Research finds out why some people are constantly under attack from the bloodsucking insects while others walk free.

    For those unfortunate enough to feature highly on the mosquito hit list, summer nights can be synonymous with mosquito bites. Yet others hardly ever get bitten. So how do the bloodthirsty insects select their victims?

    The insects' tastes may seem arbitrary. However, research shows that when mosquitoes make their choices between potential victims, it all comes down to scent (气味).

    “Mosquitoes are attracted by carbon dioxide and heat, which everyone gives off. But mosquitoes are also attracted by certain scents,” says Karl-Martin Vagn Jensen, the head of research at the Department of Agricultural Science at Arhus University.

    According to Jensen, it has not yet been confirmed exactly what the scents in question are. But research does indicate that some scents are more attractive to mosquitoes than others.

    “All the lab employees rubbed petri dishes (培养皿) against their stomachs. In that way, their scents were put on the dishes, which were then put in a container full of mosquitoes,” he says. “The mosquitoes repeatedly landed on some of the petri dishes, but didn't go anywhere near the others.”

    Perhaps taking inspiration from popular fiction, there are also those who consider garlic as an excellent repellent (驱虫剂) against the winged bloodsuckers. According to the researcher, this strategy may not be entirely fruitless. “As far as I know, there is no scientific proof that eating garlic works. But there may be something to the theory that it's possible to mask scent with garlic,” he says. The only reliable method of protection against mosquitoes is to use repellents that are sold over the counter. It contains some smells that can confuse the mosquitoes. When the mosquito comes closer, it uses smell, heat and carbon dioxide to decide whether to bite. But if it is confused by a repellent, it will never get that far.

Happiness begins from appreciation

    If you are feeling that life just cannot be any worse for you, it can be challenging to think positive. When stressed, depressed, upset or otherwise in a negative state of mind because you are aware that misfortune keeps occurring, it is important to shift those negative thoughts to something positive. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    It is often very hard to think positive when so many things are negative, but be sure that someone, somewhere is worse off than you. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If you start with one small, positive thing and appreciate it during the course of your day, you will begin to move into a more positive situation and people will start showing up in your life. With appreciation, you will find that over time, you will change your outlook and choose to be happy, regardless of the events around you. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Begin and end each day with a “Thank you for this wonderful, glorious day!”

    When you see the rise of gas prices, say “I am so glad to have a vehicle in which to get around.”

    When your boss is too hard on you, say “I am grateful for my job as I know that many don't have one.”

    If you are having health problems, be grateful for what does work: “I really do appreciate it that my eyes see, my ears hear, my mouth tastes, my legs walk, my arms lift and my mind thinks and everything else works.”

    Write down what you're grateful for each day. In moments when you're feeling really down, read loud what you wrote previously. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} If you practice this regularly, you will find your list getting longer and longer.

    The key is to move yourself into a positive thought and keep it there long enough to make it a moment of appreciation. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. This will certainly help uplift your spirits.

B. If not, you will only attract more misfortune.

C. It is of great importance to learn to be grateful.

D. The more you appreciate, the happier you'll be.

E. If you have made some achievements in your career.

F. Here are a few common examples for you to practice.

G. You can choose to think differently by beginning with the smallest of steps.

    Q & A

    Question：I have recently got a senior position within my company. One of my new tasks is to make monthly progress reports on my department in front of other senior officials. During my first meeting，I presented and then opened the floor to questions. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} My first reaction was to answer defensively. Later I realized that I shouldn't have felt that way. But how can I keep cool and effectively answer questions in this type of settings?

    Answer：Congratulations on your new position！Presenting in front of your peers(同事) is a hard task in itself，and it becomes much more difficult when a question and answer period is required. Question -and-answer periods are a great way to clarify the message and strengthen key points. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    When a person is asking a question，show interest and a desire to understand the question by listening and asking for clarification.

    Buy time.

    When facing a hard question，most people can't give an answer immediately. Buy time by repeating the question in your own words. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}These techniques allow you to quickly organize your thoughts as well as to make sure you will be correctly answering the question.

    Suggest a private meeting.

    A one-on-one meeting is a calmer setting than speaking in front of your peers. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Show your true interest.

B. Restate the question with respect.

C. Some ideas can be quite concrete.

D. There were many difficult questions.

E. It can also be more effective in exchanging ideas.

F. You may also ask for clarification(澄清、说明) on the question.

G. Here are some ideas that can help you prepare for your next meeting.

    Obviously, most people who try to lose weight generally focus all or most of their attention on the food they eat. But what about their behavior? Are there habits they could be breaking that would also help them lose weight?

    According to the Ohio State University Extension, which summarized the findings, the researchers learned people who routinely ate breakfasts, lunches, and dinners tended to have more success losing weight than people whose eating schedules were irregular. As a bonus, they were also more likely to eat a larger quantity of fruits and vegetables.

    One activity that brought a disaster to people who wanted to lose weight was watching television, particularly if they ate while watching TV--especially if they ate while watching TV after 7 p.m. People who did these things, including simply watching a lot of television, tended to have a higher body mass index (BMI), as well as a higher intake of fat and sugars.

    Those who ate out a lot also tended to take in more fat and sugars, while eating fewer fruits and vegetables. For the purposes of the study, eating away from home was defined not only as eating in restaurants but also eating food provided by an employer or colleagues at work, buying food at convenience stores or gas stations, or buying food for fund-raisers.

    Finally, the best results were achieved by those motivated people who kept writing the track of the amount and type of exercise they did and how many calories they ate, who planned meals, and used meal replacements. Those who did these things the most generally lost more weight, ate less fat and sugars, ate more fruits and vegetables, and engaged in more physical activities.

So cutting out all those high-calorie snacks will help you lose weight. If so, apparently, will change some of your habits and behavior.

    Millions of people all over the world use the word okay. In fact，some people say the word is used more often than any other word in the world.

    It may be common，but no one can seem to agree on how the “OK” came to be.

    Okay means “all right” or “acceptable”. It expresses agreement or approval. You might ask your brother，“Is it okay if I borrow your car?” Or if someone asks you to do something，you might say，“Okay ， I will.” Still，language experts do not agree about where the word came from.

    Some people say it came from the Native American Indian tribe known as the Choctaw. The Choctaw word “okeh” means the same as the American word okay. Experts say early explorers in the American West spoke the Choctaw language in the nineteenth century. The language spread across the country.

    But many people dispute(不同意)this.

    Language expert Allen Walker Read wrote about the word okay in reports published in the 1960s.He said the word began being used in the 1830s.It was a short way of writing a different spelling of the words “all correct.” Some foreign-born people wrote “all correct” as“o-l-l k-o-r-r-e-c-t.” and used the letters O.K.

    Other people say a railroad worker named Obadiah Kelly invented the word long ago. They said he put the first letters of his names—O and K—on each object people gave him to send on the train.

    Still others say a political organization invented the word. The organization supported Martin Van Buren for president in 1840.They called their group，the O.K. Club. The letters were taken from the name of the town where Martin Van Buren was born—Old Kinderhook，New York.

    Not everyone agrees with this explanation，either. But experts do agree that the word is purely American. And it has spread to almost every country on Earth.

    Many of us know about Russia's Lake Baikal from our textbooks, or by listening to Chinese singer Li Jian's hit song, Lake Baikal. But over the past decade, the world's deepest freshwater lake has been in the spotlight for an extreme sport.

    Each March since 2005, about 150 people from around the world sign up for the Baikal Ice Marathon. They come to explore the lake's breathtaking beauty and challenge themselves in unpredictable conditions.

    The 26-mile (41. 84-kilometers) journey starts on the lake's eastern shore. In March, the ice is a meter thick and iron-hard. Runners cross this frozen surface, finishing on the western side of the lake.

    Known as the "blue eye of Siberia", Lake Baikal has exceptionally clear waters. This means its ice is almost perfectly transparent. "Seen from above, a runner on the ice looks as if he or she is jogging through space," The New York Times noted.

    The landscape might be beautiful, but it's also harsh. Strong winds blast (侵袭) across the lake and frostbite (冻伤) can occur within half an hour. Runners say the cold climate is what draws them. They want to test their limits.

    "When you are in such an environment, you don't have cars around you, you don't have the noise around. I think these extreme races allow you to be alone with nature," Alicja Barahona, a 64-year-old runner from the US, told ABC News.

    The location offers some strange and unique characteristics for this marathon. The finish line is visible from the start. But the endless white offers no progress markers. The race also ends with little fanfare (喧闹). Tourists crowding the ice are mostly addicted to snapping series (自拍) and just ignore the runners.

    For some runners, the absence of spectators makes the race more challenging, because it's lonely. They must fight with themselves. "You are alone on Baikal. It is your race. You are alone with yourself. All you need to do is to defeat yourself," Veronique Messina, a French runner, told the Telegraph.