Sometimes the best gift is the one you can use at home. These items will likely be appreciated all year for time spent relaxing, entertaining or getting things done.

    Jawbone Jambox Wireless Speaker

    $199 retail (far cheaper online). The bigger version goes for $299.

    The cool-looking rechargeable wireless speaker is getting good reviews for its big, balanced sound and compact design. It lets you stream music from smartphones, laptops and other Bluetooth devices(设备).

    Chalkboard Wall Planter

    $129. 95 retail at Williams-Sonoma

    No need to make room indoors for more flower pots. Grow a herb garden indoors in a wall-fixed vertical planter, and you'll get the benefits of fragrance (芳香). Fill the 10 planting cells with the herbs of your choice, and hang the planter in a sunny spot. Use the chalkboard borders to label each plant. Measures 16 by 5 by 24 inches and weighs 11 pounds.

    Pocket Projector

    $299 retail at Brookstone

    Let everyone get a good look at the pictures on your smartphone, computer, video player, or digital camera. This rechargeable pocket projector can turn a flat surface into a 60-inch big screen with 1080p HD picture quality. Invite friends for a movie night or a presentation. An HDMI cable is included to connect it to your device.

    Adjustable Tablet Stand

    $159 at Sharper Image

    This is the gift for the person who enjoys mobile. Use it to keep your hands free while doing homework, crafts or writing out bills. It can be rotated through 360 degrees. The stand slides easily under your furniture and can be used on either side of a bed or a sofa. It also folds for storage.

    Imagine a small group of people with a shared passion for the same craft. They all have different skills and approaches, but they come together to share skills, share stories, and share in the joy of making something.

    Modern maker culture is filling headlines and lab spaces all over the world. The way makers communicate with each other has changed over time. In the past, skills mainly came from personal sit-downs with members of the group. But sometimes a teacher wasn't available, or the one available didn't know how to do the skill others wanted to learn.

    Today a teacher doesn't even have to be in the same country or occupy the same decade as the students. Thanks to the work of people who take the time to break down and share the details of their craft, an interested individual can learn anything. Guides may range from videos to diagrams and text. Regardless of the media, maker resources are meant to be shared.

    One of the features of the maker movement is the crossover between different interests. Perhaps a passion for cars and for leather craft can result in a truly custom interior (定制的内饰). Perhaps a love of knitting (编织)and robotics will result in a tiny ——but very mobile ——robotic furry cat.

    And once you have started your creation, finding a community to share with is no longer limited to the people nearby. Modern makers have been sharing videos of their progress online for years, contributing greatly to the rapid spread of the maker movement. As different as the participants might be, they share enthusiasm, support, and a willingness to try.

    Imagine making a ping-pong table together with your makers' team. One group builds the basic frame. Another group takes on the responsibility of painting. You knit the net. There is joy in just giving it a try. It will remind you of childhood creations. Whether you are an experienced programmer or just picking up a hammer for the first time, it is never a bad time to come up with an idea, try something, and share the results.

    Attitudes toward new technologies often fall along generational lines. That is, generally, younger people tend to outnumber older people in face of a technological shift.

    It is not always the case, though. When you look at attitudes toward driverless cars, there doesn't seem to be a clear generational divide. The public overall disagree on whether they'd like to use a driverless car. In a study last year, of all people surveyed, 48 percent said they wanted to ride in one, while 50 percent did not.

    The fact that attitudes toward self-driving cars appear to be so steady across generations suggests how transformative the shift to driverless cars could be. Not everyone wants a driverless car now——and no one can get one yet ——but among those who are open to them, every age group is similarly engaged.

    When it comes to driverless cars, differences in attitude are obvious based on factors not related to age. College graduates, for example, are particularly interested in driverless cars compared with those who have less education: 59 percent of college graduates said they would like to use a driverless car compared with 38 percent of those with a high-school diploma or less.

    Where a person lives matters, too. More people who lived in cities and suburbs said they wanted to try driverless car than those who lived in rural areas.

    While there's reason to believe that interest in self-driving cars is going up, a person's age will have little to do with how self-driving cars can become mainstream. Once driverless cars are actually available for sale, the early adopters will be the people who can afford to buy them.

    Moving flight times from night to day could reduce air travel's contributions to global warming, a new study suggests. Scheduling more (lay time flights may reduce the influence of contrails ——the visible lines of white steam that many planes leave behind them in the sky.

    The role of contrails in climate change is still being studied, but some scientists believe they contribute to the greenhouse effect by trapping heat in the atmosphere.

    Nicola Stuber, first author of the study, suggests that contrails' overall impact on climate change is almost as big as that of aircraft^? s carbon dioxide emissions (排放)over a hundred-year period. Aircraft are believed to be responsible for 2-3% of human carbon dioxide emissions. Like other high, thin clouds, contrails reflect sunlight back into space and cool the planet. However, they also trap energy in the atmosphere and increase the warming effect.

    Stuber and other scientists believe that the effect of the contrails is big. "On average, the green-house effect controls the effects of contrails, said Stuber, a meteorologist at England's University of Reading." The warming effect is far greater for contrails left by night flights," Stuber added. "The cooling effect only happens (luring the day when the sun is up. During the night the greenhouse warming is no longer balanced and that is why the contribution of night-flight is so large."

    Most commercial airline traffic occurs during daylight hours. For example, only one in four United Kingdom flights is a night flight, but those flights create some 60% of the warming created by contrails, the study reports.

    Is our planet heating up? Are human beings to blame for climate change? The discussion on this subject has been heated, but what are scientists actually saying? At Reader's Digest, we decided to find it out.

    Yes, it has, and even warmer. Greenland was forested between 450,000 and 800,000 years ago, so temperatures were considerably warmer then. There have also been other times of relatively high temperatures.

    So why does the concern exist?

    It's all about the speed at which temperatures are changing. But in the 20th and 21^st centuries, especially since 1976, temperatures have probably risen more quickly than during any century in the past 1 ,000 years. Warming may bring improved crop production and other benefits to northern countries such as Canada or Russia. However, many species may not adapt to these conditions, and the one that is able to may cause a problem. The West Nile virus, first seen in North America nine years ago, infected about 4,000 people in the US in 2006. The mountain pine beetle, which is active during warmer winters, has already destroyed about 13 million hectares of Canada's forests, worth an estimated $6. 4 billion.

    What is causing the warming?

    IPCC has concluded that human activity is very likely responsible, by increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases and thus the greenhouse effect. They argue the human contribution is nothing.

A. Some scientists, however, still disagree.

B. Has the planet ever been this warm before?

C. Has human behavior made the planet warm?

D. Temperatures have been changing all the time.

E. In the past, temperatures moved up or down gradually.

F. Mosquitoes have been moving northwards to higher places.

G. These questions have burst into newspapers, films and popular books.

    A 35-year-old Australian mother makes around $58,000 a year by hugging total strangers. Jessica O'Neill started her 1 job six months ago. "As human beings, one thing we often 2 in our daily lives is physical touch. Without it, we can fall into depression and other mental health problems. To satisfy this 3, I've become a professional worker in hugging treatment," said Jessica.

    Jessica claims that her hugs can 4 those who are suffering from loneliness, depression, or low self-confidence. Originally, Jessica was a masseuse (女按摩师), a quite 5 profession. She notices that when she 6 her customers during treatments, they dropped their guards and 7 her more. "I could see their 8 melt away. Then I could get to their heart and do what I can to 9 them," Jessica said. "Everyone has a totally different story. But the most common 10 are loneliness, depression and anxiety. They all just have that desire to 11 with someone. I believe my hug helps me and my 12 connect on a spiritual level."

    Jessica says the majority of her customers are 13, but she has a surprising number of female customers14Despite many people thinking she must be 15 for doing such work, Jessica is confident that she's made the right 16 "It's so much more rewarding than just working as a masseuse. I feel like it's what I was put on this Earth 17," said Jessica. In today's digital age, many people are lonelier than ever before. For people whose lives 18 physical interaction, hugging therapy can have an apparent effect on their mental health."

    "Interestingly, although the hugging 19 has been around for a short while, we've actually covered several 20 businesses in the last few years."

    Mac was cycling along a road. With a heavy camp bag, he wasn't moving very fast. Suddenly he heard loud breathing behind him. (look) to his side, he was (terrify) to find it wasn't a dog but a wolf that was running after him. He reached the spray in the bag. With one hand on the handlebar, he fired it. A bright red color covered the wolf and it fell back shaking its head. But a minute (late) it was by his side again. He sprayed second time, the wolf falling back again but only to quickly restart (it) attack. The wolf was getting closer. Mac waved and yelled at passing (motorist) but meanwhile rode hard. He knew clearly he must be careful not to slow down. (fortunate) , Paul and Becky were driving along the same road when they spotted the scene. They drove toward Mac. When the car was in front of him, Mac jumped off the bike and dashed for the back door. Paul (open) the door so as to let Mac in. It was quite a while Mac became calm and thanked them.

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    My friend Miller still remembers the excitement when she begin to use the “red packet" function on WeChat in the 2018. The rule is the person who grabs the highest amount sends the next. The amount of money one can grab depends on his and her luck. Attracted by this unique way of communication, she participated. Two years ago, when Miller was sent a 5.20 yuan red packet, she had no idea about the hiding meaning. Now she has not only known about them but also has got very familiar with Chinese culture than before. Therefore, people still send paper red packets with real cashes during the Spring Festival. The reason is that they regard give children lucky money as a blessing.

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