1 . Reading for pleasure can be an important and enjoyable childhood activity. Unlike listening and spoken language, which develop rapidly and easily in young children, reading is a taught skill and is acquired and developed through specific learning over time. Until now it has been unclear what effect—if any—encouraging children to read from an early age will have on their brain development, cognition(认知) and mental health later in life.

To find out this, researchers from the universities of the UK and China looked at data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) groups in the US. Of the 10,243 participants studied, just under a half had little experience of reading for pleasure or did not begin doing so until later in their childhood. The remaining half had spent between three and ten years reading for pleasure.

The team found a strong link between reading for pleasure at an early age and a positive performance in adolescence on cognitive tests that measured such factors as verbal learning, memory and speech development, and at-school academic achievement. These children also had better mental health, when assessed using a number of clinical scores and reports from parents and teachers, showing fewer signs of stress and depression, as well as improved attention and fewer behavioral problems such as aggression and rule-breaking.

Children who began reading for pleasure earlier also tended to spend less screen time—for example, watching TV or using their smartphone or tablet—during the week and at weekends in their adolescence, and also tended to sleep longer.

The best amount of reading for pleasure as a young child was around 12 hours per week. Beyond this, there appeared to be no additional benefits. Instead, there was a gradual decrease in cognition, which the researchers say may be because they are sedentary and spend little time on other activities that could be cognitively improving, including sports and social activities.

4 . Plastics have been found from the top of Mount Qomolangma to newly-formed beaches in Hawaii. The amount of plastic in our environment is shocking. What can we do about it? I’m inspired by Kate Nelson, who has lived without using single-use plastic for over ten years. Kate is also the founder of Sea the Mermaids, an organization focusing on stopping human-sourced ocean pollution through education and community action.

She recently wrote an inspiring and practical guidebook I Quit Plastics: and you can too, which is full of information and tips on how to cook, clean, shop, wear and live plastic-free. Upon first opening, you will see a recipe for Cashew Cheese that looks amazing! Not only does this book provide many delicious recipes, but also explores interesting problems about plastic pollution.

For example, Kate explores the problems about plastics and social justice, including plastic privilege(特权). She points out that wealthier countries, such as the USA, export their plastic waste to Southeast Asia, but many of these countries cannot process their own waste. In addition, most of the affordable food, though processed and unhealthy, is heavily packaged in plastic. People that live in “food deserts” in cities and depend on corner stores have no choice when it comes to avoiding plastics. Kate writes in the book, “Not everyone will have bulk (散装) food stores or farmers’ markets near where they live.”

Kate’s writing is easy to read without sounding preachy (说教的). Her explanations and reasoning are clear. From food to beauty to cleaning, Kate’s practical recipes and tips make it easy for everyone to reduce their chances of using single-use plastic. She develops effective strategies that others can easily adopt and offers clear steps to help people improve on the plastic quifting journey.