1 . China has set new rules limiting the amount of time children can play online games. The rules limit children to just three hours of online game playing a week. That is one hour between 8 p. m. and 9 p. m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday most weeks.

Li Zhanguo has two children aged 4 and 8. Even though they do not have smartphones, they enjoy playing online games. Like many other parents. Li is happy with new government rules. But experts say it is unclear if such policies can help prevent addiction to online games. Children might just get addicted to social media instead. In the end, experts say, parents should be the ones to set limits and support good practice.

There has been a growing concern in China about gaming addiction among children. Government reports in 2018 found that about one in ten Chinese children were addicted to the Internet. The new rules are part of an effort to prevent young people from spending too much time on unhealthy entertainment. That includes what officials call the “irrational fan culture”

Under the new rules, the responsibility for making sure children play only three hours a day as largely on Chinese gaming companies like Net Ease and Ten cent. Companies have set up real-name registration systems to prevent young users from going past game time limits. They have used facial recognition technology to check their identities. And they have also set up a program that permits people to report what is against the law. It is unclear what punishments gaming companies may face if they do not carry out the policies. And even if such policies are performed, it is also unclear whether they can prevent online addiction.

A specialist treating Internet addiction expects about 20 percent of children will find ways to break the rules by borrowing accounts of their older relatives and find a way around facial recognition. In his opinion, short-video alps such as Douyin and Kuaishou are also very popular in China. They are not under the same restrictions as games.

2 . Have you ever taken photos by using mobile phones with selfie sticks (自拍杆)?    1    

However, a pair of US artists from New Mexico, Aric Snee and Jutin Crowe believe they have invented a better one and they call it “selfie arm”.     2     It makes those people in the pictures to be holding hands with a loved one.

The pair say it offers a far better experience than using a straight stick. The selfie arm makes people feel they are not alone when they take photos.     3     They think their invention solve the main problem that the selfie stick has— people look alone while they are taking pictures of themselves with great interests. The product, at present, just an art project and a model, conveniently provides you a welcoming arm.     4     The pair say they are fascinated by these new ideas.

The “selfie arm” is made of fiberglass.     5    

The project that they work on show the growing selfie stick phenomenon (现象) directly and the increasing need for narcissism (自恋) and Internet agreement.

5 . Four Animation Studios(动画工作室)

Logo (图标)
Name	Pixar Animation Studios	Walt Disney Animation Studios	Dream Works Animation	Studio Ghib li
Location	California, USA	California, USA	California, USA	Tokyo, Japan
Introduction	Pixar was bought by Steve Jobs in 1986. Later in 2006 it was bought by Disney.	Walt and Roy founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in 1923. After years, Disney Animation has become the most famous one in the world.	In 1994, Steven, Jeffrey and David founded Dream Works. It belongs to Universal Pictures now.	Ghibli is one top animation studio in Japan. Many top animated films in Japan are produced by Ghibli. These works make it famous all over the world.
Famous movies	Toy Story Finding Nemo	The Lion King Big Hero 6	Shrek Kung Fu Panda	Castle in the Sky My Neighbor Totoro

6 . My friends and I had just finished lunch at a hotel when it started to rain heavily. When it became lighter, I decided to get my _______, which was parked at my office three streets away. My friends _______ that I shouldn’t go, mainly because I was seven months pregnant (怀孕) then. I promised them that I’d be very _______. One of them wanted to come with me but I asked her to stay with another friend who needed help _______ her baby.

I walked out of the hotel and started making my way to the car. At the crossing, a van stopped and a man came out with an umbrella. Before I knew what was happening, he walked right _______ me and told me he’d escort (护送) me. Although I refused, he said that he would.

During our walk, he kept telling me to walk slower, as the ground was _______. When we got to the car park, I thanked him and he went away. I did not get his name and can _______   recognize (认出) him now. Did he stop for me? I’ll never know.

So how did I pay it forward? I was at home when I noticed two Indian workers _______ in the heavy rain. They were probably on their way to the working place near my home. I went out and passed them my _______. I told them they should take and keep it. They were surprised by my action. They were very grateful to me, probably ________ why a stranger was offering such kindness. I was so relaxed and happy that day.

8 . Every festival has its own meaning. Labor Day, for example, celebrates the value of hard work. Thanksgiving is about showing thanks to people around you. And Valentines’ Day is a time when you express love to your loved ones. But somehow it now seems that all festivals we just care about one thing — shopping. And that can be a big problem.

“In a way, over-consumption (过度消费) is the mother of all our environmental problems,” Kalle Lasn once told CNN. Lasn is the organizer of Buy Nothing Day, a day set up in Canada in 1992 to fight against unhealthy spending habits, and has now become an international event. It’s held on the day, which is known as Black Friday — a famous shopping day in the US and Canada.

You can see the irony (讽刺) here.

Even though the idea of Buy Nothing Day was brought up 26 years ago, we seem to need it now more than ever. It’s just as Lasn said, all the different kinds of pollution in our lives today — bad air quality, the reduction of forest area, endangered animal species, and plastic bags found in the ocean — seem to be the same cause: over-consumption.

The latest example is the Singles’ Day shopping craze of Nov 11, which saw a new sales record. But as Nie Li, a campaigner at Greenpeace, told Reuters, “Record-setting over-consumption means record-setting waste.” And it was reported that last year the Singles’ Day packages left more than 160,000 tons of waste, including plastic and cardboard. The Collins Dictionary has also just named “single-use” its Word of the Year, pointing out the problem that there’re too many things we tow out after only using them once.

So, Buy Nothing Day might only be here for one day a year, but it’s not just to remind us to the a break from shopping on that day, but to change our lifestyle completely, focusing on fun “with people we care about” rather than wasting money on useless things.

One of the most remote destinations on the planet, Antarctica is not an easy (or affordable) endeavor. Perhaps the difficulty is part of the attraction — the seventh continent remains on the top of many travelers’ wish lists. The striking white desert, with its dramatic, snowy peaks and vibrant turquoise waters, as well its exotic wildlife, including Emperor penguins and Weddell seals, is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Hawaii is underrated. To be sure, it is a gorgeous place, with breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, and every beach seemingly prettier than the next, but its beauty goes much deeper than its preternatural appearance. Extraordinary beaches — some even boast black and green sand (Papakolea Beach and Punalu’u Beach, respectively)—have their expected appeal, but visitors who take time to venture out and away from the coast quickly discover Hawaii’s charms are everywhere.

Skiing, surfing, hiking and Northern-lights sighting. Eclectic cuisine, world-class shopping, a diverse and rich culture. This is Canada. The 13 provinces and territories that make up the world’s second-largest country by total area. It has something wonderful for every type of traveler. Nature lovers take so lace in mountains, glaciers, waterfalls and Atlantic or Pacific coastlines while sophisticated palates nosh at Michelin-starred restaurants and hole-in-the-wall mainstays alike.

Travelers don’t want to spend any more time in an airport than they have to. But Singapore’s Changi is not an ordinary airport. While the rest of the world was staying at home, Singaporean locals were paying to hang out at Changi, whether it was co-working in one of the lounges or camping alongside the world’s tallest indoor waterfall at the Changi Jewel, which opened in 2019.