2 . This question has fascinated behavioural scientists for decades: why do we give money to charity?

The explanations for charitable giving fall into three broad categories, from the purely altruisic (利他的)— I donate because I value the social good done by the charity. The “impurely” altruistic— I donate because I extract value from knowing I contribute to the social good for the charity. And the not-at-all altruistic— I donate because I want to show off to potential mates how rich I am.

But are these motives strong enough to enable people to donate as much as they would want to? Most people support charities in one way or another, but often we struggle to make donations as often as we think we should. Although many people would like to leave a gift to charity in their will, they forget about it when the time comes.

Many people are also aware that they should donate to the causes that have the highest impact, but facts and figures are less attractive than narratives. In a series of experiments, it was found that people are much more responsive to charitable pleas that feature a single, identifiable beneficiary(受益者), than they are to statistical information about the scale of the problem being faced. When it comes to charitable giving, we are often ruled by our hearts and not our heads.

The good news is that charitable giving is contagious—seeing others give makes an individual more likely to give and gentle encouragement from an important person in your life can also make a big difference to your donation decisions— more than quadrupling them in our recent study. Habit also plays a part— in three recent experiments those who volunteered before were more likely to do donate their time than those who had not volunteered before.

In summary, behavioural science identifies a range of factors that influence our donations, and can help us to keep giving in the longer term. This is great news not just for charities, but also for donors.

4 . Pullman is a superb writer and Seagull is a brilliant communicator. They had a debate after Seagull posted a question on his social media platform: “When you were trying to create an environment for learning, what were your best pieces of classical music to listen to?” He received hundreds of suggestions — and one negative reply, from Pullman: “That’s not what classical music is for. Treat it with respect.”

That did it! Everyone — professional musicians, students, teachers — weighed into the argument, and the majority supported Seagull and were criticizing Pullman.

It’s easy to see why people are annoyed. We all want classical music to be as accessible as possible, especially to the young. If some of them are using Bach or Schubert as a tool to help them study, what’s the problem? They may also develop an attachment to classical music.

So is Pullman ridiculous and supercilious by objecting to classical music being used as background music? At first sight, his idea seems stuffy and extreme. By suggesting that classical music should be “treated with respect” and not used as background music, Pullman seems to be closing classical music of to millions of people.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that he isn’t the first to express concerns about classical music being devalued by becoming too commonplace in today’s technologically shaped world. In Benjamin Britten’s 1964 speech, the composer expressed exactly the same worries as Pullman. Britten suggested, “The true musical experience demands some preparation, some effort, a journey to a special place, saving up for a ticket, some homework perhaps”. In short, it demands as much effort from listeners as from composers and performers.

I don’t agree with such an extreme viewpoint, but I do think it touches on a reality. You will never fully grasp the beauty of classical music if you half-hear it only in the background. That doesn’t necessarily matter. Music can be enjoyed on many levels. What Pullman and Britten are really saying is that, in a drive for “accessibility”, we shouldn’t deny the emotional and intellectual complexity underpinning (构成) much classical music.

7 . The Internet is a global network, which allows digital information to travel around the world. Let’s view some most popular uses of the Internet.

Information search

We search for information every day.     1    . Search engines then provide us with valuable and useful data, information and knowledge at any time, instantly upon our request.

    2    

One of the most significant and popular use of the Internet is email. Email is a common thing that a majority of people check after they have logged (登录) on to the Internet.     3    . Besides the email, today, there are many other online tools and online chat software apps for audio and video chat.

Online shopping

    4    . In the beginning, many people didn’t have trust in the e-commerce website, but that has changed over time. Now we can order anything like clothing, fashion accessories, machines, books, technology things and so on without visiting physical stores.

Education

The Internet plays an important role in effectively shaping today’s school education process. It has the availability and the quality of learning for many students. They can study what they want and whenever they feel the most productive.     5    .

We are witnessing the rise of informal education where college graduates have online access and can sharpen their skills and get faster progress in a specific field.

9 . “Beijing’s Forbidden City can be at risk of being flooded, but it’s not because modern technologies and repairs have deteriorated the drainage (排水) system,” Beijing News Radio reported.

The report is in response to a popular online view: The Forbidden City, the royal palace of Ming and Qing dynasties also known as the Palace Museum, has never been flooded throughout its history of more than 600 years.

Earlier, a video showed ankle-deep water near the Forbidden City’s Cining Palace, where the royal women used to live. Some netizens have questioned whether modern drainage repair works have made the system much weaker.

Di Yajing, an official in control of affairs relating to the site, told Beijing News Radio that the Forbidden City has a complex (复杂的) drainage system. “Rain coming down from roofs was guided to the basement and then to the drains,” she said, adding that rainwater would flow from the central of the palace to both sides, and from north to south, due to differences in heights.

“The drains were cleared once a year in springtime in ancient times and nowadays they are cleared three times a year except in winter,” the report said. “Although the number of clearing increased every year, it’s not modern technology that worsened the ability of the drainage system,” the report said. During the clearing process, workers found lots of modern objects such as plastic bottles and bags, even towels and clothing, and these things resulted in the blocking of the drainage system.

In addition, there are plenty of records that have recorded occasions in which the palace was flooded and some roofs or walls were damaged by floodwaters, according to the report. For example, a rain in 1885 led to floodwaters of about 1 meter deep. Every time people would have to find out the place of blockage, clear it and then the drainage system would work well right away.

10 . Movie stars might think their lives are private after leaving the acting location, but they ought to know that they have much power over their audience. The power gives them an ability to change people, events, even history, making them to have the responsibility of being good role models.

With time going on, movie stars become celebrities (名人) and in the process get a large number of fans. Some of them follow their deeds, dress, and act like them. In reality, they want to be like their favorite movie stars. If a movie star engages in acts that the society does not approve, those who look up to them, especially the teens, will do the same. Movie stars should be responsible for what they do and say as following the actions is now simpler because of social media. It is important to behave like a role model even when they think no one is watching.

Nobody is perfect, and movie stars also have had their down moments. They may not have been good role models at the time, but they can change the narrative by doing the right things. They can also turn the past shortcomings into positives by opening up about problems and how they overcame the challenges. And their audience can learn to discuss their problems and seek help.

People starring in movies are the target of companies to promote their products or services for a fee. Their celebrity status is a reason enough to think beyond the payment. A movie star should not recommend something that will influence the way teens live negatively. It would be wrong to promote something like sweetened drinks or foods without health benefits. Movie stars face problems like other people, but because of their influence, they have a responsibility to be role models in the public eye.