As computers become more and more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly depending on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes (笔画) of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.

Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as in primary school. And computer dependence is more wide­spread among university students. Almost all their homework and writings are typed on a computer.

All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.

It’s faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that’s why computers are being used more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock of computers increasingly, problems appear.

“When I’m writing with a pen, I find I often can’t remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it.”

“I’m not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”

Many students don’t feel this is something to worry about. Now that it’s more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?

Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei, the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, “Chinese characters enjoy both practical value and artistic beauty. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer’s emotion. Through one’s handwriting, people can get to know one’s thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”

To encourage students to hand-write more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory (必修的) and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.

Alida Monaco doesn't spend her summers doing the usual teenage work ,like working at the mall. Instead ,she's studying.

It used to be that a summer job was considered a teenage thing. Today ,Monaco ,who has never had a summer job ,is part of growing trend(趋势) teenagers concentrating on their studies ,even during the summer. That's down from 72% of Americans aged 16 to 19 who worked in July of 1978 ,according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Fierce competition (竞争) older workers to the workforce and weak economic（经济的）growth are all adding to the decrease of teenagers in the workforce. But as schoolwork grows increasingly heavy and homework eats up more time ,current data suggests the biggest reason why some teens won't be working this summer is that they simply don't have time.

For college-bond teens ,some   teachers   even advise students no t to waste time on a summer job. " Some of my students only have about six weeks off in the summer ,"said Shannon Reed ,a lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh and a former high school English teacher. " I could never advise that they got jobs during that short break. They should rest. "

Young people who don't work may miss out on valuable skills that they'll need later in life. Early work experiences teach reliability ,financial intelligence ,self-control and help people learn to deal with adult situations. But Monaco ,who plans to attend Harvard ,isn't fazed by her lack of work experience. " May be I have missed out on a couple of life skills , she said. " But I don't think it will harm in any way. "

This month, when earthquakes rocked Southern California on back-to-back days, it was a shocking reminder that we may one day experience the “Big One,” a quake with the power to kill and destroy. However a few people saw something else: a photo opportunity.

Tourists flocked to a large crack in a highway to see evidence of the damage for themselves and, of course, take a quick selfie(自拍).

It was only the latest example of how our modern love of sharing photos we take of ourselves in notable situations is colliding with nature and the world, often in confusing and even dangerous ways.

In Canada, a sunflower farm barred visitors last year after selfie-seekers destroyed flowers and left the land looking like a “zombie apocalypse.”(僵尸启示录) In Spain, a man was gored in the neck last weekend while trying to take a video selfie at the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona.

The selfie phenomenon entered the mainstream after Apple and other phonemakers added front-facing cameras starting in 2010, the same year Instagram and other photo-sharing apps were becoming popular. From 2011 to 2017, more than 250 people died while taking selfies, according to a study by researchers in India, which had by far the highest number of such deaths, followed by Russia and the United States. Many died after drowning, falling or being attacked by an animal. Most were under the age of 30.

It’s easy to be uncomfortable with selfies and even mock them, especially when they’re risky or in bad taste. But some researchers have explored different questions: Why do we take selfies? Can they ever be a healthy form of expression? Can selfies be used for good?