A Cycling Tour

3 . Can People Really Learn to "Speed Read”？

There never seems to be enough time to read these days. With so many books and articles—especially on social media——the ability to read faster could be a life-changer.     1    The problem is that true speed reading without any loss in comprehension isn't supported by the science.

“Speed reading is not actually possible," said Elizabeth Schotter, a scientist at the University of South Florida.    2     You have to first see the word, understand its meaning, relate the word to its context, and then figure out where to point your eyes next.

Some books and classes train people to read whole passages all at once by scanning text in a zigzag（之字形）pattern. These methods suggest that our eyes make wasted movements when looking back and forth over words. But studies find that the limit to reading comprehension is the ability to recognize words.     3    

In recent years, numerous apps have claimed they can boost reading speed. These apps display text just one word at a time, one after another at a certain rate.     4     But again, the eyes sometimes have to go back and reread words to fully grasp text. Research has found that your eyes pick up important information beyond the word in focus, which is simply not possible if you can only read one word at a time.

    5    You probably can't dramatically increase your speed, but research suggests you can get a little faster by improving your vocabulary and simply reading more. Good thing there's plenty to read. Enjoy it.

5 . The COVID-19 epidemic(新冠疫情)is sill spreading rapidly throughout the world. Luckily, it is under control in China with the efforts of our government and all the people. However, we should still be careful in our daily life. There’re some rules for us to follow.

1. Get vaccinated (打疫苗)

Since there’s still no special medicine to cure(治愈) COVID-19,     1    The government is providing available vaccine(疫苗)for everyone in our country. If you’re over 18 years old and in good health, you can get vaccinated near your community.     2    

2. Wear masks(口罩)

People have been used to wearing masks since the epidemic broke out. It is summer now, maybe wearing masks in hot weather makes you feel uncomfortable. However,     3    

So whenever you go out, don’t forget to put on your mask. You may look cooler with a mask on!

3. Wash your hands

    4     Especially when you get home from school or work, or return from any other public places, the first thing you should do is to turn on the tap(水龙头), pick up the soap and wash your hands completely.

4. Keep safe social distance(距离)

You’d better not go to crowded places. The summer vacation is beginning. If you have to go to the stores, movies, parties, supermarkets, etc, besides wearing masks, remember to keep social distance.     5    

Anyway, take good care of yourself and live a safe and happy life!

Thank you very much for your last letter asking about my study and life.   

I'm looking forward to learning about your life and your improvements.

Yours,

Li Hua

8 . In Vanuatu, this marathon cultural festival has brought thousands of people together. Although it is one of the Pacific’s biggest cultural festivals, there is no specific date for Nekowiar, a big event of colour and culture that is a true test of one’s endurance (忍耐力), bringing together thousands of people from some of the most faraway villages on the Vanuatu island of Tanna.

Nekowiar, which takes months to prepare, is traditionally held every few years, but it has been eight years since the last one in 2012. No one knows when or where the next celebration will happen. This isn’t an event for tourists though. Nekowiar has been called a peace-building exercise between warring tribes (部落), and a chance for families to arrange marriages.

At this year’s festival, hundreds of women and girls started the event by singing and dancing a traditional Napen from nightfall to sunrise. They only took breaks when they were too tired to continue. They had trained for months for this.

The movements were so powerful that dust(灰尘) rose from the dancers’ feet. Most of the dancers painted their faces in bright colourful designs that held special importance to their tribes.

In the early hours of the third day, the men, teenagers and even young boys had their turn in a dance called Toka. Jimmy Kawiel performed the dance for the first lime this year, "You need more energy for Toka," Mr. Kawiel said. "We’ve been practising for five to six months. It is a very big thing for us, especially when things are developing so fast and we are in danger of losing our culture.”

Jean Pascal Wahe, from the Tafea Cultural Centre on Tanna, said the festival was first held as a reconciliation (和好) event between warring tribes. All the different communities came together to find a way to stop all these wars.