Current Culture: Is Common Culture Alive?

    The digitizing and globalizing world is changing the working of culture. As some see it, cities and nations are losing their common culture and their general spirit: people can no longer count on those around them valuing any of the same music or films. Others argue that a common culture is not dying so much as changing forms: it is less and less attached to a particular area and ever more linked to global networks.

    The facts lead to the change that anyone can become a cultural producer today, that the culture is increasingly available everywhere you want it, and whenever you want it, not just in the two months after the movie or book came out. Cultural possibilities have multiplied as a result, but the change also means fewer cultural moments. It is easy to find the change in terms of loss of diversity of society. So what will it mean if globalization turns us into one wide world culture?

    For the enthusiasts of these changes, culture is not about popular artists or books, but centers on platforms like Google and Wikipedia, where every variety of culture brings about the exchange of knowledge and ideas, and makes connections across boundaries. It is perhaps debatable whether two people who have participated in such websites, but in totally different corners of them, have had a cultural experience in common. In fact, these platforms become very successful with a large crowd of people, who build things together, share information, and forward articles back and forth. Here are still more questions. What does it mean for the future of countries that culture now goes beyond the limits of the nation? Is there anything to defend and preserve in the passing cultural world, or is that merely to favor pen over printing press, horse over automobile?

    Up to now a growing quantity of culture has been globally spreading and developing. More individuals (个人) than ever have the chances to be makers of culture, even if that means more to choose from and fewer standards to be reached in common. What it means is this strange feeling: that of being more connected than ever, with one-click access to so much of the cultural harvest around the world, and yet, of being starved for having similar interests and opinions with others, concerned only with ourselves.

    Some people love eating food right after it is cooked. I prefer food just taken out from the freezer. Fruit, candies, nuts, chocolate, cake with buttercream frosting(糖霜), even peas, all of them taste delicious when frozen. In fact, I often eat them that way.

    I was a kid when I picked up the habit. In my family, lots of things were thrown into the freezer — finally, two freezers — to prevent them from going bad. Among them were some of the candies my sisters and I had collected on Halloween.

    If we eat when they are still warm, we'll find ourselves taking the cookies more than we should. It's better if we can put them into the freezer and wait. That way we'll eat less and enjoy them more because they are hard and chewing becomes a slower, more patient effort. That's the point about frozen buttercream frosting. Put it in your mouth at room temperature, and it's gone very quickly. But when it's frozen, you can enjoy the taste much longer as it melts(融化) in your mouth.

    The freezer treats a lot of fruit kindly. Take frozen grapes for example, I keep a bowl of grapes in my freezer. They become a little icy, and somehow their sweetness is improved. They are perfect and healthy dessert(点心). This is the same with oranges, apples, bananas…You might think bananas would get super­hard when frozen. Wrong! They become cool, creamy and sweet. If you have wisely covered some or all of the bananas with melted chocolate before putting them into the freeze, they will have a double taste.

    As long as you aren't eating anything that truly has to be hot, go ahead and experiment.

    Age has never been a problem for 16-year-old Thessalonika Arzu-Embry. After all, she's already got her master's degree.

    The North Chicago-area teen started homeschooling at the age of 4. She began having an influence on others soon after. When she was 6 years old, she was an inspirational speaker at an organization called Tabitha House Community Service, a shelter for people who were forced to leave their homes due to the situations such as earthquake, flood and other natural disasters.

    At the age of 11, she graduated from high school and then earned her bachelor's degree in psychology in 2013. She completed those classes online as she was traveling for church events and leadership meetings.

    She doesn't stop there, though. The teen plans to focus on aviation psychology（航空心理学） for her further study, a decision inspired by her father who is a pilot. She grew up around airplanes and took fights all the time. Her goal is to use it to determine whether pilots are dealing with problems that could have deadly results once the plane takes off -- a topic that has been in the news lately. For her, it's a mix of two of her interests.

    In her free time, Thessalonika enjoys playing tennis, swimming and being active in her youth group at church. She also has three self-published books, which are on her site. Jump the Education Barrier is written to help students finish college, and in the future aims to help business owners with trends. Her third book The Genius Race, has a wider appeal. It is designed to help people to be geniuses in various areas of life.

    Argument for awards

    It's always exciting every year in October when the Nobel Prizes are announced. We get to witness the acknowledgement (表彰) of some of humankind's greatest minds in six fields – literature (文学), medicine, physics, chemistry, economics and activism for peace.

    This year, however, part of the excitement will be taken away, since there won't be a Nobel Prize in literature due to the fact that the Swedish Academy – the institution (机构) that awards the prize – was involved in a sexual harassment scandal.

People worry that a scandal like this will affect the reputation of the Nobel Prizes. But at the same time, we have to ask ourselves whether we really need these awards after all.

    According to Jana Gallus, an economist from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, one of the reasons that people give out awards is to establish a legacy (遗产). In the case of the Nobel Prizes, they encourage people to achieve more by acknowledging the hard work of top figures in different fields.

    Awards may also help establish standards of what's considered high quality. For example, if you're having a hard time deciding which movie to watch, one of them having an Oscar under its belt will probably help you to make your mind up. And by reading the books that have won The Man Booker Prize or listening to songs that have been awarded a Grammy, you get an idea about what “great” literature and music look and sound like – at least in the eyes of judging panels (评审团).

    Sure, awards can backfire. There was the OscarsSoWhite movement in 2015 and 2016, when it turned out that all 20 actors nominated (提名) for two years in a row were white. There was also the GrammysSoMale movement in January, when Alessia Cara was the only woman to win a solo Grammy this year. But still, it was these incidents that brought the problems of racism (种族歧视) and gender (性别) inequality into the public eye once more. And with influential voices – like that of black actor Will Smith, who refused to attend the Oscars ceremony – the problems became more likely to be noticed and dealt with instead of being buried silently, again.

    Maybe these awards do matter, and we do need them – just not while they are under the shadow of a sexual harassment scandal.

    So when it comes to this year's Nobel Prize in Literature, I'm going to have to say: "No, thanks."

    BY CHEN XUE, 21ST CENTURY TEENS STAFF

    If you follow these insider tips, your photos will look like you had the place to yourself at the popular tourist attractions.

    Vatican Museums: Vatican City

    The Vatican draws more than five million people each year, and queues can reach four hours during peak season. Christie Hudson, senior communications manager at Expedia, recommends, choosing a skip-the-1ine tour. "This not only lets you avoid the ticket counter, but also includes the use of a private partner entrance." Extra time to visit the Sistine Chapel? Yes!

    Bamboo Forest: Kyoto, Japan

    Bamboo Forest is the most worthy sight in Kyoto. If you're longing to enjoy the pathways and take pictures in total quietness, Kyoto Arashiyama Travel Guide recommends hitting the famous Bamboo Grove Path as early in the morning as possible—think 7 a.m. if you're up for it. Don't miss these hidden treasures you can only witness in Japan.

    Chichen Itza: Yucatán, Mexico

    Home to E1 Castillo and the Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza is a must-see. Want to beat the rush? Schedule an early tour that takes place before a site opens to the public. Led by an archaeologist guide, it's full of fascinating insights and facts—without tons of pack-wearing tourists.

    Louvre Museum: Paris, France

    The Louvre is one of the most popular museums on the planet. If waiting around in line to get in isn't the way you prefer to spend your time in Paris, consider purchasing a reserved ticket. This will give you entry to the pyramid within a half-hour window. The Louvre is also open until 9:45 p. m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, if you're up for some late-night art visits.

Where am I? What am I doing? If you're one of my 500 friends online, you'll always be the first to know. My phone and laptop are never out of touching distance, so I'm endlessly checking through all my social networking apps - whether I'm having a coffee, on my way to school, watching TV. . even when I'm in the shower. I have a never - ending flow of messages and updates from all the people I associate with online. Yet the truth of the matter is: I feel lonely

I'm not the only person who feels this way. According to research, over two-thirds of young people find it easier to make friends online than it is "in real life". I'm a shy person, but I'm wired up (上线) every day, like most of my friends. On the surface, phones bring us closer together. But in reality, my mind is always a million miles away.

I often feel depressed, dissatisfied and alone. Since I spend so much time socializing online, I even become a procrastinator (拖延者). I keep postponing things that are important in my real life: homework, tasks, connecting with my friends and family members in a meaningful way. It's funny that my friends and I chatter away online so much, but we end up having nothing to say when we meet.

What is rally worrying is that no one I know, including myself. could go cold turkey. I can't even imagine going without social networking for a week - think of all the important appointments, invitations and news updates you would miss! Alcoholics (酗酒者) who want to quit drinking can avoid drinks, but how do we give up our phones? After all, I need it for my studies because my teachers and classmates need to contact me at any time. So, that's the problem with social networking. We're hard-wired in, but we're more disconnected than ever.