1 . Most children now chat daily either online or through their mobile phones.     1     Some are shy in real life but are confident to communicate with others online; others find support from people of their own age on relationship issues, or problems at home.

Sometimes the online world, just like the real world, can cause problems, such as bullying (恃强凌弱) or arguments.     2     But there are also a few people who use the Internet for illegal aims. Children must be made aware of both the good things and the dangers.

    3     Just as you decide which TV programs are suitable, you need to do the same for the websites and the chat rooms your children visit. Remind your children that online friends are still strangers. Reminding them of the risks will keep them alert (警惕的).

    4     So it’s likely that your children may know more than you do. We get left behind when it comes to the latest gadgets and the interactive areas of websites, like chat rooms and message boards.     5     Chatters love to use abbreviations (缩略语) such as: atb (all the best), bbfn (bye bye for now), Idk (I don’t know), xlnt (excellent).

3 . Thirteen-year-old Kaylee has a lot of friends — 532, actually, if you count up her online friends. And she spends a lot of time with them.

But is it possible that Kaylee’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 platforms (平台).

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 words, 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 someone 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.

4 . Every festival has its own meaning. Labor Day, for example, celebrates the value of hard work. Thanksgiving is about showing thanks to people around you. And Valentines’ Day is a time when you express love to your loved ones. But somehow it now seems that all festivals we just care about one thing — shopping. And that can be a big problem.

“In a way, over-consumption (过度消费) is the mother of all our environmental problems,” Kalle Lasn once told CNN. Lasn is the organizer of Buy Nothing Day, a day set up in Canada in 1992 to fight against unhealthy spending habits, and has now become an international event. It’s held on the day, which is known as Black Friday — a famous shopping day in the US and Canada.

You can see the irony (讽刺) here.

Even though the idea of Buy Nothing Day was brought up 26 years ago, we seem to need it now more than ever. It’s just as Lasn said, all the different kinds of pollution in our lives today — bad air quality, the reduction of forest area, endangered animal species, and plastic bags found in the ocean — seem to be the same cause: over-consumption.

The latest example is the Singles’ Day shopping craze of Nov 11, which saw a new sales record. But as Nie Li, a campaigner at Greenpeace, told Reuters, “Record-setting over-consumption means record-setting waste.” And it was reported that last year the Singles’ Day packages left more than 160,000 tons of waste, including plastic and cardboard. The Collins Dictionary has also just named “single-use” its Word of the Year, pointing out the problem that there’re too many things we tow out after only using them once.

So, Buy Nothing Day might only be here for one day a year, but it’s not just to remind us to the a break from shopping on that day, but to change our lifestyle completely, focusing on fun “with people we care about” rather than wasting money on useless things.

6 . A new trend called “praise groups” or “in-need-of-praise” chat groups has become popular on Chinese social media. In Chinese culture, where modesty (谦逊) is valued, openly seeking and giving praise is uncommon. These chat groups provide a platform for people to receive compliments (赞扬) and encouragement, which are often lacking in their daily lives.

To join a praise group, users can pay a fee on e-commerce sites, starting at 50 yuan for five minutes of compliments. The group members will then show the person with praises and kind words. The compliments can be designed for a friend or loved one as well. Participants have found that being praised by strangers can help lift their spirits and improve their self-confidence.

For example, Meng Zha, a student at Shanghai’s Tongji University, tried the service and found it amusing and uplifting. She received compliments on her appearance and even quotes (引用) from popular songs. Ms Meng couldn’t help but laugh at the compliments and expressed her desire to post such high-quality praises in the future.

Praise groups have appeared as a way for people in China to seek and receive compliments and encouragement that may be lacking in their daily lives. It provides a positive and uplifting experience for participants, improving a sense of happiness and self-worth.

Those who support the groups, see them as an antidote to extremely bad moods (情绪) which are often associated with things happening on the Internet. “At first, the purpose of this group is to make us learn to praise others and accept others’ praises confidently. Here we can drop everything, and use our heart to praise and support others,” one member said. But the life journey is long and there are some unexpected situations that we can only count on ourselves to face when there is no one out there to offer help.

8 . Are you carrying too much on your back at school? I’m ______lots of children of your age will say “yes”. Not only do the students in China have this problem, but children in the United States are also   ______of heavy school bags.

Doctors are starting to worry that more and more _______students are having back and neck problems ______ heavy school bags. “It’s ______for me to go upstairs with my bag because it’s so heavy,” ______Rick Hammond, an 11-year-old boy in the US. Rick is among the students whose school bags have two straps (带子) to ______them, but many other students ______ rolling backpacks(拉杆书包). The ______ is that even with rolling backpacks, getting up stairs and buses is______ a problem for children.

Well, how much is too much? Doctors ______that students carry no more than 10% to 15% of their own body weight. Scott Butch, a doctor for ______pain, said children under 4th grade should stay with 10%, but it is also ______that older children don’t go beyond 15%______their bones are still growing. “ There are other injuries caused by ______,”Butch explained.“ And it is______ for children to fall down with these large heavy bags,” he added.

Parents and teachers have come up with some new ______. They have started to tell children to only take home library books they will be ______that night. Some teachers are also using pieces of paper or ______ workbooks for students to take home. One of the best answers though(然而), as some ______themselves have suggested, is to have no homework at all!

9 . Peter, 60, loved his job as a bus driver. He had been one almost all his life, loving the little children who rode his bus daily. It made him feel much younger. His record was clean, without one accident, which made him a trustworthy driver.

However, Mr. Clark, Peter’s boss, was worried and thought that it was time for him to retire (退休). “You don’t have a choice here, Peter.” he said seriously. “We don’t want to invite any risk to the children.”

“But I have a perfect record,” reasoned Peter. “You know, for an elderly man like me, my job is the only thing that keeps me alive. I want to keep my job.”

“Would you take responsibility if something bad happened to those children?” Mr. Clark said.

Peter thought it over, and very reluctantly, he gave in to Mr. Clark’s request. Peter decided to retire a week later.

The day before his last day, Peter was dropping of the kids at his first stop when he looked out of the window and saw a lady who had passed out. He asked the kids not to leave the bus and got down to help the woman.

Just when he finished, he heard cries behind him. The children were looking out of the window and shouting. “Fire! Fire! Help!” “How could that have happened?” Peter was shaking in fear. With shaking hands, Peter dialed 911 and rushed to help the children. Covering himself with his jacket, Peter rushed into the burning car and took the children out one by one. Thankfully, the firefighters arrived soon and helped Peter, saving all students.

The next day, Peter found the whole school standing in front of his home. When Peter got close to them, Mr. Clark started clapping and everyone joined him. “You are a hero, Peter! You saved the lives of those young children.” he said. “You are the best driver. We hope you can keep the job!”

10 . Recently, the “city walk” has been gaining steam among residents and tourists around China. On social platform Xiaohongshu, data shows that the number of city walk-related topic posts has increased by 700 percent over the past three months, and the total number of interactions has increased by more than 600 percent.

A city walk is a form of urban tourism originating in the UK. Unlike traditional sightseeing, which aims to hit famous attractions and commercial center, usually by vehicles with tense schedules, city walk is about “roaming” around a city on foot, soaking up the atmosphere and finding unusual things that even a resident of the city might not have noticed before. Such walks generally avoid famous scenic spots and shopping centers, and take you to places where you can have real interactions with the local people, eat at small but authentic restaurants, and gain a deeper understanding of the history and culture of the city.

City walkers are a cast of people who possess intense curiosity. They are eager to engage with the city they are visiting or reside in their own way. By “roaming” on foot, city walkers can better feel the texture and listen to the breath of a place. They seek pleasure more through connection than consumption, which indicates a deep cultural curiosity. For example, in Chongqing, if you don’t take a walk, you can hardly experience the unique geographical charm of the mountainous city. Be it the hutong in Beijing or the Chinese parasol tree district in Shanghai; city walks allow people to see the scenery apart from the scene and uncover hidden knowledge.

The appeal of a city walk lies in the young generation’s changing attitude toward life — pursuing quality leisure time while being occupied with demanding workloads and limited time for exploration. While roaming along the road, you can entirely focus on yourself and listen to your inner voice and care for what you feel, which is a way to love yourself and benefit your mental health. Just like Oscar Wilde once said, “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”