【推荐1】Technological change is everywhere and affects every aspect of life, mostly for the better. However, social changes brought about by new technology are often mistaken for a change in attitudes.

An example at hand is the involvement of parents in the lives of their children who are attending college. Surveys on this topic suggests that parents today continue to be “very” or “somewhat” overly-protective even after their children move into college dormitories. The same surveys also indicate that the rate of parental involvement is greater today than it was a generation ago. This is usually interpreted as a sign that today’s parents are trying to manage their children’s lives past the point where this behavior is appropriate.

However, greater parental involvement does not necessarily indicate that parents are failing to let go of their “adult” children.

In the context (背景) of this discussion, it seems valuable to first find out the cause of change in the case of parents’ involvement with their grown children. If parents of earlier generations had wanted to be in touch with their college-age children frequently, would this have been possible? Probably not. On the other hand, does the possibility of frequent communication today mean that the urge to do so wasn’t present a generation ago? Many studies show that older parents—today’s grandparents—would have called their children more often if the means and cost of doing so had not been a barrier.

Furthermore, studies show that finances are the most frequent subject of communication between parents and their college children. The fact that college students are financially dependent on their parents is nothing new; nor are requests for more money to be sent from home. This phenomenon is neither good nor bad; it is a fact of college life, today and in the past.

Thanks to the advanced technology, we live in an age of bettered communication. This has many implications well beyond the role that parents seem to play in the lives of their children who have left for college. But it is useful to bear in mind that all such changes come from the technology and not some imagined desire by parents to keep their children under their wings.

【推荐2】How do you make sure whether a watermelon is perfectly ripe? Well, one theory is that if you knock hard on the outside, the sound you hear will help determine if it’s ready to eat. That theory led to a huge online debate in China about what kind of people tend to engage in the art of “watermelon knocking”.

The discussion, which thousands of people contributed to on the Chinese micro-blogging site Sina Weibo, was kicked off by an unknown event thousands of miles away in Italy.

It all began when a Chinese social media user posted the picture of a sign in an Italian supermarket asking customers not to knock on the watermelons. The sign was stuck in a full box of watermelons which read, “Please stop knocking on the watermelons. They will not respond to it!”

There was no indication that the supermarket was targeting this message at customers with Chinese heritage. The sign was in Italian, not Mandarin. But somehow it was taken as an attack on a practice which some Chinese observers regarded as being unique to their national customs.

Many shared jokes aimed at the supermarket sign.

Online users are keen to show they know better, especially on the subject of watermelons.

A quick online search will reveal that Chinese social media users are not alone in their thinking. Watermelon knocking and listening for a hollow sound is indeed a nearly universal concept. It even appears in films. The popular Russian cartoon, Nu, pogodi!, includes watermelon knocking as part of an episode.

There are no absolute guarantees about what to do when it comes to choosing fruit. But at the risk of causing an international diplomatic incident we would suggest some common ground about what to look for to choose the perfect watermelon.

Feel the weight of the melon. The heavier, the better.

Press on the watermelon. It should feel firm and if it springs back, it’s ready to eat.

Look at the markings on the melon. A yellow patch on one end indicates it’s ready.

Of course if all these fail, you could always, knock and wait for a reply.

【推荐1】Text messaging, or simply “texting”, which allows people to send and receive messages on mobile phones, becomes very popular today.

The advantages of texting are obvious. Texting helps to save money. If you have a few words to greet your families and friends on their birthdays or on some important festivals, sending messages can be cheaper than phone calling. Texting helps to save time. Even if you want to send a message to 100 people, you can do it one second. Texting helps you to “talk” to someone when he is too busy to answer the phone. Texting can also help you to “talk” to someone secretly if you don’t want others to hear what you are talking on the phone. These advantages are so amazing that many people are crazy about it. They hold mobile phones in hands all day long, send dozens of messages each day, and even text while driving or walking.

However, texting has its disadvantages. Junk messages may come into your mobile phone box now and then. When your phone box gets too full, you can’t receive any more messages. You may therefore miss some important information.

What’s more, if you don’t do texting properly, for example texting while driving or walking, it can be dangerous. It can cause injuries and even death. It was reported that about 6,000 people were killed and half a million were injured for this reason each year. In Fort Lee, a small town in New Jersey, USA, three people died because they walked into traffic while texting in 2011. Two researchers at Stony Brook University, New York found that texters are 60% more probably to have an accident than others. When people are texting, they don’t notice other people or things around them. To reduce traffic accidents, all drivers of the UN are now not allowed to text while driving. About 32 countries have passed laws restricting the use of mobile phones while driving.

Texting is a wonderful way of communication. However, only when we use it properly can we fully enjoy the fun it brings.

【推荐3】Losing your ability to think and remember is pretty scary. We know the risk of dementia (痴呆症) increases with age. But if you have memory slips, you probably needn’t worry. There are pretty clear differences between signs of dementia and age-related memory loss.

After age 50, it’s quite common to have trouble remembering the names of people, places and things quickly, says Dr. Kirk Daffner of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

The brain ages just like the rest of the body. Certain parts shrink, especially areas in the brain that are important to learning, memory and planning. Changes in brain cells can affect communication between different regions of the brain. And blood flow can be reduced as blood vessels narrow.

Forgetting the name of an actor in a favorite movie, for example, is nothing to worry about. But if you forget the plot of the movie or don’t remember even seeing it, that’s far more concerning, Daffner says.

When you forget entire experiences, he says, that’s “a red flag that something more serious may be involved.” Forgetting how to operate a familiar object like a microwave oven, or forgetting how to drive to the house of a friend you’ve visited many times before can also be signs of something going wrong.

But even then, Daffner says, people shouldn’t panic. There are many things that can cause confusion and memory loss, including health problems like temporary stop page of breathing during sleep, high blood pressure, or depression, as well as medicine like antidepressants.

You don’t have to figure this out on your own, Daffner suggests going to your doctor to check on medications, health problems and other issues that could be affecting memory. And the best defense against memory loss is to try to prevent it by building up your brain’s cognitive (认知的) reserve, Daffner says.

“Read books, go to movies, take on new hobbies or activities that force one to think in novel ways,” he says. In other words, keep your brain busy and working. And also get physically active, because exercise is a known brain booster.

【推荐1】I wish there would be a way to describe China in simple terms but that's impossible. For the most part Chinese people are friendly, easygoing and optimistic. They are curious and unusually patient and they are also the hardest-working people I have ever met.

In China, family is everything. In my English classes when the students were asked what they would do if they only had a few hours to live, most students told me how they would spend their last few hours with their families and parents. Many times the subjects in the classes center on families and friends. I teach many students a year, talking to them freely.

The cost of living here is very low compared with that of the US. The city of Xiang Fan I live in isn't large and I live better. Nonimported(非进口的)foods are very cheap, so are clothing and articles of everyday use. The cost of public transportation is very low, too. Chinese value education. However, it is reported that many children can't afford the expenses of schooling and are forced to leave school in some poor areas in China. But they organized Project Hope many years ago. It creates conditions for the poor children to go back to school. In my opinion, Project Hope is of great importance to the development of the rural education.

When we read news of China in the west, rarely, if ever, will we see anything mentioned of the positive changes China has gone through. While it is true that economic miracles have not reached many areas of China, but we also have the same problems.

When I am asked which country I consider better, China or the US, my answer has always been the same, “We are not worse or better than each other, we are only different.”

【推荐2】September is the month for fashion, with four international cities hosting Fashion Week. All eyes will turn to New York City, London, Milan and Paris this month to see which city puts on the best show.

New York

New York Fashion Week, or NYFW, kicks off on September 5th and runs for approximately eight days. NYFW is considered the most commercial and casual of the four. It is also the only event to allow some fashion school students to participate, bringing a fresh look to the runway.

London

London Fashion Week （LFW） comes on the heels of NYFW, starting on September 13th and running through September 17th. Once considered a minor player among the Big Four, LFW can now command a list of big names as well as promising new designers. London fashion houses have a reputation for being very experimental and open to new ideas.

Milan

Fashion Week moves to Milan on September 17th. This beautiful Italian city is home to some of the biggest fashion houses and designers in the fashion world, including Armani and Prada. Milan's fashion houses are known for offering glamorous （有魅力的）,yet practical, options.

Paris

The chaotic month of fashion makes its way to France as Paris Fashion Week begins on September 23rd. Saving the best for last, Paris never fails to offer some of the most exciting shows of the season. World-famous labels like Chanel and Dior try to outdo one another with their latest designs. The word that best describes Paris Fashion Week is "elegant".

【推荐3】No one can believe that the Great Wall might disappear some day. Believe it or not, the Great Wall is being destroyed by people. Less than 20 percent of the Great Wall built in the Ming Dynasty is still perfect, but about 80 percent is in danger. The Great Wall can be called “great” mostly because of its amazing length. But we should realize that the length was made up of one brick at a time. If we do nothing to save the Great Wall, it will become a series of separate wasteland rather than a historic site.

The Great Wall is actually a series of walls built and rebuilt by different dynasties over the past 2,000 years. It began in the rule of China's first emperor, Qin Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty, and lasted into the Ming Dynasty. The parts built before the Ming Dynasty have nearly disappeared. People are familiar with sections such as Badaling in Beijing and Jiayuguan in Gansu because they have been open to tourists for many years. But those sections far away from the public eyes have been almost forgotten.

Few local people knew the 3­metre­high walls made of earth and stones beside them are part of the Great Wall. The lack of knowledge is considered as one of the main reasons.

The bricks on the Great Wall were carried off by local countryside people to build their houses, sheep corrals (畜栏) and pigsties (猪圈). Some were taken away to build roads. Bricks carved with people’s names are put away as remembrance (纪念). Rubbish is spread over the battlements (城垛). The bricks can be sold for 15 yuan per tractor load. Those who destroyed and are destroying the Great Wall know its name, but are not clear about its cultural meaning. It will take a long time to let them know this. The local farmers not only carried off the body of the Great Wall but dug out the entire base.

It is necessary to preserve the Great Wall. The officials should be aware of the importance of the Great Wall. Young Chinese should know more about the nation’s great civilization and learn to love it.

【推荐1】Barcelona’s opera house has celebrated its reopening to the public since the coronavirus pandemic put the world into a huge horror, but their opening night had an unusual audience. For its first concert, the theater refused the usual crowd of people and instead packed the house with plants. Yes, that's correct. All 2, 292 seats at the GranTeatre Liceu were occupied by green plants.

The idea was conceived by an artist Eugenio Ampudia and was broadcast live on the theater’s website. These lucky ficus trees, palms, and Swiss cheese plants — which were brought in by local nurseries (苗圃) — got the pleasure of hearing Puccini’s Crisantemi performed by the UceLi Quartet string musical group.

Ampudia hopes that his idea and the work will inspire people to think more deeply about their relationship with nature and the idea of sustainability. “We are at the end of an era and that means that we have to change certain patterns,” he shares. “We don’t live in the same world as 90 days ago, and this means we have to reflect on everything that we do.”

As plants can respond to different vibrations caused by music, they certainly weren’t a passive audience — even if they weren’t able to give applause. Now that the concert is over, each plant will be given to a different frontline healthcare worker who helped guide the country through its battle with the coronavirus.

The moving concert is a continuation of the Liceu’s mission to create a dialogue between music and the visual arts. Pictures and a video of the performance taken by Ampudia will now become part of La Caixacon temporary art collection.

【推荐2】We give toys to kids who otherwise wouldn't have them. Load bags with canned foods for the hungry. Make donations to those who need it. This time of year, it seems, we focus more on doing good and being good. Certainly, that's not a bad thing.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley say that kindness, and related qualities like empathy and compassion are actually a form of self-preservation. Those who give more, get more. The most generous among us have greater influence and are more popular. Whereas, the unkind and unhelpful are more likely to be cast adrift from us. After all, it stands to reason, that if I'm paddling your lifeboat, you'll keep me afloat a little longer.

So, is kindness motivated by our real concern for others or are we do-gooders because it makes us look good and shores up our position in the ecosystem? Probably both. Most of us really enjoy helping others. It makes us feel good, connected, happy and that makes for a healthier more satisfying life. But, it doesn't hurt that we also receive other rewards-status, cooperation, influence-that will help m survive and become successful.

Despite all the benefits, I tend most often toward kindness only when it's convenient. That doesn't mean I have had manners. I say my pleases and thank-yours. I hold the door open for passengers. But, I could be kinder, more often. Sometimes I'm stopped front doing good by just how to do it. Sometimes, I'm just not thinking enough about other to recognize the need. Sometimes, I'm plain, old selfish.

I'm working to be more aware of those around me. To slow down and move with patience and purpose on the freeway. To be more kind. My acts of kindness aren't complex or flashy-I'm not the type. They aren't expensive--I'm too cheap. But those things aren't required. You don't have to feel guilty that your kind gesture wasn't as big as building a school in Africa. Kindness can be a small, simple act and still make an extremely large impact. Notice a need and then consciously offer a bit of you self.

【推荐3】Engineers have launched a huge garbage collection device to gather plastics floating in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii. The plastic makes up what is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is the world’s largest spread of garbage, twice the size of the state of Texas.

The Organization Ocean Cleanup created the collection device. The group’s founder is Boyan Slat, a 24-year-old inventor from the Netherlands. When Slat was 16, he went diving in Mediterranean Sea and saw more plastic bags than fish. Since then, he has made up his mind to clean up the oceans.

He told the Associated Press that researchers with his organization have found plastic from the 1960s and 1970s among the material in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It contains an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic in total. Most of them float on the surface of the water, or are within a few meters of the surface.

Last Saturday, a ship pulling the pipe-shaped floating barrier left San Francisco for the Garbage Patch. The barrier, called the floater, is 600 meters across. Attached to it is a screen (筛子) that hangs three meters down in the water. The screen is designed to collect the plastic as it moves through the water. Sea animals can safely swim under the barrier. The cleanup system also comes with lights powered by the sun, cameras, and other special devices. Slat said this enabled the system to communicate its position at all times.

Shipping containers will hold all the plastic gathered, including bottles and fishing equipment. Slat said the containers were expected to be back on land within a year. Then the plastic will be recycled. And they will also study how the system performs in severe ocean conditions, including huge waves.