Screen-Free Day

I remember the first time I suggested screen-free days in our school to some of our student leaders. I played a joke on my group and said. “What do you think if we go a week without using our computers or smartphones?”

They laughed, and one of them said, “No way, Mr. White. That’s impossible for us!” I could feel their worry, and told them that I was only considering the days without “screens”. Even that idea left them feeling upset.

According to a survey we did, most students in our school spend about six hours a day on screens. Many of my students start their day by checking their smartphones. I often see them looking at their phones when getting off the bus or at parents’ drop-off because they can’t use their own “screens” at school. They usually work on computers at school for at least two hours during the day.

It’s clear that our students spend a lot of time on screens. There’s no doubt that we can see the advantages of technology. However, we teachers also want to make sure that students have balanced leaning and social experiences away from their screens. That’s why we have come up with the idea of screen-free days.

During the course of the year, we have built in several screen-free days that require us to make different plans for our students about how they will communicate with one another and the world around them without “screens”,

Fun activities, for example, card games and room escape (密室逃脱) games, are organized at school. In these activities, students make social communications without smartphones and have face-to-face communication without checking on “likes” (点赞) they’ve got online. These fun activities also make it possible for the whole grade to enjoy the company of their friends with no smartphones.

After our first screen-free day, students mentioned that they were surprised they enjoyed it. It is important to find ways to help our students connect with one another. While technology is already part of our world, it shouldn’t play such an important role in a learner’s life.

3 . Marconi, an Italian inventor, who gave us the radio, probably didn’t know how much his great invention would have done for the world in the years to come. Radio has perhaps done as much as any other communication tool. Things of the world can be reported to people everywhere a few seconds after they happened. Travelers in out-of-the-way places, ships at sea, and even astronauts round the earth are able to keep in touch with each other by radio.

Television is another important invention. It lets us see as well as hear the actor. Since it was invented, TV has done a great deal in the life of people everywhere. Many programs are now televised on TV.

Perhaps the most modern invention is “Telstar”, a “star” moving round the earth. It makes it possible for the people all over the world to be closer than ever before. Now on TV a family in Chicago can watch a car race in Italy, a table tennis competition in Beijing or a volleyball match in Japan as these events are actually happening!

Friendship Day is a great day for celebrating friendship. It falls on the first Sunday of August every year. Celebrating the festival was firstly started by the US in 1935. But now this doesn’t only happen in the US. People in other countries are interested in it, too.

The idea of spending the day with friends was spread all over the world. With more and more countries joining in the celebrations, Friendship Day soon became an international festival.

Between 1935 and 1997, Friendship Day didn’t have a symbol, like Santa Claus for Christmas. However, in 1997, the United Nations named Winnie the Pooh as the world’s Ambassador (大使) of Friendship.

The traditional celebrations include activities such as meeting with friends and exchanging cards, flowers and gifts. Some people may have parties with their friends. Some may have lunch or dinner together. Others may hang out or go to the movies with friends on this special day. These are popular among all age groups from teenagers to old people.

Although Friendship Day and its celebrations may have changed over the years, the basic idea behind the festival remains the same. People enjoy the moment they spend together and express love and care for their friends.

6 . Many Chinese students are trying their best to pass English tests like the TOEFL and IELTS. At the same time, many non-native Chinese speakers are struggling to learn Chinese and pass the HSK.

The HSK is the official test for non-native Chinese speakers. Passing it can give non-native speakers new work or education opportunities. It has been offered since 1992. Each of the exam’s six levels includes three parts: listening, grammar practice and reading. In 2018, the HSK was taken 6.8 million times, up 4.6 percent from 2017, according to the Ministry of Education.

Schools in countries around the world are starting to offer more Chinese language programs. That’s because trade and cultural exchanges between China and other countries are continuing to increase, China Daily reported.

For example, the Zambian government announced in May that it will roll out (推出) Mandarin classes in over 1,000 secondary schools in future. It will be the largest Chinese language program in Africa, the Financial Mail reported. Zambia will become the fourth country on the continent—after Kenya, Uganda and South Africa—to offer Chinese language programs in its schools.

Starting this year, Russian middle school students can take Chinese as an elective (选修的) foreign language on Russia’s national college entrance exam, Sputnik News reported.

“I am fascinated with China’s history, culture and language, as well as its economic development. I think studying in China could provide me with some great job opportunities,” Patcharamai Sawanaporn, 26, a Thai graduate student in Beijing, told China Daily.

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7 . If you spend some time in an English-speaking country, you might hear the term “etiquette”. It means normal and polite social behavior. This may seem like a difficult word at first, but it can be very useful to understand.

Etiquette is not the same in every culture or in every situation. (1)For example, standing very close to the person you are talking with is quite common in some Asian countries. However, if you do this in Europe, some people might feel uncomfortable. Even in China, we all know that etiquette is not the same in all situations. Perhaps we think that talking loudly in our own homes fine, but there are other places where talking loudly is not allowed. For example, most people would agree that talking loudly in a library, a museum or a movie theater is impolite. Even if you are with your friends, it is better to keep your voice down in public places.

If we see someone breaking the rules of etiquette, we may politely give them some suggestions. One of the most polite ways is to ask someone, “Would you mind doing this” or “Would you mind not doing that”. People don’t usually like to be criticized, so we have to be careful how we do this.

(2)Although rules etiquette can often be different, some rules are the same almost everywhere in the world_For example, dropping litter is almost never allowed. If you see someone you know doing this, you can ask him, “Would you mind picking it up?”

The undersea world is very beautiful. Now more and more people want to dive in the water to find the secrets there. Scuba diving is a new sport today. It can take you into a wonderful undersea world.

You will find many strange animals in the sea. Some are as large as a school bus. Many sea animals give out light in the dark and some have sharp teeth.

During the day, there is enough light. Here, under the sea, everything is blue and green.

When fish swim nearby, you can catch them with your hands. When you have bottles of air on your back, you can stay in deep water for a long time. However, you can’t dive too deep. And you must be very careful when you dive in deep water.

The deep sea is not an easy place to live in. It’s cold, and it’s dark, too. The deeper it is, the less sunlight there is. At about 3,000 feet, there is no light at all. It is very dark in the sea. Many fishes have no eyes. Some have big eyes. A few have eyes on one side.

Besides the cold and the darkness, deep-sea animals face a third danger—other animals.

Animals eat! They must find food to eat. Many animals eat plants. However, some animals eat meat. This means these sea animals have two big jobs. They need to find animals as food, and they have to try not to become other animals’ meal.