【推荐1】In this digital age, information is increasingly digitized through the wide use of technology. Newspapers, magazines and even textbooks are becoming or expected to be digital soon. However, despite the sharp increase of such technology in daily life, print media is far from becoming unnecessary. I don’t think that reading in print is a dying mode.

Firstly, print offers a super reading experience. The feeling of holding a book in our hands, feeling its weight and turning over its pages, helps us to be immersed in and engaged fully with the material. The act of turning over pages also helps to direct ourselves in the concepts and structure of the text. In contrast, reading through a number of pages on a device is unsatisfying, and we can lose track of how much we have read. In addition, the artificial glow of digital screens tires one’s eyes out, and can even affect one’s sleep.

Moreover, physical copies express greater aesthetic (审美的) beauty than digital ones. The designs that beautify book covers and spines make the ideas complete and add beauty to our homes as well. The wrinkles that have accumulated over time leave us with an emotional attachment to the books themselves. Furthermore, the presentation of content in print also allows for greater appreciation of imagery (意象). In contrast to the restrictions of digital screens, the tangible (可触摸的) nature of print allows for clear imagery that is clear and impactful in its presence.

Advocates of digital print support the convenience of the medium. Indeed, e-readers   provide a convenient solution to storage and transportation. However, this carries its own weaknesses as well. For one, the use of digital media requires the investment in a smart device. For another, taking notes on the printed text is easier.

In conclusion, despite the conveniences afforded by digital media, physical print still remains a popular mode of reading today. The “less is more” nature of print media remains its strongest selling point today.

【推荐3】Studies conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts show that Americans, in general, don’t read much literature. The question is, “Why not?” There are lots of excuses people give as the reasons why they haven’t picked up a good book in months or even years Fortunately, for every one of them, there’s often a solution.

Think you just don’t have the time to pick up a classic? Take a book with you everywhere and instead of picking up your cellphone, open the book or e-reader. It’s all about feeding your mind even if it’s only one bit at a time.

While it may be true that owning books was once considered a luxury, these days there are numerous sources for inexpensive literature. The Internet has opened a whole new arena for readers. Of course, the most time-honored method for getting books of pretty much every description at little or no cost is your local public library. Another great resource for inexpensive books is your local used bookstore.

If you don’t know what to read, the best way is by reading everything you can get your hands on. You’ll gradually learn which genres you enjoy reading, and you’ll begin to make connections between books. If you don’t know where to start, find someone who enjoys reading books and ask for recommendations.

Some people say, “Can’t I just watch the movie?” Yes and no. You can watch a movie instead of reading the book on which it’s based, but quite often, they have very little in common case in point: “The Wizard of Oz.” Almost everyone has seen 1939’s classic musical, but it’s a far cry from the original series of books on which it’s based. So you should know the real story first.

A book-even a classic-doesn’t have to bed it f cult to be a great read. It’s true that many famous authors wrote books that are tough to get through for common people. However, lots of them also wrote things that are much more accessible. In fact, many books written for young audiences are great places to start your reading experience. A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” are books beloved by kids and adults alike.

It’s really not that difficult to make books and literature apart of your life. Start with something manageable and work your way up. If you never read “War and Peace” or “Moby Dick”, that’s fine too.

【推荐2】When Thomas Edison hit a wall with his inventions, he would nap in an armchair while holding a steel ball. As he started to fall asleep and his muscles relaxed, the ball would strike the floor, waking him with insights into his problems. Or so the story goes.

Thomas Edison was somewhat right. Now, more than 100 years later, scientists have repeated the trick in a lab, revealing that the famous inventor was on to something. People following his recipe tripled their chances of solving a math problem. The trick was to wake up in the transition between sleep and wakefulness, just before deep sleep. In this transitional period, we are not quite awake, but also not deeply asleep. It can be as short as a minute and occurs right when we start to doze off.

Researchers recruited more than 100 easy sleepers, each of whom was given a math test with a hidden rule for the answer. By recording brain activity, they found that those who napped and were interrupted during the first phase of sleep were three times better at finding the hidden key to the problem than those who remained awake.

The creative effect happened even for people who spent just 15 seconds in the first sleep stage. But the trick didn’t work for those who reached later stages of sleep. “Our findings suggest there is a creative sweet spot during sleep onset,” says author Delphine Oudiette, a sleep researcher at the Paris Brain Institute. “It is a small window which can disappear if you wake up too early or sleep too deep.”

The study team also identified a brain activity pattern linked to the creativity-boosting phase: moderate levels of brain waves at a slow frequency known as alpha, associated with relaxation, and low levels of delta waves, a hallmark of deep sleep. Oudiette says researchers can now focus on this brain signature when investigating the neural mechanisms (神经机制) of creative problem-solving. The team has already planned an experiment to help people reach a creative zone by monitoring their brain waves in real time.“ Edison was great”, Oudiette says, “and now we have a lot more to explore.”

【推荐3】No one has ever seen a teenage elephant hesitantly sit down at the family dinner table with earphones on and occasionally give one-word answers to questions. However, it turns out that adolescent elephants (elephants which are no longer children but not yet adults) exhibit other behaviors that parents of human teens might recognize.

“They’re innocent. They have a lot to learn and they make mistakes,” Cynthia Moss, an elephant expert in Kenya said.

This is particularly true for male elephants. They learn that if they ruin crops, they get beaten up and then die. “It’s just like young human males who drive too fast,” Moss said.

Barbara Natterson, a Harvard biologist pointed out that adolescent animals frequently put themselves in danger intentionally. This behavior is seen throughout the animal world. The adults of any species may consider some actions of their young low-judgment and high-risk; however, these actions actually serve a purpose.

An example is a practice called “predator (捕食者) inspection” which means adolescent animals approach predators rather than run away. The trade-off for the danger is that they can watch, smell and learn about the predator. They gather all kinds of information that can keep them safer as adults.

The idea that adolescents are hard-wired to take these risks can help people understand human teens’ behavior.

“Teens seem driven to try new things and test boundaries in their own version of ‘predator inspection’,” Natterson said. “They try to have as many experiences as they can before they leave the nest.”

Another key aspect of adolescence is an increase in time spent wandering in groups. Adolescence is marked by high levels of peer pressure as well as near-disaster. Scientists have found that adolescents of all kinds are more likely to make dangerous moves while with peers.

Laurence Steinberg, a psychology professor at Temple University, found similarities between mice and human group adolescent behavior. He set up two experiments. One involved mice, half of which were adolescents, drinking ethanol-.spiked (添加乙醇的) water. The other involved human teens playing a video game that reproduced driving conditions.

“We found that in the presence of peers, adolescent mice drank more than they do when they’re alone,” Steinberg said, “and that the teenagers in the driving study also took more risks when others were around.”

These findings fit with what Steinberg says is another multi-species adolescent quality: the desire to socialize.

“For the most part, adolescents, human and animal alike, prefer to be with other adolescents,” Steinberg said. “If I say teenagers are social animals, I think the word ‘animal’ is just as important in that sentence as the word ‘social’.”

While doing their study, both Natterson and Steinberg were raising a human teen in their homes. Their desire to understand animals was driven by wanting to understand their own children. They hope their findings will help people who are raising adolescents.