【推荐1】Things to Expect from Your Peer Tutoring Session

Peer (同龄人) tutoring is one of the most helpful tools to use during your college years.     1     There is probably no better way to get some efficient assistance than that from your fellow students. Peer tutors are understanding, helpful, and especially honest enough to help you out.

Expect constructive criticism. This will probably be the most uncomfortable part of the session. Tutors are being strict with you not because they want to be mean and ruin your existence.     2     The only way for them to ensure this is to be completely honest with you.

    3     Every tutor has a different learning style and teaching style that is unique to them, but it is up to you to use what they teach you to your best ability. If a tutor teaches you how to solve a math problem in a way that makes sense to you, but is also different from what you have learned in class, you will have to use that method because it works for you. Change is good and is nothing to be afraid of.

Expect discipline.     4     We are humans, it happens. It is nothing to be ashamed of. However, if a tutor notices that you have been slacking off (懈怠), don’t be surprised if they call you out on it. Your tutor wants you to use your potential to do the great things that they know you are capable of.

Expect improvement. Last but not least, expect to improve.     5     Once you practice what you have learned in the session, you will notice a rapid change in your grades and your learning ability.

【推荐3】How to Be a Pleasant Person

We all would love to be appreciated for the positive emotions that are exhibited around our surroundings. Little do we know that it is not a hard task at all.     1    

Be modest. Understand that we all are humans. You might be rich or poor, black or white, short or tall etc. But above all we are all humans, which means we are all emotional beings. So treat others the way you would like to be treated.

    2     By offering a seat to an elderly person or throwing the football back to the young child, the inner self-satisfaction you get is priceless. Once you do so, you will feel good about yourself.

Don’t regret. We all are reasonable beings and it is very human to do unreasonable things at times. However, it does not mean that we should regret what we did in the past. Every experience is a lesson which teaches you what to do and what not to do in future.     3    

Forgive and forget. Always living in the past will only make one painful on the inside, which will reflect on the outside.     4     By doing so, your heart becomes light.

Be grateful. Thank God and the Universe for yourself, your parents, your friends, your clothes, jobs, food, home etc. And every small thing makes a difference.     5     It will make you appreciate life.

【推荐2】Having friends may well keep you healthier and help you deal with stress better. Some studies show that people with close friends have a greater ability to fight disease than people who are alone.

Place friendship in the first place. Find the time to be with friends even if it means letting the lawn(草坪) go unmowed(未割的) or the dishes unwashed for a while. When you can’t get together, use the phone to keep in touch.

Open up to close friends. Keeping a deep friendship requires a level of “heartfelt” intimacy (亲密).Don’t be afraid to express your inner fears and disappointments. Listen to your friends when they have problems，but offer advice only when it’s wanted. Help raise friends’ self-esteem(自尊) when they are sad about a job loss, or other such events.

Have different friends for different activities, such as going to the movies，singing in a choir，and joining in a bowling league.

Don’t wait for a friend to ask for helps. When a friend has the flu，offer to go to the store or drive his or her children to their afterschool activities.

Never take a friendship for granted. Like a good marriage，friendship needs care and patience. Become a joiner. Find a group that matches your interests.

Talk to strangers. Conversations started in museums, laundry rooms，or bookstores can lead to firm friendship.

Enroll in an adult education course. A classroom is an ideal place to meet others with similar interests.

【推荐1】A night at the movies is always a good idea.But when you leave the theater and realize you just dropped $45 on a ticket and some snacks, you’ll wish you had been patient enough to wait until the movie came out on Netflix. The average movie ticket price in the United States in 2000 was $5.39; now, a ticket is over $9.

The main reason that movie tickets have gotten so expensive is inflation (通货膨胀). It was actually more expensive to go to the movies in the 70s than it is now. A ticket in 1978 cost $2.34. If you plug that into an inflation calculator, the same ticket would cost you $9.46 today. According to the National Association of Theater Owners, the average cost for a ticket today is $9.11.

Another reason you need to spend some of your life savings to see a movie on the big screen is that theaters are competing with streaming services that produce their own films, such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. And let’s be honest, sitting at home on your sofa or in your bed is more comfortable than sitting in a cold theater.

Because of streaming technology, theaters have to do something to bring in customers. Attractions—including alcohol, reclining seats (躺椅), surround sound, and 3-D movies are all examples of that. And those upgrades come at a price, leading to more expensive tickets.

“There’s all that extra cost, and it’s really important for theater owners and companies to make that experience as enjoyable as possible,” Patrick Corcoran, vice president of the National Association of Theatre Owners told Marketplace. “Because you’re offering a superb experience—audience expectations are for the latest and greatest technology. Audiences are willing to pay more for a particular experience.”

【推荐2】Marco Polo’s tales inspired European explorers to search for sea routes (路线) from west to east. However, businessmen and explorers from the East set sail from east to west many years before Columbus first did.

In ancient times, silk from China found its way over land to India, the Middle East, and Rome, along what became known as the Silk Road. But another trading route across the sea was also formed along the coasts of the Indian Ocean, centered around Ceylon. Here, businessmen from China and many other places met to exchange goods.

Later, the Ming Dynasty further developed relations with these regions. Between 1405 and 1433, seven large fleets (舰队) sailed west on voyages of trade and exploration. Under the command of Zheng He, they set sail from the South China Sea across the Indian Ocean to the mouth of the Red Sea, and then to the east coast of Africa. African royal families sent gifts such as giraffes as gestures of friendship in return for silk, and spices. Although China stopped further expeditions (远征) after 1433, these land and sea routes remained active for centuries.

To reach out across the sea remains a strong desire today. The ancient sea routes travelled by Zheng He are being revisited with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (一带一路倡议). The aim of this initiative is to encourage cooperation and trade across the historic Silk Road areas, and strengthen the relations between China and the rest of the world. China has poured billions of money in systems and services along these routes, which will help to greatly develop the whole area for the benefit of future trade and cultural exchange.

China has also joined its friends across the sea on other important projects. In recent years, China has joined other nations on several expeditions to explore the Arctic. From a scientific point of view, there is an urgent need to study the Arctic in order to understand climate change and its effects.