Learning a second language

    Nowadays, more and more people are learning a second language. So why should we invest time in learning a second language? Is it worth it? What are the benefits of learning a second language? Let us see.

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    If your work involves regular contact with speakers of foreign languages, being able to talk to them in their own languages will help you to communicate with them better. It may also help you to make sales and to negotiate and secure contracts. Knowledge of foreign languages may also increase your chance of finding a new job, getting a promotion or a transfer overseas, or of going on foreign business trips.

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    Needless to say, being able to speak a foreign language, for example, the Japanese, would benefit you a lot when you are travelling to Japan. Being able to speak the language of the target country will save you a lot of communication trouble and inconvenience. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

Education

    If you are a high school student or a college student who is interested in going abroad for further education, then you will, in all possibility, have to learn the language of the country where you wish to move to, for further studies. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

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    Learning a second language can help in broadening one's horizon, it can help in learning about the culture of that particular country and it can pave the way for new interests and hobbies. Not only can you enjoy forms of art and literature connected with the new language, but you can also meet new people, make new friends and develop long-lasting relationships…all on the basis of learning a new language.

    While going through life with the pursuit of money on our mind, we're often told that money can't buy happiness. But what truth is there in the saying? Is there a relation between money and happiness?  {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Humans are very sensitive to change. When we get a rise, we really enjoy it. But some studies have shown that in North America, additional income beyond 75,000 dollars a year stops impacting day-to-day happiness. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}They often end up spending all the money, going into debt, and experience ruined social relationships.

    So surely money can't really buy happiness. Well, recent studies suggest that the problem may actually be in the way that we spend money. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Studies show that people who spend their money on others feel happier. As for the people who spend money on themselves, their happiness is unchanged.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} One experiment showed that instead of an organization writing a large check to a charity, dividing the amount up among employees, allowing them to contribute to a charity of their choice, increased their job satisfaction. Similarly, individuals that spend money on each other, as opposed to themselves, not only increase job satisfaction, but improve the team performance.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Interestingly, the specific way money is spent on others isn't important. Spending something on others is the important aspect of increasing your happiness.

    We eat in our cars, at our desks, on the go, and in front of the TV. We eat take-out, packaged and prepared meals. Why? Because it fits our not-enough-time-in-the-day lifestyles{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Well, I'm certainly not the first one to think it—or say it—but we all need to slow down.

    Consumer trends around the globe show that over the past three decades people are purchasing more prepared foods at the grocery and eating out more than ever before. It's predicted that we'll spend more at restaurants in the coming years{#blank#}2{#/blank#}However, we're getting less healthy.

    While debates can be seen indifferent media over the food industry's contribution to our growing waistlines and our health problems, the bottom line is this{#blank#}3{#/blank#}We can choose to eat a fast-food lunch on the go. We can throw a frozen meal in the microwave and call it dinner. We can eat without thinking, in front of the tube, at our computers, and while driving a car.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Studies have shown meaningful links between family meals and kids' mental and physical well-being. Eating sensibly doesn't take much time or money, but it does require you to make a conscious decision to do so. Wrapped in endless work, appointments and social activities, we often fail to enjoy a relaxing meal with our families.

    While it can be a challenge to always put healthy eating first, just do your best. Remember that the food you eat has a more significant impact on your health, weight and well-being than almost any other activity you do.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Every meal made at home—even just once or twice a week—is a step closer to a healthier body and as lower food lifestyle.

A. Our food matches our lives.

B. Treat it with the importance that it deserves, but start small.

C. We're consuming an increasing number of calories.

D. Lunch is the biggest calorie intake when it comes to eating out.

E. Purchase food locally and skip as many packaged items as you can.

F. What we eat, where we eat and how we eat are all under our control.

G. We can devote an hour of the day to enjoying a meal with our families.

    Questions to Ask Before Getting Your Child a Cellphone

    At what age should you get your child a cellphone？{#blank#}1{#/blank#}However，before you decide to add your child to your family plan，ask yourself these questions.

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    If you and your child are not often apart beyond school hours，a cellphone may not be a serious necessity，but if he is independent or involved in extracurricular (课外的) activities outside your home，a cellphone could be useful，especially during emergencies as a convenient means of communication with you.

    Does your child understand the cost?

    Make sure your child understands the cost of having a cellphone.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Some options to help control costs include prepaid and postpaid phones，setting a monthly budget for your child.

    How can you keep your child's phone usage safe and under control?

    Before you get your child a phone，you should discuss what it can be used for，rules he is expected to follow，and consequences if he fails to follow them.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}If you prefer to take an extra step towards monitoring his phone use，these application programs allow you to track your child's mobile activity.

A．Who needs a cellphone?

B．How can you determine whether or not to buy a cellphone for your child?

C．Also be sure that he can be trusted to stay within his limits from month to month.

D．You ask your child to make use of his cellphone for learning.

E．Also, educate yourself on what social media apps are popular with teens.

F．According to Pew Research Center, the average age is between 12 and 13.

G．For example, is the phone only to be used to call family, or can it be used socially?

    Keeping the memory in shape is important at any age, but it requires a bit more work as we grow. There are some simple activities that can improve your memory.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Awaken your senses.

    Use your senses to help your memory store(储存) needed information. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}You can ask yourself like this: Is the sky a light blue or deep purple? The more involved(参与的) you can be in the information, the easier it is for your brain to store it.

    Use imagination and relation.

    Trying to remember names? Let's say you meet a man named Frank Parker. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Tie the two together by picturing Frank dressed up in a hot dog costume(服装) parking his car in the parking lot. Now each time you see Frank, you should easily recall his name.

    Breathe deeply and relax.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Relax, breathe deeply and slowly and let your mind ease up for a minute. Being relaxed makes it easier for information to be both stored and remembered.

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    When you come upon something you need to remember, say to yourself, “Hey, pay attention and remember this!” You are giving yourself a wake-up call as well as giving your mind a marker that it can use to help in storing the new information.

A. Give yourself an order.

B. Get a good night's sleep.

C. Here are four of them to get you started.

D. Picture a hot dog for Frank and a car for Parker.

E. For example, note the colors of a picture you want to remember.

F. When we try hard to remember something we often become nervous.

G. The way you live influences not only your physical health but also your memory.

    When times are tough, how should governments in poor countries ensure their citizens remain fed? In the past, most of them used subsidies (现金补助) to keep food prices low for all their citizens. But these policies have become ineffective: the cost of maintaining Egypt's food subsidies, for instance, nearly doubled between 2009 and 2013. And much of the money goes to the wrong people. In Egypt and the Philippines less than 20% of spending on food subsidies goes to poor households. In the Middle East and North Africa only 35% of subsidies reach 40% of the poorest, the IMF notes.

    Motivated by a desire to control growing budget deficits (赤字) , many countries are replacing broad subsidies with policies aimed more directly at the needy. But what form should the targeted aid take? Earlier this month Iran introduced free handouts of food to replace its subsidy method. Other countries, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, have chosen instead to provide extra cash benefits to the poor. So far, food vouchers (代金券) have been the least popular option. Proposals to introduce food vouchers in such countries as Malaysia have been rejected on the basis that they were too American and un-Asian.

    However, the researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) thought that might have been a mistake and analyzed the results of an experiment conducted by the World Food Programme in Ecuador, a South American country, in 2011, which compared handouts of food, cash and vouchers in the experiment. The study found that direct handouts— Iran's new policy—were the least effective option. They cost three times as much as vouchers to promote calorie intake by 15%, and were four times as costly as a way of increasing dietary diversity and quality. Distribution costs were high, and wastage was also a problem. Only 63% of the food given away was actually eaten, while 83% of the cash was spent on food and 99% of the vouchers were exchanged as intended. Food handouts have also been the costliest option in similar projects in some African countries, according to John Hoddinott at IFPRI.

    In Ecuador there was little difference in cost between handing out cash and food vouchers, the other two options. But food vouchers were better at encouraging people to buy healthier foods because of restrictions on what items could be exchanged for them. It was 25% cheaper to promote the quality of household nutrition using food vouchers than it was by handing out cash.

    A switch from universal subsidies to vouchers could be the most efficient way of promoting health as well as relieving poverty. This is very necessary in many developing countries, according to Lynn Brown, a consultant for the World Bank.