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    Due to the long and horrific history of stolen land and colonization, the Western world often refers to Indigenous peoples’ culture and knowledge in the past tense. Yet today, Indigenous peoples are indisputably the best guardians of our world’s most precious ecosystems. Western society still desperately needs to learn what Indigenous people have known for millennia: that human beings must live in a reciprocal relationship with the Earth. Around the world, Indigenous peoples have long practiced the key elements of regenerative agriculture.

    An example is the art of agroforestry. Some Indigenous communities, like the Lenca people in Honduras, know agroforestry simply as “traditional technique.” Agroforestry — or the concept of growing crops in a way that mimics the forest and offers shade, protection, and nutrients — is such common practice there is no special name for it. By using sustainable practices taught from one generation to another, Indigenous peoples actively safeguard forests, preserving biodiversity and keeping a delicate balance essential for both the environment and their own sustenance.

    Another example is intercropping ingenuity. Much of modern agriculture relies on monoculture, where just one single crop is grown across vast sprawling fields. While industrial farmers see this as a more efficient and simplified way to farm, it also depletes the soil of nutrients. Instead, Indigenous peoples have long practiced polyculture, where many different types of crops are grown alongside each other. Intercropping helps regulate soil moisture and deter pests. It also increases biodiversity by encouraging a symbiotic relationship between plants, soil microorganisms, insects, and animals.

Internet: rainforest-alliance.org (adapted).

A Neurologist’s Tips to Protect Your Memory

    As we age, our memory declines. This is an
ingrained assumption for many of us; however,
according to neuroscientist Dr. Richard Restak, a
neurologist and clinical professor at George
[5] Washington Hospital University School of Medicine
and Health, decline is not inevitable.

    The author of more than 20 books on the mind,
Restak has decades’ worth of experience in guiding
patients with memory problems. “The Complete
[10] Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your
Mind,” Restak’s latest book, includes tools such as
mental exercises, sleep habits and diet that can help
boost memory.
    Yet, Restak ventures beyond this familiar
[15] territory, considering every facet of memory — how
memory is connected to creative thinking,
technology’s impact on memory, how memory
shapes identity. “The point of the book is to
overcome the everyday problems of memory,”
[20] Restak said. Especially working memory, which falls
between immediate recall and long-term memory,
and is tied to intelligence, concentration and
achievement. According to Restak, this is the most
critical type of memory, and exercises to strengthen
[25] it should be practiced daily. But bolstering all
memory skills, he added, is key to warding off later
memory issues. Memory decline is not inevitable
with aging, Restak argues in the book.
    Ultimately, “we are what we can remember,”
[30] he said. Here are some of Restak’s tips for developing
and maintaining a healthy memory.
    Pay more attention.
    Some memory lapses are actually attention
problems, not memory problems. For instance, if
[35] you’ve forgotten the name of someone you met at a
cocktail party, it could be because you were talking
with several people at the time and you didn’t
properly pay attention when you heard it.
    “Inattention is the biggest cause for memory
[40] difficulties,” Dr. Restak said. “It means you didn’t
properly encode the memory.” One way to pay
attention when you learn new information, like a
name, is to visualize the word. Having a picture
associated with the word, Restak said, can improve
[45] recall. For instance, he recently had to memorize the
name of a doctor, Dr. King, (an easy example, he
acknowledged). So, he pictured a male doctor “in a
white coat with a crown on his head and a scepter
instead of a stethoscope in his hand.”
[50]    Find regular everyday memory challenges.
    There are many memory exercises that you can
integrate into everyday life. Dr. Restak suggested
composing a grocery list and memorizing it. When
you get to the store, don’t automatically pull out
[55] your list (or your phone) — instead, pick up
everything according to your memory. “Try to see the
items in your mind,” he said, and only consult the list
at the end, if necessary. If you’re not going to the
store, try memorizing a recipe. He added that
[60] frequent cooking is actually a great way to improve
working memory.
    Once in a while, get in the car without turning
on your GPS, and try to navigate through the streets
from memory. A small 2020 study suggested that
[65] people who used a GPS more frequently over time
showed a steeper cognitive decline in spatial memory
three years later.

    Play games.
    Games like bridge and chess are great for
[70] memory, but so is a simpler game, said Dr. Restak.
For instance, Dr. Restak’s “favorite working memory
game” is Twenty Questions — in which a group (or a
single person) thinks of a person, place or object, and
the other person, the questioner, asks 20 questions
[75] with a yes or no answer. Because to succeed, he said,
the questioner must hold all of the previous answers
in memory in order to guess the correct answer.
    Another of Restak’s tried-and-true memory
exercises simply requires a pen and paper or audio
[80] recorder. First, recall all of the US presidents, starting
with Biden and going back to, say, Franklin Roosevelt,
writing or recording them. Then, do the same, from
F.D.R. to Biden. Next, name only the Democratic
presidents, and only the Republican ones. Last, name
[85] them in alphabetical order. If you prefer, try it with
players on your favorite sports team or your favorite
authors. The point is to engage your working
memory, “maintaining information and moving it
around in your mind,” Restak wrote.
[90]     Read more novels.
    One early indicator of memory issues,
according to Dr. Restak, is giving up on fiction.
“People, when they begin to have memory
difficulties, tend to switch to reading nonfiction,” he
[95] said.
    Over his decades of treating patients, Dr.
Restak has noticed that fiction requires active
engagement with the text, starting at the beginning
and working through to the end. “You have to
[100] remember what the character did on page 3, by the
time you get to page 11,” he said.
    Beware of technology.
    Among Dr. Restak’s new sins of memory, two
are associated with technology.
[105]     First is what he calls “technological distortion.”
Storing everything on your phone means that “you
don’t know it,” Dr. Restak said, which can erode our
own mental abilities. “Why bother to focus,
concentrate and apply effort to visualize something
[110] when a cellphone camera can do all the work for
you?” he wrote.
    The second way our relationship with
technology is detrimental for memory is because it
often takes our focus away from the task at hand. “In
[115] our day, the greatest impediment of memory is
distraction,” Dr. Restak wrote. Many of these tools
have been designed with the aim of addicting the
person using them. As a result, we are often
distracted by them. People today can check their
[120] email while streaming Netflix, talking with a friend or
walking down the street. All of this impedes our
ability to focus on the present moment, which is
critical for encoding memories.
    Determine whether there is cause for concern.
[125]    Throughout his career, Dr. Restak has been
asked by dozens of patients how they can improve
their memory. But not all memory lapses are
problematic. For instance — not remembering where

you parked your car in a crowded lot is pretty
[130] normal. Forgetting how you arrived at the parking lot
in the first place, however, indicates potential
memory issues.
    There is no simple solution to knowing what
should be of concern, Dr. Restak said — much of it is
[135] context-dependent. For instance, it’s normal to
forget the room number of your hotel, but not the
address of your apartment. If you’re concerned, it’s
best to consult with a medical expert.

Adapted from: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/

Read the text and answer the question.

Read the conversation between Carol and Neil.

    Neil: What do you do on New Year’s Day?
    Carol: Well, we sometimes go downtown. They have
fireworks. It’s really pretty. Other people invite friends to
their house and they have a party.
    Neil: Do you give presents to your friends and family?
    Carol: No, we never give presents on New Year’s.
    Neil: Do you have a meal with your family?
    Carol: No, we do that on Christmas. On New Year’s we
just party!

From the Book World English 1A 

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    Daters are astonished by the high prices of wining and dining a romantic interest with inflation at its highest rate in over 40 years. The consumer price index category for food away from home rose 7.7% in June 2022 from a year earlier, while full-service restaurants climbed 8.9%. For those testing the waters with a cocktail or two, prices for alcoholic beverages rose by 4%.

    Those searching for love say they’re feeling the pain. Among 3,000 users on the popular dating app Hinge, almost 41% said they were more concerned with the cost of dates now versus a year ago, with Generation Z respondents more likely to feel the pressure. Emily Derby, a 27-year-old in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said her dating costs have doubled from $200 to $400 a month.

    As costs escalate, some singles are scaling back and being more selective about the dates they’re going on, while others are pausing their search for “the one” entirely. On dating site OKCupid, 34% of 70,000 users reported that inflation was impacting their love life.

    “In the fall of 2020, I was going on dates left and right not really thinking about the costs,” said Seth Rosenberg, a 25-year-old in Philadelphia. “Now, it’s harder to be excited because if a date goes bad, you’re out anywhere from $50 to $100.”

    Those still in the dating game have both love and money on the mind. New York City-based dating coach Amy Nobile said even her wealthy clients, many of whom pay $15,000 for a four-month program, are trying to cut their dating costs in half. Clients who would typically spend as much as $150 on a date are seeing if they can get away with $75 or less.

    “People are feeling rising prices,” she said. “For those in the long game to find a partner, they feel like they really need to monitor their money flow in the dating world.” As a result, people are on the hunt for less expensive options, said Logan Ury, director of relationship science at Hinge.

(Paulina Cachero. www.bloomberg.com, 21.07.2022. Adaptado.)

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    People who have never outgrown an aversion to broccoli, or an addiction to potato chips, can place part of the blame on their genes, preliminary research suggests. The study, of over 6,200 adults, turned up correlations between certain taste-related genes and people’s preferences for particular food groups. Those whose genes made them sensitive to bitter flavors, for example, tended to eat fewer whole grains. Meanwhile, people with a particularly acute ability to sense savory flavors were less likely to eat their veggies. Still, none of that means genes determine your food preferences, experts said.

    Diet is complicated, and influenced by everything from culture to economics, said researcher Julie Gervis, a doctoral candidate at Tufts University. But, she said, the findings do highlight the role of taste-related genes in food choices. People often don’t know why they struggle with eating things they know are good for them, like green vegetables, Gervis noted. Understanding the influence of genes can shed some light on the matter.

    Eventually, Gervis said, dietitians may be able to use genetic information to give people more precise diet counseling. “We’re moving away from general nutrition advice to a more personalized approach,” Gervis said. But, she added, any real-world use of genetic analysis is still a long way off. Gervis will present the findings at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. Studies released at meetings are considered preliminary until they are published in a peer-reviewed journal.

(Amy Norton. www.usnews.com, 14.06.2022. Adaptado.)