【推荐2】The widespread application of internet technology has made our lives easier but poses a big challenge to senior citizens, who are not always comfortable with smart phones and so many new apps.

In China, only a few senior citizens are able to enjoy the benefits that new technologies offer. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the number of people aged 60 and above was 253.88 million in 2019, that is 18 percent of China's population. But only 23 percent of the senior citizens were able to access the internet. That means more than three-fourths of the elderly are deprived of the digital convenience.

Failure to access the internet or use smart phones has increased difficulties for them. They cannot even take a taxi easily in this era of app cabs. There have been reports of many shops turning away elders who don't know how to pay using smart phones, instead of letting them pay in cash. Many elders who can't use smart phones are facing difficulties during this pandemic, as they cannot access the internet-based health code required for entry into many public places as part of the epidemic prevention and control measures.

New technologies become popular because they are often of great use in our daily lives. But many senior citizens, especially those living in rural areas or those whose grownup children don't live with them, cannot access the internet or smart phones, either because of financial restrictions or because they cannot learn new things beyond a certain point. The digital gap between the elderly and the young is becoming more pronounced.

However, the senior citizens should not become a silent group deprived of digital benefits. It is society's responsibility to help them bridge the digital gap, and be patient with them when they face difficulties keeping pace with times.

【推荐3】Moutai, China’s largest baijiu maker, and domestic coffee brand Luckin Coffee on Monday launched in China a latte advertised as containing the fiery Chinese spirit baijiu, as the Chinese luxury liquor maker aims to pull in younger consumers. And the truth is, once released, the drink quickly sold out.

The latte, decorated with the iconic Moutai logo, contains less than 0.5 percent (alcohol by volume) of 53 degree Moutai, and soon became one of the most discussed topics on Chinese social media with people curious about how traditional Chinese liquor would taste with coffee.

In Beijing, the Moutai-flavored latte sold out in some Luckin Coffee locations before midday. And many had to shut down their online ordering system as orders surged. “It seems that people prefer iced latte, so we quickly used up the ice in the branch. The number of orders is scary, ” said a barista (咖啡师) surnamed Zhang. She said she had no choice but to temporarily stop the online ordering system at around 1:30 pm because there were more than 200 orders still to be completed and almost all of them were for the Moutai-flavored latte.

People have been sharing their reactions after trying the latte on social media, with most agreeing that the aroma of the baijiu is very strong. Some people said they even felt dizzy after drinking the coffee due to its alcohol content.

Some also wondered whether they would be allowed to drive after drinking the latte. In response, Luckin Coffee stated that underage people, pregnant women, drivers and those who are allergic to alcohol are advised not to order the drink. On Monday, an officer from the Beijing Traffic Administration Bureau also asked people not to drive, no matter how much alcohol is actually in the latte.

【推荐2】There are so many choices when you go shopping. You have to check the sell — by dates so that you know how long you can store and use the food you are purchasing.

But do you know that the best sell — by dates on food packaging don't really tell you if the food is safe to eat. The food may not last as long as it says if it isn't stored correctly at any point of the distribution chain. Now there is food packaging that can detect and change colors if the food has gone bad.

Each American wastes 103 pounds of spoiled food out of the refrigerator every year. The new smart packaging from Primitives Biodesign—a new company that operates out of a lab at Indibio, a biotech accelerator in San Francisco-can help to reduce this huge waste of food.

The basic material that doesn't contain sensing material is made from algae and can block oxygen more effectively than regular film, so the food stays fresher for a longer time. Since it is made from a natural substance, it can also break down in nature.

Making the film smart is the thorny part. Luckily, the team managed to use a process that is like the way nature responds to changes in the environment. The mechanism responds like the way flowers emit compounds to change colors.

“It could be supplement packaging that indicate when it's been tampered with by changing color to tell you that it's no ledger safe," says Kan. She explained that the new packaging can be used on food products to fell if the food has turned bad before someone has to smell or taste it.

The company has proven in lab tests that the technology works and now they are working on how to develop commercial uses for it. The added safety features will come out later. Helping to control food waste in products like meat or cheese which have high greenhouse gas emissions will also help to reduce climate change.

【推荐3】Languages are renewed (更新) by people, stories and topical events everyday. The same situation goes with English. Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.

Sometimes, however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, “We come from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of beef like those which the men from Hamburg ate. Then he put each between two pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called “hamburgers”. Today “hamburgers” are sold in many countries around the world. It became the signature dish in fast food restaurant such as McDonald and KFC. The word and the food spread widely in the world.

Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting, too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary. Others lie in the words of mouth of folks from different countries.