What started as a race to space between the United States and Russia has turned out to be a technological revolution that has greatly improved the quality of daily life throughout the world. Scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have invented new technology to make space flights doable. The same technology, when applied on Earth, has produced thousands of products in the areas of health and sports that have significant impacts on our lives.

    Many of these improvements are in the fields of health and medicine. NASA-inspired technology fueled the great advances in the early detection of deadly diseases. For instance, computer chips designed for the Hubble telescope are used in digital imaging devices that help medical professionals detect cancer at very early stages. Eye doctors can now diagnose vision problems in very young children by using ocular screening. Ultrasound scanners, portable x-ray devices, and bone analyzers are among the medical devices developed with the help of space technology.

    Fogless ski goggles and special sportswear are among the hundreds of items of sports equipment inspired by NASA technology. Space technology has been applied to sports too. The running shoes that athletes use today have midsoles that act like shock absorbers and keep the runners steady while in motion. These shoes utilize the technology NASA used to design the moon boot. In golf, athletes use a new ball that employs NASA research on how to make the flight of the ball from the tee to the green faster and more accurate. In swimming, athletes can swim faster because of NASA-developed riblets in the fabric of their swimsuits.

    Almost all aspects of daily life continue to improve because NASA scientists are still at work. Transportation, methods of preparing food, and work environments are other ways in which NASA technology has made significant changes.

Curiosity Is an Increasingly Rare Virtue

    Most of the breakthrough discoveries and remarkable inventions throughout history, from flints (打火石) for starting a fire to self-driving cars, have something in common: They are the result of curiosity. But the journalist Ian Leslie, in his newly-published book Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends on It, insists that curiosity is a much overlooked human virtue, crucial to our success, and we are losing it.

    Leslie presents considerable evidence for the claim that the society as a whole is growing less curious. In the U.S. and Europe, for example, the rise of the Internet, among other social and technological changes, has led to a declining consumption of news from outside the reader's borders. Indeed, Google, for which Leslie expresses admiration, is also his frequent whipping boy (替罪羊): we seek only the information we want. But not everything is to be blamed on technology. The decline in interest in literary fiction is also one of the causes identified by Leslie.

    Why is this a problem? Because without curiosity we will lose the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship (企业家精神). Worse still, that lack of curiosity produces a relative lack of knowledge, and the lack of knowledge is difficult if not impossible to compensate for later on.

    Fortunately, some strategies can be employed to develop curiosity: If you just accept the world as it is without trying to dig deeper, you will certainly lose the 'holy curiosity'. Of course, one effective way to dig deeper beneath the surface is asking questions: What is that? Why is it made that way? Who invented it? How does it work? ...And if you see learning as a burden, there's no way you will want to dig deeper into anything. That will just make the burden heavier. But if you think of learning as something fun, you will naturally want to dig deeper.

Take care of your spine (脊柱)

    The spine stands at the center of your health, providing your body with structure and support. It also contains your spinal cord, a massive collection of nerves conveying electric signals from the rest of your body to your brain. Since your spine is so central to health, it's important to look after it.

Maintain good posture (姿势)is one of the most important things you can do to keep you spine healthy. Proper posture means standing or sitting while keeping your spine straight, except for its natural curves. Posture comes into play even when you're asleep. Sleeping on your side puts less stress on your spine than most other positions. Staying still for too long—even if your posture is good—can be hard on your back. Especially if you look at a desk most of the day, it's important to get up and stretch periodically.

    Exercise is also an important factor in the health of your spine. Stretches can help the muscles around your spine relax and allow bones to shift into better arrangement. Strength exercises like pushups can also help by strengthening the muscles around your spine. However, don't overdo the exercise, as repeated motions can strain the muscles around your spine.

    Finally, your diet affects the health of your spine because many vitamins are necessary for bones and nerves. In particular, B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids keep nerves healthy, so you may want to consider taking a supplement. Another important factor is vitamin D, which is essential for strong bones. Vitamin D can come from some foods, but it's also absorbed from sunlight, so it may help to do some of those back exercises outside.

    Many of the actions necessary to keep your spine healthy are identical to those need to preserve your health in other ways. So protect our back, and the rest of body will benefit.

Sales Strategies

    How can a company improve its sales? One of the keys to more effective selling is for a company to first decide on its “sales strategy”. In other words, what is the role of the salesperson? Is the salesperson's job narrative, suggestive, or consultive?

The “narrative” sales strategy depends on the salesperson moving quickly into a standard sales presentation. His or her pitch highlights the benefit for the customer of a particular product or service. This approach is most effective for customers whose buying motives are basically the same and is also well suited to companies who have a large number of prospects on which to call.

    The “suggestive” approach is tailored more for the individual customer. The salesperson must be in a position to offer alternative recommendations that meet a particular customer's needs. One key aspect of the suggestive approach is the need for the salesperson to engage the buyer in some sort of discussion. The salesperson can then use the information from the customer to suggest an appropriate product or service.

    The final strategy demands that a company's sales staff act as “consultants” for the buyer. In this role, the salesperson must acquire a great deal of information about the customer. They do this through market research, surveys, and face-to-face discussions. Using this information, the salesperson makes a detailed presentation tailored specifically to a consumer's needs.

    More and more sales teams are switching from a narrative or a suggestive approach to a more consultative strategy. As a result, corporations are looking more at intangibles (无形资产) such as creativity and analytical skills and less at educational background and technical skills.

阅读下面短文，根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。

    When a rather dirty, poorly-dressed person kneels at your feet and puts out his hands to beg for a few coins, do you hurry on, not knowing what to do, or do you feel sad and hurriedly hand over some money? What should our attitude to beggars be? There can't be no question that the world is full of terrible sad stories. It must be terrible to have no idea where our next meal is coming from. It seems cruel not to give some money to beggars.

    Certainly, most of the world's great religions order us to be open-hearted and share what we have with those less fortunate than ourselves. But has the world changed? Maybe what was morally right in the old days, when one knew exactly who in the village had suffered misfortune and needed help, is no longer the best idea. Quite a few people will not give to beggars. Let us look at their arguments.

    First, some believe that many city beggars dress up on purpose to look pitiable and actually make a good living from begging. Giving to beggars only encourages this sort of evils. Secondly, there is the worry that the money you give will be spent on beer, wine or drugs. Thirdly, there is the opinion that there is no real excuse for begging. One might be poor, but that is no reason for losing one's sense of pride and self-dependence.

    Related to this is the opinion that the problem should be dealt with by the government rather than ordinary people. Some people think beggars should go to the local government department and receive help.

    It is hard to come to a conclusion; there are various cases and we must deal with them differently. A few coins can save a life in some situations, and even if the money is wasted, that does not take away the moral goodness of the giver.

What do you think could be done to help the local people rebuild their homes?