After I posted on my leave plans on Sunday, a few of you asked what was on my reading list, so I am sharing some books I have read / am reading / or hope to read. Three of the books are available from the National Library Singapore. Do check out the NLB app (iOS: https://go.gov.sg/moiqhc | Android: https://go.gov.sg/hu17bc). It is a marvellous resource, and you will definitely be able to discover many books to suit your interests.

[ Nuclear Folly, a History of the Cuban Missile Crisis
by Serhii Plokhy ]
The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. I had read "13 Days", the short memoir by Robert Kennedy about it as a teenager, and later Graham Allison's "Essence of Decision", a seminal study using the Crisis to analyse decision making from different perspectives. Both were mainly based on US records. Plokhy's book draws on Soviet archives, to present events from both the US and Soviet points of view. Many mistakes were made on both sides. The saving grace was that both President John Kennedy and General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev desperately wanted to avoid a nuclear war. But even then the two sides avoided a nuclear exchange only by a hair’s breadth, and only by chance, because events once set in motion were no longer entirely within the two leaders' control. A gripping read.

[ The Bilingual Brain, and what it tells us about the science of language
by Albert Costa ]
Having learnt several languages myself, and grappled with our bilingualism policy in schools, this book was a natural choice. I am still reading it. Did you know that a newborn infant already recognises and prefers the language (or languages) which their mother spoke while they were in her womb, and within hours of birth can also distinguish between two different languages that they have never heard before? Infants pick up a language (or two) naturally in their first years, but learning a second or third language later in life is much harder. This book explains why.

[ Capturing Light, the Heart of Photography
by Michael Freeman ]
A book about the different sorts of light, how they influence the photo you take, and how to use them to create the effect and mood that you want. Photographers know about the golden hour and blue hour, hard light and soft light, direct and indirect lighting, front and back lighting, haze, mist and fog, and so many more variations. The book includes lots of the author’s photos illustrating his points, taken over many years. Hope to pick up something from reading it. But the key in photography (as in so many other skills) is to practise and practise, if you want to improve.

[ Bettering Humanomics, A New, and Old, Approach to Economic Science
by Deidre Nansen McCloskey ]
The author, a distinguished economist, argues that economics is not just about incentives and institutions, mathematical models and observed behaviour. It should take a broader, more humanistic approach, paying attention to ethics and values, “what people believe, and the stories they tell one another”, as one reviewer put it. Certainly in government we must think about these broader factors all the time, while making sure we get the economics right. Not just in trade and industry or finance, but also in national development, education, health, manpower, sustainability and the environment, social and family development, and so much of public policy. I haven't read this book yet, but saw an enthusiastic book review, and look forward to reading the book itself.

Happy reading! – LHL

嘗試營救溺水者是一件很危險的事，將會讓營救者面臨巨大的人身風險。 對於我在台灣溺水數據所做的研究發現，在2014年至2019年之間，至少有34起消防救援事件起因是，民眾因嘗試拯救溺水者卻溺斃或需要被救援。 https://youtu.be/jTwEgL6rQ4I

跳入水中救援溺水者是所有救援手段中的最後一個選擇，Likeafish對於這部分的解釋做的很棒，對於溺水者來說，你只是一根浮木，他們只會想要爬到你的身上。

我想補充一件事。 如果您確實發現自己被恐慌的溺水者抓住，請直接下潛。 他們就會放手。

Rescuing a drowning person is dangerous, it puts you at great personal risk. The study I did on Taiwan drowning data found that the Fire Department was called in at least 34 incidents involving failed rescue attempts between 2014 and 2019.

Options that don't require you to get in the water with the drowning person should be used first. Likeafish does a good job here of explaining why. You're just a floating log to a drowning person, they will climb on top of you.

One thing I would like to add though. If you do find yourself grappled by a panicked person, dive down. They will let go.

Today, we are talking about a heritage product. Something that my mother has already been using for years and something I’ve been constantly repurchasing.

I believe we all have long grappled with the question of: To what extent do our genes really determine our ageing process. Some basic research on epigenetics helped me realise that the choices I make on a day to day basis CAN and WILL influence my body, especially my skin.

Backed by the new discovery on epigenetics, @esteelauder is introducing their new ANR Synchronised Multi-Recovery Complex, a serum that now repairs skin faster than ever. Go give it a try and see firmer and more radiant skin in just 3 weeks.

Grab your FREE sample now:
https://esteelaudermy.com/index.php/preregistration?utm_medium=paid_social_own&utm_source=influencer&utm_campaign=koeyeet&utm_content=koeyeet_influencer_stories&utm_term=koeyeet

#SkinNaturevsNurture
#GenerationANR
#AdvancedNightRepair
#EsteeLauderMY

最近，美國 COVID 確診與死亡人數又開始攀升，專家說這是一個「未接種疫苗者的大流行病」，染疫民眾幾乎全未接種疫苗。當局說網路上流傳的假消息讓許多人不願意接種疫苗，拜登更進一步稱 Facebook 等社群平台放任假消息就是在殺人。

0:00 Intro
0:09 第一遍英文朗讀 (慢)
3:15 新聞單字片語解說
20:24 第二遍英文朗讀 (快)

📝 訂閱講義 (只要 $88 /月)：https://bit.ly/ssyingwen_notes
🖼️ 單字卡在 IG: https://bit.ly/ssyingwenIG
📪 ssyingwen@gmail.com

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朗讀內容來自 NPR
👉 Podcast 裡選讀片段文字在: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ssyingwen/posts/266379808581599/
👉 完整文章連結在：https://www.npr.org/2021/07/16/1017002907/u-s-covid-deaths-are-rising-again-experts-call-it-a-pandemic-of-the-unvaccinated


本集介紹的單字片語有：
Seven-day average 7 天平均值
Hospitalizations 住院人數
Florida 佛羅里達州
Unvaccinated 未接種疫苗者
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Epidemic 疫情
Pandemic 全球大流行病
Preventable 可預防的
Democrats 民主黨支持者
Republicans 共和黨支持者
Wait and see 再觀察看看
Rural areas 鄉下地方
Misinformation 不正確的訊息 / 假消息
Conspiracy theories 陰謀論
Lies 謊言
Social media sites 社群平台
Surgeon general 醫療總監
Incentives 獎勵
Cannabis 大麻
Little appetite 興趣缺缺
Grapple, grapples, grappling, grappled
Grapple with 人
Grapple with 事情

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