【推荐1】Even though I was no skater, I’d always considered Rochester to be a perfect location for an outdoor skatepark. Despite being a place missing some of the pleasures awarded to big-name cities like New York or Chicago, Rochester developed a do-it-yourself attitude in the pursuit of having fun.     1    

When I noticed a skate park was being built under the highway on-ramp (匝道)downtown, I was excited ——not because a skate park is a perfect setting to facilitate the DIY charm of Rochester, acting as a sort of melting pot for people of all walks of life to bond together.     2     I wanted to not only take a closer look at its physical design but also the sort of crowds it attracted.

    3    Totally clear of any litter, the half pipes, grind rails, and bowls were designed with a consistent blue and yellow color scheme. There were even multicolored rows of tile (瓦片)that lined the top edge of the park’s bowls.

After taking some beautiful photos of the park, I began chatting with Vazquez, manager of the skatepark.     4     “Look at all these people. So many people come here to skate. No matter the color of your skin, or your beliefs, everyone is brought together here by skating”, he said .     5     While I was walking back over the pavement, the ground under my feet seemed to have a pulse: life’s heartbeat could be found at this park.

【推荐3】Packing light is important when travelling with kids, but it is hard to do so when your kids want to pack every single toy they can lay their eyes on.     1    . Here is a guide on how to pack light for a family trip.

Pack lightweight clothes

Before you start packing, check the weather at your family holiday destination.     2    , packing becomes much easier. Packing light for warm weather isn’t hard but the same can’t be said for cold destinations. The key to cold weather packing is layering. Instead of packing heavy clothing items，pack a few lightweight clothing articles which, when layered, offer all the warmth you need.

    3    

We suggest not carrying any toiletries while travelling with kids since you can buy these wherever you are going. But if you do insist on carrying your own toiletries, use travel containers which are lightweight and won’t break and spill all over your clothes inside the luggage.

Separate suitcases for the win

Big suitcases bother every vacation. While it’s convenient to put all your needs in big suitcases, they aren’t exactly convenient to carry around.    4    . Prepare fun suitcases for your kids that are easy to drag around, which gives them a sense of ownership and responsibility.     5    .

【推荐2】The Internet is a powerful tool that can be used to connect like-minded people and communities.     1     Research suggests that up to 7 in 10 young people have experienced online abuse at some point.

The term ‘cyberbullying’ (网络欺凌) is often treated as a special phenomenon, but it is an extension of bullying, which is an age-old problem.    2     Actually, with communication technology being significant in modern living, some young people have very little opportunity to escape the abuse.

It is consistently found that about one in two young people who experience bullying never tell anyone out of fear, embarrassment or a lack of faith in support systems. Abuse, whether online or offline, affects the mental and physical health of young people and generates increasing stress and anxiety.

    3     For example, there are no geographical limits to membership or communication; it is now possible for someone to receive abuse beyond their own offline community.

Not all cyberbullying is brought about by people who know the recipient (被欺凌者) and it is often sent anonymously (匿名地).     4     Anonymous bullying can greatly weaken the confidence and sense of safety for those receiving it. It can often be more harmful than abuse from someone the person knows.

A world that is truly fair and equal requires a culture of respect and mutual understanding. An interconnected world requires communication standards to which all observe.    5    

【推荐3】ChatGPT, as a large language model, learned to generate human-like text based on a given context. It can do most of the text-generation tasks that involve natural language for communication. Examples of these tasks are text completion (e.g. email and report writing), paraphrasing, text summarization, machine translation, and question-answering. In addition, it can also be used for conversational AI applications, such as chatbots and virtual assistants.

While the ChatGPT platform has a wide range of applications related to text generation, outputs should be evaluated critically and used with caution, as they may contain false, biased, or outdated information.

The use of homework aids in higher education is not new. For years, students have used sites like Quizlet to cut comers as they complete homework assignments or take online quizzes. In response, teachers have had to adapt to these challenges and design assessments that can avoid the use of these tools.

I view ChatGPT in the same light. Essentially, ChatGPT collects information readily available online to form a response to a given prompt (提示). The AI has no capacity for critical thinking and often misses the mark whenever a prompt requires any critical or abstract thinking If university teachers want to avoid the threat of ChatGPT, then perhaps the strictness of their assignments needs to be increased.

While there are many concerns that ChatGPT harms academic assessment, it and better versions may force us to shift our curriculum to higher levels of critical thinking. Beyond this, we may discover ways it can be used to enhance the learning process. If students focus on advanced aspects of their schoolwork, chatbots could assist with more menial (微不足道的) educational tasks. For example, some instructors are experimenting with new forms of student engagement, including project-based learning. Perhaps a chatbot could be used to brainstorm on these projects. Learning effectiveness could be enhanced by customizing the learning process at an individual level to better match a diversified student body.

【推荐3】Farm to school events are taking place nationwide this month. The events are aimed at bringing fresh food to students’ plates.

Students in Watkins Elementary grow vegetables in their school garden. They excitedly prepare for FRESHFARM classes held in the school’s kitchen. In one such class, children joyfully cut and cook freshly harvested vegetables, filling the air with their sweet smell. Regina Green, a coach of the class, stresses, “Teaching nutrition (营养) without a kitchen is like swimming lessons without a pool.” The students at Watkins Elementary are fortunate to have access to such a kitchen with various cooking tools.

At a time when diet-related diseases are a leading cause of death, it’s impossible for a cooking program to solve such a social problem. It needs many things to come together to support healthy eating. In promoting healthy eating, various factors must be considered. Among the challenges is the marketing of unhealthy products. Often there’s easy access to snacks and children’s taste preferences are shaped by the foods that are around them.

Despite these challenges, programs like FRESHFARM play an important role in encouraging children to explore new tastes. At first, many kids were turned off by the bitter taste of greens. But through different cooking ways, many kids become inspired.

The excitement of 5th graders is obvious as they happily taste the biscuits they’ve made, winning over many of their classmates. Catie Kelley, whose children have taken part in the program, shares, “Our family has new cooking experiences because of the program. The kids bring home recipes (食谱) that introduce us to dishes we don’t usually make. They show more interest at the store in identifying foods they’ve tried in the program.”

It is hoped that such school programs can arm children with the skills and inspiration needed to make healthy food choices, setting them on a path towards health in every way.