1 . After bikes and umbrellas are made sharable across China, some companies started eyeing the fitness market, so shared gym rooms have hit the streets in Beijing.

Unlike common gyms that provide large, open spaces for many members to share at the same time, the newly built shared gym rooms are small, stand-alone rooms for a person to use, often set up near living communities.

Every four-square-meter room is equipped with a treadmill (跑步机), an air cleaner, a mirror, a television and an air conditioner, and users can let down the curtains for privacy. When exercising, users can listen to music, watch movies and check emails by connecting to the Internet by the screen fixed on the treadmill. There’s no shower or washbasin.

Similar to using a shared bike, users can locate a shared gym room by smartphone application, book a room in advance and then need to scan a QR code for use. A refundable deposit (保证金) of 99 yuan is required, and users are charged 1 yuan every 5 minutes.

The shared gym rooms are created by Misspao, a Beijing-based technology company founded in July. Within several months since it was founded, the company has already raised over 100 million yuan, Yicai Global reports. The idea of the shared fitness experience is not entirely nascent. Last December, the Shanghai-based technology company VRUN set up shared treadmills in office and apartment buildings.

The sharing economy is still becoming popular in China. According to Yicai Global, confident investors are pouring millions into sharing start-ups. In March, the State Information Center published a report which predicts that the total value of China’s sharing economy will see a yearly growth of 40% in the coming years, and it is expected to make a great contribution to the country’s GDP.

2 . In order to reduce the risk of suffering from COVID-19, people are supposed to say no to a handshake, give up high fives, refuse kisses on the cheek and absolutely avoid hugging. So people all over the world are changing their daily habits at work and at home to prevent it from spreading.

In France, handshaking is regarded as daily greeting habits. And kissing on the cheek is often seen even between people who have only just met. Philippe Lichtfus, a lifestyle expert notices that handshaking is a relatively recent development in human history that began in the Middle Ages. Now, he says simply looking into a person’s eyes can serve as a greeting.

The Brazilian health ministry has suggested that citizens should not share the metal straws traditionally used to drink the caffeine-rich drink chimarrão. And a kiss — even if it is not on the mouth — is totally advised against.

One of Spain’s most treasured traditions is also affected by the outbreak — the kissing of sculptures (雕塑) of Virgin Mary in the week leading up to Easter. During the holy week, the faithful believers queue up to kiss the hands or feet of sculptures of Mary and the saints, seeking their protection.

Germany’s interior minister (内政部长) Horst Seehofer rebuffed Chancellor (总理) Angela Merkel’s try to shake hands with him, smiling and keeping both his hands to himself. They both laughed and Merkel threw her hand up in the air before taking a seat.

In Iran, a video has gone viral (走红) showing three friends meeting, hands in their pockets, two of whom are wearing masks, tapping their feet against each other as a greeting. A similar video in Lebanon shows singer Ragheb Alama and comedian Michel Abou Sleiman tapping their feet against each other while making kissing noises with their mouths.

The UAE (阿拉伯联合酋长国) is advising citizens to stop the traditional “nose to nose” greeting. The UAE also said that people shouldn’t shake hands anymore or kiss. Greet each other “by waving only”.

3 . Many people travel to enrich and enjoy themselves. However, their travel methods may be different each year.

Lonely Planet and Forbes concluded some top trends (趋势) in 2022. Here are three of them for you to take a look.

Solo (独自) travel

Traditionally, travel seems to be a group activity to have fun together and avoid loneliness. But solo travel became popular, especially among young people in 2022.

Traveling on your own means that you are the boss of everything, choosing wherever you want to go, whatever you eat and whenever you go out. For some people, it also makes them a more confident person that is ready to deal with anything. Traveling in a totally foreign land on your own can be challenging. “It opens up your mind to new things, and pushes you out of your comfort zone,” Kristina Wegscheider, a traveler from the US, told Travel Pulse.

Augmented attractions (增强型景点)

World travel can be expensive. But virtual reality (虚拟现实) and augmented reality, or VR and AR, are giving more possibilities to travel for little cost. With ever-improving headsets, smartphones and Wi-Fi connections, people can have a 360-degree experience of museums, theme parks and historical sites.

With these technologies, visitors can experience the surface of Mars with just a headset, or view a sea cow’s growing flesh before their eyes in a museum.

Getting off the touristy path

There are always some “must-see” spots anywhere you travel. But traveling in such places always brings problems like overcrowding and noise.

In order to have a better travel experience, many tried to visit less famous places in 2022. With less transportation and fewer things to do, visiting a little town lets people slow down and notice the little things. Take a walk, ride a bike, sip coffee a little slower, take a deep breath and explore the natural scenery.

Say NO to Food Waste

5 . Today’s grandparents are joining their grandchildren on social media, but the different generations’ online habits couldn’t be more different. In the UK the over-55 s are joining Facebook in increasing numbers, meaning that they will soon be the site’s second biggest user group, with 3.5 million users aged 55-64 and 2.9 million over-65s.

Sheila, aged 59, says, “I joined to see what my grandchildren are doing, as my daughter posts videos and photos of them. It’s a much better way to see what they’re doing than waiting for letters and photos in the post. That’s how we did it when I was a child, but I think I’m lucky I get to see so much more of their lives than my grandparents did.”

Interestingly, Sheila’s grandchildren are less likely to use Facebook themselves. Children under 17 in the UK are leaving the site - only 2.2 million users are under 17 -but they’re not going far from their smartphones. Chloe, aged 15, even sleeps with her phone. “It’s my alarm clock so I have to,’ she says. “I look at it before I go to sleep and as soon as I wake up.”

Unlike her grandmother’s generation, Chloe’s age group is spending so much time on their phones at home that they are missing out on spending time with their friends in real life. Sheila, on the other hand, has made contact with old friends from school she hasn’t heard from in forty years. ”We use Facebook to arrange to meet all over the country,” she says. “It’s changed my social life completely.”

Parents have an important role to play if they want their kids to spend more time in real life. Peter, 38, who spends most of his time in front of a screen, is recently determined to set a better example to his kids. In the evening or at weekends, he would leave his smartphone home and take his kids out to nature.

7 . If you’re reading this, you were probably born in the 2000s. The oh­ohs. The 21st century.

That would make you young, creative, connected, global, and no doubt smart. Maybe good­looking, too. Right? But what do other people think about your generation?

Some adults worry that you’re more interested in the screen in front of you than the world around you. They think of you as the “face­down generation” because you use your phone so much and they wonder how you will deal with school, friends, and family. Are today’s teenagers too busy texting and taking selfies to become successful in real life — or “IRL”, as you would say?

Other adults worry that today’s youth are spoilt (宠坏的) and don’t want to face the challenges of adult life. Many children born in the 1990s and 2000s were raised by “helicopter parents”. They were always there to guide and help them with a busy schedule filled with homework and extra­curricular activities such as dancing, drawing, or sports. With parents who do everything for them, today’s youth seem to prefer to live like teenagers even when they are in their 20s or 30s.

Does the face­down generation need a heads­up? Well, probably not. The fact is that many of today’s teenagers are better educated and more creative than past generations. They also seem to be enthusiastic (热情的) and willing to become leaders. More young people than ever volunteer to help their communities. There are also brave young people such as Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for pushing girls’rights to go to school.

So if you’re one of the oh­ohs, there’s reason to be hopeful about the future. Things are looking up for the face­down generation. Chances are that you will do GR8 (great) and LOL (laugh out loud).

9 . Rumors had floated through the halls that the two girls were going to fight, by the time Marquita Riley, 16, and Aalivah Hudson 17 ended up in their school’s “peace room”.

The peace room at Manley is a part of the school’s restorative justice initiative, a growing social movement that, among other things, focuses on healing and teaching how to solve conflicts. The philosophy aims to bring together victims and offenders to cooperatively work through their problems.

The concept is increasingly being used in schools, community centers and churches in Chicago as a way to teach young people how to analyze their anger. They learn to confront tension before it turns violent. It is also being used as an alternative to punitive measures, like suspensions and arrests, which can lead to more trouble for hurting communities.

The idea is that “when harm happens or someone misbehaves, there needs to be a process of restoration in order for the community to move forward,” said Ilana Zafran of Umoja Student Development. Umoja runs restorative justice programs in Chicago schools.

The concept forces all sides in a disagreement to communicate and understand one another instead of resorting to violence. There may still be punishment for wrongdoing, but restorative justice emphasizes identifying hurt and thinking of ways to fix it.

“A lot of our kids don’t want to be involved in fights. They don’t want to be suspended or away from school,” Jackson said. “We had to create an environment of peace. High school has to be a pleasurable experience for our kids. If they come here and feel the same anxiety they feel in the streets, how can we expect them to stay?”

Among the people there were Marquita and Aaliyah, the two girls rumored to be gearing up for a major fight. After another 20 minutes of discussion, they agreed they had simply misunderstood each other. The girls decided they would not fight, and promised they would talk it over if they found themselves facing tension again.

10 . You probably know who Marie Curie was, but you may not have heard of Rachel Carson. Of the outstanding ladies listed below, who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?

Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank. Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She encouraged a sense of community (社区) by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

If it weren’t for Rachel Carson, the environmental movement might not exist today. Her popular 1962 book Silent Spring raised awareness(意识) of the dangers of pollution and the harmful effects of chemicals on humans and on the world’s lakes and oceans.

When Sandra Day O’Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman. She became an Arizona state senator (参议员) and in 1981, the first woman to join the U. S. Supreme Court (最高法院). O’Connor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court.

On December 1,1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rasa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Her simple act landed Parks in prison. But it also set off the Montgomery bus boycott (抵制). It lasted for more than a year, and kicked off the civil-rights movement. “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in,” said Parks.