【推荐1】When asked how technology might improve the lives of people with vision impairments(视力障碍) . Joann Becker, a vision impairments tech specialist, presented a misleadingly simple challenge, saying “I’d like to be able to find my bus stop through Be My Eyes”.

Be My Eyes, which went live in 2015, establishes a direct video connection between visually impaired users and sighted volunteers. The assumption is simple: Many people who are blind don't need any actual assistance in completing their daily tasks, but merely need a little help.

A sighted volunteer might be asked to help identify which of two cans contains tomatoes. In this case, the visually impaired user can cook a meal just fine on his/her own- -all he/she needs is a quick confirmation that he/she has the correct can. The model appears to be working; more than 540.000 volunteers and nearly 40.000 people with low vision are registered on the app.

“An elderly woman can now help a visually impaired technician set up his computer.” says founder Hans Wiberg, who has very low vision. “She doesn't need to know a thing about computers. She only needs to read what is presented on the screen. Then he can do the rest. ”

Early assistive technology centered on dedicated devices(专用设备), because of the niche market(小众市场) , which sold for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. But the Smartphone, multipurpose and near-universal, has completely changed the economy of scale. “There are larger market forces driving high-powered computation, high-quality                                        engineering and high-quality battery management in the smartphone market than those in a specialty product.” says Aaron Stcinfeld, a research professor at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

“The reality is most sighted people don't know somebody who is bind.” Becker says.” They think the solutions that a blind person needs are far more expansive. It turns out they need to be. “I think these apps are enabling sighted people to see that blind people just need some simple clues to help them do any number of things in their lives.”

【推荐2】The first time I used the TV to distract my daughter, I felt like a bad parent; I convinced myself I was a “bad” mom—these days I believe the opposite to be true. Screen time makes me a better mom.

Now I know what most of you might be thinking: That’s ridiculous. Only crappy(糟糕的)parents rely on the screen to care for their kids. Then again, experts suggest parents limit media use. And while I do not doubt experts, there are things they fail to consider.

Like most 6-year-olds, my daughter gets worked up and excited easily and watching a cartoon gives her a chance to shut off her mind. And there are other reasons— more selfish reasons. I am a work-from-work mom, and giving her screen time gives me “me”time. I’m able to write while she watches TV. And while this may sound bad, I believe I am helping my daughter realize she should rely on herself. When Mommy works, she gets her own snacks, drinks and toys.

There are other benefits, too. TV has also taught my daughter. Thanks to “super Why”,she knew her alphabet at 2, and thanks to “Sesame Street”, she was able to count to 20 by age 3. And I use the screen as a great incentive. My daughter earns “tablet time” when she completes tasks, e.g., making her bed earns 15minutes while doing her homework gets her 30.

Of course, I have a few rules. During meals, the TV is off; all programs must be supervised; on weekdays, she is limited to two hours maximum. So remember: It doesn’t matter what our kids watch; it matters what they do, what they say, what they feel and how they act, and only you know what is best for them.

【推荐2】The Chinese women’s soccer team won back their famous fighting spirit to end a 16-year wait to lift the Asian Cup. Having fallen behind 2-0 in the final in Navi Mumbai, India, on the night of February 6, 2022, the team determined to battle back and tied (打平) the game before Xiao Yuyi fired home a dramatic 93rd-minute goal from Wang Shanshan’s help to secure the title.

The victory earned China a record ninth Asian Cup title, which compensated for their disappointing performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. China’s Tokyo 2020 participation ended with a shocking 8-2 defeat (击败) at the hands of the Netherlands, showing just how far Chinese women’s soccer had fallen behind the game’s elite (精英的) nations. The huge turnaround in fortunes made the win extra special for fans.

“Although the players come from different cities, we need to come together. We never let our heads drop when we were 0-2 down. The players overcame both their competitors and themselves,” said the head coach Shui Qingxia.

The Steel Roses’ victory completely controlled discussion on Chinese social media. The topic “Chinese women’s team wins Asian Cup” was viewed over 1.1 billion times by February 7, but that was just one of 10 top topics related to the women’s team on Weibo. Countless thrilled people commented that “The whole team is worthy of every praise.” After their victory, media and experts urged (催促) for greater support for the development of the women’s game. A number of Chinese companies have already taken actions to reward them, with dairy giant Mengniu Group gifting the team 10 million yuan after its heroics.

Now the work is to continue to regain past glories, as well as improve the standard of the domestic leagues and youth training to give the country a better chance of producing more great players. This victory certainly showed that such goals can be realized. The women’s soccer team has great spirit and skill. They are our role models!

【推荐3】Harvard researchers have created a tough, low-cost, biodegradable(可生物降解的) material inspired by insects’ hard outer shells. The material’s inventors say it has a number of possible uses and some day could provide a more environmentally friendly alternative（可替代的） to plastic. The material, made from shrimp shells and proteins produced from silk, is called “shrilk”. It is thin, clear, flexible（柔韧性的） and strong.

A major benefit of the material is its biodegradability. Plastic’s toughness and flexibility represented a revolution in materials science during the 1950s and 1960s. Decades later, however, plastic’s durability(耐用性) is raising questions about how appropriate it is for one-time products such as plastic bags, or short-lived consumer goods, used in the home for a few years and then cast into a landfill where they will degrade for centuries. What is the point of making something that lasts 1,000 years?

Shrilk not only will degrade in a landfill, but its basic components are used as fertilizer, and so will enrich the soil. Shrilk has great potential, the inventors said. Materials from which it is made are plentiful in nature, found in everything ranging from shrimp shells, insect bodies to living plants. That makes shrilk low cost, and its mass production possible if it should be used for products demanding a lot of material.

Work on shrilk is continuing in the lab. The inventors said the material becomes flexible when wet, so they’re exploring ways to use it in wet environments. They’re also developing simpler production processes, which could be used for non-medical products, like for computer cases and other products inside the home. They’re even exploring combining it with other materials, like carbon fibers, to give it new properties.

【推荐1】Friday and Saturday were full of surprises for Chinese, as two places in China were listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. The first, a World Natural Heritage, is composed of a series of migratory bird sanctuaries (候鸟保护地) along the coast of the Yellow Sea in Yancheng, East China’s Jiangsu Province. The second, the Liangzhu Archaeological Site in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province, was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site.

China began the application process for the bird sanctuaries in 2017. It only took two years to successfully complete the process. The migratory bird sanctuaries are the central node of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and many endangered species, especially threatened migratory birds including red-crowned cranes and flamingos, go there to hunt for food during the migration season. The birds usually take a month to finish their migration. At about 10 days into their migration, they must stop and find food in order to have the energy to continue their journey.

Compared to the short turnaround for the World Natural Heritage’s application, the Liangzhu application was far more complicated. The application team spent six years making their dream a reality. The site in Liangzhu is evidence of the existence of an early regional state in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River during the late Neolithic period in China, which helps fill in the gaps in the history of the rice-cultivating civilizations of China and East Asia more than 5000 years ago. The site was one of the 20th century’s most important archaeological discoveries in China.

With these two new additions, China now has 55 World Heritage sites, the highest number in the world. The successful application means greater responsibility and obligations (义务). Protecting these places is much more important and is our future work.