Let's say you want to hit the gym more regularly this year. How do you make that happen? Consider putting the habit loop to use.

    Here's how it works:

    A habit is a 3-step process. First, there's a cue, something that tells your brain to operate automatically. Then there's a routine. And finally, a reward, which helps your brain learn to desire the behavior. It's what you can use to create-or break-habits of your own.

    Here's how to apply it:

    Choose a cue, like leaving your running shoes by the door, then pick. a reward-say, a piece of chocolate when you get home from the gym. That way, the cue and the reward become interconnected. Finally, when you see the shoes, your brain will start longing for the reward, which will make it easier to work out day after day. The best part? In a couple of weeks, you won't need the chocolate at all. Your brain will come to see the workout itself as the reward. Which is the whole point, right?

    Batteries can power anything from small sensors to large systems. While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller but even more powerful, problems can arise when these batteries are much larger and heavier than the devices themselves. University of Missouri(MU) researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient.

    “To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density (密度)”，said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU. “The radioisotope (放射性同位素) battery can provide power density that is much higher than chemical batteries.”

    Kwon and his research team have been working on building a small nuclear battery, presently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro/nanoelectromechanreal systems (MNEMS) Although nuclear batteries can cause concerns, Kwon said they are safe.

    “People hear the word 'nuclear' and think of something very dangerous,” he said, “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems.”

    His new idea is not only in the battery's size, but also in its semiconductor(半导体). Kwon's battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor.

    “The key part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure(晶体结构) of the solid semiconductor,” Kwon said, “By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem.”

    Together with J. David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, Kwon is working to build and test the battery, In the future, they hope to increase the battery's power, shrink its size and try with various other materials. Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair.

    Have you ever noticed that the more you have the more you want? Let's face it. Thinking our life is good enough doesn't come naturally to many people. When we have high expectations of everything in life we will run into disappointment. Only when we are aware that needs are different from desires can we live with satisfaction. Here are a few ideas to help you be happier with what you have and who you are.

    Focus on what you are thankful for. Most people want things to be better than they are, or when things are going well, we forget to appreciate what we have. Learn to reflect（反映）on how much better things are than they could be. Focus on what you are thankful for. Write down 5 things you are grateful for right now.

    When we hold onto regrets from decisions we have made, it can realty poison our well-being. Many people regret something they can no longer change, which ends up holding them back from moving forward in a more positive manner. What happened in the past is done and gone, so work to stay present and be mindful of the current （目前的）moment to find more joy and fulfillment（满足）.

    When we use other people as the measuring stick for our personal success and quality of life we are likely to be less satisfied. Social comparisons can provide useful information when we try to learn from others, but they also hold our perspective（观点）in a discontented position. Compare yourself less with others so you can be satisfied more.

    When you are focused on your big ambitions（抱负）and future goals you might elide the daily pleasures that surround you. Learn to slow down and absorb the wonder and beauty around you. Stay present and focus on the task you're doing at the moment. Don't let the life pass you by because you're always on the go and distracted（分心）by ambition.

    Practice looking at life through the lens of contentment（满意）and it will become more natural.

    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.

    Welcome to Oxford University Museums

    Ashmolean Museum

    Established in 1683, the Ashmolean Museum is the oldest museum in the UK and one of the oldest in the world. It houses the University's extensive collections of art and antiquities, ranging back over four millennia.

    Location: Beaumont Street   Tel: 01865278000

    Open: Tue. Sun. 10: 00-17: 00.

    Charge: Admission is free; special exhibitions are ticketed and a charge may apply

    Note: For group bookings   Tel: 01865278015

    Oxford University Museum of Natural History

    The University Museum of Natural History houses the University's collections of zoological, entomological, paleontological and mineral specimens. With 4. 5 million specimens it is the largest collection of its type outside of the national collections.

    Location: Parks Road   Tel: 01865 272950

    Open: 10: 00-17: 00 daily

    Charge: Admission is free

    Note: Groups must book in advance

    Museum of the History of Science

    The Museum of the History of Science is housed in the world's oldest surviving purpose-built museum building. It contains the world's finest collection of historic scientific instruments.

    Location: Broad Street   Tel: 01865277280

    Open: Tue.Sun.12: 00-17:00

    Charge: Admission is free

    Note: Booking required for groups of 15 or more

    Pitt Rivers Museum

    The Pitt Rivers Museum holds one of the world's finest collections of anthropology and archaeology, with objects from every continent and from throughout human history.

    Location: Parks Road enter via the Oxford University Museum of Natural History

    Tel: 01865270927

    Open: Tue. Sun. and Bank Holiday Mondays: 10: 00-16: 30

    Charge: Admission is free

    Note: Groups must book in advance

    When Shakespeare was twenty-one, he went to London, a very interesting place, to try his fortune.

    There was the famous London Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral, and palaces and markets and long streets full of shops.

    Then, too, there were the daily crowds where could be seen people from all over the world. Knights, scholars and the highwayman (拦路强盗）or thieves, who had been infamous for their clever robberies, passed by each other.

    Here, also, were noblemen dressed in gold, from Italy and Spain and France; slaves from Spanish America, sea captains and ministers, soldiers and servants—all held by chances or interests within the gray walls which circled London, and whose gates gave welcome to as strange a crowd as could be found in the world.

    Into this curious crowd came Shakespeare, quick to see and eager to learn. And before long all these strange sights were as familiar to him as the faces of his own town's residents. Each one told its story to him so plainly that, as before he had learned the secrets of the fields and woods, so now he learned men and men's interests that make up the great world.

    And he learned these lessons so well that when he came to write his plays, he made such use of them as no writer ever made before or since; for it is the use of this knowledge of the world, combined with his own genius, that makes Shakespeare the greatest dramatist that has ever lived.