【推荐1】Generation gap, a story that defines every parent and child!

Nowadays we all talk of generation gap; the older generation is often heard criticizing the present generation, and the younger generation hardly bothers to give ears to what’s been taught. And all they blame at the end is “generation gap”. But what causes the gap on earth?

Difference in thinking: Whether it is about eating out, planning a holiday, choosing an entertainment source or for that matter selecting one’s clothing type, there is a huge difference that exists in the thinking of parents and kids. While parents still stick to the age old belief, the kids on the other hand swear by the latest technology.

The lifestyle: Parents support the deeply rooted traditional culture, while kids leave no chance of rebelling against the age old traditions and customs. They want to live life on their own terms and the slightest of interference from parents will make them feel insecure about their freedom. Society, morals and ethics often appear to them as threat to their free life.

Parental expectation: This is something where only the parents are responsible. Often we find parents trying to live their unfulfilled dreams through their kids, which apparently makes life a burden, hard enough for the kids to handle. Too much of expectations from parents often lead the kids to rebel when they fail to live up to them.

Lack of communication: Last but not the least, lack of proper communication is the main reason of generation gap. Communication is not just talking or asking about your child’s daily routine or the demanding of something from you. Communication is more about sharing your thoughts, ideas and at the same time trying to acknowledge and listening what others say.

【推荐3】Mother’s Day was coming. Anna really wanted to get her mom something special. In the first grade, Anna made a card for her mom. In the second grade, she wrote her a poem. But now she was in the third grade. Anna thought her mom would want a real gift from a store.

Anna went to a store near her house. That was where she could get her mom’s gift. She saw a beautiful hat, but it was 15 dollars. She wanted to buy a scarf for her mom, but the scarf was even more expensive — 18 dollars! Anna looked around the store but nothing was available (可得到的) for her. She bought nothing because nothing that she wanted was less than 12 dollars.

Anna walked home sadly. She got an idea. She took out some paper and a pencil, and made some cards. On each card, she wrote a thing that she would do for her mom. On one card she wrote, “I will help you make dinner.” On another one she wrote, “I will clean the house and do laundry (洗衣服).” She wrote eight more and put the cards under her bed. She didn’t want her mom to see them before the special day.

On Mother’s Day, Anna gave her mom the cards. Her mom thought the gift was great. In fact, she thought it was the best gift ever!

【推荐1】Back in September, I took a small team from Motor Trend to see the Tesla Cybertruck. Tesla told us that we were the first outsiders, and the only newspaper to see the vehicle. So it’s fun for me to disclose how some of us reacted after seeing it for the first time.

Christian Seabaugh, Kim Reynolds, Mark Williams, Sean Holman, and I spent hours with the Tesla’s design team on a warm Friday afternoon, at Tesla’s design studio in Hawthorne, California.

When we left the studio and walked back to our car at the parking lot, everyone was quiet, lost in thought. We remained absolutely silent until we pulled out onto a busy street and saw regular cars and trucks, in traffic.

I was the first one to break the ice, “Can you imagine how crazy it will look when that truck is on the road, with regular cars?”

And with that, my colleagues unburdened themselves. Here are some choice thoughts.

“As a traditional truck person, I was dumbstruck when I walked in. What is that? Origami? A military vehicle or SUV? I wonder how will you see out of it? Wait, where’s the bed? I am still too surprised to think. I need a shower, a cigarette or a nap, in no particular order,” said Sean Holman.

“My first thought after entering the design studio was that the only thing missing in the space was anything remotely looking like what I would consider a Tesla truck. Nothing else but the military-styled video game concept in the center of the floor, “ said Mark Williams.

“I’m impressed by how far Tesla was willing to go away from their existing design language. It is a high-risk design. It will dominate the conversation when it appears, and get good presale orders, but I wonder for how long?” said Kim Reynolds.

”When I first looked at the Tesla truck, my first thought was that I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Are they images!? Wow, it’s really beautiful,“ said Christian Seabaugh.

What is your reaction to Tesla’s Cybertruck? Love it? Hate it? Will you buy it?

【推荐2】The founder of KiwiHarvest has won an award for her efforts and impacts in aiding the environment and communities.

Deborah Manning, who lives in Dunedin, started KiwiHarvest from the boot(行李箱) of   her car 10 years ago. Originally a lawyer, Manning changed careers when she realized that she wanted to focus on “significance“ rather than success.

Manning said, “I was driven to make a difference for delicate people in Aotearoa and for our fragile environment.”She said that if she used food that was still good to eat but was going to be thrown out to feed those in need, she could be “solving two problems with one solution”. She spent four months researching “food rescue” and speaking to businesses and groups who might donate extra food or need food for their food support programs (foodbanks, community meals, shelters etc. ).“Once I understood what was needed to collect,’ store and transport perishable(易变质的), frozen and fresh food, I simply started doing it in my own ear,”, she said.

Since then, KiwiHarvest has grown from a single person operation to a national organization with branches across the country.“ We provide food to organizations in the community working in the face of hunger and poverty ,”Manning said, “which in turn reduces their food budget so they can spend their precious funds on the other programs they offer. ”

Her efforts towards reducing food waste and aiding in food insecurity was recognized in the 2022 Kiwibank New Zealand Local Hero, of the Year Award, given to those “taking extraordinary action to better our communities and nation.”

KiwiHarvest has now provided 20 million meals from rescued food for people across Aolearoa. The next focus for it is on education, Manning said, “We want to get out into the community to tell our story and encourage people to reduce food waste and eat healthily.”

【推荐3】After working as a surgeon for several years, Dr. Ginoux decided to apply for membership in the College of Surgeons (外科医生学会), a highly selective and distinguished professional organization.

As part of the application procedure (手续), Dr. Ginoux was asked to prepare a list of all the operations performed in the previous seven years. Slowly, as she worked on the long list, she began to question some of her decisions. Had she used the best techniques in that case? Maybe, in this case, she should have… Would the doctors on the selection committee understand that, as the only trained surgeon in the area, she usually could not get advice from others and therefore, had to rely completely on her own judgment? For the first time, Dr. Ginoux felt lonely and isolated.

The longer Dr. Ginoux worked on the application forms, the more depressed she became. As hope faded, she wondered if a “country doctor” had a realistic chance of being accepted by the College of Surgeons.

After visiting family in Rutland, Tay, together with her three-year-old son and his “favourite companion”, a cuddly toy monkey, caught the train to go back to their home in Bristol.

As they switched trains at Birmingham New Street station, Tay realized that the monkey had been left behind. Her son, she said, was heartbroken.

“He just burst into tears,” Tay said. “He just kept asking ’Where’s my monkey?’ I told him ‘it’s just like playing hide and seek’ and reassured him that lots of kind people were looking for the monkey and the postman would send it back.”

Tay called Network Rail but it was too late, and the CrossCountry train had already left the station. Tay was not hopeful about a reunion but the monkey was a gift to her son on the day he was born, so she passed its sentimental (情感的) value to the train staff.

As she and her disappointed son made their way home, staff at various train companies worked together to track down the toy. They managed to locate the monkey. Tay was kept informed of the progress and told that, as it was by then too late that day, the monkey would be kept overnight in the Lost and Found at Birmingham. Determined to give the monkey a comfortable stay, staff at the station found it a hand-knitted sweater that had been previously used as a Christmas decoration. Next morning, the monkey, which usually slept with its owner every night, was on an early train from Birmingham to Bristol, where Tay was waiting.

“I collected it on my bicycle and brought it home. I just said to my son ’guess what I’ve got for you’ and pulled it out my bag. ” She added that the monkey’s new sweater had been a “lovely surprise” and the railway logo on there reminded them of the journey it made.

In total, four train companies helped the monkey home and it covered an extra 619 miles. Tay said, “The monkey’s been with my son ever since and we are keeping it close, so no more adventures for it in the future.”