When John was growing up, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him weeding the garden, carrying out the garbage and delivering newspapers. But when John reached adulthood, he was better off than his childhood playmates. He had more job satisfaction, a better marriage and was healthier. Most of all, he was happier. Far happier.

These are the findings of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 teenage boys from Boston. The study showed that those who had worked as boys enjoyed happier and more productive lives than those who had not. “Boys who worked in the home or community gained competence (能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society,” said George Vaillant, the psychologist (心理学家) who made the discovery. “And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them.”

Vaillant's study followed these males in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Vaillant, the researchers compared the men's mental-health scores with their boyhood-activity scores with their boyhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

The link between what the men had done as boys and how they turned out as adults was surprisingly sharp. Those who had done the most boyhood activities were twice as likely to have warm relations with a wide variety of people, five times as likely to be well paid and 16 times less likely to have been unemployed. The researchers also found that IQ and family social and economic class made no real difference in how the boys turned out.

Working—at any age—is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence—the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this. Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, “One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work.”

Investing in yourself

    Figuring out how to invest your money can be a difficult task. This is something that you will want to learn how to do.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Things that will improve your knowledge, skills or health are all great investments. However, before you start, you need to be clear about what you will gain out of doing all of these things.

    You may think investing in yourself means investing in your education. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} . There are some other things you can do as well as buying a gym membership or learning a new skill.

    So what are some specific things you can do? {#blank#}3{#/blank#} . Reading books can really expand your mind and allow you to learn different skills and gain knowledge. I'm talking about the books where you will actually learn a new skill, not fiction books.

    You can also take courses and attend seminars. These programs are taught by people with a high level of knowledge or skill. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} . Only in this way can you avoid being fooled by some sales presentation.

    Moreover, investing in yourself is a safe way to keep your money. Although a savings account is seen as the most secure investment, that isn't 100% safe. Even if you never experience your bank closing down, the return is little when inflation(通货膨胀) is taken into consideration. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} . But over time, they will show up in terms of your happiness level as well as your level of success.

A. This is just one way.

B. The benefits will stay with you.

C. If you aren't a reader, you should start with that.

D. The more you do this, the more valuable you will be.

E. Of course, you need to do some research before investing.

F. The best way to invest your money is to invest it in yourself.

G. When you invest in yourself, you may not see gains right away.

    Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.

Zones

    The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.

Computers

    You can use your own computer to connect to the wi-fi specially prepared for notebook computers; your can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.

Group-study places

    If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.

    There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.

Storage of Study Material

    The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have obtained at least 40 credits(学分), you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year's rental period.

Rules to be Followed

    Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.

    Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.

    Mark is always engaged in his work. But this time he felt that it was time for him to take part in his community, so he went to the neighborhood meeting after work. The area city council woman was leading a discussion about how the quality of life was on the decline. The neighborhood faced many problems. Mark looked at the charts taped to the walls. There were charts for parking problems, crime, and for problems in empty buildings. Mark read from the charts, “Police patrols cut back, illegal parking up 20%”. People were supposed to suggest solutions to the council woman. It was too much for Mark. “The problems are too big”, he thought. He turned to the man next to him and said, “I think this is a waste of my time. Nothing I can do would make a difference here.”

    As he neared the bus stop on his way home, Mark saw a woman carrying a grocery bag, and a baby. As Mark got closer, her other child, a little boy, suddenly ran into the street. The woman tried to reach for him, but as she moved, her bag shifted, and groceries started to fall out. Mark ran to take the boy's arm and led him back to his mother. “You gotta stay with mom,” he said. Then he picked up the stray groceries while and the woman smiled in relief. “Thanks,” she said, “You've got great timing.” “Just being neighborly,” Mark said. As he rode home, he glanced at the walls of bus. On one of them was “Small acts of kindness add up.” Mark smiled and thought, “Maybe that's a good place to start.”

    The United States of America is faced with serious traffic problems. Too many cars travel on the freeways to and from the city. This heavy traffic causes delays and lots of pollution from cars that are using their engines but not moving anywhere. Many cars going nowhere is called a "traffic jam".

    While many cities in the United States have traffic problems, some of the worst are in Los Angeles, California, which is a big city with a large downtown area. One of the reasons why there is so much traffic is that few people use public transportation to get around.

    Experts say one possible solution to the traffic problems in Los Angeles would be to make people want to use the public transportation system of buses instead of their own cars. People say the buses should be made easier, faster, less costly and more dependable than driving a car.

    One suggestion is to reduce the cost of taking the bus. Also, Los Angeles could make the buses easier for people to use. The buses could travel to more places in the city. And there could be more special lanes on the freeways that only buses could drive in. These changes would make taking the bus faster and easier than driving a car.

    Other experts have said that the best way to ease traffic problems is to charge people money to drive on the freeways. These charges, or tolls, would be for the most crowded roads. The tolls would be in effect during the times of a day when most people drive to work and home. These times in the morning and late afternoon are called "rush hour". People would try to avoid driving on these roads, which would decrease the amount of traffic. Also, the money collected from these tolls could be used to improve the roads and public transportation system.

    The great-grandmother is learning English with the help of her family when she is at the age of 91. She hopes to use the language at next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo. Takamizawa was one of the more than 200, 00 people who requested to volunteer for Tokyo's 2020 Games. English is not required for service, but it is a useful skill for volunteers to have.

    But Takamizawa had not been able to learn the language when she was young. Takamizawa said that she was in high school when World War Two started. She said, "In my second year there, English was banned because it was the enemy language."

    Takamizawa said her grandchildren helped persuade her that she was not too old to learn. "When I talked to my grandchildren about my wish, they said, 'It's not too late. We will teach you one word a day' ". Natsuko is Takamizawa's granddaughter and main English teacher. Natsuko sends a new English word to her grandmother's phone every day. They also often work together directly on phrases that Takamizawa will need for the Olympics. "Welcome to Tokyo, this is the Olympic stadium, how can I help you?" Takamizawa answers when asked to say an English phrase she has learned. Natsuko explains that she wanted to give her grandmother something to enjoy. "I can clearly see her English is getting better. It's my joy now."

    The EF English Proficiency Index is a measure of the level of English spoken in a country. Japan ranks 49th among countries where English is not the first language. This situation is slowly changing as younger generations welcome English. However, Takamizawa believes real change will not happen unless Japanese people become more open to the rest of the world. With around 500 days to go until the games begin, the whole Takamizawa family is ready to welcome the world to Tokyo.