Our spiritual intelligence quotient(精神智商), or SQ, helps us understand ourselves, and live fuller, happier lives.

    Though we're all born with SQ, most of us don't even realize that we have it. Fortunately, you don't have to sign up for classes to learn how to improve your SQ. Here are some simple steps that can lead you to this new level of understanding.

    Sit Quietly. The process of developing spiritual intelligence begins with solitude(独处) and silence. To tune in to your spirit, you have to turn down the volume(强度) in your busy, noisy, complicated life and force yourself to do nothing at all. Start small by creating islands for silence in your day. In the car, instead of listening to the music, use the time to think. At work, shut the door to your office between meetings, take a few breaths and let them out very, very slowly. Enjoy the stillness in your home after the kids are finally in bed.

    Step Outside. For many people, nature sets their spirit free. Go outside to watch a beautiful sunset. If you are walking with the dog, take the time to admire flowers in bloom; follow the flight of a bird and watch clouds float overhead.

    Ask Questions of Yourself. Ask open-ended questions, such as ‘What am I Feeling? What are my choices? Where am I heading?'

    But don't expect an answer to arrive through some supernatural forms of e-mail. ‘Rarely do I get an immediate answer to my question,' says Reverend Joan Carter, a Presbyterian minister in Sausalito, California. ‘But later that day I suddenly find myself thinking about a problem in a perspective(角度) I never considered before.'

    Trust Your Spirit. While most of us rely on gut(本能的) feeling to realize danger, spiritual intelligence pushes us, not away from, but towards some action that will lead to a greater good.

The Best Ways to Lose Weight with Walking

    Walking regularly is the easiest and least expensive form of exercise. Except for a good pair of walking shoes, no special equipment is needed. It is not necessary to join a gym. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}You can walk every day with no “rest days” in between. There is nothing to learn; people already know how to walk. There are, however, a few important things to keep in mind when walking to lose weight.

    Ways to lose weight by walking

    The first way to begin to lose weight by walking is to start walking. The initial goal should be 10,000 steps per day. Using a simple pedometer(计步器) attached to the waistband or on a belt will help you to count your daily steps. Consistency—even 10 minutes 3 times a day at first will produce the immediate results. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

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    It is very important to check with your medical professional before beginning any exercise program; especially if you are over age 65, have been required sitting or little activity for more than a year, or have been diagnosed with heart disease, pregnancy, high blood pressure, or any other medical conditions.

    How to walk to lose weight

    A good walking technique will help you achieve the physical or mental energy you need to walk consistently for the amount of time you have set for your goal. Making sure that you are using your large muscles correctly will also help to build your muscles. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Walking regularly can aid in muscle growth and increase the amount of calories you burn throughout the day. Eating a healthy low-fat diet will raise your metabolism(新陈代谢). {#blank#}5{#/blank#}If paired the calorie burn with the correct diet, it can lead to a better form of weight loss.

A. Limit your "bad" fat intake.

B. Begin a walking program with suitable physical qualities.

C. For example, take the stairs rather than taking the elevator.

D. It can be done anywhere and anytime, alone or with friends.

E. These two methods will help lead to a safe 1 to 2 pound weight loss per week.

F. Strong muscles burn more calories throughout the day, even when you are not walking.

G. But slowly increasing the time and the distance will encourage your weight-loss efforts.

    When hospital staff are in full scrubs (手术衣), their faces are almost completely covered by their caps and face masks, and we can only see their eyes and eyebrows. In order to solve the problem, a doctor in Sydney, Australia, called Rob Hackett launched a campaign named "Theatre (手术室) Cap Challenge"-encourage hospital staffs to write their' names and roles on their caps. At first, his colleagues didn't take it seriously. However, with time going on, it has been adopted around the world with studies from the US and UK reporting how this simple idea can decrease human errors in healthcare.

    "I went to a theatre where there were about 20 doctors and nurses in the room," Dr. Rob Hackett said. "I struggled to even ask to be passed some gloves because the person I was pointing to thought I was pointing to the person behind them, because I don't know their names." said Rob. As we all know, doctors are a stressful profession. When faced with life and death, they need to save the patient's life for a second. At the moment, effective communications are important.

    "The 'Theatre Cap Challenge' is in response to concerns about how easily avoidable mistakes and poor communication are contributing to rising harmful events for our patients." said Rob. "We need to develop systems which reduce mistakes and misunderstanding without causing harm. For this to happen, we need to let everyone know we're human." he added On the other hand, from the patients' viewpoint, caps with names on them can make patients more unworried. When everyone appears the same, it is extremely difficult to distinguish who is who. Knowing them relaxed.

    ISM is a large company in St. Louis, Missouri, but the top leaders are not satisfied with the performance of its staff. One day not too long ago the employees returned from their lunch break and were greeted with a sign on the front door. The sign said:{#blank#}1{#/blank#} We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym.

    At first everyone was sad to hear that one of their colleagues had died, but after a while they started getting curious about who this person might be. The excitement grew as the employees arrived at the gym to pay their last respects. Everyone wondered:{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Well, at least he's no longer here!

    One by one the employees got closer to the coffin and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood over the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU.

    You are the only person who can revolutionize your life.

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    You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success.

    Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes.

    Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs,{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone could see the person who passed away

B. Who is the person that passed away?

C. when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life.

D. A mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself

E. Yesterday the person who has been limiting your growth in this company passed away.

F. You are the only person who can help yourself

G. Who is this person that was limiting your progress?

    Nature has provided us with many kinds of resources. It is like a great magician(魔术师), creating wonders on Earth. One of them is the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest and home to millions of plants and animals. Nicknamed" the lungs of our planet", it produces about one-fifth of Earth's oxygen. However, this wonderful natural wonder is now in danger.

    Thousands of fires have broken out in Brazil, endangering much of the rainforest. These flames have lasted several weeks and are believed to be the "most intense" in almost ten years, according to BBC News.

    The Amazon has seen a large number of fires in 2019. Between January and August, there were over 74,000 fires – the highest number since 2013, the BBC reported.

    Forest fires are common during the dry season, which runs from July to October. They are usually caused by natural events like lightning. However, most of the fires this year are believed to be caused by farmers, who use fire as a traditional part of tropical agriculture(农业) to clean land, reported CNN.

    "It's the best time to burn because the plants are dry. Farmers wait for the dry season and they start burning and clearing the areas so that their cattle can have grass," wrote CNN meteorologist Haley Brink.

    The disaster has raised concern(关注) around the world. The Amazon rainforest is important for preventing climate change, said the BBC, absorbing millions of tons of carbon annually. When trees are cut down or burned, the rainforest's ability to absorb carbon is reduced.

    Brazilian climate expert Carlos Nobre told Reuters he's worried. If more than 20 percent of the ecosystem is destroyed, the Amazon rainforest could reach a "tipping point (临界点)", where the thick jungle will turn into a tropical savannah(大草原).

    Nobre warned that it is not far off, with between 15 and 17 percent of the rainforest having already been destroyed.

    The Brazilian government has sent soldiers to fight the fires. Many people have offered their support and called for recovery efforts. For example, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said he wanted to donate money and US Actor Leonardo DiCaprio's environmental charity, Earth Alliance, created a donation fund to help deal with the disaster.

    The public are also encouraged to donate to charities concerned with rainforest protection. "Every little bit helps in a bad situation like this," commented Gizmodo.

Robins(知更鸟) are considered as a symbol of the festive season and are known for their lively, curious nature around humans. But even robins get road rage because they can become aggressive when there's noise, a new study shows.

Researchers from the UK found that the sound of traffic made rural robins—not urban robins—"more aggressive". The study was conducted by experts at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. Human activity has a colossal effect on wildlife, including on their social behavior," the team said in their paper.

For their study, the team investigated the behavior of male European robins living in urban parks and rural forests in Istanbul. They measured aggression towards another robin intruder, which wasn't a real robin but instead a model in the shape of an adult bird. The fake robin was equipped with a speaker, through which the team could play audio, and then attached to trees at the parks and forests. The audio consisted of recordings of robin songs, while additional traffic noise was added through another separate speaker nearby.

After recording the birds' behavior during interactions with the fake intruder, they found the urban robins typically displayed more physical aggression than rural robins. However, rural robins became more aggressive with the addition of traffic noise—possibly because they're less used to traffic noise than urban birds, which are already living in noisier habitats. What's more, physical displays of territoriality could increase because the traffic noise interferes with their birdsong. "In normally quiet surroundings, we found that additional traffic noise leads to rural robins becoming more aggressive," said Dr Caglar Akcay at ARU. "We believe this is because the noise is interfering with their communication."

Overall, by comparing urban and rural robin reactions, the study provides a valuable glimpse into how urban-living species adapt to "life in a noisy world". "Our results show that human-produced noise can have a range of effects on robins, depending on the habitat they live in," said Dr Akcay.