Family-Friendly Events in January
ZooLights: Glow Wild Jan. 1-19
The Phoenix Zoo's yearly holiday light show is on until Jan. 19, allowing families one or more opportunities to enjoy the city's zoo, with millions of lights giving an added dimension to he festivities.
Glow Wild, 455 N. Galvin Pkwy. , Phoenix,
https//: www. phoenixzoo. org, ＄13. 95 for general admission ＄11. 95 for members.
Downtown Mesa Festival of the Arts Jan. 4-18
The Downtown Mesa Festival of the Arts features the work of established and emerging artists, including those who create woodwork, metal crafts, food items, art and photography gifts.
On Macdonald, off of Main Street in Downtown Mesa.
https//: www. dtmesafest. com, free admission.
Family Fun Winterfest Jan. 4
OdySea Aquarium in the Desert is hosting the third annual Family Fun Winterfest in its Desert Courtyard, featuring real snow for the kids to play in. This free event features everything from bounce houses to rides, games, snowflake crafts and face painting to go with various stands set up by local sellers, with food and other offerings for sale at the event.
9500 E. Via de Ventura, Scottsdale
https//: www. odyseainthedesert. com, free.
Youth Fine Arts Course Jan. 18-Mar. 7
Mesa Arts Center is hosting an eight-week youth arts course on Saturdays to teach artistic skills and knowledge through fun and challenging art classes in a wide variety of art materials, including painting, drawing, mixed media and sculpture, ensuring mentally stimulating sessions for all.
Mesa Art Center, I E. Main St. , Mesa,
https//: www. mesaartscenter. com, ＄93 for admission.
As a young girl growing up in France, Sarah Toumi dreamed of becoming a leader who could make the world a better place. Her passion to help others was awakened when, from the age of nine, she accompanied her Tunisian father to his birthplace in the east of the country during holidays. There she organized homework clubs and activities for children.
Toumi witnessed first-hand the destructive effect of desertification" Within 10 years rich farmers became worse off, and in 10 years from now they will be poor wanted to stop the Sahara Desert in its tracks. "A decrease in average rainfall and an increase in the severity of droughts (干旱) have led to an estimated 75 percent of Tunisia's agricultural lands being threatened by desertification.
Toumi recognized that farming practices needed to change she is confident that small land areas can bring large returns if farmers are able to adapt by planting sustainable crops, using new technologies for water treatment and focusing on natural products and fertilizers (肥料) rather than chemicals.
In 2012, Toumi consolidated her dream to fight the desert. She moved to Tunisia, and set up a programme named Acacias for All to put her sustainable farming philosophy into action, "I want to show young people in rural areas that they can create opportunities where they are Nobody is better able to understand the impact of desertification and climate change than somebody who is living with no access to water."
By September 2016, more than 130, 000 acacia trees had been planted on 20 pilot farms, with farmers recording a 60 percent survival rate. Toumi estimates that some 3 million acacia trees are needed to protect Tunisia's farmland. She expects to plant 1 million trees by 2018. In the next couple of years, Toumi hopes to extend the programme to Algeria and Morocco.
As one of the biggest topics of the last decade, sustainability has become the beacon (灯塔) of hope to protect the planet. From supermarkets taking action on plastic packaging to the zero waste movement that can be practised from your kitchen, changes made by individuals and organizations across the globe have had an impact on the way we think, shop and live.
So what does that mean for the world of technology? You'd be forgiven for thinking that the words "sustainable" and "technology" don't usually go hand in hand. E-waste is, after all, one of the planet's biggest contributing waste streams. Not only that, but the materials that go into technology products are also part of the problem.
But with a challenge comes an opportunity, and there's already some brilliant progress happening — great news for those of us wanting to be more sustainable with our technology. Firstly renewed products are having its moment. While consumers would previously turn their noses up at the idea of a second-hand device, there's been a huge surge in demand for renewed technology products. The second major step in tackling the problem of e-waste is a change in attitudes from owning a product to subscribing for one. A subscription for a smartphone might sound like a foreign concept, but it's already gaining momentum. At the forefront of this movement is a London-based technology startup, which offers a subscription service for the latest smartphones. As customers aren't paying to own the phone at the end of their contract, the monthly price is significantly lower than average.
Studies show that extending a phone's lifespan from one to four years can decrease its environmental impact by about 40%. So the next time it comes to refreshing your device — whether a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet or something else——consider the more environmentally friendly options that are at your fingertips.
Many people believe that working to the maximum is the secret to success, but research has found that moderation (适度) also gets results on the job.
In a study led by Ellen Langer of Harvard University, researchers asked people to translate sentences into a new made-up language. Subjects who practiced the language moderately beforehand made fewer errors than those who practiced extensively or not at all. High levels of knowledge can make people too attached to traditional ways of viewing problems across fields — the arts, sciences, and politics. High conscientiousness is related to lower job performance, especially in simple jobs where it doesn't pay to be a perfectionist.
How long we stay on the clock and how we spend that time are under careful examination in many workplaces. The young banker who eats lunch at his desk is probably seen as a, while his colleagues who chat over a relaxed conference-room meal get dirty looks from the corner office. "People from cultures that value relationships more than ours does are shocked by the thought of eating alone in front of a computer", says Art Markman, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas, Austin. Social interaction has been shown to lift mood (情绪) and get people thinking in new directions and in ways that could help improve any post-lunch effort.
Markman also promotes off-task time. "Part of being a good thinker is experiencing things that are seemingly unrelated to what you are working on at the moment but give you fresh ideas about your work," he says. "Also, there is a lot of research showing that a positive mood leads to higher levels of productivity and creativity. So, when people do things to increase their life satisfaction, they also make themselves more effective at work. "
Have you ever complained that there just aren't enough hours in a day?Do you usually find yourself falling short on time in completing assigned tasks?No matter how hard I tried, tasks just kept piling up towards the end every day and it became extremely difficult to stay productive. In spite of trying all kinds of free and paid to-do apps, nothing helped.
That didn't change until I discovered the time management technique called Time Blocking. Since then, I have been able to transform my daily schedule for the better with the help of Time Blocking.
It is a simple time management technique where you schedule your day such that it is divided into time blocks that are dedicated to specific tasks or groups of tasks. Imagine that you have a dozen or so tasks that you want to finish working on tomorrow. You open your to-do app of choice and neatly list down everything that you plan to do, and then plot some important meetings and reminders in your calendar app.The more specific you are about the task, the more focused and productive you will be and thus, more productive.
It not only makes your to-do list more manageable, but also it gives you more control over your day and helps you prioritize your tasks. It also improves your focus and helps get rid of procrastination (拖延症), as it allows you to focus on one project at a time.
A. So what is it exactly?
B. Is everyone interested in it?
C. I used to be in the same boat.
D. The benefits of Time Blocking are considerable.
E. Let's further explain the concept in another way.
F. You'll encounter countless questions like these in your life.
G. You'll need to be very specific about the time and what you're planning to do.
I never really enjoyed running. But my1with running has changed. I'm a2living in London. When my mom became ill with cancer and there was no3 of her living much longer, I decided to move back to Harrogate. My music career didn't 4 and I just wanted to be with my mother.
I have been5 psychotherapy（心理疗法）for more than three years, which has helped with my anxiety, but back in Harrogate, I 6 to do something else positive for myself has looking after my mother 7 me. I wanted to do something physical and running8 that need.
Getting up before six was for9 me. But I made myself go running three times a week. After starting last summer, I would run with10 members and talk about my mom with those I'd known better. It helped me put my 11 in the right place to face another day. And it helped me process my feelings after my mom 12 in October.
Although therapy has been the13 for all the positive things in my life, running has added to that. Together, they have changed my14 to life and I'm now less anxious than I was. While running, I feel grounded and I live in the15 .
The government has awarded ﹩5 million to three different local nonprofit organizations. The money will (distribute) over a four- year period and is aimed at helping approximately 1, 000 homeless people in the county of Arvada.
One agency, (base) in Woodbridge, is expected (receive) $1.5 million. The agency director says that they will focus their resources on (educate) the homeless." We will probably build another school- home with this money, " he said. "A school- home is exactly it sounds like. It is a school and a home. We have already built four school-homes throughout the county. We get the homeless off the street, we educate them so they don't have to return to the street. We teach them how to be gardeners, painters, carpenters, bricklayers, electricians, and air-conditioning repairmen.
"You wouldn't believe success that we have had. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, our office air-conditioning went out. My secretary called a repairman. To our surprise, the repairman (be) one of our first homeless students. He now owns his own air- conditioning business, plus two houses, two cars and a boat! He has a dozen employees. He's doing better than I am. He fixed our air-conditioning free. I think I might sign up for the air-conditioning class (I). "
