2 . Sores Duman is a normal 29-year-old. Later in the week he will see an action movie with his mate Piebe. Before that, he may go to McDonald’s with Martey, another friend. It might take more time than usual for his friends to get ready for these activities. Piebe is 79 and Martey 94. Does Sores think his weekend plans are strange? “No, I do similar things with friends of my own age. I don’t see the difference in age as an obstacle (障碍).”

Mr. Duman lives at the Humanitas care home in Deventer, Holland. His housemates’ average age is over 85. He lives there with ten other students and around 150 elderly residents. They are part of a project that provides them with free housing in exchange for 30 hours per month living as a “good neighbour”.

Both parties appear to benefit from the programme. Mr. Duman estimates that he has saved over €10,000 per year in rent. He claims that living in a care home has not affected his university experience. “We have big parties here.” he says, “we host things from chess games to yoga classes.” In a promotional video, one resident calls the project gezelling a Dutch word that roughly translates as homelike: “Now and then they put me into the walker and race me through the hall,” she explains.

Such projects could help fight against loneliness, an increasing problem across the rich world. I goes hand in hand with social isolation(隔离). Nearly half of Britons over the age of 65 say that television or pets are their main form of company. Loneliness is also said to have serious health consequences: a study from 2015 found that lonely people had on average a 26% higher risk of dying in its seven-year study period than those who were not lonely. And the problem may get worse as social isolation is becoming more common. Creating a space for the elderly to mingle with youngsters can lift spirits—and help cash-strapped millennials (千禧一代).

4 . Marriages in Egypt are somewhat different from those in the West. They will discourage dating if single men and women aren’t related. Among the middle and upper classes, the man and woman know each other from schools or universities, where young people gather in groups like in the West.     1     Sometimes families negotiate a marriage for an unmarried son or daughter.

However, the steps toward marriage are the same as those in the West.     2     The discussion usually covers such topics as the dowry (嫁妆) and wedding expense, etc. The two families then arrange a meeting between the potential bride and groom.     3    

The wedding usually takes place quickly, unless the groom-to-be is going abroad to work or study, in which case the marriage may be postponed. The marriage may be very simple, consisting only of the mosque priest (清真寺牧师) to declare the marriage contract between the groom and the bride’s father, who speaks on behalf of his daughter.

    4     According to Egyptian law, both men and women have the right to ask for a divorce. Upon divorce the father is granted custody (监护人) of any children. Any dowry paid by the groom to the bride’s family must be returned.

Egypt is trying to bridge the difference between traditional interpretations (方式) and modern models. At one time, Egypt gave women the right to ask for a divorce only in certain circumstances, such as her husband’s being mentally ill.     5     Now in Egypt and other countries, traditional interpretations are being challenged.

5 . Nursing homes (养老院)offer safe, caring environments to older people who cannot live safely by themselves in their own homes.    1     Check out some of them and learn the truth about nursing homes.

People stay in bed all day. Visit nursing home and you won’t see most people lying in bed all day.    2    One reason is that nursing homes work hard to plan fun activities and events, encouraging people to move around.

People who live in nursing homes don’t have rights. Needing extra care doesn’t mean you lose your right to make your own decisions. People in nursing homes still have rights. They have the control of their health care decisions and can choose what activities held in nursing homes they want to take part in.    3    .

It feels like a hospital. A nursing home isn’t a hospital; a good one shouldn’t feel like a hospital either. Some areas of nursing homes may feel more like a hospital if people there need more care.    4    There are usually living rooms with TVs and places for old people to relax and have fun.

    5    . A many people do move into a nursing home and stay there for the rest of their lives. It’s not everyone, though. Some people live there only for a short time while they need care. The length of a person’s stay depends on his health and whether the person will get well enough to live safely at home.

6 . Here’s a depressing number for you: 12. Just 12 percent of engineers in the United States are women. In computing it’s a bit better, where women make up 26 percent of the workforce — but that number has actually fallen from 35 percent in 1990.

There’s no single solution to such an annoying problem, but here’s an unlikely one: robots getting more girls interested in STEM. Specifically, robot toys for kids — simple yet powerful toys for teaching youngsters how to engineer.

These days, many toys targeting at getting kids interested in science and engineering are gender specific. “Sometimes there’s this idea that girls need special Legos, or it needs to be pink and purple for girls to get into it, and sometimes that makes me annoyed,” says Amanda Sullivan, who works inhuman development at Tufts University.

So Sullivan decided to try a specifically non-gendered robot toy called Kibo. Before playing with Kibo, boys were significantly more likely to say they’d enjoy being an engineer than the girls did. But after, boys had about the same opinion, while girls were now equally as likely to express an engineering interest as the boys. “I think that robots in general are novel to young children both boys and girls,” Sullivan says. “So aside from engaging girls specifically, I think robot toys like Kibo bring an air of excitement and something new to the classroom that gets all kids excited about learning.”

There’s a problem, though. While Sullivan proves that these kinds of robot toys can get girls interested in engineering, that doesn’t mean it will sell. “If you look at sales data, it clearly shows that they’re not being used by girls,” says Sharmi Albrechtsen, CEO and co—founder of SmartGurlz. “Even the ones that are considered no gender difference are towards boys. That’s the reality of the situation.” Gender sells — at least when it’s the parents doing the buying.

8 . In many families today, both the mother and the father have jobs outside the home. This can make it difficult to take care of the children. To help, some companies are changing the work rules. These companies are trying to be more family-friendly.

What are companies doing to become family-friendly? Many companies are allowing their employees (雇员) to work flexible (灵活的) hours. With flexible hours, people can work full time, but they don’t have to work to a nine-to-five schedule. Some employees choose to come early and leave early. Some employees choose to work ten hours one day and six hours the next. Most companies say that flexible hours increase productivity. In the United States, about one-third of full-time employees have flexible work schedules.

Family-friendly companies also allow two employees to share one job. Each employee does half the job and gets half the salary. In the United States, 27% of the companies offer some kind of job sharing.

Many family-friendly companies also give paid leave to both parents when a baby is born. In many countries, employers have to give female workers time off before and after the birth of a child. In the United States, for example, female employees get 12 weeks of unpaid time off. New mothers can stay at home, but they don t get their salary. In some countries, employers have to give all workers paid leave for the birth of their child. In Finland, for example, both male and female employees get paid leave. Women get 105 days of paid leave and men get 42.

The way people work is changing. For many people, that is a good thing.

Today’s Teens in No Hurry to Start Driving

The legal age to drive a car in the United States is 16. Obtaining a driver’s license on the day you turn 16 has long been     1     major life event for many young people in America.

But interest in driving among today’s teenagers     2    (drop) sharply over the past 35 years. In 1983, 80 percent of 18-year-olds in America had a driver’s license. By 2018, that number had reduced to 61 percent. Among 16-year-olds, the number decreased from 46 percent in 1983    3     25 percent in 2018. Those    4    (figure) come from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration.

Young people say they have many reasons for delaying or avoiding     5    (get) a driver’s license. Some choose more environmentally friendly transportation choices. Others find driving     6    (stress). And some     7    (simple) do not care about cars at all.

Carmakers want to make their vehicles more appealing to young people. They seek to make cars more interesting to a generation     8    (bring) up on technology. Some believe a big screen is     9    today’s teen drivers want. The vehicle is an    10    (extend) of their iPhone or their screen device.

10 . The way people work has changed. The increasing use of technology presents new and continual challenges to small and large businesses, employees and managers, teachers and students.     1     University professors, for example, must learn to adapt their teaching skills in order to lead distance learning courses.

In today’s world, training and learning do not stop when we finish school.     2     For many managers and professionals the biggest challenge, as well as change, in the workplace, was the increased use of computers and computerized equipment. Between 1998 and 2000, the need for experienced employees who could use this kind of equipment rose dramatically. Many of those in the workplace at this time experienced changes in job requirements and had to attend job-related training or re-training courses.

    3     In Finland, with the increased use of technology and the growth of distance learning, the teacher has become more of a tutor who guides a student, rather than lectures. In turn, the student has to take more responsibility for his or her learning in the absence of direct teacher contact. This requires that students should learn computer skills in order to cope with the demand of the future workplace.     4    It is also suggested that the salaries and job descriptions of teachers be reviewed because of future demands expected in their jobs. Previously, the professors may have held lectures between weekday hours in large halls. Now they may spend part of their day lecturing large groups of students in campus, and then conduct afternoon or evening classes online, with students in five different countries.

As technologies grow and develop, ongoing training will continue to be necessary.     5     Lifelong learning will become a way of life.