1 . In the days before the Internet, critical thinking was the most important skill of informed citizens. But in the digital age, according to Anastasia Kozyreva, a psychologist at the Max Planck Institute of Human Development, and her colleagues, an even more important skill is critical ignoring.

As the researchers point out, we live in an attention economy where content producers on the Internet compete for our attention. They attract us with a lot of emotional and eye-catching stories while providing little useful information, so they can expose us to profit-generating advertisements. Therefore,we are no longer customers but products, and each link we click is a sale of our time and attention. Toprotect ourselves from this, Kozyreva advocates for learning the skill of critical ignoring, in which readers intentionally control their information environment to reduce exposure to false and low-quality information.

According to Kozyreva, critical ignoring comprises three strategies. The first is to design ourenvironments, which involves the removal of low-quality yet hard-to-resist information from around. Successful dieters need to keep unhealthy food out of their homes. Likewise, we need to set up a digital environment where attention-grabbing items are kept out of sight. As with dieting, if one tries to bank onwillpower not to click eye-catching “news”, he’ll surely fail. So, it’s better to just keep them out of sightto begin with.

The next is to evaluate the reliability of information, whose purpose is to protect you from false and misleading information. It can be realized by checking the source in the mainstream news agencies which have their reputations for being trustworthy.

The last goes by the phrase “do not feed the trolls.” Trolls are actors who internationally spread false and hurtful information online to cause harm. It may be appealing to respond to them to set the facts straight, but trolls just care about annoying others rather than facts. So, it’s best not to reward their bad behaviour with our attention.

By sharpening our critical ignoring skills in these ways, we can make the most of the Internet while avoiding falling victim to those who try to control our attention, time, and minds.

For most people, having property stolen feels like a violation (违背) Robbie Pruitt admits when his mountain bike was stolen last September, he got mad, but soon enough, his emotions took a turn. After letting go of his anger and disappointment, he found himself on a road to sympathy instead.

As a crazy biker, Pruitt’s first priority was to replace his ride, but when he went bike shopping, he found the pickings had much reduced, which got him thinking: What if the person had done so because he truly needed transportation to get to work?

With that thought in mind, Pruitt came up with a plan and posted it to a local online group. Pruitt offered to fix bikes free of charge for anyone who needed it. He also put out a call for unwanted bikes, which he would repair — again for free — and then donate to people who could truly use them but didn’t have the budget to buy a bike.

The day the post went live, Pruitt ended up with a donation of 30 used bicycles. Then it was followed by more than 500 enquiries from people who either had bikes to donate or that needed fixing soon after. By the end of 2020, Pruitt had refurbished (翻新) more than 140 for donation or to be returned to their owners at about a 60% to 40% ratio.

Pruitt doesn’t check requests, but he does try to give away his donations to families that are truly struggling. The journey he’s taken has also moved beyond simply being a way to satisfy a material need to become an opportunity to show kids in his neighborhood the nuts and bolts of fixing their own bikes.

In addition to practical skills, Pruitt’s lessons teach resilience and teamwork, encourage self-respect, and develop feelings of community. Indeed, building up friendships is one of the biggest benefits of Pruitt’s avocation (副业).

Some parents appreciated Pruitt for his selfless devotion.

Pruitt has a plan for his avocation.

6 . In 2014, AnnaRose graduated from high school with the same goal like many other students: to get her bachelor’s degree. While her journey has been _______ because she has Down Syndrome, she was _______ to pursue her dream!

First, she _______ her associate’s degree from Rowan College in 2017. Then she transferred to Rowan University’s main _______, where she just became the first student with Downs to graduate from the school!

“She thinks _______ and does her own thing.” her mom Lin said. “When she decides to do something, she goes _______”.

AnnaRose studied radio, television, and film and worked _______ to maintain her great grades. “During the school term, there isn’t plenty of time for _______ activity,” Lin said. “She is sitting at the kitchen table, working devotedly. Because what _______ you or me 20 minutes to read could mean several hours for AnnaRose __________ on the context and the vocabulary.” On some days, she felt so __________ that her mom reminded her it was OK to change her __________, but AnnaRose refused to __________! Not only that, but she also got __________ advocacy programs to fight for herself and other people with disabilities. She has __________ a United Nations panel (专家小组), and even requested for disability __________ to lawmakers in Washington, D.C.

This is only the beginning for this __________ woman because she has a new dream now! She wants to continue __________ for communities with disabilities by creating podcasts (播/博客), documentaries, and more. She’s already __________ she can do anything she sets her mind to, and we’re __________ there’s no stopping her! We’re so proud of you, AnnaRose!

7 . When you’re on a fishing boat, you may see flocks of birds following in your track, hoping to catch a snack. Now scientists say they can use those birds’ behavior to track illegal fishing boats.

Here’s how it works: Researchers attached data recorders to the backs of 169 albatrosses (信天翁) in the Southern and Indian oceans. The devices weighed only an ounce and a half, but they included a GPS and were able to detect the presence and intensity of radar signals coming from boats. That information was then transmitted by satellite, so the researchers could track the location of the birds-and thus the radar-emitting boats-in real time.

The scientists then cross-checked that data against the known locations of boats, gathered from a system that boats use to declare themselves, called the Automatic Identification System (AIS). And differences appeared frequently.

More than a third of the times the birds’ recorders detected radar signals, and therefore a boat, no such boat appeared in the official log (航海记录)—meaning that the vehicles had likely switched off their Automatic Identification Systems—something the researchers say probably happens in illegal fishing operations.

The work suggests birds could be an effective boat-monitoring tool—as long as illegal fishing operations don’t target the birds. Fortunately, such a task would be difficult.

“Around fishing vessels, you can get hundreds of birds at any one time that are all flying around. So it’s not really possible to target a specific bird. And the birds with recorders on are not marked in any way. So it’s difficult for fishermen to pick out a specific bird," said study author Samantha Patrick, a marine biologist at the University of Liverpool.

Patrick’s bigger concern is that albatrosses often get hooked on fishing lines. And though regulations have been established to protect against that happening—with success—illegal boats don’t necessarily obey. So scientists might be underestimating the risk posed to albatross populations. But this system could mean that those illegal boats may have a tougher time flying under the radar.

8 . Alice Moore , a teenager entrepreneur (创业者), who in May 2015 set up her business Ailie Candy. By the time she was 13, her _______ was worth millions of dollars with the _______of a super-sweet treat that could save kids’ teeth, instead of _______them.

It all _______with a bank visiting with her dad, where she was _______ a candy bar. But her dad _______ her that sugary treats were bad for her _______. Sick of missing out on candies, she desired to _______ the warning, “Why can’t I make a _______ candy that’s good for my teeth so that my parents can’t say no to it?” With that __________, Moore asked her dad if she could start her own candy company. He __________ that she do some research and talk to dentists about what a healthier candy would __________.

With her dad’s __________, she spent the next two years researching and conducting trials to get a tasty and tooth-friendly recipe . She also __________ dentists to learn more about teeth cleaning. __________, she succeeded in making a kind of candy only using __________sweeteners, which can reduce oral bacteria.

Moore then used her savings to get her business off the ground and successfully __________ her product — Can Candy to a supermarket owner.

Although she __________ her company early on in life, she wasn’t driven primarily by profit,Moore wants to use her unique __________to help others find their smiles. She donates 10% of Ailie Candy’s __________to Big Smiles. With her talent and determination, it appears that the sky could be the limit for Alice Moore.

10 . For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?

Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.

In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is—politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority—someone who actually knows something—and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.