1 . Todd Stabelfeldt couldn’t wait to marry his tall, beautiful wife Karen four years ago. But he was determined that he didn’t want her to _________ him.

“A spouse (配偶) should be your lover and your friend, _________ a free caregiver,” said Stabelfeldt.

Stabelfeldt is a quadriplegic (四肢瘫痪者) with no movement below his shoulders, but he doesn’t spend time feeling _________ himself. He takes every opportunity to find _________—including in his marriage to Karen. He spends most of his time running his IT business from his home office, _________ his wife around the house, and building his charity.

And it’s all _________ new smart home and assistive technology.

Technologies like Apple’s “Home” app allow Stabelfeldt to _________ various smart accessories (配件) in his house—from door locks to lights. The best part for Stabelfeldt? He can _________ Apple’s intelligent digital assistant Siri to work it all.

Stabelfeldt calls this technology a game changer. “It never _________ to me that I’d have the opportunity to be married and have children.”

Stabelfeldt can let a delivery person in or out, or open the door on demand.

“When I’m cooking, I don’t have to __________ and do those functions. He can __________ it,” said Karen. “Technology has completely __________ how Todd can operate and where he can function.”   

“New technologies have given me __________ to prove that I’m a(n) __________ man,” Stabelfeldt said. “To get up every day and go to work; Everybody has worth, and everybody should have the opportunity to__________ it.”

2 . The sun is setting, brightening your kids’ faces as they play in the waves. You reach for your phone for this perfect moment. But before you do, here’s a bit of surprising science: Taking photos is not the perfect way to keep memory as you think.

Taking too many pictures could actually harm the brain’s ability to keep memories, says Elizabeth Loftus, a psychology professor at the University of California, Irvine. So we get the photo but kind of lose the memory.

Photography “outsources” memories. It works in two ways: We either shake off the responsibility of remembering moments when taking pictures, or we’re so distracted (分散注意力的) by the process that we miss the moment altogether.

The first explanation is the loss of memory. People know that their camera is recording that moment, so they don’t try to remember. Similarly, if you write down someone’s phone number, you’re less likely to remember it offhand because your brain tells you there’s just no need. That’s all well and good — until that piece of paper goes missing.

The other is distraction. We’re distracted by the process of taking a photo—how we hold our phone, composing the photo, such as smiling faces, the background to our liking and clear image, all of which uses up our attention that could otherwise help us memorize.

However, taking photos can benefit memory — when done mindfully. While taking a photo may be distracting, the act of preparation by focusing on visual details around has some upsides. When people take the time to zoom in (拉近镜头) on specific things, memories become strengthened.

Another benefit is that we recall moments more accurately with the photos. Memory has been reshaped with the help of new information and new experiences. Thus, photos or videos help us recall moments as if they really happened.

Memories die away without a visual record backing them up. Therefore, a photo is an excellent tool to help remember when done purposefully, which is worth exploring further.

3 . Who is a Real Danger? Cyclists or Pedestrians?

We are having a debate about this topic. Here are some letters from our readers.

Yes, many cyclists behave dangerously. Many drivers are disrespectful of cyclists. But pedestrians are probably the worst offenders.

People of all ages happily walk along the pavement with eyes and hands glued to their mobile phones, quite unaware of what is going on around them. They may even do the same thing while crossing a road at a pedestrian crossing or elsewhere. The rest of us have to evade (避让) them or just stand still to wait for the unavoidable collision.

The real problem is that some pedestrians seem to be, at least for the moment, in worlds of their own that are, to them, much more important than the welfare of others.

—Michael Horan

I love the letter from Bob Brooks about cyclists (Viewpoints, May 29). I am afraid they seem to think they own the roads.

I was walking across Altrincham Road one morning when a cyclist went round me and, on being asked what he was doing, shouted at me.

The government built a cycle lane on the road, but it is hardly used.

The police do nothing. What a laugh they are!

The cyclists should all have to be made to use the cycle lanes and wear helmets, fluorescent (发荧光的) jackets and lights at night and in the morning. They should pay some sort of tax and be fined for not wearing them.

—Carol Harvey

Cyclists jump on and off pavements (which are meant for pedestrians), ride at speed along the pavements, and think they have a special right to go through traffic lights when they are on red.

I was almost knocked down recently by a cyclist riding on the pavement when there was a cycle lane right next to him.

Other road users, including horse riders, manage to obey the rules. So why not cyclists?

It’s about time they were registered and insured, so when they do hit a pedestrian or a vehicle or cause an accident, at least they can be treated and there might be an opportunity to claim compensation.

—JML

One weekend in July, Jane and her husband, Tom, had driven three hours to camp overnight by a lake in the forest. Unfortunately, on the way an unpleasant subject came up and they started to quarrel. By the time they reached the lake, Jane was so angry that she said to Tom, “I'm going to find a better spot for us to camp” and walked away.

With no path to follow, Jane just walked on for quite a long time. After she had climbed to a high place, she turned around, hoping to see the lake. To her surprise, she saw nothing but forest and, far beyond, a snowcapped mountain top. She suddenly realized that she was lost.

“Tom!” she cried. “Help!”

No reply. If only she had not left her mobile phone in that bag with Tom. Jane kept moving, but the farther she walked, the more confused she became. As night was beginning to fall, Jane was so tired that she had to stop for the night. Lying awake in the dark, Jane wanted very much to be with Tom and her family. She wanted to hold him and tell him how much she loved him.

Jane rose at the break of day, hungry and thirsty. She could hear water trickling (滴落) somewhere at a distance. Quickly she followed the sound to a stream. To her great joy, she also saw some berry bushes. She drank and ate a few berries. Never in her life had she tasted anything better.

As she picked her way carefully along the stream, Jane heard a helicopter. Is that for me? Unfortunately,the trees made it impossible for people to see her from above. A few minutes later, another helicopter flew overhead. Jane took off her yellow blouse, thinking that she should go to an open area and flag them if they came back again.

7 . In a new blog post for the International Monetary Fund, four researchers presented their findings from a working paper that examines the current relationship between finance and tech as well as its potential future.

Gazing into their crystal ball, the researchers see the possibility of using the data from your browsing, search, and purchase history to create a more accurate mechanism for determining the credit rating of an individual or business. They believe that this approach could result in greater lending to borrowers who would potentially be denied by traditional financial institutions.

At its heart, the paper is trying to wrestle with the dawning notion that the institutional banking system is facing a serious threat from tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple. The researchers identify two key areas in which this is true: Tech companies have greater access to soft-information, and messaging platforms can take the place of the physical locations that banks rely on for meeting with customers.

The concept of using your web history to inform credit ratings is framed around the notion that lenders rely on hard-data that might hide the worthiness of a borrower or paint an unnecessarily bad picture during hard times. Citing soft-data points like "the type of browser and hardware used to access the internet, the history of online searches and purchases" that could be included in evaluating a borrower, the researchers believe that when a lender has a closer relationship with the potential client's history, they might be more willing to cut them some slack.

"Banks tend to cushion credit terms for their long-term customers during downturns," the paper's authors write. This is because they have a history and relationship with the customer.

The researchers acknowledge that there will be privacy and policy concerns related to including this kind of soft-data in credit analysis. Getting the soft-data points would probably require companies like Facebook and Apple to loosen up their standards on linking unencrypted information with individual accounts. How they might share information with other institutions would be its own can of worms.

8 . NOT that long ago, the world wondered whether clean energy could survive without government support. Now the question is how far it can spread. The number of electric vehicles, which was about 1 million in 2015, last year reached 2 million. In electricity generation, too, trend is with the greens. In the first half of this year wind, solar and hydro generated a record 35% of Germany's power.

Greater success is breeding greater ambition. California is proposing to reach 60% renewable energy by 2030. 176 countries have clean-energy goals. Hawaii, America's most oil-dependent state, has promised to be 100% renewable by the middle of the century and so have 48 poor countries vulnerable to climate change. This week the number of multinationals making a commitment to running their operations on 100% renewable energy rose to 100.

But not every target is helpful. To see why, consider that goal of 100% renewable energy. It makes solving climate change seem easy. In fact, though wind and solar can generate the whole country's electricity some day, renewables still account for less than 8% of the world's total power output. Moreover, cleaning up electricity is only part of the battle. Even though gas-fired heating and cooking can be at least as big a source of greenhouse-gas emissions, renewable heating gets little attention. Transport policy is unpredictable, too. Carmakers may hit their goal of annual sales of 10 million electric vehicles in a decade, but battery-powered road transport, shipping and aviation are dreams. A much-quoted claim that America could rely on wind, solar and hydro alone for its electricity has recently been bitterly criticized by a group of respected academics.

Most importantly, a 100% renewables target confuses means with ends. The priority for the planet is to stop net emissions（净排放量）of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. Putting too much emphasis on wind, solar and other renewables may block off better carbon-reduction paths. New technologies, such as "direct air capture" systems designed to separate carbon dioxide from the air, may in time prove vital. Likewise, greater energy efficiency could reduce emissions by even more than using renewables would.

9 . What brings you happiness?     1     Instead of just focusing on getting your wants, ifs much easier to find happiness by ridding yourself of the things that don't serve a beneficial purpose. Here are things you should let go of if you want to lead a happy life.

Pride isn't necessarily a terrible thing. It can bring you confidence and self-assurance, which are two great qualities that can help you lead a happy life.     2     It's essential to keep your pride in check and get rid of any overload that is no longer serving you.

    3     It often arises from judgment or criticism of yourself and other people. It causes unhappiness and becomes a burden on your life. As long as you are the most honest and authentic version of yourself, no one has the right to judge you for it and that goes for you, too.

When you think about addiction, you might think of alcohol or drug addiction. But there are countless other forms of addiction, too. You could be addicted to work, sugar, video games, drama, or even a harmful relationship.     4     If you want to be happier, think about dropping your addictions.

It's also important to recognize that leaving your comfort zone is a good, although often unwanted idea. If you never leave your comfort zone, you'll never grow. Even though something can make you feel uncomfortable at first, it will benefit you in the long run.     5    

It's a funny and true experience. Now when Mike thinks of it, he laughs a lot, but when it happened , Mike was really frightened. He is going to tell it to you. Once when Mike was a child, maybe eight years old, he had a frightening experience. Mike thinks about it frequently. He was in his house with all his family. Mike cannot remember when it happened very well, but it was possibly at Christmas. They were going to have a big supper and Mike was very happy because he liked to eat a lot. Besides, Mike hadn't eaten for a long time. Therefore, he was starving. He became very angry, because Mike saw his mother and his aunt talking for a long time. This made him angry, because Mike didn't want to wait any longer. Moreover, it was time for having supper. Weren't they starving?

"Mother, what happened with the food?" Mike asked. Then she looked at him seriously and said, "You need more patience, my honey."

"Yes," Mike replied, "I see. I need to be patient. Nevertheless, I can't be patient today, because I am starving. "

Time passed, and finally dinner was on the table. The first dish was "puchero".   Puchero is one of his favorite dishes; this dish has chicken, rice, vegetables, and pork. Also, it's a very hot dish, so usually you need to wait at least half an hour before you start to eat. You can enjoy its taste better when it's not so hot. Nevertheless, when Mike saw it on the table, he got a spoon and started to eat quickly. In a moment, his face was red, and there was a strange feeling on his tongue. Mike had burned it. Immediately, Mike shouted in pain and his mother asked him, "What is the matter?"

"Mother, help me! I think my tongue is going to fall off! Send me to see the doctor. " Mike screamed crazily.

"Do not worry, my child. Your father is going to take you to the hospital, said his mother. Mike looked at his mother's face and he could tell she was concerned.

Then his father and Mike went to the hospital

Mike did it slowly. He looked at his tongue for a long time.