My friend BJ Gallagher told me a great story recently, about her own experience with resentment (愤恨). She once worked as the training manager for a large newspaper, where she found the corporate culture extremely frustrating. The company was a hundred years old and their past success ha d blinded them to the need for change. Finally, after butting heads with several senior executives (主管) many times, she left the company. But she found that she hadn't left her resentment, frustration, and anger behind when she resigned.

    “I finally decided to write about my experiences and my feelings at the newspaper. I wanted to be rid of that company and those people, once and for all. So I wrote and I wrote. It wasn't just a story that poured out; it was a whole book! We called it A peacock in the Land of Penguins. I was the peacock and those newspaper executives were the penguins.”

    “It took me several more years to finally get over my negative emotions. Through a lot of soul-searching and reflection, I finally was able to let go of my resentment. I came to see that there was nothing personal in the way they treated me, and they were good people doing what they thought best for the company. I was the one who had made it personal. I thought they were making my life miserable on purpose.”

    “Finally, the time came when I decided to make amends (弥补) for the sharp, angry things I had said about the company. I invited my former boss to dinner and made my apology. It was a great healing process for me. I finally felt free of the resentment that had been eating me up.”

    “What was the final outcome?” I asked her.

    “Gratitude,” she replied. “Not only wasn't I resentful any more, I was grateful to the company. If I hadn't had those painful experiences, I would never have written a book. And the book became hugely successful – now published in 21 languages; it transformed my business.”

    While there are many fascinating countries in the world to visit, I think there is something more adventurous, exotic (异国风情的) and romantic about visiting an island country. Take a look at some breathtakingly beautiful island countries in the world, which everyone should certainly visit at least once in his lifetime.

    Malta

    Malta is a beautiful southern European country in the Mediterranean Sea, which has a rich history and culture. There are amazing sky-high cliffs to climb, splendid temples to explore and lots of wonderful places to go scuba-diving. In fact, there are plenty of interesting things to see and to do in Malta and this island country has something for everyone. The historic part of Malta is shown in its incredible architecture, great walled cities, and many underground tunnels.

    Fiji

    Fiji is a fabulous island that has plenty of surprises for any adventurous travelers. It is famous for the world's best surf scenes, and many surfing enthusiasts travel to Fiji yearly to ride the great wives. Well, if surfing is not for you and you love sitting on the beach and relaxing, hiking or seeing breathtaking waterfalls, Fiji is certainly the best island country to visit.

    Maldives

    Not only is Maldives one of the most beautiful island countries, but it is one of the most popular honeymoon destinations. Situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Maldives is made up of a series of ancient coral reefs that grow up along the sides of ancient volcanoes, with fascinating beaches and luxurious resorts.

    According to new research from the University of Cambridge in England, sheep are able to recognize human faces from photographs.

    The farm animals, who are social and have large brains, were previously known to be able to recognize one another, as well as familiar humans. However, their ability to recognize human faces from photos alone is novel.

    The recent study, the results of which were published in the journal Royal Society showed that the woolly creatures could be trained to recognize still images of human faces, including those of former President Barack Obama and actress Emma Watson.

    Initially, the sheep were trained to approach certain images by being given food rewards. Later, they were able to recognize the image for which they had been rewarded. The sheep could even recognize images of faces shown at an angle, though their ability to do so declined by about 15 percent – the same rate at which a human's ability to perform the same task declines.

    “Anyone who has spent time working with sheep will know that they are intelligent, individual animals who are able to recognize their handlers,” said Professor Jenny Morton, who led the Cambridge study. “We've shown with our study that sheep have advanced face-recognition abilities, comparable with those of humans and monkeys.”

    Recognizing faces is one of the most important social skills for human being, and some disorders of the brain, including Huntington's disease, affect this ability.

    “Sheep are long-lived and have brains that are similar in size and complexity to those of some monkeys. That means they can be useful models to help us understand disorders of the brain, such as Huntington's disease, which develops over a long time and affects cognitive abilities. Our study gives us another way to monitor how these abilities change.” Morton said.

    Everyone who has eaten instant noodles knows that it's very easy to cook them quickly. However, have you ever heard of the danger of eating them?

    When taking out the noodles from the packaging, you will notice that they are joined together nicely as a piece. Do you know that it needs some form of wax coating (蜡涂层) to make them joined together nicely? Many people don't really care much about it because this seems very normal. However, studies have shown that the wax coating is bad for our body.

    It is advisable to have a break of 2-3 days before we start to eat another packet of instant noodles because our body needs about 3 days to clear that wax coating away. Do you know the danger of having too much wax coating in our stomach? It will lead to cancer if it is in our body for so long.

    Luckily, there is a way of reducing the danger before we eat instant noodles. First, wash the noodles with warm water, stir (搅拌) them and pour away the water containing the wax coating. Then repeat the first step and try to stir them again to wash away the wax coating on the noodles before cooking them. The shop vendors (供应商) will often wash away the dangerous wax coating.

    It is very easy to cook instant noodles but we must pay attention to the wax coating if we eat too much. Imagine having too much of it in your stomach. Oh, my! Hope this article will help more people know about the hidden danger!

    With the Blinkist app, you can get the key learning from the best nonfiction books in minutes. Start with the 4 most-read books.

    Thirteen Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do by Amy Morin

You can't escape misfortune in life. But you can change how you respond to it. Do you struggle to get over your failures? Getting over these obstacles can have a great influence on your everyday life. Morin shares how her most successfully cured patients overcame these difficulties.

    How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

    Would you worry about something? Why can't you stop worrying? Fortunately, there would be a way to deal with those worries. By defining the source of your stress, you can get over it. Carnegie came up with a timeless formula that helps you deal with any over thinking situation.

    Finding Your Element by Ken Robinson

    We're supposed to graduate from high school at 18, enter university, become a professional person, get married and have children. This lifestyle may be limiting and keep us away from opportunities in which we might get better. Everyone has potential. If you don't know what yours is, it just means you haven't discovered it yet. Or perhaps you have it, but it was dismissed early in life. Find out how you can break free of society's strict rules and find your calling in life.

    Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman.

    Do your emotions hold you back? Would you do better if your emotions were removed and you became unfeeling, logical creatures? Did you know if your pulse rate rises above 100 bpm, you're believed too emotional to think rationally? You probably let feelings cloud your judgment more often than you know. Goleman explains how you can avoid letting your emotions rule you and make better decisions in life.

    It is becoming increasingly important for researchers to closely monitor our ocean life. However, observing sea creatures up close is almost impossible since human presence scares them. Now, thanks to The Soft Robotic Fish, also known as SoFi, researchers may be able to keep a close eye on the sea creatures.

    Built by MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), the white re- mote-controlled robot resembles the real fish, complete with a tail that waves from side to side. Though not the first autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) created to monitor the ocean, SoFi settles many of the problems that have blocked the usefulness of the previous robot fish.

    Previous AUVs have had to be linked to boats because radio frequency communications don't work well underwater. To overcome the problem, Director of the CSALL Daniela Rus and her team used sound waves. The technology can travel greater distances allowing divers to pilot SoFi from up to 50 feet away.

    Also limiting the usefulness of traditional AUVs is the risk of collision. With the outside made of soft silicone (硅树脂) rubber and flexible plastic that keeps its inbuilt electronics dry, SoFi poses no such danger. "Collision avoidance often leads to unnecessary movement, since the robot has to settle for a collision-free path", says Rus. "In contrast, a SoFi robot is not only more likely to survive a collision but also could use it as information to form a more workable movement plan next time around."

    During test dives, SoFi moved alongside the ocean life at depths of 50 feet for up to 40 minutes at a time, taking photos and making videos. The researchers say sometimes the fish would swim a- longside the strange-looking robot-fish out of curiosity, while at other times they took no notice of its existence.

    While SoFi presently only records video, future versions will include sensors. The researchers also hope to make it more autonomous. "We imagine someday it might help us uncover more secrets from the amazing underwater world that we know so little about," says Rus.