1 . China has set new rules limiting the amount of time children can play online games. The rules limit children to just three hours of online game playing a week. That is one hour between 8 p. m. and 9 p. m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday most weeks.

Li Zhanguo has two children aged 4 and 8. Even though they do not have smartphones, they enjoy playing online games. Like many other parents. Li is happy with new government rules. But experts say it is unclear if such policies can help prevent addiction to online games. Children might just get addicted to social media instead. In the end, experts say, parents should be the ones to set limits and support good practice.

There has been a growing concern in China about gaming addiction among children. Government reports in 2018 found that about one in ten Chinese children were addicted to the Internet. The new rules are part of an effort to prevent young people from spending too much time on unhealthy entertainment. That includes what officials call the “irrational fan culture”

Under the new rules, the responsibility for making sure children play only three hours a day as largely on Chinese gaming companies like Net Ease and Ten cent. Companies have set up real-name registration systems to prevent young users from going past game time limits. They have used facial recognition technology to check their identities. And they have also set up a program that permits people to report what is against the law. It is unclear what punishments gaming companies may face if they do not carry out the policies. And even if such policies are performed, it is also unclear whether they can prevent online addiction.

A specialist treating Internet addiction expects about 20 percent of children will find ways to break the rules by borrowing accounts of their older relatives and find a way around facial recognition. In his opinion, short-video alps such as Douyin and Kuaishou are also very popular in China. They are not under the same restrictions as games.

In any major Indian city, people are seen with an arm outstretched, mobile phone in hand,     1     (smile) widely and clicking away. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi is said     2     (love) the selfie (自拍), posting pictures online that he has taken with     3     (variety) world leaders.

But the pursuit of selfie can sometimes have deadly consequences. India is home to     4     highest number of people who have died while taking photos of     5     (they), with 19 of the world’s 49 recorded selfie-linked deaths since 2014.

    6    (early) this month, an 18-year-old college student on a class picnic lost his balance while taking a selfie on top of a rock near a dam. He fell into the water and drowned, along with a classmate     7     jumped in to save him.

Since then, the Indian government     8     (declare) 16 no-selfie zones across Mumbai, warning people    9    taking unnecessary risks. Police have declared “no selfie” in areas considered to be    10    (risk)—particularly along the coastline in spots with no railings or fences. Anyone coming into “no selfie” areas even if they take no photos, will risk a fine of 1,200 rupees ($17.50).

3 . Small talk has a reputation for being uninteresting, and for good reason. Pointing out the fact that it’s raining seems as ridiculous as pointing out the fact that you have a head—you’re fully aware of both things, and don’t require an outsider to confirm them. But despite being evident and often painfully dull, small talk has an important role to fulfil, enabling us to leap over a number of social obstacles towards improved, meaningful interaction.

Humans can be sensitive souls. We each have our boundaries and lists of potential upsets, which when broken, cause us to either gently back away to an alternative position in the room, or become cross at the person. Small talk is first a way to test the waters with an unfamiliar person, so that you may better understand their personality. When finding yourself positioned closely to a person who you know little about, it’s much safer to point out the rainy sky than to share your political views on a sensitive topic. Until you know the person better, heavier topics should probably be kept under wraps, so you won’t find yourself on the receiving end of a cold stare.

Though insignificant, small talk still has great power. When talking with fellow humans, much of our soul is exposed through non-verbal communication. A response to “how was your weekend” can unveil much about the person’s character. The length of their response might indicate their level of self-confidence; the tone of speaking might show how agreeable a person is; their slightly lowered head, as if protecting themselves from attack, a possible sign of a regrettable history of bullying.

As more of a person’s character is revealed, we have the insight needed to determine whether to broach more significant topics—the things that we actually want to talk about. Conversation is a great educator, and deep conversation establish lasting bonds with our fellow humans, forming precious friendships that paint our lives with vibrant colors. Such friendships begin with small talk.

6 . Students perform less well in final exams if smartphones are allowed in class, for non-academic (非学业的) purposes in lectures, a new study in Educational Psychology finds. Students who don’t use smartphones themselves but attend lectures where their use is acceptable also do worse, suggesting that smartphone use damages the group learning environment.

Researchers from Rutgers University in the US performed an in-class experiment to test whether dividing attention between smartphones and the lecturer during the class affected students’ performance in within-lecture tests and a final exam. 118 students at Rutgers University took part in the experiment during one term of their course. Smartphones were not allowed in half of the lectures and allowed in the other half. When smartphones were allowed, students were asked to record whether they had used them for non-academic purposes during the lecture.

The study found that having a smartphone didn’t lower students’ scores in comprehension tests within lectures, but it did lower scores in the final exam by at least 5%, or half a grade. This finding shows for the first time that the main effect of divided attention in the classroom is on the length of time in keeping memory, with fewer things of a study task later remembered. In addition, when the use of smartphones was allowed in class, performance was also poorer for students who did not use them as well as for those who did.

The study’s lead author, Professor Arnold Glass, added: “These findings should alarm students and teachers that dividing attention is having a not obvious but harmful effect that is damaging their exam performance and final grade. To help manage the use of smartphones in the classroom, teachers should explain to students the alarming effect—not only for themselves, but for the whole class.”

This is the first-ever study in an actual classroom showing a relationship between losing attention from smartphones and exam performance. However, more researches are required to see how students are affected by using smartphones after school.

7 . Ever since I graduated from high school I've worked in the factories surrounding my hometown every summer. However, making the transformation between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier. For a student like me who considers any class before noon to be unacceptable, getting to a factory by 6 o'clock each morning is suffering. My friends never seem to understand why I'm so relieved to be back at school or that my summer vacation has been anything but a vacation.

There are few people as self-confident as a college student who has never been out in the real world. People of my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge. In fact, all the classes did not prepare me for my battles with the machine I ran in the plant, which would jam whenever I absent-mindedly put in a part backward or upside down.

The most stressful thing about blue-collar life is knowing your job could disappear over night. Issues like being laid off and overseas relocation had always seemed distant to me until my co-workers told me that the unit I was working in would shut down within six months and move to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents an hour.

After working 12-hour shifts (轮班) in a factory, the other optionshave become only too clear. " This job pays well, but it's hell on the body, " said one co-worker. " Study hard and keep reading. " she added. When I'm back at the university, skipping classes and turning in lazy re-writes seems too irresponsible after seeing what I would be doing without school. All the advice and public-service announcements about the value of an education that used to sound stale (陈腐的) now ring true.

My experiences in the factories have inspired me to make the most of my college years before I enter the real world for good.

8 . Rich and Famous

Twenty years ago the most common ambition of American children was to be a teacher, followed by working in banking and finance, and then medicine. But today’s situation is quite different.     1     Instead they most commonly say they want to be a sports star, a pop star, or an actor—in other words, they hope to become a celebrity .

According to experts, young people desire these jobs largely because of the wealth and the fame.     2     Let’s take athletes and singers as an example. Their careers are short-lived. Many athletes’ best time only lasts a few years and singers can have a very limited career. The field that was once the focus of their lives becomes something they have little or no involvement in. As a result, they’ll have a feeling of worthlessness and a lack of control.     3    The truth is quite simple: they have been so far removed from it for so long.

In spite of these disadvantages, there is greater ambition than ever among young people to achieve that status. They are not satisfied just making a living—they want to be rich and famous. Globally, more and more TV shows provide talent competitions where winners can achieve their goals in just a few weeks or months.    4    They unrealistically believe that this lifestyle is easily obtained and leads to great satisfaction.

While many people argue that there is nothing wrong with having such ambitions, others feel that this trend will finally lead to dissatisfaction as more and more people are unable to reach their goals.     5     That means they ignore the simple fact that great effort is needed before success. As a result, many people won’t realize their childhood dreams, which could have a negative effect on their happiness.

9 . If you’ve ever had trouble getting your teen up in the morning or you’ve seen your teen fall asleep during the school day, you’re not alone. Many teens have difficulty in waking up early for school, and that’s because they sleep late at night.

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Adolescent Sleep Working Group reviewed studies about sleep in teens. Researchers studied the harmful effects of not getting enough sleep-anything less than 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep on school nights-could have on young people. They discovered not getting enough sleep may cause poor grades at school. Not getting enough sleep has also been connected to a higher risk of car accidents in teens.

It may seem as though the way to solve the problem would be for teens to just go to sleep earlier. But researchers say that isn’t likely to work. Teens experience physical changes that make falling asleep earlier difficult. Their biological (生物的) clocks just won't allow them to fall asleep at 8 p.m., even when they’re tired.

Studies have shown that just delaying (推迟) school by 30 minutes can have a great effect on a teen's health and performance. So most researchers suggest the school start time be delayed until at least 8:30 a.m. for teenagers.

Some of the benefits could include:

·Teens may be more likely to get the necessary amount of sleep.

·The delayed start time could help teens sleep during their natural sleep.

·Teens may be less likely to depend on coffee to stay awake during the day.

·Enough sleep could help teens study better in class, which could help them do better in exams.

·Sleeping longer could reduce health problems caused by a lack of sleep in the long run.

·Getting home later in the afternoon may reduce the amount of time when some teens are home alone, and could reduce the possibility that tens will take part in unhealthy activities.

But doing that can also cause some problems.

How do we help kids make wise choices about their money? Anne Kersten,     1     Financial teacher in America, says that she starts it by opening an ongoing dialogue. Kersten leads two workshops     2    (design) for families. Both are values-based money management workshops     3     provide parents with tools and talking points on how to share, save and spend money     4    (wise). Children who attend the workshop receive either a blue piggy bank     5     a Cash Cache(贮存物).

Long before Kersten began teaching other people’s kids about wise money management, she taught her own daughters. When her daughters     6    (be) only 4 and 5 years old, they each received a small allowance(零用钱) to learn how to share, save and spend. “Saving is important because it helps mentally prepare for long-term     7    (goal),” Kersten says, adding that her daughters knew they would be responsible for a part of their college fee. After spending a term     8    (study) abroad, Kersten’s older daughter graduated     9     college last year. She used scholarships(奖学金) along with her savings     10    (help) pay her way. Kersten’s younger daughter saved enough to cover her fee and she will graduate debt-free in 2020.