【推荐1】Some 70 countries, mostly in the Americas and Europe, apply Daylight Saving Time during the summer months. Europe’s clocks will move forward once again this weekend. Yet last week the European Union voted to end this long-established practice from 2022.

In the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin came up with the idea of moving the clocks forward in the summer. But the practice really took hold during World War I and since then it has brought several benefits. It might increase consumer spending, as shoppers are encouraged to stay out later into the evening. It might even reduce crime. As the saying goes, “The longer the daylight, the less I do wrong.”

In spite of all that, clock-changing is unpopular. When the European Union ran a poll（民意调查）among its citizens, it got nearly 5 million responses. Over 80% want to scrap clock-changing, and for good reasons. Although it has not been proven eventually, many scientists think that changing the clocks messes up humans’ biological clock, which may increase the chances of heart attacks and strokes. It could cause car accidents to increase, as drivers who are used to going to work in the daylight, for example, suddenly have to do so in the dark. In addition, many businesses find it extremely inconvenient that countries change their clocks at different times.

So, will Europeans choose to stick with winter or summer time? This has not been decided. It could be that each country will choose for itself, though each is likely to take careful note of neighbors’ decisions. The benefit, it seems, is not so much in deciding how long the evening is, or how dark the morning. It is in keeping it consistent throughout the year.

【推荐2】Sunday Bakeshop in Oakland, California, makes foods that mix American and Asian cultures. The restaurant makes foods that are cooked or baked in an oven. Many of them are sweet. For example, the shop sells something called a dim sum cookie. It looks like a sugar cookie but has sesame (芝麻) seeds on top and sweetened red beans inside. Dim sum is a word for Cantonese foods from southern China.

The dim sum cookie is Elaine Lau’s way of honoring her grandmother who would make a kind of food that had a similar taste. Lau’s restaurant also makes Chinese White Rabbit candy cookies. Those sweets would not be found in any bakery in Asia but are a mixture of Asian and Western foods. Lau said she speaks to Asian Americans and others at her store. She said: “We get a lot of comments, for example, ‘The cookies are just like little lovely kitties and puppies.’ ‘Oh this took me back to several years ago when I was growing up.’” She added that it was nice to create good memories and feelings with her pastries (糕点).

Bakeries that combine the feeling of growing-up Asians and Americans have been opening up more often in recent years. Traditional Asian ingredients are being mixed with European or American pastries into something new. The creations are a way for young Asian Americans to celebrate their identity.

“Older traditional Asian bakeries make foods that immigrants miss from their home country. The new bakeries celebrate Asian culture and are part of a natural progression,” said Robert Ku, who is an Asian American studies professor at Binghamton University in New York state. He also wrote the book Dubious Gastronomy: The Cultural Politics of Eating Asian in the USA.

“The bakers are showing that their foods, which mix cultures, are just as American as apple pie. It’s sort of the artistic side of Asian American identity that’s often ignored,” Ku said. “They’re instead really trying to fuse things together.”

【推荐3】Ever since its completion in 1962, the China National Museum of Fine Art has been the largest and most well-respected gallery of fine art in China. The museum was one of ten key projects that were completed within the first ten years after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.

The National Museum today lies on grounds covering 30,000 square metres; the buildings themselves cover over 17,000 square metres of that space. The exhibition halls account for more than one third of the buildings’ area, covering about 6,000 square metres. The museum was built in the style of ancient pavilions, with beautiful corridors and buildings decorated by yellow glazed tiles.

The museum is dedicated to the collection, preservation and display of both modern and contemporary works of art, as well as to art research. It is currently home to a collection of more than 60, 000 works of art, both those on display for public viewing and those in carefully preserved archives. The museum’s archives contain not only works of art but also historical documents. The museum frequently compiles and publishes albums drawn from its vast collections. In addition to its main functions, the museum is also involved in the organization of art exhibitions and academic exchanges, both nationally and abroad.