The popular TV program Readers has prompted more people in China to practice reading aloud in booths(亭) set up in big cities across the country.

As the latest TV show to help peopleˈs love for literature recover, CCTV program Readers invites people from all walks of life to read aloud their favorite poems, essays and books, or even personal letters they wrote to their loved ones. Just as the weekly show has been well-received, its reading booths, equipped with professional recording devices and cameras, have become instant hits.

A crowd of more than 200 people were pictured lining up outside the Shanghai Library at 11 am on March 4 – the first day of the boothˈs opening to the public in Shanghai. The deadline for registrations was brought forward to 2 pm instead of the scheduled 5:30 pm, as the number of waiting readers continued to grow. Some waited more than nine hours for a try-out in the booth, according to library management.

"There is an old photo in the late 1970s capturing people lining up outside the Shanghai Library before it opens. If that was a spring of reading in Shanghai, now I think another spring has arrived again," library manager Zhou Deming, told the Shanghai-based The Paper.

The reading booth is the only one of its kind in the city of economic center at the moment, but more are expected to be put into use in the coming months, according to the libraryˈs website.

The Readers program has also led to booths in other cities including Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Xiˈan to appeal to more people to read and share their life stories.

With the recent boom of culture-themed TV shows such as Readers and Chinese Poetry Competition, some are optimistic that this will help the country love literature and reading again in general.

Tips for Cycle Trips

Cycling has many advantages as a form of travel, as it is the fastest way to travel by humanpower, and slow enough to allow the type of local involvement that is impossible with poweredtravel.Cycle travel is a cheap form of transportation.

Distance

On level terrain(地形),without a headwind, a cyclist of average fitness on a touring bike cancomfortably cover 60-120km a day.Distances of up to 250km a day are possible, but anythingmuch beyond 120km willrequire considerable physical tension and not allow many stops to enjoythe places you visit.For many80-100km a day will be the most suitable distance to aim for, as itwill give a sense of achievement and also leave plenty of time for meals and activities.

Geography

The gradient（坡度）of the trip will reduce your range.A basic rule is that for every 100metres of altitude you climb, you should add an extra 15 minutes to your journey time.In hilly ormountainous areas, the easiest routes for cycling are downstream along major rivers, as they will be downhilloverall.A long, roundabout route along a river will usually be easier than a short,direct route over a hill or mountain pass.However, it is worth bearing in mind that the most scenicroutes often come from hilly terrain(地形).

Eat

Food choice depends largely on where you are, so see the respective(各自的) sections for moreinformation about foods. As you will be working hard, it’s important to get enough energy in yourfood. On long trips away from major towns,there may be little quality food available, so beprepared to live on candy bars, prepared meat products and the like(and so on)if the need arises.

Sleep

While you can take a tent with you, many hotels and especially campsites can accommodate(provide … a place to stay)cyclists. However, there are also some hotels that may be less used to accommodating cyclists.Ifyou are exploring an unfamiliar world, asking about the accommodationcanspare you the search for anew place to stay after a long exhausting day of travel.

“It’s a big hammer to crack a nut.” This is how one angry parent described the recent crackdown(强制措施)by London police on parents who drop their kids off at school by car. Yes, you read that correctly—the very mode of transportation that many American schools insist—the only safe way to deliver kids to school is now being criminalized in the United Kingdom.

    The decision to fine any vehicles seen dropping off or picking up kids with in a particular zone of east London comes from city councillors’(议员) long-term efforts to make the area safer and less crowded. They say they’ve been trying for years “to encourage sensible driving and parking”, but in vain. Neighborhood residents complain frequently about their driveways being blocked by illegally parked cars for 15 minutes or more，often while they’re trying to get to work, and the streets are long overcrowded.

    Now the rules have changed. Some parents are angry. Angie Baillieul is a mother who made the “big hammer” comment and says the crackdown is “way over the top.” The nearest drop-off point for her six- year-old is now a five-minute walk from the school. Others are happy with the decision, severe though it may seem.

    Councillor Jason Frost said ：“Traffic has significantly reduced，and more children are now walking to school, which is a great outcome. I would rather have complaints that we are slightly inconveniencing parents than hear that a child had been seriously injured because nothing was done.”

    I witness daily the chaos created by these in-town drivers，when I walk my own kids to school. There’s a parking lot overflowing with vehicles and a slow-moving train of cars moving in circles，many filling the air with harmful smokes. Meanwhile, the conversations around child over-weight and the importance of daily physical activity continue to stand out in schools.

Many shopping malls now have special areas that offer shoppers their first chance to experience "VR Technology". You may have entered one out of curiosity, or you may think it is just another piece of useless technology. Whatever your opinion, VR , or virtual(虚拟的) reality, is going to become a bigger part of our lives very soon.

2016 saw the introduction of many fancy products in the world of VR, including Microsoft's HoloLens and Samsung's Gear VR. All of them offer an exciting look at the new "realities" and opportunities that VR brings.

These, however, are the early days of a technology that is expected to go from strength to strength. And 2017 looks like it is going to be the year in which VR technology really takes off.

For a start, using VR will become more normal in 2017. Microsoft and Intel have already discussed their plans for simpler and less expensive VR headsets.

"The idea of VR will stop being a scifi (science-fiction) idea, and instead it will turn into an industry of real products used as ways to show off imagination," said Andrew, a designer at US VR Company, Survios.

It is also expected that VR products will play a part in more common and real-life fields like fashion and film. For example, to enjoy the atmosphere and energy of the front row experience at a fashion show, fans will no longer have to go along in the flesh. Instead, people will be ahle to enjoy the experience by just wearing a VR headset at home.

You can also expect VR mirrors and fitting-rooms sooner rather than later. "This is an especially good opportunity for brands looking to offer very personalized experiences, said Roy DeYoung from US-based marketing agency, PMX.

As time goes on, there will be less discussion about whether people will accept VR technology. It will simply be a discussion of when.

“He looks red.” “I’m feeling blue.” “She was green.” How often have you heard these expressions? They are actually fairly common. And they show how color relates to our emotions.

  Actually, color does have physical effect on the human body. It can influence the pituitary gland (脑下垂体), which helps control hormone production. Hormones can affect our moods, so it makes sense that color would, too. But it can also be used to change our moods.

  How do colors relate to moods and emotions?

  Red is all about energy, but it can also indicate anger.

  Orange is simulating, good for times when we just can’t seem to get started with something. It may be useful for reducing stress.

  Yellow is good for mental activities like reasoning and analysis. It can promote self—confidence and is helpful in situations when you need to be more optimistic.

  Green tends to make most people think of nature, since so much of the natural world is green. It’s about connections—with nature, or with our fellow humans. It’s also good for general stress, since it can help balance emotions.

  Blue is relaxing. It can stimulate creativity. Light blue can mean quiet, and dark blue can be depressing.

  White is definitely about peace. But it’s also associate with purity.

  How can you use colors to change your mood? Well, clothing is the most obvious choice. What you wear not only helps you feel a certain way, but also can give a strong impression about you to others—especially people you have never met.

  But you don’t have to change everything about your appearance. Sometimes a cap, a tie or a scarf, in a particular color will have the desired effect—without being too noticeable to others.

Do you like spicy food?

What’s your opinion on spicy food? Some people cannot handle even the smallest amount of chili-red pepper-in their dinner while others can’t get enough of it.

Scientists have long been puzzled by why some people love chili while others loathe it. Plenty of research has been done on the subject, dating as far back as the 1970s. Previous results showed that a love of chili is related to childhood experiences, and cultural influences affect our taste buds too. But the latest study has found that a person’s love of spicy food may be linked to his or her personality more than anything else, CBC News reported.

‘We have always assumed that liking drives intake-we eat what we like and we like what we eat. But no one has actually directly bothered to connect these personality traits with intake of chili peppers,’ said Professor John Hayes from Pennsylvania State University, who led the study.

But before you look at the study, you should first know that “spicy” is not a taste, unlike sour, sweet, bitter and salty. It is, in fact, a burning sensation that you feel on the surface of your tongue. This got scientists thinking that maybe a love of spicy food is brought about by people’s longing for thrill, something they usually get from watching action movies or riding a roller coaster.

In the study, 97 participants, both male and female, were asked to fill out questionnaires about certain traits of their personality, for example, whether they like new experiences or tend to avoid risks. They were then given a glass of water with capsaicin, the plant chemical that makes a chili burn, mixed into it.

By comparing the answers to the questionnaire and what participants said they felt about the spicy water, researchers found that those who tended to enjoy action movies or take risks were about six times more likely to enjoy the spicy water.

Interestingly, we used to believe that the reason some people can withstand spicy food is that their tongues have become less sensitive to it. However, this latest study has found otherwise. “It’s not that it doesn’t burn as badly, it’s that you actually learn to like the burn,” Hayes explained.