1 . We are familiar with an old saying that “Clothes make the man”, which means good-looking outfits may possibly make a person better respected and look more like a true gentleman.    1    . Naturally, he may be well respected and gracefully treated even though he doesn’t seem so respectable as others imagine. Instead, if a man is poorly or commonly dressed, he can’t avoid being looked down upon and unfairly treated,    2    . As far as these people are concerned, what one wears is taken as an essential signal of status and an expression of characteristics. Consequently, clothes do seem to help make a good impression on others, and gain more respect.

    3    . I think the good impression one leaves on others based on clothes doesn’t last long. Only good internal quality and beauty will impress people forever and never fade.     4    . On the contrary, when people who are fascinated by a person’s clothes eventually find out that he is an undesirable person, they would think he is pretentious and may even treat him with contempt (蔑视). On top of this, people who attach too much importance to clothes would waste their time and money on it. Besides, it adversely affects their effort on the things that really matter.

In summary,     5    . Nothing can count more than good internal quality in building up the man. Therefore, only one’s internal beauty and knowledge are more decisive of a person’s value.

4 . Reducing food waste is easy — just ask the students at a school in Wood bridge, America, who have become experts at sorting their lunchtime trash (垃圾). Since the fall of 2019, they have actively participated in a successful food-waste diversion program that not only saves money but also contributes to reducing the amount of trash that heads to landfills.

Actually, this program plays a crucial role in facing up to the challenges of climate change. By reducing food waste,the school minimizes the amount of trash sent to landfills, thereby reducing harmful methane emissions (沼气排放). The school’s program is making a significant impact. Each month, it moves over 1,300 pounds of food waste, resulting in an estimated reduction of 772 pounds in CO, emissions and the production of 180 kilowatt-hours of energy, according to Blue Earth Compost in America.

At school, when students are done eating lunch, they head to an appointed section — a row of desks, garbage cans and containers — where they sort their trash. Leftover liquids, such as juice or milk,are emptied into a big basin on the floor. The juice containers and plastic water bottles are placed into another container to recycle. Additionally, prepackaged, unopened snacks such as bags of carrots as well as produce such as apples and bananas are “rescued” and placed into a big basket with a handwritten “Donations” sign taped to it to send to the town’s senior center.

The benefits extend beyond environmental awareness. The program reduces trash-carrying costs as less weight goes into the trash bins,making it easier for cleaners to manage. The students also find this planet-friendly practice enjoyable and meaningful, considering it a small game that contributes to a bigger cause. This initiative proves that collective efforts, even on a smaller scale, can lead to significant changes, not only in waste reduction but also in educating a generation committed to preserving our planet.

5 . Artificial intelligence (AI) tools designed to operate at human levels have greatly expanded in popularity over the past year. These include OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s AI-powered search engine Bing. Such tools, also known as chatbots or generative AI, are computer-powered systems. They are designed to interact smoothly with humans and perform high-level writing and creative work.

In recent months, these tools have demonstrated an ability to produce high-quality work. This has led some technology experts to warn that generative AI systems could end up replacing workers in many industries.

This year, researchers at Harvard Business School and other organizations carried out an experiment. It aimed to test how well AI tools could help workers perform their usual duties or tasks. It involved more than 700 business advisors, called consultants, from Massachusetts-based Boston Consulting Group.

Harvard Business School recently published the results from the experiment in a working paper. The main findings suggest that AI tools like ChatGPT can greatly improve worker performance. For example, researchers found that, on average, workers who used OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT 4 tool completed 12 percent more tasks than non-ChatGPT users. Tasks carried out with help from the AI technology were completed 25 percent faster. And the team found the quality of work performed by consultants using ChatGPT 4 increased by about 40 percent.

However, the paper also noted areas where the performance of consultants using ChatGPT 4 dropped. The researchers said this was especially true with tasks the AI tool was not good at completing. “Of tasks the AI was good at, the experiment showed it significantly improved human performance,” the paper said. “But for tasks ChatGPT 4 was not right for, humans relied too much on the AI and were more likely to make mistakes.”

The team suggests one of the biggest barriers to companies effectively using AI is not knowing which tasks can be completed best with the technology. Finding this out will require businesses to carry out thoughtful research and training efforts in order to find the right mix of AI and human-level work.

6 . “The new normal” is one of those phrases that can accurately apply to a wide variety of life situations, including a medical diagnosis, death or change in life and work. The phrase implies both the newness of each of those circumstances, as well as the necessity that they will need to be normalized, integrated into the reality of our daily lives. Once we’ve settled into new routines and emotional patterns, our “normal” won’t be quite so new anymore, will it? The question is a subject of debate.

There is a large middle ground between the event that increases the need for “the new normal” and its final acceptance. Some people think it can’t handle tragedies. But the phrase keeps coming up in conversation, and it has made me realize that“normal”is the last word I would use to describe the fragile place I currently occupy. I find myself there as I mourn the loss of my grandfather, who died in September. For example, the new normal is to have Thanksgiving without Grandfather, then to remember him on what would have been his 75th birthday just a few days later. In other words, during this year of firsts, the new normal is a time of transition, not of arrival.

It strikes me that this is something to be celebrated, not worried over. Part of living positively is meeting ourselves wherever we are. And as I continue to navigate this in-between time, this period of slowly accepting my father’s absence from the Earth, I recognize that each step along the way is a worthwhile part of a healthy grieving process.

The same idea would apply to more positive changes, like a new home or job, as well as the challenges of the end of a relationship or a difficult medical reality. The new normal isn’t something any of us step into all at once. It’s something we become, move toward, and, eventually, accept. Let’s not be in a rush to reach that destination. The journey has much to teach us.

9 . Future Industries: Which Ones Will Rule?

As we move towards the future, it is important to consider which industries will have the greatest potential for growth and success. Here are a few of the most promising sectors:

These are just a few of the many industries that are expected to see significant growth in the coming years. By keeping an eye on these trends, investors can position themselves for success in the future.

10 . Every morning in a city in Indonesia’s far east, sleepy teenagers can be seen walk slowly and with heavy steps through the streets on their unwilling way to school.

It is not a scene from some sci-fi movie but a controversial experiment to get the day off to a much earlier start for the sleep-deprived (缺乏睡眠的) teens. The pilot project in Kupang has twelfth-graders at 10 high schools start classes at 5:30 am.

Authorities say the project is intended to heighten children’s discipline. According to parents, though, their children are worn out by the time they get home. Schools in Indonesia generally start between 7:00 and 8:00 am. Teens in their school uniforms are now walking down dark streets or waiting for motorcycle taxis to get to school on time.

“It is extremely difficult and they now have to leave home while it’s still completely dark. I can’t accept this, for their safety is not guaranteed when it’s dark and quiet.” Rambu Ata, a mother to a 16-year-old, said, whose daughter Eureka now has to wake up at 4:00 am to get ready and ride a motorbike to school. “Now every time Eurek arrives home she is exhausted and falls asleep immediately.”

At least one scholar seems to agree.

“It has no connection with the effort to improve the quality of education,” Marsel Robot, an education expert from Nusa Cendana University. “In the long run, sleep deprivation could endanger the students’ health and cause a shift in behaviour. They will only sleep for a few hours and this is a serious risk for their health. This also will cause them stress and they will release their stress by acting out.”

A 2014 study published by the American Academy of paediatrics (儿科学) recommended that middle and high schoolers start classes at 8:30 am or later to allow enough time for sleep. The Kupang rule change was also challenged by local politicians, who demanded the government cancel what they called a baseless policy.