It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible. Everybody knows that the nicest men would become fierce tigers behind the wheel. It is all right to have a tiger in a cage, but to have one in the driver's seat is another matter.

Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense. It takes the most cool-headed drivers great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarrelling and fighting. A friendly nod or a wave of thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of good will and becomes so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such behaviors of politeness are by no means enough. Many drivers nowadays don't even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.

However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous. Typical examples are the driver who waves a child crossing the street at a wrong place into the path of oncoming cars that may not be able to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to. An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in traffic stream without causing total blockages that give rise to unpleasant feelings. Unfortunately, modern drivers can't even learn to drive, let alone master the roadmanship. Years ago, experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand more give-and-takefrom all road users. It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart.

A new regulation by China’s Ministry of Education aims to grant primary and middle school teachers more room in punishing their students in order to achieve better teaching results.

The regulation lists punishments available to teachers in three categories based on the level of severity of the offense, including naming and shaming, forced standing that lasts no longer than one class session, and suspension of class for no longer than one week.

Zhang Lifeng, a 43-year-old parent, welcomed the move. “The regulation should have come earlier,” she said. “It will benefit both teachers and students as well as parents.”

However, a ninth grader at a middle school, disagreed. “It is normal for adolescent students to make mistakes. I don’t think punishments are necessary. They may cause more trouble,” he said.

Chen Xianzhe, a professor with the School of Education at South China Normal University, said punishments are just a part of the teaching process.

The regulation asks schools to draft their own regulations accordingly to clarify the rules for teachers in taking disciplinary actions against their students.

If you're worried that too much “screen time ”could badly influence your child's intelligence， new research suggests you might be right. By analyzing the data gathered from over 4，500U. S. kids aged 8 to 11 between 2016 and 2017，Jeremy Walsh，a postdoctoral fellow with the CHEO Research Institute in Ottawa， found that too much “screen time” could be harming your child's intelligence.

Kids with the sharpest intellects spent less than two hours a day on their cellophanes， tablets and computers coupled with 9 to 11 hours of sleep and at least an hour of physical activity. Too much screen time could be affecting kids ability to focus， especially if they are switching between apps on a device or between different screens at the same time， Walsh suggested. “ One leading theory is that much time on screens is spent multitasking using multiple apps or devices at once，” he said. “This can interfere with a child's ability to focus and keep interest on a task. It can be damaging the building blocks for good cognition(认知).”

Sleep is important for brain development， since that's when the brain reorganizes itself and grows， Walsh added. Besides， exercise has been shown to increase blood flow to the brain and oxygenation of brain tissues， and increases the connectivity of networks in the brain. Too much screen time could lead to a“ cascade”(瀑布) effect where kids don't get enough sleep and then are less active during the day.“ You can see how this would have an impact on brain health，” Walsh said.

What should parents do? Walsh advised setting firm rules about the use of screens including how long children are using the screens， the kinds of apps they are using and how many screens they are using at once. Concerned parents also should preview games or apps before letting their child play， seek out more interactive(交互的)options that engage the child's mind， and use parental controls to block or filter content and limit screen time.

We see it everywhere. A tired parent, at the end of a stressful day, loses it — and a child suffers. We’d like to help if we could, but we hesitate. Is it our business to intervene (干涉)? And if we do, will we embarrass and offend the parent, making him or her even more angry with the child? Isn’t it wiser to walk past without comment? After all, none of us is a perfect parent.

There seems to be a common assumption in our society that intervening on behalf of a child in a public place is necessarily hurtful and critical. It needs to be neither. There is a world of difference between hurtful criticism (“How dare you treat your child like that?”）and helpful intervention done in a caring way (“It can be really hard to meet their needs when you’re so busy. Is there anything I can do to help?”）There is nothing essential in intervention that requires one to be offensive.

My friends and I have witnessed some really harmful acts: hitting, severe verbal abuse, hurtful comparisons to brothers and sisters, and so on. These children accept this treatment because they are too helpless and inexperienced to stand up for themselves. That emotional abuse (虐待) leaves no outward scars should not excuse us from helping these children. Those of us who can recognize damaging treatment have an obligation to step in.

There is one more reason for intervening that is nearly always overlooked in these discussions, but which I consider to be the most significant: the lifelong effect it can have on the child. Many adults in counseling sessions still recall with gratitude the one time that a stranger stepped in on their behalf, and how much it meant: that someone cared, and that the child’s feelings of anger and frustration were recognized and accepted. These adults have stated to me that this one intervention changed their lives and gave them hope. Are we to bypass the opportunity to make such a big difference in the life of a child?

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Once upon a time, eating alone was just that: sitting down in a restaurant on one’s own and eating a meal. Everyone did it sometimes, and when they did so they might be a little embarrassed. To eat alone might suggest that you didn’t have any family or friends, or didn’t like people. There was a kind of shame attached to it. Nowadays, however, there is more and more solitary(独自的) eating.

People choose to eat alone for various reasons. “Foodies”—people who have a passionate interest in different cuisines(美食)—do it because all they need for their pleasure is the chance to eat good food. They don’t want company or conversation, but only the joy of eating some special dish.

Other people eat alone because it’s simply practical for them to do so. For instance, it’s estimated that nearly a third of all the customers of fast-food restaurants eat alone. They are served with their food fast, eat it fast and then leave fast—because they have a meeting to make or a child to pick up from school.

But for others, the appeal of eating alone is quite different. It’s an experience of freedom. For the hour that it takes to have a meal, they can forget all the pressures of their lives. For a brief window, they don’t have to deal with their family or job. They can relax and let their mind wander. Maybe they will bring a book, a newspaper or perhaps they will shyly spy on the people around them. Part of the appeal of this new trend is surely that a meal taken alone is like a little holiday from the busyness of modern life, in which we have so much to do all the time. David Annand, editor of US-based Conde Nast Traveler magazine, who delights in dining alone, speaks of his pleasure in the “rhythm of a meal in a restaurant—its ebb and flow(人来人往), the regular arrival and departure of the waiter.” This restaurant rhythm allows him and others, he writes, to sit back, observe, and think.

It is a common sight on campus or in the streets: a young person rides by on an electric scooter, traveling quickly and proudly. But Beijing’s traffic authorities have said that starting on Sept.5, people who are caught riding electric scooters on public roads or bicycle lanes will be fined 10 yuan. They will also be given a warning not to use the vehicles on public roads again.

The announcement was made after traffic police in Shanghai started a campaign to get electric scooters off public roads, with police officers stopping riders because the scooters could cause traffic problems.

The Beijing Consumer Association said it had tested more than 20 electric scooters of different brands recently and found that most had substandard brakes. It added that 16 of the tested scooters could go faster than the maximum 20 km per hour set for electric bikes. According to the traffic police, people who ride electric scooters at certain speeds can easily bump into the vehicles in the vehicle lane and hurt people who walk in the bicycle lanes.

But seeing the benefits that electric scooters have brought to young people, experts are worried that the ban may take effect slowly.

Electric scooters are a great answer to the ‘last mile problem’ of getting from a public transport station to one’s home. They’re light enough to throw over your shoulder. They’re easy to ride just about anywhere and don’t need a lot of physical effort. The scooter can travel 25 km on one charge. It’s convenient and easy to control.

They are also good for environment. Unlike cars and buses, electric scooters produce no carbon dioxide, need no fuel and make almost no noise.

For many young people, they use them to copy cool celebrities they have seen in videos.

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Desertification

Desertification is one of the world’s most alarming processes of environmental degradation(退化). The issue is often unclear, however, by a common misperception: that it’s a “natural” problem of advancing deserts in faraway developing countries. In fact, desertification is about land degradation: the loss of the land’s biological productivity, caused by man-made factors and climate change.

Each year, desertification and drought cause an estimated $42 billion in lost agricultural production. The risks of desertification are sufficient and clear. It contributes to food insecurity, hunger and poverty, and can give rise to social, economic and political tensions that can cause conflicts, further poverty and land degradation. The great urgency of this challenge led the United Nations General Assembly to state 2006 to be the International Year of Deserts and Desertification (IYDD). It is a strong reminder of the urgent need to address the far-reaching implications of this problem. United Nations General Secretary recently summarizes in this way: “I look forward to working with Governments, civil society, the private section, international organizations and others to focus attention on this crucial issue, and to reverse the trend of desertification and set the world on a safer, more sustainable path of development.”

The IYDD also presents a golden opportunity to get the message across strongly and effectively that desertification is a global problem which we ignore at our risk. It is important to recognize that dry-lands are home to some of the most magnificent ecosystems of this world. These unique natural habitats have been home to some of the world’s oldest civilizations. They stand like open-air museums, bearing witness to bygone eras. The Year will therefore also celebrate the delicate beauty and unique inheritance of the world’s deserts.