1 . It’s uncertain when many offices may reopen, but it’s clear the virtual work revolution that began with the pandemic isn’t going away.

Alexia Cambon,research director at Gartner, says finding the right combination of in-person and virtual work will take creativity and experimentation. Managing director Deborah Lovich stresses that companies should consider that flexibility is not only about location, but also about the hours employees work.

Alexia also points out the importance of finding solutions for a whole team. “What COVID-19 taught us is that flex work cannot be for an individual. It has to be for the team,” she says. “When the whole team is together online versus a whole team together in person,it works.”

Progressive organizations are also reconsidering their workplace culture. “They’re thinking about changing culture and leadership to be much more trust-based, impact-based, instead of input-based,like,I see you,so I think you’re productive,’ compared to, ‘Wow, I see what you’ve accomplished,and I know you’ve been productive,””Lovich says.

Lovich sees remote work as a “win-win” for cmployees who get more flexibility and employers who can hire people from anywhere in the country or even the world. She views it as creating equality in terms of allowing small towns to attract talent and offering more opportunity for women to climb the corporate ladder without having to relocate their families, something that she says often takes a back seat in a dual-career houschold.

Companies that require a return to a fully on-site model could lose one in three employees.Lovich agrees that employers need to be careful. “It’s an employee’s market right now. The world is short of workers,and because of that we should really think about what we need and feel confident and courageous to speak up. And a lot of companies are getting that, and so it’s a real opportunity to either shape the place you work to be the place it needs to be or go someplace else that does,”Lovich says.“For decades,we’ve been contorting(扭曲)our lives to fit around work， and COVID-19 forced work to fit around lives．”

4 . On today’s blog post, I’ll be talking about my favorite magazines. I love reading books & magazines, and I’m learning so many useful tips about healthy living, daily life, etc.

Women’s Health

Women’s Health has a unique content. You can find various interesting information about healthy living or exercises you can do at home. I also love their writers because they explain every topic so simple that you can even understand biological articles.

Healthy Food Guide

I totally recommend it to everyone because it has lots of useful information about being healthy during your daily life. In this magazine, you can find articles about foods you often eat but don’t have much idea what it contains or if they’re healthy. If you are searching for new diets, this magazine gives you all the information.

Time Out

Time Out is a well-known magazine and it’s free in my city. Every time I see a Time Out magazine, I get it because it has lots of useful tips. I got Time Out London when I was in London, and I discovered new restaurants, galleries, museums, and events. This magazine has various information about the city life. For example, it gives you the events that are happening near you. It gives you tips for the railway stations and other transportation choices.

La Cucina Italiana

If you love cooking Italian food, this magazine is for you! It has lots of recipes and also restaurant reviews. You can also find popular restaurants near you in this magazine. I’ve also read articles by famous chefs from my city.

7 . Teens have a reputation for making some not-so-smart decisions and being easily distracted. Researchers have blamed it on the immaturity of the prefrontal cortex(前额叶皮质). But scientists now find the answer may be the attraction of rewards. Rewards, even small ones, affect teens more than adults. And teens tend to be distracted by things they once found rewarding, even after the actual payoff is long gone.

Psychologist Zachary Roper and his team worked with two groups of volunteers: 13-to 16-year olds and 20-to 35-year-old adults. During a training stage, a computer displayed six circles, each a different color. The players had to find the red or green circle and would be provided with a 10-cent or 2-cent reward. By the end of this training, volunteers had realized the value of each color but they didn’t know it. Then came the testing time. Again, groups of six symbols, one diamond and five circles, appeared on a computer screen. The researchers measured how long it took people to find the diamond and recorded their answers.

When no red or green circles appeared, both adults and teens responded quickly. But when a red or green circle showed up, both groups took a bit longer initially. Adults, though, quickly stopped paying attention to the red or green circles. Teens took longer to respond whenever a red or green circle appeared. Clearly, the red and green circles were distracting teens even though they brought no reward.

“The study demonstrates that the attention of adolescents is especially drawn to rewarding information,” says Zachary Roper. “These data may help explain why teens engage in risky behaviors.”

Some behaviors, such as texting or using social media, start the brain’s reward system. Once the teenage brain has linked a behavior to that reward, it continues to seek it again and again. That’s why teens are likely to use social media when they should be studying. Or why they respond to texts while driving. So researchers suggest physically removing distractions whenever possible.

8 . Every day, across the United States, there are people sitting in towers more than 100 feet in the air alone, scanning the distance for signs of smoke. They are fire watchers, also known as our eyes in the sky.

What is it like to be a fire watcher? Peter Naumann, a former fire watcher, tells about a typical day. “I’d get up at 5:30, eat a quick breakfast, and scan the area for smoke once every hour.” Other duties include reporting to headquarters twice each day, cutting firewood and so on. Aside from these required routines, a fire watcher should have hobbies and like reading, which helps pass the time.

While it might sound like a quiet life to some, at any moment, an adventure could begin. “Rainstorms and thunderstorms were a tough time. I had to be awake all through, looking for where the lightning was striking,” says Naumann. Sometimes, fire watchers also need to act as backcountry dispatchers(调度员). For example, Naumann once aided in the rescue of an injured horse rider.

It may seem surprising that the life of a fire watcher is very much the same all these years. Even much of the technology used in the early days is still used today. For example, the Osborne Firefinder is a tool that gives compass headings for fire locations. This tool has been in use for nearly 100 years. Today, fire watchers have the added help of spotter planes, helicopters and satellite imaging.

With more and more new technology, why do we still need fire watchers? “Ideally, you should have someone who knows the land features and the weather conditions,” says Naumann. Also, fire watchers are able to see things that satellite imaging cannot, such as the difference between cloud-to-cloud lightning and ground strikes.

So the fire watchers still hike to their posts each fire season. Why? They are our eyes in the sky.

9 . Collin was lying on his back when his sister, Mary, came in. From her red eyes, Collin could tell she felt homesick again.

Their family had moved to the Moon nearly four months ago. It still didn’t feel like home. The houses were cosy, but outside everything was gray and rocky and lifeless. There was even no weather there at all—no rain or snow or even wind.

“I miss everything, even the sound of rain on the roof,” Mary said sadly. “Worst of all, my birthday is in two days, and I don’t think Mom and Dad are planning anything special.”

She’s probably right, thought Collin. Life on the Moon was busy for scientists like their parents. He doubted if they had time to plan a party. If there was no party, maybe he could give his sister a gift. However, with limited room in their transport ship, each child had been allowed to bring only two toys from the Earth. Where could he find the gift?

The next day, as Collin wandered toward the agricultural center, he found some bamboo plants, which made good building materials. An idea flashed across his mind. He took a piece of bamboo plants, made tiny holes into it, then poured a handful of Moon cobblestones inside and sealed the open ends.

When it was done, Collin hurried home, holding the bamboo piece carefully. On seeing his sister, Collin said, “I have a present for you.” He handed his sister the bamboo stick. “Happy birthday!”

“What is it?” Mary asked, looking at it curiously.

“A rain stick,” said Collin. “Whenever you turn it over, the Moon cobblestones fall inside and it sounds like rain.”

Mary turned the stick, and the room was filled with a sound like rain drumming on a roof.

“It’s Moon rain!” she said. “It makes me feel like I’m home.” She smiled at Collin and turned the rain stick over again.