【推荐1】2500 years ago, Socrates (苏格拉底) complained that writing would harm students.

Today a different heated debate is ongoing about the dangers of another technology —computers — and the typing people do on them. As primary-school pupils and PhD hopefuls return for a new school year in the northern hemisphere, many will do so with a greater-than-ever reliance on computers to take notes and write papers. Some parents of younger students are frustrated that their children are not just encouraged but required to carry laptops to class. Lot s of teachers complain of uncontrolled distraction in classrooms, with students reading and messaging instead of listening to lectures.

A line of research shows the benefits of an “innovation” prior to computers: hand-writing. Studies have found that writing on paper can improve everything from recalling a random series of words to facilitating a better conceptual grasp of complicated ideas. For learning material by rote, from the shapes of letters to the quirks of English spelling, the benefits of using a pen or pencil lie in how the motor and sensory memory of putting words on paper reinforces that material. The arrangement of squiggles (不规则的曲线) on a page feeds into visual memory: people might remember a word they wrote down in French class as being at the bottom-left on a page, for example.

Another one of the best-demonstrated advantages of writing by hand seems to be in superior note-taking. In a study from 2014 by Pam Mueller and Danny Oppenheimer, students typing wrote down almost twice as many words and more passages word for word from lectures, suggesting they were not understanding so much as rapidly copying the material. Hand-writing, which takes longer for nearly all university-level students, forces note-takers to synthesize ideas into their own words. This aids conceptual understanding at the moment of writing. Besides, those taking notes by hand also perform better on tests when students are later able to study from their notes.

Socrates may or may not have had a point about the downsides of writing. But no one would remember, or much less care, if his student Plato had not noted his teachings down for the benefit of later generations.

【推荐3】Green is the new gold. As China is transitioning(转变)towards a greener development mode, low-carbon industries in the country have been boosting in recent years, which has led to more business opportunities for companies worldwide.

The new energy vehicle (NEV) industry is a fine illustration. Last year alone, China sold about 6.89 million NEVs, up 93.4 percent year on year. The market share of NEVs in China’s auto market reached 25.6 percent in 2022, up 12.1percentage points from 2021.

Domestically, China’s green transition is bringing a real change. Globally, it is also helping other countries to sustain green growth. “China is the largest supplier of solar energy equipment across the world and in Africa in particular,” said Ajay Mathur, director general of the International Solar Alliance. While noting that many solar panels and batteries being used in Africa are of Chinese origin, Mathur stressed China’s involvement and huge potential in terms of realizing Africa’s seeking for solar energy development. “There is the greatest link that exists between the Chinese manufacturers of solar energy technology and the African users of that technology,” he said.

Apart from African countries, China is also sharing its green development philosophy with many more countries across the globe. The Chilean capital of Santiago has been tapping electric vehicles from China as part of plans to improve its public transport system and advance clean travel.

While boosting development, maintaining biological diversity(生物多样性)is also important. For example, many tunnels were extended and roads are replaced by bridges to protect elephant habitats in the construction of the China-Laos Railway.

“The contribution of China’s green development to global sustainable development cannot be ignored, and it also sets an example for other countries’ green development,” said Abdulrahman Aldakhil, director of Corporate Communication of Saudi National Center for Vegetation Cover Development Combating Desertification. “China’s promotion of international cooperation to protect the environment is a reflection of its sense of responsibility,” he said, “China’s experience in green development is worth learning from.”