Don't you just hate it when you have to take an important phone call and you're surrounded by potential eavesdroppers(潜在偷听者)? You either have to whisper or go outside to keep the conversation private, which is not good. Now Hushme aims to fix this problem by muffling your voice and making you look like Bane in the film Batman.

    Hushme is a strange high-tech mask(口罩)that blocks the sound of the wearer's voice so that people nearby can't hear what is being said. It connects to your phone via Blucetooth and comes with a pair of earphones. When you get a private call, all you have to do is put the mask on and it will do the rest. The pair of thick pads over your mouth does a good job of muffling your voice, but to ensure nothing gets through. Hushme also has speakers that play a variety of sounds when you speak.

    The Hushme mask, which comes in a variety of colors, can be worn around the neck, like a regular pair of earphones, and attaches in front of your mouth thanks to a couple of very powerful magnets(磁铁). It's not yet clear how comfortable speaking with this Bane-like mask over your mouth really is, or how effective its speech muffling ability is, so we know so far is that it makes you look strange. The sound choices for covering your voice currently include wind, ocean, rain, birds, monkey, but new ones could be added in the future.

    Advertised as the “world's first voice mask for mobile phones'. Hushme was showed at CES. At the becoming of this year. Its makers plan to sell it by the end of this year. It will cost about $200.

    Laziness is a state of inaction. It is something that you do, not something that you are. Being lazy means you have no motivation to do anything. Many people make the mistake that they view themselves as lazy.

    Lazy people are often seen as useless. They are the ones who don't do anything. They can be seen as underachievers or even bums（废物）. This can be a child or an adult. You can view a student who never studies as lazy. You can see an employee who doesn't do his work as lazy. In all of these cases, what the lazy person is doing is being lazy. But are they really being lazy or are they acting lazy?

    There is a huge different between saying you act lazy sometimes and you are a lazy person. One is suggesting that your laziness is temporary while the other suggests that it's permanent. This is the myth of laziness. People who are lazy aren't; they simply are people who are temporarily acting that way.

    So that causes a person to be inactive? The answer is a lack of goals. If you give someone a good enough reason to do something, they will do it. People who don't seem to do anything just haven't found a good enough reason to do something. Lazy students don't study because they don't see the point in studying. If you give them a reason, a strong enough reason, they will take action.

    For example, if you are too lazy to go to the gym, would you go if someone offered you a million dollars to go? If you are too lazy to go to clean out the garage, would someone pointing a gun to your head help you take action? The reason can be positive or negative as long as it's strong enough to induce（引起）action.

    To motivate someone who is lazy, what you need to do is to help them find purpose and enough reasons to work towards a certain goal.

Your 2018 Reading List, Provided by Bill Gates

    Most of us can't live like billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, but we can read like him. Gates recommended four books in 2018—though some were published earlier.

    Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson (2017)

    The bestselling biographer of Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein researched deeply into da Vinci's contributions beyond art, highlighting the breadth of his scientific, technological, and creative output. “Leonardo nearly understood almost all of what was known on the planet at the time. That's mostly because of his curiosity about every area of natural science and the human experience,” said Gates.

    The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir, by Thi Bui (2017)

    Gates calls this graphic novel “really impressive”. Bui is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees who came to America after the fall of Saigon, and becoming a parent inspired her to look into her own parents' miserable history. “I was struck by how the experiences Bui illustrates manage to be both universal and specific to their circumstances,” said Gates.

    Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders (2018)

    Saunders, a long-time short story writer, won high praise for this novel. The book imagines the ghosts that haunt (萦绕) the basement of Willie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son, who died at 11 in real life. “Willie's death after the Civil War made the president have a new understanding of the grief he's creating in other families by sending their sons off to die in battle,” said Gates.

Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, by David Christian (2018)

    This new book is by the creator of Big History, a free, online social studies course. It traces history in wide, sweeping movements, starting with the Big Bang, and it provides, in effect, a short course in modern science. This is a brief history of the universe. “David gets a little stuck on the current economic and political problems in the West, and I wish he talked more about the role innovation will play in preventing the worst effects of climate change,” said Gates.

    Pangolins (穿山甲) are strange-looking creatures, covered with hard scales (鳞). They can roll up into a ball to protect themselves from enemies and have tongues that are longer than their bodies.

    Pangolins have recently become the focus of Chinese people. A screenshot (截屏) of a micro blog post showing some people eating pangolins at a feast spread. A few days later, people were angered again by pictures showing people eating protected animals, including pangolins.

    Yet this is only the tip of the iceberg. Many more pangolins have been hunted or killed. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), more than 1 million of them have been killed or sold in the last 10 years. It also said that they are the most illegally traded mammals in the world. In September 2016, the IUCN added the pangolin to the world's "endangered animals list". They are now more endangered than pandas.

    A growing trade of their scales and meat is the main reason for their decline in numbers. Many people in Asia and Africa consider pangolin meat is delicious. Some people even think pangolin scales have medical qualities. However, their scales are made of keratin (角蛋白), the same material human fingernails are made of.

    Luckily, the situation is getting better. World Pangolin Day is on the third Saturday of February each year. It's a day to help people know more about pangolins. The government now stops anyone from buying and eating pangolins in China. Breaking this law is regarded as a crime. The trade of pangolins across the world is also not allowed, according to the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

News China

Circulation (发行量): 1 Year, 12 Issues

Cover Price: $47.88 Price For You: $19.99

Product Description: News China is the English edition of China Newsweek. The magazine covers the latest Chinese domestic news in politics, business, society, environment, culture, sports and travels, etc. It is the first comprehensive news magazine for readers interested in China.

Better Life

Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues

Cover Price: $44.55 Price For You: $ 15.00

Product Description: Designed for those who have a strong interest in personal lifestyle. Better Life is America's complete home and family service magazine. It offers help with food, recipes, decorating, building, gardening, family health, money management, and education.

Apple Seeds

Circulation: 1 Year, 9 Issues

Cover Price: $44.55 Price For You: $33.95

Product Description: Apple Seeds is an award winning magazine filled with stories for kids aged from 7 to 9. The cover is very soft, providing durability （耐用性）that allows each issue to be enjoyed for many years to come. Besides, there is a big surprise for you-it's being sold at a more favorable discount than usual.

Humor Times

Circulation: 1 year, 12 Issues

Cover Price: $36.00 Price For You: S11.95

Product Description: Humor Times is for those who love to laugh! Full of cartoons and humor columns, it shows up in your mailbox once a month and keeps you smiling all year round! In today's world, you need a reason to laugh. So let's find it in Humor Times.

    India has a very vast history and heritage (遗产). The country has witnessed some of the most important events in the past and every event has an effect of its own on the culture, religion, lifestyle, and economy of the country. This is one of the leading reasons why tourists prefer India to travel and explore. Historical tours in India provide everything that a traveler expects from his/her journey. These historical tours give an opportunity to study and explore Indian history.

    Historical tours of India generally consisted of four phases: ancient, medieval (中世纪的), modern India and contemporary (当代的) India. Some of the historical travel packages are:

    Forts and Palaces

    The rich cultural past of India is reflected in the countless forts (堡垒) and palaces across the country. Most of the forts were constructed as a defense device to keep the enemy away and palaces were made on the names of the kings and queens. Some of the famous forts and palaces are: Agra Fort (Agra), Fatehpur Sikri (Agra), Hawa Mahal (Jaipur), Amber Fort (Jaipur), City Palace (Jaipur), Gwalior Fort (Gwalior), Mysore Palace (Mysore), Red Fort (Delhi), etc.

    India Heritage Tours

    The main purpose of India Heritage tours is to make Indians as well as tourists familiar with the rich Indian legacy (遗产). The heritage of the country is at least 5000 years. Some of the heritage tours are: medieval heritage, Rajput heritage, Golden Triangle, splendid Gujarat, etc.

    South India Historical Tours

    The Southern India is known for its diversity and there are many places, which (景区) in South India include Goa, Cochin, Kerala, Munnar, Periyar, Kottayam and the list goes on and on.