Recently some articles claims the word "selfie" as one of the most annoying words. But I'd like to offer that maybe it is not so bad.

    The “selfie” is used to describe the self-taken photo, often from a smart phone. Women and men decorate their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts with these pictures, sometimes with puckered (翘起) lips or large smiles. In fact, the selfie has become so widely known that over 31 million photos on Instagram are taken with the selfie.

    Let's think about it. Someone takes about 10 selfies each time they do, and they only end up posting one or two of those. They pick the one that they feel makes them look the best. Isn't that beautiful? In that one picture, someone has given himself or herself confidence. Self-image is important. In society today, we are often so consumed with the feeling that what society tells us is perfect. But maybe, with that one selfie, we feel that we fit that bill. We feel handsome, beautiful, confident, smart, happy and content. For that moment, everything bad or terrible that has ever happened to us is erased (消除), because that smile or that pucker is what gives us the determination to love ourselves.

    I saw a spoken word poem recently and the young man said: If I ask you what you love, the answers will most likely roll off your tongue. You love to read. You love to write. You love birds, music, your mom, your brother, your sister, your daughter, your best friend, your dog. How long do you think you can go on and on before you say “I love myself”.

    That statement hit me like a ton of bricks. I've struggled with confidence all of my life. I still do. And in no way am I saying that taking a selfie is a gateway to that confidence. However, the selfie does deserve some credit for allowing individuals to express themselves. Pamela Rutledge agrees, stating, “There are many more photographs available now of real people than models.”

    Your next Saturday night takeaway could be brought to you by a robot after a major food delivery company announced plans to use automated vehicles to transport meals. Europe's biggest online takeaway food company Just Eat has partnered with Starship Technologies to deliver food with robots on the streets of London later this month. “Nobody has ever done deliveries with land-based robots,” said Allan Martinson, the chief operating officer of Starship.

    The robot courier can travel up to 4 miles per hour for about 10 miles. It uses a GPS signal and nine cameras to navigate(确定方向). Instead of a person arriving at their door, customers could find themselves receiving a notification(通知) on their phone that says a robot is on its way and a code to unlock the automated courier. “Put the code in, the robot opens up, and there's your food,” said David Buttress, chief manager of Just Eat.

    The robot, which has so far been tested in Greenwich, Milton Keynes and Glastonbury, costs ￡1 to transport within 3 miles, compared with the ￡3 to ￡6 it costs for a human courier. To date 30 robots have driven nearly 5,000 miles without getting into an accident or finding themselves picked on by passers-by. They have driven in more than 40 cities around the world, including London and Tallinn, Estonia.

    An initial worry was how the public would react to robots. But Martinson said the public has been calm when passing the delivery machine on the streets. “The most surprising reaction has been the lack of reaction,” said Martinson.

    Another significant fear was that people would disrupt(扰乱) the robots, or try to steal them and their contents. To prevent this, the robot is fitted with nine cameras, two way audio, and movement sensors that send a warning if it is lifted off the ground. And it opens only with a pass code provided to the customer via a notification. “It's much easier to shoplift than it is to steal a robot,” said Martinson.

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Woman Uses Daughter's Key to "Steal" Car

    Charlie Vansant, a college student of Athens, Ohio, who reported that his car was stolen, got a surprise when he learned a woman had mistaken it for her daughter's car and taken it — using her key.

    Kate Anderson became an accidental car thief when picking up her daughter's car near an Ohio University building last week. Anderson spotted the Toyota Camry（丰田凯美瑞）and used her daughter's key to unlock the car, start the engine and drive home — without realizing that the car wasn't her daughter's.

    When Charlie Vansant left class a short time later, he found only an empty parking spot. He first assumed the car had been towed, but when the police couldn't find a record of it, they took a theft report.

    The morning after Anderson took the car, her daughter discovered the Camry in the driveway wasn't hers. Anderson said she was able to find Vansant's name on paperwork in the glove compartment and look up his phone number on the website for the university.

    When Anderson told Charlie the car was in her driveway, "It sounded really suspicious at first, as she wanted to hold the thing for ransom (赎金) , ” said Vansant. He eventually went to the house with a police officer, where he was reunited with his car. According to the police report, the case was closed "because of mistaken car identity", and Anderson wasn't charged.

    Vansant seemed to blame the car company more than the "thief". "Her key fitted not only my lock, but my ignition（点火装置）as well — so high-five for Toyota, I guess." he said.

    My friend Jason and I wanted to do something to help other people who are less lucky and help us grow at the same time. After we decided that we would volunteer in Nepal, I did some surveys on the Internet and I found an organization called Volunteer(志愿者) Nepal and felt strongly that it was the right choice for us.

    While making our plans, Jason and I realized that others might like the chance to be a part of our experience. So before leaving for Nepal, we asked the people we know whether they would be interested in donating(捐赠) money or goods to Nepal Orphans Home.

    One friend, whose family owns a shop called Drake Supermarket, told others about it. Many people wanted to donate something. We received donations that filled 29 boxes with sporting goods, toys, coloring books, pencils, children's books, and more, The boxes were later taken to Drake's warehouse(仓库) where I prepared them for shipment. Drake agreed to ship them to Nepal for free .

    The boxes had arrived at the Volunteer House when we arrived there. The next day, Jason and I opened the boxes. The children from the orphanages(孤儿院) stood in a line and were able to choose a gift. This took about an hour, but the looks on their faces and the happiness that we saw in their eyes made it one of the best days of our life.

    We visited the orphanages there in the following days. Being with the children at the orphanages was both sad and wonderful. I'm sure that anyone who has volunteered will understand what I mean by that. My experience as a volunteer was very useful. It has changed me as a person and the way I viewed life in the past.

    Four years ago your friends congratulated you and your father talked big continuously. Four years ago you walked among the gothic towers and weathered traditions that sew our community together. But what's next, will I make friends, or I will measure up? And maybe you quietly wondered why a place like Yale, a place that sparked the drive of presidents, a place that raised the world-famous scholars, a place that trained Pulitzer Prize winners, would ever want you? I hope you had these questions because otherwise I might have embarrassed myself. I admit I asked all of these and more.

    I took an unconventional path to Yale. Five years ago I was working the evening shift at a clothing store in the suburbs of Virginia. My family had moved every year for the past five years and our finances were so consumed that retirement was not a possibility. Worse yet, my son was a junior at an Ivy League college in New Jersey and hearing about his privileged friends often reminded me of all the things I wanted to give him but couldn't.

    When I told him this he relied, “If you really want to spoil me, spoil yourself. ”Then he took my hands and told me I had a brilliant mind and deserved better than everything I had ever known.

    That summer I started community college while working full-time. Education was my second chance. I awoke my curiosity, vitality( 活力) and dignity that I never knew I could feel. When I read Eliot, Miller and Morrison, it was as if I were the first person to have ever read them, as if they were secret insights into the human soul and situations and I knew I couldn't stop.

    Walking among these gothic towers, among these traditions, and among this brilliant, vibrant and unapologetically eclectic Class of 2014 has been inspiring. Whether debating issues in class, or chatting over coffee, I have enjoyed, learned and loved every moment I have shared with you. You have made me a better person and I only hoped I have helped in some way to do the same for you.

    And yet even now this is dreamlike. Four years ago I was convinced no one would want me, I wouldn't measure up and as far as knowing what was next, I supposed I had resigned myself to more of the same. But I've come to learn that nothing great can really be accomplished without a healthy dose of terror. No one ever wrote epic(史诗般的) poems, built monuments or told bedtime stories about people who played it safe.

    I was terrified when I came to Yale. A big part of me thought I wasn't good enough. But a big part of life is ignoring the naysayers(反对者) especially the one inside you. Most people are stopped from doing great things by no one but themselves. I learned to tell myself to shut up. Sometimes in the mirror in the morning and others times in the dark before I went to bed. I came to realize once I could overcome my own fear I could overcome just about anything. If you haven't felt this yet I recommended it: it's the greatest joy you'll ever know.

    You've likely all met your own fear and misgivings(担忧、害怕). I charge you to tell that voice to shut up when necessary because in the end your greatness will not be about IQ but about the sincerity of your ambitions, the toughness of your character and your unwillingness to compromise in the face of difficulty, fear and uncertainty.

    And should someone tell you that it can't be done, or you're not good enough or it's not worth the trouble? Should others ask you to take the safe route, or stick to the path of least resistance? Should people say it's too late or your dreams are impractical? Look them in the eye, laugh a little and let them know “Nothing is impossible”.

    On average, Americans spend about 10 hours a day in front of a computer or other electronic devices and less than 30 minutes a day outdoors. That is a claim made by David Strayer, a professor of psychology at the University of Utah. In his 2017 TED Talk, Strayer explained that all this time spent with technology is making our brains tired.

    Using an electronic device to answer emails, listen to the news and look at Facebook puts a lot of pressure on the front of the brain, which, Strayer explains , is important for critical (有判断力的)thinking , problem-solving and decision-making.

So, it is important to give the brain a rest. And being in naure, Strayer claims, helps get a tired brain away from too much technology. More than 15,000 campers from around the world attended an international camping festival in September. That is when friends and family take time off and escape to nature for several days. They take walks, climb, explore, swim, sleep, eat and play. Camping may be just what a tired brain needs.

    Take Carl for example .He lives in West Virginia and enjoys camping. He says that staying outdoors makes him feel at ease. It also prepares him for the work he must do. Kate Somers is another example who also lives in West Virginia. She says she enjoys camping with her husband and two children. She calls it a “regenerative” experience.

    At the University of Utah, David Strayer has studied both short-term and long-term exposure to nature. He found that spending short amounts of time in nature without technology does calm the brain and helps it to remember better. However, he found, it is the long-term contact with nature that does the most good. He and his research team found that spending three days in nature without any technology is enough time for the brain to fully relax and reset itself.