【推荐1】Celebrating Czech traditions

Have you ever witnessed the 300-year anniversary of a village? To me, it is so amazing that this village, named Bysicky, which is located in Bohemia in the Czech Republic, has sustained blizzards and wars for all this time, but has still kept its special charm.

Unlike transportation you’d find in Prague such as the metro or tram, the most common way to get around in the countryside is by bike, as it’s a lot more convenient. So on Saturday morning. I departed from home on a bike ride with my host family. After an 8-kilometer journey, we finally arrived at the village.

There was a road that led straight into the center of the village. Many stalls selling pizza, beer and ice cream were by the roadside. You could hear guitar music coming from the other side of the road, where an outdoor stage stood on large area of meadow.

When the performance from the guitarists finished, group of children wearing traditional costumes came on stage. As the crowd applauded loudly, the children were divided into three groups. A group of older kids playing different musical instruments stood on the left side, a group performing typical Czech dances was on the right, and a choir sang beautifully in the center.

Many of those present were relatives of the children, and we were there because my sister was a member of the dancing group. On the edge of the grassland, there were girls riding horses.

The end of the road led to a circled space, where the city hall stood in the middle, surrounded by a circle of colorful cottages. In front of the houses there were also many markets and a radio station reporting on the event.

So this is what a typical village celebration looks like, with markets food and performances from traditional Czech culture, which was quite different from festivals in big cities. Czech people value their history, so there will always be parties to celebrate a place’s existence or an important person from history. There are no high buildings in these villages, but people still like to go there to spend their weekends because of the peaceful environment. I guess that is what life really means.

【推荐1】The word “adulting” started as a kind of joke—whenever a millennial (千禧一代) would do something as an adult does, this was an act of “adulting”. However, now, millennials clearly need training in being an adult.

Rachel Flehinger has founded an Adulting School, which includes online classes on simple sewing (缝纫), problems solving and cooking. The cause for such classes is that many millennials haven’t left childhood homes—in America 34 percent of adults aged 18 to 34 still lived with their parents in 2015, up from 26 percent 10 years before. There’s a good deal of truth to this. If you’re living at home, with Mom and Dad doing their best to spoil (溺爱) you, you’re less likely to know how to wash clothes, cook or make the bed. Dependency leads to enervation. Over time, you are unable to adult.

But living at home doesn’t necessarily bring dependency. Back in 1940, 30 percent of 25-to-29-year-olds lived at home with parents or grandparents. But they were adulting. Parents expected their kids to do housework, and to prepare for life. Then, what’s the real problem now?

Instead of blaming (责备) living at home, we have to blame our style of parenting. The truth is that we’ve simply become lazier as parents. We’re more likely to let our kids lie on a sofa than tell them to get a job. We don’t push our kids to build families of their own, because life cost has increased. Then the question is how we can encourage young people to “adult” in such a situation.

【推荐2】WHEN KIM JI-UN lived in Seoul, she worried about finding a good job. Now, she is worried that drought may ruin her crop. The 23-year-old started a farm last year. Her first harvest was an unexpected success.

Ms Kim is part of a phenomenon called kwichon, or returning to rural life. The term crops up during periods of economic hardship. This time, in the wake of the pandemic, many new farmers have never lived in the countryside before. The government promotes the idea as a solution to the problem of South Koreans migrating to Seoul, aiming to regenerate struggling rural regions. By planting young farmers in rural areas, the government hopes to enjoy big rewards in future.

The plan is working. In 2021 nearly 380, 000 people moved to the countryside, up 15% from 2015 and almost half (a record high) younger than 40. Comfort with digital technology gives young farmers a leg up, says Cho Kyung-ik, the director of the Beginning Farmer’s Centre, an institution educating those who wish to kwichon at its downtown offices. They sell fresh produce on Naver, South Korea’s largest search engine.

The centre teaches techniques like how to use a tractor or select the best crops. It arranges a trial period during which ambitious farmers work under the guidance of an old hand, learning what it means to do back-breaking labour from dawn to dusk.

The most important lesson is how to get on with the locals. The villagers are also offered tips on how to act towards the newcomers. That part is not yet a total success. Ms Kim says her neighbours have a bad temper. “The old people come in here and give me unwanted advice, or say that I will never be able to grow anything, ” she says. Her black beans beg to differ. She and the South Korean government will be hoping that her crops put the argument to rest for good.

【推荐3】For adventurous travellers, it is merely an embarrassing and annoying experience. But among poor people diarrhoea is a killer. So it is delightful to report that one of Asia’s poorest countries, Bangladesh, is making huge progress against this disease. Deaths from diarrhoea have fallen by 90% in the past two decades. Along with a far-reaching vaccination programme and steady economic growth, that has helped drive down the number of childhood deaths.

In a country with more than 160m inhabitants, this represents a vast decline in human misery. And Bangladesh’s success holds lessons for other poor countries that are trying to beat back disease.

The first is that cheap, simple, imperfect solutions are often good enough. In an ideal world, with limitless cash and universally good governance, everybody would drink chlorinated water out of taps and flush their sewage through pipes into treatment plants. In the real world, however, you can go a long way with half-measures. Bangladeshi villages are equipped with small pit latrines and tube wells for water. Most are built by the householders themselves, or by laborers whom they pay out of their own pockets. Although the tube wells are often alarmingly close to the latrines, that seems to be fine. Researchers have found that germs do not travel far underground.

A second lesson is that hardware is not enough—the software of human behavior is just as important. Bangladesh’s neighbor, India, has funded and built a great many latrines. Despite that effort, many Indians continue to defecate in the open. Bangladesh’s government and charities have built latrines, too, but they have worked harder to stigmatize open defecation. Often they provide latrines for the poor and then persuade richer folk into following their example. A new, surprising, finding is that this works better than expecting people to copy their social superiors.

【推荐1】Venice is a famous 1, 700-year-old city and one of Italy’s most important cities and a very romantic travel destination.

Transportation in Venice

The Grand Canal，which cuts through the center of the city, is like Venice’s main street in this canal-filled city. The boats runs along the Grand Canal from the train station and makes many stops, so it’s a good way to visit the main canal and get a good overview of the city. If you want something more up close and personal, take a taxi and a gondola, though they tend to be more expensive.

Venice Festivals

Venice’s Carnevale held 40 days before Easter, is one of the most lively and colorful celebrations in Italy. The Venetians go all out, wearing festive masks and costumes for a 10-day street party. In July, there’s the Redentore Regatta, an important festival held right on the Grand Canal.

Guided Tours

You’ll find guided tours for every place worth visiting, from well-known palaces to lesser-known destinations. Also, there are food tours and classes in rowing, cooking or making those beautiful theatrical masks Venice is famous for.

When to Go

Since it’s near the sea. Venice has gentle weather, although it can be rainy there nearly all year round. Venice experiences high-water flooding about 60 days a year, from October through early January. In Venice, make sure you have some way to check the changeable weather every day.

【推荐3】Putting food into the microwave for a couple of minutes may seem utterly harmless. However, a new study has found Europe's stock of these quick-cooking ovens emit(排放) as much carbon as nearly 7million cars and the problem is growing. With costs falling and kitchen appliances becoming common, owners are throwing many microwave after an average of eight years. This is pushing sales of new microwave which are expected to reach 135 million every year in the EU by the end of the decade.

A study by the University of Manchester worked out the emissions of carbon dioxide-the main greenhouse gas responsible for climate change-at every stage of microwaves, from manufacture(生产) to waste disposal(处理). "It is electricity consumption by microwaves that has the biggest impact on the environment," say the authors, who also calculate that the emissions from using 19 microwaves over a year are the same as those from a car. According to the same study, efforts to reduce consumption should focus on improving consumer awareness and behaviour to use appliances more efficiently. For example, electricity consumption by microwaves can be reduced by adjusting the time of cooking to the type of food.

However, David Rea professor of carbon management argues that, although microwaves use a great deal of energy, their emissions are minor compared to those from cars. In the UK alone, the car emissions are far more than all those from microwaves in the EU. Backing this up, recent data show that passenger cars in the UK emitted 69m tonnes of CO2 in 2015.This is 10 times the amount this new microwave oven study estimates for annual em1sS1ons for all the microwave ovens in the whole of the EU. Further, the energy used by microwaves 1s lower than any other form of cooking. Among common kitchen appliances used for cooking, microwaves are the most energy efficient. followed by a stove and finally a standard oven. Thus, rising microwave sales could be seen as a positive thing.

【推荐1】A completely electric plane has made its longest flight ever at just under 15 minutes. The plane is a collaboration (合作成果) between a Seattle engineering firm named MagniX and a nearby Vancouver air charter company named Harbour Air.

Harbour Air offers services you might describe as an air taxi--it ferries people to places- just outside of Vancouver, where many people live on and visit islands, resorts, and more that are accessible by boat or air ferry. The company also flies back and forth to Seattle. These short, frequent trips make Harbour an ideal candidate for an electric fleet.

MagniX chief Roei Ganzarski says the plane it tested for this flight could fly up to 100 miles. Like early electric cars, this limitation prevents people going longer distances, but works for many who are just going short distances- especially suited for the corridor between Seattle and Vancouver, where many people work and play in both places. Where the airline industry in general is drawing constant criticism for how much carbon it produces, an electric fleet of local charters is very appealing.

The airplane flown in the test is old: a 1957 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver made right in Canada. These planes have remained so popular for so many decades that another manufacturer purchased the rights to continue to make new replacement parts.

Because of the high durability (持久耐用) and easy repair of the DHC-2 Beaver, Harbour Air hopes to turn all of its similar planes electric as well,   resulting in a fully electric feet (机队) that's still made of the most hardy and field tested civilian aircraft around. Harbour Air's founder Greg McDougall says the fuel and repair savings alone make an electric fleet worth investing in.

The DHC-2 Beaver was designed as a short takeoff and landing (STOL) airplane,   and now it's been retrofitted (改型) with an electric engine. Harbour's website lists the horse- power of the new DHC-2 Beavers as 450 HP, which is the same as the original engine.

Harbour Air says it's already carbon neutral, flying 500, 000 people per year on over 40 airplanes. If the company s entire map of 12 destinations is within the 100-mile threshold (门槛), founder McDougall is right that it makes undeniable sense to electrify. The next step for Harbour and MagniX's Magni500 electric power-train is to go through a long period of tests and other paperwork and government safety rules.

Harbour and MagniX expect this will take at least a couple of years, after which they can hopefully upgrade their entire fleet. The MagniX power-train comes in 375 and 750 HP versions, so Harbour's larger planes are covered, too. In a time when elites are booking long flights to nowhere to boost their airline miles status, Harbour Air and MagniX's planned electric fleet is a breath of fresh, unpolluted air.

【推荐2】Tips for avoiding traffic jams:

The radio has more than just music. Check the local news station for the latest traffic report. Or go online and check traffic cameras before you set out. If there is a jam, you'll be prepared and can try another route.

Take the road less traveled. Although highways may be the most direct route, back roads can be much less crowded, which can save you from the frustration of the stop­and­go traffic.

Rush hour isn't just a lovely nickname. It means the morning and afternoon traffic lasts for several hours, but they're still called “rush hour” for a reason — everyone's on the road and in a hurry to get somewhere. Treat rush hour like bad weather — if you don't have to go anywhere, stay off the roads.

Tips for those unavoidable traffic jams:

Don't break the law. You've gone 30 feet in 30 minutes and all of a sudden you see people using the shoulders (紧急停车道). Don't behave like them. Not only is this illegal, but also there's a good chance they'll get caught or cause even more problems.

Pay extra attention to zig­zaggers (Z字形行进者). When some people are anxious, they may start changing lanes (车道) every 5 seconds or cut you off. Keep checking your windows and mirrors for these lane changers.

Look for an escape. If it is possible to exit the road safely, do it.   Use a GPS unit, and you can change your route mid­trip if needed.

Be courteous. Good manners could help you avoid a possible accident. Allow people in from a lane that is ending. Speeding up to keep them out increases your chances of an accident.

【推荐3】Recently researchers at the University of Zurich are adding a new member to the drone ( 无人机） family. Unlike most drones whose application is to make selfies ( 自拍)or transport something, this drone was built with first aid workers and rescue efforts in mind. Disaster sites are rarely logical shapes and sizes. So having a drone that could change its shape and size to fit through tight spaces on the fly could prove extremely valuable.

As is often the case in experimental robotic projects, researchers met some technical setbacks ( 挫 折 )at the beginning. The airplane mode of the existing aircraft such as passenger planes，helicopters and the common drones couldn’t meet the demand of different environmental features.   Eventually, they   turned to   animals   for inspiration— specifically   how some   birds can fold their wings to fly through narrow passages.

What makes it distinguishing is that when faced with a narrow passage, it can change into   an H shape. Or it can shrink itself into an O shape, arms folded into its body. And if that wasn’t enough, it can also transform into a T shape, allowing an onboard camera mounted (镶嵌)on the central frame to get as close as possible to its focal object.

While the working concept model is impressive, the researchers aren't done with the folding drone yet. They want to improve the structure of the drone so that it can fully fold in three dimensions, offering even more shapes. And they want to create full auto-operation—a drone that looks at the shifting terrain(地形）in，for example, an apartment building partly destroyed by an earthquake and changes its shape to meet its current needs.

Researchers say their final goal is to give the drone a high-level instruction such as “enter that building, inspect every room and come back and let it figure out by itself how to do it”. Therefore, it’s reasonable to hope the new drone will play an important supporting role in   disaster rescue.