For many people,being on the job might just sound like a picnic compared to a day at home filled with housework,meals and childcare.Even for those with a happy family life,home can sometimes feel more taxing than work.

    In a new study,researchers at Penn State University found significantly and consistently lower levels of cortisol（皮质醇）released in response to stress,in a majority of subjects when they were at work compared to when they were at home.This was true for both men and women,and parents and people without children.

    Both men and women showed less stress at work.But women were more likely to report feeling happier there. Men were more likely to feel happier at home.Experts say there are other reasons why work is less stressful than home for many."Paid work is more valued in society,"says Sarah Damaske,the lead researcher on the study. "Household work is boring and not particularly rewarding."

    We get better at our job with time and the increased competence means less stress and more rewards.Yet none of us,no matter how long we've been doing it,ever truly feels like an expert at parenting or even at marriage.

    The support and friendship of co-workers also offer stress relief.At home,meanwhile,stress spreads and accumulates（积累）quickly."That's the reason why most housewives wish they were the bread earners,"Dr.Damaske says.

    Much of the advice to families and couples include the warning to "leave work stress at the office" and even to change our mind-set from work to home,for example,a walk around the block.The recent findings,though,suggest  our home life,not our attitude,might be due for some change.

    As is known to us all, everyone can make mistakes. But don't worry about it. The following is what we should do when we make mistakes.

●Just admit (承认) it. Don't think that our mistakes are caused by others. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Don't blame other people, and don't cheat ourselves, either.

●{#blank#}2{#/blank#} In order to stop the problem from getting worse, we should act quickly to solve it. If we don't act and deal with the problem quickly, it'll only make us feel more stressed. Also it is necessary to make a plan of action and correct the mistake according to it. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

●{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Those who have made the most mistakes can get an A, for they are the ones who have learned the most. The more we learn from our mistakes, the cleverer we are.

●Think about what we can learn from our mistakes. What caused us to make the mistake? {#blank#}5{#/blank#}When we act with a method to get a good result, do it that way next time. If we don't, we should stop, think about it, change it and try again.

A. Solve it at once.

B. So be away from stress.

C. Don't be afraid of failure.

D. So decide quickly and act.

E. Realize that making mistakes is the best way to learn.

F. How can we avoid making the same mistake in the future?

G. Be brave and face the fact that we have made the mistakes.

     Becoming Refreshed without sleeping

Sometimes there is just not enough hours in the day to get everything done and get a good night's rest.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Once in a while you can get away with a sleepless night and still feel reasonably good by adjusting your meals and activities.

     {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The last thing you want to do when you are tired is get warm and cozy, this will cause you to fall asleep. Keeping the air conditioner on will make you feel much more alert and refreshed.

     Eat small amounts. Eating small amounts of healthy food will help refresh you. Fruit and nuts are a good choice because they are nutritious and will energize you {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Try to stick to low carbon meals to keep you going. Chewing gum after your snack or small meal will also help keep you awake.

     Keep it bright. When it is dark your body thinks it is time to go to sleep. Turn on lots of lights, which will trick your body into waking up and feeling better. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You get double the benefits if it is daytime.

     Take a break. Taking a little break will help you in the long run. Turn up some energizing music to get yourself positive. Relax and talk to a friend in person or on the phone for a few minutes.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Keep it cool

B. Calm down and sleep

C. Avoid big, heavy meals as they will make you tired

D. Going outside whether it is day or night for some fresh air

E. Missing sleep regularly can make you sick and should be avoided

F. When you are tired, you may just want to sit around and do nothing

G. Having a good time for a few minutes will refresh you quicker than anything else.

    A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. They talked about the present-day hot topic—Happiness, but conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

    Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and different kinds of cups-porcelain（陶瓷的）, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some extremely beautiful—telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

    When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said, “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.”

    “Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup. But you consciously went for the best cups…And then you began coveting each other's cups.”

    “Now consider this: life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us. God brews（酿造）the coffee, not the cups…Enjoy your coffee! The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.”

    Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

    Leave the rest to God.

    "Hey, little boy, will you support me when I'm getting old?" Wang Wenshan, 35, asked his newborn baby as he hugged him at home.

    The Chinese tradition of raising sons to support parents in their old age has been weakened by the rapidly growing economy and improved standard of living. As is the case with more and more developed countries, China faces an aging society. People are living longer and having fewer children. Therefore, many Chinese families are falling into a 4-2-1 family pattern: a couple raises one child and supports four elderly parents. But few realize that a problem is likely to happen ahead.

    The aging of the population is a trend that now affects a growing number of countries. The Information Office of the State Council, China's cabinet, issued（发行） a white paper on measures China has been taking to help its elderly population. The paper said China's population entered the aging period at the end of the 20th century and the proportion of people aged 60 and above accounted for over 10 percent of the entire population. By the end of 2005, China had nearly 144 million people over 60, accounting for 11 percent of the population, according to the white paper.

An expanding aged population inevitably means that many issues must be settled, as the problem concerns every aspect of society. It puts more pressure on each family, causing disturbing economic consequences and serious social problems. It also challenges the labor force supply and the pension system.

    "I used to think that it's not an issue for me to provide for the aged," said Wang, whose parents and parents-in-law all enjoy pensions and medical insurance. But last year Wang's father suffered from a serious illness and afterward Wang began to feel the pressure on his shoulders.

    After his father recovered, Wang opened a bank account for each parent and put away some money in the account every month to prepare for future uncertainties. In addition, he has to save money every month to provide for his son's future education. "I'm now breaking my back to support my family: saving pensions for the parents, my son's education funds, and living costs."

    Wang also bought some commercial old-age insurance for himself. "We have to take precautions（预防） before it is too late, and many of my colleagues share the same view," he said.

    A man going abroad to work leaves his young lady crying. "Don't worry, I will write to you every day," he said. For years he did write to her. But since he was happy with his job, he had no immediate plans of going home. One day, he received a wedding invitation. His girlfriend was scheduled to be married. To whom? To the mailman bringing regularly the letters of her boyfriend! Indeed, distance does make hearts struggle.

    While presents are important, love demands what is basic: presence of the beloved.

    Martha was busy with her job. She believed she had to work harder because she loved her father who had serious disease. She had to provide for his expensive medicine. Her brothers and sisters meanwhile stayed with their father most of the time. They bathed him, sang for him, spoon­fed him or simply kept him company.

    One day Martha was hurt. She overheard her father telling her mother, "All our children love me except Martha." "How can this be?" Martha thought. "Am I not the one killing myself in my work to earn money to buy for his medicine? My brothers and sisters do not even provide their share in the expenses as much as I do."

    One night, as Martha was as usual late in going home, she peeped for the first time in the room where her father was lying. She noticed that her father was still awake. She decided to come close at his bedside. Her father held her hands and said, "I miss you. I don't have much time. Stay with me." And she stayed with her father holding his hand the whole night.

    The next morning Martha said to everyone, "I have taken a leave of absence. I would like to be with my father. I will bathe him and sing for him from now on." Her father had a beautiful smile. He knew this time Martha loved him.

    As children, we need the assuring presence of our loved ones. Adult people need no less.