Harvard researchers have created a tough, low-cost, biodegradable (可生物降解的) material inspired by insects' hard outer shells. The material's inventors say it has a number of possible uses and someday could provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic. The material, made from shrimp ('虾) shells and proteins produced from silk, is called "shrilk." It is thin, clear, flexible and strong.

    A major benefit of the material is its biodegradability. Plastic's toughness and flexibility represented a revolution in materials science during the 1950s and '60s. Decades later, however, plastic's very durability (耐用性) is raising questions about how appropriate it is for one-time products such as plastic bags, or short-lived consumer goods, used in the home for a few years and then cast into a landfill where they will degrade for centuries. What is the point of making something that lasts 1,000 years?

    Shrilk not only will degrade in a landfill, but its basic components are used as fertilizer(肥料), and so will enrich the soil.

    Shrilk has great potential, the inventors said. Materials from which it is made are plentiful in nature, found in everything ranging from shrimp shells, insect bodies to living plants. That makes shrilk low cost, and its mass production possible should it be used for products demanding a lot of material.

Work on shrilk is continuing in the lab. The inventors said the material becomes flexible when wet, so they're exploring ways to use it in wet environments. They're also developing simpler production processes, which could be used for non-medical products, like for computer cases and other products inside the home. They're even exploring combining it with other materials, like carbon fibers, to give it new properties.

    I remember that it was a fall morning when the orchestra teachers came into Miss Newell's third-grade classroom. “You have hands for the viola (中提琴),” Miss Ciano told me. I was excited because my hands were finally good for something. I told my parents I wanted to play, and naturally, they agreed.

    Since I first touched the viola, I haven't been able to put it down. Ignoring the difficulty, I am pulled closer to it each day.

    Classical music is truly my best friend. It is the trusted friend of every man, woman and child. Various feelings are expressed in classical music. I discovered that when I was eleven and played a Bach cello concerto (大提琴协奏曲) in a competition, the first movement was joyful, but the second movement was mysterious and full of pain. From that piece, I learned that music expressed not only feelings, but also sudden mood changes. By listening to classical music, I know that someone else share these feelings. Since I am lucky enough to be able to play classical music, I am comforted when I am upset. It gives me a way to escape from my problems for a short period. Classical music can express my joy, sadness and anger.

    Now look at that fall day and think how gullible I was for believing that anyone, even music teachers, could tell if hands were perfect for a certain instrument. I'm certain they told me I had “viola hands” not because they were fortune-teller, but because there was a lack of violists in our district. Classical music is one of the best things that ever happened to mankind. If you get introduced to it in the right way, it will become your friend for life.

Five Steps to Better Handwriting

    Some kids love handwriting, but others hate when it's time to put their pen to paper. Maybe they are worried about their handwriting. Are you one of them? {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are five steps that really work!

    Get a great grasp

    Try this — hold your pencil at the top and try to write your name. Pretty hard? But when you hold your pencil the correct way, writing is much easier. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Hold it in place with your thumb, and your index (食指) and middle fingers.

    Let the lines be your guide

    Lined paper is your friend! Those lines can help you create letters that are the right size and proportion (均衡). {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Also be sure to fill up the lined space completely. Those capital letters should be from the bottom line to the top one.

    Slow down

    If your writing is hard to read, try slowing down a little. If you rush, it's hard to control where you stop and start your letters.

    Lower the pressure (压力)

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}That makes it harder to make the smooth lines. Try easing up and don't hold the pencil too tightly.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Lots of games require you to write or draw pictures. So even though it's not schoolwork, you're still using the skills you need to control your pen better.

A. Play games

B. Ask for more advice

C. So "a" should be half the height of a capital "A". 

D. You've been writing since you were a little kid.

E. Some kids press down really hard when they write. 

F. The good news is that just about everyone can improve their handwriting. 

G. The best way to hold a pen or pencil is to let it rest next to the bas e of your thumb.

    The American Craftsman style is a type of design. It was popular from 1900 to the 1930s. It changed the style of building in the United States.

    The craftsman style originally began in Europe. The British Arts and Crafts style arose in the 1860s. The unique designs of this movement tried to offer dignity to the common person. Handmade items were preferred because they were thought better than items that were mass-produced. But this British style was still Victorian. It still only served the wealthiest clients.

    In 1897 a group of Boston architects brought these handcrafted styles to American. They planned a show of craft objects, which turned out to be a huge success. Here they realized the potential and established the Society of Arts and Crafts on June 28, 1897. Its slogan was "to develop and encourage higher standards in the handicrafts."

    The American style began as the Victorian Era was ending. It emphasized handmade work. Originality and simplicity were highly valued. Local materials and the quality of the handicraft were very important, these traits were meant to dignify the modest homes of the middle class.

    These simple designs used glass and wood that were produced locally. They were also very elegant. The metalwork was a reaction to Victorian Opulence. The increase of mass-produced housing items was rejected. The American Craftsman used clean lines. It also relied on sturdy structure. Natural materials were always used in these houses if possible.

    This style introduced many changes to the average American home. New designs were made for families without servants. This was a trait of the new middle class. The kitchen went from being a hidden room to a prominent one. Another development was the breakfast nook. This new area provided the family with a place to gather at any time of day.

    Also, inspirational to the Craftsman style were the Shaker and Mission designs. The American Craftsman style led to the Art Deco Movement of the 1930s.

    Rich countries are racing to dematerialise payments. They need to do more to prepare for the side-effects.

    For the past 3,000 years, when people thought of money they thought of cash. Over the past decade, however, digital payments have taken off— tapping your plastic on a terminal or swiping a smartphone has become normal. Now this revolution is about to turn cash into an endangered species in some rich economies. That will make the economy more efficient—but it also causes new problems that could hold back the transition(转型).

    Countries are removing cash at varying speeds. In Sweden the number of retail cash transaction per person has fallen by 80% in the past ten years. America is perhaps a decade behind. Outside the rich world, cash is still king. But even there its leading role is being challenged. In China digital payments rose from 4% of all payments in 2012 to 34% in 2017.

    Cash is dying out because of two forces. One is demand— younger consumers want payment systems that plug easily into their digital lives. But equally important is that suppliers such as banks and tech firms (in developed markets) and telecoms companies (in emerging ones) are developing fast, easy-to-use payment technologies from which they can pull data and pocket fees. There is a high cost to running the infrastructure behind the cash economy—ATMs, vans carrying notes, tellers who accept coins. Most financial firms are keen to abandon it, or discourage old-fashioned customers with heavy fees.

    In the main, the prospect of a cashless economy is excellent news. Cash is inefficient. When payments dematerialise, people and shops are less open to theft. It also creates a credit history, helping consumers borrow.

    Yet set against these benefits are a couple of worries. Electronic payment systems may risk technical failures, power failure and cyber-attacks. In a cashless economy the poor, the elderly and country folk may be left behind. And a digital system could let governments watch over people's shopping habits and private multinationals exploit their personal data.

Sichuanese is China's most thrilling regional cuisine. Although it's most famous for {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(it) electrifying use of chilies (辣椒) and lip-tingling Sichuan Peppercorns (花椒)，the heart of the local style of cooking {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(lie) in the artful mixing of flavors.

Sichuanese {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(cook) specialize in combining hot, numbing, sweet, sour, savory and nutty seasonings {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(create) an astonishing variety of flavors. Some of these are {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(incredible) hot, some dishes are mildly spicy and some are not hot at all. 

While Sichuan pepper is {#blank#}6{#/blank#} ancient Chinese spice, the chili is a relatively recent import from the Americas. It wasn't widely cultivated in Sichuan {#blank#}7{#/blank#} the 19th century but went on to become one of its most indispensable local seasonings.

In Sichuanese dialect, chilies {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(know) as "sea pepper"(hai jiao) too, a reference to their foreign origins. Locals explain their preference for chilies comes from traditional Chinese medicine, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} people are advised to eat plenty of "heating foods" to counter the damp of the local climate. People {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(visit) Sichuan are often asked, "ni pa bu pa la"— "Are you afraid of Chili heat？"