Evaluating Sources of Health Information

    Making good choices about your own health requires reasonable evaluation. A key first step in bettering your evaluation ability is to look carefully at your sources of health information. Reasonable evaluation includes knowing where and how to find relevant information, how to separate fact from opinion, how to recognize poor reasoning, and how to analyze information and the reliability of sources. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} 

    Go to the original source. Media reports often simplify the results of medical research. Find out for yourself what a study really reported,and determine whether it was based on good science. Think about the type of study. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Watch for misleading language. Some studies will find that a behavior " contributes to " or is "associated with" an outcome; this does not mean that a certain course must lead to a certain result. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Carefully read or listen to information in order to fully understand it.

    Use your common sense. If a report seems too good to be true, probably it is. Be especially careful of information contained in advertisements. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Evaluate "scientific" statements carefully, and be aware of quackery (江湖骗术).

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Friends and family members can be a great source of ideas and inspiration, but each of us needs to find a healthy lifestyle that works for us.

    Developing the ability to evaluate reasonably and independently about health problems will serve you well throughout your life.

A. Make choices that are right for you.

B. The goal of an ad is to sell you something.

C. Be sure to work through the critical questions.

D. And examine the findings of the original research.

E. Distinguish between research reports and public health advice.

F. Be aware that information may also be incorrectly explained by an author's point of view.

G. The following suggestions can help you sort through the health information you receive from common sources.

How to improve reading efficiency

    ⒈Make sure of your purpose of reading.

    Before you start reading, ask yourself why you are reading this book. Most people read for two main reasons: pleasure or knowledge. Being specific and clear about your reading purpose not only helps you to avoid books that you don't need to read, it also reminds you the book is important to you.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    ⒉Read only what you are attracted to.

    Whether you are reading fiction or nonfiction, it's important to enjoy what you read. Your friends may recommend books that they love, but those books might not necessarily be the ones you enjoy. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    ⒊Give up books that you don't enjoy.

    You may have selected books that match your purpose. You may have selected books that you are attracted to. But you are reading them, there may still be some books that you won't enjoy reading. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Remember reading shouldn't make feel annoyed.

    ⒋{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Having a reading goal helps you figure out how much reading you need to do in a week or even a day.

    ⒌Give yourself a deadline to finish each book.

    Before you read each book, ask yourself when you need to finish this book. What I find interesting is that I tend to read books that I borrow from libraries faster than the books I bought. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} I don't need to return those books. When you don't set a deadline to finish you book, there isn't a sense of urgency. And when something isn't urgent, you tend to slow down.

A. Set a reading goal.

B. Understand each word of the sentence.

C. Read books which you are interested in.

D. Reading is the most important way to get knowledge.

E. The reason is that the books I bought don't have a due date.

F. This encourages you to keep reading and complete the book faster.

G. Whenever you realize that you aren't enjoying the book you are reading, give it up.

    Color is fundamental in home design——something you'll always have in every room. A grasp of how to manage color in your spaces is one of the first steps to creating rooms you'll love to live in. Do you want a room that's full of life？Professional？Or are you just looking for a place to relax after a long day？{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, color is the key to making a room feel the way you want it to feel.

    Over the years, there have been a number of different techniques to help designers approach this important point. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, they can get a little complex. But good news is that there are really only three kinds of decisions you need to make about color in your home: the small ones, the medium ones, and the large ones.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. They're the little spots of color like throw pillows, mirrors and baskets that most of us use to add visual interest to our rooms. Less tiring than painting your walls and less expensive than buying a colorful sofa, small color choices bring with them the significant benefit of being easily changeable.

    Medium color choices are generally furniture pieces such as sofas, dinner tables or bookshelves{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They require a bigger commitment than smaller ones, and they have a more powerful effect on the feeling of a space.

    The large color decisions in your rooms concern the walls, ceilings, and floors. Whether you're looking at wallpaper or paint, the time, effort and relative expense put into it are significant. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A. While all of them are useful

B. If you're experimenting with a color

C. Whatever you're looking for

D. Small color choices are the ones we're most familiar with

E. It's not really a good idea to use too many small color pieces

F. Color choices in this range are a step up from the small ones in two major ways

G. So it pays to be sure, because you want to get it right the first time

    We are surrounded by messages trying to get our attention. Advertisers, politicians and other groups all try to get us to agree with them. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Propaganda is not always a bad thing, but it often hides the truth about a topic. Its very similar to advertising, whose goal is to get people to buy something, while propaganda is to change what people believe.

    Propaganda Techniques

    To create propaganda, a common technique is name-calling. A politician might call someone a traitor or liar, which makes the other person look bad. Another is the trend technique. People want to be on the side in the favor. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Some propaganda is based on fear. It scares people into choosing a certain side or taking action, which might not be bad. Anti-smoking campaigns are one example. They may scare people into thinking that if they smoke, they will get cancer.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Propaganda is used by many groups, such as businesses, politicians and the government .It is spread through posters, television and radio. The Internet makes it easy to send messages to the whole world.

    Types of Propaganda

    Political propaganda has been around as long as there have been politicians {#blank#}4{#/blank#} People have used it for many years. War propaganda began during World War Ⅰ, more than 100 years ago.

    To see if propaganda is saying the truth, people need to do extra work. For example, ads might always sound like they're true. But before you believe them, try to think about who created and paid for them. Find out why they did it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

The Four People You Don't Want to Sit Next to on a Plane

    Let me begin by promising you that I am not an angry person. I would actually vow that I am inherently happy and all-around quite friendly and nice. But one thing that really grinds my gears, is being seated next to a nightmare neighbor on an airplane.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Perhaps you normally like them, but when you are sitting next to them on a plane it's a different thing. They usually spend all the flight moving around and dropping their toys on the floor, and when they're drinking their orange juice it ends up on your trousers. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. So you can't have the little sleep that you were planning.

    Conversation makers

    You recognize this type as soon as you sit down. They immediately start talking about the plane, or the weather, or they ask you a personal question. It's very difficult not to talk to these people. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

    Nervous fliers

    These are the people with white faces who sit down and immediately ask for something to drink. Every five minutes they call a flight attendant to ask if there are any problems with the plane. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The best thing to do is to pretend to sleep.

    Space invaders

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. But they have a terrible habit of taking up all their room, and some of your room too. They usually sit so that you can't move, with their arms and legs in your space.

A. Naughty kids

B. Well-behaved parents

C. They also tell you about air crash

D. Some people want to talk all the time

E. The people are not necessarily very large

F. Then they decide they want to have fun with you

G. You'll probably have to keep talking until the plane lands

Based on his own research at Washington University in St. Louis and other scientific studies, psychology lecturer Bon o offers the following tips for getting and staying happier in your life.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Looking forward to an enjoyable experience can make it all that much sweeter. Wait a couple of days before seeing a new movie that just came out, plan your big vacation for later in the summer, and try to take time to enjoy each bit e of dessert. On the opposite, get negative tasks out of the way as quickly as possible —any delay will only make them seem worse.

People who focus more on process than outcome tend to remain motivated in the face of setbacks. They're better at sticking with major challenges and prefer them over the easy route. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Because it celebrates rewards that come from the work itself. Focusing only on the outcome can lead to premature burnout if things don't go well.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Find an activity that allows you to get together with friends on a regular, ongoing basis. A weekly happy hour, poker night, or TV show ensures consistency and motivation in your social interactions. People with high-quality relationships are not only happier, but also healthier. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

The next time you are attracted to use your phone to look through social media, look through your list of contacts instead. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The happiness you get from a real connection with another person will be far greater than any comments or likes you get on social media.

A. Anticipation itself is pleasurable.

B. Decrease unnecessary socializing.

C. Find someone to call or Face Time.

D. This "growth mindset" helps people stay energized.

E. Facebook and Instagram often overstate how much better off others are.

F. Nothing is more important for our psychological health than high-quality friendships.

G. They recover from illnesses more quickly, live longer, and enjoy more enriched lives.