Either true or false, a piece of information on the Internet or social media may be circulated thousands of times in a few minutes, hitting the public with a so-called “infostorm”. Instead of checking the validity of the information, most people believe that others possess more knowledge about a situation than they do and just click the “resend” button. Although social media provide easy access to an abundance of information, they do not equip us to make rational decisions.

As the author of The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind observed, irrational group behavior has always existed and as social beings we tend to be influenced by other people’s opinions and actions. But modern technology has dramatically changed the speed and scale of this social behavior. Because we can see how many people have liked or resented a story or piece of information, social media greatly reduces reflection time and harms our ability to think critically and to act rationally.

The phrase “Buddha-like youth” (fo xi qing nian) recently went viral on China’s Internet. The term is used to describe young people who are able to maintain a calm and easygoing mindset towards life  despite  growing  social  pressures.  Buddha-like  youths  try  to  avoid  conflict,  refuse  to  get emotionally involved, and take a Zen-like attitude towards achievements and setbacks alike. They believe this mindset is a healthy way to live in what they believe is a tough and cruel world.

However,  others  think  this  “Buddha-like”  attitude  is  simply  avoidance  of  stress  in  a  highly competitive modern society. It covers up and hides what is really young people’s idleness and lack of self-motivation, and could even prevent society from developing. Despite increasing challenges and pressures brought by our rapidly developing society, despite the exhaustion and hardships of modern life, there is no excuse for young people to become indifferent or to lose ambition.

Position: Volunteer Chinese instructor at Confucius Institutes

Location: Santa Barbara, California, U.S.

Requirements for the position:

1)     College undergraduate student;

2)     Major in Chinese Language and Literature, Foreign Languages, History or Philosophy;

3)     Standard Chinese speaker;

4)     Motivated by a strong sense of mission to teach Chinese to speakers of other languages;

5)     Cross-cultural communication capacity and ability to live and work in U.S.;

6)     Chinese or language teaching experience preferred.

Say “No” to human intervention before it is too late

“Humans have stopped evolving.” I was absolutely stunned when I first heard this view, but now I realize it is true. Sir David Attenborough, the famous broadcaster for dozens of BBC documentaries on nature, warned that biological evolution in humans has ended. According to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, only animals strong enough to adapt to their environment can survive and flourish. So when advances of the modern age enable humans to raise 95 to 99 percent of our offspring, even the weakest that under most circumstances would not survive, we put a halt to natural selection.

Human intervention in the laws of nature has affected the biological evolution of the  human species in various ways. Since progress in vaccines and antibiotics can protect us, we  no  longer  adapt  to  infectious  disease  through  natural  selection.  Advances  in  transportation allow global travel and give us the potential to share our genes with anyone, thereby reducing the chance of evolutionary change. Most significantly, because much of our work can be accomplished by machines, human beings face possibly being overtaken  by apparatus with sufficient artificial intelligence. The human species is nearly “done” from  a natural selection perspective. What is looming for humans? Obviously, we must say “No” to human intervention before it is too late.

《游子吟》

孟郊

慈母手中线，

游子身上衣。

临行密密缝，

意恐迟迟归。

谁言寸草心，

报得三春晖。

A Traveller’s Song

By Meng Jiao

Translated by Liu Jianxun

The thread in the hands of a fond-hearted mother

Makes clothes for the body of her wayward boy;

Carefully she sews and thoroughly she mends,

Dreading the delays that will keep him late from home.

But how much love has the inch-long grass

For three spring months of the light of the sun?

A graduate’s first job can be seen as the first step from campus into society and often is also an important first step towards a lasting career. Making an effective choice can be hard and the rate at which graduates leave a workforce and are replaced is relatively high as they find an imbalance between their expectations and reality. Thus, what first jobs should be like for graduates has been heatedly discussed.

Some people believe that college graduates should start at the bottom. They have no work experience and should learn by doing basic jobs in order to understand the business of their  employer  before  being  given  any  responsibility.  Others  oppose this  opinion, believing that graduates should be given equal status from day one. They think that graduates add “fresh blood,” bringing novel ideas and enthusiasm to a job and that they will learn by being challenged.

Your speech should include:

1) A brief introduction of the literary work you have chosen;

2) A description of your favorite character and the reasons why you like him/her;

3) The personal feelings you associate with the character.

You should write between 300 and 500 words. Please do not use your real name or mention your university.

Your speech should include:

1) A brief introduction of the literary work you have chosen;

2) A description of your favorite character and the reasons why you like him/her;

3) The personal feelings you associate with the character.

You should write between 300 and 500 words. Please do not use your real name or mention your university.

“996” refers to a work schedule from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week. It has been the standard commonly adopted in a  number of technology companies  in China.  But this standard has aroused heated discussion among people working in many companies and institutions.

Many people oppose this standard, saying that it is harmful to employees’ physical and mental health. Moreover, they believe that efficiency and effectiveness should be stressed rather than the number of hours worked. However, some people think differently, saying that  such  a  standard  makes  the  companies  more  competitive  and  thus  benefits the employees in various ways. Indeed, they argue, employees in technology companies are often paid handsomely which is suitable compensation for their longer working hours.

Unlike universities in Europe and the U.S. that are open to the public and are an integral part of local communities, most Chinese universities are fenced off and some do not welcome outsiders. Whether university campuses should be open to the public has long been an issue of controversy.

Some people think that making universities enclosed areas is important to maintain order and guarantee the security of students, faculty and staff. Crowds, noise and mess may spoil the quiet of the campus if too many people were allowed entrance. But some argue otherwise, saying that universities should be open and provide cultural and academic opportunities to the wider public. They think that it is only necessary for universities to regulate visitors to protect the campus from any negative impact.

（含图）

TNG,  one  of Sweden’s  largest  recruitment firms,  is  using  a  robot  named Tengai  to conduct interviews with job applicants. Measuring 41 centimeters high and weighing 3.5 kilograms, Tengai has a head that sits or projects from a table and faces the interviewee at eye-level. It looks very much like a human face, and can blink, smile and tilt its face from side to side. What is more, it is able to mimic the way human beings speak.

Some people support the use of such a robot in interviews. They believe it could make interviews fairer and more objective. Also, based on data, the interview results seem to be more  scientific.  However,  other  people  have  concerns  about  how the  robot handles open-ended questions, worrying that results may not be effective or applicant-friendly. Additionally, the help of a robot is limited because human staff still have to be involved at a certain stage of the recruitment and the final decision will not be made by the robot.

1) 2-3 of your most highly recommended travel destinations in China

2) Say why you would recommend them to a young man

3) Provide some tips about travelling in China

You should write between 300 and 500 words. Please do not use your real name or mention your university.

It  has  been a common  practice  in some universities to  have a minimum enrollment principle for selective courses.  This  means  if  the  number  of  students  enrolling in a selective course is too small, the university will not open the course.

While  some   people  support this   principle,  considering it  a  waste  of  educational resources, especially teaching time, to hold courses if there are few students, others hold a different opinion. To them, educational choice and access should be the first priority. They believe that whether to offer a selective course should depend on the content of the course and if it will be helpful to students and their future careers.

（含图）

Have you ever experienced the situation that you want to write a Chinese character but you cannot remember its strokes (笔画)? Instead, you have only a general impression of

what the character looks like. This is called character amnesia (提笔忘字). In the past few

years, TV shows such as Chinese Character Dictation Contest have rekindled people’s enthusiasm for Chinese characters. Can these TV shows really stimulate the handwriting of Chinese characters?

Some people have a positive attitude towards the current tendency of character amnesia, considering it an inevitable result of computerization. Others are more pessimistic. They believe that if increasing  numbers of people are  unable to write Chinese characters, this core element of Chinese culture will eventually be lost.

Livestreaming sales, one of the hottest trends in marketing, is experiencing explosive growth in the Chinese market. (It’s a phenomenon, or a new trend, like online shopping.)

Supporters hold that livestreaming is a beneficial way for customers to shop. It often creates a pseudo “in-store” shopping experience, and customers can get better information about products from the detailed introduction by the presenters (主播).

However, other customers are reluctant to buy from livestream influencers. They are concerned that the presenters may overplay the functions or quality of the products and that statistics may be inflated and after-sales services may be poor.