3 . Picture the scene: you are sitting at a cafe on a hot summe’s day and decide to order a glass of lemonade. It arrives ice cold and you smile in contentment until the waiter asks if you want a straw. Now you have to choose to either take a straw or not. Actually, the decision is not an easy one.

A study by a European research group showed there are significant health and environmental risks associated with the paper-based and bamboo-based straws that have replaced plastic straws.

The recent ban on plastic straws saw the introduction of the modern paper straw. It was hoped by officials that it would address the environmental issues of single-use plastic. However, scientists observing the performance of the new paper straws found themselves puzzled by their ability of never getting soggy (浸湿的). They wondered what might be allowing paper straws to perform so well.

The first study to investigate this was performed by Alina Timshina and co-workers in 2021. It showed that paper and plant-based straws contain significant PFAS (含氟表面活性剂). These are fluorine-based chemicals that have remarkable properties in resisting water, oil and pretty much anything. And almost nothing degrades or reacts with PFAS which means they persist in the environment and will do so for thousands of years.

They also make it into the human body by migrating from packaging into our food and drink. Once PFAS are in our blood they are associated with a number of health effects such as liver and kidney disease. There is also evidence that PFAS may lead to increased risk of high blood pressure in pregnant women.

PFAS have also been found in plastic straws but at lower levels. The only material determined to be free of PFAS was stainless steel, which are currently not widely used, so you risk the embarrassment of sounding like a very demanding customer when asking for one. But then again, maybe we should all be more demanding when it comes to preserving the environment and human health.

4 . Feeling anxious? Try smiling or doing a good deed to get rid of it.

Taitz, a clinical psychologist, published a new book Stress Resets: How to Soothe (缓和) Your Body and Mind in Minutes.     1    . Here are a few of our favorites.

Name that emotion. You feel overwhelmed with negative emotions and you’re not sure why you feel this way.     2    . Maybe you’re feeling depressed and you’re at a 3 on a 0 to 5 scale. When you’re able to observe your emotion, this can loosen your sadness, anger or stress, says Taitz.

    3    . There’s been an upsetting event and now you think everything is terrible. Grab a pen and paper and make a list of what you care most about: health, friendships, career, hobbies, family. Assign each item a percentage and then draw each section in a pie chart. The image should be an instant reminder that “there are a lot of other things that matter” in your life, says Taitz.

Wear a half smile.     4    ? If so, Taitz wants you to try a half smile. Ever so slightly raise the upper corners of your lips. This will automatically reduce all that tension and relax your face muscles, communicating to your brain that everything’s OK.

Do a good deed. You feel like you have no control over your life and nothing seems to be going right because you feel powerless, says Taitz. Doing a good deed can remind you that you have the power and ability to make things better for yourself and others.     5    .

Taitz says all of these are actions like “small wheels on a big suitcase.” So pause the next time you are feeling stressed and give yourself a reset.

5 . The open-air bookstalls (书摊) that line the River Seine are as symbolic of Paris as the Louvre or the Arc de Triomphe. But most of the boxy, dark green stalls must be temporarily removed before the 2024 Summer Olympics for what officials say are security reasons.

Organizers in Paris are aiming to bring back magnificence to the Games, which begin on July 26. The opening ceremony will take place not in a stadium, but along the Seine, with thousands of Olympic athletes riding on a flotilla (船队)of 160 boats before hundreds of thousands of visitors on the river’s banks. The ceremony’s unusual format poses security headaches, for both the International Olympic committee and the Paris police, who said they had concerns that bombs could be hidden in the stalls.

The booksellers, known as “les bouquinistes”, have said they will not compromise, calling the order issued by the Paris police chief last week an affront to the French capital’s history and soul. “Paris without the bouquinistes is like Venice without the boats,” said Jean-Pierre Mathias, 76, who has had a stall along the Seine for about four decades.

Open every day from morning until dusk, the bouquinistes are both a scene along the riverside and a symbol of Paris’s literary culture, attracting curious tourists and locals looking for rare books. The tradition dates back to at least the 17th century and by the 19th century, Napoleon gave approval to the bookstalls, popular with intellectuals and writers, and they became permanent.

The city’s mayor (市长), Anne Hidalgo, initially highlighted the booksellers’ importance to the city and suggested an alternative plan that would keep the stall s in place once the police confirmed they were not a security threat. But that plan was no longer under consideration because the police declared it necessary to remove the stalls for safety, a spokeswoman for Ms. Hidalgo said on Tuesday.

6 . We decided not to tell the kids. Marla knew that once our three daughters understood that their mother had been given 1,000 days to live and they’d start counting.

They would not be able to enjoy school, friends, their teams, or birthday parties. They’d be watching too closely how she looked, moved, acted, ate, or didn’t. Marla wanted her daughters to stay children: unburdened, confident that tomorrow would look like yesterday.

In 2009, Marla’s physician called to tell her that she had early-stage breast cancer. She was also BRCA-positive, meaning that she carried the gene for the disease, a troublesome marker. After several medical operations, she needed eight rounds of chemotherapy (化疗) to clear the cancer found in her lymph nodes.

Our kids were 8, 9, and 11 at the time, and though they understood then that she was undergoing treatment, we never told them the news. We soon learned from Memorial Sloan Kettering’s head of breast-cancer oncology: Marla had a triple-negative cancer cell, the most severe of them all. It is commonly referred to as “the breast-cancer death sentence”. This specialist outspokenly told her: “Go live your next 1,000 days in the best way you know how.”

Despite the sickness of chemotherapy, she went on running long distances, for her own mental fitness, and more importantly, so her kids would see her strong. I knew these miles were a wonder. Marla earned and survived a little more than 3,500 days instead of 1,000 since her initial diagnosis. In her lifetime, she celebrated 25 anniversaries, 57 children’s birthdays, three college acceptances, and two high-school graduations. But the next numbers make me numb: Zero college graduations. Zero weddings. Zero grandchildren.

Marla said to me at the hospital, “No glory days for us. We almost had the kids out of the house, and now you’re alone. I’m so sorry.” I replied, “Sorry about what? You made life worth living. When you kissed me, I melted. I admired your pureness, your power. You outran science. Thank you for taking me on your magic carpet. Rest easy, my one and only girlfriend.”

7 . These picks contain 4 special editions of classic books:

Farewell to Manzanar

By Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston(Clarion Books)

Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston lived with her family at Manzanar, a camp where the US imprisoned Japanese American during the World War II. This is the 50th anniversary edition of her incredible memoir. Ages 8 and up

I Shook Up the World

By Maryum “May May” Ali, illustrated by Patrick Henry Johnson(Beyond Words)

This is the 20th aniversary edition of a book about boxer Muhammad Ali(1942-2016), written by his daughter. It is divided into “rounds” about his life, including when he won an Olympic gold medals. It also describes his role in the civil rights movement. Ages 6-10

The Tale of Despereaux

By Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering(Candlewick)

The Newber y Award-winning fantasy book contains a new short story by author Kate DiCamillo in the 20th anniversary edition. The story, “The Tapestry at Norendy”, is about a girl who discovers magic by listening to a tale about a mouse. Ages7-10

Warriors: The Ultimate Guide

By Erin Hunter(Haper Collins)

This colorful guide has been updated to mark the 20th anniversary of the Warriors series, and it includes profiles of 85 of the most outstanding warrior cats. With new art, detailed map, and introductions to each of the clan(宗族), the book makes you personally on the scene in the Warrior World. Ages 8 and up

10 . The average American gets about 4,000 steps a day — but how much is enough? According to a recent study of more than 72,000 people, getting in 9,000 to 10,000 daily steps cuts the risk of death by more than a third and reduced cardiovascular (心血管) disease risk by at least 20 percent, but even smaller increases showed benefits.

Ashley Goodwin, one of the study’s authors, says the study really builds on the evidence we already know about how walking can help lower cardiovascular risk and death. He found it especially amazing that the benefit differed so little between those who sat for long periods each day and those who sat less. “That’s really great because it drives home the message that simply walking a little bit more than you usually do is going to bring some health benefits, no matter where you’re starting from.”

Past research had shown that higher step counts are linked to better heart health and a longer life, and a separate body of research has shown the increased risks of cardiovascular disease and death associated with more sedentary (久坐) time. But this study brought those bodies of research together to learn if extra daily steps could offset (抵消) the risks of sedentary behavior even in those who spend much of the day seated.

The results show that both highly sedentary and less sedentary people had statistically similar risk reductions from higher step counts. But the findings also reveal that the more steps people had per day, the more their risk of heart disease or death fell, up until about 9,000 to 9,700 daily steps for highly sedentary people.

In fact, highly sedentary people in the study began experiencing a heart benefit starting as low as 4,300 steps per day, when their risk of heart disease fell by 10 percent. Doubling that step counts to 9,700 steps a day doubled the benefit. Similarly, highly sedentary people began seeing a 20 percent reduced risk of death starting at 4,100 steps per day. Again, that benefit nearly doubled to 39 percent when their daily step counts increased to 9,000.