Escape to a New Life describes the Welsh countryside as a beautiful and peaceful place and its people as very caring and happy. The series director believes that this is what young people want today. She says the success of the series is because teenagers want a happier and healthier life away from the     1     of homework and exams. She thinks this series offers a form of getting out of their fast and     2     live.

However, many parents and teachers are     3     about the effect this is having on young people. Parents report that their children are just watching this series and doing nothing else, using Escape to a New Life as a(n)     4     for not finishing homework, or refusing to     5     for exams.

4 . With video meetings, taking selfies (自拍) and posting on social media, it’s easier to see one’s own image online. And for some people, this can lead to feelings of appearance dissatisfaction. In the past few years, screen time has increased for both adults and children. What’s worse, recent research suggests that the video and photo images we see of ourselves are distorted (扭曲的).

One study found that those who spent more time comparing their appearance during a video call experienced lower appearance satisfaction. This study also found that people who used more photo-editing features in video chat were more likely to compare themselves with others and spend more time looking at themselves on video calls.

A 2023 study found that discomfort with one’s appearance during video meetings led to an increased attention to appearance, which in turn led to poor work performance. Researchers also suggest that appearance dissatisfaction is connected with boredom in online meetings. The research reports that this could be due to negative attention to oneself and worry about being looked at or being negatively treated based on appearance.

If you find yourself criticizing (批评) your appearance every time in a video call, it may be time to be intentional about paying more attention to what other people are saying instead of looking at your own face.

When it comes to helping others who have difficulty with appearance dissatisfaction, it is important to care more about the person’s qualities beyond appearance. When viewing yourself or your partners on video and social media, try viewing the person as a whole and not as parts of a body.

Reducing screen time can make a difference as well. Research shows that reducing social media use by 50% can improve appearance satisfaction in both teens and adults. When used in a right way, video chatting and social media are tools to connect us with others, which finally is a key piece in satisfaction and well-being.

5 . Many youngsters in China enjoy gathering a couple of good friends and taking a relaxing walk through the streets, which is a popular form of visiting a new city, that is, Citywalk. They can follow a special urban route (路线), exploring old building, drinking a cup of coffee, or eating local snacks. It can be a special guided trip for a small group of people, or simply a relaxing walk for one or two to explore new areas, sticking to the key point: avoiding famous tourist attractions and big crowds to get a more interesting experience of the places you visit.

In China, the Citywalk trend (趋势) is spreading from big cities like Beijing and Shanghai to other cities, encouraging more people to take part. Xiao Yiyi is a young visitor from Changsha exploring new possibilities while traveling. Recently she tried six Citywalk routes to walk in different cities and posted them on her social media account, with the aim of sharing experiences to “walk in open-air museums”.

Citywalk not only offers a way for young people to interact with a city but also provides an opportunity for people who share the same interests and ideas to easily make friends. Xiao Yiyi said her group usually includes a few or so people and her trips last around half a day.

Even though Citywalk is a new trend, industry insiders say that its future possibility is huge. It is offering a beneficial change to travelers as they can better choose the experiences that suit their interests and needs. At the same time, Citywalk gives an opportunity for tour guides and travel service providers to offer a more professional service to meet ever-changing market needs.

6 . As a 16-year-old student, Charlie has been a successful business owner. When he was in middle school, he ________ the idea of selling coffee. Then he made a lot of ________. He did research on the Internet, tested different kinds of coffee and improved his product. It all seemed ________ but he didn’t give up.

At the same time, he received great support from others in his community, who tried to help him succeed at such a young age. They were ________ by his creativity. And his good coffee became increasingly popular. ________, he set up his own company successfully and he also made a decision to ________ a part of his earnings to benefit others.

Now Charlie is helping to educate and inspire other kids in his community to start their own business. He has been sharing his story with ________ middle school and high school students. His advice is: “Never let your ________ stand in your way; do what you want to do.”

The key to his success is to ________ goals and keep going on. His growing faith also helps him over the course of his business adventure. “You can start a business out of anything. It is more about finding your ________.” Charlie said.

7 . Imunek narrowly avoided a disaster last year. At that time, Imunek already had a 1 year old and was eight months pregnant with her second kid. She was still working her job as a bus driver for local ________.

The day was fairly ________ until a strange smell began to fill the ________. “I had the driver window down and thought the ________ was coming from another car at first, but then smoke ________ coming through my heater, so I ________,” Imunek recalled.

She ________ to use her radio phone to discuss the problem, but it didn’t take long for her to ________ that she didn’t have time for a ________. Instead, she gathered the 37 kids she ________, ranging from primary to high school, and got them off the bus as quickly and ________ as possible. Fifteen to thirty seconds after the ________ child got off the bus, the bus was on fire.

Although Imunek breathed in a good amount of smoke, she and her baby were found to be ________, as were all the children on her bus. To express their ________, all of the children’s parents wrote thank you notes for the ________ bus driver.

8 . The joys of getting lost

Most of us like to know where we are and where we’re going. It can feel_________to be lost. The words “being lost” make us_________a dark wood, or a dark city street: threatening and scary. But that’s not always the case.

When I was twelve, my family were_________in Venice. My dad’s a crazy photographer and he said that he was going to take_________as the sun came up.Mum wasn’t interested, but I said I_________go with him.

So at 5 am the following morning we_________the hotel. There was almost no one in the streets. Dad started taking photographs and I just followed him,walking down_________streets and over little bridges.

After about an hour, I turned to him. “Dad,” I asked “where are we?” He said,“I have no_________.”I immediately felt a bit scared, but Dad just laughed. “We’re_________!” he said. I told him to get out his map or phone. He looked at me. “Map? Phone? I only brought the__________.   Let’s get more lost!” And he laughed again.

His__________ relaxed me and made me feel safe. To Dad’s pleasure, people were__________on the streets shops and cafes began to open, and as the sun__________the narrow streets started to fill with light. I began to forget we were lost, and just started observing everything happening__________me. We stopped and had a sandwich for breakfast—Dad’s__________Italian was just enough for us to get what we wanted, even in a place a-way from the tourist track.

Finally, after hours of__________ around aimlessly, Dad said: “Hey! This is our street!” And we were back. Mum was in the breakfast room of the hotel when we came in. “Where have you been for so long?” Mum asked__________.   “We got lost!” I said with a__________smile.

These days we have so many things to__________us from getting lost: maps, GPS, apps on our phones, and so on. But Dad showed me being lost can simply be something to__________.

10 . More and more people are using crowd-funding to pay for their projects and create new products. Crowdfunding is when a per-son or business gets many small payments from a large number of people. Usually, the way to do this is to use the Internet. In-stead of trying to get a few people to give thousands of dollars, you get hundreds of people, maybe thousands, to give a few dollars. But this is still not easy. You want people to see the value of your idea. How will you get them to give the dollars they earn to you?

*Successful projects are those that got the money they wanted.

There are websites that make this opportunity possible. Kickstarter and GoGet-Funding are popular. You create a short video to explain your project. The most important part is getting your message across. Just because you’ve made your idea known doesn’t mean you will get the money you need. You still need to sell your idea. Many people begin by explaining what the product is and then telling why people need it. For example, one of the most popular crowdfunded products is a watch. The Pebble watch connects with in-formation on a smartphone that will send information to the watch. More than 65,000 people gave money for this product.Crowdfunding raised $10.3 million for it.However, it’s not just products that people use crowdfunding for. People use it for their music, film, art, or writing projects.

Projects usually get from 25 to 40 per-cent of their money from crowdfunding sites. Who is giving all the money? When people need money, they often ask their friends and family. Crowdfunding often works the same way, but once you create your video and message, your friends share it with their friends. If you’ve created a message that people can connect to, you get many more people to give. Why do these people give? First, there is the “feel-good” factor. Giving money makes people feel good. Second, many small businesses offer rewards to people. Third, sometimes the reward is simply getting to use the product. And this is part of the success of crowdfunding. You could make a difference.