Plants are a very important kind of life. Plants cover most land. They can be big or small and come in many colors, but they are not animals. Trees, flowers, grasses, and bushes (灌木) are common plants.

How are animals and plants different? Plants usually can’t move. Plants breathe a different kind of air than people and animals do. Plants make their own food from water, sunlight, and the soil. Plants can’t talk. Plants don’t think. Plants usually make more plants, or reproduce, with seeds (种子).

How are animals and plants the same? They both have body parts that do jobs. Animals eat food, but plants “eat” sunlight with their leaves and “drink” with their roots (根). Animals grow from babies to adults (成人), and plants grow from seeds to adults.

Have you ever wondered why so many apps are free to use? After all, they cost money to run. Well, instead of paying with money, you’re paying by sharing your personal data (数据). Then businesses buy and use the data so that they can show you target ads (定向广告).

What happened to personal information online?

Many free apps get paid by businesses who want to know about the users of the apps. What a business wants is the exact information about customers. Data brokers collect your data—everything from your name, location and education level to the topics you search for, the websites you visit and the people you follow. And then, sell them to businesses.

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The data is valuable. Businesses can use the information from data brokers to target their ads. It means they will show their ads to the people who are most likely to be interested in their products or services.

What can we do about it?

Many countries have made laws to protect personal information. For example, a law in the United States says businesses must get parents’ permission (许可) to collect personal data from kids under 13. China’s law on personal information protection came into effect (生效) on November 1st, 2021. At the same time, we should try to protect our data. If an app asks for something like your location, consider saying “No” first. In short, information about you is very valuable. Try to protect it.

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Feel down? Hug a tree! Recently, many Chinese young people have turned to trees to help feel less nervous. Although it sounds strange, there’s a science behind the act of tree-hugging.

In 1984, US scientist Edward Wilson pointed out that humans are born to love being around other living things. Human’s love for nature is “in our DNA”. This idea helps to explain why people prefer natural, green views to city views. It’s also one of the reasons why people love cute pets.

Some scientists have studied why tree-hugging can help with our health. A study in 2021 reported that the activity can create more oxytocin (催产素) . It’s something connected with feelings. The higher the level of oxytocin is, the happier you may be. Hugging trees for only 21 seconds can produce oxytocin in bodies.

Hugging trees also helps cut cortisol (皮质醇) production, which makes us feel better. Cortisol is a marker of stress. The brain produces more cortisol when the person is worried, angry, or very sad.

Although the activity is helpful to us, it’s important to keep in mind that we shouldn’t hurt the nature while hugging trees. Trees often hold valuable environment. Many small living things live on the tree—and they are too small to be seen. You may want to be gentle when hugging trees—just like how you hug a friend!