Experts say that engaging in playful activities through adulthood can help lower stress, improve cognitive functions, and build social bonds with others, which is so much more than what your phone can do for you. So what are you waiting for? Round up the family, grab one of these lawn games for adults, and let the good time sroll.
Spikeball Game Set $59.99
The flexible, hula-hoop-sized net stands on its foldable legs and can be taken to the beach or the park to give four players plenty of space to run around. Start the two-on-two game by bouncing a ball off the net, sending it flying toward your opponents—they have three passes between them to send the ball back over to your team. When they miss, you score, and the first one to get to 21 wins.
The Pocket Shot $25.00
Who doesn't love lining up cans and shooting them down with a slingshot? It's demanding yet thrilling. The Pocket Shot is a super powerful slingshot that shoots at two or three times the rate of a regular slingshot. It's super tiny, so it fits in your pocket.
Giant 4-Connect-In-A-Row $79.99
Two players at a time try to insert their red or blue coins into the wooden frame to form a vertical or horizontal line of all the same color. It's way more challenging than you'd think.
"Can you imagine?" Diébédo Francis Kéré said to NPR, "I was born in Burkina Faso, a little village where there was no school. And my father wanted me to learn how to read and write very simply because then I could translate or read him his letters."
The first Black winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize was as surprised as anyone else to be selected for the field's most famous prize. Many architects had openly supposed that 2022 would be Sir David Adjaye's year, who is best known for designing notable buildings as the Nobel Peace Center in Norway. Kéré, who is based in Berlin but centers much of his practice in Africa, has been—until now—far lesser known, with buildings that include primary schools and a healthcare clinic.
When he was twenty, in 1985, Kéré earned a scholarship to study carpentry in Berlin. But he also attended night school and was admitted to Technische Universität Berlin, from which he graduated in 2004 with an advanced degree in architecture. He was still a student when he designed and built the innovative Gando Primary School.
Kéré's architectural practice was inspired by his own experience attending school with around 100 other children in a region with temperatures over 100 F. "It's very hot inside. And there was no light, while outside, the sunlight was abundant. I think, one day I should make it better. I was thinking about space, about room, about how I could feel better." In his designs for Gando Primary School and Naaba Belem Goumma Secondary School, Kéré drew on traditional building materials such as local clay mixed with concrete, and emphasized shade and shadows, making spaces bright enough and letting air in, and thus reducing the need for air conditioning. He wanted the buildings to evoke the sense of an oasis (绿洲), a place for many children, to be happy and learn how to read and write.
Facebook lets friends connect. They can give each other updates, share photos and post comments. But that's not all.
Facebook might also stress users out.
In a new study, 88 volunteers revealed how much time they spent on Facebook and the types of Facebook posts and comments that they made. In addition, they answered questions about their feelings and state of mind. They also offered saliva. Researchers tested it for cortisol（皮质醇）. This chemical is a stress hormone. Levels of it vary throughout the day.
In this study, people with the most Facebook friends, more than 300, had somewhat higher cortisol levels. Additionally, the more Facebook friends that users had, the more likely they were to feel anxious. On the other hand, youths who gave lots of "likes" and supportive comments on Facebook had lower cortisol levels. "The more social support you give to others, the lower your stress hormone levels will be, " says Lupien.
"This research decidedly combines the social science approach and the medical science approach on an important question in our social-media age, " says Wenhong Chen, a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin. "It's really pleasantly new to see Lupien's team study cortisol levels—along with questionnaire data."
One finding from Lupien's work surprised Chen. Teens who felt they got a lot of support from others also had higher cortisol levels. Usually, she says, those feelings should protect people from stress. "There are many potential dangers of social media use among young people, " Chen notes. So, she says, enjoy Facebook, but be aware of the risks.
Lupien suggests that teen Facebook users share information with and support their friends on the site. They shouldn't just stay silent. "if anyone is more stressed, it's the watchers, not the sharers, " she says. Also, she recommends that people who use social media heavily should find time to take active walks, to run or to do other activities. Cortisol increases a person's energy. "The best way to reduce stress hormones is to use the energy, '' she says.
Curtin University research has found a simple and affordable method to determine which chemicals and types of metals are best used to store and supply energy, in a breakthrough for any battery-run devices and technologies relying on the fast and reliable supply of electricity, including smart phones and tablets.
Lead author Associate Professor Simone Ciampi from Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences said this easy, low-cost method of determining how to produce and keep the highest energy charge in a capacitor (电容器) could be of great benefit to all scientists, engineers and start-ups looking to solving the energy storage challenges of the future.
"All electronic devices require an energy source. While a battery needs to be recharged over time, a capacitor can be charged instantly because it stores energy by separating charged ions (离子), found in ionic liquids, " Ciampi said.
There are thousands of types of ionic liquids, a type of "liquid salt", and until now, it was difficult to know which would be best suited for use in a capacitor. What our team has done is designing a quick and easy test, able to be performed in a basic lab, which can measure both the ability to store charge when a solid electrode touches a given ionic liquid—a simple capacitor—as well as the stability of the device when charged.
"The simplicity this test means anyone can apply it without the need for expensive equipment. Using this method, researchers found that charging the device for 60 seconds produced a full charge, which did not ‘leak' (渗漏) and begin to diminish for at least four days, " Mr Belotti said.
The next step is to use this new screening method to find ionic liquid with an even longer duration in the charged state and larger energy density.
Keep it secure
All apps collect data as you use them. Following these four steps will help ensure you're not oversharing.
For starters, download apps only from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, not from random websites. Before you accept an app's terms and conditions, look at what information it's planning to collect and think twice if it's asking for too many permissions. Also, most apps don't need to know your location, but for those that do, you can choose to enable location services only when using the particular app, another smart privacy safeguard.
Sign up using an e-mail address you've set up just for things like app permissions and e-mail newsletters. This way, if there is a security breach (缺口), your exposure is contained to things connected to that address.
This means a long one (at least ten characters) with a mixture of letters, numbers, and special characters
– and, sorry, a unique password for each app. According to security experts, a good trick is to create a memorable "passphrase" by creating a series of random words, and then substitute numbers or special characters (i.e., @ for at) for some of the letters.Go ahead and write them down — just store your cheat sheet in a secure location (not your wallet or phone case!). Or enlist a password manager such as 1Password or LastPass.
A. For example, why would a gaming app need access to your text messages?
B. How will you ever remember them all?
C. Just be sure to choose your teams' official apps.
D. Don't use your main e-mail address or social media account.
E. Do you have an old smartphone you're not using anymore?
F. These apps meet the major companies' quality standards.
G. And, of course, use a secure password.
My family unit of four was on the stricter side when it came to COVID- 19 precautions. We had decided not to attend most group1. We had2about the health risks posed by this new virus, especially as we waited for our kids to be vaccinated.
My parents came up from Texas in December 2020 to quarantine (隔离期) before seeing us and3to visit us occasionally after that. We tried to visit them too but got4twice—first when the virus Delta made the trip
too 5, then when my grandma and my older son separately were6with Omicron.
Finally, in February 2022, we got there. It had been more than two years once my kids had seen my grandparents, and my younger son did not7being on a plane. We met my parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins in Colorado. There, my kids8her baby cousin. I9my kids as they swam, watched fireworks, generally10with their older cousins. They were so11with everyone, despite how infrequently we had gotten together over the past few years.
Several times, I looked over at my kids playing with my relatives, their relatives, forming their own 12 , and felt something that I rarely feel about being with other people: longing, the 13for more of this.
As COVID- 19 is not over, we are still trying to keep our 14limited. But with our younger son finally 15we are cracking open the door, just a little, to be with the people we love.
A book club can be a good way to develop an (appreciate) of reading and new friendships, or it can be a big fat fail. The direction it takes really depends on how it (manage).
Right out of the gate, talk with potential members about what they want from a book club. If their interest is(simple) the socials, think about forming a group to do social activities together.
Book club expert Davina Morgan-Witts conducted a survey of thousands of book club members. In that survey, 81 percent marked themselves as "very(delight)" and they generally discussed the book for 75 minutes or longer.
(compare) with them, just 55 percent of people in the group talking for 20 minutes or less (choose) the description of being happy.
"That's not to say social time is unimportant but it's secondary. It's because of the open discussion and the sharing of opinions the friendship forms, " Morgan-Witts explains. If you're eager (discuss) books without all of the small talk, she suggests applying membership of a public library group. "I was in one and it seemed whole purpose of it was to get together to talk about books, " recalls Morgan-Witts.
1）写信目的；
2）简介中国近 10 年的发展变化；
3）你对这些变化的感受。
注意：
1）词数 80 词左右
2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
3）开头结尾已给，不计入词数
Dear Mike,
The Qatar World Cup is over.
I hope that you can come to China for a visit to experience more.
Yours,
Li Hua
注意：
1）续写词数应为 150 左右；
2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I was backpacking in Panama over Christmas in 2018, and planned to climb Volcán Barú. It is one of the only places on earth from where you can see the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans at the same time.
I set off before sunrise. It was a bit cold, so I had pulled on leggings under my trousers. I've always felt safe travelling as a solo (单独) woman. I love the freedom. When I got to the base at 7 am, the ranger (护林员) was unwilling to let me go alone, but relented (缓和) because an American couple were behind me.
The first part of the climb was beautiful. I walked for an hour and had reached a fair height. The views were impressive, so I stopped to take a photograph. Suddenly I heard violent barking behind me.
I turned and saw two dogs running aggressively towards me. I could see their teeth looked sharp, and they looked angry. There was nowhere for me to run. I tried to keep calm, but my heart was racing. They stopped a dozen feet from where I stood and kept barking. I knew they could move fast, so I didn't want to try to outrun them.
I kept walking, saying, "Good dog, calm down, " as evenly as possible. But I was terrified. Then one dashed up and sunk his teeth into my leg below the knee. I was shocked. He held on for a few seconds. The pain took my breath away as I felt his fangs (犬牙) in my flesh. I considered bending down to get a rock to fight him off, but was nervous in case he went for my neck or the other one launched at me.
I tried to keep walking, and he finally let go. Then he was behind me, growling (嗥叫). I kept going, my body shaking, until after about 15 minutes I was out of their sight.
When I thought it was safe, I stopped.
A pickup truck appeared, driven by the ranger.
