Teaching in Front of a Camera

Wageningen University is keen on developing forms of education that reach people all over the world. The basics of the course topics are covered in short films and three-minute to seven-minute presentations     1     (use) techniques such as animation and voice-over(画外音).

“The online Master’s programmes are quite different from the large scale MOOCs(在线课程),” explains Busstra. In the Master’s courses, the short “knowledge clips” dealing with the essential topics     2     (link) to an assignment directly to help the students actively absorb the knowledge themselves. Teachers can also use them to test     3     the material has come across well. Busstra says, “The teacher has to think up new ways of working - getting students to make a film clip, for instance,     4     they present a research setup they have have thought up themselves, or to respond to someone else’s idea, or to work on a document in groups.” The students also get the chance to post a question while they     5     (watch) an online film - equivalent of putting your hand up during a lecture. Fellow students and teachers can then answer     6     question online. “There are a lot of misunderstandings about online education,” says Busstra, “one of them being     7     there is only one-way communication. But people are gradually gaining confidence in it. It will stay typically Wageningen: small-scale and     8     (base) on interaction and group work.”

The investment     9     online learning is paying off in the regular education programme too, according to Busstra. Students in Wageningen can pick up the basics at home through the knowledge clips. During lectures, teachers     10     then provide more in-depth analysis, talk about their own work and supervise students more personally. “Increasingly, on-campus and online education will no longer be two separate worlds.” expects Busstra.

Traditionally,     1     the year winds down, it’s a time for reflections—to give thanks, reconnect with loved ones, and cherish the more meaningful parts of life, removed from our usual day-to-day distractions.

Of course, the events of 2020 haven’t shown a lot of respect for our traditions. In a year of so much tragedy, it can be tough to give thanks when you’re doing your best to get by. And far too many of us will have to gather around a table with an empty chair, if we were able to gather together at all.

One thing, though, we can say about 2020 is that it forced us all to cherish what is most important, what’s most meaningful in our lives. To stop taking things for granted,     2     truly matters. To be grateful for what we have, and to be alive to the pain of those     3     (fortunate).

Throughout this challenging year, I’ve been moved, again and again, by the sacrifices so many were willing to make on behalf of others. The healthcare professionals who risked their lives to save ours. The workers who have kept our lights on and our shelves stocked, always essential to our economy, but finally     4     (recognize) for it. The protesters of every race and age who saw injustice in their streets and their institutions and demanded change. And the less heralded leaders, the quiet change-makers who saw need in their own communities and leapt to address it. They checked in on their neighbors, delivered food and PPE to seniors and those experiencing hardship, offered mental health support to those     5    (recover) from trauma.     6     holes this pandemic tore wide in our social fabric, these emerging leaders stepped forward to patch it up.

These are exactly the leaders Michelle and I started our Foundation to support. We always thought they     7     (lead) us into a bright future, if only we     8     empower them, connect them with each other, and give them a dose of inspiration when they needed it.

What we learned in 2020 is that these emerging leaders aren’t just building a brighter future, they’re safeguarding our present. In hard times, they are the ones who’ve given me solace. It’s     9     sacrifice in which I found hope. And as we begin to close the chapter on a difficult year with encouraging news on the horizon, it’s their leadership     10     will guide us today and tomorrow.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everybody.

—Quoted from Barack Obama’s Christmas speech in 2020

Relationship in the Digital Age

People from our past whom we no longer directly communicate with but who are active on social networks can “occupy     1     space in your mind, and you think about them instead of about your close friends,” said Carlin Flora, the author of “Friend-fluence: The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We are.”

“If my high school friend posts frequently about her life, it’s almost like it’s celebrity gossip, or it seems as if I am watching a reality show about her,” Ms. Flora said. “Our brains get     2     about whether we know celebrities; if we see someone a lot, our brain thinks we know them.”

Ms. Schiller, the Iowa graduate, goes out often with friends at night but also lives on a digital diet of texting     3     enough that she recently hurt her thumb, Google chat and social media. As with many young people, talking on the phone was never a big part of her routine and is now     4     for the rarest of occasions.

There are physiological benefits to face-to-face     5     however, that doesn’t belong to digital interactions or the phone. “Your blood pressure goes down, and you imitate your friends gesture     6    .” Ms. Flora said. “It’s a kind of harmony humans have developed over thousands of years, and you don’t get that when you only follow someone on social media.”

But now it’s common for the synchrony(同步性)to be     7     in person, thanks to smartphones. Imagine Edward Hopper’s 1942 painting “Nighthawks” (below)     8     today, with the three late-night diners and counterman all gazing at screens. “If there’s a(n)     9     of guys at a bar together and they’re all on their phones,” Ms. Flora said, “they’re not doing much to stimulate the body system to create the sense of     10    .”

Inspiration 4: Amateur astronauts set for orbital spaceflight

Four “amateur astronauts” are about to launch into orbit in another landmark mission for space tourism. It’s the latest flight to help open up access to space for paying customers, following on from       1     by Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos.

The trip has been paid for by Us billionaire businessman Jared Isaac-man, who will travel with three crew-mates. A healthcare worker, a science educator and a data     2     will circle the Earth with Mr Isaac-man for three days.

They hope to inspire others with their adventure and to raise money for children’s cancer medicine. The mission has been named Inspiration 4     3    .

The crew’s Dragon vehicle, manufactured by Elon Musk’s company Space X, will ride atop a Falcon-9 rocket. It is     4     to launch from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at 20:02 EDT on Wednesday (01:02 BST, Thursday), or very shortly after.

The mission follows hot on the heels of Sir Richard Branson’s flight aboard his Virgin Galactic rocket plane on 11 July, and fellow billionaire Jeff Bezo’s trip to space nine days later in the New Shepard vehicle.

Some commentators have voiced concern about the     5     impact on the Earth’s climate of spaceflights like this one.

Space X’s Falcon-9 rocket uses highly-refined kerosene(煤油)fuel which produces the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2), along with nitrogen oxides, which also help     6     to warming. The emissions from rocket launches remain tiny compared with the aviation industry, though they are     7     to grow.

In the 60 years since Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin first went into space, fewer than 600 people have followed in his footsteps; and most of those have been military-trained personnel flying on government-     8     missions. Inspiration 4 is different. It’ll be a fully     9     purchased and operated orbital flight.

California-based Space X intends to sell many more orbital flights to interests beyond traditional space agencies. Nasa helped fund the development of a lot of the technology used by Elon Musk’s company, and did so to try to     10     the economy in low-Earth orbit. This approach is beginning to pay dividends(产生效益). Already, the Texas start-up Axiom Space has purchased four Dragon flights to take tourists to the ISS.

Three Hours a Week: Play Time’s over for China’s Young Video Gamers

China has forbidden under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week, a stringent(严苛的)social intervention that it said was needed to pull the plug on a growing addiction to     1     it once described as “spiritual opium(鸦片)”.

The new rules,     2     (publish) on Monday, are part of a major shift by Beijing to strengthen control over its society and key sectors of its economy, including tech, education and property, after years of runaway growth.

The restrictions, which apply to any devices including phones, are a body blow to a global gaming industry that caters to tens of millions of young players in the world’s most profitable market.

They limit under - 18s to     3     (play) for one hour a day - 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. - on only Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, according to the Xinhua sate news agency. They can also play for an hour, at the same time, on public holidays.

The rules from the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) regulator coincide with a broader clampdown(压制)by Beijing     4     China’s tech giants, such as Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings.

The campaign     5     (prevent) what state media has described as the “savage growth” of some companies has wiped tens of billions of dollars off shares traded at home and abroad.

Gaming companies will be barred from providing services to minors in any form outside the stipulated(规定)hours and     6     ensure they have put real-name verification systems in place, said the regulator,     7     oversees the country’s video games market.

The new rules swiftly became one of the most discussed topics on Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter. Some users expressed support for the measures     8     others said they were surprised at how drastic(严厉的)the rules were.

“This is so fierce that I’m utterly speechless,” said one comment that received over 700 likes.     9     expressed doubt that the restrictions could be enforced. “They will just use their parent’s logins, how can they control it?” asked one.

The NPPA regulator told Xinhua it     10     (increase) the frequency and intensity of inspections for online gaming companies to ensure they were putting in place time limits and anti-addiction systems. It also said that parents and teachers played key roles in curbing gaming addiction.