【推荐1】Today, many people spend a lot of time reading online, whether reading news, social media, or e-books. While online reading opens up a lot of knowledge to people, there are some drawbacks, too. These include eyestrain, headaches, as well as difficulty in even finishing reading the text. Now a new reading plugin (插件) has been intended to help people overcome these problems and read faster online.

The reading plugin called Bionic Reading, which was developed by Swiss designer Renato Casutt, was created with the belief that your brain can read faster than your eyes. The plugin makes the first few letters of each word in bold (粗体), which actually allows your eyes to skip over parts of the text and your brain to fill in what is missing. Incredibly, reading like this feels like finally unlocking 100 percent of people’s brain.

Casutt came up with the plugin by accident. He was reading a book in a foreign language and realized he could read it faster and well master it if he separated it into parts. He has worked for six years to develop Bionic Reading and is still working to perfect it. Many people who want to strengthen their reading ability show interest in it, but more research is needed before it can be definitively shown that the system improves reading ability. But people with dyslexia (诵读障碍) have confirmed that Bionic Reading did help them focus on what they are reading.

Casutt’s goal is to integrate the plugin into all reading apps and online services. “In a digital world dominated (支配) by shallow forms of reading, Bionic Reading aims to encourage a more in-depth reading and understanding of written content,” he said. Bionic Reading is available in several apps like Fiery Feeds, Lire, and Next App. The best way to know if it helps you read better online is to try it yourself and find out what it is all about.

【推荐3】Here are some books that are carefully picked for your kids.

Corduroy

It’s about a little bear, Corduroy, in a toy shop. He has lost one of his buttons (纽扣). This makes him very sad because he wants to be taken home by a kid. So he decides to find a new button. Corduroy contains some hard words. So you’d better use a dictionary while reading it.

Price: $18; a 10% discount (折扣) on Sunday

Curious George

Curious George, a monkey, is a little too interested in everything, which causes humans to bring him from the forest to a big city. However, there he calls the fire department, is sent to prison, escapes from prison and is carried into the sky by balloons. Though the book uses a lot of short and simple sentences, some of its words are not simple.

Price: $20; a 20% discount on Sunday

The Story of Ferdinand

Ferdinand, a bull, loves to smell the flowers in the grasslands. One day people come to pick a male cow for bullfights. Ferdinand doesn’t want to be chosen, but a bee stings (蜇) him. It causes him to jump around crazily, so he’s picked. In Ferdinand’s first fight, he lies down to smell the flowers instead of fighting. So he is sent back to the grassland. The book has many similar stories that bring laughter. And it has everything that makes a children’s book great for English learners — simple and hard words.

Price: $16; a 10% discount on Sunday

Green Eggs and Ham

In this book, a cat named Sam really likes green eggs and meat. So he offers them to a friend. Read the book to see if his friend likes the meal or not. This book is a poem. Despite the simple vocabulary, the words are used in a way that feels smart.

Price: $15; a 5% discount on Sunday

【推荐1】Still Miles to Go

My husband Tom came with a huge grin on his face. He held his arms wide and announced his retirement after working for the Postal Service for thirty-three years. But as time went by, I could tell that Tom had nothing to do at home. He began to pace like a lion, glancing out the windows.

“I think I’ll look for a part-time job,” Tom informed me one day. I felt instant relief. The lion would cease circling, and I could be in peace. We kept our eyes open for job opportunities. A few days later, when our car crept behind a school bus, I remarked “You could drive that bus.” He had driven us over the mountain s through rainstorms on winding roads. Behind the wheel, he seemed fearless. “Of course, I could drive that bus,” he answered back. “But could I drive it with forty-five children bouncing and yelling in the back?” We both laughed at the thought.

That bus became the bumblebee (大黄蜂) that buzzed around me. I pictured Tom happily going off to work again, climbing behind the wheel and setting off on his daily route. My enthusiasm must have attracted Tom because I overheard him on the phone with the transportation department. He was hired.

The very next morning, he was given a bus and a route sheet. Driving the bus turned out rewarding, and Tom is blooming in his new role. I think he likes being the “big guy” on the road.

He is now “Mr. Tom” to his riders and their parents. I hear he is quite amazing. When the pre-K children climb aboard, he fastens the safety belt for them. He greets the children with high-fives. Then he leads them in a quick and fun activity, where they get to shout after hours spent in their quiet classroom. “Goodbye, teachers!” yells Mr. Tom. The little ones repeat it. “Goodbye, school!” Again, they repeat, joyfully. Mr. Tom then yells out the last two lines, and the children laugh and repeat at the top of their lungs.

He has been driving the bus for seven years and has gotten lots of thank-notes from grateful parents. Sometimes, while a school bus passes me, it always warms my heart when the driver is the one I’m hoping to see and I catch the kiss he blows me.