Studies have shown that memories of good parental relationships can be good for people. William Chopik is an expert from Michigan State University. He together with some other experts did a study and they published an article in Health Psychology recently. According to the study, people who have good childhood memories of their parental relationships have better health and less sadness.
Chopik and his team carefully studied the results of two surveys. The first was the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, which studied adults in their forties for 18 years. The second, the Health and Retirement Study, general health, and what they think about their lives.
The experts found that those who thought they got much love from their parents in early childhood had better physical health and were more satisfied with their present lives. The experts also found that happy memories about mothers could have a bigger influence on children than that about fathers. The reason for this may be that most children were mainly raised by mothers.
The experts said the question needs to be studied further. In order to better understand the relationship between people's memories about parents and their present lives, greater numbers of people will be studied for longer periods of time.
The ants and the grasshopper (蝗虫)lived in the same big field. The ants always worked hard, and tried to prepare and harvest enough food for winter.
Their happy neighbor, the grasshopper, couldn't understand them. He just keep singing. One winter day, the ants were busy spreading their grain(谷物) in the sun to dry. The grasshopper was nearly dying of hunger, so he went to the ants to ask for some food.
"Good day to you, kind neighbor," said the grasshopper. "Won't you lend me a little food? I will certainly repay you before this time next year. ""Why don't you have any food of your own?" asked an old ant. "There was a lot of food in the big field all summer. What did you do?"
Oh," said the grasshopper, forgetting his hunger, "I sang all day long, and all night long. ""Well, then," said the ant, "if you can sing all summer, you should dance all winter. "And the old ant went back to her work, singing the ant song, "We ants never borrow, we ants never lend."
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Anna used to wake you up on Sunday morning when you wanted to stay in bed, but now you feel strange if she gets up before lunch. She used to be very quiet, but now she talks all the time-but not to you. She used to hold your hand when you went to visit your friends. Now she doesn't even want to be seen with you when you go to visit your friends. Your Anna might spend hours on the phone or in the bathroom now. At the same time Nick next door has become quiet and dirty. He used to be very polite. Now a simple conversation with Nick becomes very difficult. You've gone from a hero to the most embarrassing adult in the world. Your child has become a teenager!
What makes adolescence(青春期) so difficult? Physical(身体上的) and emotional changes are the reasons that make them change so much. When they are young, children live in a safe and simple land called" childhood". Parents organize their lives. Parents choose children's clothes, take them to places, and spend time with them. They're there with the children when there is a problem. As children get older, however, they learn about another land—an exciting land, called " adulthood". Sooner or later their hormones (荷尔蒙) push them into the open sea—away from the safe land or childhood. Adolescence, then, is the journey from childhood to adulthood. Some find the journey quite easy. For others, it's very difficult.
Now, it seems that artificial intelligence(人工智能) is becoming more and more popular in our life, and it has brought great effects on the ways we live, work and play.
Recently, a scientist has invented a special robot that can be a table tennis coach. That means people can learn how to play table tennis not only with humans but also with a robot.
Named Forpheus, the smart table tennis robot is quite special. It can study the movements of human players and the speeds of the ball. In this way, it can exactly judge the players' skill levels(水平). Then it uses the information to change the ways to play. If the players are just beginners, Forpheus will play in a slow and easy way. But if the players are better ones, the robot will play in a faster and more difficult way. What's more, while playing, it encourages players to try their best with words like: "Good job." "Come on!" and so on. At the same time, it gives some good advice to improve their skills. So, it is both a good partner and a clever coach.
Science and technology is developing quickly these days and no one knows what will happen in the future. "In the next 20 years, it will be possible that one robot teaches another to play table tennis or even invents another one!" Takurya, the inventor of the robot, said.
31-year-old Michael Phelps has become a phenomenon(神话) in swimming.
Phelps won four golds and one silver at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. He ended his journey to the next Olympic Games and magic performance successfully. Within 12 years, from Athens to Rio, Phelps won 22 gold medals. He was one of the greatest athletes in the history of the Olympic Games.
At the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, he won eight gold medals. That was more than the whole Australian team could put together. He beat(打败) Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven wins in the pool at one Olympics. Phelps has put his name next to seven world records.
Michael Phelps started to swim at the age of 5. Guess which stroke(动作) he first tried, the backstroke. It's because he didn't want to put his face in the water. By the age of 7, he had taken part in a lot of swimming competitions. At 11, he met Bob Bowman who saw the kid's great talent.
How did Phelps become so good? He was born with the body of a swimmer. He stands 1.87 meters high and has a wide wingspan(臂展). He knows how to use his body to full advantage. His hands and feet are like paddles(踏板) in the water and he has a strong kick. But that's not all; he also has the heart and will to win. He thinks that anything is possible as long as you keep practicing.
Swimming is Phelps' life. Every day he spends five hours in the water, swimming about 11 kilometers. He never takes a day off. This is a young man who knows what he wants. "If I didn't swim my best, I'd think about it at school, at dinner, and with my friends. It would drive me crazy," he said.
"There are no limits(限制). The more you dream, the further you will get."
In your opinion, how should a man dress, behave and talk? There is no single answer. Many girls today love xiaoxianrou, or "little fresh meat", which refers to young male(男性) stars who are delicate(精致的) and cute. Of course, there are also people who still like the traditional male image of being muscular and strong.
This topic caused some discussion across China in September. It started when CCTV invited four young actors to perform on First Class for the New Term, an educational TV show for primary and middle school students. The four actors all looked feminine(女性化的)and wearing makeup.
Later on, criticism(批评) of their looks was everywhere on the Internet. Some called the actors "niangpao". Many parents believe that this kind of soft male image is in poor taste and could have a bad influence on their child development.
"As male stars, they pay too much attention on their looks and fail to set good examples for teenagers,"Xinhua said, "If men all look or do like this, China will never become the strong and great country as it hopes to be", Xinhua added. However, others have some different opinions, they can accept the soft looks of males, they even would like to be like them.
"No matter what kind of personal style or quality he or she chooses to show, whether it is strong-willed or soft, that doesn't stop them from being an excellent person," China Women's Daily said in a report. People's Daily agreed and said, "Whether the man is strong or not depends on their inner qualities, not their outer looks."
On that Sunday afternoon, my friend and I sat on the beach chairs and watched our girls playing in the waves. Suddenly, the girls all ran away. About fifty metres from us, the girls stood next to a middle-aged man and watched him fishing. He smiled at them. They ran back to us all except my three-year-old daughter, Anna.
"Anna! Come here! Play with your friends!" I shouted, realising that my speeches about not talking to strangers weren't working. These days, many parents were told terrible stories about children being taken away by strangers. Good mums should teach their daughters that the world is a dangerous place. So I felt a little better when Anna finally ran towards me. Then she took up a shovel(铲子) and looked me in the eye, "I want to be with that man." She ran back, sat down next to him and started digging.
I watched my daughters, every few seconds looking quickly at my five-year-old daughter to make sure she hadn't been swept out to the sea, then back to Anna to make sure she was safe. A few seconds later, Anna ran back to us, waving something shiny. It was a toy fish—yellow and rubber. This must be what he was using for fishing. And he'd given it to Anna. The three other girls saw it and they all wanted it." My friend gave me that fish!" Anna shouted loudly. The girls ran after each other with a yellow rubber fish flying through the air.
Suddenly, the man walked towards us with three more rubber fishes. He handed them to each of the girls. "Thank you," they said quickly.
"Thank you," I said, realising there are lessons for mothers to learn that only three-year-olds could teach them.
Being shy keeps many Chinese people from getting to know Westerners. You may feel nervous about making language mistakes in front of a native English speaker.
But remember, Westerners living in Asia know how it feels when trying to communicate in a foreign language. They make many mistakes when speaking Chinese!
So don't worry about speaking imperfect English. The most important thing is just to communicate. Start talking, and make some foreign friends!
Many Westerners value their privacy( 隐私). Don't be surprised if your new friend doesn't want to include you in everything he does. This may seem strange to Chinese who worry that their friends will feel lonely.
Chinese people often expect their good friends to give advice to and take care of them in many ways. If you expect this kind of care from Westerners, you may be disappointed. Why? Because most Westerners value independence. They feel insulted(受侮辱的) if others think they can't take care of themselves. They will assume(假设) you feel in the same way.
Of course, these tips are just rules of thumb(经验之谈)and may not apply to all Westerners. Each person you meet has his or her own ideas about friendship. When you get confused, don't be shy to ask questions. Your new Western friends may also have many questions about Chinese culture , and they may be hesitant(迟疑的) to ask. So encourage them to ask questions, too.
Be honest and open to your friends. Respect each other's differences. The friendship you develop can be lifelong treasure both for you and your new friend.
Imagine this: Your parents go away on business, but you have to stay at home alone.
Would life be as easy as when your parents are around? Would it be a perfect holiday for you?
"I can feed myself with tomato and egg soup, but that's all. I think many of my classmates are the same. We wouldn't know what to do, or how to look after ourselves." said Zheng Chenyu. "And I'd forget things easily. I'd probably watch television and burn the soup."
"Now parents do almost everything for us. We're very lazy in housework," she said.
Most teenagers only have time for their homework. They don't learn any life skills until they go to college. However, Sima Yige doesn't think so." I think I'd be all right. I wouldn't just eat sandwiches or fruit. I know how to cook some simple dishes because my mom showed me," the 13-year-old boy said. In his opinion, many teenagers depend too much on their parents, and there is much more to learn than cooking, like "tidying up your room or even dressing yourself properly". For most teenagers, it wouldn't be a holiday at all.
