【推荐1】Binge-watching is when a person watches more than one episode of a show in quick succession (一连串，连续). With developments in the speed and connectivity of the Internet, increases in technology and the rise of on-demand entertainment companies, people can now have their favorite shows streamed directly to their television at their convenience.

This behavior is nothing new. In fact, “binge-watching” has been officially listed in dictionaries since 2015. The entertainment companies recognize this behavior and many take steps to encourage it. Often, instead of releasing each episode on a week-by-week basis, an entire series will become available at the same time. Once the episode finishes, many platforms will display pop-ups with “you might like suggestions, or will automatically play the next episode”.

However, recent research suggests that out of the more than half of British adults who watch more than one episode of a show back-to-back (一集接一集地), almost a third have admitted missing sleep or becoming tired as a result; and one quarter have neglected their household chores. Next we’ll be missing work!

Bingeing has other connections — binge eating, binge drinking and binge smoking. All of them are often associated with a lack of control and a possible route to addiction. Lindsey Fussell, consumer group director, said: “The days of waiting a week for the next episode are largely gone, with people finding it hard to resist watching multiple episodes around the house or on the move.” If people find binge-watching hard to resist, coupled with the fact that it has shown to lead to negligence (疏忽) in many, are we witnessing the birth of a new type of addiction?

The countless of information and entertainment that television and online media can bring us is, many would say, a good thing. However, when the activity begins to bleed into other areas, causing us to stop functioning then it becomes a problem. So, what’s the answer? Moderation! Neither a tiny amount, nor too much. After all, as the old proverb says, “A little of what you fancy does you good.”

【推荐2】A job is more than just a job, especially to the older generation. “It’s not the money that matters, but the sense of self­worth,” 56­year­old Cheng Wonlan said. So, every day Ms Cheng carries a bag of parcels, letters and documents of all shapes and sizes and does her rounds in North Point. She’s a courier (快递人员).

Five years ago, Ms Cheng was a nurse at a private clinic. She had worked there for almost 30 years but was made jobless when the doctor migrated. It was extremely difficult for her to find another job. “People do not trust my ability when they learn how old I am,” she said. After two years of searching, the mother of two eventually found another nursing job. But then after two years, she quit. Why?

“My colleagues were young and they didn’t understand me because of my age. They often asked me, ‘You are so old; what are you working for?’ I was very unhappy.” she said. So while the rest of her family left for work, she was left to lonely boredom at home. The urge to work drove her to suffering. Then, one of Ms Cheng’s neighbours told her about Employee’s Retraining Board (ERB) offering retraining courses for older people on specific occupations, such as convenience store assistants, junior clerks and so on.

“I was interested in courier work. I didn’t think my age was a barrier because I was fit and healthy. So I thought why not give it a try.” she said. Upon graduation from the ERB, Ms Cheng was offered a job by the Speeding Shuttle Courier Service Company Limited. But then Ms Cheng was faced with a conflict: she was caught between honour and employment. It took Ms Cheng 24 hours to make up her mind and eventually came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong or embarrassing about doing the job. So she took heart and went off to work as a courier.

Ms Cheng’s employer is delighted with her, “Ms Cheng has been working with us for two months and has shown a good responsible attitude to work.” Anthony Chong, who runs the company, said. Currently, Mr. Chong has 60 couriers working for his company: five of them are over fifty, four of whom have been through the ERB plan. Mr. Chong said he hired older people because they were able and reliable. “Age is not an important factor but attitude is. Many old people are more capable than the youngsters. They will not run from difficulties but the young ones will.” he said. “It is not easy to recruit young people since they shy away from hardship and challenges.”

【推荐3】How many phone numbers can you remember by heart? It’s probably fewer than you would like. Actually, you are not alone. Out of more than 1,000 Americans who were surveyed, more than half said that they couldn’t recall the phone numbers of their friends and neighbors. In their eyes, there is no point in filling their heads with phone numbers if they are all stored in smart phones that are with them almost all the time.

In fact, most people are suffering from a sort of digital amnesia(健忘). more than 90% of those surveyed agreed that they used the Internet as an online of their brains. Rote memorization(死记硬背) was once an important part of modern education, but we just need a click or slide now. That’s making us worse at remembering things.

Researchers found that when people expected to use the information online, they were less likely to remember actual facts, but more likely to remember how to find them. As a result, we are already becoming ones with our computer tools, growing into interconnected systems that remember less by knowing information than by knowing where the information can be found.

However, some believe it isn’t necessarily a bad thing--maybe it gives them more chances to think through things. We certainly acquire more knowledge now than ever, even if it isn’t all stored in our brains.

Even so, I still believe that there are more risks to this new world of memory beyond losing our ability to recall some information such as who the 15^th President was. That kind of information may always be a click away, but the important things are personal ones, like the way your parents smiled at your wedding. It’s harder to recall or find online. If you’re relying on yourself to keep track of those memories, they will be much more meaningful.

【推荐1】To most of us, school means classes, teachers, schedules, grades and tests. But for the children at Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts, school is very different.

Firstly, there are no lessons. All the children, aged between 4 and 19, do whatever they want. There are no teachers, only “staff members”. The idea behind this is that you do not need to make children learn, because children want to learn anyway. “You do not need to say to the four-year-old, ‘Go to explore your environment.’ You can’t stop them!” says Daniel Green berg, a founder of the school. “But if you make children do what you want all day, they will lose all tastes for learning.”

At Sudbury Valley School, you will permit children to talk, read, paint, cook, work on computers, study French, play the piano, climb trees, or just run around. Two boys spent three years just fishing!

The other way that Sudbury Valley School is different is that the children can decide the rules. Every week, there is a school meeting where both children and staff have one vote each—even the four-year-old. They decide the school rules, how to spend the school budget, and even which staff they want and do not want anymore.

When the school first opened in 1968, people said it would never work. But today, the school has 200 students, and 80% of its students go on to college. Even the two boys who went fishing all the time have successful careers today. One of them is a musician and the other is a computer scientist.