【推荐1】Do American children still learn handwriting in school? In the age of the keyboard, some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out. Ninety percent of teachers say they are required to teach handwriting. But studies have yet to answer the question of how well they are teaching it. One study published this year found that about three out of every four teachers say they are not prepared to teach handwriting. Some teachers are teaching handwriting by providing instruction for 10 ~15 minutes a day, and then other teachers basically teach it for 60 ~ 70 minutes a day — which really is pretty much for handwriting.

Many adults remember learning that way — by copying letters over and over again. Today’s thinking is that short periods of practice are better. Many experts also think handwriting should not be taught by itself. Instead, they say it should be used as a way to get students to express ideas. After all, that is why we write.

Handwriting involves two skills. One is legibility, which means forming the letters so they can be read. The other is fluency — writing without having to think about it. Fluency continues to develop until high school. But not everyone masters these skills. Teachers commonly report that about one fourth of their kids have poor handwriting. Some people might think handwriting is not important any more because of computers and voice recognition programs.

But Steve Graham at Vanderbilt University says word processing is rarely done in elementary school, especially in the early years. American children traditionally first learn to print, and then to write in cursive, which connects the letters. But guess what we have learned? More than 75 per cent of students choose to print their essays on the test rather than write in cursive.

【推荐2】A new report suggests that young people are aware of their parents drinking and it may well have an impact on their relationship with alcohol. How much you drink, how often you say, ''Ah, that's nice,'' while imbibing and whether you use alcohol as a reward can all encourage adolescents to drink, according to a report last week from the Institute of Alcohol Studies.

Parents often assume their children don’t notice their drinking, but they do Children can also tell the difference in levels of being drunk, and one in five said they had been embarrassed by their parents' drinking, while others said that parents had forgotten their bedtime or argued with them more than usual.

If you have a warm parenting style, but clear expectations for your children's behavior, this can protect your children from drinking. The report has clear guide-lines for parents: don't glamorize (美化) alcohol, always talk about its risks as part of a conversation about alcohol and don't talk about feeling sick because your children will then think it's normal to throw up and have a headache after a drinking session.

But according to Prof Ingeborg RosSow, who studied parental drinking three years ago, the evidence isn't strong enough for any sort of recommendation: ''Despite numerous research findings on this topic, there is rather little we know about causal effects of parental drinking and parenting behaviour on children's alcohol use. '' And that's the truth—it's an association, not evidence of proof (证据). Alcohol marketing, peer (同龄人) pressure and the genes that influence how much you drink are also in play. But, even so, parents who drink in front of their children could make their younger children feel unsafe and their older ones embarrassed. So treat parenting like driving—don't go over the limit.

【推荐3】Reflect on our relation with nature

UK physicist Isaac Newton once said, “     1    .” Indeed, Mother Nature can provide almost everything human beings need if we follow her rules. But if we break the rules, she is likely to be cruel and lash out (迅猛攻击) at us.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) in China and some other countries at the beginning of this year is an example.     2     and probably has an intermediate host. It’s said that the virus originated from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, Hubei province, where live wild animals were sold.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Dr Peter Daszak, president of the US-based health organization EcoHealth Alliance, said, “This outbreak is a lesson for us. On a global scale (规模), human population density (密度), wildlife diversity, and land use change are what drive new pandemics (流行病).”

In the ancient times, people needed to rely on nature to survive so they held it in awe . For example, the American Indians believed that humans are a part of nature and nature is a part of humans.     3    

However, as human beings master more knowledge and make more advanced tools, people try to change and even conquer nature. They use more land to make buildings, genetically modify (改变) plants, capture some wild and odd animals to suit their own needs. In this process, humans gradually lose contact with nature and even throw it out of balance.

    4    , Brian Lamacraft at Medium said it’s time for people to “reflect on our relationship with our planet” and “reconnect with this world and everything that we’ve been given”. After all, according to US poet Gary Snyder, “    5    ”

【推荐3】An increase in students applying to study economics at university is being attributed to （归因于）the global economic crisis awakening a public thirst for knowledge about how the financial system works.

Applications for degree courses beginning this autumn were up by 15% this January, according to UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. A. spokesman for the Royal Economic Society said applications to do economics at A-level were also up.

Professor john Beath, the president of the society and a leading lecture at St Andrews University, said his first-year lectures---which are open to students from all departments—were drawing crowds of 400, rather than the usual 250.

“There are a large number of students who are not economics majors, who would like to learn something about it. One of the things I have done this year is to relate my teaching to contemporary events in a way that one hasn’t traditionally done. ” he added.

University applications rose 7% last year. But there were rises above average in several subjects. Nursing saw a 15% jump, with people’s renewed interest in careers in the public sector（部门）, which are seen as more secure in economic crisis.

A. recent study showed almost two thirds of parents believed schools should do more to teach pupils about financial matters, and almost half said their children had asked them what was going on, although a minority of parents felt they did not understand it themselves well enough to explain.

Zack Hocking, the head of Child Trust Funds, said: “It’s possible that one good thing to arise from the downturn will be a generation that’s financially wiser and better equipped to manage their money through times of economic uncertainty.”

【推荐1】For as long as I can remember, I want to be a performer. But when it was time to go to college and decide what I wanted to be for the rest of my life, it didn’t occur to me to choose drama as my major. Making a living as a performer seems impractical to me. So instead of starting drama I started pre-law, and then went to law school like my two sisters did before me. They seemed happy enough, I thought; they worked about 80 hours a week, but they made good money and could afford expensive cars and fancy apartments in the city.

After law school I got a new job and worked as a lawyer for a big company. I had great benefits, including four weeks of vacation a year, but I never got to use any of my vacation time because there was always too much work to do. I worked from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week, and when I was finished, all I could do was collapse into my bed until I woke up to do it all over again the next day.

After five years of this lifestyle, I thought I was going to go crazy. I was unhappy and exhausted, I never saw my friends or my family, and I realized I hadn’t been in a play or musical since I started law school. I thought that acting in a small community play might make me feel better, but rehearsals and performances all took place during my work hours So I made a drastic decision and quit my job.

I got a small part in a local play and then the lead role. Now I make my living from acting, and once in a while, I do some legal consulting for a little extra money. I don’t get paid a lot for my acting jobs, but it’s enough. I had to give up my big apartment and expensive car, but I’m so much happier now. I see my friends and family, I have free time, and I get to do something I love every day.