Topic Reading-Vol.4420-5/31/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Come to China, enjoy six amazing teas

Tea is said to have been born in China centuries before the common era began. Today, various kinds of teas are enjoyed including black tea, green tea, white tea, brown tea, oolong tea, and herbal tea in cultures around the world. But tea is most deeply embedded in Chinese culture with a long history of tea serving and with a wide variety of tea types. Here are six popular teas that produce aromas, fragrances, and tastes in China.

West Lake Longjing tea is a special kind of green tea that is harvested in the West Lake area of Hangzhou. White Peony tea is a white tea that is rich in antioxidant properties and provides immune-boosting benefits. Jin Jun Mei is a new variety of black tea originated in Fujian province. The world-famous Pu’er tea is a uniquely fermented tea from the mountainous Yunnan province. Enshi Yulu is an old type of green tea that resembles pine needles. The flavourful Jasmine tea combines the fragrance of jasmine flowers with tea leaves. Which of these have you tasted or would you like to try?

Read the article and see the images of some of China’s renowned tea variations.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202405/21/WS664bc7e0a31082fc043c8251.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4419-5/30/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Plans for ‘world’s largest coastal regeneration project’ revealed in Dubai

Established as a small fishing village in the 19^th century, oil-rich Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It has flourished as a regional hub and tourism since the late 20^th century. As Dubai is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf in the eastern Arabian Peninsula, it has a beautiful, long seashore where many luxury hotels stand. Now, a new project called Dubai Mangroves has been launched to plant over 100 million mangroves along over 70 kilometers of Dubai’s shoreline. Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs that live in the coastal intertidal zone. Once planted, the mangroves are projected to absorb over 1.2 million tons of CO2 a year, an equivalent of CO2 emitted by 260,000 gas-powered vehicles. They are also expected to create a natural habitat for fish and coastal flora and fauna, improve fishing and aquaculture industries, and become an eco-tourism attraction. Sounds like a very rosy, green project, doesn’t it?  

Read the article and learn about Dubai’s new green project with mangroves.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/dubai-mangroves-design-spc/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4418-5/29/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Many high schools are curbing the use of AI. These schools are leaning in

Should high schools allow students to use AI for their school work such as research, summarize, or write papers? When the use of typewriters became popular, some worried that students might lose the chance to develop handwriting skills, a nice-to-have skill but not so essential nowadays. When electric calculators became commonly available and affordable, people worried that students would not develop calculation skills, which are no longer considered essential, either. Then computers, tablets, and smartphones have already been used in many classrooms. And think of the spelling and grammar check features on the apps and devices students use. Are they deteriorating or helping students’ writing? Actually, teachers are using those tools to prepare classes and assess students’ work. Now AI has been becoming increasingly popular among students and teachers since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. If teachers find AI helpful for their jobs, it seems quite natural to have their students use it effectively and productively for their future. In fact, some schools are having their students use AI to come up with unique solutions. Those who use AI as their learning tool or partner seem to develop AI literacy for their future.

Read the article and learn about how AI is being used in high school education.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/17/tech/ai-high-school/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4417-5/28/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

24 of the world’s best sandwiches

A sandwich is a general term for a food typically consisting of a filling that is placed on or between pieces or a split roll of bread. The filling could be anything, cheese, meat, fish, sausage, vegetables, or jam. Any type of bread could be used to sandwich the filling, including sliced loaf, split roll, bun, pita, or bagel. Extended variations include open sandwiches, wrapped sandwiches, tacos, hotdogs, and hamburgers. The term "sandwich" is named after an English noble, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, in the 18th century who wanted to grab food during his gambling games. Today, there are wide varieties of sandwiches around the world. In some of them, the filling is the main part while others use the filling to enjoy the taste and flavor of the bread. Whichever the style might be, the right combination of the filling and bread, along with sauce, dressing, seasoning, and spice would make a great sandwich.

Read and learn about 24 delicious sandwiches around the world.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-best-sandwiches/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4416-5/27/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Over 60 places around the world charge tourist taxes – and there’s more to come

Tourist taxes have been levied by national or local governments to temper over-tourism and generate income to improve public infrastructures and preserve monuments, facilities, and the environment. For example, Bhutan charges $100 a day to an adult visitor (lowered from $200). Barcelona uses the city’s tourist tax to fund construction and development projects locally, around €5 per day per person. Most tourist taxes are added to the price of the accommodation, but some popular tourist destinations like Venice introduced a €5 visitor's tax to those who don’t stay overnight. Since the number of visitors to Venice is over twice as many as that of the residents, the city may need to discourage incoming day tourists who don’t contribute to the local economy as much as visitors who stay overnight. Considering the waste management, public toilets, conservation of natural habitats and historical monuments, and social housing, most tourists seem to be content to make a little financial contribution to the place where they enjoy visiting. Will you?

Read the article and learn how tourist taxes are charged and used in popular tourist destinations.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/tourist-taxes-do-they-work/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4415-5/26/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Certain vegetarian diets significantly reduce risk of cancer, heart disease and death, study says

Vegans avoid all animal products, such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, and even honey. Vegetarians do not eat meat, poultry, or fish but Lacto-ove vegetarians eat, eggs, and dairy products like cheese, yogurt, and milk, too. It has been long known that people who follow plant-based or plant-predominant diets often live healthier lives as vegetables and fruits provide vitamins, minerals, and other antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In fact, while plants have more fiber, they have less saturated fat and no cholesterol. Not surprisingly, such healthy diets are found to reduce the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and inflammation, which could lengthen your life, according to studies. Should you then eat only vegetables and fruits to live a healthier and longer life? It seems that plant-based diets work better when they are maintained in balance and with exercise.

Read the article and learn about the benefits of vegetarian, or mostly vegetarian diets.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/15/health/vegetarian-vegan-cancer-heart-disease-wellness/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4414-5/25/2024

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
Microplastics are polymer fragments smaller than 5 millimeters, and nanoplastics are less than 1 micrometer in size or about 1,000th of a human hair, which are small enough to migrate through the tissues into the bloodstream. New research found that there are as many as 240,000 micro and nano plastics in a liter of PET bottled water. (Vol.4362)
Then what about the food we regularly eat? Most of the animal and vegetable protein samples tested recently contained microplastics, new research found. Even vegetables and fruits aren’t free from plastic particles as they absorb microplastics through their roots and transfer them to the leaves and fruits. Also, any packaged food items like salt, sugar, tea bags, and even rice contain microplastics and therefore nanoplastic particles, which are small enough to invade individual cells and tissues in major organs. Since we live in a plastic-contaminated world, there is little, but still, something we can do to reduce taking plastic particles from food and drinks we consume.
Read the article and learn about how contaminated the food we eat is by plastic particles.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/22/health/plastics-food-wellness-scn/index.html