1 . We’ve seen photographs that seem to show unbelievable images, thanks to photo editing software. But do you know you can create images that look impossible without any fancy software or computer effects?     1    

Playing with perspective

One of the easiest tricks is called forced perspective.     2     The person in front will look large, and the person farther away will look very small. The person in front can hold out their hand as if they were holding something, and the person in back is being held in the front person’s hand. You can also do this trick with objects like the sun or a full moon.

Flying superheroes

How can you take a photograph of a friend so that they seem to be flying superheroes? Have your friend dress up in a superhero costume, especially one with a cape (斗篷). You can pose them outside against the open sky, and have another friend hold the cape out so it looks like they’re flying. Position yourself low and take the photo looking slightly upward so the ground isn’t visible. After you take the photo, you can cut it,     3    

Other tricks

You can have several of your friends lie flat on a solid-colored sheet so they’re arranged to look like they’re piled in a human pyramid.     4     If you take the photo in the moment when they are off the ground, you can cut it so they look like they’re floating. Have a friend draw funny eyeballs on the back of their hand and then hold their hand across their real eyes for a funny face photo.

    5     The only rule is not to do anything risky and to have fun.

2 . Accents are an important part of our identity. An accent gives clues about who we are, and the community we belong to or wish to belong to.     1    

What is the difference between accents and pronunciation?

Accents are about localized ways of speaking a language. A French person may speak English flawlessly (完美无瑕地), just with a French accent.     2     However, pronunciation is something that — as a learner— you can get right or wrong. If your pronunciation is correct, you can communicate effectively with others whatever your accent is.

    3    

If you think back historically people were much more localized with generation after generation of families living in the same small villages and few people traveled out of that area during their lifetimes. So over many generations differences in accent emerged and became very distinct to particular areas. Mountainous villages that are not easily accessible often develop very strong and distinctive accents.

How important is it to get an accent right?

If you’re moving to a certain part of a country, you might want to integrate better with your new community.     4     That’s because it shows a sense of belonging to the community you are trying to fit in with.

How to improve your accent?

    5     And then learners should consider which sounds exist in the language you’re learning and then spend some time in front of the mirror practicing moving your tongue and mouth to get those new and different sounds. And learners should be aware of stress and tone, which can sometimes even change the meaning of words.

3 . Four Tips to Discover Your True Passion

True passion is the emotion, feeling, and desire that arises out of love for something. It’s the force that magnifies (放大) your capabilities for the benefit of excellent performance. This is because it’s a powerful motivation for best performance and everyone wants to get there.     1     Finding what you’re passionate about is a long road that requires effort and the following are some useful tips.

Search your childhood.

The purity and truth of your being are in the early stages of life. To that end, going back to the things you loved back then is always an excellent indication of marked preferences. Did you want to be a doctor?     2     These are all clues that begin to point the way. While it’s true that children have several preferences in their early stages, it’s actually quite easy to figure out which they prioritize (优先考虑).

Experiment and discover.

Doing the same activities day after day closes any probabilities to succeed in finding your true passion.     3     This creates a trial-and-error scenario (设想) that promotes a positive outcome in less time.

Focus to find your true passion.

You must forget about the myth that doing what you’re passionate about will be easy and pleasant. This is because there’ll always be inconveniences in any activity you undertake. Beyond that, don’t lose focus on the fact that these are temporary moments.     4    

Remember that your age doesn’t matter.

    5     Encouraging yourself to take the first step can be difficult due to some of society’s obsolete (被淘汰的) barriers. The truth is that you must allow yourself to achieve and show your tastes leaving aside any obstacles, especially those that are self-imposed (自己强加的). It’s never too late!

4 . Live-stream marketing: A rural rags-to-riches story?

For many years, quality agricultural products were unable to sell in faraway provinces.     1     It prevented them from accessing a wider, urban client. In most cases, because farmers failed to directly reach consumers, their heavy physical labor resulted in very little income. In this regard, live-stream marketing may appeal to young migrant workers and convince them to return home in the countryside.     2    

In Yunnan Province, southwest China, live-stream marketing is currently the most popular way of pushing local products to consumers across the country.     3     It is turning the smartphone into a new farming tool by fashioning new shopping centers. Live-streaming has greatly boosted the province’s produce sales in the past two years. We now have a great business model in place, combining products with high-quality live stream platforms and support packages from the government.     4     Anyway, the continuous development of live-stream marketing is ready to play a big role in raising rural incomes in relatively backward provinces like Yunnan. E-commerce live-streaming is doing pretty well nowadays, but farm produce only accounts for a small share, mainly due to the lack of experienced hosts and infrastructure in rural areas.

    5     How to grow live stream marketing for farm products? Short videos or live-streams, the key is to meet consumers’ demand. High-quality products alone aren’t enough; they must consider buyers’ preferences as well.

5 . Some of the oldest living things on our remarkable planet are trees. The record holders are bristlecone pines (狐尾松) of the western United States, quite a few of which are known to be more than 3,000 years old. One individual, discovered in 2012, is estimated to be more than 5,060 years old, making it the oldest known non-clonal tree in the world!     1    : individuals across a number of other tree species have also been around for thousands of years.

So, how do trees survive for thousands of years?     2    . Undoubtedly, part of the answer lies in luck. Ancient trees have obviously not submitted to deadly diseases, pests, fires, droughts, windstorms, landslides, or the human axe in the centuries and centuries that they have quietly endured.

The other part of the answer has to do with how trees age. In fact, there is quite a debate about whether ancient trees can be considered “immortal (永生的)”. That is, will such trees ever die if they are not killed by an outside force? We may never know the answer to that, but, at the very least,     3    . While cell death is an important factor in the aging of humans and other animals, one study found little evidence of cell death in the ginkgo tree vascular cambium (银杏树维管形成层). In addition, a study of bristlecone pine pollen (花粉) found no significant increase in mutation (变异) rates with age, which is another factor associated with animal aging.     4    .

Older trees benefit greatly from having bodies made mostly of dead woody tissue. In fact, an old tree might be as much as 95 percent dead tissue! Given that it isn’t alive, wood does not require metabolic (新陈代谢的) activity to maintain it,     5    .

6 . The Ancient Chinese Game of Go

Weiqi, known in English as Go, is one of the four skills that an ancient Chinese intellectual (知识分子) could possess. It has a history of well over 4,000 years in China and remains popular. Culturally, this activity is really “more than just a game”.

    1     One of China’s classics, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, describes the famous general Guan Yu playing Go while receiving surgery on his arm.

History books have recorded quite a number of ardent Go fans from each dynasty. Today, there are still many in China, Japan and South Korea. Wu Yulin, a professional, explains its attraction, “In Go, you can learn the dialectics (辩证法) and military stratagems.     2     There are numerous variations within the game and you can never reach the bottom of it.”

    3     Hua Yigang, Secretary General of the China Go Association, remarks on the character-building qualities of Go. “You have to become entirely calm, otherwise you can’t play it. You have to be very strong of mind.     4     You might make mistakes during a game, and then have to readjust your mentality in order to fight to the end.”

In fact, all of our minds can benefit from playing Go, which officially has the capacity to make you smarter. Research has shown that children who play Go have the potential for greater intelligence.     5    

Today, the number of Go fans in China is at 36 million and rising. Some universities like Beijing University are even offering courses in Go to undergraduates.

7 . There are two kinds of garlic, a kind of vegetable—hardnecks and softnecks.     1    

Plant hardneck varieties in northern areas six to eight weeks before a hard frost(霜). Their heads have a single row of large divisions, formed around an underground stem(茎). They are tastier than softnecks but do not last as long in storage.

Softneck varieties are better for growing in warmer climates. Their heads contain several rows of smaller cloves(蒜瓣) . Since they last longer after harvest, softnecks are usually the kind shoppers find in supermarkets.

    2     Growers may have made a chemical on it to stop it from growing while at the store or in your home. It also may not be the kind best for your growing conditions.

Separate the head into individual cloves.     3     Plant the cloves with the pointy end up, about five centimeters deep and 15 centimeters apart in rows spaced 30 centimeters apart. Cover them with soil, press them down and water well.

If your winter temperature falls below four degrees Celsius, add a thick cover of straw(稻草) to the garden bed. Water the straw to settle it into place.

It is fine for the garlic plants to send out green growth, during autumn and early winter, even in northern climates.     4    

Remove the straw cover in spring, after the danger of frost has passed. Put a little fertilizer between each row 5 to 10 centimeters from the stems. Keep the bed free of weeds.

Your garlic will be ready for harvest in mid-to-late summer when at least 50 percent of the plant has turned yellow.     5     Do not wash them.

8 . Living a Balanced and Healthy Life

What are the most important steps to follow if you want to feel good from morning to night? Feeling good means that your body and mind are working at their peak level. And you have a general sense of well-being.

To feel good day after day, try the following tips:

Get sunlight during the day.

Sunlight stimulates the brain chemical serotonin (血清素), which plays a role in helping you feel happy. While you’re outdoors in the sun, use the time to exercise.     1     And it may work better than medicine for preventing depression from returning. It can also help you reduce your anxiety.

Set yourself up for good sleep.

In the evening as the sky grows darker, your brain makes a hormone called melatonin (褪黑素).    2     Some of your choice during the day and evening affect your melatonin levels, which in turn can play a role in how well you sleep. So it’s suggested:

* Be sure to get that daily exercise in the sun, since it also helps you sleep at night.

*     3    . If your bedroom isn’t completely dark, you won’t make as much melatonin.

Eat “ feel-good ” foods

    4       Keep these tips in mind:

* Focus on multicoloured whole foods that are recently alive. That means fresh vegetables, fruit, beans, and whole grains instead of processed foods.

* Make room for vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, and kale.     5    

* Avoid foods that make your blood sugar soar like sweetened sodas and sugary baked goods. They aren’t good for your health, or your energy level.