【推荐1】It’s exciting when your teens announce a dream of being a writer. However, besides providing them with different kinds of reading materials, you can direct them to the following websites offering great resources to future storytellers.

This is an online community and self-publishing platform for young writers. Users can not only “publish” and read short stories, poetry, lyrics (歌词), essays, and novels on it but also review, react to and comment on works from other users. Sometimes, Figment offers writing contests to help young writers improve their skills.

It is described as “the YouTube of writing”, because it allows amateur(业余的) creators to share their works with others. It claims to have more than 90 million users. Well-known writers, such as Margaret Atwood and Cory Doctorow, even post their works here.

Supported by the non-profit Young Authors Foundation, Teen Ink has offered teens the opportunity to publish their creative works and express opinions on issues that affect their lives for over 31 years. Teen Ink has no staff writers or artists. The magazine and website are devoted entirely to writing, artworks, and photos by teens. It’s also a good platform for teens interested in writing and publishing non-fiction essays and articles, as well as poetry.

The microblogging platform is a wonderful place for bold self-expression, but it is also suitable for young literature lovers and bookworms. Tumblr optionally allows users to raise questions about the blog, and it also offers a “fan mail” function, so users can send messages to those bloggers they like.

【推荐2】4 Travel Apps for First Timers in China

Going to China alone requires plenty of preparation. But with the help of mobile devices and apps, preparing has become easier for travelers the world over.

Metro China Subway

To find the best local transport around the main cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, use Metro China Subway to help you source the metro trains that are interconnected with other locations in the area. It works offline and provides users the quickest route from their start to the end point. The app also provides users information on the cost and length of journey.

Download: https://play.google.com/store/apps

Pleco Dictionary

Pleco is by far the best Chinese-English dictionary out there, as it comes with a handwriting and voice recognition features. Pleco also learns along with you, as it saves your searches for easier scanning next time. This app is a great tool to learn Chinese before and during your trip.

Download: https://www.pleco.com/

China Train

If you plan to travel around China efficiently, then consider Chinese Trains. It will save you money as opposed to flying to your desired destination. The China Train app makes it easy to plan and book train trips around the country, with its up-to-date schedule and virtual booking service.

Download: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/app.htm

Yelp

Unsure where to dine on your first day in China? It might help to consider reading a few reviews from Yelp about certain restaurants near you. The app provides users reviews of other customers, directions, menus and photos.

Download: https://www.yelp.com/mobile

【推荐3】The Eastern Daily Press (EDP), a newspaper covering Nolfolk, northern parts of Suffolk and eastern Cambridge shire, is published daily in Norwich, UK. Founded in 1879 as a broadsheet called the Eastern Counties Daily Press, it changed its name to the Eastern Daily press in 1872. The paper is now owned and published by Archant, formerly known as Eastern Counties Newspapers Group.

Soon, a Google-backed project named Local Recall giving access to over 150 years of Eastern Daily Press newspaper at the click of a button or spoken question will be released. Archant is home to archive that holds tens of thousands of newspapers-with some Norwich Mercury editions dating from as far back as the middle of the 18th century. In 2017, Archant applied to the Google Digital News Innovation Fund to breathe new life into the archive. The company received ￡600,000 from Google and part-matched the fund to start Local Recall.

The project began in early 2018 and with help from Norwich-based artificial intelligence and chatbot company Ubisend along with specialist historical scanning companies Towns Web Archiving and Findmypast, Local Recall has since digitized an estimated 750,000 pages of EDP newspapers. In the process, more than seven million articles have been uploaded online. The digitization process, while impressive, could not always guarantee exact recreation of the text. Factors such as paper thickness, marks on the page and general wear and tear could make results confusing. It became clear there was a need for human eyes to pick out errors.

Meanwhile, a platform was provided for an army of more than 800 volunteers to help proofread and correct the stories from days gone by. Melanie Duncan, 47, from Helleson, got involved in the project after learning about it through Facebook. “It’s a window of memories into our past that we might have no knowledge of otherwise. The project is an invaluable source of accessible information. I have enjoyed every minute of doing it so far,” she said. Soon, users will be able to explore EDP archives from October 1870 right up to the latest news through a subscription service available on monthly and annual price plan.

【推荐3】The Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania live a life that has not changed much over ten thousand years. They have no crops, no house animals, no permanent shelters. In spite of long exposure to agriculturalist groups around them, the Hadza have maintained their lifestyle.

The story of the spread of agriculture is the story of growing population density (密度). Villages formed, then cities, then nations. Agriculture’s rise, however, came with a price. It introduced infectious diseases, social inequality, occasional famines (饥荒) and war. Professor Jared Diamond of UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) has called the adoption of agriculture “the worst mistake in human history”— a mistake from which we have never recovered.

Looking at the Hadza, you can see why he came to this conclusion. They do not engage in warfare. They do not live densely (稠密地) enough to be threatened by an infectious outbreak. They have no known history of famine (饥荒). The Hadza diet is more stable (稳定 的) and varied than that of most of the world’s citizens. They live almost entirely free of possessions. They enjoy an extraordinary amount of leisure time, “working” — actively pursuing food — only four to six hours a day.

The chief reason the Hadza have been able to maintain their lifestyle so long is that their homeland is not an inviting place. Recently, however, population growth has brought a flood of people into Hadza lands. The region has generally been viewed by outsiders as unused, a Place in need of development. The Hadza, who by nature are not a combative (好战的) people, have almost always moved away instead of fighting.

There are many things to envy about the Hadza, mostly what free spirits they appear to be. Free from schedules, jobs, bosses, bills, traffic, taxes, laws, social duties and money. But who of us could live like them? It’s incredibly risky. Medical help is far away. One bad fall from a tree, one bite from a snake, and you’re dead. The fact is that it’s too late for us to go back to the Hadza lifestyle. Of greater concern is that soon it may be impossible for them to maintain theirs.

【推荐1】Fast walkers may live longer than dawdlers (缓慢的人)— regardless of their weight, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Leicester University analyzed data on 474, 919 people with an average age of 52 in the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2016. They found women who walked briskly had a life expectancy of 86.7 to 87.8 years old, and men who kept up the pace had a life expectancy of 85.2 to 86.8. Slow walkers hadn’t much encouraging prospects (前景): women had a life expectancy of 72.4, and men of 64.8 years old, if they were more leisurely in their movements. According to the paper, published last week, that ratio held true even if the fast walkers were severely overweight. It does not necessarily mean fast walkers will live longer. Experts say it suggests walking speed could be a simple way for doctors to judge their patients’ general health alongside other tests.

It is hardly the first study holding up walking speed as a powerful evidence that appears to improve and determine our health.

In 2011, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study by Stephanie Studenski, who found the same: walking speed was a reliable predictor of life expectancy.

In 2013, US researchers found walking pace was linked to lower heart disease risk and longer life expectancy. In 2018, a study from the University of Sydney found picking up your walking pace to even an “average speed” could cut your risk of premature death by a fifth.

And Tom Yates, the physical activity professor at Leicester who's behind the latest study, has been publishing findings on this connection for years.

In 2017, he analyzed the same UK Biobank data and found walking speed appeared to affect the risk of dying from heart disease — concluding that the slowest walkers were twice as likely to suffer a heart-related death compared to quick walkers.