Empathy

    Last year, researchers from the University of Michigan reported that empathy, the ability to understand other people, among college students had dropped sharply over the past 10 years.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Today, people spend more time alone and are less likely to join groups and clubs. Jennifer Freed, a co-director of a teen program, has another explanation. Turn on the TV, and you're showered with news and reality shows full of people fighting, competing, and generally treating one another with no respect.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}There are good reasons not to follow those bad examples. Humans are socially related by nature.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Researchers have also found that empathetic teenagers are more likely to have high self-respect. Besides, empathy can be a cure for loneliness, sadness, anxiety, and fear.Empathy is also an indication of a good leader. In fact, Freed says, many top companies report that empathy is one of the most important things they look for in new managers.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} “Academics are important. But if you don't have emotional (情感的) intelligence, you won't be as successful in work or in your love life,” she says.What's the best way to up your EQ (情商）? For starters, let down your guard and really listen to others.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}To really develop empathy, you'd better volunteer at a nursing home or a hospital, join a club or a team that has a diverse membership, have a “sharing circle” with your family, or spend time caring for pets at an animal shelter.

A. Everyone is different, and levels of empathy differ from person to person.

B. That could be because so many people have replaced face time with screen time, the researchers said.

C. “One doesn't develop empathy by having a lot of opinions and doing a lot of talking,” Freed says.

D. Humans learn by example—and most of the examples on it are anything but empathetic.

E. Empathy is a matter of learning how to understand someone else—both what they think and how they feel.

F. Good social skills—including empathy—are a kind of “emotional intelligence” that will help you succeed in many areas of life.

G. Having relationships with other people is an important part of being human—and having empathy is decisive to those relationships.

    Living a more simple life can improve how we think, feel and move around in the world. Here are ways to simplify your life while creating space for happiness.

    Give up your negative thoughts. As humans, we spend a lot of our time being caught up in negative thoughts that brings nothing good into our lives. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}They can grow rapidly and cause unhappiness and do nothing to improve our quality of life.

    Reduce the amount of screen time.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}While watching TV and endless YouTube videos or playing computer games can be a nice way to relax, too much can have a negative influence on your lives.

    Cut down on social media.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}They say they feel less confident after comparing their lives against those of their online friends. So simplify your life by cutting down on social media-not only for your own health of mind but to stop the endless checking every several minutes.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} in the effort to make yourselves better people and improve yourselves, you often set goals but having too many goals can prevent you from achieving them.

    Eat Fewer Unhealthy Foods.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Cutting down on bad foods will not only help you feel much better and give you more energy.

A. Reduce the number of your goals.

B. Negative thoughts are much dangerous.

C. Many people feel their lives are worsened by it.

D. You can make your own healthy food and tasty meals.

E. Learn to choose to think and see the positives in life.

F. Make an effort to remove some unhealthy foods from your diet.

G. We spend so much time either staring at a computer or the TV.

    Perhaps you've heard the old saying “curiosity killed the cat.” It's a phrase that's often used to warn people—especially children—not to ask too many questions. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}In fact, research has shown that curiosity is just as important as intelligence in determining how well students do in school.

    Curiosity can also lead us to make unexpected discoveries, bring excitement into our lives, and open up new possibilities. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}For example, one day in 1831, Michael Faraday was playing around with a coil(线圈) and a magnet(磁铁) when he suddenly saw how he could produce an electrical current. At first, it wasn't clear what use this would have, but it actually made electricity available for use in technology, and so changed the world.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}On one level, this is because technology has become so advanced that many of us are unable to think too deeply about how exactly things work anymore. While it may be possible for a curious teenager to take a toaster apart and get some sense of how it works, how much do you understand about what happens when you type a website address into a browser? Where does your grasp of technology end and the magic begin for you?

    In addition to this, there's the fact that we all now connect so deeply with technology, particularly with our phones. The more we stare at our screens, the less we talk to other people directly. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Then we feel we know enough about a person not to need to engage further with them.

    The final—and perhaps most worrying—way in which technology stops us from asking more has to do with algorithms, the processes followed by computers. As we increasingly get our news via social media, algorithms find out what we like and push more of the same back to us. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Perhaps the real key to developing curiosity in the 21st century, then, is to rely less on the tech tools of our age.

A. It is still not known why learning gives us such pleasure.

B. We are always encouraged to challenge our pre-existing beliefs.

C. Yet it's widely agreed that curiosity actually makes learning more effective.

D. All too often we accept the images of people that social media provides us with.

E. However, curiosity is currently under the biggest threat, coming from technology.

F. In science, basic curiosity-driven research can have unexpected important benefits.

G. That means we end up inside our own little bubbles, no longer coming across new ideas.

    Is “sorry” the hardest word？Not for the British Education Secretary Michael Gove,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}has apologized recently to his former French teacher{#blank#}2{#/blank#}his bad behavior in class. It took him 30 years to express regret. In a letter{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(publish) in a magazine, Mr. Gove says：“It may be too late to say I'm sorry. But, as my mom told me, it's never too late to set the record straight.”

    Researchers argue that people have too high expectations of the power of saying sorry. Some psychologists say in a study that{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(receive) an apology isn't as{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(help) as people think. Nevertheless, apologies might be an important social tool as they reaffirm(再次确定) the{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(exist) of rules that need to be observed.

    The Education Secretary's apology might have been accepted by his old teacher but he might get{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(he) into trouble. According to Daily Mail, Mr. Gove's mother didn't know her son was causing trouble at school and she{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(say)：“He would have been punished{#blank#}9{#/blank#}I had known he was being so naughty.” Later, Gove said：“I can never express my apology to him face to face these days—it just goes through to his answering machine. But when I do{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(eventual) speak to him, I will say sorry.”

Winning an Oscar isn't all about acting ability

    While the awards claim they recognize the top performances from around the world, a new study has found that you're more likely to win an Oscar if you're an American acting in a film that portrays American culture.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}British actors are more likely to take home an award.

    Researchers say the trend suggests viewers are more likely to perceive a performance as "truly brilliant" if they are members of the same social group as the actor. It can be seen, perhaps most famously, in the case of Leonardo DiCaprio, who finally won a long-awaited Oscar in the 88th Academy Awards for his role in The Revenant, which follows the story of an American frontiersman.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}In 2014, Matthew McConaughey won an Oscar for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, and Jennifer Lawrence took an award home in 2013 for Silver Linings Playbook{#blank#}3{#/blank#}The findings come from a new study published in the British Journal of Psychology. The team investigated a total of 908 merit prize winners: 97 winners and 383 nominees for the Oscars, and 97 winners and 331 nominees for the BAFTAs. Overall, they found that US actors dominated the awards, claiming over 50 percent of the prizes across the Oscars and BAFTAs.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}When the performer and judge shared membership within a particular social group-for example, being American-the actor was more likely to win. As a result, American actors were found to win 52 percent of all BAFTAs, and 69 percent of all Oscars. While British actors won just 18 percent of all Oscars, and 34 percent of BAFTAs.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}In the Oscars, Americans who performed in films about non-US culture accounted for just 26 percent of the award winners. But, those who performed in films about American culture made up 88 percent of the winners.

A. In recent years, many actors have cast themselves as frontiersmen.

B. Subject matter played a role, too, according to the researchers.

C. And, the same applies to London's BAFTAs.

D. But they also noted a trend within social groups.

E. But the trend also stretches back throughout the years.

F. Things are different in Britain.

G. Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar in 2008 for his role in There Will be Blood.

    A volunteering vacation can be a meaningful way to spend your time off, but to make the trip satisfying both for you and the cause you are supporting, several factors need to be considered. Here is some advice on planning the satisfactory vacation:

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} There are hundreds of causes to volunteer for, and finding one close to your heart will lead to a more worthwhile trip. Possibilities include wildlife conservation, education, environmental protection, health and nutrition. Also, consider any personal and professional skills that you can contribute. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Choose your destination and setting. Your volunteering trip will be more enjoyable if you use it to reach a favorite destination. Southeast Asia is on your mind, helping with tree­planting programs in Bali would benefit the environment and let you appreciate the scenic island. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Is volunteering outdoors in a hot or snowy climate attractive, or do you prefer being in an air­conditioned office?

    Ask the right questions. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Be aware that most volunteering programs require a week-long stay. Ask other questions like: How many hours of work per day is required? Are there days off? Will you be working individually or as part of a team? And what are the goals of your efforts? {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Ask if the cost includes only accommodations or meals and transportation too.

A. Figure out your cause.

B. Find a well­respected organization.

C. And think about the surroundings you want.

D. Your duty there is to rest and play.

E. The more you know about your trip, the more successful it will be.

F. Despite the word “volunteer”, these vacations usually cost you some money.

G. If you're a doctor, for example, working at a health clinic could be an ideal fit.