2 . “We have Dante, Shakespeare and Du Fu. These poets create the very values by which poetry is judged,” remarked Harvard professor Stephen Owen. Even though scholars studying Chinese history and culture often compare Du Fu to Dante and Shakespeare, this famous Chinese poet and thinker, who is also greatly respected in East Asian cultures, is still not very well-known in the West.

However, with the screening of Du Fu, China’s Greatest Poet, the first English-language documentary feature about the poet, the days of Du Fu as China’s best-kept literary secret seem to come to an end.

From the Yellow River to the Yangtze Gorges and down to the forested hills of Hunan Province, Michael Wood, the documentary presenter, traveled to various places, including the poet’s birthplace in Gongyi, Henan Province, the Tang Dynasty capital Chang’an (now Xi’an), and the Du Fu Thatched Cottage in Chengdu, Southwest China.

Along the way, he met and talked to ordinary people, dancers and musicians. They helped to tell the interesting story of the poet whose writings have been heard for many centuries, speaking for the pain of ordinary people caught in war, starvation (饥饿), and natural disasters.

“Chinese people really value the recording of history, and Du Fu is better than anyone at reflecting history in his poetry. That’s because historical events are reflected in his own life and spiritual journey,” noted Zeng Xiangbo, a professor of ancient Chinese literature at Renmin University of China.

“Du’s poetry reflects the experience and transforms it, so it becomes a part of the emotional vocabulary of the Chinese culture,” said Stephen Owen, who in 2016 completed an eight-year-long project to translate Du Fu’s 1,400 poems into English.

3 . Recent developments in robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning have brought us in the eye of the storm of a new automation age. About half of the work carried out by people was likely to be automated by 2055 with adaption to technology, a McKinsey Global Institute report predicted.

Automation can enable businesses to improve performance by reducing errors and improving quality and speed, and in some cases achieving outcomes that go beyond human capabilities. At a time of weak productivity growth worldwide, automation technologies can provide the much-needed promotion of economic growth, according to the report. Automation could raise productivity growth globally by 0.8 percent to 1.4 percent. At a global level, technically automated activities involved 1.1 billion employees and 11.9 trillion U.S. dollars in wages, the report said.

The report also showed that activities most influenced by automation were physical ones in highly structured and predictable environments, as well as data collection and processing. In the United States, these activities make up 51 percent of activities in the economy, accounting for almost 2.7 trillion dollars in wages. They are most common in production, accommodation and food service, and the retail (零售) trade. And it’s not just low-skill, low-wage work that is likely to be influenced by automation; middle-skill and high-paying, high-skill occupations, too, have a degree of automation potential.

The robots and computers not only can perform a range of routine physical work activities better and more cheaply than humans, but are also increasingly capable of accomplishing activities that require cognitive (认知的) capabilities, such as feeling emotions or driving.

While much of the current debate about automation has focused on the potential that many people may be replaced and therefore lose their financial resources, the analysis shows that humans will still be needed: The total productivity gains will only come about if people work alongside machines.

4 . There are tons of physics textbooks available around the world. Based on our web research, here are our top four picks with the introduction of physics in simple, practical language.

Mechanics, Relativity, and Thermodynamics

This book is a collection of online teachings by Professor R. Shankar. Shankar is one of the first to be involved in the innovative Open Yale Courses program. It is a perfect introduction to college-level physics. Students of chemistry, engineering, and AP Physics will find this book helpful.

Physics for Students of Science and Engineering

This book helps students to read scientific data, answer scientific questions, and identify fundamental concepts. The new and improved 10th edition features multi-media resources, and questions to test students’ understanding of each concept.

The Feynman Lectures on Physics

Richard Feynman is regarded as one of the greatest teachers of physics to walk the face of the earth. This book is a collection of Feynman’s lectures. In his words, these lectures all began as an experiment, which, in turn, formed the basis of this book.

University Physics with Modern Physics

The book is recognized for teaching and applying principles of physics through a narrative (叙事的) method. To ensure a better understanding and ability to apply these concepts, worked examples are provided, giving students tools to develop problem-solving skills and conceptual understanding.

5 . Sustainable travel is now one of the fastest-growing movements. Its goal is to meet the needs of the tourism industry without harming natural and cultural environments.     1     Here are some concrete ways to reduce your environmental impact as a traveler.

    2     Travel doesn’t have to be about going somewhere far away. It’s the art of exploration, discovery and getting out of your comfort zone, all of which can just as well be nearby. Find somewhere nearby you haven’t been, get in your car, and go for a visit. You never know what you’ll come across.

Make greener transportation choices. After walking, public transportation is the next best way to explore new destinations.     3     When it comes to longer distances, buses and trains are your best way of getting around, both of which can be quite an experience in and of itself.

Avoid over-visited destinations. If you can, avoid places with over-tourism. You’ll find fewer crowds and lower prices, and you also won’t be putting as much pressure on local communities struggling to keep up. And, from a personal-enjoyment point of view, who wants to deal with crowds or long lines? No one.     4    

Take a nature-related trip. If you want to better understand and appreciate the natural world, try taking a trip with the single purpose of connecting with nature.     5     I promise that when you come home, you’ll have a new viewpoint on why we’re all so focused on being environmentally friendly these days.

6 . Is diet soda safe? If you’re concerned about sugar, diet products seem a better option, sweet and not so bad for you. Wrong! Drinking diet soda regularly can increase your risk of diseases. Despite the fact that we call these drinks “diet”, the artificial sweeteners they contain are linked to weight gain, not loss.

There’s the latest evidence that they increase the risk of depression, which comes from a new analysis by researchers at Harvard Medical School. The team drew upon a data set of nearly 32,000 female nurses, ages 42 to 62 when the study began. It turned out that the nurses who consumed the most diet drinks had a 37 percent higher chance of depression, compared to those who drank the least or none.

Diet soda also increases your risk of stroke (中风), according to a separate meta-analysis that included 72 studies. Looking for the causes behind the stroke, researchers took various blood measurements when 12 healthy volunteers in their 20s drank water, soda, or diet soda. The result showed that both sodas slowed the flow of blood within the brain. Though the effect didn’t seem sufficient to cause stroke, slower blood flow could have accumulating effects.

Other researchers have found that diet soda increases the risk of dementia (痴呆), from data from nearly 178,000 volunteers tracked over an average of nine years. That’s not a big surprise. An earlier study of about 4,300 volunteers concluded that drinking diet soda every day was tied to three times the risk of dementia over the following decade. The researchers looked at brain scans and the results of mental function assessments. A daily diet soda was linked to smaller brains and aggravates long-term memory, two risk factors for dementia.

Avoiding depression, stroke, and dementia is an obvious goal for whoever desires to age healthily. So you know what to do.

8 . Music can have a strong effect on our emotions. But what happens when we listen to music in a live setting? Do our brains react differently depending on whether the music we’re listening to is live or recorded?

A team of researchers at the University of Zurich led by Sascha Frühholz, professor of cognitive and affective neuroscience (神经学), has now explored this question. The researchers investigated the effects of live music and recorded music on emotional processes in the human brain.

They conducted an experiment in which a pianist changed the live music he was playing to increase the emotional reactions in the amygdala (杏仁体), the emotional center in the brain. During the experiment, the researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (磁共振成像) to measure the activity in the amygdala of the 27 listeners as well as the performer in real time. Based on these measurements, the pianist then adapted his performance to further increase the audience’s emotions. To compare reactions, the listeners were played a recording of the same music performed by the same musician.

“Our study showed that live music caused much higher and more long-lasting activity in the amygdala than recorded music. The live performance also brought about a more active exchange of information in the whole brain,” says Frühholz.

People have always used instruments to make live music. It wasn’t until technical advances in the early 20th century that music was able to be recorded and made widely spread to all people. Even today, though, despite music streaming platforms and high-quality loudspeakers and headphones, the social experience of attending a live concert cannot be taken place of.

9 . The world’s oldest living land animal, Jonathan the Seychelles giant tortoise (巨型陆龟), celebrated his 191st birthday this week.

Jonathan is thought to have been born around 1832, before the invention of the telephone, lightbulb or postage stamp. He’s lived through 40 U. S. presidents and 31 governors of Saint Helena, the small island in the Atlantic where he lives. St. Helena is widely known for being the final residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, who died there after his failure at the Battle of Waterloo.

Though his exact age is unknown, Jonathan was fully grown when he was gifted to the island’s governor in 1882, which experts said meant he was at least 50 years old. Last year, the tortoise was given an official birthday of December 4, 1832 — but experts say he’s likely even older. Seychelles giant tortoises have an average life expectancy of 150 years.

Despite his advanced age, Jonathan’s longtime veterinarian (兽医) Joe Hollins tells Guinness World Records (GWR) the creature shows “no sign of slowing down”. “Despite losing his sense of smell and being virtually blind, he always enjoys meals.”

Historically, Seychelles giant tortoises’ threats included being hunted for food and being sold abroad. Now, however, inbreeding (近亲繁殖) is their greatest threat. In 2011, only 37 adult tortoises remained.

“It is extraordinary to think that this gentle giant has outlived every other living creature on land, including, of course, the whole human race,” Hollins tells GWR. “Jonathan is in good health and all the signs at present make us hopeful that he will reach his third century.”

10 . In a 24-hour readathon (读书竞赛), you try to read as much as you possibly can in 24 hours without doing anything else, except for the necessities like eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom.     1    . Here are some tips for how to have a 24-hour readathon.

● Go book shopping right before your start

Take a trip to your favorite local bookstore and pick out a few books that will keep you interested for a full day.    2    . In this case you can discuss all the juicy plot points with one another.

●    3    

If you plan on staying awake the entire 24 hours, you'll probably need some nutrition to keep you going. Plan a trip to the grocery store and pick out cooked food or snacks so you don't have to waste any time making food.

● Find a comfortable space

    4    . Decorate the space so that it fits the mood— light candles, turn down the lighting, or stream calming instrumental music from your TV or computer to set the relaxing atmosphere for reading.

● Schedule breaks

Do you want to read straight through a book for as long as you can, or take occasional breaks every few hours? Decide what you want to do ahead of time.    5    .

● Pick out proper clothes to wear

While reading, you'll probably be spending a lot of time in the same sitting or lying down positions, so it’s important to pick clothes that will keep you comfortable for a long time.