【推荐1】Lighting is a key design feature in your home and deserves consideration, whether it’s to brighten up a dull corner or you’re planning a full renovation (翻新). Here, we put the spotlight on four key lighting design layers and how you can use them to capture every room of your home in its best light.

General lighting

Think of general lighting as the background layer that casts an even illumination (照明) throughout a room, most commonly from your ceiling lights. As these are often the main source of light for a room, it’s wise to have flexible options depending on the time of day, or desired brightness to suit the mood and the room’s purpose at the time.

Ambient (氛围的) lighting

Ambient lighting is the layer that adds warmth and softness to your space. Think lamp belt under the kitchen bench, or floor lamps in the corner. Use ambient lighting where you want to encourage rest and comfort, such as living spaces and bedrooms.

Task lighting

The next layer to consider is task lighting for more practical uses. These are brighter and are designed to illuminate workplaces, and are also used for study areas, home offices, bedside tables and reading corners.

Accent lighting

Accent lighting is placed to create a specific light effect, such as downlights or spotlights to highlight artwork, and wash lights against walls. The layering of accent lighting can be used to highlight architectural details and is an artful way to create focus and play with light in your space.

【推荐2】The United Nations said 26 percent of the world’s population does not have enough safe drinking water in a report released Tuesday. Richard Connor is the main editor of the UN World Water Development Report 2023. He told reporters at the release that the estimated cost of meeting the UN’s goals for water is between $600 billion and $1 trillion.

The report warned that water use around the world is growing one percent a year “and is expected to grow at a similar rate to 2050...”Connor said, the increase in demand is happening in developing countries. That is because urban areas and industries are using more and more water. Worse still, agriculture alone, Connor said, uses 70 percent of the world’s water supply and has to be better planned.

The report also said that seasonal lack of water will increase in Central Africa, East Asia and parts of South America. That is in addition to areas that already have water shortage such as the Middle East and the Sahara area of Africa. The report said this is the result of temperature increases in the Earth’s atmosphere. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is responsible for the latest water report. It said, “10 percent of the global population lives in countries with high or critical water stress. And 3.5 billion people live under conditions of water stress at least one month out of the year.”

The report also commented on weather events. It said floods in tropical areas near the Equator(赤道)have increased by 2.5 times. But Connor said weather conditions involving lack of rain, or drought, were more difficult to settle.

Connor added that the biggest producer of pollution is untreated wastewater. In his opinion, 80 percent of wastewater around the world is untreated, which contributes to water stress too, and in developing countries, it is “pretty much 99 percent.”

【推荐3】Another wonderful book coming soon to your favourite bookstore is Kate Lied’s Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression. At first glance, this book looks to be for the very young. Indeed, it can be, with its emphasis(重点)on short sentences and many pictures. But older kids and adults will reward themselves by reading this book as well, to learn more about the Great Depression and about economics, history, and even American culture in more depth.

The story is of a young girl named Dorothy, whose family lives in Iowa during the 1930s.Dorothy’s father loses one job after another; they lose their house; and, in desperation, they travel to Idaho to pick potatoes.

The author and illustrator(插画师)(Lisa Campbell Ernst)do a good job of conveying the desperation and discouraging and frightening tasks facing America’s families during the Depression. Hunger and want were plentiful, money and jobs were not. Inflation(通货膨胀)was out of control, and so was despair. But rather than give up, Dorothy’s family took action, traveling to Idaho to pick potatoes. Now, this might not sound like a smart thing to do; but at that time, Idaho had plenty of potatoes. The family worked very hard, day and night, and picked enough potatoes to fill the car for the trip home, where they traded those potatoes for other kinds of food and even a pig. This shows a basic economics concept: barter(物物交换). Potatoes were traded for other kinds of food instead of money.

The author also intends for readers of this book to learn more about the Great Depression. Dorothy’s family was very lucky, having enough money to pay for the trip to Idaho and back. In the end, Dorothy’s father found work and moved the family out of the poor Midwest. But a great many other Depression-era families were not so lucky. Many people died of hunger and thirst, and many more were poor beyond belief. Yes, we can be happy that Dorothy and her family have a happy ending that they can be thankful for; and yes, we can be sure that they were counting their blessings or lucky stars. But we can also be aware of the greater overall picture of the history of America at this time, realizing that it was a difficult time for just about everyone involved, in one way or another.

Overall, this is a good book that delivers more than it would appear to promise on first glance.