【推荐2】Many parents have had challenging conversations with their children．There's one more to add to the list- climate change．    1     But the most important thing parents can give them is hope：there are solutions，and everyone has something to contribute no matter what their ages are．Here are tips that will help parents have a positive climate conversation with their children．

Start by listening．    2     They first learn about climate change in the school，online or from their friends．By taking time to understand how children feel about climate change，parents can help them figure out how they can be part of the solution．

    3    Being a parent is tough and the to-do list never seems to end．The good news is talking about climate change doesn' t have to be complicated．There are many websites parents can turn to for help．Continuing to learn more about climate change can prepare parents themselves to answer kids' questions．

Connect with nature．Encouraging kids to play outside helps them appreciate the outdoors．A study conducted a few years ago found that kids who play outdoors are more likely to be interested in protecting nature．    4    Research suggests that kids who interact with nature are more likely to be in good health．

Encourage kids to act．Most kids know that climate change is happening，but they might not know what they can do to fix it．Often，what holds them back from acting is a lack of efficacy（效力）：they are not convinced that they can make a difference．So build children's efficacy by looking for examples of people，especially kids who are making a difference．    5    

【推荐1】Zhou Youguang was the inventor of Pinyin, a spelling system that converts (转化) Chinese characters into words with the Roman alphabet. The system, adopted by China in 1958, gives readers an important tool to pronounce the Chinese characters that they are unfamiliar with.

While it is not the first system to Romanize Chinese, Pinyin has become the most widely accepted tool to teach a language that has disparate dialects in different parts of China.

Beyond China’s borders. Pinyin allows the standardization of Chinese names. For instance, it’s a big reason why the name Westerners commonly use for the Chinese capital has shifted from “Peking” to “Beijing”. And it’s why many other such names have changed dramatically along with it.

And yet Zhou, the man behind one of the most important innovations in the 20th century, said he was unwilling to take on the task in the mid-1950s. At the time, he was an economist and only recently returned to China.

“I said I was an amateur and that I couldn’t do the job,” he told the BBC in 2012, laughing. “But they said, ‘It’s a new job. Everybody is an amateur.’ Everybody urged me to change professions. So I did. In 1955, I abandoned economics and started studying writing systems.”

The committee led by Zhou spent three years working on its alphabetic system. “Some people made fun of us, joking that it had taken us a long time to deal with just 26 letters,” he said in the interview.

Others took the committee’s invention very seriously, however. The Chinese government immediately introduced Pinyin in schools. The international community eventually adopted it as the standard Romanization for Chinese writing, as well, with the United Nations doing so in 1986.

Before the invention of Pinyin, 85% of Chinese people could not read. Now, about 95% can read. Pinyin has also played a vital role in determining the ways mobile phones and computers recognize Chinese characters.

【推荐3】The first year of Beth Walker's quest for a zero-waste lifestyle, the rubbish in her life wouldn't have filled a wastepaper basket. But now she's stopped keeping track.

Her journey began after a talk by eco-group The Rubbish Trip in 2017. Like most people, she thought recycling was enough to save the planet from drowning in plastic.

But the reality is that most packaging isn't accepted by recycling companies and the plastic in our oceans is still snowing.

Nowadays, Beth's belief is to refuse, repair, and reuse. She refuses to buy anything that comes in a packet. Local bakeries and butcheries, she found, would happily provide food in her own container.

Then she moved to Wellington, and things got a bit harder. Many bulk (散装) food stores were only open during work hours, and she gratefully turned to the regional shopping guides put out by The Rubbish Trip.

She took every chance to show off her "take everywhere bag " , which contains a cloth for hand drying and cleaning，a keep cup, and a container.

Most importantly, she says, it's a privilege (荣耀) to make these choices. But she's cautious not to push her ideas down people's throats. "It's what's sustainable for you personally," she said.

Most rewarding was seeing the effect on those around her. Her dad proudly told anyone who would listen how his daughter was going waste-free. Her flat mates also agreed to go waste-free when cooking for the flat and to remote the bin from the kitchen. And every plastic container they brought into the house was another for Beth's collection.

【推荐1】In a classroom in rural Kenya’s Rift Valley, a student, Priscilla Sitienei, takes notes alongside her fellow classmates. She wears the same school uniform—a grey skirt and a green sweater. However, there is one difference.

Sitienei is more than 80 years older than them. February 11 was Sitienei’s ninety-ninth birthday. “The main reason for my going back to school was that I would like to become a doctor because I used to be a midwife(助产士),” she said. She added that her children were supportive of her decision.

Back in 2003, the government of the East African country began helping to pay for the cost of primary schooling. This has allowed some older members of society, who had missed out on education in their younger days, to go back to school.

This has given Sitienei more than an education. She has become a film star. Sitienei travelled to Paris last year for the launch of a film about her journey. It is titled Gogo, which means grandmother in her native Kalenjin language. She will also be heading to New York City soon for a showing of the film there.

Sitienei is in her sixth year of primary school. She said her aims were far more practical than becoming a movie star. She said she had hoped that her great granddaughter would continue with her secondary school studies. But when she refused, Sitienei decided to go to school herself. She said, “I also enjoy school activities, including physical education classes. They keep me fit. I get to jump around, even though not as much as they do, but I at least move my body. That is my joy.”

Sitienei shares her wide experience and knowledge with the children. Her teachers also use her experience to keep the peace during lessons. Her class teacher, Leonida Talaam, said, “I use Sitienei to help control the class. And it works! When I go outside. The class remains silent.”

【推荐2】People often say: “Be the person of your dreams if you want to be approached by the right person.” But that wouldn’t happen magically. There are many ways that we know we can improve ourselves and our lives. But most of the time we just let time pass by and live comfortably with the old habits, instead of managing time more wisely.

Take the other day for example: At 8:40 a.m, my ride to work pulled up in front of my apartment. I was ready... almost. I quickly grabbed my skirt and put it on. Shoes! What shoe... what shoe... I asked myself as I scanned my collection of shoes. The light ones with transparent ties go perfectly! Wallet! Keys! Cellphone! Cheek... check... I whispered as I locked the door! It was 8:46 when I sat down in the car. Great, I would be late... again. That was one of many busy mornings. Of course, I ended up not having the best day.

Then the light suddenly dawned on me when my mom told me: “Being smart is a gift. However, without discipline (自制力), you won’t go anywhere.” If I remained what I was. I couldn’t accomplish anything. I decided to work on my best version.

Spend some time discovering myself. Find my own strengths and weaknesses and then improve. Strengthen my mind and body by working out each morning. I am organized, focused and punctual. Everything else has flowed. That’s the law of attraction right there. You see, we all have qualities that can make us successful, but without self-discipline we couldn’t reach our full potential.

【推荐3】Even though I’m no skater, I’ve always considered Rochester a perfect location for an outdoor skatepark. Being a place missing some pleasures in Chicago, Rochester fosters a do-it-yourself (DIY) attitude in the pursuit of having fun.

So, after I noticed a skatepark being built under the highway entrance, I had a strong desire to know about it, not because I wanted to learn to skate, but because it is a perfect setting to develop the DIY charm of Rochester. So, last Saturday, I visited the skatepark for the first time, not only to take a closer look at its physical design, but to take a look at the crowds it attracts. On arriving there, I was fascinated to notice all the skaters taking cover from the rain under the highway, concentrating on a small concrete (混凝土) ground with a ramp (斜坡) on the far end.

I began chatting with a Rochester skater named Angel Vazquez. “All you need is a slab of concrete and a ramp, and you can spend many hours learning countless skills,” Vazquez said. “Once you’ve learned them all, you can do it all over again with different gestures.”

He then pointed toward the other skaters. “Look at them. So many people from different walks of life come here to skate. Whatever their status, everyone is brought together here by skating.” He then specifically pointed out a young man doing tricks on a nearby rail, saying, “See him? He is my best friend. He is unable to hear me because he is deaf, but we love to skate here together. We communicate with each other through a notepad.”

Soon after my conversation with Vazquez, I thought about our conversation. It felt as though the ground under my feet had a pulse. Even during a rainy day, life’s heartbeat can be found at that park, pounding (怦怦地跳) to the rhythm of wheels rolling over concrete.