Three Hours a Week: Play Time’s over for China’s Young Video Gamers

China has forbidden under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week, a stringent(严苛的)social intervention that it said was needed to pull the plug on a growing addiction to     1     it once described as “spiritual opium(鸦片)”.

The new rules,     2     (publish) on Monday, are part of a major shift by Beijing to strengthen control over its society and key sectors of its economy, including tech, education and property, after years of runaway growth.

The restrictions, which apply to any devices including phones, are a body blow to a global gaming industry that caters to tens of millions of young players in the world’s most profitable market.

They limit under - 18s to     3     (play) for one hour a day - 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. - on only Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, according to the Xinhua sate news agency. They can also play for an hour, at the same time, on public holidays.

The rules from the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) regulator coincide with a broader clampdown(压制)by Beijing     4     China’s tech giants, such as Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings.

The campaign     5     (prevent) what state media has described as the “savage growth” of some companies has wiped tens of billions of dollars off shares traded at home and abroad.

Gaming companies will be barred from providing services to minors in any form outside the stipulated(规定)hours and     6     ensure they have put real-name verification systems in place, said the regulator,     7     oversees the country’s video games market.

The new rules swiftly became one of the most discussed topics on Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter. Some users expressed support for the measures     8     others said they were surprised at how drastic(严厉的)the rules were.

“This is so fierce that I’m utterly speechless,” said one comment that received over 700 likes.     9     expressed doubt that the restrictions could be enforced. “They will just use their parent’s logins, how can they control it?” asked one.

The NPPA regulator told Xinhua it     10     (increase) the frequency and intensity of inspections for online gaming companies to ensure they were putting in place time limits and anti-addiction systems. It also said that parents and teachers played key roles in curbing gaming addiction.

The young applicant is described as confident and courageous. His resume, at 15 pages, is glittering, complete with performance reviews (“full of energy”), a map of his travels (trips to Tokyo and Bali) and a list of books he     1     (read) this year (408 in total). It includes discussion of his adversity quotient and his artistic talents. But the applicant is not a seasonal job seeker. He is a five-year-old boy from southern China     2     (apply) for a spot in first grade at a Shanghai private school.

The resume,     3     was leaked and shared widely online this week, has provoked a mix of fascination, indignation and debate about     4     children in China’s test-crazed education system are being raised as soulless strivers.

Some called for the parents of the boy     5     (arrest). Others wondered whether today’s children would know true happiness,     6     the intense pressure to perform well and land good jobs. Still, some defend the parents,     7     (say) they were trying to promote their child’s best interests in a flawed system.

Yong Zhao, a professor of education at the University of Kansas, said the debate reflected widespread anxiety     8     Chinese parents about getting their children into top schools. In China’s test-dominated system, exam scores determine where students go to college and what careers they     9     pursue.

Xiong Bingqi, deputy head of the 21 century Education Research Institute in Beijing, said China needed to distribute education resources     10     (evenly) and to begin evaluating students on more than just est scores.

“There is a competition to rank every student,” he said, “Under these circumstances, of course parents want their kids to rank in the top. Then it worsens this kind of anxious competition.”

We had several monkeys on board, but Jack was the prince of them all. As he grew tame, he got more liberty, till he got the whole range of the ship, except the captain’s and the passengers’ cabins. I     1    (awaken) at an early hour by the quick steps of feet. It was Jack chasing around. He would seize the hats     2     the sailors’ heads, and threw it to the sea. He would steal their knives and other tools, which,     3     not very actively pursued, he would sometimes throw overboard. When breakfast was preparing, Jack used to sit in a corner, and when the cook’s back was turned, take something from the fire.

He sometimes burned his fingers by these tricks, and this kept him quiet for a few days. But no sooner had the pain been gone, to no one’s surprise,    4     the same thing was done again. Two days in each week, the pigs, which formed part of our livestock,     5     (allow) to run about for exercise; and then Jack was as happy as the day was long.    6     (hide) himself behind a bucket, he would suddenly spring upon the back of one of them, which then ran around in a fright.

Besides Jack, we had on board three little monkeys with red skins and blue faces. Once, Jack attracted     7     (small) one to him. Then, seizing him with one hand, with the other he took the brush and covered him with white paint from head to foot! As soon as Jack saw that he was discovered, he dropped his wet-through brother, and ran up to the main-top,     8     he stood looking at what was going on below with his nose between the bars.

Jack was afraid to come down, and only after three days passed     9     hunger force him to come down. He chose the moment when I was sitting on deck, he dropped suddenly into my feet, looking so piteously (可怜地) at me for pardon, that I not only forgive him     10    , but saved him from further punishment. Soon after this, I took another ship, and Jack and I parted, never to meet again.

Barry Jenkins: ‘When you climb the ladder, you send it back down’

“So, you saw the film?” Barry Jenkins is eager to ask the minute we are introduced. He gives good eye contact through those stylish thick-rimmed glasses – not the big-time, Oscar-winning writer-director speaking, but a nervous artist, anxious     1     the new work he is starting to screen. I love it, I tell him. If Beale Street Could Talk may be only Jenkins’ third feature-length film,     2     it has already been nominated for three Oscars (best adapted screenplay, best supporting actress, best score), just two years     3     his Moonlight walked away with the Academy Award for best film. A passionate film about race and love, it’s an     4     (add) pleasure to see black characters of such complexity on the big screen.

Adapted from James Baldwin’s 1974 novel, Beale Street tells the story in which the personal experiences of a young black couple     5     (interweave) with the big picture in 1970s Harlem. When Tish (KiKi Layne) becomes pregnant, they plan to marry – until her fiancé Fonny (Stephan James) is set up by a racist police officer for a rape he did not commit. The film explores the different reactions of their siblings (兄弟姐妹) and parents, led by Regina King in a standout performance as Tish’s mother, as they fight for Fonny’s freedom.

Baldwin has been dead for 30 years, but his depiction of the fight against a country’s powerful prejudice is a sad reminder     6     not enough has changed. Yet Jenkins turns a bleak story into a fascinating romance, as the young lovers strive     7     (regard) as human beings. With its lingering, saturated-colour photography – the director has cited Wong Kar-Wai’s In The Mood For Love as an influence – Beale Street is one of     8     (visually-arresting) films I’ve seen.

Beale Street     9     (film) on location in New York and the Dominican Republic – filling in for Puerto Rico, still devastated by 2017’s Hurricane Maria. It was shot on an Arri Alexa 65 camera. Throughout the film, as he did in Moonlight, the director lingers over often wordless scenes between his characters,     10     (present) them as a series of moving photographs.

Pedigree Matters Less

The Exciting Offer, a reality show     1     is now well into its second season, has gained in popularity recently because it vividly portrays     2     new college graduates compete for their dream job.

Two participants in particular have attracted a great deal of attention: Wang Xiao, who graduated with a master’s degree in law from Stanford University, and Ding Hui, who     3    (not start) his law studies East China University of Political Science and Law until he turned 25.

Many Viewers imagined that Wang     4     (have) a big advantage over his opponents because of his outstanding educational qualifications. However, Wang turned out to be impatient with his fellow interns, often     5     (interrupt) them when they were sharing their opinions. Ding, on the other hand, presented determination and the attitude of a life-long learner.

You     6     be wondering, “Shouldn’t the student at the ‘better’ university automatically be the better learner and the better intern?”

Well, I hate to rain on your parade (泼冷水),    7     being able to go to a top university is nothing more than a testament to one’s hard work at a certain stage in his or her life. It does not automatically transform them into a better, smarter person     8     their making continuous efforts. Even top university graduates should always keep on working instead of resting on their laurels (不思进取).

More importantly, no amount of prestige can make up for being an arrogant know-it-all.     9    , many Harvard or Peking University degrees you hold, if you do not have regard     10     other people, you won’t earn respect from them in return.

In a word, respect is earned by becoming a worthy role model for others rather than through an excellent pedigree (历史).

For vanity or medical necessity? To enhance or to correct? Clients or patients? Plastic surgery has traditionally been divided into two separate camps: the cosmetic and the reconstructive.

Cosmetic procedures are broadly about the quest for beauty,    1     reconstructive ones restore functions lost or impaired. The two may share history, expertise and technology, but when it comes to our attitudes toward going under the knife, the dichotomy matters.

Netflix's new reality show "Skin Decision: Before and After" demonstrates, however, the distinction     2     what is considered cosmetic and reconstructive isn't always so clear.

Across the first season's eight episodes, Dr. Sheila Nazarian and nurse Jamie Sherrill consult patients     3     (carry) the scars, irregularities and deformities of personal trauma. Some have suffered violent attacks or road accidents;     4     bear painful reminders of lifelong acne or the physical damage of alcoholism.

But it could be argued that all of the participants stand to gain psychologically from undergoing some form of surgical or non-surgical cosmetic procedure,     5     it isn't strictly necessary. Using their field's latest technologies, Nazarian and Sherrill eliminate scar tissue, smooth damaged skin and restore patients' smiles (quite literally in the case of one man,     6     facial injuries caused pain every time he smiled).

They use tucks, fillers and lasers - treatments that are, on paper, cosmetic rather than reconstructive. Yet, their patients aren't searching for perfection.

Unlike other plastic surgery reality shows, which routinely document wealthy participants' efforts to remove wrinkles, enlarge breasts or lift buttocks, those appearing on "Skin Decision" often just want to return to their former selves. As a patient with large amounts excess skin, following a dramatic weight loss,     7     (explain) in one episode: "I don't have to look like Barbie. I just want to look normal."

Few participants better exemplify surgery's potential to transform people's lives than Katrina Goodwin, who appeared on the show following a horrific 2017 attack in which she was shot nine times by her then-husband, who went on     8     (kill) the pair's two young daughters. Nazarian and Sherrill helped to remove scar tissue on Goodwin's abdomen, reconstruct cavernous bullet wounds and remove a tattoo bearing her ex-husband's name     9    (use) advanced laser equipment.

"Every time I took a shower I was reminded (of the tragedy)," she said. "Now, when I take a shower I'm reminded ... that this is phase two. This is my new beginning.

"Before appearing on the show, I didn't realize how defeated I was - defeated in my whole body language," she added. "Now friends and family say, 'You walk taller, you walk prouder, you seem happier.' So it was a transformation, and a way for me to reclaim     10     and feel complete, like a normal woman."

Norway is Teaching Travelers to Travel

After 15 people died during Easter in 1967, the Norwegian Trekking Association and the Red Cross announced their campaign ‘Welcome to the mountains, but be responsible’. Fjellvettreglene, the ‘mountain code’     1     encourages people to have a healthy and respectful relationship with nature, has since become a crucial part of Norwegian culture. It includes points such as bringing necessary equipment   to assist yourself and others,     2    (seek)shelter if necessary and feeling no shame in turning around.

Nationally, Norway     3     (experience) an 11% increase in tourism in the past decade. Trolltunga, a piece of rock,     4     (see) 1,800 visitors in one 2017 day alone. Why? Because people want the same picture they see on Instagram and Facebook. A lot don’t care     5     the experience of the hike. They just want proof that they did it.     6     this tourism boom is good for the economy, it has become a threat to   Norway’s natural environment.

    7    (use) toilet paper, abandoned bottles and plastic bags can be found littered all around Trolltunga. And with the high amount of people who come unprepared for such an active hike, Norway’s leading hiking group, Friluftsliv, also has called for regulations on the number of tourists hiking to Trolltunga. Lasse Heimdal, leader of the outdoor organization said, “On a busy day, you may have to wait in line for an hour and a half just     8    (get) a picture. To control this, we’d like to regulate     9     people can hike in a day. Starting hike times should also have regulations so people don’t start too late and find     10     trapped here.”