Writing out the same word again and again may bring back bad memories for some, but handwriting can boost connectivity across brain regions, some of which are involved in learning and memory, a new study shows.

In the study, psychologists Audrey and Ruud, both at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, stuck electrodes (电极) on the participants’ heads. They asked the participants to type out or hand write with a digital pen words that appeared on a computer screen. Sensors in a cap recorded electrical brain activity. Then the psychologists looked for when two brain areas are active with the same frequency of electrical waves at the same time. This result can reveal the connectivity among different regions across the brain.

With handwriting, the researchers saw increased activity, specifically in low frequency bands, not only in the expected motor areas but also in others associated with learning. These low frequency bands have previously been shown to support memory processes. When the team compared the two tasks, they realized that handwriting —but not typing —increased the connectivity across parietal (顶叶) brain regions, which are involved in sensory and motor processing, and central regions, many of which are involved in memory.

“Even when the movements are very similar, the activation seems much, much higher in handwriting,” Audrey says. “It shows that there’s more involvement of these brain regions when you’re handwriting, which might give you some specific advantages.”

These findings suggest that there are distinct processes of brain activation happening while a person types or writes. This boost of stimulation of handwriting facilitates learning because these particular waves between these areas are involved in memory formation and encoding (编码) .

And although handwriting may help with learning processes, typing is often easier, faster and more practical. “Students and teachers alike should therefore consider the task at hand to decide to hand write or type,” Audrey says. Despite the need for more studies to determine the best learning strategy, experts say that handwriting shouldn’t be left behind in the digital age. “Schools need to bring in more writing into curriculum design,” Ruud says.

Concrete has served as the foundation stone of the construction industry for hundreds of years. However, the process of producing concrete is one of the most environmentally unfriendly processes in the world. In the process, not only is carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) released into the air by the energy used to heat the limestone, but the limestone itself also gives out a huge amount of the element.

Luckily, a number of start-ups throughout the world are using creative thinking to make the construction industry a whole lot more friendly for the planet.

A Canadian company called CarbonCure, has found a way to inject (注入) concrete with carbon dioxide itself. Not only does this trap the carbon dioxide into the concrete, keeping it from running away into the atmosphere, but it also creates a super strong material called calcium carbonate, which reduces the total amount of concrete that needs to be used.

California-based Brimstone, is creating carbon-negative concrete by doing away with limestone entirely and instead using silicate rock, a material that does not release carbon dioxide when heated. Instead, the process produces magnesium (镁) , which absorbs carbon dioxide, as the basis for their concrete.

Additionally, researchers at Australia’s RMIT University have recently released a study showing that adding coffee grounds instead of sand to concrete could make it much stronger, reducing both the amount of sand used, as well as the amount of concrete that would need to be used in the final product.

The biggest barrier at this point is convincing members of the industry that the new types of concrete are safe to be used, according to Stacy Smedley, director at a nonprofit focused on decarbonizing construction.

Hopefully these new solutions to the environmental problems of concrete will soon be widely adopted. Given the significant part the construction industry has in releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, great improvements can be made when more environmentally-friendly materials are used.

Being honest may not get you a lot of friends, but it will get you the right ones. That’s true, so you should pursue authentic positivity in your friendships, the opposite of toxic (有毒的) positivity that would have you encouraging friends in all things, regardless of what you might feel or observe or know about the challenges of life.     1    

1. Ask questions.

A feature of authentic positivity is a curious mindset, a mentality where you are less locked into “telling it like it is” and more interested in wondering and exploring the possibilities together with your friend.     2     If your friendship has a history of welcome advice-giving, your question could be “Are you looking for ideas, or do you just want me to listen?”

2.     3    

“That’s so disappointing” is sometimes the most positive thing you can say to your friend when they are struggling. Resisting the urge to say “It’s all going to work out; don’t worry” shows your friend that you see them in their pain, and that you are available to support them here and now.     4     You can use “yes/and” statements like “What happened at work is so frustrating—AND I know how creative you are, so you’ll find a way to move forward.”

3. Learn to apologize —and ask for an apology.

    5     That includes you, too. Being authentic in a friendship means having the freedom to say to a friend, “I’m sorry I hurt you.” It also means being able to say, “Your words/ actions hurt me.” Friendships that stand the test of time have room for mistakes, and for repair.

Students at an elementary school in California, with the help of their art teacher, created a telephone hotline that people can call to get _________ advice from kids during difficult times. In just days, the hotline began getting thousands of calls an hour.

Jessica Martin, who teaches art at West Side School in Healdsburg, California, _________ her students just might have the magic words needed to bring _________ to people in these difficult times. “To hear the pure _________ from kids is extremely comforting,” she says.

The project was called “PepToc”. Actually, they called it “Pep Talk” (鼓励话语) first.. But when Ms. Martin’s 6-year-old son drew an advertisement for the hotline and _________ it “PepToc”, they _________ they liked that even better.

The hotline is _________ in English and Spanish. It offers the happy voices of _________ of different ages sharing positive messages. For example, by pressing 3, you can _________ a group of kindergartners saying together, “You can do it! Keep trying! Don’t give up!” Pressing 4 __________ the sounds of children giggling and laughing—a sound certain to bring a __________ to anyone’s face. Pressing 1 __________ ideas for people who are “feeling mad, frustrated, or __________ ” Helpful suggestions include “punch your pillow”, or “go get a cookie”. Pressing2 results in “words of __________ and life advice”. This includes messages like “The __________ is a better place with you in it.”

Guqin is a traditional musical instrument. It     1     (exist) for over 3,000 years and represents China’s foremost solo musical instrument tradition.     2     (describe) in early literary sources and confirmed by archaeological finds, this ancient instrument is inseparable     3     Chinese intellectual history. Guqin playing developed as an art form practised by noblemen and     4     (scholar) in intimate settings, and was therefore never intended for public performance. Furthermore, along with calligraphy, painting and weiqi, guqin was one of the four arts, which Chinese were expected     5     (master) in ancient times. According to tradition, twenty years of training were required to attain proficiency.

Its music     6     (list) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2008, which helped unlock the passion of many to learn     7     ancient instrument. Jian was one of them. His interest in the instrument grew after he listened to an album by a famous guqin master. Jian started playing the instrument in his     8     (fifty) and embarked on a journey to look for collectible items across China. To his disappointment, he quickly discovered that many collectors lacked the ability to play guqin themselves, resulting in many being stored away in warehouses. He even came across some of the instruments lying in a state of utter damage,     9     pained him deeply.

With the aim of preserving and utilizing (利用) the centuries-old relics more     10     (effective), Jian began learning how to restore the instrument under the guidance of a guqin repair expert.