A popular TV host has reportedly invested about US$ 740,000 in a project to research, preserve and promote the Hunan provincial dialect (方言). Chinese TV presenters are required to speak Mandarin, or Putonghua, as part of their work, but should dialects be allowed on air?
Bcnu (China): TV and radio stations have the right to decide whether dialects or Mandarin will be used in their programs. The popularity of some dialects in some areas will not challenge the leading role of Mandarin in the whole country.
Rick N (US): TV and radio broadcasters should take the lead in popularizing Mandarin. To require hosts to speak standard Mandarin is not to oppress (压制) dialects, but it only aims to restrict irresponsible use of language. I think it is unprofessional for some hosts particularly to imitate the pronunciation of dialects.
Cooper (UK): Dialects are an important part of local culture and now many kids even don't know how to speak their dialects because of the main use of Mandarin around them. It would be a pity if future generations were unable to understand the local dialects. It would be a terrible break in cultural traditions.
Steve (France): To attract viewers or make more money, some hosts casually use dialects. Demanding TV and radio programs use Mandarin is a move to limit strange and irresponsible use of language, whether it is Mandarin or other dialects. In this way, the decision is also a form of protection for dialects. Hearing standard Mandarin on TV and radio programs is also a basic right of audiences around the country.
You can use your smartphone to get pretty much anything delivered directly to your door almost immediately. The hardest part is the process of trying to work out if you should tip and if so, doing the quick math before you get to the door. And, you know well that you should tip about 15-20% at restaurants, but do the same rules apply to delivery drivers?
The co-founder of Grubhub, Matt Maloney, pretty much set the standard for tipping delivery people in a Facebook post. He's a strong supporter of tipping, and Grubhub's website suggests a $5 or a 20% tip. Maloney also said this number should go up if you order during, say, a snowstorm.
However, most other delivery services say on their websites that tipping is not required. Some services, like Door Dash, do suggest no tip on their checkout window. Many, like Amazon Prime Now, allow customers to change their tip amount after their delivery has been received to reflect the quality of service. These companies help customers save money but delivery drivers are upset. They deal with bad weather, heavy traffic, extreme tiredness, and more, all for a $1 tip. Many feel that if you'd tip your pizza boy or girl, you should tip your delivery driver.
The Emily Post Institute (EPI)'s official suggestion falls in line with Maloney's: “10-15% of the bill, or $2-5 for pizza delivery depending on the size of the order and difficulty of delivery.”
Just like servers in a restaurant, delivery drivers almost always rely on your tips for their income. Tipping is a long-standing cultural tradition in America. So, until drones (无人机) can deliver hot dogs straight to your door, it's best to tip the people riding through the city at all hours to bring you hot fresh food.
Depression(抑郁) can be a destructive illness, plaguing millions of people worldwide with feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and fatigue. Despite numerous antidepressant drugs, as many as a third of patients don't respond to medication. This has forced doctors to be more creative in finding different treatments for the condition.
In the past two decades, researchers have tied depression to a seemingly unrelated condition: inflammation(炎症), the body's natural response to stress. It could rise from injury or inflection, or even emotional issues like an unhappy marriage or problems at work. Some amount of inflammation is generally beneficial, as it increases production of cytokines(致癌因子)，proteins that help us heal and protect us from the effects of overwork.
But excessive cytokine levels, and the inflammation they bring on, could come at a cost—a number of studies suggests that high levels of cytokines could contribute to depression.
Cytokines can reach the brain several ways: directly through the blood-brain barrier or indirectly by binding to nerve fibers elsewhere, which send signals to the brain to produce the inflammation molecules. In the brain, cytokines can disturb the production and release of several important signaling chemicals, including serotonin, dopamine and glutamate, which help control emotion, appetite, sleep, learning and memory. It's thought that a lack of serotonin activity in the brain causes depression; most antidepressants increase the activity. But cytokines also have been shown to activate stress hormone signaling in the brain, which may also serve to develop depression.
With all the evidence implicating inflammation in depression, doctors have been anxious to test anti-inflammatory drugs as a potential treatment. Four small studies published between 2006 and 2017 by research groups in Europe and Iran found that adults diagnosed with depression who took aspirin or another anti-inflammatory drug called Celecoxib, along with an antidepressant, got more relief from feelings of sadness, hopelessness, guilt and fatigue compared with those taking an antidepressant alone. However, Andrew Miller, a professor of psychiatry at Emory University, thought something was wrong in these small, limited studies. None of them looked at whether the participants had high levels of cytokines before they'd see a benefit from anti-inflammatory drugs. "Unfortunately, much of the field has fallen into the trap of viewing inflammation as the be-all, end-all," Miller says. He and his colleagues wanted to see whether the effect of these drugs was limited to the depression patients with high cytokine levels, or if it helped all people diagnosed with depression.
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Top 3 Self-Discipline Techniques
Self-discipline is the key to leading a healthier, happier and more successful life. . We have shared some self-discipline techniques below. Follow these self-discipline techniques to start living a better life.
Start small
The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step as the proverb goes. . Instead, stamina (耐力) is built up by doing a little more than the previous day's target.
The same goes for discipline. Start by trying to carry out self-discipline techniques little by little every day for big results. Increase your goals over time.
Staying self-disciplined requires motivation. It can be hard to stay motivated if you feel like you haven't made any progress so far. Tracking progress makes you aware of how much you've done and encourages you to keep going.
Exercise your willpower
. Some days, sticking to the task is going to be difficult but by reminding yourself of the end in mind and how much the goal means to you, you will be able to ignore temporary temptations for long term gain.
The above-mentioned self-discipline techniques have been proven to be extremely effective. , and it is the key to living a happy and fulfilling life.
A. Build a support system
B. Measure your goals
C. Willpower and self-discipline go hand in hand
D. Self-discipline is a feature found in many successful people
E. Self-discipline is linked to effective time management
F. However, it is easier said than done
G. You don't train for a marathon by running 10 kilometers on the first day
At least thirty times Bobby had tried to climb the snowy mountain, but he had never1 the top. His friend old Peeper, who knew a lot about his failures, 2 Bobby to try again. He gave Bobby a pair of3 and said, "If it starts clouding over, put on the glasses, or if your feet start hurting, put them on too. The glasses are very 4 . They'll help you." Bobby 5 the gift without much thought.
The day came when he was to have another 6 . About two hours after he started, he felt his feet hurting. Then he7 what Peeper had said, and put on the glasses. The pain was pretty bad, but 8 the sunglasses he could clearly see the snow-covered mountain top, so he went on.
9 , clouds were gathering. But this time Bobby could still see the10 through the clouds. He kept 11 , leaving the clouds behind, forgetting his pain, and finally arriving at the top. It was certainly worth it. His feeling of 12 was extremely good, almost as great as that 13 view. The mountain below was surrounded by a sea of clouds. He couldn't believe that the clouds were as 14 as that, so he looked more closely at the sunglasses, and discovered the 15 . Peeper had engraved(镌刻) the snow-covered mountain top on the sunglasses, 16 Bobby could see it when he was looking upwards!
Bobby 17 that the only obstacle(障碍) to reaching the top had been losing 18 when he couldn't see the mountain top. He was thankful that Peeper had used that little 19 to help him see that his20 was never impossible, and that it was still there, where it had always been.
There are many great destinations in the UK, one of is the South-West of England. The most popular regions surrounding the South-West (be) the counties of Devon and Cornwall. They are by the coast and known for having some of sunniest weather in the UK.
In the heart of the South-West, Dartmoor National Park (vote) the UK's favourite in 2016. There are plenty of breathtaking walks to choose from which will lead you (discover) Dartmoofs ancient and rugged (崎岖的) charm!
In the South-West you will find plenty of attractive and often deserted (beach). Some examples include Whitesand Bay in Cornwall and Woolacombe beach in Devon. If you don't mind the( slight) cooler temperatures than other beach destinations in Europe, you are in for a real treat!
Apart from( surround) by beautiful nature, the South-West is full of urban gems (精华). The city of Exeter in Devon has great centers, as well as lots of cafes pubs. Cornwall has its own treasures too—pretty villages and towns such as St Ives and Mousehole line the coastline, and make for the perfect locations to spend those (relax) summer afternoons!
Have you heard an old saying "The grass looks greener on the other side of the fence"? It means other places often look better, more interesting than the place where you live. "Let's go to KFC for dinner and then watch some Japanese cartoons!" We all know it: more and more Chinese kids love American and Japanese food and movies. Some people worry that young Chinese are beginning to feel that way. They see young Chinese ignoring（忽视）Chinese culture and, instead, buying Japanese cartoon books, watching Korean soap operas and even celebrating western holidays.
Foreign books and soap operas are good, but Chinese writers and actors are just as good. As for holidays, Christmas is nice, but it can never have the meaning for Chinese that Spring Festival has, and the West has nothing to compare with the Mid-Autumn Festival. China has lots of cool things in its culture: calligraphy, Beijing Opera, quick meals on the streets, and even Jay Chou! And let's not forget the part of Chinese culture I like best: its friendliness. Not all countries are as warm as China.
It's good to enjoy other cultures and learn from them, but they can never replace your own culture. It's good to look on the other side of the fence, but make sure you take a good long look. You will find that the grass isn't always greener.
Although some people become worried about that, I don't think they should. Will we get more powerful without learning from other countries? Will Chinese people live more happily without American fast food? Besides, it's fun to learn about different cultures. Chinese kids can learn about other cultures and have fun, but they also need to learn more about their own culture. Be proud of Chinese culture and of being Chinese!
