Today, we are told, children don't spend enough time in the fresh air. Many of them are addicted to screen on a computer or a TV—they seem to be living in a virtual world. They have lost touch with nature.

    But now 400 organizations in the UK, from playgroups to the National Health Service, are encouraging children to have some “wild time”. They want kids to swap at least 30 minutes of watching TV or playing computer games for time playing outside. Activities such as building dens, climbing trees, rummaging for conkers and playing hide and seek are just some of the things kids can do. Even if they live in a city, they can go on adventures in the garden or the park.

    Children often need a helping hand from mom and dad. They need to be shown what to do and where to go. Andy Simpson from National Health Service says, “We want parents to see what this magical wonder product does for their kids' development, independence and creativity, by giving wild time a go”.

    So despite the complicated world that young people grow up in now, it seems that going back to basics and experiencing “nature's playground” is what modern children need. David Bond from Project Wild Thing says, “We need to make more space for wild time in children's daily routine, freeing this generation of kids to have the sort of experiences that many of us took for granted”.

    This might sound a bit old fashioned to you or maybe, like me, it's made you think about sticking on your boots, getting outdoors and reliving your childhood. There is no age limit on enjoying yourself!

    I have many new teachers in high school, but Lori Runkle, my English Language and Composition teacher, is my favorite teacher.

    Ms. Runkle enjoys getting to know more about students, so I have many chances to talk with her after class. I have always wanted to become a journalist (新闻记者). Since Ms. Runkle used to be a journalist back in the United States, she has introduced many helpful journalistic writing skills to me.

    Although she is my teacher, Ms. Runkle and I are more like friends. She often invites my classmates and me to take part in different activities outside of school. For example, I went to listen to a journalist's speech, which helped me better understand current events (时事).

    Not only does Ms. Runkle talk with me outside of school, she is also a great teacher in the classroom. English Language and Composition is a really hard subject for a second language learner. We felt worried in the beginning, but Ms. Runkle really makes an effort to help us out. In class, Ms. Runkle always encourages students to question everything to keep us active. One part of class I love the most is when groups of students are required to give speeches on events that are happening in the world. It requires a lot of deep thinking and I really learn quite a lot from it.

I love Ms. Runkle very much. She not only helps me to get good scores, but also acts as a good friend and always gives me advice on life.

    Photography is a very popular art form. Anyone with a camera – or a mobile phone – can practice it. A picture communicates in a way that words often can't. As the photographer Destin Sparks put it, "Photography is the story I fail to put into words." And there's no better opportunity to practice the art of photography than during our vacation time.

    Holiday photos have been a part of the culture of travelers for a long time. For decades, vacationers have made sure they've packed a camera along with bathing suits, Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses. A camera is an important holiday item. But over the last 10 years, photography has become much more popular. It's easy to capture (捕捉) still and moving pictures of places of interest, and it's also easy to show off these pictures on social media. Armed with their smart phones, tourists, this year more than ever, are capturing the beauty of our planet.

    Of course, travel companies have caught on to this. Trekksoft has an example of photo-tourism from the United States, a land with a vast choice of beautiful locations. Antelope Slot Canyon Tours in Arizona specializes in tours of the state's famous canyons（峡谷）, which gives photographers the opportunity to capture them on camera.

    Not that any great technology is needed for this: most of the tourists are able to make beautiful images with just their mobile phones. Still, help is on hand from the tour guide for those who aren't great at using their cameras. These tour guides have taken a course in photography in case the skills they've learned would help their customers.

    The traditional British pub is part of the scenery of British life. At the last count, there are around 50,000 of them in the UK. The oldest – Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St. Albans – was set up in about 793.

    Because of their abundance, the names pubs take are designed to be memorable, but more than that, they are designed to be visual. Outside any traditional pub worthy of its title, you'll find a hanging signboard with an unusual and uncommon illustration(插图) that represents the name of the business. The practice is so well established that even new pubs copy it. But why do they exist at all?

    The first British pub signs were created in the 12^th century and were simple representations of beer containers and other brewing-related equipment used to tell passersby that establishments sold beer. This was Britain in the dark ages, when education was in short supply. Since most of the population was unable to read, pub signs were used to inform would-be customers that they could find a drink inside.

    The earliest uses of pub names would reference the sign directly. People would appoint to meet at "the sign of the Eagle and Child" rather than at "the Eagle and Child".

    Today the tradition remains unchanged largely out of respect for the past, but many pub signs do have some functionality. Remote country pubs often use signboards to point the way to their doors. It's a part of British culture that's rapidly disappearing – more than 20,000 pubs have closed since 1980 – but for now there are still more than enough. You can take a moment to appreciate the history and symbolism behind a pub's sign the next time you see one.

    Closeness and independence are both important in our life. Though all humans need both of them women tend to focus on the first and men on the second. It is as if their lifeblood ran in different directions.

    These differences can give women and men differing views of the same situation, as they did in the case of couple I will call Tracy and Brian. When Brian's old high school friend called him at work and announced he'd be in town on business the following month, Brian invited him to stay for the weekend. That evening he informed Tracy that they were going to have a houseguest, and that he and his friend would go out together the first night to chat like old times. Tracy was upset. She was going to be away on business the week before, and the Friday night when Brian would be out with his friend would be her first night home. But what upset her the most was that Brian had made these plans on his own and informed her of them, rather than discussing them with her before extending the invitation.

    Tracy would never make plans, for a weekend or an evening, without first checking with Brian. She can't understand why he doesn't show her the same courtesy and consideration that she shows him. But when she protests, Brian says, "I can't say to my friend, 'I have to ask my wife for permission'!"

    To Brian, checking with his wife means seeking permission, which implies that he is not independent, not free to act on his own. To Tracy, checking with her husband makes her feel good to know and show that she is involved with someone, that her life is bound up with someone else's.

    Tracy and Brian both felt upset by this incident because it cut to the core of their primary concerns. Tracy was hurt because she sensed a failure of closeness in their relationship: He didn't care about her as much as she cared about him. And he was hurt because he felt she was trying to control him and limit his freedom.