Americans love to talk and generally it is OK to talk even to strangers about nearly any subject at any time as long as you are polite．However there are some subjects，like racism，American foreign policy，gun ownership，and religion that are best discussed among friends．

In America，it is OK to approach a stranger and start up a conversation with him as long as the subject is not too abstract．In America，it is not considered inappropriate to talk to people you don’t know．Talking to a stranger about the weather or the quality of nearby restaurants，or the prices in a grocery store is all perfectly fine．Even complimenting(恭维) someone on the car they drive or asking them where they bought their clothes are all appropriate topics of conversation with complete strangers．

Generally，Americans prefer that people say what they think and they respect frankness. Usually when it comes to personal matters，it’s best to accentuate(强调)the positive：don’t tell someone that their children are ugly or that their cooking is terrible．However, it’s OK to tell someone that they are wrong as long as you do so politely and with respect．Americans generally believe that you show someone respect by telling them the truth．Don’t be afraid to be honest with Americans，but be appropriate．

Most Americans will start a conversation with a person they just met by asking them what they do for a living．This question is not only considered appropriate by Americans，but it’s also considered an important way to learn about someone.

The message is drummed into us from childhood: forgive people who’ve wronged you, because it’s the right thing to do. Forgiveness is a virtue, we’re told, the only way for us to truly move on and heal. But forgiving someone is not always what’s best for us. In fact, if someone has hurt you deeply and the relationship isn’t healthy, trying to “fix” things can do more harm than good.

Most of us would probably agree that forgiving a wrongdoer means letting go of negative feelings like anger towards them. Actually it pressures us to minimize our feelings and revise our boundaries — to say “it’s OK” when for us, it isn’t. And when someone doesn’t make us feel seen or safe, forgiving them can actually weaken our self-respect. A 2010 research paper published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology called this “the doormat effect”. It found that people who forgave partners that didn’t make them feel valued had less respect for themselves, along with a weakened sense of self.

If you keep on forgiving someone who’s done wrong, it can encourage that person to keep hurting you. That’s what 2011 research by psychology professor James K McNulty argues. He looked at how 72 newlywed couples expressed forgiveness towards acts of aggression (攻击性), and whether this caused any changes in the wrongdoer’s behaviour. He found that when a partner was more likely to forgive those acts, the aggressor was more likely to keep committing them. This is because facing the consequences of their actions is what motivates people to change their ways, and being offered a clean sheet can allow them to avoid making changes. Forgiving frequent and major offenses (冒犯), like verbal or physical abuse, can do more harm than good.

What if, instead of looking to forgiveness like a magic medicine, we put our energies towards accepting a situation for what it is? This way, we can focus on recognizing what happened and coming to terms with it, however that looks for us and without any sense of obligation towards our offender. It’ll still be a process, sure, but it’s one centred around you and your needs.

According to the World Food Program, one third of the food of the world is lost or wasted. It’s up to some 1.3 billion tons every year, worth about $1 trillion. Moreover, a report in 2021 Sugests that 8 to10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions (排放) are associated with wasting food.

“For our parents and the older generations,‘clearing your plate’ is more about saving some food for a rainy day.”Liu Jichen, founder and CEO of Clear Plate, an anti-food wasting program, told us.

The idea for Clear Plate came to Liu after one dinner at a restaurant in late 2017. The customers who finished all the food they’d ordered would be given a card, and then they could exchange their cards for rewards. “Yet it was limited to one restaurant’s actions, so I thought, why not try it on a larger scale (规模)? And how?” Liu wondered. And then he teamed up with some of his friends,founded a startup and developed the Clear Plate applet.

“The Clear Plate team is trying to deal with the issue (问题) of food waste. After a meal, users of WeChat take photos of their clean plates, post these on WeChat, collect points, and then exchange their points for gifts or charity donations,” Liu explained.

Starting in 2018, Clear Plate has now more than 4.3 million users with about 45 million participations in anti-food wasting actions, reducing food waste by 1,700 tons and carbon emissions by 6,600 tons. Liu’s determination represents a small change of the Chinese lifestyle and more people are turning toward a healthier, greener and more low-carbon lifestyle.