Intermediate

Crossing the street is very easy in most countries. You simply wait for the crosswalk light to turn green. The cars stop and let you walk safely to the other side.

However, in Hanoi, Vietnam, crossing the road is an adventure. There are few traffic lights, and the cars and motorbikes will never stop for you. You need to just walk into the street and the vehicles will go around you. It can be very scary, but that is the only way to cross the street in Vietnam. You have to trust the drivers not to hit you.

You get used to it very quickly and then laugh when you see tourists panic while crossing the street.

According to The Guardian, a newspaper based in the United Kingdom, Bookshop is a socially conscious alternative to Amazon that allows readers to buy books online while supporting their local independent bookseller.

Bookshop was founded by writer and co-founder of Literary Hub, Andy Hunter. It allows independent bookshops to create their own virtual shopfront on the site, with the stores receiving the full profit from each sale. Customer service and shipping are handled by Bookshop and its distribution partners.

This year has certainly been a rollercoaster. There were highs and lows, not to mention a lot of uncertainty—sometimes all you could do is throw your hands up and hope for the best. 

Looking back on 2020, there are a few things that changed. 

First, since restaurants were closed during lockdown, my approach to home cooking changed. Before COVID, I took an ad-hoc approach to meals. But with limited trips to the grocery store and fewer options for take-out dinner, I started planning and following recipes more carefully. The result was better meals with fewer headaches. That was one takeaway: prepare well and rely on experts to write the recipe. 

Secondly, I've started taking hygiene even more seriously. I wash my hands for longer (20 seconds at least) and I avoid touching things out in public—that includes buttons at pedestrian signals and packages at the supermarket. That's another takeaway: do simple things to avoid getting sick. 

The COVID-19 pandemic forced most professionals around the world to begin working from home in early 2020. Suddenly teams were separated and had to communicate over video call services. It’s hard to feel connected that way. And it’s hard to build relationships and maintain the trust that today’s business depends on. 

The Guardian reports that more than a decade of police crackdowns on major gangs and economic uncertainty are making it harder for the yakuza to tempt young men with promises of easy money.

For the first time since records began in 2006, 51% of regular yakuza members are aged 50 or over, according to a new report by the national police agency. Less than 15% are under 40, and those over 70 account for just over 10% of total membership.

Stricter laws, including those targeting businesses with links to gangs that had once operated with near-impunity, have made a life of crime increasingly unappealing. Yakuza members are forbidden from opening bank accounts, obtaining a credit card, taking out insurance policies or even signing a contract for a mobile phone.

Currently, 34 vaccine candidates for the novel coronavirus are in various stages of clinical development, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). However, the process is long, typically many years. In the race for a vaccine, there is some debate on the merits of rushing through the process.

The vaccines process is long because there are 3 phases of trials. The first two trials focus on effectiveness—does the vaccine work or not. This is a relatively straightforward question and it can be proven in relatively small sample sizes. So, just a few hundred people are needed to test it. However, Phase 3 is used to prove the safety and efficacy of the vaccine—does it have significant side-effects, is it safe for people with compromised immune systems, and can everyone use it?

This opinion is a rant—a passionate, typically angry, speech or piece of writing about one particular topic.

This rant is about American anti-maskers—people who are opposed to wearing a face mask during the coronavirus outbreak. 

Take a deep breath and try to read as emphatically as you can.
—
"I can't stand it! These people who won't wear masks even though all the medical science says it helps prevent the spread of COVID-19. I hope all the anti-maskers have never taken meds for anything, or know anyone who has. That includes blood pressure meds, insulin, asthma inhalers, allergy medicine, pain relievers, eye drops—heck, even bandaids! What do they put on a cut? Natural remedies like moss and honey? I highly doubt it. So they're either totally ignorant, or total hypocrites.

Mascots, or yuru-kyara, are incredibly popular in Japan. There are yuru-kyara for everything, from sports teams to prefectures to a toilet disinfectant (seriously). Now they're offering the world a mascot for the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The yōkai (supernatural being) Amabié was first described in 1846, during a series of severe epidemics in Japan. It has three legs, a fish-like body, and the head of a bird with long, flowing hair. The original story goes that Amabié was spotted by an unnamed man on top of the ocean waves, glowing with a strange light. It gave its name to the man and prophesied a good harvest. Then Amabié said, "Should an epidemic come, draw me and show me to those who fall ill and they will be cured,” and disappeared into the water, supposedly never to be seen again.

Around 48 million people have some degree of hearing loss. Given the rise of wearing face masks in public, hearing-impaired people are struggling to understand those wearing ordinary masks as they muffle their voices. One way to solve this problem is to put on masks with clear windows.

When wearing such a mask, people can see your lips, which allows the deaf or hard-of-hearing to lipread and see facial expressions.

Alicia Austin teaches infants and children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Currently, Austin has many online lessons with her students, and she says that wearing a mask can make communication problematic. She says that children need to see facial expressions and recognition to learn, even if they do not have a hearing disability.