What Will Be Done-With All This Denim?

    All the denim (牛仔布) will be donated to Cotton From Blue to Green, which recycles jeans into UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation (纤维隔热材料), which is used to help build houses in places that have been damaged by hurricanes and other natural disasters. Your jeans will help keep clothes out of landfills (垃圾场), and build houses for families to live in! UltraTouch is made of 85% recycled fibers and is an environmentally safe, natural cotton fiber insulation.

It's a Fact

    It takes about 500 pairs of jeans to recycle enough denim to insulate one average-size U.S house.

Here's How You Can Get Involved!

1). Get a parent's permission and select as many denim jeans as you like. (Any denim clothing is OK)

2). The denim must be used.

3). The denim can be any brand.

4). The denim can be any color or size but must have been worn by a human (no doll clothes!).

5). Jeans must be received by June 30, 2017.

    By donating denim, you can give it a “new life” by converting it into UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation. Click here for more information about the denim drive.

    UltraTouch is composed of 85% recycled fibers and is an environmentally safe, non- itch natural cotton fiber insulation. For more information about UltraTouch, click here.

    Both men and women are living longer these days in industrialized countries. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In general, they can expect to live six or seven years more than men. One reason for this is biological.

    One important biological factor(因素) that helps women live longer is the difference in hormones between men and women. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Between the ages of about 12 and 50, women produce hormones that are involved in fertility(生育能力). These hormones also have a positive effect on the heart and the blood flow. In fact, women are less likely to have high blood pressure or to die from heart attacks.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} They help the body defend itself against some kinds of infections. This means that women generally get sick less often and less seriously than men. The common cold is a good example: women, on average, get fewer colds than men.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Scientists are still not exactly sure how genes influence aging, but they believe they do. Some think that a woman's body cells have a tendency(倾向) to age more slowly than a man's. Others think that a man' s body cells have a tendency to age more quickly. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. However, women, on average, live longer.

B. The biological factor plays an important part.

C. Women are also helped by their female genes.

D. The female hormones also protect the body in another way.

E. Recent research seems to support both of these possibilities.

F. Therefore, women are more healthy than men and can live a better life.

G. Hormones are chemicals which are produced by the body to control various body functions.

Distance runners often worry about “hitting the wall” during training or races—that terrible moment when negative thoughts become so overpowering that they make it difficult to continue.

Hitting the wall typically happens around 20 miles in a marathon, when the body's supplies become exhausted. At this point, many runners feel exhausted and discouraged, slow their pace, have trouble focusing and want to quit or walk.

“Generalized tiredness, unintentionally slowing their pace, the desire to walk, and shifting focus to just surviving the marathon appear to be particularly common characteristics of it,” said Dr. Alistair McCormick, an exercise psychologist in England who co-authored a new study. “A marathon becomes a real mental battle when runners ‘hit the wall.'”

    Psychological blocks are an extremely common experience for recreational endurance (耐力) athletes, according to the study. To learn how they affect people, sports psychologists asked 30 recreational runners and cyclers about the psychological demands of training, preparing for and participating in competitions.

     “Recreational runners and cyclists found it stressful trying to find the time to train, McCormick said. “What was also interesting was the number of potential banana skins they met with before and during competition-disasters that could cause the athletes to lose their focus and their motivation to keep persevering.”

    These roadblocks included difficult environmental conditions and equipment failure, problems with nutrition or making a mistake, the study reported. The athletes in the study said they fell these obstacles (障碍) affected their motivation and concentration, negatively affecting their overall performance.

According to the study, 43 percent of marathoners are likely to hit the wall during a race. Finding ways to move past those kinds of experiences, then, could have major benefits for an athlete's performance and well-being.

    Sitting is an art that isn't getting passed along. People these days feel as though they have to be doing something. If they are not working, they are jogging, or playing tennis or golf to guard against illnesses, or taking courses to improve their minds or bodies -- or they are parked in front of the TV. Sitting in front of the TV isn't sitting -- it's watching.

    People used to sit a whole lot. You would walk down the street or drive down the road, and there they would be, out on the doorsteps, sitting. You could go to the grocery to buy some garlic or some fruits and vegetables and sit on the bench out front m the summer or around the fire in the winter. You could go down to the store to buy an outer garment, an electric grill or anything else. There were sitting benches out in the town square. At the garage, there were straight-backed chairs. There among the oilcans and tires and spare parts, you could kick back and sit.

    Houses used to have sitting rooms, where the grown-ups would go after Sunday dinner. Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Aunt Ruby would gather round, sit and digest (消化) the fried chicken and talk about Aunt Ethel's illness, and how well the minister did today. They may just talk a load of garbage and even gesture with their hands when they become excited. Outside, the younger generation, the children would play on the ground, and the afternoon would pass by in a comfortable haze（ 悠闲的氛围).

    That sort of thing looks like doing nothing. A recharging battery (正充电的电池) doesn't look as if it's doing anything either. Sitting restores your soul. If you want to enjoy a truly full life, don't just do something--sit there.

    One of the features of a successful business is its ability to employ creativity to constantly push into new territory. Without growth and innovation, businesses eventually fade away. Those with staying power, however, have mastered an often-overlooked factor that allows them to focus on the future clearly: empathy (共情). While that may surprise many, I am certain that the ability to connect with and relate to others—empathy in its purest form—is the force that moves businesses forward.

    Though the concept of empathy might go against the modern concept of a traditional workplace competitive, the reality is that for business leaders to experience success, they need to not just see or hear the activity around them, but also relate to the people they serve.

    Some may think they want the results from doggedly (顽强地) pursuing their goals without much thought for other people. This attitude works for some, but at some point often sooner rather than later everyone needs to rely on their relationships and established personal and professional connections. These relationships are the product of taking an honest and dedicated interest in others and their businesses. Successful people do not operate alone; each of us needs the support of others to achieve positive results that push us toward our goals. True empathy combines understanding both the emotional and the logical rationale(根据) that goes into every decision.

    Effectively understanding empathy involves viewing it as each person's connection to the people and marketplace that surround them. A biological principle known as co-evolution explains that the adaptation of an organism is caused by the change of a related object. Similarly, businesses and their leaders participate in co-evolution-type relationships. Business success depends on empathetic leaders who are able to adapt, build on the strengths around them, and relate to their environment. When businesses fail, it is often because leaders have stopped focusing on understanding their environment and instead stay separated in their own operations. Successful business leaders are receptive to disturbance and aware of what is going on in their organizations both internally and externally.

    To develop an effective workforce, we must be willing to give in and meet people where they are. This can be frustrating and uncomfortable, particularly when you feel like your position makes more sense or offers a better solution. A critical part of developing empathy, however, is learning to understand, respect and implement another individual's point of view rather than forcing your own.

    The impression you make at the beginning of an interview is very important. Employers often decide to hire someone in the first three minutes of the interview. They judge you by your appearance, attitude and manners.

    A friendly smile when you walk into the room is important. A smile shows a confident and positive attitude.

    When you introduce yourself, make eye contact with the interviewer. Some interviewers offer a handshake. Others don't.

    Try to be as natural as possible. But pay attention to your body language. The way you sit, walk, gesture, use your voice and show feelings on your face is all part of your body language. It makes the interviewer know how you feel about yourself and the situation you are in. Are you feeling positively about yourself? Your abilities? Your interest in the job?

    Speak clearly and loudly enough. Show interest and enthusiasm in your voice. When you speak, look at the interviewer. Also, don't say negative things about yourself, or former employer.

    Listen to questions carefully. If you don't understand a question, ask the interviewer to repeat or explain:

    "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch that."

    "I'm not sure exactly what you mean."

    Almost everyone is nervous in a job interview. Interviewers know that. They don't expect you to be totally calm and relaxed. But they expect you to try to control your nervousness. They expect you to show confidence in your ability to do the job.

    At the end of the interview, thank the interviewer for her or his time.

    It's a good idea to send a short thank-you letter right after the interview, or deliver it by hand.

    Phone the company if you have not heard anything after one week. Ask if they have made a decision about the job.

    Good luck!