【推荐1】We all know that there’s only one moon in the sky. But in 2022in the Chinese city of Chengdu, you’ll be surprised to see five moons in the air. You must be wondering why. It’s reported that in China Daily, China has planned to launched man-made moons over the city of Chengdu.

It sounds crazy but in fact it’s not the first time humans try doing this. In 1993. Russians developed a similar plan. However, the project had to be given up because of the huge cost in the end. Now this is China’s new plan.

In fact, man-made moons are lighting satellites, According to the plan, the local government is going to send out the first one for a test in 2020. If the result is satisfying, the other three are going to be sent out in 2022.

So far, there isn’t much more further information about the satellites yet. How big are they? What are they made of? But we do know that they’ll be covered with the material similar to the moon’s that can reflect light.

The satellites will be set 500 kilometers over the ground, so one of them can light up an area between 10 and 80 square kilometers. The light is about 8 times bright than the moon’s. So at night we can see things more clearly in the man-made moon light.

If all go to the plan, the scientists hope the moons will take the place of street lights in the city. So as soon as the government put them into use, the satellites can help save millions of dollars in electricity bills.

【推荐3】Sometimes we all have this problem: We know the face, but why not the name?

When you meet someone, you may be focused on impressing the person with your skill and professional knowledge rather than learning more about them. You introduce yourselves and shake hands. But when you meet the person again at the event, why do you draw a blank?

“One of the biggest problems is that people don’t really hear the name,” says Kevin Horsley, a master of memory and writer of Unlimited Memory. “They’re not really concentrating (集中注意力) because they’re trying to be interesting instead of trying to be interested.” The bottom line: Thinking of a name is difficult when you haven’t taken the time to listen to it.

When you study a new subject at school or prepare for a presentation at work, it takes time to learn the material. You study and review the subject matter before a test or a meeting with a client (客户). It is the same as meeting someone once and expecting their name to appear in your mind. Horsley describes this as the “tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon (舌尖现象)”. You can’t remember the name because you never learned it properly.

There are ways to improve your recall ability.

It is easier to find something you have forgotten from your mind a short time before. Horsley recommends going back to someone shortly after your first meet. While at a party, you could say, “Hi, Jill.” Then two minutes later say, “I’m sorry, you said Jill?” This process is a predictor (预示) of whether or not you’ll know the name later.

More importantly, consider changing your mind. As with any skill, if you think you are unable to master it, you may not make an effort to improve. “There’s not such thing as a good or bad memory for names,” says Horsley. “There’s only a good or bad method.”

【推荐1】If you are on a bus or train, you’ve probably noticed that most people spend the ride looking at their cell phones. No doubt, they think doing nothing but sit there would be boring, so they prefer distracting themselves. This squares (一致) with past research showing people will do almost anything to avoid boredom.

But results from new research suggest we should rethink that choice. We are probably underestimating (低估) how enjoyable and interesting it is to do nothing but pay attention to wherever our thoughts take us.

In a series of experiments, researchers brought Japanese university students into a lab and told them that they would soon go into a room without their belongings to wait and do nothing but sit for 20 minutes. While waiting, they could think about anything, but were not allowed to sleep, walk, or exercise; look at a smartphone; or check a watch. Before entering the room, they were asked to predict how much they’d enjoy waiting and thinking, how interesting or boring it would be, and how much it would engage them so that they would lose themselves in it and forget the time. Then, they went in the room to wait. Afterward, they reported how waiting actually felt—how engaging, pleasurable, interesting, or boring it was. In some variations of the experiment, they waited in a dark room without any stimulation (刺激). Either way, researchers found that the participants (参与者) were not good at predicting how much they’d enjoy doing nothing but think. Even in a dark room with no stimulation, they ended up being more engaged and interested than they’d expected.

“People don’t recognize the real value of waiting/thinking,” says researcher Kou Murayama of the Motivation Science Lab at the University of Tübingen in Germany and coauthor of the study. “Once they engage in it, though, they appreciate it.” Spontaneous (自发的) thinking often involves mind-wandering, daydreaming, thinking about the future, or recollecting memories, all of which can have upsides. For example, daydreaming and mind-wandering have been found to improve our mood, creativity, goal-setting, and job performance.

Though it’s hard to know if these results with students would apply (适用) to the rest of us, Murayama did at least compare German students to Japanese students and found both groups underestimated the pleasure of waiting to a similar degree. This suggests that it’s not necessarily a culturally-driven phenomenon (现象), though more research would need to be done to check that.

Overall, says Murayama, the results suggest we rethink whipping out our cell phones every time we are waiting or bored. Instead, we might benefit from having a moment to think freely about whatever catches our fancy—and enjoy ourselves just as much.

【推荐3】Saving money can be really hard when you’re a kid. It will be easier if you set a clear goal for yourself, make smart spending decisions and look for ways to make extra (额外的) money in your free time!

Making a savings plan     

Set a clear goal for how much you want to spend. Saving your money will be a lot easier if you have a certain amount (数量) in mind. Setting a goal will help you stay on purpose, especially as you get closer to reaching that goal!

Keep your money somewhere safe like a piggy bank.     1    

Spending less money

    2     Whenever you get money, whether it’s the money you made, or a special gift you should put it into your savings as soon as possible.

Find free things to do for fun.     3     Instead of going to the movies or paying for snacks, try going to the park and playing flag football with your friends.

Making more money

It can be really hard to make money when you’re a kid especally before youre old enough to have a job.

If you notice that there are things to be done around your home, try asking your parents if they’ll pay you to do them.     4     And it will also help get things tided up.

You could do jobs for your friends or other relatives.You don’t have to do only one job.     5     However, remember to take a friend or family member with you!