1 . Voluntourism — a new trend (趋势) of volunteer tourism

Have you ever thought about going abroad to volunteer? Nowadays there’s a trend that more and more people are interested in volunteer tourism.

Making a difference in a country less lucky than your own is seen by most as a really good thing to do. More and more volunteers are seeking meaning and a sense of purpose in life. “They use their skills to help on projects abroad, such as building hospitals, teaching English in schools, looking after children in orphanages (孤儿院), etc.”

However, some people are against this so-called “voluntourism”. Volunteers take away jobs from locals who would have otherwise done that work. Yes, sometimes volunteers have specific knowledge which can benefit communities, such as IT skills or speaking English as a native language. But sometimes they are put to work on construction sites (建筑工地), for example, depriving (使失去) locals of a job on project.

Besides, many young travelers are untrained for the role. This could become a health and safety problem on construction sites or when caring for children. I volunteered myself last year in a library and school in Ghana. I helped to reshelve books, talked to the librarian about the running of the library and played games with the children. However, I’m not an experienced teacher or librarian, and I felt like the locals were far too trusting of my opinions and decisions, just because I come from a more developed country.

Furthermore, volunteer tourism is seen by some as just that-an industry, a way for companies to make money. About $2 billion was spent by volunteers in 2015.Surely it would be better if this money were directly given to places where it is needed the most. Instead, most of the money is going to tourism companies, while local communities only see a very small amount of it. I met some Danish girls who had paid €7,000 each to a company to volunteer at an orphanage, but very little was spent on the orphanage itself.

I think volunteering abroad helps us develop as a person, and is a shining addition to a CV. Volunteer projects are usually very valuable for communities, but often good for those who take part in voluntary work just as much, if not more, as those they are helping.

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2 . A new study by scientists at Utrecht University concludes that about half of global wastewater is treated, rather than the previous estimate of 20%. Despite this promising finding, the authors warn that treatment rates in developing countries are still very low.

Humans and factories produce vast quantities of wastewater per day. If not properly collected and treated, wastewater may severely threaten human health and pollute the environment.

The authors use national statistics to estimate volumes of wastewater production, collection, treatment and reuse. “Globally, about 359 billion cubic metres of wastewater is produced each year, equivalent to 144 million Olympic-sized swimming pools,” says Edward Jones, PhD researcher at Utrecht University. “About 48 percent of that water is currently released untreated. This is much lower than the frequently announced figure of 80%.”

While the results show a more optimistic outlook, the authors stress that many challenges still exist. “We see that particularly in the developing world, where most of the future population growth will likely occur, treatment rates are falling behind,” Jones explains. “In these countries, wastewater production is likely to rise at a faster pace than the current development of collection and treatment basic facilities. This poses serious threats to both human health and the environment.”

The main problem, especially in the developing world, is the lack of financial resources to build basic facilities to collect and treat wastewater. This is particularly the case for advanced treatment technologies, which can be extremely expensive. However, the authors highlight potential opportunities for creative reuse of wastewater streams that could help to finance improved wastewater treatment practices.

“The most obvious reuse of treated wastewater is to increase freshwater water supplies,” Jones states. Treated wastewater reuse is already an important source of irrigation water in many dry countries. However, only 11% of the wastewater produced globally is currently being reused, which shows large opportunities for expansion.

“But freshwater increasing is not the only opportunity,” says Jones. “Wastewater also has large potential as a source of nutrients and energy. Recognition of wastewater as a resource, opposed to as ‘waste’, will be the key to driving improved treatment going forward.”

However, the authors stress the importance of proper monitoring of wastewater treatment factories, accompanied by strong legislation (法律) and regulations, to ensure that the reuse of wastewater is safe. The authors also acknowledge public acceptance as another key barrier towards increasing wastewater reuse.

3 . How to Deal with FOMO in Your Life

FOMO, or “fear of missing out,” is becoming increasingly common and can cause significant stress in your life. It applies to anything from a party to a promotion at work and affects just about anyone. It always involves a sense of helplessness that you are missing out on something big.

    1     However, while it has been around for centuries, it has only been studied during the past few decades, beginning with a 1996 research paper by Dr. Dan Herman.

With social media becoming popular, FOMO has become more obvious. As more research on FOMO is conducted, we are getting a clearer picture of how it affects us.     2     Aside from feelings of unhappiness, fear of missing out can lead to greater involvement in unhealthy behaviors. For example, the same study in Computers and Human Behavior found that FOMO was linked to distracted driving, which in some cases could be deadly.

Moreover, one study found that the fear of missing out was linked to a greater smartphone and social media usage.     3     They create a platform where things, events, and even happiness seem to be in competition, which may lead you to wonder what you are lacking. Greater engagement with social media can make us feel worse about ourselves and our lives, not better.

    4     Feelings of loneliness are our brain’s way of telling us that we want to connect with others and increase our sense of belonging. Unfortunately, social media engagement is not the way to accomplish this—you might be running from one bad situation right into an even worse one.

Rather than trying to connect more with people on social media, why not arrange to meet up with someone in person? Making plans with a good friend, or doing anything social that gets you out with friends can be a nice change of pace.     5    

The use of the internet in academic contexts is on the rise. However, its role in learning     1     (debate) by teachers and students. For many teachers who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and     2     (potential) harmful. But the internet has had a major positive impact on the world of education. The future of teaching lies in the possibilities the internet opens up for communication, research, and interactivity. Students value the flexibility and accessibility     3     (offer) by digital education. Educators should welcome these advantages.

5 . Justice is something we all desire, and the hope is that our legal system can be fair. In the past, people often saw injustices taking place that went unpunished. Some of these people got fed up, took matters into their own hands, and became vigilantes (治安员). They played the role of judges, jury and executioners (执行者). Today, the same thing is happening on a much larger scale, and it is known as Internet vigilantism.

Internet vigilantism works by first identifying a person who has committed a crime or done something that is considered uncivil.

Our modern age that is filled with digital cameras has made injustice easy to record, and the Internet has made it easy to distribute the evidence instantly. This method has been successful in many cases for tracking down people who have committed crimes. It also has been very helpful in keeping those with power in check. Keeping power in check is the upside of distributing evidence only if justice is reached through proper channels.

However, there are two sides to Internet vigilantism. When Internet citizens gang up on people for minor crimes or small faults, those who are the focus of the gangs can have their lives ruined. The vigilantes gather information on the Internet and use it to publicly shame the person. The accused person thus loses all his or her rights to privacy and everything about him or her is brought out into the open. Internet vigilantism violates basic human rights to privacy and can cause serious damage to people or their reputations.

Another problem is that it also has a negative effect on the friends and family members of the person being shamed. Innocent people with the same name as the accused can also get caught in the cross fire. Worst of all, the person being targeted rarely gets a chance to defend himself or herself.

We need to ask ourselves how far we will go to punish someone and how much privacy they deserve. When it comes to Internet vigilantism, remember that it is very easy to post an opinion or video anonymously (匿名地) online and give a one-sided or partial account of the truth. Like so many other aspects of life, we must resist passing judgment before fully understanding a situation.

Today we     1     (use) chemicals in almost every part of our lives, hoping to make life faster and more convenient.    2     we are most familiar with may be the chemical we use at home to kill flies and other disease-carrying pests. Farmers also use them in the soil     3     (help) their plants grow fast and become strong. However, the discovery of new ways to use chemicals have brought problems as well as benefits.

10 . We’ve been told since we were children that “It’s good to share”. Parents and teachers keep reminding us to share toys and books. When we grow up, we share photos, life stories and opinions with people around us and with those we don’t know via social media. Psychologists believe that the behavior of sharing is beneficial to setting up positive emotional connection.

Today, the action of sharing takes on extra meaning. It has spread to almost every aspect of our lives. We are using technology to reduce the money that we spend on goods and services, or to make money out of those that we don’t use ourselves at all. These differ from car shares to home shares, and even to pet shares. The sharing economy is creating new ways of thinking and is providing services to people when and where they want them.

This popular ways of sharing is a response to our increasing demand for quality goods and services at competitive prices, all delivered at the click of a button. Whether we’re a lender or a borrower, it’s a win-win situation. What’s more, sharing encourages us to reuse items, thereby cutting down on waste. And set-ups such as bike and car sharing do a further favor for the environment by reducing the number of polluting vehicles on the road.

But the sharing economy is not without its problems. The sharing economy is developing faster than existing regulations and related laws are still on the way. Some companies are taking unfair advantage of this situation to expand their share of the market, often at the expense of more traditional companies. In addition, the sharing economy is subject to abuse of trust. Some people have experienced damage to their properties while renting out their homes, and others have found themselves victims of theft or attack while sharing rides. Finally, personal data is not yet safe. Sharing platforms collect personal information about almost every part of our lives.

Nonetheless, there is no doubt that the sharing economy is increasingly relevant to our daily lives as well as to the global economy. it is growing at such a rate that we can only imagine what it will be like in the future.