If you are a fruit grower—or would like to become one—take advantage of Apple Day to see what's around. It's called Apple Day but in practice it's more like Apple Month. The day itself is on October 21, but since it has caught on, events now spread out over most of October around Britain.

Visiting an apple event is a good chance to see, and often taste, a wide variety of apples. To people who are used to the limited choice of apples such as Golden Delicious and Royal Gala in supermarkets, it can be quite an eye opener to see the range of classical apples still in existence, such as Decio which was grown by the Romans. Although it doesn't taste of anything special, it's still worth a try, as is the knobbly(多疙瘩的) Cat's Head which is more of a curiosity than anything else.

There are also varieties developed to suit specific local conditions. One of the very best varieties for eating quality is Orleans Reinette, but you'll need a warm, sheltered place with perfect soil to grow it, so it's a pipe dream for most apple lovers who fall for it.

       At the events, you can meet expert growers and discuss which ones will best suit your conditions, and because these are family affairs, children are well catered for with apple-themed fun and games.

Apple Days are being held at all sorts of places with an interest in fruit, including stately gardens and commercial orchards(果园). If you want to have a real orchard experience, try visiting the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, near Faversham in Kent.

    Two recent studies have found that punishment is not the best way to influence behavior.

    One showed that adults are much more cooperative if they work in a system based on rewards. Researchers at Harvard University in the United States and the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden did the study.

    They had about two hundred college students play a version of the game known as the Prisoner's Dilemma. The game is based on the tension between the interests of an individual and a group. The students played in groups of four. Each player could win points for the group, so they would all gain equally. But each player could also reward or punish each of the other three players. Harvard researcher David Rand says the most successful behavior proved to be cooperation. The groups that rewarded the most earned about twice as much in the game as the groups that rewarded the least. And the more a group punished itself, the lower its earnings. The study appeared last month in the journal Science.

    The other study involved children. It was presented last month in California at a conference on violence and abuse（虐待）. Researchers used intelligence tests given to two groups. More than eight hundred children were aged two to four the first time they were tested. More than seven hundred children were aged five to nine. The two groups were retested four years later, and the study compared the results with the first test. Both groups contained children whose parents used physical punishment and children whose parents did not.

    The study says the IQs of the younger children who were not spanked were five points higher than those who were. In the older group, the difference was almost three points. The more they are spanked, the slower their mental development.

Dear John,

    My name is Amber and I want to share my story with you because what you've shared about life and positive energy has changed my life. This past year has been one of the hardest for me. I felt I was stuck in a position that had nothing to do with what I wanted to do with my life. In January, after two years of being together, my boyfriend left me.

    I read your blog every morning as I drink my coffee at work, but it wasn't until this March that I told myself "no more negativity" as you taught readers in your blog.

    Since then I've got into new habits at work to keep my energy positive. When people walk in the front door, I'm the first face they see, so I smile big when I say "good morning" to them, especially on Mondays. Instead of waiting for someone to ask me for help, I offer it with an open mind. The CEO noticed my change and offered me the executive assistant position that I wanted.

    One of the biggest things I've taken to heart from your blog is changing my opinions on my job. Yes, it was not an important position, but when I was passionate （热情的） about it, I could make my life fulfilling.

    All in all, I have to thank you somehow for having the passion to help others because it truly is inspiring to me. So thank you so much, John. My life has changed because your words pointed me in the right direction, Take care!

                                                 Sincerely ,

                                                     Amber

    The Healthy Habits Survey shows that only about one third of American seniors have correct habits. Here are some findings and expert advice.

    ⒈How many times did you brush your teeth yesterday?

    Finding: A full 33% of seniors brush their teeth only once a day.

    Step: Remove the 300 types of bacteria in your mouth each morning with a battery-operated toothbrush. Brush gently for 2 minutes, at least twice a day.

    ⒉How many times did you wash your hands or bathe yesterday?

Finding: Seniors, on average, bathe fewer than 3 days a week. And nearly 30% wash their hands only 4 times a day—half of the number which doctors recommend.

    Step: We touch our faces around 3,000 times a day-often inviting germs（病菌）to enter our mouth, nose, and eyes. Use toilet paper to avoid touching the door handle. And, most important, wash your hands often with hot running water and soap for 20 seconds.

    ⒊How often do you think about fighting germs?

    Finding: Seniors are not fighting germs as well as they should.

    Step: Do you know it is not your toilet but your kitchen sponge（海绵）that can carry more germs than anything else? To kill these germs, keep your sponge in the microwave for 10 seconds.

    Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror; you do not look like these stick -thin models seen across the media. Your legs are too big, your bottom is too small, and you are too pale. You are too “ugly” You stare in wonder and anger, “Why don't I look like them?" However, you don't need to imagine this situation, because this is a bitter truth for millions of people. In the media，one can quickly see the ideal body, the ideal face, and the ideal person. The advancement of unrealistic beauty on social media causes millions of people to become dissatisfied with their looks.

    Dissatisfaction with one's appearance can cause dangerous behaviors like dieting, which result in eating disorders like Anorexia Nervosa (神经性厌食症) and Bulimia Nervosa (神经性易饿病). Eating disorders have seen a dramatic increase following the rise of social media, 119% increase according to recent statistics. According to Brittany Tackett, a mental health professional,“30% -50% of patients in eating disorder hospitals used social media as a means of supporting their eating disorders.”

    Not only can social media become a support-system for unhealthy behaviors, but an article written by Rachel Simmons, a Time magazine writer, suggests that people who spend more time online tend to link their self-worth to their looks. A study conducted by Park Nicollet Melrose Center also says that in the 1990's, fifty-percent of women wanted to lose weight. Now it finds that eighty-percent of women want to lose weight. Although this higher percentage cannot be directly related to the rise of social media, one can argue that the unrealistic and damaging beauty expectations that social media presents contribute to this number.

    In addition, social media causes stress. A survey was conducted in which people were asked whether or not they used social media, and how stressed they felt they were. The study found that “social network users are, in fact, 14 percent more likely than non-users to characterize their lives as at least 'somewhat stressful.' Non-users are 28 percent more likely than users to say their lives are 'not at all' stressful”. Additionally, stress may have more connection to self-confidence than is believed.

    So，there you are again, standing in front of the mirror criticizing the parts of your body which do not follow the idealistic images of models seen on social media. Your legs are too big, your bottom is too small, and you are too pale. You are too “ugly”. Although this time, you realize it is not you who are the problem. The problem is the unhealthy and unrealistic standards that social media encourages. So the next time you are looking through Instagram, opening WeChat, or commenting on Twitter, ask yourself, “Is it worth it?”

    For the past two years I have been travelling and living abroad. Home has become more of a feeling than a place. I feel at home when I am with my family in London, but I also feel at home in Italy with friends I love. Home is no longer a picture of a house with a front door and some windows. It is more complicated than that.

    This is one of the reasons that celebrating the new year has become very important for me. I do not care about "New Year's resolutions (愿望)"—living abroad has made me constantly reconsider what kind of person I want to be and how I will live my life, so I don't feel the need to plan for change: I live for change.

    New Year's Eve has become my time to reconnect with the friends that makes me feel at home. Every year we try to reunite wherever we are and remember the time when we knew each other so well that we felt like a family. It is a moment to reconnect and get to know each other again. Last year, we travelled to a cottage in Ireland where we had no internet and no neighbours. In the middle of the countryside, away from our big and constantly changing lives, we were able to become like a little family again.

    This year, we went to Barcelona. It was a very big change. We were surrounded by culture and life and joy. There were bars and parties. It was different, but one thing stayed very much the same-I felt at home again and we felt like a family again.

    A lot of people feel that New Year's Eve cannot live up to expectations. Ideas such as the "New Year's kiss" and "resolutions" create a lot of pressure for people to have a night to remember, a night that will change their lives and perhaps make the next year one worth living. I think those people are missing the point. If Christmas is about family, why can't New Year be about friends?