Of the many unpleasant emotions we can experience, fear may top the list. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Fear can also keep us from pursuing the things in life that really matter — like following our dreams, and developing important relationships. I have some ideas, though, of how to be free from fear.

Experience fear.

I used to be very afraid of speaking in front of people. I would get sweaty palms and my stomach would be so tied up that I wouldn't be able to eat. However, each time I spoke, I noticed afterwards that it wasn't that bad. Things I fear are never as bad in reality as I make them out in my mind. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

Create space.

    The first and most important step to being fearless is to create some space between ourselves and the emotion of fear. This isn't accomplished by ignoring the fear, or trying to talk ourselves out of it. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. In fact, a recent research shows that by simply admitting the emotion we actually begin to reverse the "fight or flight(逃避)" response in the body.

Control the breath and feel the fear.

    Once we acknowledge the presence of fear, the second step is to control the breathing so that it becomes slower and gentler. We try to make the breath just a little bit longer, and feel how fear manifests(展现) in the body. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    With practice, we can create enough space between us and the emotion of fear so that we're able to replace a fearful thought with a positive one. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. For instance, before I get up to speak in front of a group of people, I imagine that the audience is positively impressed by what I say and that I manage to complete the speech successfully.

    It is a popular Internet thing to focus on the upside of being in your 30s, and it is nice to know how to do basic modern-human-being things like paying your taxes and cooking a simple meal. But it can be a less-encouraging story at work: People in their late 20s to early 40s tend to report lower levels of job satisfaction and higher levels of emotional exhaustion than other age groups, according to new research.

    There's an obvious reason: These tend to be the ages when people have young children at home, and the researchers did find that this group reported feeling increasingly crunched for time. But adding to that pressure, coworker support also tends to decline at this age. Some researchers interpret the findings:

    Support from co-workers probably decreases in midlife as peers compete for limited resources（promotion bottlenecks are often encountered during this career stage. Also, whereas younger co-workers are often hungry to make up new social networks, and older workers seek identity-affirming work experiences in their remaining tenure（任期）, mid lifers find it demanding enough just to maintain existing social networks. Meanwhile, time pressure likely increases as colleagues are all trying to enrich their own knowledge and experience.

    But the good news is that after about a decade of struggle, things start to pick back up again. Occupational psychologists say that happiness at work recovers when people reach their 40s, and that people in their 50s are more satisfied with their jobs than any other age group. Hang in there, 30-somethings-soon you will be older, but at least work will meet less frustration（挫折）!

    You often find somebody who works around you complaining all the time, don't you? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. About 70% of Americans say being around nonstop complainers sometimes has a bad influence on them. Luckily, here are 4 tips to help form positive patterns.

    Self-awareness

    When a negative thought pops into your mind, immediately correct it. Instead of telling yourself “That's a nice shirt, but I can't afford it,” change the message to “That will look great with my black pants when I can afford it.”{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    Of course, everyone complains sometimes. But the less frequently you complain, the better you will feel.

    Distance yourself

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Excuse yourself and go somewhere quiet, somewhere outdoors in the fresh air. Think of something pleasant before returning. You have to take this seriously because negative people can and will pull you into the quicksand (难以摆脱的困境).

    Don't try to change complainers

    If you find yourself trapped in a group of complainers in a meeting or at a social event, simply choose silence. Let their words bounce off you while you think of something else. Attempting to stop the complaining can make you a target.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. If someone says, “I hate Mondays; weekends are too short,” try to think, “I'm glad I rested over the weekend, so I'm ready to make some improvement on that big project.”

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    When someone is shouting at you angrily, throw the responsibility back at them by asking, “So what do you intend to do about it?” In most cases, complainers don't really want a solution. They just want to speak them out. If you make them aware that they themselves have to find the solutions, they will leave you alone and find someone else to complain to. If so, you will be happy.

A. Find solutions

B. Change the responsibility

C. You have got a lot of company

D. By doing this, it will lead to positive behavior

E. But you can redirect the discussion in your own mind

F. Whenever possible, escape from negative conversations

G. You will never know what they are going to talk about

    How to keep healthy? It's easy for us to catch a cold in winter and spring because the weather changes a lot in spring and it is too cold in winter. But if we take care in our life, all of us can keep healthy without any cold.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}This will stop germs passing from one person to another. When you finish your work or before you eat, you'd better wash your hands.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Use a tissue, and then throw it into dustbins at once. When others around you are coughing, I advise you to turn your head away from the people so that their viruses won't reach you.

    Get more fresh air. Germs like staying around in dry and warm rooms. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Don't stay too long in the places with too many people.

    If flu is going round house or school, you should try to stay away from those who are ill. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Boil your toothbrush for about a minute. This kills germs.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} If you have used the toothbrush for three months or so, throw it away and buy a new one.

A.     Have a shower everyday.

B.     Wash your hands often.

C.     Don't use your hands when coughing.

D.    Don't go out often when you are coughing.

E.     Besides, don't use the same toothbrush too long.

F.     In this way, you won't be infected by these people.

G.    So you'd better stay in the places with more fresh air.

    Monty Hempel is a professor of environmental sciences at Redlands University in California. He studies ecological literacy­or eco-literacy, for short. Eco-literacy is the ability to think about and understand the natural processes that make life possible.

    Monty Hempel says eco-literacy gives people knowledge about environmental problems. But he says it does not always work on getting them to change their behavior.

    Mr. Hempel wrote part of the Worldwatch Institute's latest State of the World report. He says in his article, "Some people think that eco-literacy is just a green form of science literacy. And what I have tried to ask is whether that's enough. In other words, what an ecologically-literate person needs to know might include things like the effect of environmental pollution on ecosystem, the energy systems, and all of those kinds of things that we would call the science of ecology."

    "That doesn't seem to lead to action to protect our environment ­ to protect our life-support system to the level that we need to. Just knowing a lot about the environment doesn't mean that we actually act to save it. After all, actions speak louder than knowledge."

    He adds that people may not be very worried about environmental problems if they seem far away. "Some people call it psychological distance. A lot of climate issues are worse in the Arctic and most of us don't spend time in the Arctic. And so, there's a certain distance. But there's also a distance that's happening in the world as it urbanizes ­ people spending more time in front of screens and less time out in nature. We become, if you will, disconnected from the natural systems that used to be the key to success for a human being."

    To help children discover the wonders of nature, he adds that children should learn about nature in school. But he also points out we have a high mountain for people to climb from knowledge to action.