2 . We all scream for ice cream!

Ice cream may be universally appealing, but many countries have their own version of ice cream that’s often not called ice cream. Let’s learn about these tasty “ice creams” around the world and awaken your inner child!

Raspados are the Mexican version of American snow cones (冰沙). But while snow cones are made using overly sweet syrup (糖浆), raspados have real fruits or fresh fruit juices. The sweet and cold treat is everywhere throughout Mexico and sold at street carts (手推车). You won’t find Mexicans eating their raspados in cones since they’re only served in cups.

It may be made of ice, but kakigori, the Japanese version of ice cream, is most definitely not a snow cone. It melts in your mouth just like a creamy ice cream. Chefs make kakigori by shaving ice from ice blocks until it builds into a soft pile. Then, syrups of various flavors, like green tea, strawberry, grape and melon, are added to the ice. Kakigori is almost always served in a bowl, and it’s not unusual to find sweet shops offering toppings as the final touch, most commonly red bean paste or fresh fruit.

Pizza and pasta aside, gelato is considered to be Italy’s food symbol. In fact, visiting the local gelateria is a way of life for Italians. Italian gelato is lower in fat than traditional ice cream and is made with whole milk, eggs, sugar and flavoring — chocolate, hazelnut, pistachio (开心果) or vanilla (香草) ice cream mixed with pieces of chocolate are the most beloved flavors.

An ice cream that doesn’t melt? Yes, that’s exactly what dondurma or Turkish ice cream is. Dondurma has an elastic texture (弹性口感) and buying dondurma is like watching a performance. The men who sell it wear traditional Turkish clothes, twist and turn the ice cream until it lands into the cone to be served. Kids and adults get a kick out of the show.

3 . I had always been fascinated by the use of natural treatments in healthcare. So, when I came across a local clinic that offered courses in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) several months ago, I immediately signed up for a one-year course.

On the first day of class, I was looking forward to what I was going to learn. As the instructor explained the procedure, I felt a little disturbed by the thought of needles being stuck into my skin. However, I was determined to overcome my fear. Acupuncturist uses hair-thin needles to find specific areas on the body to treat pain or tension the body may be experiencing, known to help with depression, insomnia (失眠) and anxiety. The instructor told us that an acupuncturist might request patients to provide more information about their health, how to treat them, and what points are most appropriate for them. We were taught how to examine a patient’s tongue and pulse to gather evidence of any imbalances in the body. He showed us how to adjust the needle’s depth, as different organs required different depths. The needles were only a few millimetre thick and made of stainless steel, so they were solid and easy to switch out.

In class, we also learned about the phenomenon of acupuncture anesthesia (麻醉) where patients could undergo surgery without conventional anesthesia using only acupuncture. As we progressed through the course, we learned about herbs and their uses. We also discussed the effects of substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and drugs on the body and how they could lead to severe anxiety and abuse.

TCM dates back to ancient China, and it is a widespread practice today. It is fascinating to learn about the symbolism behind each organ and how they relate to different emotions and imbalances in the body. After a year of wrestling with the course, I have now graduated and put everything in place. Without doubt, it has been one of the most fulfilling experiences in my life.

4 . It was a fine day. My husband David and I set off on a short ________ with a friend as our guide. He said it would be a rather ________ two-hour hike to see the rare Paiute cutthroat trout in its natural habitat. But we later found it was a different story.

When we arrived, we were ________ , but not too tired to enjoy the thrill ________ we saw the colorful fish swimming there. It was late, so we could only appreciate the scenery for a ___________ while and then went back to our car before dark. We ________ the rest of the hike should be relaxing. But it wasn’t. It was the steepest way we’d faced so far.

When we ________, my huge backpack felt like a ton of stone. My knees were in ____________ and tears poured out of my eyes. And there was another mountain ahead of us. As the sun began to set, my legs gave out ________. Seeing that, David asked me to take one tiny __________ at a time. “Don’t look at the mountain. ________ your eyes on your feet,” he said. With David’s ________, I struggled to move slowly. Eventually, we climbed over the mountain, __________ to find it was the last obstacle (障碍) in our way.

Though it has been years since that hike, David’s words have continued to be a source of ___________ for me when I faced difficult situations. They remind me that I don’ t need to __________ everything all at once, but rather make small progress at a time.

5 . The book, Deep Work, by Cal Newport, which is meant to advocate deep work, consists of the philosophical basis of deep work and why it works, and then to teach you how to lead a deep life if you realize it is a good life.

Deep work refers to professional activities performed in a state of undisturbed concentration that push your cognitive (认知的) abilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill and hard to copy. The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare and at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a result, the few who develop the skill, and make it the central part of their working life, will succeed. A deep life is a good life, any way you look at it. Who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love is the sum of what you focus on.

Main elements of intentional practice of deep work are identified as follows: your attention is focused tightly on a specific skill you’re trying to improve or an idea you are trying to master; you receive feedback so you can correct your approach to keep your attention exactly where it’s productive.

To succeed with deep work you must learn to feel comfortable resisting disturbing stimuli. Since you have a limited amount of willpower that is decreasing as you use it, the easiest way to consistently start deep work sessions is to transform them into a simple regular habit. To master the art of deep work,therefore, you must take back control of your time and attention from the many activities that attempt to steal them.

The ability to concentrate is a skill that gets valuable things done. If you’re struggling to activate your mind to its fullest capacity to create things that matter, then you’ll discover depth generates a life rich with productivity and meaning.

6 . Imagine an iPad that’s more than just an iPad — with a surface that can change shapes, potentially allowing you to draw 3D designs and even hold your partner’s hand from an ocean away. That’s the vision of a team of engineers from the University of Colorado Boulder. In a new study, they’ve created a one-of-a-kind shape-shifting display that fits on a card table. The device is made from a 10-by-10 grid (网格) of soft robotic “muscles” that can sense outside pressure and pop up to create patterns. It may also deliver something even rarer: the sense of touch in a digital age.

The group’s innovation builds off a class of soft robots pioneered by a team led by Christoph Keplinger, formerly an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at CU Boulder. The original model isn’t ready for the market yet, but the researchers envision that, one day, similar technologies could lead to sensory gloves for virtual gaming or a smart conveyor belt that can sort different items like selecting apples from bananas.

The project has its origins in the search for a different kind of technology: artificial organs. In 2017, researchers led by Mark Rentschler, professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering, were developing what they called sTISSUE — soft organs that behave and feel like real human body parts but are made entirely out of silicone-like materials. “ You could use these artificial organs to help develop medical devices or surgical robotic tools for much less cost than using real animal tissue,” said Rentschler, a co-author of the new study.

In developing that technology, however, the team landed on the idea of a tabletop display. If you pass an electric current through the actuators (执行器), the surface will change shape and jump up. The actuators also include soft, magnetic sensors that can detect the pressure when you push them, which allows for some fun activities.

Other research teams have developed similar smart tablets, but the CU Boulder display is softer, takes up a lot less room and is much shifter: each of its robotic muscles can activate as much as 50 times per second. The group is also working to design a glove that allows you to “feel” objects in virtual reality.