While the mobile Internet is changing the way we live, more and more old people in China are getting in on the digital world, although they will have some trouble.
Yang Su, a 61-year-old professional micro vlogger (微视频博主), is among them. He is both a pianist of Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (交响乐团). With more than 2. 3 million followers on China's famous short video app "Douyin", his videos have been watched by over 1 million times.
"Three years ago, my son put a short video of me playing the piano at home on ‘douyin', and hours later it was played over 1 million times," Yang remembered.
However, it's not easy for him to learn how to film a video. He needs to play through the music since he doesn't know how to edit (编辑) and cut clips. His child helps him a lot later. "The Internet has opened the door to a new world," Yang said. "I always keep myself busy and feel very young at my age. "
Do other old people get used to the digital world like Yang? Ding Qiulin is a 73-year-old man from Hunan. "I got my smartphone more than one year ago but I only use WeChat for video calls," he said. Ding finds it hard to learn to use other apps.
____________▲_____________ Luo Xu, a post-90s volunteer, joined a non-profit （非盈利）organization in Beijing nine years ago to teach old people how to use the Internet. "While I am helping people aged between 50 and 90 years old, I have a strong feeling of pleasure," Luo said.
If you fancy a fun and free activities at the weekend, then a Parkrun event is great for you, your family and friends. More than 2. 5 million people in about 750 places around the world have run, jogged, walked or used a wheelchair to complete a Parkrun since it started 18 years ago.
Some people treat it like a race but most enjoy just being outside, getting exercise and having a nice time with others. Parkruns and Junior Parkruns are set up in safe open places such as beaches, fields, forests and parks.
Parkruns happen on a Saturday, and there are often special Parkruns on Christmas and New Year's Day. A Parkrun covers a distance of 5 km and runners must register (注册) once online before going for a run. Registering gives you a barcode (special printed numbers readable by a computer), which means your time is recorded when you do a Parkrun. Parkrun is fun for all ages, but if you're under 11, you must run with an adult.
Junior Parkruns happen on Sundays over a distance of 2 km and you need a registration and a barcode for those too. You must be aged between 4 and 14 and you don't have to run with a adult. Although adults can run and support you, they are asked not to run across the finish line. After completing 11, 21, 50 and then 100 Junior Parkruns, you can get a different colored wristband to mark your achievement.
A teen runner Ralph says, "Junior Parkrun at the park in my neighborhood is a weekly highlight. I love all sports, but I find doing Parkrun every week builds up my fitness and energy. Run, jog or walk——Parkrun is a free, fun and friendly activity. It's great meeting up with my friends and running the 2 km every week together. "
With the help of an adult, head to tinurl. com/TWJ-parkrun for information and to find a Parkrun that takes place near you.
Every time you're online, you are bombarded by pictures, articles, links and videos trying to tell their story. Unfortunately, not all of these stories are true. Sometimes they want you to click on another story or advertisement, other times they want to upset people for political reasons. These stories spread quickly, and the result is fake news.
To recognize the fake news, read these tips and don't get fooled!
1 Check the source
Look at the website where the story comes from. Does it look real? Is the text well written? Are there a variety of (各种各样的) other stories or is it just one story? Fake news websites often use addresses that sound like real newspapers, but don't have many real stories about other topics. If you aren't sure, click on the 'About' page and look for a clear description of the organization.
2 Watch out for fake photos
Many fake news stories use images( 图像) that are Photoshopped or taken from an unrelated website. Sometimes, if you just look closely at an image, you can see if it has been changed. Or use a tool like Google Reverse Image search. It will show you if the same image has been used in other contexts.
3 Check the story is in other places
Look to see if the story you are reading is on other news websites that you know and trust. If you do find it on many other websites, then it probably isn't fake (although there are some exceptions), as many big news organizations try to check their sources before they publish a story.
4 Look for other signs
There are other techniques that fake news uses. These include using ALL CAPS(大写) and lots of ads that pop up when you click on a link. Also, think about how the story makes you feel. If the news story makes you angry, it's probably designed to make you angry.
If you know these things about online news, and can apply(应用) them in your everyday life, then you have the control over what to read, what to believe and most importantly what to share. If you find a news story that you know is fake, the most important advice is: don't share it!
Meat can be tasty. It is often good for us and it has been part of our meals for hundreds of thousands of years. However, some organizations, such as the Soil Association, say meat should not be eaten every day, especially in schools. This is because farming animals for meat can be bad for the environment and lead to climate（气候）change. The Soil Association wants schools to have more plant-based meal choices that don't have meat and that do not cause environmental problems. The Government already advises that schools have one no-meat day each week, but not all schools follow this advice. So what do you think? Should schools be made to have one complete no-meat day each week?
Yes – it's important to protect the climate
Everyone needs to do their bit to help the planet, and eating less meat is a good start. Although meat can be healthy and is good for us in the right amounts, eating it every day means a lot of animals have to be farmed. This uses up valuable things such as water and land. The animals themselves add to climate change by producing a gas called methane. Besides, it's not necessary to eat meat every day. There are many ways to get the nourishment we need to be healthy. We could eat foods like beans, nuts, potatoes and so on. What's more, eating more plant-based foods will save schools' money because they are cheaper than meat. This money could be used on books and school trips.
No – ▲
Students should be able to decide what they eat – it's a personal choice. Some students, for example, might eat a little bit of meat each day, but less overall. Besides, meat is full of healthy vitamins and nutrients needed for growth. If schools don't serve meat, they might end up serving chips and junk food instead, which wouldn't be healthier. It's right to tell and educate young people about climate change and the results of the farming industry, but they should be encouraged to change their eating habits rather than being told that they have to. Making people change their habits doesn't always mean people can change their minds.
Nowadays there are different ideas about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is good for social development. However, others say that competition is bad and that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death events. In their mind what they really want is going for success, the development of many other qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost on the way to success, others take an opposite opinion. Many people are strongly against competition. Among them, most are young people who have suffered from such pressure from their parents. They seem to look for failure by not trying to win or achieve success. △ , they always have an excuse: "I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try. " They don't want to admit（承认）that if they have really tried and lost, they would mean more.
Clearly, this belief(信念) is the same as that of those who try to prove（证明）themselves. Both come from the wrong belief that self-confidence depends on how well one does by comparing with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. If such fear begins to be unimportant, we can have a better knowledge of competition.
B . 
C . 
D . 
Reading is getting more popular among young Chinese. A new survey says that 85% of young people in China read at least 1 book last year. The number of young people who are reading has been rising in recent years, especially for teenagers, who read an average (平均) of 11.5 books.
The data (数据) shows that teenagers spend much more time reading from school textbooks to some other reading materials, such as novels, e-books, magazines and so on. But younger children (ages 2-8) are mainly reading for fun. Compared with the past, the time teenagers spend on pleasure reading has dropped.
When it comes to technology and reading, the survey suggests little. It does point out that many parents control the time of electronic reading, mainly because of worrying about increased screen time. However，most Chinese parents are helping their children to develop a reading habit. They are served as examples for their children. More than 70% of Chinese parents spend at least 20 minutes a day reading to their children aged 0 to 8 years old, and visit bookstores with them about three times a year. Data shows that kids and teens who do a lot of reading, compared to those who don't like reading, have more books in the home, and more books bought for them. Their parents read more often, and would like to spare time to read with them.
When was the last time you read a book? If you're one of the countless people who don't develop a habit of reading, you might be missing out. Everything you read fills your head with new information, and you never know when it might be useful. The more knowledge you have, the better-equipped you are to deal with any challenge you'll face. Remember that although you might lose something else, knowledge can never be taken away from you.
Now open a book, and feed your soul (心灵).
A black cat crosses your path? That's bad luck. Walk under a ladder (梯子)? That's bad luck, too. Break a mirror-seven years of bad luck! Kill a bee? You got it…bad luck!
But not everything brings bad luck. Some things bring good luck, too. For example, if you carry a rabbit's foot with you at all times that will bring you good luck. Of course, nowadays, lucky rabbit's feet aren't made of real rabbit's feet. An acorn (橡子) in your pocket is good luck, too. If you make a wish when you see a shooting star cross the sky, the wish will come true.
If you throw rice on a just-married couple, they will have many children. If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of autumn, you will have good luck all year. If you blow out all the candles on your birthday cake in one blow, you will get whatever you want.
Are any of these things true? You may have blown out all the candles on your birthday cake in one blow last year, but did you get everything you wanted? Probably not. If you walk under a ladder and a bucket of paint falls on your head-that's pretty bad luck. But if some candy or fruit falls, that's good luck.
In fact, good luck and bad luck are only "superstitions (迷信). Millions of people all over the world believe in superstitions, especially good luck ones. But remember, no amount of acorns is going to save you if you make your decisions because of silly superstitions.
"If you are not fat, you must be a thin man." "For every minute of breathing, 60 seconds pass." "Why do you say I am lazy? Obviously, I didn't do anything. "
Nonsense? Yes. These sentences look like they make sense, but they actually express little useful information. They are part of a recent Internet sentence-making craze called "nonsense literature(文学)".
"Nonsense literature" was originally invented by Internet users to make fun of the empty, fussy (过分讲究的)and redundant (累赘的)writing style often used by media and some famous people. Like any good Internet joke, it became a popular word game. Plenty of "nonsense" has been created. "Every time I don't know what to say." "Listening to your words is like listening to words."
Some even said that famous writers like Lu Xun used the style. For example, they said, Lu Xun once wrote: There are two trees in my backyard. One is a jujube (枣) tree, and the other is also a jujube tree.
Is it true? Not really. Repetition in writing is not necessarily "nonsense literature". Lu Xun's writing on the jujube trees comes from a piece of his articles. If you have read it, as well as understanding his time of writing, you'd find these repeated lines are powerful, showing that the writer was frustrated (挫败)by social reality.
Actually, "nonsense" and "literature" are two incompatible (矛盾的)words. Nonsense is silly and useless. It will soon be forgotten. But literature is written work considered to have artistic value. It is a spiritual treasure worth passing down.
Internet crazes like "nonsense literature" might make you laugh for a while. Don't throw___▲___ yourself into it. Read some real literature. It will help us stop talking nonsense.
My 20-year-old daughter, Ann, living in Philadelphia, but I thought she was playing a cell phone game. I decide not to be a helicopter（直升机） mother, I prefer a more hands-off way. From the time Ann turned 16, I don't want to know her work and life schedule any longer.
But that's not what I see at Drexel University where I teach. Most of my students talk to their parents three times a day or more. One student's mother called her son because she didn't hear from him for a few days. The son was in the library so he whispered "hello". The mother doubted that he was drinking, and insisted on asking him to take a picture of himself. Holding a newspaper with that day's date, the son had to take a photo of himself and sent it to his mother in order to prove that he wasn't telling a lie.
I always think that my students should depend on themselves. I tell them that I will not check whether they miss classes and finish homework or not. Because they are independent thinkers and they should take responsibility for their own choices.
But their parents don't treat them like me. I know a mother. She puts her eyes on her son too much. She hopes he will walk by the camera so that she can know what he is doing. Another mother checks her son's credit card daily. However, I never do that. My daughters only come to me with important things when they need my decision. I think that's because I give them space.
Many parents try to find if their kids are hiding from them. But we have to learn to respect boundaries（界限）, even when technology is so powerful now. So I am going to do my best not to be a helicopter parent.
The local government killed more than 34, 000 stray dogs(流浪狗) several months ago because they were afraid that the dogs would spread rabies (狂犬病).
This caused a discussion across the country. Some people said that it was very cruel to kill dogs. There might be a better way to avoid the disease.
In the future, killing stray dogs might be seen as a crime. The Chinese government published a draft(草案) of animal rights law. It says that a person who kills a stray dog without good reasons will be put in prison(监狱). The draft also says that people who treat animals badly will be considered crimes under the criminal law.
The government published the draft so that the public could read it and discuss their thoughts. People share different opinions. Some think the law is good. They say other countries like Britain and Japan have similar laws. They say we will do better at protecting animals if there is one. But others say it's not necessary to fight animal abuse with a new law.
Some people also say that the draft doesn't deal with the biggest matters facing the country's development. The country should make progress to give all people equal (平等的) rights, they say, before turning attention to animals. Another part of the draft is causing discussion. It says that people should not force animals into do something dangerous, like jumping through a ring of fire. But many people enjoy watching this kind of performance at the circus, especially kids. They say that if the animal does it properly, it will not get hurt.
