1 . There are a lot of names for people who travel the world—backpackers, tourists, explorers, travelers. Labels (标签) are everywhere but seem especially popular among travelers trying to differentiate (区别) their style of travel. For many travelers, these labels make them feel better over another.

Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods once said, “Please be a traveler, not a tourist. Try new things, meet new people, and look beyond what’s right in front of you. Those are the keys to understanding this amazing world we live in.” The idea here is that travelers are better at exploring the world than tourists. They dig deep into the culture, drink it up, and get to know a place while a tourist takes pictures and declares to have “done Paris.”

But that’s wrong, we are all tourists.

On the road, backpackers love to talk about how real their travels are and how unreal tourists are. “Look at those tourists over there,” they say. They scoff at others who travel too quickly or to places that they think are not well worth visiting. Nevertheless, they do so while eating hamburgers and drinking beers with other travelers.

The only way to really get to know a place deeply is to live there. If you want to live like a local, find an apartment, get a job, go to work, and do the same things as you did back home.

We are all only passing through a culture, getting a small taste before moving on to the next place. Even if we stay weeks or months, we’re just getting in touch with the surface. As a matter of fact, we are all really just tourists, or explorers, or travelers. Call yourself whatever you want—it’s all the same as we’re all trying to do the same thing—see the world.

So don’t label anyone and don’t let anyone label you. We’re all tourists. We’re all travelers. What we are all doing is more important than what we call ourselves. Let’s just enjoy the fact that we are simply people on the road.

3 . The first “mobile phone sidewalk in China” has appeared at a scenic spot in Chongqing. The sidewalk， 3 meters wide and 50 meters long, was built in the Yangrenjie Scenic Spot. It separates pedestrians along two path ways. One is for cell phone users to walk on; the other is for those without cell phones.

A warning sign shows: Cell phones walk in this lane at your own risk. “In my mind, these sidewalks help a lot in minimizing security risks for mobile phone addicts,” said Wang Li, a local resident who doesn't use a mobile phone often. Cases of mobile phone users being injured while using their phones and ignoring their surroundings have been reported by the media. Tourists who were attracted to the sidewalk took photos of it. But many did not comply with the regulation, and someone even parked a car on the sidewalk.

Li Zhijiang, a 20-year-old college student from Guizhou, regarded the sidewalk as great progress. “I knew there were such sidewalks in Washington central business district, which are very necessary for the addicts, especially in the busy streets,” Li said. Anthony Edwards. a 28-year-old actor from England, was enthusiastic, saying it was an improvement over his home country. However, his Chinese colleague, Xing Xing, thought the sidewalk was “pointless, but added an acknowledgement.”Setting up special sidewalks could be a solution to reducing security problems in particular situations. But this kind of sidewalk is not a fundamental solution and could be negative for mobile phone addicts in the long run in my mind and this could even lead to more problems in the future.

With the increasing popularity of smart phones, more young people in China are addicted to them, a problem that worries many experts. It is estimated that the number of smart phone users in China will be more than 500 million this year.

5 . Empathy (同理心) is one of those strange qualities — something almost everyone wants, but few know how to truly give or receive it. In a world where self-satisfaction is emphasized, it is in short supply but high demand. This is all the more reason to teach the next generation what it means to have empathy for those around them.

What Is Empathy? — Many people confuse sympathy and empathy, but they are two distinct values. Empathy is not just the ability to understand someone's feelings; criminals often take advantage of people by appearing to understand their feelings and subsequently gaining their trust. Empathy is more than that. Not only is it the ability to recognize how someone feels, but it also values and respects the feelings of another person. It means treating others with kindness, dignity, and understanding.

Kids Need To See Adults Show Empathy — While some children are gifted with naturally kind hearts, in most cases kids need to see empathy modeled by the adults around them. It begins with the way parents relate to their children. Parents who show an interest in the things that matter to their kids and respond to emotions in a positive and caring way are teaching the skill of empathy.

Meet Emotional Needs — When children have their emotional needs met, two things happen. They learn how to meet the emotional needs of others and they are anchored in what they are receiving, meaning that they are secure enough to give to others when the need arises but first they need to receive. An empty jug cannot fill a cup.

It's a good idea to talk to kids about emotions and how other people experience them. Give their emotions names (for example, jealousy, anger, and love) and teach them that these are normal. Talk to them about how to handle emotions in a positive way and point out situations where other people are experiencing emotions. Teach them about respecting the emotions of others and show them how to act in a situation where a response is required.

6 . Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16 - year - old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.

“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”

Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.

Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent - child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue into adulthood.

No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”

But family experts warm that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents. “There's still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”

Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic process that encourages everyone to have a say.

“My parents were on the "before' side of that change, but today's parents, the 40 - year - olds, were on the ‘after’' side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It's not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”

9 . Summer heat can be dangerous, and heat leads to tragedy far too often. According to Kidsandcars Organization, an average of 37 young children per year die of car heat in the US, when they are accidentally left in a hot vehicle.

For Bishop Curry, a fifth grader from McKinney, Texas, one such incident hit close to home. A six-month-old baby from his neighborhood died after hours in a hot car. After hearing about her death, Curry decided that something needed to be done. Young Curry drew up a sketch(草图) of a device he called "Oasis."

The device would be attached to car seats and watch the temperature inside the car. If it reached a certain temperature in the car, and the device sensed a child in the car seat, it would begin to circulate cool air. Curry also designs the device using GPS and Wi-Fi technology, which would alarm the child's parents and, if there was no response from them, the police.

Curry's father believes that the invention has potential. "The cool thing about Bishop's thinking is none of this technology is new," he said. "We feel like the way he's thinking and combining all these technologies will get to production faster." His father even introduced the device to Toyota, where he works as an engineer.

In January, Curry's father launched a campaign for the invention. They hope to raise money to finalize the patent, build models, and find a manufacturer. They have raised more than twice that--over $46,000.

"I was so proud of him for thinking of a solution," the father said. "We always just complain about things and rarely offer solutions."