【推荐1】Food waste is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and fruits and vegetables are particularly problematic, as an estimated 52% of harvests go bad before reaching consumers. But one Malaysian company claims to have come up with a simple and effective solution to this problem—a tiny sticker (粘贴标签) that stops fruits spoiling for two weeks.

You’ve probably seen stickers on fruits before, but not like the ones created by Stixfresh. Those common stickers are used only to provide consumers with information about the grower and how the fruit was grown, but Stixfresh has a different purpose. It contains a special, all- natural way that slows down the ripening process, keeping the fruit fresh and juicy for much longer.

Stixfresh are made with 100% organic materials and contain a mixture of ionized (电离) Sodium Chloride and beeswax, which helps slow down the bacterial activity in the fruit, thus delaying the ripening process. The company insists that the stickers are so safe that you can actually eat them.

Stixfresh founder Zhafri Zainudin says that he came up with the idea for the stickers four years ago, after visiting a friend who sold fruit. The man complained about losing money every day due to spoiled fruits, but seemed resigned (顺从的), as he knew there was no way to stop nature taking its course. However, the Malaysian entrepreneur had another idea.

“It got me to thinking. Maybe I couldn’t stop nature, but could I slow it down?” Zainudin writes on his company’s website.

The Malaysian businessman partnered with Selangor University to develop and test his stickers. It took him three years to perfect the manufacturing process and effect of his innovative product.

Originally, Stixfresh stickers were only used to prolong the shelf-life of mangos, but the company later realized that they also worked on other fruits of the same size and with similar texture, like dragon fruit and pears.

【推荐2】The middle class in Uganda is on the increase. So is the country’s tourism industry. The growth of restaurants and high-end hotels is evidence that both foreigners and Ugandans are spending money. But the owners of these businesses have often had to turn to other countries to find executive chefs (行政总厨) . The reason: a lack of well-trained chefs and other assistants at Ugandan restaurants. Slowly but surely, this is changing.

Uganda has a problem not normally found in a low-income country. It has a shortage of local chefs. In recent years, the number of restaurants and tourism-related businesses has risen. As a result, the demand for well-trained cooks and other assistants has grown. But experienced chefs are difficult to find. Jean Byamugisha is in the Uganda Hotel Owners Association. “The biggest challenge is capacity building. People really need a lot of training, especially now that we are competing to reach East African level.”

To meet the need, many restaurants have turned to neighboring countries for help. Enock Alumasi is from Kenya. He saw that Uganda had a lack of top chefs. So he helped set up the Impact Chefs Academy in 2013. The academy is the only school in Uganda that offers a full training program for chefs. It offers a number of program-starting with one-week courses for those who already have a career in the restaurant industry, to a year-long training program.

One recent day, several students were learning the different ways to fry an egg. This may sound like something that comes naturally to a chef. But some workers have never cooked an egg before. Brian Kazibe has worked as a chef. He says that some trainees have learned about five different areas of restaurant operations over three months. “By the time they get to the kitchen,” he says, “they only remain for two or three weeks, which is not really enough for them.”

The Impact Chef’s Academy has trained more than 3, 000 people in the past two years. Jean Byaugisha says that the need is still growing. “The impact is not yet felt. One week’s training for a chef is too short. We need somebody who can come for two months, six months, nine months and train the chefs and release somebody who can actually come to the restaurant or a hotel and prepare a meal that everybody will fall over themselves to pay for.” However, the academy has gotten a taste of success; it looks forward to expanding.

【推荐3】Monice Martinez Wilhelmus and her team of researchers at Brown University in the United States were inspired by the way that krill (磷虾) move in the ocean and decided to try to recreate this in a robot.

Krill are tiny creatures in the same class as crabs (蟹) and lobsters (龙虾) and can be found in all oceans on Earth. They are a hugely important part of the food chain and many ocean creatures depend on them to survive.

Monica wanted to create a robot to study krill better and to help improve our knowledge of them.

Despite being about the size of a paperclip (回形针), krill are one of the most vital creatures on Earth. They form big swarms (群) in the sea and are the main food source of hundreds of sea animals - including the world’ s biggest creature - the Blue Whale. They also provide important nutrients, carbon and oxygen in the Antarctic.

However, there is much about krill that scientists don’t know because they are so small and difficult to study. To better understand how krill move, Monica and her team built a robotic leg called RoboKrill, using a 3D-printer. They used high-speed cameras to slow down a krill’s movements to help them to learn how their robot should move. RoboKrill moves in a similar way to a krill’s swimmerets - the swimming legs they have on their bottoms.

Currently, RoboKrill can’t swim on his own but the researchers hope that one day it can be sent into the wild to swim with krill and help to study them and even explore hard-to-reach areas of the ocean.

【推荐2】Recent years have seen a small increase in unemployment rates due to slowing of the economy. The fact that many college graduates are finding it difficult to land a job has sparked online discussions on the cost of education and the returns on it, with many agreeing with the notion that “education is useless”.

Stories like a person with a doctorate’s degree from Zhejiang University is delivering food, and overseas-returned graduates are selling hot-pot ingredients have caused many to question the value of education. Moreover, the fact that about 36,000 fewer candidates have applied to take the postgraduate exam in 2024, the first decline in numbers in years, has also fueled the “education is useless theory.

Is education truly worthless? This question has resurfaced due to several factors.

The wide spread of higher education has significantly increased the number of college graduates, reducing the value of college degrees. As the job market becomes over-crowded with graduates, the scarcity of high-level talents has become apparent, particularly in fields such as the humanities. For example, more than 900 institutions in China offer English major, making it the most common degree program, yet there’s a shortage of top talents who are proficient in English and have a good knowledge about the differences in Chinese and foreign approach to fields such as international relations and journalism.

The declining returns on the investment in education have given rise to the “education is useless” theory. Given the challenging job market, many believe college education does not guarantee any sort of employment, let alone a suitable job. And with various economic opportunities available, the notion that one can become financially successful even without formal education is becoming increasingly acceptable.

In light of these developments, combined efforts need to be made to change the situation. For instance, universities must take measures to integrate education, research and industry, while enhancing cooperation with enterprises through tailored talent training programs. Additionally, the authorities need to pay greater attention to vocational education, an important part of China’s educational system. Students, parents and society, on their part, should abandon their bias against vocational training, because it integrates education with career prospects throughout the learning process, offering targeted, technical and practical training which allows students to master their skills which can get them well-paying jobs in the future.

Developing a correct view of employment and career choice is key to abandoning the notion of “education being useless”. People, especially students, must understand the current employment landscape, their positioning, and strengths and weaknesses. While realizing that a college degree is no longer a ticket to employment, college students should leverage education resources to enrich their professional knowledge and competitiveness. And youths should approach vocational education with an open mind in order to make the most of what the job market has to offer.

Education is not synonymous with earning money, nor does a college degree guarantee financial success. The value of education is knowledge, which we need to make informed decisions not only in our professional life but also in our social and other fields of life.

【推荐3】Why is science education important in our schools? Science is everywhere.     1     As children grow up in an increasingly technologically and scientifically advanced world, they need to be scientifically literate (有文化的) to succeed. Ideally, teaching the scientific method to students is teaching them how to think, learn, solve problems and make informed decisions.     2    

Governmental guidelines and tests often focus on middle and high school level STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.     3     Not only does science education teach young learners problem-solving skills that will help them throughout their schooling, it also engages them in science from the start.

Kids usually form a basic opinion about the sciences shortly after beginning school. If this is a negative opinion, it can be hard to engage those students in science as they grow older.     4     By doing so, students will be encouraged to learn the sciences throughout school.

    5     It connects students’ lives with important problem-solving and critical (批判性的) thinking skills. Teaching these skills through science education gives students the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in school and beyond.