“Success begins with belief and ends with doubt.”—Larina Kase

    I remember reading through a book and the author was writing about being a reverse paranoid. In that particular section he mentions how he has a belief that the world he's living in is out to give him everything he absolutely wants and desires.

    There are times when I think to myself，“Wow，the world is out to get me and make me miserable.” Then I thought，why can't I believe that the world is out to make me a better conversationalist. Then I started adapting to the belief of the reverse paranoia.

    When I started talking to people，I truly believed that I was the most interesting person in the room. I believed that everything I said added value to the conversation. I believed that people stayed behind and chatted with me because they found me charismatic.

    As a matter of fact, for about five months I wrote down on my bathroom mirror the following affirmation：“People love me and respect me. It is a privilege to talk to me. People find me interesting and charming and always want to get to know me better！”

    I would say the affirmation after I brushed my teeth. And I would continue to say it until I felt completely great about myself. There were days that I just wouldn't feel like saying it，because it would feel like a lie to me. But that's the trouble，like the quote says，success ends when there's doubt. And that's why I continued until I had no doubt in my mind.

    Then strange things happened，I noticed that people did find me more interesting，and that I gained more confidence in talking with people. I was more assertive(坚定自信的) at work. I was able to control politics and gossip at work to minimal levels，and became a much better manager，and developed better customer relations to the point that sales were up by 20% compared to the year before，on my best month sales were up by 39%，and this was a year that a recession was happening.

How to Care for Your Ears?

    Ears not only let us hear, but they also paly a role in maintaining our balance, which is vital to our ability to function in daily life. Yet, we ignore them. We can't even see our ears, except in a mirror. We take it for granted what they do for us day in and day out—until we notice something worng, such as when an earache strikes or when we start having to ask people to repeat what they say. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

◆Clean your ear with a washcloth—covered finger only.

    Never put anything inside your ear canal, including cotton swabs (药签). {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

◆Leave earwax(耳垢) alone.

    Wax is your ear's way of eliminating （消除）anything foreign that gets into the ear canal. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you find you have too much earwax, use a few drops of earwax remover（去除剂）in the canal. After a few minutes, wash the ear with warm water.

◆Avoid noisy places.

    Rock concerts and construction sites are just a few places that frequently have noise levels that can damage

hearing.Any place where you have to shout to be heard should be avoided.

◆{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Be careful not to play MP3 too loud, especially if using earphone.

◆Be careful with illness and medications.

    Respiratory illnesses should be treated to avoid their spread to the ears. Certain medications can damage hearing, so follow the directions carefully before taking them.

    See your doctor if you suffer from sudden hearing loss or hear noises in your head. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A．Most people don't need to clean wax out of their ears.

B．In such case, go to see a doctor as soon as possible.

C．These can be symptoms of a serious illness which needs to be treated.

D．This article will show you how to care for your ears.

E．Turn the volume down.

F．Avoid using earphones while listening to MP3.

G．Your ear canal is very narrow, and a swab can damage it.

    Eat your vegetables.Wash your hands.Always say“please”and“thank you”.We are full of advice for our children, but when it comes to money,we often have little to say.As a result,our children may grow up with clean hands and good manners,but without any idea how to manage their money.

    Here are some basics that will help guide them their entire lives:

    Show them the future.If your 13-year-old girl were to save $1.000,invest（投资）it at 8% and add $100 every month,by the time she's 65,she would have $980,983!

    Be careful of credit（信用）.Credit cards can help you buy necessary things and build a credit history,but they must be used responsibly,which means paying off your debt in time.Explain to your children that when you buy something using a credit card,you can easily end up paying two or three times what you would have paid if you used cash.

    Teach patience.Suppose your child wants a new bicycle that costs $150.Rather than paying the cash,give him some regular pocket money and explain that by putting aside,say,$15 each week,he will be able to buy it for himself in only ten weeks.

    Provide incentive（激励机制）.Tell your children the importance of saving."For every dollar he or she agrees to save and invest rather than spend,you agree to add another dollar to the pot,"says Cathy Pareto,expert in money planning.

    Explain your values.Values and money are deeply intertwined（纠缠在一起）,says Eilleen Gallo,co-author of The Financially Intelligent Parent.When your child demands that you buy something,explain why you really don't want to buy it.“You might say,‘I'd rather save that money for your education,'”advises Gallo.Every time you spend or don't spend money,you have a chance to share your values.

    The sharing economy, represented by companies like Airbnb or Uber, is the latest fashion craze. But many supporters have overlooked the reality that this new business model is largely based on escaping regulations and breaking the law.

    Airbnb is an Internet-based service that allows people to rent out spare rooms to strangers for short stays. Uber is an Internet taxi service that allows thousands of people to answer ride requests with their own cars. There are hundreds of other such services.

    The good thing about the sharing economy is that it promotes the use of underused resources. Millions of people have houses or apartments with empty rooms, and Airbnb allows them to profit from these rooms while allowing guests a place to stay at prices that are often far less than those charged by hotels. Uber offers prices that are competitive with standard taxi prices and their drivers are often much quicker and more trustworthy.

    But the downside of the sharing economy has gotten much less attention. Most cities and states both tax and regulate hotels, and the tourists who stay in hotels are usually an important source of tax income. But many of Airbnb's customers are not paying the taxes required under the law.

    Airbnb can also raise issues of safety for its customers and trouble for hosts' neighbors. Hotels are regularly inspected to ensure that they are not fire traps and that they don't form other risks for visitors. Airbnb hosts face no such inspections.

    Since Airbnb is allowing people to escape taxes and regulations, the company is simply promoting thefts. Others in the economy will lose by bearing an additional tax burden or being forced to live next to an apartment unit with a never-ending series of noisy visitors.

    The same story may apply with Uber. Uber is currently in disputes over whether its cars meet the safety and insurance requirements imposed on standard taxis. Also, if Uber and related services flood the market, they could harm all taxi drivers' ability to earn a minimum wage.

    This downside of the sharing needs to be taken seriously, but that doesn't mean the current tax and regulatory structure is perfect.

    Metropolis Book Club

    Membership:

    All you need to do is fill out the order form at the bottom of the page, select your first order from our book list and then post the completed form back to us.

    Special offers for new members:

    As a special offer, you may choose any reduced-price books from our new members' book list, to the value of 100 yuan in total.

    Tick the box on your form to order a free watch.

    Join before the end of this month and you receive another free book carefully chosen by our staff.

    Order an audio-book from the many on offer, at half the recommended retail price.

    When you've joined:

    As a member you get around 50% off the publisher's price of every book you buy, and what's more, they come straight to your door. Your free club magazine arrives once a month to keep you up to date with the latest best-sellers we've added to our list. On the Internet, you can find all our titles for the year at our exclusive members' website. Our website also has a book swap service where members can request or offer books for exchange.

    Being a member:

    All you have to do is order four books during your first year. After that, you can decide on the number of books you wish to take.

    In each of your monthly club magazines, our experienced staff choose a "Book of the Month" for you, which is offered at an extra-special price. If you do not want this book, just say so in the space provided on the form and send it back to us. We always send the book if we do not receive this form.

    Once we receive your order, your books are delivered within one week. And remember, you have up to a fortnight to decide if you wish to keep the books you have ordered. If they aren't what you expected just send them back!

On an autumn afternoon, a remote sheep farm in southern Greenland is quiet. The silence is abruptly broken when dozens of sheep come thundering across the hills overlooking the farm. Walking after them are Lars Nielsen and his 37-year-old son Kunuk Nielsen.

The Nielsen family has owned and run the farm since 1972. Kunuk says the summers now are longer than when he was a child and that drought has become a problem. The fields are not so green as those in the old days. He has to buy hay (草料) from European countries.

The effects of a warming climate are obvious on the land. While he intends to struggle on, his older brother Pilu has chosen a different path.

Pilu, 40, lives in Qaqortoq in the south of Greenland -- a town of about 3,000 people. Ten years ago, he got his helicopter pilot's license and is now part owner of a small company called Sermeq Helicopters. It caters to construction and telecommunication workers and an increasing number of foreign tourists.

Pilu says he loves his family's sheep farm. But he saw that warming temperatures were making remote areas of Greenland more accessible and wanted to look for other opportunities. His company's most popular tours include a visit to Greenland's glaciers.

The warming temperatures are also affecting traditional ways of life, particularly hunting. The sea ice is changing; it's becoming less so that hunting on ice becomes more difficult. When there's no sea ice, it's difficult to use dog sledges (雪橇), and the whole culture around having dogs and dog sledges and doing traditional hunting on the ice is sort of diminishing.

Besides, many Greenlanders, like Pilu, are leaving the countryside for towns and the capital city Nuuk, where opportunities are greater. A report found that Nuuk's share of Greenland's population grew from 17.2% in 1977 to 29.2% in 2014. If there were enough houses in Nuuk, the share would even be bigger.