When Justin Tong was a child, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him doing lots of housework such as carrying out the rubbish and sending newspapers. But when he grew up, he was better off than his childhood friends and lived a happier and healthier life.

This is the finding of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 children in London. It showed that the children who had worked hard in childhood had a richer and a happier future. "Children who worked in the home or community gained competence(能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society," said Daniel Brown, the psychologist(心理学家) who made the discovery. "And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them."

Brown's study followed these children in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Brown, the researchers compared the children's mental-health scores with their childhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

    Working at any age is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence — the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this.

    Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, "One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work."

Thomas Alva Edison is one of the greatest inventors (发明家). We can always find his inventions in our everyday life. One of his most famous inventions is the electric light (电灯). He tried thousands of times to make a long-lasting light bulb. Many people nowadays remember him for this important invention. In fact, many great inventions were built on his ideas. 

But Edison was not a good student at school. The only thing he loved was to do new experiments (实验) . When he was still a child, he built his first lab to make different experiments there. 

Edison once had an amazing experiment in his childhood. He thought that birds ate insects (昆虫) and these insects might make them fly. So he collected some insects and killed them to make juice. But who could help him to do that unusual experiment? He just let his servant (仆人) drink the juice! The result was that his servant almost died of this—after drinking it, the girl lost all feeling. But luckily, she was saved in time! 

①Are you a shy person? Do you expect to become outgoing? Being outgoing can help a lot in your life. In fact, being outgoing is not as hard as you think. Here is some advice on how to become outgoing. 

②You can start to try becoming outgoing when you stay with your friends. But the real challenge(挑战) comes when you meet strangers or new friends. Smile at them, and usually they will smile at you, too. You may find it easy to start talking in this way. 

③Start a talk positively (积极地). Try to speak first. Simple greetings such as"Hello!""How is it going?" and"It's a little cloudy today, isn't it?" are a good start. After that, you can talk more. For example, you can talk about the latest news. But you'd better read some news in newspapers and have your own ideas first. Or you may find that you won't have much to say. 

④The best way to become outgoing is to go out. It is also a very important step. Usually those who like to do the same things can get to know each other better. 

If you like playing sports, go to a sports club. You may make many new friends there if you get over your shyness. 

It is usual for people to wake up a few times during the night. Older people often get up to the bathroom. But what about some other people? If it happens a few times a week, there may be a troublesome reason. And it can be called insomnia(失).

You may wake up, look at the clock and worry about your work. There may be stressful things on your mind. These feelings may cause a stress hormone(激素) in your body. If you worry that you can't sleep, it may make it harder to fall asleep. So, what can you do?

Do something helpful. If you are awake 25 minutes or more, get out of bed and do something quiet. Gentle stretches or breathing exercises might help. You can sit and read a book or magazine in weak light. Do not read on a smartphone or a tablet in the dark place.

Don't drink coffee after 2 p.m. Coffee can stay in your body well into the evening. Besides, nap(打盹) lowers your drive to fall asleep in the evening. Try not to nap late in the day. Nap no later than early afternoon.

Try to keep a routine schedule for sleep. There is a problem when you go to bed and wake up at different times. Studies have shown that irregular bedtime may lead to insomnia. The problem has to do with the sleep cycle of your body, called circadian rhythms(昼夜节律). They work on 24-hourcycles.