Today, we are told, children don't spend enough time in the fresh air. Many of them are addicted to screen on a computer or a TV—they seem to be living in a virtual world. They have lost touch with nature.

    But now 400 organizations in the UK, from playgroups to the National Health Service, are encouraging children to have some “wild time”. They want kids to swap at least 30 minutes of watching TV or playing computer games for time playing outside. Activities such as building dens, climbing trees, rummaging for conkers and playing hide and seek are just some of the things kids can do. Even if they live in a city, they can go on adventures in the garden or the park.

    Children often need a helping hand from mom and dad. They need to be shown what to do and where to go. Andy Simpson from National Health Service says, “We want parents to see what this magical wonder product does for their kids' development, independence and creativity, by giving wild time a go”.

    So despite the complicated world that young people grow up in now, it seems that going back to basics and experiencing “nature's playground” is what modern children need. David Bond from Project Wild Thing says, “We need to make more space for wild time in children's daily routine, freeing this generation of kids to have the sort of experiences that many of us took for granted”.

    This might sound a bit old fashioned to you or maybe, like me, it's made you think about sticking on your boots, getting outdoors and reliving your childhood. There is no age limit on enjoying yourself!

In a Station of the Metro

    The apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough.

    This is the only Ezra Pound poem that many people will read in their lives. Why? One obvious reason is that it's just two lines long. The poem, which can be understood as “A man sees a bunch of faces in the subway and thinks they look like flowers on a tree branch,” is an exercise in shortness. Pound wrote it after having a spiritual experience in a Paris metro (subway) station.

    In 1916, the US poet originally thought he could best describe his vision in a painting. Unfortunately, he wasn't a painter. So he wrote a thirty-line poem, which he didn't like. He dropped the long version in the waste bin. Six months later, he wrote a shorter poem, but didn't like that one either. Finally, a full year after the experience, he had been reading short Japanese poems called haikus, and he figured he would try this style. The result, which was published in 1913, is one of the most famous and influential works in modern poetry.

    This poem is one of the monuments (纪念物) of the 20th-century artistic movement known as “Imagism”. Basically, Pound and his friends thought that images (意象) weren't just decoration: they were the highest form of speech. By finding the right image, the poet can express the true, spiritual reality of a thing, which is more important than using a bunch of adjectives to describe its physical appearance. Thus, “In a Station of the Metro” is a poem that consists of one image expressed with absolute (绝对的) exactness and nothing else.

    To the imagists, the best way to describe an experience is not to use more and more words; the best way is to find exactly the right words. Have you ever told a beloved one that “words can't express” how much you love them? Well, Pound would say that you're just being lazy. In his view, words can express anything, even if it takes an entire year to find the right ones.

    It's Friday night. You're looking through your Instagram (a photo-sharing app) feed when you see it: a photo of your friends hanging out without you.

    Why didn't anyone invite you? What are they doing later? Should you text them? What if no one responds (回应)?

    Sounds like a typical case of FOMO.

    FOMO, or "fear of missing out", is a form of anxiety that causes people to feel like they're missing out on something. The word was added to The Oxford English Dictionary last year. But just how serious is FOMO?

    According to a study by a US research organization, JWTIntelligence, 47 percent of teen millennials (those who are 13-17 years old now) feel upset or nervous when they learn that their friends are doing something they're not. And 41 percent said they spread themselves too thin, trying to do too many things at one time to avoid FOMO.

    Today's technology is a big cause of FOMO, according to Jonathan Pochyly, an adolescent psychiatrist (青少年精神病学专家) at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago.

    "Technology is one of the things that makes life special for adolescents these days," he explained.  

    "There's a lot of focus on what everyone else is doing. It became a trend, so there's pressure to keep up with it."

    As social media (社交媒体) feeds are always updating us with our friends' activities, it's easier than ever to feel left out. So what can we do?

    To fight against FOMO, Jones freshman Emmy Brewer just calls people and talks to them.

    "I'd be upset for a bit, but then I'd realize that I should be reaching out to them," she said.

    Oak Park and River Forest High School senior James Cullinane said he fights off FOMO by living in the now.

    "If I'm hanging out with my friends, or just sitting at home on my couch, I think it's best to stay off social media and focus on what I'm doing in the moment," Cullinane said.

    While FOMO will continue to affect (影响) teenagers in the future, Pochyly said that he believes these feelings are just side effects of growing up.

    "These types of interactions (交往) with people are … a function (功能) of kids being more independent, looking for connections with other people, moving away from just being a child in a home, and moving toward adulthood," he said.

    The United States will introduce a new and comprehensive(综合的) exam for students who seek to study in American and other English-speaking countries, Xinhua News Agency reported from New York.

    The exam, which stands for a great change from the current English level test, was disclosed by Theresa Chang Wei Jen, associate director of the International Service of the US College Board, America's leading educational organization.

    The Advanced Placement International English Language (APIEL) will be offered for the first time throughout the world on May 10, 2002, said Jen.

    However, the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams, such as the TOEFL(Test of English as a Foreign Language), the GRE(Graduate Record Examination), or the IELTS(International English Language Testing System).

    "I have never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another exam," said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, who wants to study in England and has already taken the TOEFL.

    Most of Xu's classmates have never heard of the APIEL. "The APIEL is designed for international students who wish to get university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia." said Jen.

    The APIEL has been adopted, said Jen, because the TOEFL can no longer accurately reflect the abilities of students of using the English language comprehensively in an academic environment. Xinhua reported that a fairly large number of foreign students who earned high scores in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after admission.

    Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL measures a student's ability to read, write, speak and understand English through testing his or her skills in listening comprehension, speaking with accuracy(精确) and resourcefulness, and writing with clarity(清晰) and fluency, Jen said.

    In the mid-1990s, Tom Bissell taught English as a volunteer in Uzbekistan. He left after seven months, physically broken and having lost his mind. A few years later, still attracted to the country, he returned to Uzbekistan to write an article about the disappearance of the Aral Sea.

    His visit, however, ended up involving a lot more than that. Hence this book, Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia, which talks about a road trip from Tashkent to Karakalpakstan, where millions of lives have been destroyed by the slow drying up of the sea. It is the story of an American travelling to a strange land, and of the people he meets on his way: Rustam, his translator, a lovely 24-year-old who picked up his colorful English in California, Oleg and Natasha, his hosts in Tashkent, and a string of foreign aid workers.

    This is a quick look at life in Uzbekistan, made of friendliness and warmth, but also its darker side of society. In Samarkand, Mr Bissell admires the architectural wonders, while on his way to Bukhara he gets a taste of police methods when suspected of drug dealing. In Ferghana, he attends a mountain funeral(葬礼)followed by a strange drinking party. And in Karakalpakstan, he is saddened by the dust storms, diseases and fishing boats stuck miles from the sea.

    Mr Bissell skillfully organizes historical insights and cultural references, making his tale a well-rounded picture of Uzbekistan, seen from Western eyes. His judgment and references are decidedly American, as well as his delicate stomach. As the author explains, this is neither a travel nor a history book, or even a piece of reportage. Whatever it is, the result is a fine and vivid description of the purest of Central Asian traditions.