【推荐1】There were many battles that took place during the American Revolutionary War (1775—1783), but perhaps some of the worst battles involved the American Continental Army versus the winter at Valley Forge in 1777 and 1778. Here many people believe was where the American Army was born. Valley Forge is located about 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania.

General George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and he decided to set up winter camp at Valley Forge. It was close to Philadelphia, which was where the British had been camping out for the winter. This allowed him to keep a watchful eye on their movements. There were high areas in Mount Joy and Mount Misery where the army could make fortifications. Nearby was also the Schuylkill River, which was used as a barrier to the North.

The army’s stay at Valley Forge turned into a time of training. Besides Washington, two other leaders included General Friedrich von Steuben and General Marquis de Lafayette.

Steuben was born in Prussia and arrived at Valley Forge with a recommendation letter from statesman and scientist Benjamin Franklin. He trained the Continental Army using the daily drill, even in the extremely cold weather. In fact, he was responsible for writing the army’s Revolutionary War Drill Manual, which served as the standard United States drill manual until the War of 1812.

Lafayette was a French military leader, working for no pay, and asking for no special treatment. He later became an important commander in several key battles during the war.

Besides the freezing weather, it was consistently cold, wet, and snowy at Valley Forge. In addition, food was lacking, and there were very few warm clothes, shoes, or blankets. The log cabins they lived in were crowded, cold and damp, and allowed diseases to easily spread. Of the 10,000 men at Valley Forge, 2,500 died before the break of spring mostly from diseases.

Following the winter at Valley Forge, under Washington’s leadership, a better-disciplined, trained, and more powerful army, in high spirits, left on June 19, 1778. Nine days later, their first victory against the British occurred at the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey.

【推荐2】The Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics saw many excellent athletes compete on the ice and snow, prompting an enthusiasm for winter sports in China. In fact, the country has had a deep relationship with winter sports since ancient times, with skiing originating in the Altay prefecture of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

In 2005, cave paintings of Altay people hunting on skis with poles were discovered, which archaeologists estimated could be more than 10,000 years old. Since then, Altay has been recognized by many as one of the birthplaces of skiing, according to Xinhua.

As one of the richest collections of ancient rock art in China, there are herds of camels, sheep, wolves and human figures. The painting on the roof of a cave in Dundebulake village of Altay prefecture depicts humans on skis, bending their knees as they travel alongside animals, including deer and moose.

The rock art in Dundebulake is well preserved because the pictographs (象形文字) are well hidden in the cave.

Additionally, Alta’s dry climate has been a useful preserving agent, according to a 2016 research paper published by the Hebei Normal University.

Unique geographical and climatic conditions make skiing an indispensable part of local people’s lives. The climate in Altay is mild and not too windy, so skiers are less affected by weather conditions, allowing them to safely move faster.

Unlike the modern skis we use nowadays, fur skis have been used as a means of transportation for the snowfield inhabitants of Altay for more than 100 centuries, according to rock carvings uncovered in the area.

Making skis has been a traditional skill. The handmade skis have a layer of horse skin. The fur on the horse skin can help decrease friction (摩擦力) when they slide down the hill, while the skis also prevent skiers from falling when they walk up. At the same time, they have a wooden stick in hand to keep balance, according to China Daily.

Fur ski competitions have been held annually by the local government. Many locals would display their maneuvers (高超的移动) at the competitions.

【推荐3】The flag, the most common symbol of a nation in the modern world, is also one of the most ancient. With a clear symbolic meaning, the flag in the traditional form is still used today to mark buildings, ships and other vehicles related to a country.

The national flag as we know it today is in no primitive (原始的) artifact. itis, rather, the product of thousands of years’ development. Historians believe that it had two major ancestors, of which the earlier served to show wind direction.

Early human beings used very fragile houses and boats. Often strong winds would tear roofs from houses or cause high waves that endangered travelers. People’s food supplies were similarly vulnerable. Even after they had learned how to plant grains, they still needed help from nature to ensure good harvests. Therefore they feared and depended on the power of the wind, which could bring warmth from one direction and cold from another.

Using simple piece of cloth tied to the top of post to tell the direction of the wind was more dependable than earlier methods, such as watching the rising of smoke from a fire. The connection of the flag with heavenly power was therefore reasonable. Early human societies began to fix long pieces of cloth to the tops of totems (图腾) before carrying them into battle. They believed that the power of the wind would be added to the good wishes of the gods and ancestors represented by the totems themselves.

These flags developed very slowly into modern flags. The first known flag of a nation or a ruler was unmarked: The king of China around 1000 B. C. was known to have a white flag carried ahead of him. This practice might have been learned from Egyptians even further in the past, but it was from China that it spread over trade routes through India, then across Arab lands, and finally to Europe, where it met up with the other ancestor of the national flag

【推荐2】Sleep is widely recognized as one of life’s necessary processes. But do you know that sleepless nights can also lead to selfish behavior? Insufficient sleep affects how likely a person is to help someone, according to new research published in the journal PLOS Biology.

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, conducted three studies looking at this “selfish” effect, analyzing changes in neural (神经系统的) activity and behavior that benefit others, and found it was common even after a small loss of sleep.

Research scientists Eti Ben Simon and Matthew Walker told that this finding was most surprising. “Even if we lose just one hour of sleep, it is enough to influence the choice to help another and hit our natural human kindness and our motivation to help other people in need,” said Ben Simon.

In the first study, by looking at a database of 3 million charitable donations between 2001 and 2016, Eti Ben Simon, Matthew Walker and their colleagues saw a 10% drop in donations following Daylight Saving Time (夏令时). This drop was not seen in states that don’t follow the one-hour forward. In the second study, the researchers looked at the brain activity of 24 people after eight hours of sleep and after a night of no sleep. The areas of the brain associated with theory of mind were less active after sleep loss, this study found. In the third study, which measured the sleep of more than 100 people across three to four nights, researchers unexpectedly found that sleep quantity and quality both typically influenced emotional and social behavior. “These findings could suggest that once sleep time rises above some basic amount, sleep quality is the most critical factor that influences desire to help other people,” Dr. Ivana Rosenzweig, asleep physician said.

Ben Simon and Walker hope their research will allow people to regain a full night of sleep if necessary. “Sleep loss fundamentally changes the way we are social and emotional creatures,” Walker said.

【推荐3】Eco-friendly replacement products for single-use plastic are appearing everywhere. But have you heard of edible (可食性的) straws?Now EQUO, a new eco-friendly company in Vietnam has come up with a natural edible solution to plastic or paper straws. The edible straws are completely plastic free, nontoxic, chemical free, and 100 percent biodegradable (可生物降解的) according to a company press release.

“It’s well-known that plastic straws are harmful to the environment. Most of the 500 million used every day in America end up in oceans where they pollute water and harm marine life. Currently, over eight billion straws create pollute to the world’s beaches,” said Marina Tran-Vu in the press release. “Although there are some plastic and paper straw alternatives on the market, most are environmentally harmful, but we were also unsatisfied with the quality and lasting of paper straws.”

All of the materials are locally from regions that support sustainable farming according to the company’s website and they struggle to have zero-net influence by “using the power of mother nature”. The name of the company was created by combining “ECO” — meaning environmentally friendly — with “STATUS QUO” — meaning the existent state. EQU stands for creating products that have minimal influence on the environment. The company was first shown on Kickstarter on May 18 and hit their funding goal in only 30 days.

Many counties are banning single-use plastics. The EU banned 10 single-use plastic products including straws that will take effect in 2021. Other items that will no longer be made of plastic include cutlery (餐具), and balloon sticks. These 10 items make up a large percentage of ocean waste that harms marine life.

So do your part, use biodegradable cutlery — you can carry your own edible straws, and reusable water or coffee cups. These small items can contribute to buffering plastic waste.