On September 1, 2021, schools all over China welcomed their students’ return. Yet this term was special. In the summer of 2021, the Chinese government introduced a series of measures known as “double reduction（双减）”, to reduce the burden（负担）and anxiety of students and parents.

Primary and junior high school students in Beijing have benefited from the new education policy, as they are allowed to stay at school to pursue（从事）other after-school activities.

At 5:40 pm, on the first day of the new term, many students walked out of the campus（校园）of a primary school in Chaoyang district. More parents were waiting outside the school to pick up their children instead of grandparents. Previously（先前）, when schools closed at four pm, many parents were still at work. “It’s great that I can come to pick up my daughter,” said a mother of a second-grade student.

“We have a reading course after classes end at 4 pm,” said Zhang Ziqi excitedly, a second-grade student. “Then we do our homework at school. I don’t have to do my homework when I go back home.”

Lao Lan, a junior high school student, said she stayed at her school until 6:30 pm. “Our teachers have asked our opinions on what after-school activities we would like to attend, which I’m looking forward to do very much.”

Besides, primary and junior high schools in Guangzhou have been required to reduce the burden of students while improving the quality of education. At Xiaobei Road Primary School, students in the first and second grades are not given written homework. Other graders’ written homework is designed to be finished in less than an hour. Meanwhile, the teachers are also working hard to make the homework more interesting and helpful to students.

It is true that people with better education are usually able to get better-paid jobs. In other words, they have more chances to choose a good job while people with little or no education don’t.

It seems that the purpose of education is to make people get jobs. But this isn’t accepted by all people. Some people may think that a person should spend the best years of his life getting education only for a way of living. This was probably one of the earliest reasons of education. In fact, if education is just a way of making a living, people don’t need to spend so much time at school. People can get education for a living in a short time. Subjects like history and geography need not be taught to everyone. Even language and maths need not be taught in detail either. Here it is clear that education is much more than teaching a man to get a way of living.

Education is well-rounded and it is mainly for improving a man. It is not only to teach him to speak. read and write, but also to develop his creative thinking and other abilities.Education is to make a man lead a better life. Educated people are expected to be able to take an interest in the world.

I would agree that making a good living is an important reason for education, but certainly not the most important or the main reason.

The First Lesson is a great public welfare (公益的) program for primary and middle school students across the country. It’s shown at 8:00 p.m. on September 1st every year.

The First Lesson of 2022 takes “ Struggling (奋斗) to achieve dreams “ as the theme, and it is divided into three parts: working hard, keeping going and fighting together.

The program for the First Lesson of 2022 moved the classroom to the Wentian space lab. The astronauts of the Shenzhou-14 who were on business in space also joined in the program through the connection. Wang Yaping, China’s first woman astronaut to walk in space also shared her experience of returning to the earth from space.

Besides, the class for the First Lesson of 2022 also moved the classroom into Saihanba mechanical (机械的) forest farm and Xishuangbanna Asian elephant saving and breeding (繁殖) center. Students felt the beautiful and amazing land of China. All of them developed their sense of national pride after having this class.

Only if the young are strong can our country be powerful enough. All the students developed the sense of national pride after watching the First Lesson. The First Lesson encourages teenagers to struggle in the new ages and start a new journey with lively and exciting stories. As a teenager in the new times, we should think about the purpose of the story characters, regard them as our own example, learn their spirit. In the future, we should become more serious towards study and become a useful person to work hard!

Do you know table manners in Colombia? If not, let’s have a look.

Ever feel like no one really understands you? Well “ Pepper” could be about to change all that. Pepper is the first robot to read human feelings. Using its emotion recognition functions, Pepper can react to people when it is near them－making jokes, dancing and even singing in Japanese.

The man-like robot looks like a small girl. It is four-feet tall with a tablet computer set to its chest. It has human-like hands, a girl-like body and baby-like voice. It was shown to curious people in Tokyo stores on Friday by Softbank, a Japanese robotics company.

Pepper can examine facial expressions(面部表情), human voice and signs, then make an answer. Pepper is designed to be a family robot, but it isn’t like Rosie who can do housework on the cartoon. Pepper is used at the home or the store, where we provide fun and entertainment.

Pepper goes on sale in Japan for around $2,000 in February 2015. For now, several Peppers are at Softbank stores in Tokyo for people to visit. The creators say before selling Peppers, they want the robots to store more knowledge, to do better in getting along with human.

【推荐3】Communication(交流) is important for strong family relationships. However, if you don’t truly listen to others, it can be difficult to communicate. Working on your listening skills can help you understand each other better and form stronger bonds.        

Stay in the present   When listening to a family member, do not think about anything else. Put your phone away and give the speaker your full attention. It’s important to try to stay in the present to make your family member feel heard and valued. Pay attention to what is being said. Make understanding the speaker’s thoughts the most important thing at the moment.

Use body language   If you want the family member to feel valued, make sure to show that you are listening. You can do it by using body language. Nod as the speaker talks. Smile when it is suitable. Keep eye contact.

Do not cut in   Cutting in can prevent you from communicating effectively. No matter how excited you feel about a subject, do not start talking until the family member has finished. Always allow a few seconds of silence after the speaker finishes talking before offering your reply. This allows you to make sure the speaker has finished, and gives the speaker a chance to fully express himself.

Ask questions   Part of listening is understanding. If there is anything in the conversation you don’t understand, please ask after the family member finishes. This shows you are truly listening to him and value his thoughts.

Ask questions that encourage open discussions. For example, “What do you think of the situation?” Don’t ask “why” questions, which might not make the speaker feel comfortable.

Follow these tips, listen actively to your family to help communication run smoothly so that you can build strong family relationships.