For many foreigners who have visited or worked in China, one of their strong impressions is that the country is very safe. Here , you can go out alone late at night to eat at a food stand without feeling nervous. You can also let your younger children ride public transport all by themselves without worrying about their safety.

    This year, 2018 , marks 8 special anniversary of the launching of the reform and opening up policy, which took place two score years ago in China. Over the past few decades, the country has achieved fast economic growth, while social peace and stability have been maintained(维护) to the fullest extent at the lowest cost. Of course, there are still unsolved problems. However, from the overall aspect, Chinese society remains harmonious and safe. In my eyes , this should be attributed(归于) largely to the cultural ;economic and political environment of the country.

    A society can be stable and orderly only when its people can lead a prosperous(繁荣的) life. After the introduction of the reform and opening up policy, China achieved fast economic growth and significant scientific and technological progress. In the meantime, the Chinese government has taken various measures such 2s those to fight corruption, reduce poverty and promote the rule of law, in order to uphold social equity. Thanks to these efforts, the potential factors that might cause social problems have been greatly reduced.

    Apart from government departments including the police and judicial(司法的) departments , the general public also contributes much to social governance. The development of information technology has created new ways of linking the police and the public. By jointly fighting crimes in such ways, the public and the police have developed an ever-increasing level of mutual trust and positive interaction.

    The safety and stability in China did not come easily. Rather; it should be attributed to the efforts made by 1.3 'billion people. For both Chinese and foreigners living in the country, the sense of safety and security is very precious.

    Think of a seed buried in a pot. It's dark down there in the potting soil. There's no light, no sunshine. So how does it know which way is up and which way is down? It does know. Seeds send shoots up toward the sky, and roots the other way. Darkness doesn't confuse them. Somehow, they get it right.

    More surprisingly, if you turn a seedling (秧苗) or a whole bunch of seedlings upside down, as Thomas Andrew Knight of the Royal Society did around 200 years ago, the tips and roots of the plant will sense, “Hey, I'm upside down. Look! I. will turn my way to the right direction and do a U-turn.”

    How do they know? According to botanist Daniel Chamovitz, Thomas Knight about 200 years ago guessed that plants must sense gravity. Knight proved it with a crazy experiment involving a spinning plate.

    He attached a bunch of plant seedlings onto a disc. The plate was then turned by a water wheel powered by a local stream at a speed of 150 revolutions (旋转) per minute for several days.

    If you have been at an amusement park in a spinning teacup, you know that because of centrifugal force (离心力) you get pushed away from the center of the spinning object toward the outside.

    Knight wondered, would the plants respond to the centrifugal pull of gravity and point their roots to the outside of the spinning plate? When he looked, that's what they'd done. Every plant on the disc had responded to the pull of gravity, and pointed its roots to the outside. The roots pointed out, and the shoots pointed in. So Thomas Knight proved that plants can and do sense the pull.

    Years ago, the American writer Kurt Vonnegut often said there was one story that would always make a million dollars: Cinderella.

    Cinderella made more like $ 70 million in ticket sales when it opened last weekend. But the movie got a mixed reaction. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised the movie and said, "Anyone will find something to enjoy in it." Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer called the movie "a winning re-do". Richard Corliss of Time magazine wrote that "Disney finally got Cinderella right." Other people were not as happy with the movie. Sara Stewart of the New York Post wrote, "This Cinderella is all dressed up with nowhere very interesting to go."

    Although different people think differently towards the movie, what is clear, however, is the movie's business success. It is not only popular in the theaters but also in sales. And Disney has widened its usual market for Cinderella products.

    There are products connected to the Disney movie targeted (面向) not only at little girls, but women, too. For example, the famous shoe designer Jimmy Choo worked with Disney to create Cinderella's shoes". You can buy them for about $ 5,000. At that price, you would not want to lose one at the party, even if that is the way you get your prince (王子).

    The make-up (化妆品) company MAC quickly sold all its products connected to Cinderella. HSN is a popular website selling clothing and objects for the home. The marketer is now also selling Cinderella products.

    So, is there anything left for the children, those people we think of as the traditional audience (观众) for the age-old tale? Yes, you can find toys and other children's products at the American store JCPenney. Of course, you can also visit a Disney store.

    If you like texting and are trying to lose weight, a new study found that using texting to track(追踪) diet and exercise habits may help you lose weight.

    Previous research has shown that keeping food and exercise diaries improves the likelihood of success when you are trying to lose weight. Using a computer or a pen and paper to record information, however, can be a burden and cause some people to give up.

    Duke University researchers said using text messages to track eating and exercise habits can save time, and increase the chances that people will stick with their weight-loss rules.

    The study included 26 obese women with an average age of 38. The women used daily texting as part of their weight-loss program. The text messages focused on tracking personalized goals, such as avoiding sugary drinks or walking 10,000 steps a day. Messages also provided brief feedback (回复) and tips.

    Every morning, the women received a text from an automated(自动的)system that said, "Please text yesterday's personal information of steps you walked and how many sugary drinks you had." Based on the women's responses to the text message, the system sent another text with personalized feedback and tips.

    After six months, the women who used daily texting lost an average of nearly 3 pounds, while another group of women who used traditional methods to keep food and exercise diaries gained an average of 2.5 pounds, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

    "Text messaging has become popular and may be an effective method to simplify tracking of diet and exercise behavior," Dori Steinberg, who was responsible for this research, said.

    Steinberg said, "Text messaging offers several advantages compared to other self-monitoring methods. Unlike web-based diet and exercise diaries, data in a text message can be entered quickly on nearly all cellphone platforms so it is very convenient to receive feedback. Besides, because of the limited number of words used in text messages, it saves time."

    The United States of America is faced with serious traffic problems. Too many cars travel on the freeways to and from the city. This heavy traffic causes delays and lots of pollution from cars that are using their engines but not moving anywhere. Many cars going nowhere is called a "traffic jam".

    While many cities in the United States have traffic problems, some of the worst are in Los Angeles, California, which is a big city with a large downtown area. One of the reasons why there is so much traffic is that few people use public transportation to get around.

    Experts say one possible solution to the traffic problems in Los Angeles would be to make people want to use the public transportation system of buses instead of their own cars. People say the buses should be made easier, faster, less costly and more dependable than driving a car.

    One suggestion is to reduce the cost of taking the bus. Also, Los Angeles could make the buses easier for people to use. The buses could travel to more places in the city. And there could be more special lanes on the freeways that only buses could drive in. These changes would make taking the bus faster and easier than driving a car.

    Other experts have said that the best way to ease traffic problems is to charge people money to drive on the freeways. These charges, or tolls, would be for the most crowded roads. The tolls would be in effect during the times of a day when most people drive to work and home. These times in the morning and late afternoon are called "rush hour". People would try to avoid driving on these roads, which would decrease the amount of traffic. Also, the money collected from these tolls could be used to improve the roads and public transportation system.

Hot Technology Products at CES 2020

The consumer electronics show, or CES, presents new technology developments annually. Here are some latest products launched at CES 2020.

The Sero TV

Samsung introduced a TV that can be used to watch video designed for a smartphone. The Sero TV does this by turning itself from the normal TV position to an upright position that looks like the shape of a phone. The V can connect to mobile devices to play video directly from the phone.

Smart waste can

A company called TOWNEW presented; waste can designed for the home that does a lot of the dirty work on its own. When the can is full, the user touches a button to activate the machine's smart abilities. The device then completely closes off the waste bag inside, puts a new one in place, all by itself, and raises its top so the user can pick up and throw away the bag.

Invisible car hood(引擎盖)

Automobile industry company Continental showed off a new technology that seems to make the front end of a vehicle disappear. The technology, called "Transparent Hood," aims to make driving safer and easier. Cameras provide video of the area underneath the vehicle, permitting the driver to see objects and road conditions that might present danger.

Wearable air purifier

A company called Aō Air introduced a wearable air purifier. Designed to be a high-tech face covering to block pollution, the device pulls air through a filtration(过滤)system and then uses fans to create a small area of clean air at its front, allowing the air to be purified-without the need for a solid container.