【推荐1】Going green seems to be a fad(时尚)for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.

On April 22, 2011, we decided to go green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different green things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond the easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.

With the idea of going green every single day for a year, Our Green Year started. My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.

Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyles. We now shop at organic(有机的)stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.

Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.

【推荐1】Art is all around us. It can be found everywhere, including fancy galleries, people’s living rooms, and on the sides of buildings. So, why is art important?

It promotes expression and creativity. As humans, we’re naturally drawn to art as a form of expression and communication.     1     It’s a way for them to express themselves before they’re able to speak. In fact, participation in the arts may even assist kids with language, motor skills, and visual learning development.

    2    . When someone applies for a job, there are certain skills they need to have like data analysis or bookkeeping. However, many employers also understand the very important need for the skills which are hard to measure and often difficult to define. Some examples include a person’s ability to adapt to change, think creatively, or collaborate with team members.

It provides historical context.     3    . This is why people dedicate their lives to studying cave art, Shakespearean plays, and so much more. When we take the time to dive into art created in the past, we can learn about other generations and eras. We can study art to find out what those before us were facing and how they overcame it.     4    .

In therapy (疗法) settings, art also provides an opportunity for digging deeper and expressing emotions that are difficult to discuss.     5    . In one important study, children between 6 and 12 were asked to draw a house as a distraction after thinking about something upsetting. This group was able to improve their mood when compared with children who were instructed to draw the negative event or simply copy another drawing.

【推荐2】An advance in electronic publishing could make the e-book you are reading seem as dated as a silent film. Publishers hope to explore the growing success of e-books by releasing versions with added soundtracks(电影配音) and musical accompaniments.

The noises in the first multimedia books — released in Britain on Friday — include rain hitting a window in a Sherlock Holmes tale. When the plot of a book reaches the most exciting part, background scores will create tension.

Supporters argue that sound effects are the next logical development for e-books and will add excitement for younger readers. Critics, however, will argue that the noise will ruin the simple pleasure of having the imagination stimulated by reading.

Caroline Michel, chief executive of the literary agency, said the new generation of computer- literate readers was used to multiple sensory input. She said, “Young people have split computer screens where they may be watching television and replying to an email at the same time. If that‟s what the market wants then we should respond to the market.”

Book track‟s sound effects work by estimating the user‟s reading speed. Each time you turn a page, the software reassesses where you have reached in the text and times the sounds to switch on accordingly. If the soundtrack becomes out of synch (同步), a click on any word will reset it.

Some authors fear that a soundtrack could destroy the peace and quiet of libraries and ruin the pleasure, of reading. David Nicholls, author of Our Day, the bestseller now released as a film, said, “This sounds like the opposite of reading. I have enough trouble reading an e-book because I‟m constantly distracted by emails.”

Stuart Mat Bride, the crime writer whose novel Shatter the Bones was an e-book bestseller, sells 18% of his books as electronic downloads. He said, “If I‟m reading, I will do the noise in my head. I don‟t need someone to tell me what tea cups clinking sounds like. That would irritate(激怒) me.”

【推荐3】You’ve likely met the humblebrag before —— boasting (吹噓) in a way of a complaint, such as “I’m having such a worrying day. I got two job offers and I don’t know what to do.”

This is a typical example of humblebragging, a term coined by comedic writer Harris Wittels referring to “a specific type of boast that allows the offender to broadcast their achievements without the necessary shame and guilt that should normally accompany such claims.” In simpler terms, it’s a way to disguise a boast with some humility (谦让). Humblebragging comes in two different forms. The first is humility - based, an example being,＂can’t believe I got the highest grade in my class ”. The second type comes mixed with a bit of complaint, for example,＂I can’t believe that shopkeeper asked me for ID. I’m 25!”

People don’t like when others humblebrag because they find they are lacking in sincerity. Sincerity is a critical dimension of social evaluation, which is viewed as fundamental to people’s identity. In fact, people prize sincerity even above competence and warmth in others, according to Dr. Sezer.

If humblebragging doesn’t work, and no one likes it, why do we still do it? We all want to highlight our positive qualities without seeming proud. By speaking in a complaint or an expression of humility, we hope we’ll somehow land on the “sweet spot” of self - presentation: promoting ourselves while also conveying likability. In addition, research suggests that people may experience positive feelings while humblebragging.

Considering that we’re all likely to feel the urge to humblebrag, at least to some extent, the proper response when we hear a friend doing it may be to simply let it go——because ultimately we’re going to do it ourselves, and who really wants to be called out on it?