2 . The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was invented by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers. It is a self-report questionnaire indicating differing psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. The MBTI personality inventory (量表) sorts people into 16 type categories, each of which is represented by four-letter codes such as INFP and ESTJ. Every year, about 1.5 million people have enjoyed discovering their personality type by completing the MBTI. Many companies, as well as hundreds of universities, use it in hiring and training.

Nevertheless, the MBTI has received a noticeable criticism from the academic community. Some research suggests the MBTI is unreliable because the same person can get different results when retaking the test. Other studies have questioned the validity of the MBTI, which is the ability of the test to accurately link the “types” to outcomes in the real world -for example, how well people classified as a certain type will perform in a given job.

Merve Emre, a professor a Oxford University, points out that it would be more scientifically advisable to score the MBTI scales continuously to show people the degree to which they resemble the types. Even when the MBTI’s results don’t quite match your intuition (直觉) about yourself or are just wrong, they can still provide self-insight and insight into differences and similarities between people.

Scoring and interpreting the MBTI the way other personality inventories are scored and interpreted might be less fun than finding. All of the folklore (民间看法) about INFPs, ESTJs, etc. would have to be dismissed. But, in the end the MBTI is sufficiently reliable and valid enough to be useful in a number of real-world contexts.

4 . As more people move into their golden years, many families are welcoming their senior parents into their homes. While most seniors claim to prefer to age in their own homes, safety and health concerns don’t always make this possible.

If you are preparing to welcome a senior parent into your home, everyone will have an adjustment period. This type of move will have physical, emotional, and mental influences for the whole family. Here’re a few tips to help you open your heart and home to your senior parents.

You may be excited about having your senior parent move in, but that doesn’t mean they will share your enthusiasm. Being asked to move out of their own home can be very upsetting for your parents. So it’s important to be patient with them and allow them the time to adjust to their new environment.

It’s also important to give your parents a space of their own. Before you decide to bring a senior parent into your home, you need to consider if you have enough space for them.

Then, for adult children, offering a senior parent a safe home is a priority. Before moving, you will need to make some changes around your home to help your parents stay safe. For example, install grab bars in the bathroom, repair all stairways, add anti-slip mats to the kitchen and so on. And arm yourself with knowledge like First Aid courses.

In addition, your senior parent will be used to being in charge of their own home and is likely to feel like a bother as they begin to settle in your home. One effective way is to assign them a household responsibility. Ask your parents to look after the dog or cook a meal to make them feel like an active and important part of the family.

5 . How to Stop Spam Calls for Good

If you made a list of the little things that bothered you the most, phone call scams would no doubt be at the top. Telemarketers, or more often, automated robot-callers, have tricks for interrupting you at the worst possible moment.     1    

Fact is that robot-callers are never going to stop trying to reach you. Their schemes bring in hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of dollars annually. And unfortunately, older people are more likely to fall prey to these scams.     2    

Sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry

Your first move: Join the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry. You can get on the list by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register.     3     To date, the agency has taken 51 legal actions against companies and telemarketers, recovering $112 million.

Use spam-filtering apps and tech

    4     A spam-filtering app can give you a second layer of protection and is a good add-on to your overall smartphone security. The app’s makers maintain a large database of user-reported robocalls. When one of those numbers dials you, the app blocks the phone from ringing and informs you the call is spam. Genius!

    5    

You probably know that a caller who insists you owe money to the IRS or says you’ll be arrested if you don’t settle a debt is a scammer. But your 10-year-old kid and your older parents and grandparents may be tricked. And remember: Knowing how to stop spam calls is just one step toward avoiding scams; don’t forget to explain how to stop spam texts to your loved ones, too.

Eight months ago, Meng Hu, 27, quit her job as a flight attendant in Guangzhou, China. She is now working full-time as a live-streaming host on Taobao.

“I’ve been talking nonstop,” Hu said, laughing. “My throat gets really hoarse. You need to talk a lot, because your mood is contagious (有感染力的). Only when you talk     1     can you get your audience excited.”

Hu is part of a rising class of creators in China who are     2     to get in on live-stream shopping, an emerging form of retail that has grown into an industry worth an estimated $66 billion. Although the trend has been part of Chinese internet culture for years, analysts say the coronavirus pandemic has brought it mainstream.

Even the Chinese government has     3     its support, calling the industry the “new engine” of e-commerce growth and encouraging live-streaming as a solution to unemployment, which has risen     4     in China due to the pandemic.

Live-stream shopping is a combination of entertainment and e-commerce. Viewers buy goods online from people who show off their latest     5    --from lipstick to laundry detergent--in real-time videos. Many compare the concept to the TV shopping channel, but the Chinese model is     6     more modern, mobile and interactive. Hosts can give their fans discount coupons(优惠券) and flash     7     in real time, while viewers can click to send their favorite stars virtual “gifts.”

Part of the allure(吸引力) of     8     into this world is the prospect of a big payday. Brands routinely announce tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in sales in a single sitting. Top influencers can earn millions of dollars a year, according to Taobao. And even well-known business leaders are getting in on the act.

For people like Hu, the live-stream host in Guangzhou, the ongoing     9     presents both “a chance and a challenge.”

“Viewers might have doubled, but there’s probably about seven or eight times more new live-streamers now,” she estimated. “So many people like me have     10     live-streaming, and are selling products and doing the same thing.”

Lots of foreigners don’t understand why so many Chinese people are sorrowful about Yuan Longping’s passing away.

This reminds me     1     an issue more than 20 years ago,     2     I was a Chinese journalist in the US. Some American scholars     3     (think) China could hardly realize food-sufficiency because of the     4     (limit) water resources, decrease of agricultural land due to industrial     5     (expand) and the fast population growth. Just at that time, Yuan Longping announced breakthroughs in planting the new rice.     6     (bring) to large area application, this technique improved the annual growth of rice greatly, which fed     7     population of 60 million--equal to the whole of the UK.

Western scholars’ prediction of China back then was indeed analyzing China’s problems, but they failed     8     (realize) that the Chinese people have the capability to deal with these challenges.

If they had had any knowledge of Yuan who worked devotedly for our country, they wouldn’t have made such pessimistic evaluations. Why did the Chinese people make     9    ? Why are so many predictions about China in the West     10    (accurate)? It’s time to change minds to better understand China.

With the International Conference on Food Loss and Waste closed on Saturday in Jinan, Shandong Province, the country has sent a signal to     1     world that China will deal with issues concerning food security by reducing loss and waste in agriculture. With the theme of reducing food loss and food waste and promoting     2     (globe) food security, the three-day event     3     (hold) both online and offline attracted more than 300 participants.

The current world grain production is about 2.8 billion tons a year. Therefore, the loss of only one percentage     4     (be) equal to the loss of 28 million tons of food. This can feed about 70 million people.

In recent years, China     5     (make) great progress in controlling loss and waste in food, with main efforts including upgrading facilities and     6     (equip). In Shandong Province, China’s major grain producer, the Sinograin (中粮集团) grain storage site is equipped with 4,500 high-definition cameras and 280,000 temperature sensors     7     (ensure) that the stock (储备) is in the best condition. Data shows that during China’s 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) , about 13 million tons of food had been saved     8     (year) after production.

We cannot end hunger     9     we do not deal with the high levels of food loss and waste. Cooperation and innovations (创新) in business models, technologies and digital solutions could all contribute     10     reducing food loss and waste.

An article describing the attitude of post-1990s generations toward life has     1     ( recent ) become popular on Chinese social media. By using the phrase “ Buddha-like   youngsters ”（佛系青年）, the author     2     ( show ) that some of the post-90s generations have seen through life and kept     3     casual and calm attitude toward life. “They have become more casual and cared     4     ( little ) about life’s choices.”

“It is fine to have something or not, there is no need to fight for or win anything, and they are easy     5     ( satisfy ),” says the article. A classic example is that Buddha-like youngsters do not care about     6     ( choose ) what to eat or where to spend a holiday.

The phrase has been received well by netizens    7     it was first created. The original Wechat post has been read more than one million     8     ( time ) and then read more than 60 million on Sina Weibo till now.     9     ( it ) sudden appearance and quick popularity show that the post-90s generations are under great pressure. “ We should pay attention     10    their needs and create a suitable environment for them to develop,” says Xu Hua, professor of the School of Sociology and Political Science of Anhui University.