Put a group of strangers in a room together, and they'll probably start a conversation. "Hot today, isn't it?"one might say. "You said it." another replies.

       Why do we talk so much about the weather? When we meet new people, we don't begin by telling them our life story. We start with small talk, a polite conversation about something like traffic or weather.

       Research suggests that small talk can build new friendships. When we begin conversations with new people, we want to feel comfortable, and so do they. We use small talk to find common interests. Once we have a common interest, a friendship can begin.

Small talk even helps people get hired. In order to impress at a job interview, you need to bond with the interviewer right away. Proper small talk can make that first impression get you the job.

        So, how can you make small talk lead to a new friendship or job? First off, find common ground. Select something around you that you share with the other person.

        Next, keep the conversation going. Compliment (赞美) the other person to make himor her feel comfortable, and ask questions to show interest.

        Third, keep eye contact (接触). When you look people in the eye, they feel you appreciate what they are saying. It makes you appear honest and builds trust.

         Naturally, shy people might not have enough confidence to start up conversations with strangers. Talking to someone you don't know is not the easiest thing to do! Some experts say with more practice, small talk does get easier.

         Some people avoid small talk because they dislike discussing things like traffic or weather. For them, they are just too small. However, when you think about it, small talk is anything but small. In fact, it is actually a very big deal!

    In today's busy and competitive world, we all lead incredibly stressful lives. When stress becomes overwhelming, it can affect our mood and productivity. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The good news is that it is manageable and can be reduced, or even relieved completely.

    Enter the world of books. Feeling stressed out? Pick up your favorite book and leave the reality and worries behind. It is the most effective way to relax and overcome stress. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Getting lost in a book before bedtime can calm your mind and prepare your body for a good night's sleep.

    Connect with people. Another way to successfully beat stress is meeting with friends. Friends and loved ones are important to any healthy lifestyle. If you're feeling a little overwhelmed and just can't seem to shake it off, call your best friend or a member of your family and talk to them. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Walk it off. You can also effectively relieve yourself of stress by simply taking a walk around your neighborhood. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} There's a whole new world up there that you never seem to notice while rushing to work or talking to someone. Take a moment to admire a new building or a balcony somewhere high up that reminds you of a castle from your favorite movie. Enjoy your time alone and seize every moment of it.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Nothing brings you back on track like a good laughter. It is the most powerful antidote(良方) to stress and it brings joy into your life. Laughing brings people together and drives away all stress-related problems as if they never existed. It is absolutely the best medicine there is, and it will keep you both physically and emotionally healthy.

    Aristotle once wrote that “happiness is a state of activity”. In other words, whether you're seeking life-long satisfaction or a few moments of good cheer, you've got to move forward. We've interviewed the experts and found five steps to take toward a sunny mood（心情）：

    Over a 30-year period, University of Illinois researchers asked nearly 120, 000 people how income, education, political participation volunteer activities and close relationships affected their happiness. Reported Newsweek, s Sharon Begley on the findings, “The highest levels of happiness are found with the most stable and satisfying relationships. ”

    Singing aloud, talking to a stranger, raising your hand: all may increase a feeling of happiness, according to a study from Wake Forest University. Participants（参与者）followed the development of their moods for two weeks and reported feeling happier when they were more outgoing and less happy when reserved or withdrawn.

    The editors of forbes. Com gave $5 or $20 to 46 strangers by chance. Half the group was told to spend the money on themselves, while the other half was told to spend it on others. Those who'd shared the wealth felt much happier at the end of the day than those who'd spent it on themselves. There was no difference in happiness between those who spent $5 or $20, suggesting that it's not how much money you spend, but how you spend it, that inspires the spirit.

    Studies from the Positive Psychology Center showed that discouraged people who wrote down three good things that happened to them each day for six months reported an improved attitude.

    Drinking water really can help keep you cheerful. A small 2012 study from the University of Connecticut suggested that even slight dehydration（脱水） affected the moods of its female participants.

Parents Model Healthy Eating

    It should come as no surprise that the more stressed parents are at work, the greater the burden on their family is{#blank#}1{#/blank#} After all, the more time parents spend working, the less time and energy they have to plan and prepare healthful meals.

    For years, most studies have focused on the role of working mothers while fathers were ignored. They didn't look at the family as a whole{#blank#}2{#/blank#} adds a new wrinkle（褶皱）to the relationship between work stress and family nutrition.

    Mom's work related stress is still a central factor in low well families eat because they typically do most of the food shopping and cooking{#blank#}3{#/blank#} The study found that when mom or dad experience high levels of work related stress, their families are eating one-and-a-half fewer family meals per week, and the parents themselves report eating fewer fruits and vegetables, more fast food, and are less likely to eat breakfast regularly.

    It's worth nothing that the study looked mainly at low income families who belonged to ethnic（民族的）or minority groups{#blank#}4{#/blank#} But the implications are wide ranging.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Teaching kids, especially teenagers, to help with grocery shopping and to cook actual meals, instead of just putting a frozen pizza in the microwave, could be an important piece of the puzzle in helping families improves their eating habits.

A. And the role of fathers in particular

B. But dad's work related stress has a large impact, too.

C. Yet, the kids' stress may influence the families' nutrition, too.

D. So the findings don't necessarily apply directly to other types of families.

E. When it comes to family nutrition, the entire family plays a role even kids.

F. It's also probably not a surprise that this can negatively affect a family's nutrition.

G. It is parents who give their kids a good model to develop a good eating habit.

    Our series The Genius Behind will take you inside the minds of people who are making the impossible possible. Whether it is designing the fastest ever land vehicle, helping the blind to see or creating space history, success relies levels of knowledge to new heights . What can we learn about genius from minds? Based on the people and the projects outlined in the series, we've come up with five lessons.

    Lesson one: New challenges require new ways of thinking

    Bloodhound SSC aims to be the first vehicle to break the 1,000 mph barrier. One of the key challenge has been to design the wheels. Thinking twice, Mark Chapman, chief engineer decided to change the way they were trying to solve problems and came up with a wheel design, part car, part jet fighter and part spaceship, which would hold together and was strong enough.

    Lesson two: Let evidence share your opinion

    Geophysicists widely believed that water on Earth originated from comets. But by studying rocks, Steven Jacobsen discovered water hidden inside, suggesting that the oceans gradually made its way out of the planet's interior many centuries ago. “Unfortunately, I had a pretty hard time convincing others,” he admits. Only time can tell whether the new theories are true.

Lesson three: It really is 99% efforts

    Sheila Nirenberg at Cornell University is trying to develop a new prosthetic device(假肢器官)for treating blindness. “Sometimes I'm exhausted and I get burnt out,” she adds. “But then I get an email from somebody saying that they can't see their own children's faces, and it is like, 'How can I possibly complain? Once I thought of this, I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep—all I wanted to do was work'. It gives me the energy to just go back and keep doing it.”

    Lesson four: The answer isn't always what you expect

    Sylvia Earle has spent decades trying to see the ocean with new eyes. Her “dream machine” is a submarine that could take scientists all the way to the bottom of the deepest ocean floor what sort of material could best withstand the types of pressure y would encounter thousands of miles below the ocean surface?” It could be steel, it could be titanium, it could be some sort of ceramic, or some kind of aluminium system,” says Earle. “But glass is the best choice.”

    Lesson five: A little luck goes a long way

    It was considered as one of the biggest success stories in the history of space exploration—20 years of planning ended earlier this year with the Philae lander landing safely Comet 67P over 300 million miles(480 million kilometers)away from Earth, though Philae's anchoring harpoons(锚定鱼叉)didn't fire as planned.

    As a matter of fact, genius is difficult to define. “Genius is a funny word,” says Nirenberg. “I just sort of ignore it and just go on with life. You just do what you do regardless of whatever label's attached to you. I don't know really how else to explain it.