2 . “Her Education, Our Future” is a documentary film produced by CGTN in partnership with UNESCO. It tells the story of four girls on three continents. All the girls have been involved in UNESCO programmes aimed at widening their access to education, enhancing their skills for life and work, and expanding their educational and career opportunities.

Anee is from Gilgit-Baltistan, a remote area in the north of Pakistan. She dropped out of school as her parents couldn’t afford her education — only that of her brothers. Her father also didn’t believe that girls should be educated but rather stay home and help their mothers. Anee was reached out to through UNESCO’s Girls’Right to Education programme, originally funded by the Government of Pakistan with additional support from Italy, Korea, Norway and the Qatar Foundation, which is UNESCO’s largest programme on girls’ education, and has covered 19 of Pakistan’s most isolated districts. UNESCO assisted Anee’s family to overcome the financial barriers to her education. Her parents have re-enrolled her in school, and are supporting her to continue her education.

Mkasi is from Pemba, a Tanzanian island. Mkasi is the sixth of eleven children. She left school in 2014, as she didn’t score well enough on her exams to continue to high school. Mkasi was connected by a District Social Welfare Officer to a UNESCO program, funded by Korea. She enrolled into a community-based entrepreneurship (企业家职能) and alternative (可供选择的) education programme supported by UNESCO that enabled her to gain new vocational (职业的) skills. She now works as a seamstress (裁缝), and makes handicrafts and soap which she sells at the market. Economically independent now, She wants to become a designer and to open a clothing store — the first in her area — and sell her soap locally and abroad.

Fabiana and Taina are from Brazil. They both have a keen interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education but have faced different barriers to pursuing (追求) studies in these fields. Fabiana must rise at four every morning to go to school on a road which is bothered with robberies targeting students and passengers. Taina has faced racism and discrimination, and went through a rebellious phase (叛逆阶段) in her teenage years which took her away from her studies and down a harmful path before finding her way back. Both have been engaged in UNESCO’s EDUCASTEM2030 programme, which aims to close gender gaps in STEM education. Through this initiative (倡议), Fabiana and Taina have expanded their skills and gained confidence in their abilities. Fabiana has a full scholarship to study production engineering in the Fall — the same studies that Taina is currently pursuing. Tania is also a student leader now, sharing her own story and building more pathways for girls in STEM in Brazil.

The tourism phenomenon     1    (cause) by Harbin, in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, shows no sign of fading. Recently, the ice city     2    (lead) to fierce competition among tourism authorities in several cities. More     3    (interesting) , the video of the leaders of local tourism dancing with performers has entertained millions of netizens (网民) .

Diligent     4    (effort) that were made by Harbin     5    (attract) tourists to the city were heads of local tourist joined by netizens across the country, who discussed about the exceptional skills possessed by their own office, all to achieve similar success in their own cities.

Starting from January 9th     6     January 12th, the official account of the Department of Tourism of Henan Province has seen     7     increase in the number of videos being posted, with more than 30 clips released per day. So the tourism authorities in Shanxi and Shandong provinces find     8     a must to promote their tourism resources on social media. Winter, the     9    (tradition) tourism off-season, draws new tourism fever,     10     shows the fast tourism development in China.

4 . When it comes to a public library, you usually think of books and computers for people to use. You can even think of educational lectures and concerts that are often held in the library. But few people would expect to have a farm in the library.

But why not? After all, with rising costs, food safety is a community-wide issue. The Cicero Public Library near Syracuse in New York solved this problem by building a farm on its land. When Meg Backus saw all the open space in the library across the street from the building, he realized it could be used to benefit the community.

The farm was created in 2011 and in the beginning, 40 members of the library brought seeds (种子), water, and supplies to see if they could grow food on the land. It turned out that they could. To get the needed supplies for a larger farm, the library began to work with the organization Syracuse Grows Agency.

The community farm donates (捐赠) over 200 pounds of fresh produce (农产品) to local food banks every year. Half of the growing area is used as the Food Educational Garden. The other half is used by growers themselves. During the year, there are educational programs held at the library to teach people how to garden. There are also a lot of gardening books that can be used at the library.

Lauren Rosenstein, a worker of the library, said that she felt like she was giving something back to the community. “You’re really making a difference as a local community because you’re growing the food that people are eating.”

5 . Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you’re talking to someone but they keep looking at their phone? This is called “phubbing” — a mix of the words “phone” and “snubbing”, which is the act of ignoring someone in favor of the phone. It can happen in any conversation — whether it’s with a friend, family member, or even a business associate. When someone is “phubbing”, they’re using their phone to look through the online news, check messages, play games and so on, instead of focusing on the conversation or spending time with the people they’re with.

The word was first used back in 2012, when fewer people had smartphones. And now that most people have smartphones, phubbing is a common problem. Most people would agree that it’s rude to be focused on your phone when you’re spending time with another person. The expert William Hanson thinks so, too. “Phubbing is a no-no!” he says. “If you have planned to go out with friends, focus on them and not your friends on your phone.” Studies have found that phubbing can damage your relationships with others. Eye contact is super important in bonding and developing oxytocin, the chemical that builds trust and connection. A lack of eye contact due to phubbing can make people feel like you don’t care about them or value their time.

Phubbing can make people feel disregarded, and those who “phub” are thought of as less polite and caring. So science has shown that phubbing is not good for us — but why do we do it? It might be because we are feeling bored, worried or stressed. Or it might be because we are addicted to checking our phones, especially social media. Whatever the reason may be, phubbing is a bad habit and can make us miss out on real moments with the people around us. So the next time you’re spending time with a friend or family member, try and keep your phone out of sight!

8 . Hole-in-the-wall restaurants (苍蝇小馆) are rising in popularity in China. Recently, the “hole-in-the-wall” topic appeared on Sina Weibo, leading to discussions and attracting 67, 000 reading views.

According to Hubei Daily, hole-in-the-wall restaurants focus more on delicious food over decor (室内装潢) or service. Now, hole-in-the-wall restaurants are often found in the corners of small lanes and alleys (小巷) in different parts of a city. The most popular hole-in-the-wall restaurants usually have a history of more than 10 years and are run as family businesses.

A university student, Zhou, living in Wuhan, tried a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with her friend after other friends recommended it to her. She ordered 3 dishes, which only cost 64 yuan. “The food tastes good, and it's cheap,” she told Hubei Daily.

Wang Hongjie, a 16-year-old from Chengdu, likes the experience of eating at hole-in-the-wall restaurants. “Due to the limited space, diners at small-in-the-hole restaurants usually need to eat meals with strangers at the same table. This gives people the chance to talk with each other, creating a sense of hustle and bustle (烟火气),” she said. “But at internet-famous restaurants, diners just quietly enjoy their meals. It’s boring.”

Even so, Zou Zhiping, a professor at Hubei University of Economics, said that due to resource limitations as well as a lack of food safety awareness, hygiene (卫生) and food safety issues are more common at hole-in-the-wall restaurants. To solve these problems, Zousuggested that the local government provide training and support for these restaurants.

9 . Many Silicon Valley parents are becoming more concerned about preventing their children from using screens. Some parents think that even a little screen time can be extremely addictive, so it is better if their children avoid using or seeing these devices completely. However, it is difficult for working adults in the 21st century to give up using a phone at home. So, it’s simpler to employ someone to do this.

“Silicon Valley nanny (保姆)”, who takes children back to a time without screens every day is widely needed. From Cupertino to San Francisco, it’s widely agreed that screen time is harmful to youngsters. Therefore, parents are requesting nannies to keep phones, tablets and computers in a hidden place. Others even offer no-phone agreements.

Research shows that spending too much time on technology can harm young minds. For example, teenagers who use social media frequently are more likely to feel depressed and anxious. Insomnia (失眠) rates have also increased amongst this age group, and an increasing number of children display the signs that they can’t focus attention. These seemingly minor (轻微的) problems could become significant challenges for future generations.

“Many parents come back home and focus on their smartphones, ignoring whatever their children are trying to say,” said Shannon Zimmerman, who works as a nanny in San Jose for families that forbid screen time. “As a nanny, I also call on more parents to spend more time with their kids.”