2 . China is widely known for its ancient civilisation (文明) which has continued all the way through into modern times, in the fact of many ups and downs in its history. There are many reasons, why this has been possible, but one of the main factors has been the Chinese writing system.

At the beginning, written Chinese was a picture based language. It dates back several thousand years to the use of longgu-animal bones and shells on which marks were cared (雕刻) by ancient Chinese people. In ancient China, characters began as simple drawings of natural objects—trees, rivers, mountains and hill, horses and oxen, human beings themselves, etc. The earliest character-like drawings are “pictographic” in quality. Compared with other scripts (字体) in the world, Chinese characters appeared much earlier with the first evidence of the characters around 5, 000 or more years old. More than 50 kinds of carved marks appeared around the Banpo Site and other nearby places. They were shaped and ordered in a certain rule and they have the same characteristics as today’s simple characters—scientists judge them to be the original Chinese characters.

By the Shang Dynasty (around 1600—1046 BCE), these marks had become a well-developed writing system. Over the years, the systems developed into different forms, as it was a time when people were divided geographically, leading to many kinds of dialects (方言) and characters. This, however, changed under Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty (221—207 BCE).

Emperor Qin Shi Huang united the six major states into one country where the Chinese writing system began to develop in one direction. That writing method was of great importance in uniting the Chinese people and culture.

Written Chinese has also become an important means by which China’s present is connected with its past. People in modern times can read the classic works which were written by Chinese in ancient times. Chinese character, therefore, is a bridge between the present and the past.

Today, the Chinese writing system is still an important part of Chinese culture. As China plays a greater role in the world, an increasing number of international students are beginning to show their love to China’s culture and history through this amazing language.

The Secret of happiness

    1     Money and success alone do not bring lasting (长久的) happiness. Happiness depends on ourselves. In other words, we make our own happiness. Here are a few suggestions to help you be happier.

    2     Too often, we spend so much time thinking about the future—for example, getting into college or getting a good job that we fail to enjoy the present (现在). You should enjoy life’s simple pleasures, such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, or spending time with close friends.     3    

Another secret to leading a happy life is to be active, and have hobbies that can help you forget your problems. Many people experience this by dancing or playing a sport, such as skating or playing.     4    

Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. According to studies, people feel good when they volunteer their time to help others.     5     You can help a friend with his or her lessons, go shopping to buy food for your family members, or simply help out around the house by washing the dishes.

We all have those moments when bright ideas hit us.     1     We believe creative thinking is the falling apple of Newton, but we seldom notice that creative thinking is in fact a process.

    2     Newton watched an apple fall from a tree while sitting in the garden. He began to wonder if the same force that pulled the apple down also kept the moon going around the earth.     3     He called it “gravity (重力)”. But when we cheer for the great discovery, the whole process of creative thinking shouldn’t be forgotten.

Newton studied math for long to have a better understanding of the world. He always enjoyed finding new ways to solve problems.     4     It also started the train of thought that continued for the next twenty years. Newton began to examine “gravity” carefully. He did lots of experiments (实验). Then he studied the results and used what he had learned to do new experiments. In 1687, the greatest scientific work came out.

    5     In school, we prepare ourselves for the right moment. Once the moment comes, we should catch it and then keep on working. It takes much to get the fruits of creative thinking, but the sweetest fruits will be ready for those who wait the longest.

7 . Getting electricity has always been a problem for the 173 people living in Nuevo Saposoa, a small village in Peru, South America. However, things went from bad to worse in March 2015 after heavy rains broke the only power cable (电力电缆) in the area. The villagers were forced to use oil lamps (灯), which are not only expensive but also dangerous because of the terrible smell they produce.

Luckily, researchers at the University of Technology (UT) in Lima, Peru heard about their problem and found a wonderful solution. They made a lamp that can be powered by plants and soil (土壤), both of which can be easily found in the Amazonian rainforest where the village lies. The lamp takes energy from a plant growing in a wooden box and uses it to light up a LED light bulb (灯泡).

While that may sound amazing and even impossible, the science behind the idea is quite simple. As plants create their food (using the sun’s energy, water and chemicals from the soil they produce waste which they return to the soil. Tiny animals in the soil eat the waste and they produce electrons — the parts of electrical energy. The UT team put special sticks inside the soil to get the energy and keep it in the lamp for later use. The researchers say a single charge (充电) can make a 50w LED light work for two hours enough time for local villagers to get their evening work done.

The university gave ten Plant Lamps to the villagers of Nuevo Saposoa in October 2015. So far, they have been a huge success! Elmer Ramirez, the UT professor who invented the lamp, believes the Plant Lamp could help improve the lives of many people, especially small rainforest communities, 42% of whom have no electricity.

8 . During the COVID-19 pandemic (疫情), many people under lockdown (防范禁闭）feel lonely (孤独的) and bored. “There is a loneliness epidemic,” said John Dattilo from Pennsylvania State University, US. So he, together with an international team of researchers, studied how to reduce (减少) loneliness and increase positive feelings during the pandemic.

According to their new study, reduced loneliness has something to do with doing enjoyable activities that require both concentration (注意力) and skill.

“When people lose themselves in what they are doing, they enter a state (状态) called ‘flow’,”

Dattilo explained. “Flow can be achieved by doing activities that we value and that require us to pay full attention to using our skills.”

To achieve a state of flow, there must be a balance between the challenge of the task and your skill level. For example, if you’re trying to create a complex computer program but your skill level is low, then you’re possible to feel stressed out instead of achieving “flow”. On the contrary (相反地), if the task is too easy, then boredom will set in and “flow” will not appear, either.

If you have artistic skills, for example, playing the piano or painting can lead to flow. So can things like skiing, writing and storytelling, depending on who you are.

“When we enter a state of flow, we become focused, and we experience enjoyment,” Dattilo said. “When we leave a state of flow, we are often surprised by how much time has passed.”

However, watching television usually doesn’t help people enter flow, because there aren’t any challenges.

“People tend to thrive (茁壮成长) on healthy activities and challenge,” said Dattilo. “We hope this research will help people live fuller, happier, healthier lives.”

9 . A glasses company in Barcelona, Spain is helping create a brighter future for people with eye problems. It’s called Biel Glasses.

Biel is also an 8-year-old boy’s name. When Biel was two years old, his parents found that he had trouble walking down the stairs. The doctor said there was something wrong with Biel’s optic nerve (视神经) and that it caused his low vision (视力). Terribly, medical treatment or normal glasses couldn’t help improve his vision. So Biel’s parents, an engineer and a doctor, decided to start a company and do something for their son with their own skills.

They started Biel Glasses in 2017 and developed a kind of smart glasses. The glasses are able to show the things in front of the users on the screen and warn them if there are obstacles (障碍物). At the same time, the glasses use the latest technology to show 3D images (图像) of pictures, texts and videos. The 3D images are covered over real-world images. Unlike people who are totally blind, people with low vision can see, so this technology allows them to be more independent.

About one in 5,000 people has the same problem as Biel. Biel Glasses has changed the life of people who wear the special glasses. Alexander Levdanski is one of them. “With low vision, I couldn’t communicate with other people well in the past,” Alexander says. “Now once I put on the glasses, I can go to a party, I can talk to people, and I'm not afraid of doing anything.”

Biel Glasses has some plans to develop this technology better. It will join hands with Google Maps to add voice activation (语音激活). For Biel and other people with low vision, they can look much brighter in the future.