The TERM “killjoy parents” has been trending on Chinese social media platforms as many young pcople complain that their parents would rather criticize than praise them for their accomplishments. One poster, for example, remarked that his parents said his high score in math wasn't good enough     1     several other students had scored higher.     2     complained that, after     3     (accept) into a “second-tier” university, the response he got for his father was “Congratulations. You got admitted to a garbage university.”

It’s a terrible feeling to have someone “burst your bubble” when you think they should be sharing your joy. And your parents, after all, are probably the people with     4     you most want to share the best moments in your life. But why do some parents seem to be so hard     5     (please)?

I think a lot of it has to do with Chinese society. Parents know that life     6     be full of hardship and dificulties, and they want their children to be “hardened” to these realities. Another reason can probably be found deep in Chinese culture.

When I asked a Chinese friend why Chinese parents don’t praise their children, he said it’s because they don't want to bring their children bad luck. He told me the story of two women sitting in a park and watching their children play. One of the mothers said to the other, “Your boy is so handsome and healthy.” That other mother replied, “No, he’s very ugly and he’s a very sickly child.” The mother, my friend explained, didn't want her son praised in case the “gods” heard and punished him. It's an old superstition (迷信), but it does have some basis in fact.

American parents, at the other extreme, are taught to ever criticize their children because it may hurt their feelings—their self-esteem. Instead, they     7     (tell) to always praise their children, even for failure. Psychologists now believe this is a bad idea. According to one study, too much praise can result in negative effects.     8     kids with low self-esteem felt even worse about themselves, kids with high self-esteem became narcissistic or self-centered. Moreover, children who got too much praise were     9     (likely) to take risks, were unable to deal with failure and tended to give up when faced with challenges.

Stacey and Toby aren’t the only people to be welcoming Mariella’s app. It’s now got thousands of users, and she’s working long days to balance it with her A-level studies. The time difference from New York to her school in Rugby, Warwickshire, means she sets her alarm for 5am.

    10     (have) “killjoy parents” may not be enjoyable, but it’s important to recognize that their seemingly critical nature doesn't negate the love they have for you. In their hearts, they genuinely share in your joy.

Clothing rental is a hot new industry and retailers are demanding to get on board in hopes of attracting green shopper.

But is renting fashion actually more environmentally-friendly than buying it, and if so, how much more? Journalist and author Elizabeth Cline     1     this question and concluded that it’s not as     2     as it seems.

Take shipping, for example, which has to go two ways if an item is rented-receiving and returning. Cline writes that consumer transportation has the second largest carbon     3       of our collective fashion habit after manufacturing.

She writes, “An item ordered online and then returned can send out 20 kilograms of carbon each way, and     4     up to 50 kilograms for rush shipping. By     5     the carbon impact of a pair of jeans purchased from a physical store and washed and worn at home is 33.4 kilograms, according to a 2015 study by Levi’s.”

Then there’s the burden of washing, which has to happen for every item when it’s returned, regardless of whether or not it was worn. For most rental services, this usually means dry cleaning, a high impact and polluting     6    . All the rental services that Cline looked into have replaced perchloroethylene, an air pollutant that     7     cancers, still used by 70 percent of US dry cleaners, with alternatives, although these aren’t great, either.

Lastly, Cline fears that rental services will increase our appetite for fast fashion, simply because it’s so easily     8    . There’s something called “share washing” that makes people waste more precisely because a product or service is shared and thus is regarded as more eco-friendly. Uber is one example of this,     9     as “a way to share rides and limit car ownership.” and yet “it has been proven to     10     walking, bicycling, and public transportation use.”

Renting clothes is still preferable to buying them cheap and throwing them in the dustbin after a few wears, but we shouldn’t let the availability of these services make us too satisfied. There’s an even better step-that’s wearing what is already in the closet.

Convenience vs Health: the Takeaway Dilemma (纠结)

Feeling hungry? If you’re feeling so, what’s the easiest way to satisfy your hunger? Many of us will reach     1     a takeaway menu and order some delicious, but possibly unhealthy food. And our increasingly busy lives add to our need to buy ready-made food.

Eating options are endless, and new technology means we can feed our cravings at the push of a button. Takeaway delivery apps make     2     (order) food quick and convenient, and during the recent coronavirus crisis, it provided a lifeline to those     3     (stick) at home with nothing to cook or who lacked the skills to prepare a meal for     4    . It is estimated that in the UK alone, people cat three million takeaway meals a day, and the three biggest delivery apps together offer a choice of 100 cuisines from 60,000 restaurants. Amelia Brophy, Head of UK Data Products at YouGov, told the BBC that “its research suggests that the frequency of takeaways ordered     5     (expect) to increase in the future.”

    6     is no wonder that we are tempted     7     (skip) the grocery shopping, bypass the kitchen, and tuck into something     8     someone else has prepared. But ordering a deep crust pizza, a spicy curry or a box of noodles,     9     come at a price both financially and to our health. Eating too much processed and unhealthy fast food bas some effect on obesity and the risk of developing certain metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. A few years ago, The BBC Good Food Nation Survey found that most people ate fast food on average two days per week. But, in the 16 to 20-year-old category, one in six ate fast food at least twice a day.

Of course, reducing salt, sugar and fat is one way to make takeaway food healthier, as well as offering smaller portion sizes. But     10     (good) advice you might want to take away from this Takeaway English is to find a recipe book and try making your own nutritious meal. And if you haven’t got time, try ordering a healthier alternative from the menu.

5 . For kids like me, being called childish can be a frequent occurrence. Every time we make irrational demands or exhibit irresponsible behavior, we are called childish. Take a look at these events:imperialism, colonization, world wars, etc. Who’s responsible? Adults.

What have kids done? Anne Frank touched millions with her powerful account of the Holocaust, Ruby Bridges helped to end segregation in the United States, and, most recently, Charlie Simpson helped to raise 120,000 pounds for Haiti on his little bike.     1     The traits the word childish addresses are seen so often in adults that we should delete this age-discriminatory word when it comes to criticizing behavior associated with irresponsibility and irrational thinking.

Then again, who’s to say that certain types of irrational thinking aren’t exactly what the world needs? Maybe you’ve had grand plans before but stopped yourself, thinking, “That’s impossible,” or, “That costs too much,” or, “That won’t benefit me.”     2     Kids can be full of inspiring aspirations and hopeful thinking. Like my wish that no one went hungry or that everything were a free kind of utopia (不切实际的空想). Sometimes a knowledge of history and the past failures of utopian ideals can be a burden because you know that if everything were free, then the food stocks would become depleted and scarce and lead to chaos. But in order to make anything a reality, you have to dream about it first.

    3     For instance, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, has a program called Kids Design Glass, and kids draw their own ideas for glass art. The resident artists said they got some of their best ideas through the program because kids don’t think about the limitations of how hard it can be to blow glass into certain shapes; they just think of good ideas.

Our inherent wisdom doesn’t have to be insiders’ knowledge. Kids already do a lot of learning from adults, and we have a lot to share. I think that adults should start learning from kids. Learning between grownups and kids should be reciprocal (相互对等的).     4     If you don’t trust someone, you place restrictions on them. Adults seem to have a universally restrictive attitude towards kids from every “don’t do that, don’t do this” in the school handbook to restrictions on school Internet use. Kids have no or little say in making the rules. The adult population should learn and take into account the wishes of the younger population.

Ancestry Travel

Everyone loves a holiday! A little time off for some much-    1    (need) R&R(rest and relaxation)can be exactly the thing to re-energize and refresh. That said, if you’re struggling to think of your next destination then look no further. Don’t waste time     2     (debate). Let your blood decide.

Everybody has a lineage(血统). Recently, finding out more     3     our family origins has become popular. By the start of 2019, 26 million people     4     (take) an ancestry DNA test at home, according to a report by MIT Technology Review. They believe by 2021 this number will have risen to 100 million.

This trend     5     (notice) by opportunistic travel operators. Some are looking to provide a service that both allows people to trace their heritage—by literally going back to their roots—and travel to the destinations     6     their ancestors originated.

Recently, Airbnb, an online lodging market place, has partnered with 23andMe, a DNA testing and analysis company,    7     (offer) recommendations that encourage travellers to walk in the footsteps of their forefathers. And they aren’t the only ones.

The Shelbourne hotel in Dublin has its own “genealogy butler(家谱管家)”. Hellen Kelly offers consultations to help guests trace their Irish line of descent(后代)using official records,     8     allows them to “fill in the blanks of their Irish ancestry”, she told Good Morning America.

The Conte Club, a luxury travel company, offers custom itineraries(行程)based on DNA tests. “These experiences are about exploring deeper into     9     we really are,” says Conte Club CEO Rebecca Fielding in an article in the Condé Nast Traveler. “It might be the most meaningful trip we can take.”

So next time you think of going on vacation, why not take a DNA test first?     10     you know how far your family has come, take the time to holiday back.