Less is more. This is why we say: reduce things by half instead of doubling them, relax instead of stressing, and slow down instead of speeding up. Apply these principles(原则) in your everyday life. You will then find yourself well along on your journey to simplification.

Separate Your Actions

    When you concentrate on one task, you find you have energy that you didn't even know you had. Just imagine: you have to carry two heavy pigs over 100 yards. If you carry two, it will take forever. But if you tie one pig in a place, pick up the other, gather all your strength and make a dash for the finish line, pause for a moment, run back and get the other one, and carry the second pig to the finish line, then you can be sure of success.

Say “No” Firmly

    If you have the feeling that 24 hours per day are not enough for all the things you need to do, then it's not because the day has too few hours, but because you have too many activities. The solution is equally simple: say no to accept so much work in your private life or your working life.

Allow Yourself to Be Weak

     “I can deal with stress” is regarded as a positive statement in the world of work. People who can deal with stress are given more and more to — until one day they break.

Pay careful attention to the signs that tell you that you are under more stress than you can deal with. If you become ill, or your work efficiency decreases, change your life goals. Say quite openly, “I can't manage that.”

Stop Expecting Everything to Be Perfect

     “If only I were slimmer, more beautiful, richer, more clever, then I would be happier.” This is a dream that makes a lot of people ill, and unhappy. Life is imperfect. Only those who accept this reality can lead a really full life.

    Of course there are activities in which errors are dangerous: driving a car; crossing the road. But life doesn't entirely have these things. In among them there is possibility that you may make small and large mistakes.

Escape Now and Then

    Successful people all have their own places where they can be left alone in order to work. Find out which places improve your creativity. For me it's the train. When I know that I'm going to be traveling for four hours without phone calls or people knocking on my door, I find my mind is free and I can read or write articles.

    There are good reasons to value our friendships.Some years ago a public-opinion research firm,Roper Starch Worldwide,asked 2007 people to name one or two things that said the most about themselves.Friends far outranked homes jobs, clothes and cars.

    “Ironically,” says Brant R.Burleson, professor of communication at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., “the better friends you are, the more likely you'll face conflicts.” And the outcome can be what you don't want—an end to the relationship.

    The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended.

    Swallow your pride. It wasn't easy, but that's what Denise Moreland of Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii did when a friendship turned sour.For nearly four months,Moreland,45,had watched over Nora Huizenga's two young daughters, who were living with their father on the base,while Huizenga,40,completed training as a dental hygienist in Nevada.“I felt honored to be asked to step in,” Moreland says.

    “When Huizenga returned at Christmas,” Moreland recalls,“I had so much to tell her, but she never called.”

    One daughter had a birthday party, but Moreland wasn't invited. “I felt like I'd been used,” she says.At first, Moreland swore to avoid Huizenga.Then she decided to swallow her pride and let her friend know how she felt. Huizenga admitted that she'd been so worried about being separated from her family that she'd been blind to what her friend had done to help her. Today she says, “I would never have figured out what happened if Denise hadn't called me on it.”

    When a friend hurts you, your instinct is to protect yourself.But that makes it harder to solve problems,explains William Wilmot,author of Relational Communication.“Most of us are relieved when differences are brought out in the open.”

    Apologize when you're wrong—even if you've also been wronged.But over the course of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes. “We don't think clearly when we're arguing,” says Michael Lang,a professional mediator (调解人) in Pittsburgh. Instead, says Lang, ask: “What's going on? This doesn't make sense.”

    See things from your friend's point of view. Sociologists Rebecca Adams Rosemary and Blieszner interviewed 53 adults who each had many friendships lasting decades. “We were curious how these people managed to sustain strong friendships for so long,” says Blieszner. Tolerance is key, the researchers learned.” It's surprising how often a dispute results from a simple misunderstanding,” adds psychotherapist Anne Frenkel.

    Accept that friendships change. “Friendships change as our needs and lifestyles change,” Wilmot observes.

    Making friends can sometimes seem easy,says Yager.The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that affect all relationships.Her suggestion: Consider friendship an honor and a gift,and worth the effort to treasure and nurture.

    The steady increase in women having babies later in life is undeniable. First-time mothers are more likely to be 35 or older than their counterparts (对应者) from two decades ago, according to the Pew Research Center. While the number of first-time moms between ages 20 and 24 falls, the number of births to women in their 30s and 40s keeps growing. In addition, recent wide-ranging studies have found significant long-term benefits in waiting to have babies. These benefits counterbalance (抵消) some worries about being an older mother and the effects it may have on children.

    Longevity for women who wait

    A study in the journal Menopause examined older mothers' life expectancy (寿命) and found that women who had their last child after the age of 33 are more likely to live to 95. In fact, researchers reported that these women had twice the chance of living to 95 or older than those who had their last child before their 30th birthday. The news for women having babies after 40 is equally promising.

    Boosted brainpower for older mothers

    It's also possible that later pregnancies (怀孕) protect against cognitive decline. Researchers at the University of Southern California found that women have better brainpower if they have their last baby after age 35. The researchers looked at the pregnancy history of a group of 830 women ages 41 to 92. Their research provides strong evidence of a positive association between later age at last pregnancy and late-life cognition.

    Increased income over time

    There's a measurable link between the age you have your first child and income gains and losses. Women who start their families when they are older are likely to increase their earning potential.

    Educational and emotional support for children

    Older parents who are less stressed about income or job security tend to be more patient and can spend more time with their children. Parents who have more secondary education can also offer more specific stimulation to their children, which can be helpful for development. An investigation of 8- to 12-year-olds explored how specific parenting beliefs and behaviors—such as reading, constructive play and emotional support—affected child development. The research published in the Journal of Family Psychology found that parent education and income positively affect child achievement.

    Having babies later in life

    A white elephant gift exchange is a popular holiday party game in, the United States. Generally, the party needs at least six participants, and' the larger the group: is, the more entertaining the game will be{#blank#}1{#/blank#}But it can result in heated competitions between players trying to get the gifts.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Sometimes, the rule is that the item must be previously owned, which means that you can exchange an unwanted item or trinket(小装饰品) with your friends. But sometimes you can buy a new but inexpensive item just for the party.

    Every participant is expected to bring one wrapped(包装好的) gift. A white elephant gift is usually something useless or inconvenient{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Guests are asked to wrap them nicely and leave no identifying markings on the presents.

    To start the game, a participant must act as the first player to choose a gift; this can be decided randomly or by picking numbers out of a hat{#blank#}4{#/blank#}As for the next player? This person can either “steal” the first person's gift or choose an unwrapped item from the pile. Each gift can be stolen only three times before it is considered "dead".

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Any person that has to give up a gift can also pick a new gift or steal one from another person. Each turn is only allowed three swaps between the current player and the previous players. The game won't finish until all the presents are opened.

A. It all depends on how the game is organized.

B. This process is repeated until the game is over.

C. Don't forget that the game's purpose is to have fun.

D. The first player then opens the gift in front of everyone.

E. White elephant gift exchange can be run in different ways.

F. The goal of the party is usually entertainment rather than gain.

G. Trinkets, unidentifiable kitchen items and toys are typical “white elephants” .

    Attachment is not just a connection between two people; it's a bond that involves a desire for regular contact with that person and the experience of distress(悲伤) during separation from that person.

    According to psychologist John Bowilby, there are four critical characteristics of attachment. The first is the desire to be near those with whom we share an attachment since we are happy while staying with them. Attachments also create a safe shelter, meaning that during times of distress, fear, or uncertainty, we may seek out the people we're attached to for care and comfort. Next, attachment figures also offer a secure base for exploration. This is particularly important during childhood. This secure base allows kids to explore the world while they know they can still return to the safety of the attachment figure. Finally, we experience separation distress when parted from an attachment figure. For example, kids tend to become upset when parents have to leave them in the care of others.

    Attachment serves a number of important purposes. For instance, it helps keep babies and children close to their caregivers so that they can avoid potential dangers, which in turn helps boost their chances of survival. However, if a child doesn't form a secure attachment to a caregiver, he or she will suffer from a number of problems including conduct disorder and oppositional -defiant (对立反抗的) disorder. Researchers also suggest that the type of attachment displayed early in life can have a lasting effect on later adult relationships.

    Psychologist Harry Harlow conducted an experiment on social isolation in monkeys. Baby monkeys were separated from their mothers and placed with surrogate mothers (代母). One mother was simply a wire armature (电枢) that held a bottle, while the other mother was covered with a soft terry cloth material. Harlow found that the baby monkeys would receive food from the wire mother, but preferred to spend most of their time with the soft mother. When compared to monkeys that had been raised by their birth mothers, the monkeys raised by surrogate mothers were shyer and more nervous and suffered from social and emotional problems.

All in all, developing secure and healthy attachments early in life is very important. Such attachments play a vital role in our future development.

Kite Power

The search for new, clean energy sources has occupied the attention of scientists and politicians for years. One common resource for green energy is the wind. A new twist on this old resource could cause the energy output of wind-power plants to rise dramatically.

Standard wind-power plants rely on fixed support and generally can only reach a height of 200 meters or so. Higher than that, winds tend to be stronger and more persistent.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences in Germany have formed a kite-power research group. The group is working to develop kites with inflatable (可充气的) wings connected to electrical gencrators on the ground. The research group's goal is to design a kite that can operate on its own for 24 hours. Research has begun，but many challenges remain，including making the generators more efficient and perfecting the automatic flight control and the structure of the kites.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Meanwhile, in Italy, researchers are working in a similar power generator that relies on kites. When the generator, called KiteGen, senses the wind blowing, kites are released from the ends of poles with high-resistance cables to control their height and angle. These cables are able to move the kites if the system senses incoming objects such as planes, helicopters or even individual birds. The kites themselves are light, tough and able to reach fairly high altitudes. They form a circular shape in the wind, which sets the core of the generator in motion, producing electric current. KiteGen has the potential to be very cost-effective in the long run.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

The plant also requires relatively little space, which makes it ideal for cities and means that multiple plants can be set up to provide even more energy.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}In the future, it may be an efficient, cost-effective addition to the other sources of energy we use, or even a replacement for some of them.

A. But the challenge is figuring out how to collect the energy from those winds.

B. Kite power has the potential to greatly improve on current wind-power strategies.

C. Wind at these altitudes (海拔高度) is stronger and steadier0 which increases productivity factors of the system to about 60%.

D. Its plan is to build a kite power station using technology that can collectively generate (产生) large amounts of energy.

E. Nevertheless, they successfully demonstrated that their kites could operate automatically at an altitude of up to 700 meters.

F. After the initial cost of designing and setting up the plant, little additional investment will be necessary, apart from standard maintenance.