Being seen in a fancy sports car or enjoying a beach holiday in a five-star hotel were once signs of having “made it”.

    But a new study suggested that having people think of you as constantly busy and overworked is now a far better way to show social status.

    According to Harvard University in the US, people are increasingly leaning toward the phenomenon of “humblebragging (谦虚自夸)”. This is when people make a seemingly modest statement that actually draws attention to something they want to brag (吹嘘) about.

    Phrases such as “I have no life” and “I desperately need a holiday” are now used to imply social standing, while ordering food and shopping online is the perfect way to prove to neighbors that you are simply too busy and important to go to the supermarket.

    “Movies, magazines, and popular TV shows often highlight (强调) the abundance (富足) of money and leisure time among the wealthy,” said Neeru Paharia, an assistant professor at Harvard University.

    “In recent years, featuring wealthy people relaxing by the pool or on a yacht (游艇), playing tennis or skiing and hunting are being replaced with advertisements featuring busy individuals who work long hours and have very limited leisure time,” he said. “Displaying (how busy you are at work) and a lack of leisure time operates as a visible signal of status in the eyes of others.”

    The researchers pointed out that the Wall Street Journal's 2016 advert campaign featured celebrities (名人) complaining about their busy lives, with the slogan (标语). “People who don't have time, make time to read the Wall Street Journal.”

    The report, which was published in the Journal of Consumer Research, also found that brands that marketed themselves as timesaving were becoming increasingly high-status, because of the people who used them.

    According to the authors, this trend of humblebragging is due to people's shit of focus-they now value “the preciousness und scarcity (稀缺) of individuals" more than “the preciousness and scarcity of goods”.

    “Busy individuals possess desirable characteristics, leading them to be viewed as scarce and in demand,” the authors concluded.

    It was a cold winter day. A woman drove up to the Rainbow Bridge tollbooth (收费站). “I'm paying for myself, and for the six cars behind me,” she said with a smile, handing over seven tickets. One after another, the next six drivers arriving at the tollbooth were informed, “Some lady up ahead already paid your fare.”

    It turned out that the woman, Natalie Smith, had read something on a friend's refrigerator: “Practice random(随意的，随机的) kindness and aimless acts of beauty.” The phrase impressed her so much that she copied it down.

    Judy Foreman spotted the same phrase on a warehouse wall far away from home. When it stayed on her mind for days, she gave up and drove all the way back to copy it down. “I thought it was beautiful,” she said, explaining why she'd taken to writing it at the bottom of all her letters, “like a message from above.” Her husband, Frank, liked the phrase so much that he put it up on the classroom wall for his students, one of whom was the daughter of Alice Johnson, a local news reporter. Alice put it in the newspaper, admitting that though she liked it, she didn't know where it came from or what it really meant.

    Two days later, Alice got a call from Anne Herbert, a woman living in Marin. It was in a restaurant that Anne wrote the phrase down on a piece of paper, after turning it around in her mind for days.

    “Here's the idea,” Anne says. “Anything you think there should be more of, do it randomly.” Her fantasies (imagination) include painting the classrooms of poor schools, leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor part of town, and giving money secretly to a proud old lady. Anne says, “Kindness can build on itself as much as violence can.”

    The acts of random kindness spread. If you were one of those drivers who found your fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later. Like all great events, kindness begins slowly, with every single act. Let it be yours!

    Living and dealing with kids can be a tough job these days, but living and dealing with parents can be even tougher.

    If I have learned anything in my 16 years, it is that communication is very important, both when you disagree and when you get along. With any relationship, you need to let other person know how you are feeling. If you are not able to communicate, you drift apart()疏远). When you are mad at your parents, or anyone else, not talking to them doesn't solve anything.

    Communication begins with the concerns of another. It means that you can't just come home from school, go up to your room and ignore everyone. Even if you just say "Hi", and see how their day was for five minutes, it is better than nothing.

    If you looked up the word "communication" in a dictionary, it would say "the exchange of ideas, the conveyance（表达）of information, correspondence （通信）, means of communication: a letter or a message". To maintain (保持) a good relationship, you must keep communication strong. Let people know how you feel, even if it's just by writing a note.

    When dealing with parents, you always have to make them feel good about how they are doing as a parent. If you are trying to make them see something as you see it, tell them that you'll listen to what they have to say, but ask them politely to listen to you. Yelling or walking away only makes the situation worse.

    This is an example: one night, Sophie went to a street party with her friends. She knew she had to be home by midnight after the fireworks, but she didn't feel she could just ask to go home. That would be rude. After all, they had been nice enough to take her along with them. Needless to say, she was late getting home. Her parents were mad at first, but when Sophie explained why she was late, they weren't as mad and let the incident go. Communication is the key factor here. If Sophie's parents had not been willing to listen, Sophie would have been in a lot of trouble.

    Communication isn't a one-way deal: it goes both ways. Just remember: if you get into a situation like Sophie's, telling the other person how you feel and listening is the key factor to communication.

    New research brings some good news for lovers of spicy(辛辣的) foods, after finding that eating hot red chili peppers might help to extend lifespan（寿命）.

    Consuming hot red chili peppers might reduce death risk, say Chopan and Littenberg from the research team. In hot peppers, such as Mexico peppers, the strong flavor comes from a compound(复合物), which does not exist in sweet peppers or onions. Studies have suggested that this compound can offer a welth of health benefits.

    A study of more than 16,000 people in the United States revealed that individuals who consumed red chili peppers had a lower risk of death from all causes over an average of 18 years than those who did not eat the spicy food. Compared with participants who did not consume hot red chili peppers, those who did were found to be at 13 percent reduced risk of all-cause death.

    For example, a recent study reported by Medical News Today, found that the compound might have the potential to stop breast cancer, while an earlier study linked the compound to a reduced risk of digest system cancers. Still, the available data suggested that hot red chili pepper consumption was most strongly associated with a reduced risk of death from heart disease.

    While the researchers are unable to identify the concrete compound by which red chili peppers might extend lifepan, the team says that it is likely due to the compound that is effectively against obesity(肥胖症).

    Overall, the team says that these latest findings support those of the 2015 study, linking spicy food intake to reduced risk of death by showing “a significant decrease in death associated with hot red chili pepper consumption.” However, Chopan and Littenberg note that the earlier study was only conducted in Chinese adults, so the now research makes these findings more credible.

    Eating out is such a pleasure ― the food, the wine, the joy of having it all brought to you by someone else—that it's a pity to ruin the experience by sharing it with other people.

    Well, I do like visiting restaurants with friends. But dining out alone has its own very special attractions. For a start you can give all your attention to the food. There's nothing worse than having to invent and deliver an opinion on school league tables or Sanchez's move to Manchester United, plus listen to everyone else's opinions, when all you really want to do is enjoy each mouthful along the way.

    A second great thing about eating out alone is the chance to combine food with one of life's other true pleasures: reading. You have to plan this carefully: Indian or Chinese restaurants are best ― you need food you can eat with just one hand, leaving the other free to hold your reading material.

    But perhaps the biggest attraction of a table for one is the chance it gives to people-watching. Restaurants and the different reasons for visiting them ― first date, business meeting, night out with friends ― produce human behaviour of surprising richness and variety. Will the man selling his business idea get any joy out of his possible investor (投资者)? Will the married couple think of anything to say to each other before their main courses arrive?

    This "human zoo" part of eating out alone is one of the reasons I'd hate to be famous: everyone would be watching you, so you wouldn't be able to watch them. The snooker player Steve Davis says this was one of the strangest consequences (后果) of becoming well-known: he got very worried about his eating in public, almost to the level of doubting whether he was "doing it right."

    So next time you're considering your eating out choices, remember the advice of the businessman Nubar Gulbenkian: "The best number for a dinner party is two ― myself and a super head waiter."

    Alabama: Priester's Pecans

    Dessert in the South basically starts and ends with an ooey­gooey pecan (核桃) pie. Especially in Alabama, where the pecan is the official state nut. While there are plenty of farms that pick and package pecans, perhaps the most famous is Priester's, a family­run business that's been supplying Alabama with its favorite nuts for over seven decades.

    Alaska: Salmon jerky

    Forget beef jerky (肉干) ­ in Alaska, it's all about the salmon jerky. Home to five different species of the flavorful fish (king, red, pink, silver, and chum), the northernmost state produces nearly one­third of the wild salmon consumed around the world. Bonus: Salmon is one of the seven healthiest fish you can eat.

    Arizona: Saguaro cactus

    The largest cactus (仙人掌) in the United States, the saguaro cactus is found only in Arizona's Sonoran Desert. Living to be up to 200 years old, the cacti, whose flower is also the state's flower, are generally around 30 feet tall and can grow unlimited arms. Want to see for yourself? Visit one of these 10 outstanding desert escapes in America.

    California: Wine Guide

    It isn't called "Wine Country" for no reason. Northern California, specifically Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, produce over 60,000 registered wine labels, making vino (酒类产品) the state's most valuable agricultural product. If you're looking for the most popular varietals (优质酿酒葡萄汁), the top two frequently planted grapes are chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon.