Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet… We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically.

    Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brain to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption（摄入） of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale（秤）instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels(标签).

    On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without knowing that we don't have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance（抵制and struggle.

    The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients(营养成分). Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemical that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.

    Now that we know the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological harm that comes from using them.

    How many times do you check your Moments or Facebook page in a day to see whether your latest post has got another “like” or “thumbs up”?

    Although you might be embarrassed to admit how many times you do this, don't worry. Psychological findings have shown it's completely normal.

    In fact, the pleasure we derive from (取自) getting a “like” is equal to that of eating chocolate or winning money, and we can't help wanting more.

    According to the findings of the UCLA Brain Mapping Center, which observed 32 teens aged between 13 and 18, the feedback circuit (反馈电路) in the teens' brains are particularly sensitive, and the “social” and “visual” parts of their brains were activated when they received “likes” on a social network. The research also showed that though the thumbs up might come from complete strangers, the good they derive from it worked equally.

    So does it mean we should try our best to win as many thumbs up as possible?

    Not necessarily so if we know the reasons behind our desire for attention.

    In “Why do people crave (渴望) attention” by M. Farouk Radwan, he explained several cases in which people naturally longed for attention. Radwan said people who were an only child, who were used to being the center of attention in their house, may try to reproduce these conditions. Feeling “overlooked and unappreciated” might also lead you to be eager for attention. Other times, the state of being jealous or wanting to cover your mistakes may also contribute to such longings.

    In fact, too much desire for attention can create anxiety, and in turn ruin your happiness even when you get it. So what can we do about it? The answer is quite simple.

    “If people could adopt goals not focused on their own self-esteem (自尊) but on something larger than their self, such as what they can create or contribute to others, they would be less sensitive to some of the negative effects of pursuing self-esteem,” wrote psychology professor Jennifer Crocker in the Journal of Social Issues.

    French writer Frantz Fanon once said: ＂To speak a language is to take on a world, a culture.＂ Since the world changes every day, so does our language.

    More than 300 new words and phrases have recently made it into the online Oxford Dictionary, and in one way or another they are all reflections of today's changing world.

    After a year that was politically unstable, it's not hard to understand the fact that people's political views are one of the main drives of our expanding vocabulary. One example is ＂clicktivism＂, a compound of ＂click＂ and ＂activism＂. It refers to ＂armchair activists＂ — people who support a political or social cause, but only show their support from behind a computer or smartphone. And ＂otherize＂ is a verb for ＂other＂ that means to alienate (使疏远)people who are different from ourselves — whether that be different skin color, religious belief or sexuality.

    Lifestyle is also changing our language. For example, ＂fitspiration＂ — a compound of fit and inspiration — refers to a person or thing that encourages one to exercise and stay fit and healthy.

    The phrase ＂climate refugee＂ — someone who is forced to leave their home due to climate change—reflects people's concern for the environment.

 According to Stevenson, social media was the main source for the new expressions. ＂People feel much freer to coin their own words these days,＂ he said.

    But still, not all newly-invented words get the chance to make their way into a mainstream (主流的) dictionary. If you want to create your own hit words, Angus Stevenson, Oxford Dictionaries head of content development, suggests that you should not only make sure that they are expressive (有表现力的) and meaningful, but also have an attractive sound so that people will enjoy saying them out loud.

    Finding a winter job is often a proof(证明)that you're growing up, and it's also a method for earning money to pay for what you dream of. It's never too early to start considering the future. Now, here are some good choices for you!

    Retail (零售) Sales

    Retail offers plenty of opportunity for teens who are looking for a job. This type of work can pay from $10 to $15 an hour depending upon the duty you are expected to take on. It can also be great for teens who are friendly and enjoy talking to other people. For more information, call us at 4005075.

    Food Service

    A job in the food service industry is a natural fit for sociable teens who enjoy communicating with the public. It allows employees to work as part of a team while learning about following instructions. It also comes with the opportunity to earn between $8 and $10 per hour. Just call 4005077 for more information.

    Babysitter

    This job requires someone who is highly responsible. Though it pays generally between $6 and $8 hourly, it also requires a lot of patience. This is a great choice for teens who wish to make a career in teaching, child care, social work or any other field that makes use of social skills or requires interaction with kids. Got a question? Just call 4005076.

    Housekeeping

    This type of work can bring in about $5 an hour and it will allow teens to learn the tourism industry, so hotels are often looking for more housekeeping staff, and parks often need more people to assist with keeping public areas clean and organized as well. Telephone: 4005079

    Everyone knows about New York City's most popular attractions, but here are some activities you might not think about doing on your NYC( New York City) vacation. Surprise yourself with some great things to do in New York City.

    Looking for something thrilling to do while you visit New York City? For over ten years, Trapeze school New York has been teaching people how to fly on the trapeze. Their beginner classes last two hours and cost $50-70, plus one-time $22 registration fee. From April to October, their outdoor location on the Hudson River offers a spectacular setting for the experience, but they also have an indoor location that is open year-round.

    Learn to Surf

    Rockaway Beach is a popular destination for East Coast surfers, but even if you've never surfed, there are plenty of folks happy to teach you at Rockaway Beach. Locals Surf School offers two-hour group lessons starting at $80, including all the vehicles you need. Frank from Rockaway Beach also offers surfing lessons.

    Get Kissed by a Sea Lion

    Sign up for a Sea Lion Encounter at the New York Aquarium, and you'll have the chance to get to get up close and personal with the Sea Lions after the show. After a short orientation, participants will each get a chance to pose for a photo and get a kiss from a sea lion. Sea Lion Encounters cost $20 and are offered after Sea Lion Celebration shows. Participants must be at least 5 years old, and those who're 5-7 years old must be held by their parents/caregivers during any animal interaction (互动).

    Experience Fall Leaves

    Although New York City doesn't have as many colorful leaves as New England, there are still some great ways to enjoy the changing leaves during a fall visit to New York City, both in the city and beyond. Whether you want to walk around one of New York City's great parks or take a fall leaves sightseeing cruise up the Hudson River, you can get a taste of the beautiful fall colors when you visit New York City.

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    Right now, I am looking at a shelf full of relics, a collection of has-beens, old-timers, antiques, fossils. Right now, I am looking at a shelf full of books. Yes, that's right. If you have some spare cash (the going rate is about $89) and you are looking to enhance your reading experience, then I highly suggest you consider purchasing an e-reader. E-readers are replacing the books of old and I welcome them with open arms (as you should).

    An e-reader is a device that allows you to read e-books. An e-book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images or both, and produced on, published through and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the e-book as "an electronic version of a printed book", but e-books can and do exist without any printed equivalent.

    E-readers put printed books to shame. E-readers are superior to printed books because they save space, are environmentally friendly and provide helpful reading tips and tools that printed books do not.

    The average e-reader can store thousands of digital books, providing a genuine library at your fingertips. What is more, the e-reader itself is very small. It is easy to hold and can fit in a pocketbook or briefcase easily. This makes handling wooden giant such as War and Peace and Anna Karenina a breeze. Perhaps the only drawback to the space-saving aspect of an e-reader is that it requires you to find new things to put on your shelves.

    In addition, e-readers are environmentally friendly. The average novel is about 300 pages long. So, if a novel is printed 1000 times, it will use 300,000 pieces of paper. That's a lot of paper! And for the super bestsellers, these figures increase dramatically. For example, the Harry Potter book series has sold over 450 million copies. That's about 2 million trees! Upon viewing these figures, it is not hard to grasp the severe impact of printed books on the environment. Since e-readers use no trees, they represent a significant amount of preservation in terms of the environment and its resources.

    Finally, e-readers provide helpful reading tips and tools that printed books do not. The typical e-reader allows its user to adjust letter size, letterform and line spacing. It also allows highlighting and electronic bookmarking.

    Furthermore, it grants users the ability to get an overview of a book and then jump to a specific location based on that overview. While these are all nice features, perhaps the most helpful of all is the ability to get dictionary definitions at the touch of a finger. On even the most basic e-reader, users can find instant definitions without having to hunt through a physical dictionary.

    It can be seen that e-readers are superior to printed books. They save space, are environmentally friendly and provide helpful reading tips and tools that printed books do not. So what good are printed books? Well, they certainly make nice decorations.