2 . Entering competitions can be fun, and it’s a good way to hone（磨炼）your skills. While you can’t expect to win every time, you can increase your chances of winning with the right strategy and preparation. These are general tips that can be applied to your competition of choice.

Research and choose the right competition.     1     Choose a competition at which you’ll excel, and make sure it’s far enough in the future that you have plenty of time to train effectively. Do some research into the judges and organizers as well to see what they look for in a winning competitor.

Don’t psych yourself out. Plenty of people get scared off by a competition’s requirements and don’t enter in the first place.     2     Since you’ve done your research, you can be confident in your choice to compete and your potential to win. So, stand strong even when you have your doubts and when others may be dropping out.

Learn your competition. Remember that you’re not competing with everyone in the competition. There may be many applicants and candidates, but there will only be a few contenders（竞争者）and finalists.     3    

Make a checklist. Everyone has different productivity styles. If it helps, consider making a training checklist.     4     A checklist is what weightlifters do, for example, to keep track of the exercises they’ve done, the number of reps, and the weight. With a written checklist, you also have one less thing to think and worry about.

    5     Leave sticky notes on your mirror or car steering wheel. Write down anything motivational to keep you inspired. It doesn’t have to be specific. It can simply be, “You OWN the track today!” or “35.5 IS my time!”

3 . Do you want to ensure your child hits their expected developmental milestones? New UBC research suggests living in areas with high exposure to green space can help set them up for success.

For the study, the researchers at UBC analyzed the developmental scores of 27,372 children in Metro Vancouver who attended kindergarten between 2005 and 2011.They estimated the amount of green space around each child’s residence from birth to age five. They also assessed levels of traffic-related air pollution and community noise.

The results highlight the fundamental importance of natural green spaces like street trees, parks and community gardens. “Most of the children were doing well in their development, in terms of language skills, cognitive (认知的) capacity, socialization and other outcomes,” says Ingrid Jarvis, a PhD candidate in the department of forest and conservation sciences at UBC. “But what’s interesting is that those children living in a residential location with more vegetation and richer natural environments showed better overall development than their peers with less green space.”

According to the researchers, the reason for this is partly green spaces’ ability to reduce the harmful effects of air pollution and noise - environmental challenges that have been shown to adversely (不利地) affect children’s health and development through increased stress, sleep disturbances and central nervous system damage. “Few studies have investigated this pathway linking green space and developmental outcomes among children,” adds Jarvis.

The researchers assessed early childhood development using the Early Development Instrument (EDI), a survey completed by kindergarten teachers for each child. The tool measures a child’s ability to meet age-appropriate developmental expectations.

“More research is needed, but our findings suggest that urban planning efforts to increase green space in residential neighbourhoods and around schools are beneficial for early childhood development, with potential health benefits throughout life,” says the study’s senior author Matilda Bosch. “Time in nature can benefit everyone, but if we want our children to have a good head start, it’s important to provide an enriching environment through nature contact.”

4 . Bruce Campbell, a retired electrical engineer, wanted to change the behavior of mankind by showing how we can recycle old things into new and practical and livable ones.

For about $220,000, he purchased a Greek airliner — a Boeing 727-400 — that logged about 40,000 flights in its peak. Before Campbell got his hands on his Boeing 727 and transformed it into the airplane home he lives in, this aircraft saw regular use as it transported all kinds of people to all sorts of destinations.

After the successful transform, he hosted a big DJ dance party with a couple of friends. The party, called Turbulence: A Dance Party at a 727 in the Woods, happened right on the wing! Guests who attended the party also got the opportunity to take a look at the airplane home. Overall, they got the attention of 14,000 Facebook users who were interested in what sounded like an incredible party.

This talented engineer got another airliner and started on his second airplane home during the beginning of 2018 on the Kyushu Island coast because he wanted it to serve as a safe place for the local community as well. Part of Bruce Campbell’s vision was to make an airliner that doubled as a lifeboat in case tsunami (海啸) threats were issued. He wanted the general public to find out that planes are capable of surviving hundreds of years and the cruelest weather conditions thanks to its sealed pressure technology.

Campbell adored the excitement that he received when he recycled airplanes and hoped that people would seriously consider it after they got the chance to see his home during tours and events. He has posted on his website that it is his goal to “inspire a renaissance (复兴) of thought about how to employ this remarkable resource”.

7 . The next time you’re at an airport or hotel, you might notice a traveling group that consists of young kids, parents, and grandparents vacationing together.     1    But more and more families tend to bring multiple generations with them.

    2    In larger groups, for example, child-care responsibilities can be shared across family members, allowing parents to take a break. But the real value of these trips might be how they give relatives an opportunity to freshen their perception of the people they’ve known for perhaps their entire life. Travel can take us out of our familiar contexts and offer people a chance to see one another differently.

The shift toward multi-generational travel has a few explanations. For one, grandparents today stay healthy later in life, allowing them more energy for travel.     3    Plus, the average U.S. household has become more multi-generational. Americans are not just traveling with grandparents in order to spend time with them, they are traveling with them because they are more likely to live with them in the first place.     4    Americans are taking fewer vacation days than they did in the 1970s. They might want to make the most of that time by including as many people as possible.

Whatever the reason for its popularity, a multi-generational trip can be a rare time when younger and older generations can glimpse the complex people they have each become. Away from the family home, older generations get to see their adult children as responsible parents. Kids get to see their grandparents encounter a new environment.     5    

8 . Innovative Ideas by Students

Oxygen / carbon dioxide level indicator

S R-Valava, Aftab English Higher Secondary School

The system can detect levels of oxygen / carbon dioxide in the closed car and open windows when the oxygen level drops or carbon dioxide level rises, thereby preventing accidental deaths of children or pets locked inside the car.

New serving tray (托盘)

Alok Singh, Shah Faiz Public School

This serving tray has a release mechanism that can put cups / glasses on the table along with a coaster (玻璃杯垫) without touching it. Once while serving tea to a guest, Alok spilled (洒出) hot tea over him resulting in some burns to his hands. After this incident he came up with this idea to make serving easy and “stylish”.

Posture (姿势) correcting chair

Kulsoom Rizavi, La Martiniere Girls’ College

With sensors at appropriate places, the chair alarms the user when their sitting posture is wrong. Kulsoom dreamed up this idea after being regularly criticized by her mother for her bad posture. She thought that while it may not be possible to be reminded again and again by someone for sitting wrongly, this task can be done by the chair itself.

Sudden fall detector

Soumya Ranjan Behera, BTTS Upper Primary School.

The wearable device alarms others when the user falls suddenly. It is useful for old people and those suffering from fits, epilepsy (癫痫), etc. It will help keep an electronic eye on one’s loved ones. The idea struck Soumya Ranjan when his grandma suffered an epileptic attack and fell down. He wondered, what if she wasn't around?

9 . Recently, video clips of Zhang Jianna, a city cleaner from Chaoyang Sanitation (环境卫生), have gone viral online.

The 49-year-old Zhang is from a village in Hebei province. With only a high school diploma, she had previously worked as a restaurant server and a store seller. In 2012, she took on the role of a sanitation worker in the embassy area of Sanlitun in Beijing’s Chaoyang District. One morning, a foreigner came to her and spoke a long string of unfamiliar words to her. Zhang didn’t know how to react. The special experience deeply moved Zhang and she was determined (下定决心) to learn English.

“I just want to help whenever someone is in need,” said Zhang. Without a teacher, she began learning English from her children’s textbooks, starting with basic words and phrases. With no fixed study hours, she used every free moment. While others rested, she memorized vocabulary and practiced speaking. Upon arriving home after work, she would note down new knowledge points and review them until thoroughly understood.

“Learning English at 40, I would easily forget the words I learned the previous day,” Zhang said. However, she persisted (坚持), reviewing words at night and then repeating them one more time the next day morning. She also downloaded over a dozen English learning apps on her computer and phone. “Learn step by step, learn every day.” Zhang said. To date, she has collected a vocabulary of around 3,000 English words, enabling her to talk fluently with foreigners. “Growing up without a college education, I sometimes feared being looked down upon. But every time I help a stranger in English, I feel incredibly achievable.”

“To serve others makes me happy and it’s where I prove my self-worth,” said Zhang. “After retirement, I also want to introduce my hometown in English and develop local tourism.”