1 . Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son. Suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door to his room is always shut,” Joanna noted.

Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. “She used to cuddle up (依偎) against me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark. “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is understanding which time is which.”

Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their mind. “In fact, parents are first on the list,” said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. “This completely changes during the teen years,” Riera explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last.”

Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental (思想的) break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them.

3 . In January, 2021, the ice-making work on the ”Ice Ribbon“, a landmark venue for the Beijing Winter Olympics, was completed.

In the Winter Olympics, where races can be won or lost by a small time gap, tiny imperfections in the ice can make all the differences. ”It’s not just a hunk of ice like you’d normally think of, like ice cubes sitting in your freezer,“ told Kenneth Golden, a U. S. mathematician who studies the structures of ice. ”It’s a much more fascinating and complex substance than people would normally think.“

The first step for building any ice rink is to purify the water to remove dissolved solids like salts and minerals. Such impurities don’t fit in the regular hexagonal(六边形的)structure of ice that forms as water freezes. The purer the water, the more consistent the ice surface.

In addition to the need for excellence in the raw materials of ice-making, technology is also very important, As one of the most advanced technologies for winter sports venues, a carbon dioxide cooling technology has been applied on a large scale for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. CO₂ , is not new when it comes to ice-making. However, it has been gradually replaced by the man-made refrigerant, like Freon.

With increasing attention toward climate change, the old refrigerant has come into use again. As an element of the atmosphere, CO₂, doesn’t damage the ozone layer. Although CO₂ is a greenhouse gas, its greenhouse effect is much lower than that of other synthetic refrigerants. The Winter Olympics venues adopted CO₂ instead of Freon as a refrigerant in ice-making, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions greatly.

”We believe these technological innovations will bring Beijing 2022 to spectators all over the world in a more impressive way.“ told Gao Bo from the Media Operations Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Yours,

Li Hua

The mascot (吉祥物) for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games     1     (show) to the public at Beijing’s Shougang Ice Hockey Arena on September 17th, 2019. The name of the mascot is “Bing Dwen Dwen”,     2     is closely associated with the host nation’s culture.

The image of it is designed based     3     the giant panda.     4     (dress) in a full body suit of ice, a symbol of purity and     5     (strong), the panda wears a helmet with colored halo (光环). The lines of the halo represent the snow tracks and 5G technology. The heart shape in     6     (it) left palm represents the host country’s hospitality.

The name “Bing Dwen Dwen” is a combination of several meanings in the Chinese language. “Bing” is the Chinese character for ice, while “Dwen Dwen” is     7     common nickname in China for children that implies healthiness and cuteness.

The mascot     8     (perfect) combines the best elements and characteristics of China to show China’s warm invitation to friends from all over the world. It is also designed     9     (promote) the Olympic spirit. There is no doubt that it will be a     10     (wonder) ambassador for China and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

7 . A British friend told me he couldn’t understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds(嗑瓜子) as a snack so much.“I’ve met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth, I believe that’s from cracking the seeds,”he said.

I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware, I realized that whenever I’m watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn’t like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so much just to get one small seed.

When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go door-to-door on Chinese New Year’s Eve to check out what every household was making.

I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. Out in the living room, a large table would already be laid out, complete with fancy tablecloth, ready-made dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds. Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.

I don’t think it’s right to criticize one’s choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.

It’s not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins your breath. They think it’s a delicacy(美味佳肴), and it’s connected to their certain culture. I think it’s a wonderful tradition.

8 . What you do after studying could have a big effect on how well you learn and remember. Today on Education Tips, we will explore two no-cost ways that can help you improve your learning: wakeful rest and sleep.

When many students finish studying, they often go straight to another activity. Perhaps they look at their phone or computer. They might even play a video game or watch television. But research suggests that resting after your study may help you remember what you have studied.

The basic idea is this: by stopping your activity after the study, your brain gets a chance to rest. Resting is difficult when you are playing computer games.

While this might sound unusual to you, many studies have explored the benefits of resting after learning—what is called “wakeful rest”.

A 2019 study found that both young and older adults were able to better remember information they learned after doing wakeful rest.

If you want to give “wakeful rest” a try, here are a few simple things to do. Rest quietly for five to ten minutes. Do not look at your phone, read stories or play games. It is really that easy!

Besides wakeful rest, sleep is also important for learning. The Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) notes that sleep helps people to learn in two ways. A report on the school’s website explains that “a sleep-deprived person cannot focus attention well and therefore cannot learn well”. It also says, “Sleep itself helps us to memorize and that memorizing is very important for learning new information.”

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) suggests that adults between the ages of 20 and 64 get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per day. Teenagers may need a little bit more, and people over the age of 65 may need a little less.

Try to get some “wakeful rest” after a study. Then try to get a good night’s sleep. That’s it—a simple, no-cost way to help you remember what you learn.

Yours

Li Hua

Not only can interest drive us to learn happy but also make our learning efficient. Take me as an example. I used to be weak English. One day in Senior Grade 1, I happen to see an English movie named Speed. It was such interesting that I watched it again and again. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel English bored and difficult any more. From then on, I began to watch English movies but read English novels every week. Naturally, I made a rapid progress in my English. Gradual, my English became the best in my class. Now, when it comes to English, I always feel confident about me.

In a word, whoever is interested in something are sure to do it well.