1 . Who says that being roommates with someone from a completely different generation has to be strange? Lately, more and more Americans are becoming intergenerational (代际的)roommates, and they’re changing the way people think they should be living.

Explained as those that are separated by at least one generation living together, there has been a major increase in intergenerational roommate arrangements (安排)within the United States since 1971. In fact, statistics show that this number has actually quadrupled (增长四倍)since then. In a Pew Research Center article, it shared that by March 2021, there were at least 59. 7 million Americans that had many generations living under one roof.

There are a ton of reasons that come into play for these types of arrangements. For some, it’s because of the increase in the average life-expectancy age(平均预期寿命), a decreased birth rate, a rise in college tuition, the ever rising rentals in almost every coastal city, and more. But if anything, many say that one main reason behind the rise is that older people have space to rent out and that having younger people around just makes them happier.

According to a 25-year-old robotics student living in Massachusetts, Nadia Abdullah, who moved in with her 64-year-old roommate Judith in 2019, “It was perfect——Judith has become like my family.”

Their arrangement was $700 a month from Nadia, plus the promise of her doing some help around the house. This also allowed Nadia to live just 6 miles from Boston and 30 minutes from her robotics job located in Beverly Mass. Nadia was matched with Judith through website, a renting center specifically created to find intergenerational roommates.

Another young renting center reviewer, Kaplan, also gave some opinions on the service and why it’s so special, saying, “Through this, I lived with Sarah while attending Harvard. She provided the type of knowledge you just can’t Google——showing me how to garden, how to cook fish, and add French Romanticism to life.”

3 . Every year around August, millions of teens take their parents to stores to buy new clothes for the start of the school year. Not every parent can afford this, and some teens are forced to go to school in the same clothes they wore last year. The obvious differences in clothes cause differences among students. There is a simple solution to this problem; school uniforms (校服).

I know from personal experience and surveys that wearing uniforms creates a sense of equality among peers (同龄人).

From sixth grade until I graduated from senior high school, I attended a school that required students to wear uniforms. The uniform was very simple: dark brown shoes, green-brown pants, and a white shirt. The uniform left little room for any kind of self-expression, especially through clothes.

However, I learned how to stand out by expressing myself through my personality, art, and sports. I did not know I could draw until the sixth grade. I also would never have learned of my musical abilities if it hadn’t been for my desire to find ways to express myself. Uniforms taught me that I was myself, except what I wore.

Uniforms also contribute to a much safer learning environment. I remember a particular event that happened in my junior high school. A man ran away from prison and wanted to hide in the gym of our school. Luckily, cameras all over the school quickly found the stranger before any danger could ever happen as he was out of place. School officials kept the man locked inside our gym until the police came to take him back to prison.

Uniforms help provide a better educational experience for all students no matter what race, culture, or economic class (经济阶层). In closing, wearing uniforms is good for both schools and students.

6 . Buying clothes for special events, hiding the price tickets and returning them to the store the next day has for years been the method of money-saving shoppers. Today people are doing it just for social media.

A survey conducted by the credit card company Barclaycard showed that nearly one in ten UK shoppers admits to buying clothing only to post photos on social media for likes. After the “outfit (装束) of the day” (OOTD) makes it online, they return it back to the store. According to Barclaycard, the “try before you buy” policy of online retailers (零售商) — where people pay for clothing they order online after they try it on at home — could be leading to this rising trend.

But the rise of social media means that everyone, not just superstars, expects to build and maintain a personal brand. Since we’re recording our lives and posting them online for public judgement, getting caught in the same outfits more than once should be avoided. And the cost of all those outfits of the day adds up, which makes returning a popular way.

There are brands that make clothes specially for social media shoppers, like Fashion Nova. “These are clothes made for social media: meant to be worn once, photographed and abandoned,” Allison P. Davis wrote in her report about the brand. Another favourite of the social media age is Rent the Runway, which lets customers rent designer clothing for a fee.

Some, however, are moving in the opposite direction. Groups promoting “work uniforms” have increased greatly in recent years, aiming to free women from “the trouble of clothing decisions”. The concept of the “capsule wardrobe (胶囊衣橱)”, which calls for purchasing a small number of high-quality pieces instead of lots of trendy throwaway clothes, is also making a comeback.

8 . Moving to a new neighborhood, town, state, or even country can be a pretty scary experience. All you know is that things will be different and chances are you won’t know the kids at your new school.

Leaving old friends and familiar places behind can be difficult. However, as you begin the moving process, keep in mind that saying goodbye to your old house, school, and friends does not mean that you have to forget them or that your farewell is permanent! If you’re moving to a new state or even a different country and won’t see your friends for a long time, don’t despair. Make sure to ask everyone for their address so you can write to them. Also, thanks to the Internet, it is very easy to stay in touch through email or instant messaging technology. With your parent’s permission, you can even create a blog or web page to chronicle all of your new experiences. Your old friends will love seeing what you are busy with.

Many schools have an orientation program where a student already established at the school show a new student around for their first week. This can help you to find your way around the school and to make new friends faster.

While moving is tough on kids of any age, high school counselor Karen Turner says moves can be particularly difficult for teens. “I think moving during adolescents is an extremely stressful experience, especially if you are into your junior high or senior year. Students tend to have established a very strong peer network during that period in their lives. Often this has more influence on them even than their familiar in some cases, and when they are torn from that there’s often resentment(怨气).” However, Turner adds that while moving isn’t easy, there are things that your parents and the school can do to help you cope with the change.

9 . I once stopped behind several cars, waiting at the red light. The wind blew fiercely. Ahead of me stood a young woman alongside the street rubbing her bare hands together and dancing to keep ______. Beside her rested a sign that read, “I have a baby and no food.”

Homeless and unemployed people are a ______ sight in many of our large cities, and most people drive by without ______ assistance. No doubt they have been taught that giving them money develops a dependent ______, or that the cash may be used to buy alcohol ______ the food it was intended for. Like me, they may have been taught that one should give money to a local charity, as these organizations can ______ those in need far more effectively

As I waited for the light to turn green, I felt ______ about that woman. She was obviously in need. And whether or not she actually had a baby really didn’t ______. What should I do?

Should I give her money?As I ______, the window of the car in front of me was ______ down and a hand reached out holding a pair of warm gloves. The driver ______ her own gloves and gave them to the woman. I saw the young woman ______ the words “Thank you” and a broad smile lit up her face.

As I was wondering, somebody else ______. As I tried to decide the best way to help, somebody else just did what she could. I made myself a(n) ______ that day to always do something. Whether it is big or small, just do something.

Something is almost always better than nothing!Too often we underestimate(低估)the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the ______ to turn a life around.

10 . Chinese consumers have said they will avoid eating Japanese seafood over safety concerns once Japan starts releasing (排放) nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.

On July 7, the General Administration of Customs released an import (进口) ban on aquatic products from the 10 Japanese cities. It’s indicated that Japan’s plan to release polluted wastewater into the sea was a matter of global concern. The plan caused more Chinese consumers who eat seafood began to worry about their safety, according to the administration.

According to a survey in 2022 by Chinese market consultancy company iiMedia Research, 39.58 percent of participants eat Japanese seafood once every two or three weeks.

“I will not eat seafood imported from Japan anymore,” said a data engineer surnamed Wang in Shanghai. The 42-year-old has been a fan of Japanese food since 2000 and used to eat Japanese food once a month. “If I have other options, I will choose seafood that does not come from the Pacific Ocean,” he added.

Wang Qian, a financial employee in Beijing, said she has been to about 20 Japanese restaurants so far. “Normally, I would not pay attention to where the seafood came from. But now I will try not to choose seafood from Japan,”she said. “Wastewater poses a threat to human health and marine ecology.”

Wang Qian said that Japan should use other methods to solve the problem, rather than releasing nuclear wastewater into the ocean.

An employee of the Japanese restaurant Jiubanwu, in Beijing, who did not want to be named, told China Daily that the restaurant’s fish and shrimp are imported from Russia, France and other countries. “We have not been buying seafood from Japan since April,” she said.

In addition to food safety, some people are worried about using cosmetic (美容的) products made in Japan.