【推荐1】Artificial intelligence has become increasingly common in recent years, appearing in various apps and tools. ChatGPT is a chatbot developed by Open AI and designed to converse (对话) with people, generate text and answer complicated questions. The name ChatGPT stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer”, which indicates its ability to use pre-training models to examine the connections between all elements of a data sequence(序列), that is, using a model from one machine learning assignment to train another model, much similar to how people use previously learned information when learning something new. ChatGPT offers a substantial amount of text to use for pre-training.

ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, and the developer trained it to respond to follow-up questions, challenge incorrectness and admit mistakes. ChatGPT is also a generative AI tool that can create various types of content, including short stories, doctorate theses (论文), term papers, menus and more.

ChatGPT makes it easier and faster for bloggers or content creators to produce high-quality text. It can answer complicated questions conversationally, using innovative technology to learn what humans mean when asking questions. Many people are impressed with its human-like responses, making it an efficient tool for generating written content.

ChatGPT excels at language and information tasks. It has some restrictions built in that prevent it from providing toxic reactions that are against the right values. It’s also designed to ignore improper requests. While the program provided pretty decent responses to intellectual questions, it cannot provide definitive answers to spiritual questions. Its answers are not always accurate, as it is trained to give human-feeling responses rather than necessarily being correct.

Though AI tools can assist and enhance our abilities, we must avoid becoming too dependent on them, as this dependence can cost us our thinking abilities, critical skills and intellectual curiosity, which are vitally important for lifelong learning and growth. Thus, despite many advantages of ChatGPT, we must use it wisely to avoid losing crucial skills and cognitive abilities.

【推荐2】Forgiveness is important in children and adults for restoring relationships and limiting future conflicts. A recent study suggests that teaching children to understand other people's perspectives could make it easier for them to learn how to forgive other people. The study also found that teaching children to make sincere apologies can help them receive forgiveness from others.

Mulvey, an associate professor of psychology at North Carolina State University, led the study. Her team enlisted 185 children, aged between 5 and 14, in the study. Researchers conducted in an interview with each child that collected background information and assessed the child's "theory of mind" skills. Theory of mind is your ability to understand that someone else's beliefs, intentions and desires are different from your own.

Researchers then led each child through a series of scenarios (设想情况) involving other children who are "in group" and "out group." Specifically, each participant was told they were part of a group, such as the green team. During interviews, researchers described some children as also being on the green team (making them in-group), while other children were on the yellow team (making them out-group). In each scenario, interviewers asked study participants whether they were willing to forgive a group that left them out of a game or activity.

There were three main findings. First, children are more likely to forgive someone if he/she has apologized. Second, children are more likely to forgive people who are "in group." Third, the more advanced a child's theory of mind skills are, the more likely they are to forgive others.

The researchers identified two things that parents and teachers may want to focus on related to forgiveness. One is helping kids understand how important it is to apologize in a meaningful way. The second focus area is helping kids understand the perspectives of other people, even if they are different from you.

Mulvey says, “One of the biggest implications of our study is that teachers and parents need to actively help children cultivate theory of mind skills, which will aid them in navigating a diverse and complex world in the future.”

【推荐3】According to the World Economic Forum(WEF), eight million tons of plastic waste is being poured out into the oceans every year. That's the equivalent (相等物)of an entire garbage truck being dumped every three minutes, and the source of the problem—the world's cities. In Amsterdam, a simple solution has been found that could stop up to 86 percent of plastic waste ever reaching the oceans—a barrier made of bubbles (气泡).

The way the bubble barrier system works is basically that it is a tube placed diagonally (沿对角线地)on the bottom of the waterway. "The tube has a lot of tiny holes," according to Phillip Ehrhorn, Chief Technology Officer in The Great Bubble Barrier, "We pump air through it, and the air bubbles will rise towards the surface. The plastics are brought to the surface with the air bubbles and then, with the natural flow of the river, towards one side of the river." Then the other part of the bubble barrier system collects and removes the waste.

"Ship traffic is a key economic driver；we won't be able to stop that. So, we would have to find a solution which would not affect all the other existing activities and the ecosystem," Phillip added. The bubble barrier does exactly that. While it provides no block to water traffic and sea life can pass through freely, it also catches plastic waste of all sizes.

The Great Bubble Barrier is trying to work together with Amsterdam and local Non-governmental Organizations(NGOs)to evaluate what the bubble barrier system is catching so as to carry out new policies and additional measures on land. In this way, plastics entering the water could be reduced in the first place. "Our next step is a bubble barrier within Europe and we, of course, want to move to Asia because we think we can make a lot of influence there." said Francis Zoet, the founder of The Great Bubble Barrier.

【推荐1】“Leftover roast potatoes? There’s no such thing!” shouted people on social media when I shared a suggestion for using up remaining potatoes. This response is common whenever I propose ideas for ingredients (食材) considered “delicious” or a treat: wine, Easter eggs and cream. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, and all that—but the way we handle leftovers has to change. Because of my work creating recipes, I am constantly dealing with leftover food. I live alone, work from home and enjoy the challenge of transforming leftovers into new culinary delights.

During lockdown, I witnessed in people a growing understanding of having to make do with what was already in the cupboards, fridge and freezer. This led to an increasing confidence around making substitutions and understanding food-safety issues (such as the difference between “best before” and “use by”). I learned everything I know about food safety during my professional life.

While sharing food with neighbors, friends and the wider community is one way to deal with remaining ingredients, managing random bits and open packets requires a different approach. So in May 2022, I started a series on social media called Rollover Leftovers, showcasing daily short videos of my home cooking. Simple concepts such as refreshing rock-hard bread, freezing leftover chips or creating a “clear out the fridge” tray bake gained millions of views — a much bigger audience than I would expect for anything using tricky methods or fancy ingredients.

Use your imagination and trust yourself, and you’ll discover that leftovers can be a joy, not a chore. And if you find you have the leftovers of a great big turkey but are fed up with the sight of it, or you have more cranberry sauce than you could possibly eat alone, why not try joining forces with neighbors or friends? Not so much bring a bottle as bring a loaf, because a post-Christmas leftovers sandwich is truly the best bite of the year. Isn’t it?

【推荐2】Eco-Friendly Changes You Can Make to Your Home

As part of the move to save the environment and money, many people have made lots of changes to their homes over the past few years, and the trend (趋势) is set to continue in the years ahead.     1     .

Switch out your light bulbs (灯泡)

You might not think that this could make a big difference.     2    . With LED light bulbs being up to75% more efficient than standard light bulbs, it could save about. $7.75 per month to light your home if you made the switch to LED.

Turn to solar energy (太阳能)

Rising energy costs are forcing people to look for new methods of powering their homes.       3    . It’s also a clean, renewable energy source, meaning not only is it cheaper for you, but environmentally-friendly to power your home.

    4     ?

Wind power is more stable than solar, and it can be used to produce power. Like solar options (选择；选项) , using wind means that it won’t matter as you’ll have a continuous power source of your own.

Seal (密封) gaps around doors and windows

One very low-cost option to help your home be more efficient is to stop the air from leaving your home. If you have gaps around doors and windows, the air from your air conditioning system will be heading literally straight outside.     5