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    Measles(麻疹), which once killed 450 children each year and disabled even more, was nearly wiped out in the United States 14 years ago by the universal use of the MMR vaccine(疫苗). But the disease is making a comeback, caused by a growing anti-vaccine movement and misinformation that is spreading quickly. Already this year, 115 measles cases have been reported in the USA, compared with 189 for all of last year.

    The numbers might sound small, but they are the leading edge of a dangerous trend. When vaccination rates are very high, as they still are in the nation as a whole, everyone is protected. This is called “herd immunity”, which protects the people who get hurt easily, including those who can't be vaccinated for medical reasons, babies too young to get vaccinated and people on whom the vaccine doesn't work.

    But herd immunity works only when nearly the whole herd joins in. When some refuse vaccination and seek a free ride, immunity breaks down and everyone is in even bigger danger.

    That's exactly what is happening in small neighborhoods around the country from Orange County, California, where 22 measles cases were reported this month, to Brooklyn, N.Y., where a 17-year-old caused an outbreak last year.

    The resistance to vaccine has continued for decades, and it is driven by a real but very small risk. Those who refuse to take that risk selfishly make others suffer.

    Making things worse are state laws that make it too easy to opt out(决定不参加) of what are supposed to be required vaccines for all children entering kindergarten. Seventeen states allow parents to get an exemption（豁免), sometimes just by signing a paper saying they personally object to a vaccine.

    Now, several states are moving to tighten laws by adding new regulations for opting out. But no one does enough to limit exemptions.

    Parents ought to be able to opt out only for limited medical or religious reasons. But personal opinions? Not good enough. Everyone enjoys the life-saving benefits vaccines provide, but they'll exist only as long as everyone shares in the risks.

    Sometimes willpower is a lot like the television remote control—hard to find just when you want it most. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But there are ways to increase your willpower.

    *Don't try to change your economic situation, win a promotion or lose weight all on the same morning. Set one clear, specific goal and make a realistic plan to achieve. Extra willpower sometimes requires extra energy, so don't spread yourself too thin. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    *Whatever your goal is, don't expect to achieve it overnight,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}If you are trying to kick a coffee habit, start by replacing your morning cup of coffee with a glass of water, instead of promising never to drink coffee again. Congratulate yourself on the small achievements. These successes help your willpower grow.

    *{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Ask friends, family or colleagues for assistance and tell them exactly how they can help. If your credit card bills have risen, for instance, let friends know that you are cutting back on expenses. Suggest having a common dinner instead of meeting at an expensive restaurant. Find a support group or organization related to your goal and attend their meetings. You can get valuable advice, understanding and information.

    *If possible, change your environment to encourage positive behavior. Want to get in shape? Keep an extra set of workout clothes in your office as a reminder to stop by the gym on the way home. Quitting smoking?{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

Life is difficult.

    What do you think about life? Maybe most people say that life is difficult. But life is no longer difficult once we truly understand and accept it. Most people do not fully see this truth. Instead, they complain about their problems and difficulties as if life should be easy. It seems to them that their difficulties represent a special kind of suffering especially forced upon them or their families, their class, or even their nation.

    What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one. Problems, depending on their nature, cause us sadness or loneliness or regret or anger or fear. These are uncomfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain. And since life causes an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.

    Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning.

    Problems are the serious test that tells success from failure. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we encourage the human ability to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Those things that hurt instruct.” It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems.

    I was once told, “You are wasting your time on a career that will give you no money or comfort”.

    I explored my interests for years and finally decided to be a journalist. However, I'm still influenced by others' arguments: print publications are being replaced by web versions where content is updated nearly every time you refresh the browser. But I hold onto my decision. Why? For the simple, yet powerful reason that it makes me happy in a way that no amount of money ever could.

    Rarely have I found others who think like this, and I find it very disappointing when I hear students trying to design their lives on the basis of factors (因素) other than keeping to their passions and interests.

    Factor number one is parents. They certainly have a right to be a part in their children's lives, but sometimes their words create more stress than encouragement. Instead of trying to make their children happy, as their original purpose may have been, parents can end up limiting their children's dreams and desires until nothing remains but the hard seeds of a cruel reality.

    The second factor is money. I had a conversation with my college friend one afternoon, which explains this point.

    “What happened?” I asked him after he said he had changed his major. “I thought you wanted to be a photographer.”

    “I do,” he said, “But there is no money in it. Don't worry,” he added, probably feeling my worry. “I'm happy where I am.” I was ready to believe that, but as we kept on talking, he continuously interrupted me to point out the beauty of this view and that view, saying he wished he had taken his camera with him.

    Naturally, we cannot predict where we will end up with our choices. Our ideas and plans could change as we progress. However, at this stage in our lives when so many voices are telling us who we should be, we need to value our individual dreams, not to abandon them, because they may be the only things left that tell us who we are.

    My first term at MIT（麻省理工学院）was awesome—I got all A's, and I declared math as my major. My parents were expecting me to become a doctor like them so I was trying to satisfy them. But I was desperately running away from them. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. My third term, I ended up with a D in math. I didn't do that well in my other classes, either. It seemed like all my friends were doing so well, getting opportunities over the summers.

    My fifth term, I realized that I was awful at higher-level math. I had lost all confidence in myself. I went to a few classes at the beginning of the term, but after by midterm, I had totally stopped. My only relief was the dance team I was on. I would sleep all day, and then go to dance practice, and then go back to sleep. As expected, I failed in all of my classes and had to withdraw from MIT.

    I had no choice but to tell my parents. Instead of yelling or hitting me, though, they just held me and cried. The next day, my dad took a day off from work and took me to a nearby, small arts college.

    I had lost all confidence in myself. Before my first biology test, I didn't think I could pass. I did pass. Since I had so much free time, I decided to join a biology lab. I realized that was what I wanted to do! I wanted to be a scientist!

    This past May, I graduated with the highest honors, and now I have my PhD in biology. Though it ended up taking me 5 years to graduate from college, I can say now that dropping out of MIT was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I've realized that a person is not their grades. I've realized how much my parents loved me. I've finally discovered my passion（热情）in life!

    Teenagers who talk on the cell phone a lot, and hold their phones up to their right ears, score worse on one type of memory test. That's the finding of a new study. That memory impairment might be one side effect of the radiation (放射线) that phones use to keep us connected while we're on the go.

    Nearly 700 Swiss teens took part in a test of figural memory. This type helps us remember abstract (抽象的) symbols and shapes, explains Milena Foerster. The teens took memory tests twice, one year apart. Each time, they had one minute to remember 13 pairs of abstract shapes. Then they were shown one item from each pair and asked to match it with one of the five choices. The study volunteers also took a test of verbal memory. That's the ability to remember words. The two memory tests are part of an intelligence test. The researchers also surveyed the teens on how they use cell phones. And they got call records from phone companies. The researchers used those records to figure out how long the teens were using their phones. This allowed the researchers to work out how big a radiation exposure (接触) each person could have got while talking.

    A phone user's exposure to the radiation can differ widely. Some teens talk on their phones more than others. People also hold their phones differently. If the phone is close to the ear, more radiation may enter the body, Foerster notes. Even the type of network signal that a phone uses can matter. Much of Switzerland was using an older "second-generation" type of cell phone networks, the study reports. Many phone carriers (通讯公司) have moved away from such networks. And more companies plan to update their networks within the next few years.

    The teens' scores in the figural memory tests were roughly the same from one year to the next. But those who normally held their phones near the right ears, and who were also exposed to higher levels of radiation, scored a little bit worse after a year. No group of teens showed big changes on the verbal memory test. Why might one type of memory be linked to cell phone use, but not another? Foerster thinks it could have to do with where different memory centers sit in the brain. The site that deals with the ability to remember shapes is near the right ear.