Dear Doctor,

    My husband and I got married in 1990 and for the first ten years of our marriage, I was very happy to stay home and bring up our three children. Then four years ago, our youngest child went to school and I thought I might go back to work.

    My husband agreed and helped me to make my decision. He said he thought I could be a great success in business. After several weeks of job hunting, I found my present job—working for a small public company. At first, my husband was very proud of me and would tell his friends, “My clever little wife can run that company.”

    But as his joke was becoming true, my husband stopped talking to me about my job. I have received several promotions (升职) and pay increases, and I can earn more money than he can. I can buy my own clothes and new car.

    But things begin to change. My husband is not happy. My husband is very unkind to me in front of our friends. For the first time in our marriage, I think our marriage may come to an end. I love my husband very much, and I don't want him to feel bad, but I also love my job. I think I can be a good wife and a working woman, but I don't know how. Can't you give me some advice? Will I have to choose one or the other or can I keep both my husband and my new career?

    Please help me.

Mary

     “Let's Talk”：The Free Advice Project

A few weeks ago, I took a walk around Washington Square Park. I met all the usual people：street performers, the Pigeon Guy, a group of guitarists singing in harmony. But off to the side, sitting on a bench was a woman doing something vastly different—giving free advice.

    A week or two later, I set up an interview with her and we discussed her project at length.

    Lisa Podell, 32, started the Free Advice Project this past May. It began as an experiment；she sat in Washington Square Park for a day with a sign that read “Free Advice” as a simple way to reach out to people. Podell was astonished at the strong response.

    Podell admits that she was doubtful at first, but now she describes the project as mutually (相互地) beneficial. People learn from her—but she also learns from them. She says that the majority of those who come to her are dealing with some pretty heavy issues, and they expect her not only to listen, but also provide real answers.

    Having worked as a full time teacher and now as an adolescent advisor, Podell believes that talking things out is an important in the decision-making process.

    Sometimes, people walk around all day, keeping their problems in their own head and thinking about them in the same way. Podell simply strives to provide people with perspective.

    I asked if there is a future plan for the Free Advice Project. Podell said she would like to promote it to each public space in New York, which would be carried out by various volunteers across the city.

    It was truly inspiring to meet someone with such a big heart, especially in New York—where it is sometimes very hard to find anybody to listen.(303 words)

Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp

    Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit—and that can be a very annoying thing.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Read on for some techniques worth trying.

    ⒈{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced chance of Alzheimer's disease (早老性痴呆症), according to a recent study.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do. There's evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or short-term goals appear to do better. In other words, keep your brain looking forward.

    ⒉ Go for a walk

    Mildly raised glucose (葡萄糖) levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories and physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, exercise produces chemicals that are good for your brain.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    ⒊ Learn something new

    Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation (刺激) limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain is when you learn something new and are physically active at the same time.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}or go dancing with your friends.

A. Focus on the future.

B. This can be especially harmful to the aged.

C. It should be something like learning gardening.

D. So take a few minutes each day to do some reading.

E. But don't worry if your schedule isn't filled with life-changing events.

F. Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments.

G. In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.

Taping and bracing ankles

    Ankle sprains(踝关节扭伤) are the most common sports-related injuries in the United States. If there was an easy way of decreasing the number and severity of these injuries, that would be great. For this very reason, the practice of taping and bracing ankles was introduced decades ago.

    How, then, do taped or braced ankles decrease the incidence and severity of sprains in athletes? One explanation for how it works comes from a study which found that taped athletes had improved proprioception(本体感受), which is the body's ability to know how fast the ankle and foot are moving and if they are starting to roll over or not. When they were compared, the athletes with taped ankles had better proprioception both before and after exercise compared with athletes using no tape. The tape's traction(拉力)or pressure on the skin of the foot and ankle helped improve sensitivity and proprioception, resulting in fewer ankle sprains.

    Another common concern often expressed by the public is that lengthened practice of taping or bracing ankles results in weak ankles that then tend to get injured more easily; this would be a strong case against taping or bracing ankles. However, a scientific study looked at the effects of consistent ankle brace use on the peroneus longus muscle. It is an important stabilizer(稳定装置)of the ankle, particularly against inversion, the most common type of ankle injury. This study showed that the peroneus longus muscle's ability to do its job was not changed by the long-term wearing of an ankle brace.

    Many studies have been completed to compare taping ankles and bracing ankles to try to determine which one is better. Most have shown that braces are slightly more effective than tape, but that both are better than no support at all. One study found that simply wearing high-top sneakers instead of low-tops prevented some ankle injuries and that high-tops plus tape had more than 50% fewer injuries than low-tops plus tape.

    So whether it's on the field or on the court, the tape or brace is an important piece of athletic equipment just like your helmet or mouth guard.

Observational Learning: To See Is to Know

    A group of psychologists, led by Albert Bandura, developed social learning theory, which emphasizes the fact that much learning occurs in a social context. This kind of learning, which results simply from observing and imitating the behavior of others, is called observational learning. Observational learning helps people acquire proper behavior in their families and cultures. By watching others, we learn how to greet people, eat, laugh and tell jokes. Do you still remember your first few days in senior grade one? By watching others, you learned how people talked to each other, what clothes were "fashionable," and how to interact with instructors.

    With modeling, you observe others' behaviors, and then none, some, or all of these behaviors may be learned and repeated, or modified. In one of Bandura's classic studies, children were divided into three groups: One group watched an adult beating up a Bobo doll, one group watched an adult ignoring the Bobo doll, and the third didn't see an adult at all. After being mildly frustrated by being placed in a room with toys, but not being allowed to play with some of them, all of the children were then placed in another room with a variety of toys, including a Bobo doll. Children in the first group tended to imitate what they had seen, mistreating the doll (and inventing new ways to abuse it).

    Researchers have discovered that several characteristics of models can make learning through observation more effective. Not surprisingly, the more you pay attention to the model, the more you learn. You are more likely to pay attention if the model is an expert, is good looking, has high status, or is socially powerful. Second, by watching others, we learn about what behaviors are appropriate for people like ourselves, so models who are seen as similar are more readily imitated. All students need to see successful, capable models who look and sound like them.

    Then, as teachers, how can you apply observational learning? Here are a few guidelines. Above all, model the behaviors and attitudes you desire your students to learn. For example, show enthusiasm for the subject you teach. Be willing to demonstrate both the mental and the physical tasks you expect the students to perform. Second, use peers, especially class leaders, as models. For example, in group work, pair students who do well with those who are having difficulties. Third, you may seek the help of class leaders in modeling behaviors. Examples include letting high­status students lead an activity when you need class cooperation or when students are likely to be reluctant at first.

    After we all came to the conclusion that our family could responsibly care for dog; my husband and I started our search at a local animal shelter.

    We discovered a medium-sized male dog named Duke. This dog was a approximately only two years old and seemed to have the sweetest character. He looked at us through intelligent eyes and already knew how to fetch a ball. My husband and I immediately adopted him Duke quickly fit into our family's lifestyle. And he quickly learned the tricks like "sit", and "come".

But there was one skill that Duke could not seem to grasp—that of a watchdog. My husband was trying to teach him to remind us by giving a single warning bark when someone came into the yard. Duke would listen carefully to my husband's commands, but would cock （竖起）his head to one side in confusion and disappointment as if to tell his master that he just didn't understand what my husband was asking him to do. My husband would give his "watch" command. Duke would stand up—muscles tightened in readiness, but would not have a clue as to what he was in readiness for.

    One morning we heard the garbage collectors come up the driveway to get our garbage.

    My husband went to the open bedroom window so Duke could hear and see the men through the screen.

    "Watch" my husband commanded. Duke rose in readiness, looked at my husband as sudden comprehension dawned on him, gave a quick tail wave, and leaped through the window screen jumping happily out to greet the garbage men.

    Seeing that, I couldn't help laughing. My laughter did nothing for my husbands mood when he found what was happening and he just went away to repair the screen with no expression on his face.

    Duke brought our family so much fun. We never scolded or beat him. He was one of our family members.