3 . Twelve-year-old Catherine has a lot of friends—632, actually, if you count up her online friends. And she spends a lot of time with them.

But is it possible that Catherine’s online friendships could be making her lonely? That’s what some experts believe. Connecting online is a great way to stay in touch, they say. However, some experts worry that many kids are so busy connecting online that they might be missing out on true friendships.

Could this be true? During your parents’ childhoods, connecting with friends usually meant spending time with them in the flesh. Kids played Scrabble around a table, not words with friends on their phones. When friends missed each other, they picked up the telephone. Friends might even write letters to each other.

Today, most communication takes place online. A typical teen sends 2,000 texts a month and spends more than 44 hours per week in front of a screen. Much of this time is spent on social media platform.

In fact, in many ways, online communication can make friendships stronger. “There’s definitely a positive influence. Kids can stay in constant contact, which means they can share more of their feelings with each other,” says Katie Davis, co-author of The App Generation.

Other experts, however, warn that too much online communication can get in the way of forming deep friendships. “If we are constantly checking in with our virtual world, we will have little time for our real-world friendships,” says Larry Rosen, a professor at California State University. Rosen also worries that today’s kids might mistake the “friends” on the social media for true friends in life. However, in tough times, you don’t need anyone to like your picture or share your blogs. You need someone who will keep your secrets and hold your hand. You would like to talk face to face.

5 . When I was 13, I climbed my first mountain — a fairly gentle 3,900-foot peak. I was overweight at the time and out of breath when I reached the summit. But I loved challenging myself. Soon I’d climbed nearly 100 peaks. My parents were happy that I finally found a hobby.

I often go climbing with my friend Mel Olsen. She and I drove to tackle 11,240-foot Mount Hood. It’s safer to start winter climbs at night when there’s less risk of the sun melting the snowpack. That day, we started at 3 am. At around 9 am, we reached an ice step. It was about three or four feet tall and sloped at a 75-degree angle. I volunteered to go first. I placed my left foot on the ice step.

I gained a sense of the ice when I stuck my ax and crampons (鞋底钉) into it, and it felt good. Confident I was safe, I put my full weight on it. Suddenly, I heard a crack, and as the snowpack became thinner, a whole piece of ice broke off the step, right under my foot.

In an instant, I fell backward, bouncing off the rock face and rolling down the mountain as if I were a character in a video game. I remember thinking: This is it. You’re done. I stuck out my arms and legs, grabbing at anything. That stopped my rolling down the mountain, but I was still sliding. After a few seconds, I came to a stop on a shallow slope.

I asked myself: Where are you? Mount Hood. What’s the date? December 30. Good. My brain was functioning. Then I checked my body to see where I was hurt. For the most part, I was fine, except that I was suffering from a sharp pain in my left leg. Later I’d learn that I’d broken my femur (大腿骨) and that the bone was slicing into my skin and muscle.

At the bottom of Mount Hood, I was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital. The doctors told me it would be a year before I could climb again, but I was back on the trails within six months.

6 . Poetry is one of the important art forms of literature, and is an easy way to express your feelings. Moreover, everyone understands it in their own way. Some find relief in poems; some read them simply for peace; some read poems for simple artistic pleasure.

There are some special features of poetry, which make it quite different from other forms of literature. First of all, poems have rhythmic patterns. Generally most parts of a poem follow the same form of rhythm. Poems may have rhyme, but they don’t have to. The lines are neatly arranged together so that they express a particular feeling or emotion.

There can be various types of poems but according to the pattern or the form, there are mainly three types:

Lyrics (抒情诗) : The lyric mainly concentrates on human thoughts and emotions rather than a story. Lyrics always bear song-like appeal. These are mainly short poems. Popular lyric poem forms are the elegy (挽歌), the ode (颂歌) and the sonnet (十四行诗). William Shakespeare, Edmund Waller and Keats are some of the greatest lyric writers of all times.

Narrative poems: This type of poetry tells a story. Narrative poems are usually long poems. Epics (史诗) and ballads fall under this type. Some of the greatest epic poets are John Milton, Dante, Edgar Allan Poe, Alexander Pope, William Shakespeare, etc.

Dramatic poems: Any drama that is written in verse is a dramatic poem. These poems generally tell a story. Black verse, dramatic monologues and closet drama belong to this type. William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson are some of the great dramatic poets.

Whatever the form is, one thing, which cannot be denied, is that poetry is one of the most powerful tools to express our feelings.

7 . There are many traditions around the world that are interesting and fun, but there are also those that are bizarre (奇异的) and even a little cruel.

In Sweden it’s common for parents to leave their babies outside to nap (小睡) even when the temperatures are below zero. Many people, including me, would find this custom risky and merciless, but many Swedes actually consider it good for their babies. They believe that by exposing their young ones to their country’s cold temperature they can help their babies to grow up healthily and protect them from diseases. They also believe doing so will help them sleep longer and better.

In Bali, Indonesia, babies are forbidden to touch the ground for three months. The reason is that during the baby’s first months its connection to the “spirit” is still unbroken and clean and letting it touch the ground would defile it. For three months, the baby is constantly held in someone’s arms — the father, mother, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and even neighbors. After 105days, a special ceremony called the Nyabutan is held where the baby touches Mother Earth for the first time.

In Guatemala, it’s common to see babies being bathed with cold water. Maya mothers commonly practise this bizarre custom with the belief that it’s beneficial to the baby’s health. Bathing their babies with cold water is also an effective means to remove heat rashes (痱子), and this custom helps babies sleep better.

Some Indians allow their babies to be thrown from temple roofs as high as 50 feet. This strange custom started 500 years ago and continues to this day, though there’s a movement to ban it for obvious reasons. However, Hindus believe that performing this custom brings good luck and health to their babies. Below the roof is a bed sheet that’s held lightly by several men. The baby lands safely on the sheet. The tradition’s practitioners and believers strongly prove that it’s safe, saying no babies have ever been injured.

8 . A simple project to help a family in need stopped Luke Mickelson in his tracks. In 2012, he and his family were inspired to build and donate a bunk bed, one bed on top of the other, after learning there were local children who slept on the floor. Shocked to discover how widespread this need was in his community, Mickelson founded Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a nonprofit that builds and delivers beds to children in need.

Born and raised in Idaho, Mickelson, now 41, had a successful career. He coached his kids’ sports teams and fished in the nearby river. But when he met children who were sleeping on the floor, his peaceful life changed course.

Using safety guidelines and his daughter’s bunk bed as a model, Mickelson started buying wood and supplies to build beds with his own money. He recruited friends and family members to help around the holidays. As the word spread, interest and involvement from his and other communities flooded—along with Mickelson’s bunk bed output. “That first project, we built 11 bunk beds in my garage,” he said. The next year, they did 15. Then it doubled every year. In 2017, they built 612 bunk beds.

With the motto “No kid sleeps on the floor in our town”, the nonprofit and its more than 65 branches have built and delivered more than 1,500 free beds to children across America. But along with the rapid growth, Mickelson was faced with a tough choice: advancing his career-or has nonprofit. He chose the latter and went from making “great money to zero money”. He’s never looked back. “I found that the need I have isn’t financial,” he said. “The need I have is seeing the joy on kids’ faces, knowing that I can make a difference.”