Having bad feeling about world? “Cheer up.” says science writer Matt Ridley. “The world has never been a better place to live in, and it will keep on getting better both for humans and for nature.”{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

1 ) {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    It is reported that there are more than ten billion different products for sale in London alone. Even allowing for the many people who still live in poverty, our own generation has access to more nutritious food, more convenient transport, bigger houses, and better cars. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} This will continue as long as we use these things to make other things. The more we specialize and exchange, the better off we'll be.

2)Brilliant advances

    One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer lived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needs—food, clothing, fuel and shelter—have grown a lot cheaper. Take one example. In 1800 a candle providing one hour's light cost six hours' work. In the 1880s the same light from an oil lamp took 15 minutes' work to pay for. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Today it's half second.

3 )Let's not kill ourselves for climate change

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} A child that dies from indoor smoke in a village, where the use of fossil-fuel (化石燃料) electricity is forbidden by well-meaning members of green political movements trying to save the world, is just as great a tragedy as a child that dies in a flood caused by climate change. If climate change proves to be mild, but cutting carbon causes real pain, we may well find that we have stopped a nose-bleed by putting a tourniquet (止血带) around our necks.

A. Ridley calls himself a rational optimist—rational, because he's carefully weighed the evidence.

B. Overreaction to climate change could prove just as damaging to human welfare as climate change itself.

C. Shopping fuels invention.

D. And, of course, we earn more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us.

E. In 1950 it was eight seconds.

F. It's high time that we took immediate action to fight climate change.

G. Here's how he explains his views.

    Festivals play an important role in a culture's identity. I can't think of a better way of appreciating a new culture than by taking part in one of its festivals. Here are some special festivals around the world．

    Boryeong Mud Festival－Boryeong, South Korea

    For two weeks in July, millions gather in Borueong to experience the grey pools and slides．What began as a way of promoting the region's mineral-rich mud has turned into a festive party, complete with music and fireworks.While the mud is usually only available in cosmetic products, here you can cake yourself in grey as you want．

    Holi－India

    Holi, the Festival of Colors, is a Hindu celebration full of joy and one of India's most important holidays. During the day of the last full moon of the lunar month, usually late February throughout the country, but the cheerful spirit is common throughout Hindu communities around the world．

    Koninginnedag－The Netherlands

    Although their current Queen's birthday is really during the winter, the Queen still celebrates it on April 30th, the country's official “ Queen's Day” since 1949．Orange is the national color, and the streets become a sea of feather boas（长围巾）and body paint as crowds gather in the plazas（广场）．Amsterdam is the center of this outdoor party, with many live music acts, but nearly every town is alive with orange on this day．

    National Elephant Day in Thailand

    In Thailand, March 13th is regarded as National Elephant Day to show that the Thai elephant plays an important role in the Thai history. Thai Elephant Day has been held on an annual basis since the idea was first approved by the Thai government in 1998. Special events are held at a number of venues in northern Thailand．At the Mae Sa Elephant Camp, it has become a tradition on March13th for the dozens of elephants there to be treated to a huge feast of fruits and sugarcane．

    You may be familiar with those quotes, but seldom can you associate these quotes with those outstanding women behind them, not to mention the great work they did.

    “Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.”

—Anne Frank (1929 — 1945)

    Hiding from the German forces, Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl, was gifted a diary by her father when she was 13. However, her diary was published after her death in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15. The diary served as a unique eye-witness account of life during Holocaust (mass murder of about six million Jews during World War II) and it became one of the world's most read books.

    “Not all of us can do great things• But we can do small things with great love.”

—Mother Teresa (1910 — 1997)

    Mother Teresa, the Nobel Peace Prize winner (1979), aimed at looking after those children who had nobody to look after them through her own order “the Missionaries of Charity”. She worked tirelessly towards her goal until her ill-health forced her to step down in March 1997, after which she took her last breath in September 1997.

    “If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.”

—Margaret Thatcher (1925 — 2013)

    Margaret Thatcher was loved and hated equally for some of her policies but she never compromise (妥协). She was known as “the Iron Lady” for her leadership style. From being a grocer's daughter to graduating from Oxford University to becoming a banister, she went on to become Britain's first and to date, only female Prime Minister elected in 1979 and the country's fifth longest serving leader.

    “I knew someone had to take the first step and I made up my mind not to move.”

—Rosa Parks (1913 — 2005)

    Also known as “the first lady of civil rights”, Rosa Parks was a pioneer of civil rights in a racially segregated Alabama in 1950s. In 1955, she refused to give away her seat to a white passenger in a bus, disobeying the bus driver's orders. This act of hers sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott that crippled the state capital's public transport system.

    CHICAGO -- New research on vegetables and aging gives mothers another reason to say "I told you so." It is found that eating vegetables appears to help keep the brain young and may slow the mental decline（下降） sometimes associated with growing old.

    On measures of mental sharpness, older people who ate more than two servings of vegetables daily appeared about five years younger at the end of the six-year study than those who ate few or no vegetables.

    The research in almost 2,000 Chicago-area men and women doesn't prove that vegetables reduce mental decline, but it adds to mounting evidence pointing in that direction. The findings also echo（回应） previous research in women only.

    Green leafy vegetables including spinach（菠菜）, kale and collards （甘蓝） appeared to be the most beneficial. The researchers said that may be because they contain healthy amounts of vitamin E, an antioxidant（抗氧化剂） that is believed to help fight chemicals produced by the body that can damage cells.

    Vegetables generally contain more vitamin E than fruits, which were not linked with slowed mental decline in the study. Vegetables also are often eaten with healthy fats such as salad oils, which help the body absorb vitamin E and other antioxidants, said lead author Martha Clare Morris, a researcher at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center.

    The fats from healthy oils can help keep cholesterol（胆固醇）low and arteries （动脉）clear, which both contribute to brain health. The study was published in this week's issue of the journal Neurology and funded with grants from the National Institute on Aging.

    The dream to travel the world has always been in the mind of many. The national geographic and Discovery Channel videos are just not enough. You can only feel the excitement of experiencing all those fascinating wildlife, countryside or adventure tourism documentaries by traveling the world. Here are the best destination countries based on safety, culture, ease of transportation, and accommodation for single travelers in 2018.

    Bali Island, Indonesia

    The cheapest of all countries to visit. Living in a comfortable room, having three meals a day and a few beers for only 25 dollars per day! Accommodation and goods are cheap everywhere, especially when you move further to the north.

    Italy

    Lined with olive trees, hilltop towns, and wonderful beaches, Italy is one of the most sought-after destinations; Not forgetting the wine and wine-cooked barbecues. All the cities of Italy are always full of tourists all year around.

    Vietnam

    Vietnam suburbs or the city of Hanoi is just where you need to be. Amazing landscapes, friendly locals, cheap food and affordable services, Cab services are a mere 10 dollars or less compared to cab services in the States which can get as high as 30 dollars for a couple of blocks away.

    France

    You don't talk of France without mentioning Eiffel tower. At night, it gives the most incredible view of France. Avoid the long lines to the tower and book your trip earlier For Catholics or historians, the Notre Dame and its surroundings will attract you with its ancient mummified (制成木乃伊的) cats, while Les Invalids military museum has all types of the world war weapons.

Imagine reading a story titled "Pursuing Success." That would be an inspiring story, wouldn't it? Maybe—but maybe not. It might well be the story of someone whose never-ending chase for more and more success leaves them unsatisfied and incapable of happiness.

Though it isn't a conventional medical addiction, for many people success has addictive properties. Obviously, success goes with praise. To a certain extent, praise stimulates the neurotransmitter dopamine (神经递质多巴胺), which contributes to all addictive behaviors.

The desire for success may be born to human nature, but specialness doesn't come cheap. Success is tough work, and it requires bearing the cost of losing. In the 1980s, the physician Robert Goldman famously found that more than half of ambitious athletes would be willing to take a drug that would kill them in five years in exchange for winning every competition they entered.

Unfortunately, success is endless. The goal can't be satisfied; most people never feel "successful" enough. The high only lasts a day or two, and then it's on to the next goal. Psychologists call this the hedonic treadmill (快乐跑步机现象), in which satisfaction wears off almost immediately and we must run on to the next reward to avoid the feeling of falling behind.

People should get off the treadmill. But quitting isn't easy for addicts. For people hooked on substances, withdrawal can be a painful experience, both physically and psychologically, research finds that depression and anxiety are common among outstanding athletes after their careers end. Olympic athletes, in particular, suffer from the" post-Olympic blues."

Just like wine, success in and of itself is not a bad thing. Both can bring fun and sweetness to life. But both become bossy when they are a substitute for — instead of a complement (补充物)to — the relationships and love that should be at the center of our lives.