my phone and use it to help my musical ear. In about 2 months, I regained the skills I lost.

This experience helped me see something that I never noticed before. Programming gives me a platform to express my ideas; in a similar way, playing the piano gives me a way to express my feelings. When playing through a song for the first time I hear many errors. Similarly, when I run my program for the first time there are usually many mistakes. In both of these cases, it takes patience to go through each measure or line to hear or find the error. I realized when I’m playing the piano I am also practicing my programming skills and vice versa.