As a high school student, Abreu, 16, took part in different voluntary (activity). These included helping staff at the public library, doing landscape work in public parks and serving customers at a local restaurant. He thanked his parents for inspiring him (do) the right thing. He remembered when he was about 6 years old, his mother invited a disadvantaged neighborhood boy to have dinner. Upon observing the boy's happiness, he came away with a sense of helping as many people as he could. Since then, he (become) an active volunteer in various organizations. He values the experience a lot.
Why is the Forbidden City called "purple forbidden city"? If you have visited it, you may find that the palace (paint) mainly in two colors, yellow and red. Red, the color of fire, shows happiness and (succeed), while yellow, the color of the sun, was only used by the emperors, who were regarded as the Sons of Heaven. Ancient Chinese astronomers believed that Polaris (北极星), "Ziwei star", was in the center of heaven and the heavenly emperor lived in the Ziwei Palace. So the palace for the emperor on Earth should be like the one in heaven. That is "purple" is in the name.
Nowadays, millions of people log onto TikTok (Dou Yin in Chinese) to watch something (call) Mukbang (Chibo in Chinese). It might seem strange, these videos are surprisingly satisfying to watch. It (allow) people to "eat" with others even though they are at home alone. However, there is a dark side to Mukbang. The way people eat food in most of these videos isn't healthy. Some Mukbangers eat too much food and it makes their audience uncomfortable. This could encourage bad habits might lead to serious eating problems.
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While the Internet brings people closer together, it also harms friendships.
Firstly, talking online can't face-to-face contact. According to a parenting expert, Denise Daniels, communicating through a screen makes it harder for children to concentrate or show kindness to others. As we know, important social skills, which enable us to develop lifelong friendships, are developed direct contact with others.
Secondly, the Internet makes people self-centered. For example, instead of communicating with their friends, some are only with their online popularity―the number of "likes" or followers, which we know can't compare to having long-term and rewarding friendships. Besides, much of the posted on social media does not have a lot of significant value. Posts about funny cat images can't help form meaningful relationships.
Thirdly, online relationships may not be as they appear. Friendships are built based on, and with online communication you can't be certain that the people you are chatting to are being honest about their identities. Therefore, going online can be dangerous for people who are easily influenced or too trusting of strangers.
I think the best way to maintain healthy relationships is to more on face-to-face communication, and less on online communication.
How Running Changed My Life
Running has truly changed my life, but I never understood running as a form of exercise.
During the first two weeks this year, my grandmother passed away and I started to1my job because of office politics. My life felt stuck. So I decided to run. It was my natural2. I just wanted to get away. I started running—by the time I came back, I felt tired and3at the same time. I knew I was on to something.
Once in a while, I would get excited about running. However, I always picked up running for the4 reasons. I used running as a reason to buy new fashionable sports clothes. Or I decided to run to lose weight or become healthier. My running never lasted longer than 2–3 weeks. I would lose interest in running. I just didn't 5 it. Why would anyone go through the 6 of running? Especially when the weather is bad. Who does that? I'd rather go to the gym with my friends, talk, and pick up some weights.
But I found that pain is 7 the reason I started to run again. When my life was not what I wanted it to be, I was upset. I decided to run when I arrived home one day after work. It was a cold January day, and I only ran for 3 miles in a time that I am too8 to mention. But my time is not what's important—during that run I finally got it.
My stamina(毅力、耐力) was nearly the same as my life at the time—it was bad, but I knew it would be better if I 9 running. If I would fight against the wind, rain, cold, and my thoughts of 10, I would eventually improve my stamina and be a better runner.
My life has improved at the same rate that my running pace and stamina has improved. But running has the most11 on my productivity, mood, creativity, and overall livelihood.
Every time life became difficult I would give up. Now, when life is difficult, my response is 12—I love the pain and struggle instead of shying away from it. My life is moving forward and I'm doing well in my job again. I owe this to running.
And the best thing about running is that it is easy to start. You just go. You decide when, where, and how fast.
Surfer Dudes to the Rescue!
About 50 feet from shore of the Northern California's Trinidad State Beach, two brothers were fighting for their lives. They had been swept out to sea in a rip current (激流), their mouths barely able to stay above the water. Thick fog made it difficult for beachgoers to see the guys, but the screams were unmistakable. And every second counted. The brothers, ages 15 and 20, were wearing shorts and T-shirts, unsuitable for a November day, let alone the freezing water. Keven Harder, a supervising ranger (巡查员), told the North Coast Journal in nearby Eureka that swimming in such a temperature "takes the fight right out of you."
Luckily, four surfers in wet suits were nearby. Narayan Weibel, Spenser Stratton, and Adrian York, all 16, along with Taj Ortiz-Beck, 15, were on their surfboards riding up and down the coast on five-foot waves when they heard the cries. They turned and saw two bobbing heads and four struggling arms. "We looked at each other and knew these guys were about to drown, " Weibel told the Washington Post.
Weibel, Stratton, and Ortiz-Beck paddled toward the distressed swimmers while York headed to shore to warn someone to call 911. He then dived back in to help his friends.
As the surfers drew close, the brothers were still fighting hard for their lives. "It was pretty stressful, but there wasn't any time to think about it, and that helped me keep my cool, " Ortiz-Beck says.
Ortiz-Beck pulled up alongside the younger brother. Grabbing him under his arms, he raised him up onto his board. Stratton and Weibel, meanwhile, hurried to help the older brother. He was large, 250 to 300 pounds, and he was panicked.
"I told them, 'Calm down—we got you!'" says Weibel. "They thought they were going to die."
York arrived in time to help get the older brother atop the second board. The surfers then paddled several minutes through choppy water to the medical help waiting onshore. The brothers were scared but fine.
"When we get a call like this one, it's usually too late by the time we get there, " says Dillon Cleavenger, a first responder. "I can't say enough about what these boys did. They were willing and prepared to risk their lives."
I want you all to know that I've quit social media, and my life has gotten so much better. I mean, it's only been 15 minutes but I can already tell I'm a different person. Fifteen minutes ago, I stopped using Facebook and Twitter. Within seconds, I noticed I am happier, less irritable, more contemplative(深思熟虑的) and balanced. I'm spending more time on activities that matter. Just in the past two minutes, I've looked at a book on my bookshelf and briefly pondered opening it.
I'm truly changing. This is going to sound crazy, but since quitting social media—now, let's see, 16 minutes ago—all of my senses are enhanced. My eyesight is clearer. Food tastes better. I just smelled the first tulips of spring. I am jolted by a burst of energy. Every morning I am going to meditate or at least lie in my bed and consider meditating.
What purpose does social media serve, anyhow? The academics tell us it's making us miserable—the constant updates from friends with their expensive vacations and gossips about celebrities. If you think about it, the Internet was really only supposed to be for one thing: ordering socks from J. Crew. Then people started posting photographs of their dogs in Halloween costumes, and we all began sending Happy Birthday wishes to classmates we'd lost touch with since fifth grade, and the whole thing became the nightmare.
Social media ruins perfectly good human beings. There are people I love in real life and hate on social media. Worst still, social media stifles(抑制) creativity. They've studied this in rats, you know. Scientists made rats quit using Facebook, and when they came back in a few hours, all of the rats were writing really solid debut novels.
It's been 17 minutes. I have a feeling that my quitting social media is having a physical effect. All I did was quit looking at my phone 900 times a day. I'll tell them the secret. Quit social media. All of life's annoying problems will be over. Your relationships will improve. You'll never feel down. You'll never get stuck in traffic.
Do I miss it? Thanks for asking. I don't even know why I thought it was so important. I do not need to see the 800th photo from my co-worker's trip. I have no idea how a hot topic is going on. And it's OK. I can't imagine going back. I've quit social media. It's only been 18 minutes, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to make it a full twenty.
Most people have been taught that losing weight is a matter of simple math. Cut calories—specifically 3,500 calories, and you'll lose a pound. But as it turns out, experts are learning that this decades-old strategy is actually pretty misguided. "This idea of 'a calorie in and a calorie out' when it comes to weight loss is not only outdated, it's just wrong," says Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity specialist at Harvard Medical School. The truth is that even careful calorie calculations don't always yield(产生) uniform results.
How your body burns calories depends on a number of factors. Three factors affect how your body processes calories.
Your gut microbiome (肠道微生物). Trillions of organisms live in your gut, and the important types may influence how many calories your body absorbs from food. This may occur because some types of organisms are able to break down and use more calories from certain foods than other types of organisms. Researchers have found that people who are naturally thin have different types of organisms living inside them than those who are overweight.
Your metabolism (新陈代谢). Each body has a "set point" that governs weight, says Dr. Stanford. This set point reflects several factors, including your genes, your environment, and your behaviors. A region at the base of your brain stands guard to keep your body weight from dipping below that set point—which is not really a bonus if you're trying to lose weight.
The type of food you eat. Your food choices may also influence your calorie intake, and not just because of their specific calorie content. One 2019 study published in Cell Metabolism found that eating processed foods seems to spur people to eat more calories compared with eating unprocessed foods.
If counting calories isn't a dependable way to manage your weight, what can you do to shed extra pounds? Dr.
Stanford recommends the following.
Focus on diet quality. When planning your meals, focus on choosing unprocessed foods, including lean meats, whole grains, and lots of fruits and vegetables in their natural form.
Exercise regularly. Aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week. Moderate exercise is done at a level where you can talk, but not sing.
Consult a professional. "A lot of people believe it's a moral failing if they are unable to lose weight," says Dr. Stanford. But it's not. As with other medical conditions, many people will need help from a doctor. Successful weight loss may require more than just diet and exercise. "Only 2% of people who meet the criteria for the use of anti-obesity medications actually get them. This means that 98% of people who could be treated aren't," she says, "Don't be afraid to seek help if you need it."
As we advance into the third quarter of 2020, educators are watching ahead and wondering whether there is a possibility of reopening education campuses and in-person teaching anytime soon. The ongoing pandemic(流行病) has changed several aspects of human life, including education and potential online education trends. It has urged global experimentation with remote teaching, and most students accept the change from in-person to online learning. One of the newest trends in the education industry is microlearning. Microlearning provides information about school subjects to students in an exciting manner by dividing the course material into small, manageable parts for a suitable learning experience. It is suitable for people who are unable to provide attention to a matter for more than an hour.
As online education is entering the mainstream, students are looking for more straightforward and easier strategies to acquire knowledge, and this is where microlearning enters the scene. It allows learners to grasp bite- sized information quickly and effectively.
A great example of microlearning is the language learning application Duolingo which allows users to learn a piece of any language in small, frequent lessons. Over the next year, as far as online education trends go, we can expect to witness an increase in such educational applications and microlearning.
Online education is taking over traditional classroom-based education by providing students with a personalized learning experience that removes location, time, or device limits.
Traditional classroom lectures might not be useful for everyone, as each individual has a different pace of understanding and interest. Therefore, it is crucial to provide learners with a choice that encourages the most effective learning process. Personalized learning is one of the online education trends that will dominate the coming year.
The concept of traditional education has changed dramatically since the beginning and mass acceptance of online education. The world is busy in remote teaching experimentation, and the online education trends may impact learning in the future.
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Dear Jim,
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Li Hua
