As if 2016 hadn't been hard enough for China's workforce, a yearly survey has revealed that more than half of the country's white-collar employees got no year-end bonus ahead of the upcoming and costly lunar(农历的) New Year holiday. The survey of 11,500 workers by Chinese employment agency Zhaopin found that 50.9 per cent did not get an annual bonus at the end of 2016. Another 9.6 percent were told their bonuses had been delayed until after the New Year holiday.

    Before the slowdown that began in 2014, employers in China had been less ungenerous with cash bonuses, which can total well over a full month's pay and send employees back home for the holiday with plenty of cash for gifts to elders and other family members or to put away as savings. The impact of weak growth on year-end bonuses may have reached the highest point in 2015, however, when 66 per cent of white-collar workers received no year-end bonuses. And the 2016 level actually represents an improvement from 2014, when 61 per cent had to go without.

    But that recovery has also seen the size of bonuses drop: last year the average bonus was Rmb 12,821（$1,861）, about Rmb 2,000 more than that in 2015 but still about Rmb800 below the 2014 average. More than a quarter of those surveyed who saw their bonuses drop last year blamed the drop on poor company performance.

    Differences among the 34 cities surveyed were still greater, as the average bonus of over Rmb 15,800 in Beijing was more than three times than that in the lowest-paying city of Shenyang. Employees of state-owned firms also expressed more satisfaction with their bonuses than those at private companies — and little wonder, as the average bonus at the former was Rmb 17,318, or about Rmb 6,000 more than what private companies' employees could expect.

    But the impact of companies' stinginess(吝啬) can go beyond simply ruining employees' New Year holiday, possibly coming back to affect employers: 39 percent of respondents said they would look for work elsewhere if their year-end bonus was not returned to normal, an increase of 2.3 Percentage points from 2015.

    Earthquakes happen without warning(前兆). They can happen any time of a day, at any point during the year. But don't worry because most are so weak that they cannot be felt. Only a few big ones hurt people. However, it's important to know what to do when an earthquake is happening.

    Do NOT go outside. You could get injured from falling glass or parts of buildings. If you are outside, stay away from buildings and power lines (输电线).

    Stay under a desk, table, or other strong furniture. Hold on to it. Or stay in a corner of the building. Cover your face and head with your arms and cover your mouth with a towel or clothing. Stay inside until shaking stops and it is safe to go outside.

    Keep away from windows, pictures or advertisements on the wall or the building, and anything else that could fall and hurt you. Most people get injured by falling things during an earthquake, not by the shaking itself.

    Also keep away from a fire. You could fall down and burn yourself on the fire.

    If you are driving when an earthquake happens, stop the car if it's safe. Stay inside your car until the earthquake stops, and don't drive near bridges. Try not to stop by power lines or trees. These could fall and hurt you.

    Many studies have hinted(暗示) that alcohol, in moderation, can do a heart good. But new research suggests that moderate drinkers are no more likely than non­drinkers to have clear arteries(动脉).

    The scientists looked at almost 2,000 patients who underwent CT test. Overall, there was no association between people's drinking habits and their heart diseases. Researchers said an advantage of the new study is that it used objective measurements.

    “No prior studies have assessed the relationship between alcohol consumption and the presence of heart disease,” said lead researcher Dr Julia Karady. "We could not find any relation between the presence of heart disease and alcohol consumption," Karady said. At the same time, she added, there was no evidence that heavier drinking raised the risk of heart disease.

    However, groups like the American Heart Association(AHA) warn against excessive drinking, because it can raise blood pressure and contribute to heart failure and other problems.

    In general, "moderate" is defined as no more than one glass of alcohol a day for women, and no more than two a day for men. But those studies do not prove that alcohol, itself, protects the heart—in large part because alcohol also carries risks.

With all the dietary information online, it can be hard to know what tips to follow. Watch out for these words and expressions.

Fat Is Good

It doesn't matter if you are part of the fat is GOOD for you or BAD for you group, the important question to ask is the source of the fat. If it comes from a land-based animal, and is likely to be solid at room temperature, then it is saturated （饱和的） fat whereas if it comes from fish or plants, and it is likely to be liquid at room temperature, then it is unsaturated fat. All the evidence indicates that eating more unsaturated fat than saturated fat lowers your risk of dying early.

Natural Sugar Is Better

The vast majority of sugar we consume is sucrose （蔗糖）. It is the white powdered stuff we cook with and is made up of glucose and fructose. How about sugar from honey? It is often marketed as natural and better for you. Actually, it just has its own distinct flavour, but is as sweet because of glucose and fructose.

High-pH Water

Some people think we need to eat alkali （碱） food to maintain our blood at a pH of 7.4. But everything we eat or drink passes through the stomach, which, at a pH of 1.5, is the most acidic part of the body. It is then neutralised to a pH of 7. So, nothing we eat will change the pH of our blood.

Don't Eat Anything That You Can't Pronounce

Whether foods are natural or highly processed, they are all full of chemicals. Are you supposed to fear "phenylthiocarbamide", because you can't pronounce it? This is simply the chemical responsible for the bitter taste found in brassicas, the plants in the cabbage and mustard family.

Don't Eat Food With More Than Five Ingredients（佐料）

Simple foods are not necessarily healthier for you. If I, for instance, use Chinese five spice powder in a recipe, that would count as one of the five ingredients. However, what if I added the typical components of five spice powder separately into a dish? Does that mean my recipe suddenly becomes bad because it has more than five ingredients?