6 . With the increasing development of technology, we now have the ability to get much information from foreign media sources (媒体资源). Because we can learn much about events happening in other countries from the media, such as magazines and newspapers, many people may think that reading magazines and newspapers is the best way to learn about a foreign country. However, I believe that only reading magazines and newspapers as a way of learning about a foreign country has several limitations.

We cannot deny that magazines and newspapers actually present some valuable information about foreign countries. However, the information that they present is often one­-sided, so that readers can only learn about one opinion on an event happening in a foreign country. Also, the words and pictures in magazines and newspapers may not be true. If a government wants to hide some facts, it may force the media to tell lies to its readers, and thus the information that readers receive may not be true.

I think that the best way to learn about a foreign country is to travel or live there for a while. By traveling or living in a country, you can see things that do not appear in magazines and newspapers, and learn about the local political situation, state of the economy, and the culture. You can get more information about a country by talking directly with local people about the overall situation, and can truly understand the local culture by living with them for a while. But if you are at home reading a newspaper or magazine, you simply get information provided by others passively (被动地) instead of collecting information directly.

So, I believe that the best way to learn about a foreign country is not by reading magazines and newspapers but by placing yourself in that foreign country.

7 . Sunday sadness is real, for tomorrow is the start of working days.     1    

An excellent choice is exercise. Breaking a sweat has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression, boost mood and improve sleep, all good ways to fight Sunday stress. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, just five minutes of aerobic exercise can reduce anxiety.

Actually, any form of exercise or movement can increase your fitness level while decreasing your stress.     2     One study published in April found a simple 10-minute walk in an urban park three times a week reduced levels of the stress in study participants. A 2013 study in the UK found simply walking in green spaces helped move the brain into a state of meditation.

Some folks turn to drinking alcohol, even crazily, to cope with the Sunday night blues. That’s a poor choice: Alcohol rattles your normal sleep patterns, trapping you in lighter stages of sleep and dramatically reducing the quality of your rest at night.

“It continues to pull you out of rapid eye movement and the deeper stages of sleep, causing you to wake up not feeling restored,” said Rebecca Robbins, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Health, in a previous CNN interview.

This is going to sound impossible, but try to avoid your cell phone and work email on Sunday. Being constantly connected keeps us excited even on our days off, discouraging relaxation.

Does the idea make you even more nervous?     4     The National Sleep Foundation suggests “at least 30 minutes of phone-free transition time before going to bed.”

Unconsciously worrying about all the things you have to do Monday brings you restless sleep, even insomnia(失眠), so write down a list of all the things you have to do Monday – or even the entire week. You can go so far as prioritizing them if you like. Not only will putting the tasks on paper jump-start your Monday morning, you’ll feel like you’ve purged your worries.     5    

10 . When I was nine years old, my dad worked in a heating and air conditioning company. It allowed him to work mainly in the spring and fall. With summers free, my parents took me and my two brothers to the lake every day. I supposed my parents must realize that if they didn’t find us any things to do, we would finally start fighting, as we were too bored.

On the way to the lake, my mother drove the car and my father recited (朗诵) poems so my brothers and I wouldn’t get bored. I still didn’t know how my dad had learnt so many poems by heart. But I had a great discovery that every time my father recited them, those verses (诗句) could keep us three quiet for the next twenty--minute drive. Such moments could never be achieved by what else my parents usually did such as singing, telling stories, and so on.

One of the poems that completely attracted me was a bit silly. It begins—Ladles and jellyspoons/I come before you/To stand behind you/And tell you something I know nothing about. There were still many similar ones. I found I was deeply caught. I recited these lines in my head over and over, week after week until they burned new electrical pathways in my brain. I even couldn’t help copying those poems neatly in my favorite notebooks.

It’s a love story that continues to this day, thirty years and 10 books of my own later. So the value of the story is this: Read to your kids. Sing to your kids. Recite poems for your kids. Be silly with your kids! It may make all the difference. It works for me. Thanks, Dad.