【推荐1】As a high school student, I learned this the hard way last year, when a student I didn’t expect to bested me on the math PSAT. He soon admitted the secret to his success: the CAS calculator. He made clear that the CAS was able to solve all of his SAT equations (方程式). He claimed all he needed was his knowledge of seventh-grade math and the calculator did the rest.

From experience, I know it isn’t that simple. A fancy calculator that costs about $150 is not that useful if you don’t understand what the question is asking. But it does feel like cheating. Aside from being financially out of reach of many students, CAS calculators have the potential to misrepresent math ability and problem-solving skills.

It’s unfair to allow such an incredibly helpful advanced calculator unless every student has access to it. Especially when the test has the potential to affect a student’s educational path. In response to an email asking whether the College Board, which owns the SAT, is aware that the CAS is seen as greatly helping those who use it and whether it has considered banning such calculators, a communications officer sent a link to the SAT calculator policy, which spells out the permitted calculators, CAS among them.

If all students had access to a better calculator, how many could improve their test scores enough to get into their dream school? How many students get into better schools because of this privilege hack? It isn’t right and shouldn’t stand.

The simplest solution would be to leave out the math section that allows calculator use or permit test-takers to use only the most basic calculators, provided by the College Board. The equation (公式)for fairness is simple: You know it when you see it, and this calculator inequity (不公) , isn’t it.

【推荐2】Google “information overload” and you are immediately overloaded with information: more than 7m hits in 0.05 seconds. Some of this information is interesting: for example, the phrase “information overload” was popularised by Alvin Toffler in 1970. Some of it is mere noise: obscure companies promoting their services and even more obscure bloggers sounding off. The overall impression is at once overwhelming and confusing.

“Information overload” is one of the biggest irritations in modern life. There are e-mails to answer, YouTube videos to watch and, back in the physical world, meetings to attend and papers to shuffle(翻动). A survey by Reuters once found that two-thirds of managers believe that the data deluge(泛滥) had made their jobs less satisfying or hurt their personal relationships. One-third thought that it had damaged their health. Another survey suggests that most managers think most of the information they receive is useless.

Some researchers raise three big worries. First, information overload can make people feel anxious and powerless: scientists have discovered that multitaskers produce more stress hormones. Second, overload can discourage creativity. Teresa Amabile of Harvard Business School has spent more than a decade studying the work habits of 238 people. She finds that focus and creativity are connected. People are more likely to be creative if they are allowed to focus on something for some time without interruptions. If constantly interrupted or forced to attend meetings, they are less likely to be creative. Third, overload can also make workers less productive. David Meyer of the University of Michigan has shown that people who complete certain tasks in parallel take much longer and make many more errors than people who complete the same tasks in sequence.

What can be done about information overload? One answer is technological: rely on the people who created the fog to invent filters(过滤器) that will clean it up. Xerox promises to restore “information purity” by developing better filtering and managing devices. A second answer involves willpower. Turn off your mobile phone and WiFi from time to time.

Most companies are better at giving employees access to the information superhighway than at teaching them how to drive. This is starting to change. Management consultants have spotted an opportunity. Derek Dean and Caroline Webb of McKinsey urge businesses to apply three principles to deal with data overload: find time to focus, filter out noise and forget about work when you can. Business leaders are chipping in. David Novak of Yum! Brands urges people to ask themselves whether what they are doing is constructive or a mere “activity”. Cristobal Conde of SunGard, an IT firm, preserves “thinking time” in his schedule when he cannot be disturbed. This might sound like common sense. But common sense is rare amid the cacophony(不和谐的声音) of corporate life.

【推荐3】It was during a school trip to the Art Gallery of NSW that I realized I was not white.

Aged eight, rough and noisy like any child travelling to an exciting place miles away from their own home, I was seriously reminded by a supervising teacher to stay in one place. To ensure this happened, and that I did not escape to a closed-off exhibition area the minute her eyes turned elsewhere, she forced me to hold the hand of a quiet, modest girl in my class, the typical teacher’s pet.

Already feeling incredibly self-conscious, the moment took a turn for the worse when a fellow classmate eyed our interlocked hands. With a finger pointing accusingly towards us, he said, “God, I can see her hand turning black already.”

That night I came home and cried in the shower. My own secret purchase of a Dove beauty bar failed to wash off the thick layer of dark grime (污点) onto my skin. For the first time I was forced to confront the vast valley between who I thought I was and who I actually was.

Race proceeded to become something I struggled with all throughout adolescence. In stories like these, the climax (高潮) usually comes during university. To an extent, that was true.

In your hands today is an edition that celebrates stories like mine, of lives and experiences informed by race.

While race is the source of many of our struggles, it is also the location of our characteristics, dearest stories, and most loved people. We have come to understand life better from our race. As people coming from an ethno-cultural (种族文化的) minority, our race informs, but does not single-handedly define, who we are.

【推荐1】For many kids, the Internet is at their fingertips. From computers to smart phones, a web of information is open to them. According to a new report from the Pew Research Center, about three out of four kids aged 12 to 13 connect the Internet using a mobile device (移动设备) from time to time. Many younger kids are online, too.

Julian Zeitlinger, 9, from New Jersey, uses his computer to watch videos and play games. To keep him safe online, his parents monitor (监视) his web use and discuss Internet safety with him. “I ask my parents if something is wrong,” Julian says.

Mobile devices offer more ways than ever to share personal information. The information can be dangerous in the wrong hands. A study found that 62% of children aged 8 to 17 have had an unpleasant online experience.

Have you ever had to enter a parent’s email address when signing up for a website? That safety net is there because of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The law says sites for kids under 13 cannot collect personal information, such as a phone number or full name, without a parent’s permission (允许).

This July, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will update (更新) COPPA for the first time since the law was created, in 1198—when there were no smart phones. “The nature of the way kids get online has changed,” FTC lawyer Phyllis Marcus said.

When the changes take effect, COPPA will apply to mobile device (移动设备) and newer forms of adverising. “There is a misunderstanding that if a site is following COPPA, it is totally safe,” says privacy expert Shai Samet. He runs kidSAFE, which checks whether a site meets kidSAFE standards and is safe. “It is important that kids know how useful the Internet is but that is also can be dangerous if you are not careful.” he adds.

【推荐2】“What kind of rubbish are you?” This question might normally cause anger, but in Shanghai it has brought about weary groans over the past week. On July 1st, the city introduced strict trash-sorting regulations that are expected to be used as a model for our country. Residents must divide their waste into four separate categories and toss it into specific public bins. They must do so at scheduled times, when monitors are present to ensure compliance（服从）and to inquire into the nature of one’s rubbish.

Violators face the prospect of fines and worse. They could be hit with fines of up to 200 yuan ($29). For repeat violators, the city can add black marks to their credit records, making it harder for them to obtain bank loans or even buy train tickets.

Shanghai authorities are responding to an obvious environmental problem. It generates 9 million tons of garbage a year, more than London’s annual output and rising quickly. But like other cities in China, it lacks a recycling system. Instead, it has relied on trash pickers to sift through the waste, plucking out whatever can be reused. This has limits. As people get wealthier, fewer of them want to do such dirty work. The waste, meanwhile, just keeps piling up. China churns out 80 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks a year.

Many residents appear to support the idea of recycling in general but are frustrated by the details. Rubbish must be divided according to whether it is food, recyclable, dry or hazardous（有害的）, the distinctions among which can be confusing, though there are apps to help work it out. Some have complained about the rules surrounding food waste. They must put it straight in the required public bin, forcing them to tear open plastic bags and toss it by hand. Most vexing（令人烦恼的）are the short windows for dumping trash, typically a couple of hours, morning and evening. Along with the monitors at the bins, this means that people go at around the same time and can keep an eye on what is being thrown out; no one wants to look bad.

【推荐3】Kerala, India, has placed a tax on hamburgers, pizza and other fast food. The 14.5 percent tax will be added to foods at restaurants such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Burger King.

The tax is being called a “fat tax” because it adds cost to foods considered high in fat and calories. It is the first fast food tax enacted in India, where obesity levels are rising in the growing middle class.

Kerala’s Finance Minister Thomas Isaac suggested the tax after learning of similar measures in other countries. He hopes it will get people to choose to eat healthy food, which he said is “going out of fashion.”

Dr. Anoop Misra at New Delhi’s Fortis Hospital strongly supports the “fat tax” as a way to reduce the number of diabetes cases in young people.

A government finance official in central Gujarat says that the state is considering a similar 14.5 percent tax. “This idea can also be adopted in the state, as we also have high consumption of junk and unhealthy food,” the official said.

Critics of the tax say it probably will not stop people from buying fast food. IT engineer Gaurav Singh wants the government to focus on education and awareness instead of taxing fast food.

“The one food that is eaten widely in Kerala is the ‘paratha’, which is basically high in fat, high in refined(精制的) flour, and it is cheap. It can't be taxed because it is highly unorganized.”

Some doctors and health experts say the tax should also include other snack foods and sugary drinks sold across the country.

One fast food customer In New Dehli, Vijay Deoli believes the government should deal with more important issues. “First you have to clear up the air, the water, etc. This is a small thing.”

Others say the government should do more to bring attention to fast food and obesity rather than changing people's choices.

Many health experts agree that bringing attention to the issue is important. But Dr. Misra thinks education alone does not work.

He compared the tax to a law passed several years ago that got people to wear seat belts to avoid paying a fine. “Laws can change people’s habits.”