Your house may have an effect on your figure. Experts say the way you design your home could play a role in whether you pack on the pounds or keep them off. you can make your environment work for you instead of against you. Here are some ways to turn your home into part of your diet plan.

      Open the curtains and turn up the lights. Dark environments are more likely to encourage overeating, for people are often less self-conscious(难为情) when they're in poorly lit places – and so more likely to eat lots of food. If your home doesn't have enough window light, get more lamps and flood the place with brightness.

      Mind the colors. Research suggests warm colors fuel our appetites. In one study, people who ate meals in a blue room consumed 33 percent less than those in a yellow or red room. Warm colors like yellow make food appear more appetizing, while cold colors make us less hungry. So when it's time to repaint, go blue.

Don't forget the clock – or the radio. People who eat slowly tend to consume about 70 fewer calories(卡路里) per meal than those who rush through their meals. Begin keeping track of the time, and try to make dinner last at 30 minutes. And while you're at it, actually sit down to eat. If you need some help slowing down, turning on relaxing music. It makes you less likely to rush through a meal.

Downsize the dishes. Big serving bowls and plants can easily makes us fat. We eat about 22 percent more when using a 12-inch plate instead of a 10-inch plate. When we choose a large spoon over a smaller one, total intake(摄入) jumps by 14 percent. And we'll pour about 30 percent more liquid into a short, wide glass than a tall, skinny glass.

The Cost of Higher Education

    Individuals (个人) should pay for their higher education.

    In general, a university education is of huge and direct benefit to the individual. Whether they are majoring in geography, geometry or any other subject, graduates earn more than non-graduates. Meanwhile, social mobility is ever more dependent on having a degree. However, only some people have it. So the individual, not the taxpayers should pay for it. There are pressing calls on the resources (资源) of the government. Using taxpayers' money to help small number of people to earn high incomes in the future is not one of them.

    Full government funding (资助) is not very good for universities. Adam Smith worked in a Scottish university whose teachers lived off student fees. He knew and looked down upon 18th-century Oxford, the grand university having much glory, where the academics lived comfortably off the income received from the government. Guaranteed salaries, Smith argued, were the enemy of hard work and when the academics were lazy and incompetent, the students grew similarly lazy in a gradual way.

    If students have to pay for their education, I guess they not only work harder, but also demand more from their teachers and have a better grasp of the subjects. And their teachers have to keep them satisfied. If that means taking teaching seriously, and giving less time to their own research interests, that is surely something to celebrate.

    Many people believe that higher education should be free because it is good for the economy (经济). Many graduates clearly do contribute to national wealth, but so do all the businesses that invest (投资) and create jobs. If you believe that the government should be generous enough to pay for higher education because graduates are economically productive, you should also believe that the government should pay part of business costs. Anyone promising to create jobs should receive a gift of capital（资金） from the government to invest.

    Therefore, it is the individual, not the government who should pay for their university education.

Why Mars (火星) is New Settlement

    Is it possible to live on other planets? The United States government is taking a serious look at the moon and Mars as potential places for future human settlement. The moon could serve as a training ground for later journeys to Mars. Currently, with Mars becoming the eventual long-term goal, serious questions exist as to whether the dangers of the settlement on the moon are too extreme and unnecessary.

    One major reason the settlement on the moon is too dangerous is the difference between the atmosphere environment of the moon and Mars. Atmosphere is important because it protects humans and all other life from a continuous attack of radiation (辐射) caused by sources such as the sun. This radiation is especially dangerous to humans because it increases the risk of cancer and can negatively change DNA. The fact that the moon has no atmosphere can cause great harm to human beings. Although Mars' atmosphere is significantly thinner than Earth's, at least it has one and would create some sort of protective barrier for humans.

    Another important characteristic necessary for human settlement is natural resources like water, of which the moon is believed to have none. Mars, however, contains vast quantities of water ice, dry ice, and also snow. There is also sufficient evidence that water once existed at the surface of Mars and might return in the future if the planet warms. With increased technologies, the potential for settlers to remain on Mars by being increasingly self-sufficient makes Mars a much more attractive goal as the space settlement than the moon.

    Future settlers will not only benefit from potential water on Mars; the planet is also rich in other natural resources such as oxygen, hydrogen, and minerals, which can be well used in productive ways.  For example, hydrogen can be used as fuel, and it can be combined with nitrogen (氮气) to form new materials necessary for human settlement. Due to these advantages,

    Mars would be a more successful planet for exploration and settlement because it contains the basic resources necessary for humans to survive.

    Since the environment of Mars is more similar to that of Earth and it contains resources necessary to  help  life  exist,  it should  be  the  only option for any kind of long-term human settlement. The settlement on Mars would not only be a milestone in space but also an excellent chance for mankind to improve itself from past adventures on Earth and preserve and make the best use of the natural resources Mars has to offer.

    Scientists can figure out a movie's emotional tone from the gasps(喘气) of its audience. These gases could point the way to a subtle(微妙的，精细的) form of human communication, a new study suggests.

    "When you see a movie, you can hear the music and see the pictures. However, you don't realize here are chemical signals in the air. And they, too, could be affecting you, says Williams, who led the study. As an atmospheric chemist, he studies the chemical makeup of the air around us.

    Williams started out measuring the air in a soccer stadium. He noticed that levels of carbon dioxide and other gases changed wildly whenever the crowd cheered. That got him wondering -- Could the gases people breathe out be influenced by emotions?

    To find out, he went to the movies.

    Williams and his coworkers measured air samples collected over six weeks in two movie theaters. Overall, 9,500 movie goers watched 16 films. They included a mix of comedy, romance, action and horror films. Among them were The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Carrie, and Walking with Dinosaurs. The researchers gave scenes from the movies such labels as "suspense(悬疑)", "laughter" and "crying". Then they looked for hundreds of chemicals in the air that showed up as people were watching particular movie scenes.

    And certain scenes had distinct chemical "fingerprints". Scenes that had people laughing or on the edge of their seats were especially distinctive. During screenings of The Hunger Games, levels of carbon dioxide and isoprene got to the highest at two suspenseful moments. Because isoprene is related to muscle movement, the researchers think tense movie moments likely led to its spikes(尖峰). Williams and his colleagues think the increase in carbon dioxide was due to the viewers' increased pulse and breathing rates.

    Scientists need more data to make stronger links between human emotions and what's in their breath. But Williams can see potential practical uses. Companies, for instance, could quickly measure the air during tests to see how people feel about new products. He pictures future studies recording other body variables(变数) as well. These might include heart rate and body temperature, for instance. "It's something to find out."

    Albert Einsein said," Only a life lived for others is worth living."

How does this job offer sound? You'll need to be available on short notice，including late at night and on weekends. You could be asked to do anything from helping at community events to responding to life-threatening emergencies (sometimes putting your own safety at risk). This job also involves a lot of regular training. Oh, and you won't be paid for any of this. Would you take the job?

    This job might not necessarily appeal to everyone, but if this sounds like an opportunity you'd eagerly accept，then you'd fit right in with Western Australia's 26,000 emergency service volunteers. The emergency services aren't the only industry benefiting from volunteers. Across both Australia and America, between a quarter and half of the population volunteer each year in areas including education, sports, health, religion, and social services.

    What motivates people to volunteer? Yes, volunteers don't get paid. But it doesn't mean people don't get benefits from volunteering. Indeed, research shows there are significant mental health benefits coming with volunteering. It can be a means to make new friends, build new skills or try things out of your comfort zone. It can also be a means to help loved ones. A case is someone close to me who recently lost her husband to a disease. When her husband was admitted to a nursing facility, she decided to volunteer for the patient advocacy committee. She found great support and felt she could make a difference in the lives of the patients. After her husband's passing, she decided to continue volunteering for the committee not only as a way to show gratitude for the great care her husband received but also because she made friends there. She found a way to put her career skills to use for the common good and keep active after retirement.

    There are countless ways to volunteer. No matter how you do it, it is definitely worth every minute you put into it.

    Dannis was waiting at the airline ticket counter when he first noticed the young woman with shiny black hair pulled tightly into a knot. She wore black boots of soft leather. Dannis struggled to see her face, she was ahead of him in line, but it was not until she bought her ticket and turned to walk away that he realized her beauty, which was fair-skinned and big-eyed. She seemed aware that he was staring at her and lowered her gaze abruptly.

    When next he saw her, Dannis was buying a magazine and became aware someone was pushing him. At first, he was startled (受惊吓的) that anyone would be so close as to touch him, but when he saw who it was, he smiled.

    "Busy place," Dannis said.

    She looked up at him and blushed. Wordlessly, she moved away and joined the crowds in the terminal.

    Dannis was at the counter with his magazine, but when he reached into his pocket for his wallet, the pocket was empty. Where could I have left it? His mind was racing, the credit cards, the cash, the identification card... "The girl who was so near to me!" he said to himself. All at once he understood she had stolen his pocket. What shall he do?

    Dannis gritted his teeth. When glancing around for the police, suddenly, he spotted the black-haired girl, seated against a front window of the terminal. She seemed absorbed in a book.

    "Where is my wallet?" he yelled. The black-haired girl glanced up from her reading, with a confused look on her face. Dannis glared at her and shouted, "You stole my wallet!" The crowds began to gossip. The girl turned deadly pale, looking so restless that words failed her. A strange silence hung in the air. Abruptly, she leaped from the seat and tried to escape from the crowds.

    Dannis grabbed her by the arm. At exactly that moment, a policeman approached them and asked about what happened. Dannis hastened to explain it while the girl frowned with a shake of her head. After further enquiries, the policeman took out a wallet and handed it to Dannis, adding that someone had found it in the toilet.