2 . One thing we always remember from our childhood is our favourite teddy bear. This soft ragged toy was our comfort and companion. As we grow up, we normally give up our childish ways, and our furry friend often ends up in storage or at a yard sale. But that’s not the case for everyone.

It seems that some grown-ups continue to need their cuddly (让人想抱的) toy by their sides. And for some adults, soft toys remain an essential presence—they take them wherever they go.

A cuddly toy can come in many forms —animals, strange shapes or just a piece of stuffed material. But it’s the teddy bear in particular that seems to have a lasting appeal —it gives us a nostalgic(怀旧的) feeling and a reminder of our younger days. David Cannadine, a historian, says, “Perhaps it’s that bears represent the happy security of a childhood friend who never changes or lets you down. For whatever reason, teddies appeal to both children and adults of all ages.”

The teddy bear is much celebrated these days, and they’ve become something that we don’t just grow up with —people buy them as adults too. There are shops which sell only teddy bears, there are teddy bear museums in many countries, and teddy bear festivals regularly take place around the world.

While our soft toys offer us a kind of comfort blanket, some experts say it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s sometimes good to let go of the restrictions of adult life and be a big kid again. Many adults purchase playthings they enjoyed as children because they bring back happy memories. Colouring books, cuddly toys and board games were top of the list. So, if you’re still keeping your teddy a secret, don’t worry —you’re not alone!

3 . Thousands of tons of Long Island recyclables are ending up as trash compared to last years because of sharply dropping prices caused by restrictions issued this year by China, the world’s largest importer of recycled cardboard and plastics, recycling operators said. The restrictions could lead to changes in the way many Long Islanders dispose(处理) of paper and other material—particularly in towns that switched to the “single stream” recycling programs that allowed residents to combine paper, plastic, aluminum and glass in one container, officials said.

The problem reached a flash point last week when Green Stream Recycling told Brookhaven officials it could no longer run the town’s recycling facility. Green Stream is expected to fold, and Brookhaven on Thursday expects to name a new operator to temporarily run the recycling system while town officials weigh their long-term options. Brookhaven plans to continue the single-stream program.

Though changeable prices are considered normal in the waste industry, Brookhaven and Green Stream previously had touted(吹捧) the town’s single-stream program since it began in 2014. In its first year using single stream, the town saw a 25 percent increase in the number of homes that recycled. Similar increases were reported by towns such as Smithtown, Huntington and Southold that agreed to transport their recyclables to the Brookhaven plant. But this year, nearly 22 percent of recyclable paper, plastic, cardboard and aluminum brought to the Brookhaven facility has gone to incinerators(焚化炉) or landfills, double the rates of 2016and 2017, according to figures provided by Green Stream.

4 . We all know that unpleasant feeling when we’re talking about something interesting and halfway through our sentence we’re interrupted. But was that really an interruption? The answer depends on whom you ask, according to new research led by Katherine Hilton from Stanford University.

Using a set of controlled audio clips (录音片段), Hilton surveyed 5, 000 American English speakers to better understand what affects people’s perceptions of interruptions. She had participants listen to audio clips and then answer questions about whether the speakers seemed to be friendly and engaged, listening to one another, or trying to interrupt.

Hilton found that American English speakers have different conversational styles. She identified two distinct groups: high and low intensity speakers. High intensity speakers are generally uncomfortable with moments of silence in conversation and consider talking at the same time a sign of engagement. Low intensity speakers find it rude to talk at the same time and prefer people speak one after another in conversation.

The differences in conversational styles became evident when participants listened to audio clips in which two people spoke at the same time but were agreeing with each other and stayed on topic, Hilton said. The high intensity group reported that conversations where people spoke at the same time when expressing agreement were not interruptive but engaged and friendlier than the conversations with moments of silence in between speaking turns. In contrast, the low intensity group perceived any amount of simultaneous (同时) chat as a rude interruption, regardless of what the speakers were saying.

“People care about being interrupted, and those small interruptions can have a massive effect on the overall communication,” Hilton said. “Breaking apart what an interruption means is essential if we want to understand how humans interact with each other.”

7 . It’s not just people that are social distancing. Brands are doing it too.

McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Audi and Volkswagen are just a few of the big companies that are interpreting “social distancing” with logo (商标) redesigns.

The term, social distancing, meaning standing 6 feet apart from others in an effort to lower the risk of being infected (感染) by diseases, has become popular recently.

“Our current global situation is no joke. It’s a serious matter,” Douglas Sellers, executive creative director for firm Siegel + Gale told CNN Business. “And brands designing social distancing logos have the potential to decrease the severity of what we are going through. The creativity, passion, and thought that goes into wanting to help, educate, and be part of the physical distancing movement is a worthy note,” Sellers said.

McDonald’s Brazil

Last week, McDonald’s Brazil pulled apart its iconic (标志性的) golden arches in a picture posted to its Facebook page. The ad agency explained that despite the temporary separation between its customers and the company caused by closures of some of its restaurants, they can always be together. McDonald’s is offering food through delivery.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is currently running an ad in New York’s deserted Times Square that shows each letter of its logo separated with the slogan “Staying apart is the best way to stay united”. The brand typically celebrates togetherness and love in its ads.

Audi and Volkswagen

Two companies that share ownership, Audi and Volkswagen, changed their logos for their social media accounts. Audi separated its four rings in a short video telling people to stay at home and keep their distance. Volkswagen also promoted a similar video with inspirational messages and separated the V and W.

8 . With researchers suggesting that sitting is the new smoking, sit-stand desks (SSD) have become a common tool to interrupt long sitting in an office or classroom environment. As this furniture becomes popular, conflicting opinions have arisen on whether they can work as successfully as they are intended. Dr. April Chambers from the University of Pittsburgh worked with teammates to gather data from 3 studies and published a review article listing present information on the benefits of SSDs.

“There has been a great deal of scientific research about sit-stand desks in the past few years, but we have only scratched the surface of this topic,” said Chambers. I want to gather what we’ve known so far to figure out how we can use these desks to better benefit people in the workplace.

This work was done with Dr. Nancy A. Baker from Tufts University. The review examines the effects of a sit-stand desk in the following aspects: behavior, physiological(生理的), work performance, psychological, discomfort, and posture. Their work showed that using an SSD effectively got participants to sit less and stand more and that the device made users more comfortable at work. However, many frustrations (沮丧) with SSDs came from the physiological outcomes. According to the review, physiological effects were the most studied, but there were no significant results with regards to fatness.

There are many considerations about using an SSD most effectively, such as desk height, monitor height, and the amount of time to stand. Chambers believes that the overall arrangement of the workplace or study place and the amount of work are two factors that should be further studied.

Chambers noted that present research is limited because many of the studies were done with young and healthy subjects who were asked to use the desk for a week or a month at most. Since some of the significant benefits are with heart health or muscle discomfort, it may be beneficial to perform additional studies with middle-aged or overweight workers.

9 . Do we still need cash? The days of holding notes in our hands may be numbered. The advancement of technology and the increase of new electronic and mobile device in today’s world is set to revolutionize how we make payments. With a swipe (刷) or a click of a mobile-phone app, our entire wealth is literally at our fingertips. As digital forms are increasingly replacing cash payments, some think that we should become fully cash-free. However, I do not believe we should move towards a completely cash-free society.

One of the main concerns of a cashless world is the risk of cheat and ridiculously, the inconvenience that follows. The instant content that accompanies cashless transactions (处理) could be compromised by online security issues. Technology experts argue that our current state of technology is unable to provide a secure cashless environment that could prevent people from accessing the system illegally and abusing the personal data. In addition, many online shopping sites lack strong systems that would protect their customers’ personal credentials (可信). Occasionally, when an account is “locked” due to a suspected cheating activity, having cash in hand becomes critical. In a cashless society, a victim of cheating would find himself locked out of his account and unable to access his money until the case is solved. Going cash-free causes great inconvenience in this case.

Another reason is that mankind might potentially become less thrift (节俭的). Paying in cash causes a psychological pain on consumers so that they are more cautious in their spending. As it is, cashless payments have already eased that pain somewhat. Thus, an even more careless digital payment could make us much less thrift.

The idea of cashless society is a very real, or even an exciting one. However, to safeguard the interests of all users, it is better to soften our enthusiasm — perhaps to be a less-cash society rather than a completely cashless one is a more working option.