Body language is an important part of communication(交流). If you want to communicate well, it's important to understand how you can (and can't) use your body to say what you mean, especially when you're in a foreign country. If a person is bored, he won't look at the person who is talking to him. He will find other things to do. He may also keep looking at his watch or a clock. If a person is open to you, his arms and legs will not be crossed. And if a person is relaxed, you will know it by looking at his body, even his breathing is slower.

Here are some examples of body language:

    People with an impulsive personality refer to those who tend to do things without considering the possible dangers or problems first. According to a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia, such people may be more likely to have food addiction. The study found that people exhibiting impulsive behavior weren't necessarily overweight, but impulsiveness was related to a direct relationship with food, and therefore, less healthy weight.

    Food addiction has been compared to addictive drug use. Studies have linked the dopamine (多巴胺) release that occurs after tasting delicious food to the dopamine release that happens when people consume other addictive substances.

    Impulsive behavior involves several personality traits (特点). Two of these traits, known as negative urgency and lack of perseverance, were particularly associated with food addiction and high BMI (身体质量指数) during the study.

    Negative urgency is characterized by the tendency to behave impulsively when experiencing negative emotions. Some people might drink alcohol or take drugs. For others, it could mean eating to feel better. Lack of perseverance is when a person has a hard time finishing hard or boring tasks. People with a lack of perseverance might have difficulty attempting to change addictive eating behavior, which could also cause obesity.

    “Impulsiveness might be one reason why some people eat in an addictive way despite motivation to lose weight,” said Dr. Ashley Gearhardt, a clinical psychologist. He was involved in developing the Yale Food Addiction Scale in aid of those people. “We are theorizing that if food addiction is really a thing, then our measure, the Yale Food Addiction Scale, should be related to helping control impulsive action,” said Gearhardt.

    Clinical psychologist Dr. James MacKillop, whose lab was conducting the study, believes that therapies used to treat addictive drug behavior could help people who suffer from addictive eating habits.

    “Most of the programs for weight loss at this point focus on the most obvious things, which are clearly diet and exercise,” MacKillop said. “It seems that managing strong desires to eat would naturally fit in with the skills a person would need to eat healthily.”

    Thank you all for coming to the meeting. I'd like to start by confirming (保证) that we will receive some money from the government for our school trip to Indonesia. We will receive about $1,300 per child, which will reduce the whole cost to you.

    Now that we are sure to get the money, it is time to do some serious planning. We are sure that the trip will be very exciting for the children, especially if they have not traveled abroad before. There are many advantages(优点) of having some experiences to different places and cultures. Your children will be able to learn a lot about other people and cultures on this trip.

    Leanne is with us tonight. Leanne, where are you? Put up your hand so that the people can see who you are. Thank you. Leanne went on a trip there with some other students last year and will be happy to tell you of her experiences and answer any questions you might have. We will hear from her a bit later in the meeting.

    We only have five months to organize the trip. From past experience I can tell you that this time will go very quickly. So we need to start organizing the trip.

    This is the agenda (议程) for this evening's meeting:

    Passports: when and how to apply for one.

    Health matters: what precautions (预防措施) you need to take, plus any special needs that your child may have.

    Studying: what kind of the school and type of lessons your child will attend.

    Money: paying for the trip, plus how much money your child should take.

   Hotel: where we will be staying clothing and personal items that your children should take with them.

    A company has just launched what it calls “the world's first free standardized English test” recently. Anyone can take the test for free. The new exam is called the EFSET, which is short for Education First Standardized English Test. The company, Education First, is known by the letters EF.

    It is estimated that there are two billion English language learners worldwide. Many of them are interested in attending an American college or university. To do so, foreign students need to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language—better known as TOEFL. However, many foreigners are not wealthy enough to take the TOEFL. In addition, test-takers often have to travel overnight to reach an official testing site. The World Bank says an average Cambodian worker earns only about $1,000 per year. Approximately the cost of taking the TOEFL is 17.5 percent of the average worker's yearly wage.

    It is not just individuals who find the test pricey. Some governments also find it prohibitive. What's more, not everyone needs official results from the TOEFL or IELTS—the International English Language Testing System. In the future, it's likely that the government may use the EFSET to test millions of employees and students.

    Experts believe that the EFSET meets the highest value in language testing. It uses special computer software that makes the questions easier or harder, depending on one's performance. The EFSET measures all the English learners' levels while the IELTS and TOEFL only measure learners' levels from intermediate to advanced. The EFSET is unique in the sense that it gives free online access to anyone interested in measuring their English level.

    There is a 50-minute and a two-hour version of the test, which its developers are calling the EFSET Plus. Both versions test only reading and listening skills. It's hopeful that speaking and writing skills will be tested in the future. The IELTS and the TOEFL still use humans to rate the speaking and writing sections. It's a huge deal for students who are in areas where they can't get to the TOEFL or the IELTS. However, it is too early to know whether the EFSET results are acceptable for colleges and universities in America.

    We've all had cases where we've waited just a bit too long to pay an electric bill or speeding ticket. But one man, from California by reasonable assumption, who goes by "Dave", recently took procrastination (拖延) one step further, by paying a parking ticket almost a half-century after it was given.

    In December 2018, the Minersville Police Department in Pennsylvania received a letter in the mail. Whoever wrote the letter decided it was best to keep his name somewhat unknown, so he put the return address as "Wayward Road, Anytown California" under the name "Feeling guilty".

    When the officers opened the envelope, they found a brief letter, along with a $5 bill, and a parking ticket dating all the way back to 1974. The note read, "Dear PD, I've been carrying this ticket around for 40 plus years always intending to pay. Forgive me if I don't give you my info. With respect, Dave."

    Even though the initial parking ticket was only for $2, "Dave" must have felt awfully guilty because he left 150 percent, or $3, in interest.

    Michael Combs, the Police Chief of the Minersville Police Department, stated in an interview that the same ticket would cost about $20 if it were given today. Combs went on to share that the original ticket from 1974 was given to a vehicle that had an Ohio license plate.

    Because there was no system for tracking tickets given to out-of-state cars back then, "Dave" could have gotten away with never paying the $2 fine. But apparently, guilt got the best of him, and he decided to finally cough up the money more than 40 years past its due date.