The creative concept of jinhuidui (literally “a pile of beautiful things from ash”), a Chinese art form which is said     1     (start) in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and boomed in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), shares similarities     2     pop art.

    3     (create) traditional jinhuidui artwork is much more difficult compared to pop art, as all the images are painted as if they were copied and pasted (粘贴). It requires     4     good command of calligraphy as well as excellent skill in painting flowers, birds, fish, insects, landscapes and     5     (figure), and a mastery of techniques such as seal carving.

Geng Xuezhi, 50, from Zibo city, Shandong Province, is one of the masters of jinhuidui. Geng has been learning Chinese painting and calligraphy     6     he was 16. He came into contact with jinhuidui painting skills through his father in 2006.

The artist says the distinctive feature of jinhuidui can be summed up as “broken”,     7     means that it has to present fragments in forms such as broken, rolled, overlapped,     8     (tear), burned or smoked. He adds it will take at least 10 years to master the skill.

The creation of jinhuidui is complex and lengthy, and     9     (it) dyeing process is laborious (费力的) and time-consuming. Sometimes a fragment needs to be dyed a dozen times. “A simpler work of jinhuidui takes about 20 days to complete, while a     10     (hard) one will take several months, and sometimes some extra effort has to be made,” Geng says.

4 . Do you remember the fun you had playing outside as a child? That was probably one of the most exciting experiences you had.     1     Children’s staying indoors has resulted in an exponential (指数) increase in lifestyle diseases. Because of this, parents need to create ways to encourage their children to embrace outdoor adventure. Here are some tips you can try out.

    2     You will often notice them watching TV with you or playing in the living room as you read a book. Why not change these activities to outdoor adventures and take your children outside? When planning your next fun activity with your children and the entire family, consider getting one that involves outdoor adventure. Doing so will help you take your children outside and get them excited about the fun they can have outdoors.

Outdoor activities are fun when they involve specific activities you do outside.     3     If you want to encourage your kids love for outdoor adventure, consider getting them involved in an outdoor adventure activity that consists of learning and has some progress. For example, you can start a rock collection which you would regularly update as you continue with your outdoor activities.

Outdoor routines can be an excellent way to ensure that you regularly go outside and have fun while at it. Outdoor routines are instrumental in building a practice of consistency.     4     Routines are also a good tool to use for planning. Going outdoors spontaneously (自发地) can be fun.

Kids benefit greatly when going on outdoor adventures. However, only some are interested in such activities since they have developed a lifestyle of keeping them indoors. Following the tips above will put your children in an excellent position, allowing them to develop a deep love for the outdoors.     5    

5 . Full-body workouts are the best. They are time efficient, work all your muscles and provide a sense of accomplishment once you’re done with the session. They are also the best for burning fat; lots of muscles worked equal lots of calories expended, after all! This no-repeat workout is an excellent place to start, especially if you like working out with dumbbells.

This workout features 10 exercises. You’ll do each exercise 40 seconds, followed by a 20-second break, before moving on to the next one. There are no sets; you only perform the moves once, and only for a short while, so push as hard as you can (without injuring yourself) and focus on slow, controlled motion. The instructor uses a set of medium dumbbells, in this case a 40Lb/18kg pair, but feel free to use a weight that best suits your fitness level. The exercises in this workout are as follows:

If you like this and don’t mind using weights for your workouts, check out the best full-body workout: it’s only five moves and helps build muscle like no other workout. There is also a beginner-friendly, barbell-only full-body strength workout for those who have one at their disposal. How about this single dumbbell full-body muscle workout? It’s only half an hour. In terms of weights, you will need a pair of dumbbells for this workout, and if you haven’t got one, T3’s best dumbbells and best adjustable dumbbell guides are a must-read. Alternatively, have a look at the best resistance bands; they are almost as effective as dumbbells but less terrifying and more space-saving.

9 . Making a Hobby Stick

A hobby is a great way to stay busy during downtime.     1     Here are some tips which may help you stick with your hobbies.

Find a friend to do the hobby with you, Many people find the buddy(同伴) system works when starting a hobby. If you and a friend agree to get into a hobby together, you’ll both be more likely to stick it out. Choose a friend with compatible( 相容的) interests. If you have a friend who’s into extreme sports, while you tend to like staying in with a book, the two of you will not be a good match hobby- wise. Instead, choose an equally bookish friend.     2    

Look for a community. Many people find it’s easier to stick to a hobby if there’s community support.     3     If you like singing, for example, join a local choir. If you are not fond of socializing, you can look for support online. If you’ re a knitter, for example, you can post in forums asking for advice and inspiration involving new knitting projects.

    4     If your hobby is something you’ve never done before, you’ re unlikely to be good at it right away. Have some patience as it takes time to build up a skill. Try to remind yourself why building this skill set is important to you so you’ll have the motivation to keep going.

Don’t force yourself to continue a hobby you hate. You will never know whether you’ll take to something if you don’t try it. It’s okay if you give a try on a hobby and decide it’ s not for you.     5     If it’s doing the opposite, try something else. Remember, the hobby you re most likely to stick with long term is the one you like.

10 . Fears about what video games are doing to young minds have been growing for years- not least because now 97% of teenagers play them. Most parents believe they reduce children’ s socializing with real friends, damage psychological adjustment and that the violence presented in many games may be harmful.

On the other hand, some studies have suggested benefits like improved thinking skills, hand- eye co-ordination, perhaps even greater attention and creativity.

What should parents- and society at large- make of all this conflicting talk? Now a study, conducted by Oxford University psychologist Dr Andrew Przybylski, of almost 5, 000 young people in the UK has looked at both the positive and negative effects of video games together. The results, published in the journal Pediatrics, are cautiously positive about video games, but still support the old saying: Everything in moderation(适度).

Across the children, who were between 10- and 15-year-old, the results showed that the best adjusted children did play video games, but usually for less than one hour a day. These children were most likely to report: Being more sociable. Being more satisfied with their lives. Doing worse on these measures were teens that didn’t play any video games and those who spent at least half of their daily free time on video games (over 3 hours). For moderate players of video games - those who played for somewhere between 1 and 3 hours a day- there were no positive or negative effects on their psychological adjustment.

However, even the negative effects of playing video games too much were relatively insignificant compared to the effects of material deprivation(匮乏), family conflict or death of an important friend.

Actually, there was little evidence that playing video games was doing children that much good. Przybylski continued, “Some of the positive effects identified in past gaming research were mirrored in these data but the effects were quite small, suggesting that any benefits may be limited to a narrow range of action games.”