1 . Data shows that Chinese brands are winning increasingly more consumers in recent years, especially among the younger generation. The trend is usually called “guochao”, or “Chinese fashion trend”, which has driven demand for domestic (国内的) brands and products that often include Chinese traditional culture and style.

Its main followers are millennial born between1980-1995 and Generation Z born between 1995 and 2010. Unlike the older generations who could have attachment to Western culture and brands, Chinese youth were born and raised when the country’s economy and wealth were taking off. The younger generation tends to have strong and genuine confidence in their national identity and traditional culture.

To woo young customers, these domestic names are making products with high quality and appeal by strengthening research and marketing efforts. An often-cited case is Li-Ning, China’s homegrown sportswear brand that is named after one of the nation’s most famous athletes. The company almost broke up after a failed rebranding in 2011 when it went through three years of losses after losing older customers while failing to attract younger buyers. It was not until the 2018 New York Fashion Week that the brand made its huge comeback. Its trendy look，bold use of color and traditional Chinese culture elements were showcased on the stage so that it immediately grabbed attention at home and abroad.

The trend to embrace domestic brands has spread rapidly to various sectors and products as well, from food and drinks to clothing and electronic vehicles. While many Chinese brands have been gaining significant market share at home in recent years, others are posting an increasingly stronger global presence.

In 2020, China’s tech giant Xiaomi reported its most profitable year on the back of expanded sales and global market share. Revenues (零售) from Haier Smart Home’s overseas business last year also marked an all-time high, ranking top list in global market share for major home appliance. Although some brands still face plenty of challenges ahead to meet the sophisticated needs of customers and regulations in overseas markets, most domestic products are still quite competitive in the international market.

2 . If you suffer from social anxiety, you will fear certain situations. Some fear speaking in front of groups of people, while others fear going to parties or other types of social events. In whichever situation your fear arises, you’ll probably experience sweating, feeling your heart race, or other symptoms of anxiety.     1    

Number One:     2    

Learning to physically relax is one of the best ways to deal with anxiety. It’s impossible to feel both relaxed and anxious. For deep muscle relaxation, you will tense and then relax the major muscle groups of your body , beginning with your feet and working your way towards your head and face.

Number Two: Slow breathing.

    3         When you’re anxious, your breathing becomes faster and more shallow and as a result, you’ll feel light-headed and dizzy, bringing   more anxiety. Learning to breathe slower and more regularly through your nose will help you calm down.

Number Three: Visualization.

The key to visualization is to remember a place where you felt safe and comfortable.     4    , get a picture of it in your mind so clearly that you can feel, see, smell and even taste that place.This takes practice and patience. So take your time and don’t rush.

Number Four:    5    

Most people with social anxiety want to hide, avoid, or run away from whatever they’re scared of. But by facing your anxiety instead you’ll find that it is usually something you can tolerate after a few exposures. When using this method, focus on what’s going on around you instead of what’s going through your mind. That should help you distract yourself from those anxious thoughts.

5 . Having bright colors and greenery in our cities can make people happier and calmer, according to a recent experiment.

Researchers at the University of Lille tested how volunteers reacted to variations (变化) of a concrete (混凝土), glass and metal urban landscape. The participants walked on the spot in a laboratory wearing a VR headset with eye trackers, and researchers adjusted their surroundings, adding combinations of vegetation, as well as bright yellow and pink colors, and different patterns on the path. By tracking their blink (眨眼) rate, the researchers learned about what the volunteers were most interested in.

Researchers found the volunteers walked more slowly and their heart rate increased when they saw green vegetation in their urban setting. They also kept their heads higher, looking forward and around, instead of toward the ground. While adding and taking away color didn’t make quite as much of a difference for the participants, they were more curious and alert when colorful patterns were added to the ground they were virtually stepping on. According to Yvonne Delevoye-Turrell, a professor of cognitive psychology at the university and the lead author of this study, the results showed that the urban experience had been made more pleasurable.

The research, published in Frontiers, suggests that making some small changes to the city raises morale, even when people are experiencing them through virtual reality. “We think that the variations of human behavior obtained in virtual reality can predict the changes that would be obtained in the natural settings,” said Delevoye-Turrell.

Michal Matlon, an architecture psychologist and consultant, said: “We often don’t fully appreciate the compounding effects that enriching ordinary places with nature can have.” He added that even the smallest of changes could affect the experience of someone on their way to work, for example.

6 . One of the best parts of travel is always the food. Or, more specifically, the junk food. It’s a delight people are unlikely to get to experience during the pandemic. But in one corner of the internet, hungry people are keeping the joy of international snacks alive.

On SnackExchange, users trade the delights of their homeland by mail. First, you find someone on the board to swap with. You and your partner then post each other a box full of local finest processed foods, eventually uploading photos of your haul(收获) on the board for others to see.

First created in 2010, SnackExchange’s membership now totals 102,000. Most come to experience snacks they can’t find at home.

For the users who take part in snack exchanges, it’s a way to learn more about the world. For Meghan Quallick, a snack swapper from California, part of the motivation for swapping with an Australian was to get a specific item: Cadbury Black Forest bars. A co-worker of hers had eaten the chocolate bars on a trip to Australia in years past and fallen in love with them, but was then unable to source them at home. Quallick’s snack partner included 10 bars of the chocolate in her package. “To get some and bring them to her was pretty exciting,” Quallick said. “My colleague had tears in her eyes.”

Snack exchanges do come with obvious financial disadvantages. Part of the process is to agree on a budget before you swap – on average that’s around the US$40-50 mark. But you should be prepared to spend twice as much on shipping as the actual snacks. Occasionally swappers get scammed(欺骗) by partners who don’t deliver on their end of the deal.

Often, the snack exchanges are about more than just the food. Heather Clarke, a snack swapper from Melbourne says, “They’re often cultural exchanges as well. You get people going, ‘Can you tell me what this is?’” Often, users enclose(随信附上) instructions on how to best consume the snacks. Going the extra mile is in the spirit of the community.

7 . I am not sure how many years ago it was, but I still had a cassette player (盒式磁带放录机) at the time. I had a lot of housework. I was tired of television and was in the mood for music. I pulled out one of my favorite cassettes. It started to play but before long the music stopped. I opened the player and saw the tape in the cassette was all pulled out and twisted (扭曲的). I tried to fix it, but it was already broken beyond repair. I frowned. I didn’t want to risk another of my cassettes with a tape-eating machine, but I really wanted some music.

Then I noticed my ancient record player in the corner. I walked over and dusted it off. I pulled out an old record of my mom’s that my dad had given me after she died. I turned on the record player and gently put the record on the turntable (唱机上的转盘). “Pop!” “Crack!” went the record for a second as I put the needle(唱针) down. Then a beautiful melody from my childhood started to play. I smiled and started to do my housework. The sweet songs I grew up on touched my soul. I felt the music coming out of me. I started to sing, letting my weak voice join in joyously with the music. I even dared to dance a little while I did the dishes. I smiled and laughed. My heart was filled with happiness. And at that moment I could feel the joy of the universe all around me. “This is how life is supposed to be!”

These days all my music is on CDs. My daughter says I am behind the times. She says I should buy a cellphone and download all the music I want. But instead, I think I will dust off those old records again, put them on that record player and start to sing along.

We all have music within us just waiting to get out. Don’t let your music die within you then. Share your song with the world. And don’t forget to dance a little too.