Digital technology-email and smart phones especially-have vastly improved workers' ability to be productive outside of a traditional office. Even so, most white-collar work still happens in an office. One reason is that, according to findings of a new survey of office workers conducted by Wakefield Research for the IT company Citrix, most bosses arc doubtful about remote working. Half of the workers say their boss doesn't accept it, and only 35 percent say it's tolerated.

    Skeptical bosses will likely have their doubts reinforced (加深) by the same survey, which shows that 43 percent of workers say they've watched TV or a movie while “working” remotely, while 35 percent have done housework, and 28 percent have cooked dinner.

    It is true, however, that working at home makes people much more efficient (高效的), because it allows workers to take care of annoying housework while still getting their jobs done. It's much faster, for example, to shop for groceries at a quarter to three than to stand in line during the after-work rush.

    The fact that such practices remain officially unaccepted reflects how far we haven't come as a society from the days when we expected every full-time worker to be supported by a full-time homemaker.

    More broadly the Wakefield survey suggests that employers may be missing a low-cost way to give workers something of value. Sixty-four percent of those survey participants who haven't worked remotely would rather give up some bonus in order to get even one day a week working from home. Under such circumstances, smart firms need to find ways to let their employees have enough flexibility (灵活性) to manage their time efficiently.

    The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers. It has been made to help you better manage your money. The Winners Club is a transaction account（交易账户）where you receive a key-card so you can get to your money 24/7—that's 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

    It's a club with impressive features for teenagers：

    No account keeping fees！

    You're no millionaire so we don't expect you to pay large fees. In fact, there are no account keeping or transaction fees!

    Excellent interest rates!

    You want your money to grow. The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make at least two deposits（储蓄）without taking them out in a month.

    Convenient!

    Teenagers are busy—we get that. You may never need to come to a bank at all. With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet…You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account. This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part-time job!

    Magazine included!

    Along with your regular report, you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money. There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members.

    The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers. And it is so easy to join. Simply fill in an application form. You will have to get permission from your parent or guardian (so we can organize that cool key-card) but it is easy. We can't wait to hear from you. It's the best way to choose to be a winner!

    In 2007, the editors of the Oxford Junior English Dictionary, convinced that their reference work “needed to reflect the consensus experience of modern-day childhood.”banned a group of old terms used less today describing the natural world. They inserted newer and supposedly more useful words describing the digital fields that young people in habit today.

    Thus they say goodbye to “acorn”, but say hello to “attachment”. “Beech” and “bluebell” come out of the dictionary. While “blog” and “broadband” come into it. And they say farewell to “catkin” and “cowslip” because here come “celebrity” and “chat room”.

    It's possible, of course, that those Oxford editors had a good reason for their vocabular cleansing. Perhaps they had read the Cambridge University study revealing that most young children can identify Pokémon(神奇宝贝)species far more easily than they can name real-life sparrows.

    But is this simply another fight in the language war, an ongoing battle between people? Some people argue that a dictionary should model how language works best, while some people insist that it should capture how language works now.

In Britain, some citizens felt justified in fighting back against the decision of the Oxford editors. The protest of the thinning of the word herd almost immediately attracted more than200, 000 signatures.

    Susie Dent, author of Modern Tribes：The Secret Languages of Britain, is doing everything in her power to guarantee “the old markers of time”. “Fortnight”(fourteen nights, or two weeks)is among her cherished favorites.

    Thanks to them, I can now show off my knowledge that a “snollygoster” is a “shrewd person, especially a politician”.

Baths in Japan

    In many western countries people do not bathe (沐浴) every day. Sometimes they bathe only once a week. Sometimes they bathe two or three times a week. They do not bathe often because the weather is cold or because hot water is expensive. They use electricity or wood to boil the water. Electricity and wood cost a lot of money. In cold countries people usually do not feel they are dirty if they do not have a bath.

    In Japan people bathe very often. Most people have a bath every day. When the weather is hot they sometimes have two or three baths a day. They bathe in very hot water. Usually the water is almost boiling. They believe that these very hot baths also stop them from falling ill.

    Each house has its own bathroom but there are also big bathhouses for everybody. They are found everywhere in Japan. In the bathhouse there is one part for men and one part for women. The bath is usually three meters wide, three meters long and about one meter deep: halfway down there is a narrow (狭窄的) seat that goes all the way around the bath. Many people use the bath but it is not dirty. Before a person gets into the big bath, they wash themselves first, and then get into the big bath. The person stays there for a short time. When they get out of the bath, they wash their body with soap and water. After the soap is all washed away, the person gets into the big bath again. Soap is not used in the big bath.

    The water in the big bath is changed quite often. The water is also very hot. In some places people hit the water with sticks first. They do this to make the water cooler. Then the men get into the bath very slowly and carefully. When a man gets into a bath, he says. "Excuse me." He does this because most of the hot water comes directly out of the ground. In other places people boil the water with a big fire. In a small bath at home sometimes people light a fire under the bath. When the water is hot, people in the family take a bath one by one.

Tired of having the same old travel experiences that leave you feeling unfulfilled (失望的) and disconnected? Mindful travel is offering a new way to explore the world that is meaningful and sustainable.

Mindful travel is a concept that encourages individuals to fully dive into the present moment while exploring new destinations. Individuals are aware of their surroundings, engaging all the senses, and enjoying the beauty of each experience. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Mindful travel is not just about the destination but also the journey. The goal is to create a positive impact on both individuals and the world around them. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It is an opportunity for people to positively contribute to the world.

Mindful travel provides an opportunity to disconnect from the stresses of everyday life. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Whether it's wandering through a busy market, hiking in nature, or simply sitting by the ocean, it allows us to let go of our worries and fully enjoy the beauty of our surroundings.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} By stepping out of our comfort zones and experiencing new cultures, we gain a fresh viewpoint on life. We become more open-minded, adaptable, and caring. Through interactions with locals and fellow travelers, we learn about different ways of life and develop a greater understanding of the world.

Mindful travel also has a positive impact on the destinations we visit. Mindful travelers are aware of their impact on the environment. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} By choosing eco-friendly accommodations, supporting local businesses, and respecting cultural traditions, we can ensure that our travels leave a green footprint.

Writing out the same word again and again may bring back bad memories for some, but handwriting can boost connectivity across brain regions, some of which are involved in learning and memory, a new study shows.

In the study, psychologists Audrey and Ruud, both at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, stuck electrodes (电极) on the participants' heads. They asked the participants to type out or hand write with a digital pen words that appeared on a computer screen. Sensors in a cap recorded electrical brain activity. Then the psychologists looked for when two brain areas are active with the same frequency of electrical waves at the same time. This result can reveal the connectivity among different regions across the brain.

With handwriting, the researchers saw increased activity, specifically in low frequency bands, not only in the expected motor areas but also in others associated with learning. These low frequency bands have previously been shown to support memory processes. When the team compared the two tasks, they realized that handwriting —but not typing —increased the connectivity across parietal (顶叶) brain regions, which are involved in sensory and motor processing, and central regions, many of which are involved in memory.

"Even when the movements are very similar, the activation seems much, much higher in handwriting," Audrey says. "It shows that there's more involvement of these brain regions when you're handwriting, which might give you some specific advantages."

These findings suggest that there are distinct processes of brain activation happening while a person types or writes. This boost of stimulation of handwriting facilitates learning because these particular waves between these areas are involved in memory formation and encoding (编码) .

And although handwriting may help with learning processes, typing is often easier, faster and more practical. "Students and teachers alike should therefore consider the task at hand to decide to hand write or type," Audrey says. Despite the need for more studies to determine the best learning strategy, experts say that handwriting shouldn't be left behind in the digital age. "Schools need to bring in more writing into curriculum design," Ruud says.