Whether to Study at Home or Abroad

“Radish knives” have become a hot-sale product in shops near schools. They are also a hot-sale product online. So far more than 400, 000 “radish knives”     1     (sell) online.

The rising popularity of these toys has raised worries among parents about their possibility to lead     2     violence (暴力) among teenagers, reported a local news outlet called Shunwang in Jinan, Shandong province.

A radish knife is a colorful plastic toy that looks just like a radish. It is made of plastic, and usually 5 centimeters in     3     (long). If a radish knife is pushed against the skin too hard, kids may get     4     (injure). Parents are confused about its popularity. “My daughter brought one home yesterday. She told me that it helped     5     (she) to reduce stress,” a parent told Shunwang.

“Playing with a toy knife may have     6     bad effect on children’s health,” said Yang Si-fan,     7     is an official at Chongqing Normal University. Children may pretend     8     (use)a toy knife to cut others after watching similar actions from movies and TV shows. Parents should be responsible for     9     (choose) suitable toys for their kids. If people find nearby stores selling these dangerous toys, they should report it to the government     10     (immediate). Toys like radish knives shouldn’t be allowed to be brought into schools.

3 . There is growing interest in East Japan Railway Co. ltd, one of the six companies, created out of the privatized national railway system. In an industry lacking exciting growth ________, its plan to use real-estate assets in and around train stations ________ is drawing interest.

In a plan called “Station Renaissance” that it ________ in November, JR East said that it would ________ using its commercial spaces for shops and restaurants, extending them to ________ more suitable for the information age. It wants train stations as pick-up ________ for such goods as books, flowers and groceries ________ over the Inter. In a country where city ________ depend heavily on trains ________ commuting, about 16 million people a day go to its train stations anyway, the company ________. So, picking up commodities at train stations ________ consumers extra travel and missed home deliveries. JR East already has been using its station ________ stores for this purpose, but it plans to create ________ spaces for the delivery of Inter goods.

The company also plans to introduce ________ cards—known in Japan as IC cards because they use integrated circuit for ________ information ________ train tickets and muter passes ________ the magic ones used today, integrating them into a/an ________ pass. This will save the company money, because ________ for IC cards are much less expensive than magic systems. Increased use of IC cards should also ________ the space needed for ticket vending.

4 . Sending a thumbs-up can be seen as passive aggressive(冒犯的), according to Gen Z (those born between 1995 and 2009) who say they feel attacked whenever it is used. Whether the chat is informal, between friends or at work the symbol appears to have a very different, ‘rude’ meaning for the younger generation.

A 24-year-old on Reddit summed up the Gen Z argument, saying it is best ‘never used in any situation’ as it is ‘hurtful’. “No one of my age in the office does it, but the Gen X (those born between 1966 and 1980) people always do it. Take me a bit to adjust and get it out of my head that it means they’re mad-at me,” he added. Other young people agreed it is bad form, especially at work where it can make the team appear unfriendly and not easygoing.

“My last workplace had a WhatsApp chat for our team to send information to each other on, and most of the people on there just replied with a thumbs up. I don’t know why but it seemed a little bit hostile to me,” one woman said. One Reddit user also said the thumbs up actually means that “I’ve read your message and have nothing to add and I hope and pray...all the people in this group chat have nothing to say on it too.”

Older workers appear confused by the reaction, saying they use the thumbs up in work-related chats to show “I agree” or “I understood and will follow.”

Part of the issue is that young people tend to use the thumbs-up in jokes. Barry Kennedy, 24, he said he only used it to communicate with older people like his parents or older colleagues. A survey of 2, 000 people conducted by Perspectus Global showed that a majority of people between the ages of 16 and 29 believe that you are “officially old” if you use thumbs-up or heart emoji.

6 . From chicken feet socks to green fish head masks, from sad frog toys to dinosaur costumes, “ugly” products have become popular among young people.

On the social media platform Douban, there is a group called Protection of Ugly Things with more than 200, 000 members. They post “ugly things” they see and buy in daily life. Many of the comments below the posts are “cute” and “the more I look at it, the more I love it”.

Some museums have also followed the trend and produced many “ugly” but impressive cultural and creative products. For example, on June 14, the Gansu Provincial Museum brought out a stuffed toy. It’s based on its famous bronze sculpture, known as Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow.

The toy recreates the details of the sculpture in a cute and cartoon style. The horse puts on a crooked smile, standing on a chubby green bird. This makes the toy “more fashionable and more fun”, so it can connect with ordinary people, the museum said.

In fact, some of the “ugly” products can also be useful. Yin Peixin, 11, from Hubei, has a cabbage dog toy. Unlike others, she doesn’t find it ugly. “It’s a creative design to mix cabbage with a dog. The toy makes me feel better when I’m upset. It also serves as a mini pillow to help me have a good sleep, ” said Yin.

According to Zhang Lei, a professor at Zhejiang University of Technology, the rise in the popularity of ugly things means that young people want to show that they’re different. Suffering from tiredness of “perfect” items, they hope to get pleasure and a new taste of life from something a little more “ugly”.

7 . Although social media can be enjoyable and beneficial, online relationships simply cannot replace real life connection. But simply being in the flesh with someone does not make a lasting, meaningful relationship, which got me thinking: what, exactly, does? My search to answer this question took me back more than 2,000 years to Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics. What I found couldn’t be more insightful, and it rings just as true today as it must have then.

Aristotle writes that there are three different kinds of friendship:

FRIENDSHIPS BASED ON UTILITY, in which one or both of the parties gain something as a result of the friendship (think: much of the modern “networking” enterprise, or becoming friends with someone because you think they can help you).

FRIENDSHIPS BASED ON PLEASURE, or those centered around pleasant experiences (think: people with whom you can have a good, carefree time).

FRIENDSHIPS BASED ON VIRTUE, in which both individuals share the same values (think: people whom you admire and respect, and with whom you share what you find most important in life).

It’s fascinating that, centuries ago, Aristotle offered that many individual often pursue friendships primarily for utility. And it’s easy to see that some things never change.

Likewise, he wrote, “Those who love because of what is good for themselves, and those who love because of pleasure do so because of what is pleasant to themselves. Yet what one finds useful or pleasurable, is not permanent but is always changing; thus, when the reason for the friendship is done away, the friendship is dissolved.”

It’s OK to have some friendships mainly for utility and pleasure, but it’s important to realize that these fill a different purpose and are likely to have a shorter lifespan than one built upon shared virtue. And it is the friendships based on virtue that are worth protecting and cherishing. But they require considerable energy to maintain -- as Aristotle wrote, “lack of conversation has broken many a friendship” -- but what you get out of these friendships easily outweighs what you put in.

8 . Zibo city in Shandong has unexpectedly become famous on Chinese social media since late February for its local barbecue specialty, and this trend continues as the local government takes the opportunity to promote tourism and spending.

The latest promotion gives visitors free admission to 10 scenic spots in the city with their train tickets as long as their final destination is Zibo. This move followed another on March 31 under which the Jinan bureau of China Railway added a weekend special round-trip “barbecue tour” train between Jinan.

Passengers who get on the train are greeted by a banner reading “Welcome to the Special BBQ Train”at the entrance of the train. Many also took videos and posted them on social media, drawing more visitors.

Barbecue is popular in China, and Zibo’s barbecue has its own local features: it’s made on a stove, and is served with flatbread and dressings. The food is 70-80 percent cooked before it is brought to the table, where diners can finish cooking it on their own stoves. Diners are served with flatbreads, scallions and other dressings at the table so they are able to assemble their own barbecue parcels, in much the same way Peking Duck is eaten.

The barbecue suddenly became famous after a group of college students shot videos of themselves enjoying a meal in Zibo and posted them on social media in late February. Since then, many people, mostly young, have come to the city from all over the country to try the dish.

On several streets, lines can be seen outside barbecue restaurants, which stretch for more than 100 meters on the weekend.

“Zibo barbecue is bringing more and more people to the city, and the local government needs to think about how to promote the city as a whole, its culture and tourism, as well as its living and business environment,” said Sun Xiaorong, an expert of tourism marketing and promotion. The trend will eventually end if the local government doesn’t take proper follow-up measures, he added.