【推荐1】Byron Bay is a famous small town, located in the northeast corner of New South Wales, Australia. It is a place where one can indulge themselves with the wildest nature.More than 300 cost-effective accommodations can be found on www.airbnb.cn. Just go and catch up!

The eco-friendly self-contained cabin is set amongst 24 acres of private rainforest with all the added modern luxuries. It is fully equipped with a full size kitchen, wifi, smart flat screen TV with Netflix.

It's an ideal place for couples, families or friends to get together and enjoy Byron Bay. Wake up to a chorus of birds in the morning, just in time to have a coffee with friends in the privacy of the large verandah (露台餐厅).

This beautiful luxurious glamping (露营) space is located just 5 mins from the heart of Byron Bay. This space is perfect for those wanting to experience the uniqueness of Byron Bay, from the breathtaking views on the lighthouse walk to the crystal clear waters at Wategos Beach.

The Emperor Bell Tent sits on its own raised deck overlooking the tree-lined valley beyond. It'd only a 9 minutes drive to the local shops. Perfect to lie in bed and watch the sunrise or sit out on the deck beneath the milky way at night.

【推荐3】In the 17th century when a British businessman heard that there were one hundred million people in China, he was determined to go there and sell spoons. He thought even if he could earn one penny for one spoon, he would still make a lot of money.     1    

Then, why do the Chinese people use chopsticks? Some people did research on the origin of China’s chopsticks. One theory is that chopsticks were very convenient for Chinese to use because China was an agricultural society, relying mainly on vegetables for food. When we steamed or boiled food, it was difficult for us to use spoons to dip vegetables in the soup.     2     Westerners, on the other hand, travelled with their animals from place to place and lived on meat. For them, knives and forks were more practical.

Chopsticks reflect gentleness and kindness, the main moral teaching of Confucianism.     3     First, don’t use it to hit the side of your bowl or plate to make noises, because Chinese people think only beggars would do this to beg for meals.     4     It means you lay the blame on others. Also, don’t stick your chopsticks upright in the rice bowl. That usually appears at the funerals and is believed to be impolite to the host and the seniors who are at the table.

Today, chopsticks have become a typical part of Chinese culture, symbolising the power of unity.     5     However, ten pairs of chopsticks represent strength, which means they won’t break off in any cases. We Chinese people draw on this spirit, which always inspires and encourages us to work hand in hand for a better future.

【推荐1】If you are looking for a unique gift for a graduate, I recommend these children’s picture books for their wit and wisdom.

I Wish You More

I Wish You More, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld, is a book full of good wishes, expressed in a way that graduates will appreciate. While acknowledging (承认) life isn’t perfect, the wishes are always for the best. Wishes include, “I wish you more give than take” and “I wish you more umbrellas than rain”. The book’s creators effectively combine humor, wisdom and affection in it.

If You Hold a Seed

The author and illustrator Elly MacKay’s illustrations tell this quiet story about a little boy who plants a seed and patiently cultivates and cares for it over the seasons until it reaches maturity. This story also serves as a metaphor (隐喻) for working towards a dream or goal with care and patience and reaching it over time, which makes If You Hold a Seed a good graduation gift.

Only One You

In this picture book written and illustrated by Linda Kranz, a mother and a father decide it is time to share their wisdom with their son, Adri. While Adri’s parents’ words are indeed wise, it is the mixed media artwork illustrating their meanings that makes this book so special. For example, “If something gets in your way, move around it” is illustrated with a line of rock fish that detour around a fishing line with a worm on it.

In Factfulness, Professor Hans Roslingasks simple questions like ‘How many girls finish school?’ and ‘What percentage of the world’s population is poor?’ It turns out that the majority of us get the answers to these questions completely wrong. Why does this happen? Factfulness sets out to explain why, showing that there are several instincts humans have that distort (扭曲) our perspective. Yes, there are real concerns. But we should adopt a mindset of factfulness – only carrying opinions that are supported by strong facts. This book focuses on our instinctive biases (偏见), offering practical advice to help us see the good as well as the bad in the world.

Are things getting worse every day? Is progress an impossible goal? In Enlightenment Now, Steven Pinker looks at the big picture of human progress and finds good news. We are living longer, healthier, freer and happier lives. Pinker asks us to stop paying so much attention to negative headlines and news that declares the end of the world. Instead, he shows us some carefully selected data. In 75 surprising graphs, we see that safety, peace, knowledge and health are getting better all over the world. Economic inequality, he claims, is not really a problem, because it is not actually that important for human well-being.

For more than two hundred years those who hold negative thoughts have been winning the public debate. They tell us that things are getting worse. But as a matter of fact, life is getting better. Income, food availability and lifespan are rising; disease, violence and child mortality are falling. Best-selling author Matt Ridley doesn’t only explain how things are getting better; he gives us reasons why as well. He shows us how human culture evolves in a positive direction thanks to the exchange of ideas and specialization. This bold book looks at the entirety of human history – from the Stone Age to the 21st century – and changes the concept that it’s all going downhill.

The majority of people believe that developing countries are in a terrible situation: suffering from incredible poverty and wars. The reality is that a great transformation is occurring. Over the past 20 years, more than 700 million people have increased their income and come out of poverty. This is happening across developing countries around the world. The end of the Cold War, the development of new technologies and brave new leadership have helped to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people in poor countries. In his book The Great Surge, Stevens Radelet describes how all of this is happening and, more importantly, it shows us how we can speed up the process.