【推荐1】Robots will have taken over most jobs within 30 years leaving humanity facing its “biggest challenger ever” to find meaning in life when work is no longer necessary according to experts.

Professor Moshe Vardi, who works in Rice University, says that many middle-class professionals will be assisting the work of machines within the next few decades leaving workers more leisure（休闲）time than they have ever experienced and as a result, the rise of robots could lead to unemployment rate greater than 50 percent.

“We are approaching a time when machines will be able to do better than humans at almost any task,” said Vardi, “Robots are doing more and more jobs that people used to do. I believe that society needs to face question before it’s upon us. If machines can do almost any work humans can do, what will humans do? The question I want to put forward is, ‘Does the technology we are developing finally benefit mankind?’”

Prof. Vardi said existing robotic and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies were already getting rid of a growing number of middle-class jobs and that pace of advancement in the field is increasing.

But Prof. Vardi is not sure that a workforce of human like robots will be good for mankind. “A typical answer is that if machines will do all our work, we will be free to pursue leisure activities,” he said. “I do not find this a promising future, as I do not find the idea of leisure-only life appealing. I believe that work is essential to human well-being.” He added, “Humanity is about to face perhaps its greatest challenge ever, which is finding meaning in life. If machines can do all the work or even 50 percent of the jobs that we used to do, what will people do?”

【推荐2】Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying “curiosity killed the cat.” It’s a phrase that’s often used to warn people — especially children — not to ask too many questions.     1     In fact, research has shown that curiosity is just as important as intelligence in determining how well students do in school. Curiosity can also lead us to make unexpected discoveries, bring excitement into our lives, and open up new possibilities.     2     For example, one day in 1831, Michael Faraday was playing around with a coil and a magnet when he suddenly saw how he could produce an electrical current. At first, it wasn’t clear what use this would have, but it actually made electricity available for use in technology, and so changed the world.

    3     On one level, this is because technology has become so advanced that many of us are unable to think too deeply about how exactly things work anymore. While it may be possible for a curious teenager to take a toaster apart and get some sense of how it works, how much do you understand about what happens when you type a website address into a browser? Where does your grasp of technology end and the magic begin for you?

In addition to this, there’s the fact that we all now connect so deeply with technology, particularly with our phones. The more we stare at our screens, the less we talk to other people directly.     4     Then we feel we know enough about a person not to need to engage further with them.

The final — and perhaps most worrying — way in which technology stops us from asking more has to do with algorithms, the processes followed by computers. As we increasingly get our news via social media, the big data find out what we like and push more of the same back to us.     5     Perhaps the real key to developing curiosity in the 21st century, then, is to rely less on the tech tools of our age.

【推荐3】Former NBA great Tracy McGrady has called for the league to call off the regular season in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic(流行病).

On March 11, the NBA became the first major U.S. league to suspend its season after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert became the first player to test positive for the novel coronavirus. Since then, the COVID-19 outbreak has swept across the U.S.

NBA commissioner(委员) Adam Silver has indicated all options remain on the table, including playing games behind closed doors and isolating players to postponing the start of next season to allow the current campaign to be completed.

McGrady, who spent 16 seasons in the NBA, said: "As a former player, I would be in favor of calling the season off，for I don't have the facilities I need to stay in tip-top shape that I need to be in because everything is closed." Also, he added that even once training facilities re-opened and players could train as usual again, it was going to take them some time to get back to what he described as "basketball shape”.

The only feasible(可行的) solution to get players to be back to full fitness was to allow them to train and then ensure their fitness in a series of exhibition games.

"You just can't jump back into the regular season," McGrady added.

Last week, Silver admitted "there was no clear path ahead" for the NBA to return.

"Based on the reports that we got from varied outside officials, current public health officials ... we are not in a position to make any decisions," the NBA commissioner said in a conference, which followed a video conference meeting with the NBA's board of governors.

"And it's unclear when we will be…”

【推荐1】Friends are important to our lives.We talk to our friends about things which we can’t talk to our families about,and friends offer support when we need it and provide companionship.

It can be very easy to forget to communicate with your friends once you get married,have kids or have a job.Sometimes it’s hard enough to find time for your family and yourself,let alone your friends.

A friend is someone who was once a stranger,and after you made a special connection,you became friends with each other.How amazing it is!It doesn’t happen every day or with everyone you come across.So the fact that you were able to build a friendship with someone who was once a stranger to you is a great and wonderful thing.This is why it’s important to find time for your friends.

Finding time for friends can be as simple as calling them on the phone for a chat every now and then.This lets them know that they are in your thoughts and that they are important to you.Little gestures such as sending your friends some greeting cards,remembering their birthdays,and lending them a helping hand are also ways you can find time for your friends.

Whether you go to the movies,meet for dinner,go dancing,or have a party,spending time together is a great way to relax and reconnect you with each other.

Keep in mind that friends are a special and important part of our lives.So spend some time a day to include them in the balance of your life!

【推荐3】Children used to be able to play freely, exploring and interacting with the natural world with little or no supervision(监督) by adults. They were free to invent games of their own. Nowadays, however, we control the lives of our children much more, giving them fewer chances for free play. Many children in England used to spend hours playing on their bikes, having all sorts of adventures, but this is now considered too dangerous. Some working families can't care for their children after school, so the children have to stay indoors or attend supervised after-school activities.

The result is that some children have little time for play any more and when they do it's often spent in front of the television or computer. In the past, children in Brazil played a game which involves spinning (旋转) a large seed with a hole in it to create a scream-like noise. They rarely play this game nowadays.

Studies show that outdoor environments help all people by reducing stress and creating a general feeling of well-being. When children play in the open air, they are more likely to have positive feelings about each other.

Outdoor environments are also important for children's development of independence. When playing outside, children can gradually increase the distance from adults. Adults are then more willing to trust their children, an important element in confidence-building which improves the relationship between child and parent.

Outdoors, children have more chances to use all their senses. They have greater freedom not only to run and shout, but also to interact with the environment. Activities which may not be allowed indoors are perfectly acceptable outdoors; children are free to play messy games out in the open air that just wouldn't be permitted in the home.

Children experience the natural environment differently from adults. Adults typically see nature as background to what they are doing, while for children it is a hands-on experience. The expensive toys and indoor educational games cannot substitute for the experience of direct interaction with nature. They cannot replace the sensation where a child's attention is suddenly caught by the sunlight through leaves or the gentle noise of water flowing by.