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?

    The world seems gloomy (阴沉的) and gray when you're feeling blue. In fact, being down might even affect how you perceive (感知) the colour blue. A recent study about colour was published in the journal Psychological Science. It shows a direct connection between a person's ability to perceive colour and their emotions.

    Psychologists have long known that emotions can affect the way people perceive things. That's in part because chemicals from your brain might affect how you process what you see. “Color is such an important part of our experience,” says lead author Christopher Thorstenson, a psychologist at the university of Rochester, in New York. There's reason, he says, that sad people commonly describe the world as “colourless” and “gray”, and happy people use words like “bright” and “colorful”.

    In the experiment, the researchers randomly assigned people to one of two groups. People in the sadness group watched a sad scene from The Lion King. Those in the “amusement” group watched a comedy.

    Everyone was then asked to look at red, yellow, green, and blue patches (斑点) that had been changed to a grayish colour. “Some of the patches are pretty difficulty to make out,” Thorstenson admits he says it takes some time to figure out their shade. People were scored on how accurate their colour perception was. Then they completed an emotional evaluation.

    The result? Sad people had a hard time seeing the difference between shades along the blue-yellow colour axis (色轴). But they did not have problems seeing colours in the red-green spectrum (光谱). Thorstenson says this could be the result of an evolutionary need to see red as a response to anger.

    Thorstenson says these results highlight the possible important of dopamine in sight. Dopamine is a chemical that sends signals to the brain. Researchers are hoping to focus more on dopamine in the future. “We know dopamine affects how we see colours, too,” Thorstenson says “How we feel can really influence how we see the world around us” he says.

    I've been in the taxicab business for thirty-five years, and I know there is a lot about it that is not so good. Taxicab drivers have to be tough fellows to be able to work in New York. You've got to fight the New York traffic eight hours a day these days, so people get the wrong impression that they are bad.

    Actually, taxi drivers are just like other people. Most of them will behave as honest fellows. You read in the papers almost every week that a taxi driver turns in money or jewels that people leave in their cabs. If they weren't honest, you wouldn't be reading those stories in the papers.

    One time in Brooklyn, I found a diamond ring in my cab. I remembered helping a lady with a lot of packages that day, so I went back to where I had dropped her. It took me almost two days to trace her down in order to return her ring to her. I didn't get as much as “thank you”. Still I felt good because I had done what was right. I think I felt better than she did.

    I was born and raised in Ireland and lived there until I was nineteen years old. Then I came to this country where I had a family and bought my own cab. Life hasn't been too easy at times, but my wife takes care of our money and we have a good bit put away for a rainy day.

    When I started driving a cab, Park Avenue was mostly a bunch of coal yards. Hoofer's Brewery was right next to where the Waldorf-Astoria is now. I did pretty well, even in those days. In all my years of driving a taxicab, I have never had any trouble with the public, not even with drunks.

    I believe honesty is one of the greatest gifts. I know they call it a lot of fancy names these days, like integrity（正直）, etc. But it doesn't make any difference what they call it; it's still what makes a man a good citizen. This is my code, and I try to live by.

    An earthquake is one of the most common natural disasters. It may cause great damage.  So it is wise to learn some simple safety tips to protect yourself or your family members.

    Fragile items, like those made of glass should usually be placed on a lower surface, near the ground instead of placing them on cupboards higher up. Never place them near your bed, sofas and other furniture where you would be sitting or lying down. When there is a strong movement, these pieces will fall on the floor directly and not on you.

    There is a strong chance of short circuits（短路）and fire breakouts during an earthquake. Make sure you turn off electrical connections and gas immediately when an earthquake happens.

    During an earthquake, lie beneath an object that is not easily damaged. Do not go near objects that could directly fall on you. Never use the elevator to go down. Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries happen when people inside buildings try to go out. Use the staircases at all times.

    If you are outdoors, do not take shelter under a tree, streetlights, electric poles or tall buildings. If you are driving, stop your car and stay in a safe place. Do not park your car under a tree or any tall object.

    If trapped in debris (瓦砾堆), cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing. Tap on a pipe or wall so rescuers can find you. Use a whistle (哨子) if one is available. Never shout for help. Shouting can cause you to breathe in dangerous amounts of dust. Do not light a match because you may burn yourself. Do not move about or kick up dust.

    Like any new ninth­grader on the first day of school, Joemar Class had ninth­grader emotion (情绪). He's not used to school in Hartford. He's used to going to school in his hometown of Florida, used to seeing his friends, used to having class in Spanish.

    "Nervioso，"he said in Spanish.

    We first met Joemar in mid­October in the San Juan Airport. His father, Guillermo Class, had sold his car to buy plane tickets to get his kids and fly them up from Puerto Rico. The island was almost destroyed (毁坏) by the deadly storm — Hurricane Maria.

    Now, they are settling into their new home in Hartford's South End. A week later, and, using his wife's car, Class drove 16­year­old Joemar to his first day at Bulkeley High School. After a short ride, he got out in front of his new school. Inside, he met Gretchen Levitz — the school's program director.

    "I see you have a new uniform (校服)," Levitz said. "You look great. Are you ready for a good first day？"

    Then he met a couple of teachers.

    "Hello," they each said in Spanish. They asked where he's from, and told him they were happy to see him. Then, Levitz took him on a quick tour of the school before classes began — to her office, the school store, the library, and the dining hall.

    A total of 19 languages are spoken in Bulkeley High School. "We have so many new students coming here from other countries every single day," Levitz said. "So it's not like he's the only one who has that feeling."

    "You could tell he's a little worried," Guillermo said as we left. "But, at the same time, he's looking forward to it."

At age 22, Hikari Oberman has already been a lifeguard for four years. Last week, Oberman talked to The Garden Island about how he helped save lives during a recent rescue.

On Dec. 30, Oberman and his coworker Cope were parked in their truck at Anini Beach when two workers ran up to them and said, "I think someone's getting stuck in the channel!"

"I grabbed our equipment. We started rolling out down there," Oberman said. When he got out there, Oberman found a standup paddler, a man in his late 30s, struggling against the current, with an elderly man holding tightly to the back of the paddleboard (冲浪板).

He said, "My coworker grabbed the standup guy. Meanwhile, I'm stuck with the older man. "

Normally, Oberman said he would pull the paddler up, lay him on the surfboard, climb up behind and paddle from there. He tried that technique at first and quickly realized it was not a practicable option. They are not going anywhere.

Waves hit against the extremely sharp reef very hard about 30 yards behind them, and the current was pulling them into it.

"It's right behind us. If I stop paddling, we're definitely going to be in that zone." He said.

They started making progress toward the reef, where they might safely be able to climb out. Oberman just focused on forward movement.

After about five minutes-"even though it felt longer" -Oberman said his partner had gotten the paddleboarder safely to shore and started coming back out to help.

"I look back, and I see our Jet Ski. He's finally coming in the channel. We're not going to have to worry about that now. "

It was a good rescue.

When asked what it feels like to save someone's life, Oberman responded, "I love it! That's why we do it!" But as exciting as it might be to perform a big rescue, he explained that the most important part of his job is to keep people from getting into trouble in the first place.